Good action movie but a disappointing Bond movie

Rating: 5/10 (16 August 2007)

Being dissected a zillion times, I am sure you are no stranger to this topic. The eternal debate whether the latest Bond flick, Casino Royale is the best one in the series and whether Daniel Craig is the best Bond ever! It's been almost a year since the film was released and the topic has been done to death.
What triggered this write-up was me watching the movie for the second time on a DVD at home a few days back and I had to purge this demon once and for all. The movie when viewed for the second time, unveiled a lot of important details which I conveniently ignored during my first viewing in a theater in November 2006. Blame it on the excellent hype created and the whole curtain of curiosity woven around Daniel Craig. Not that I came out of the theater with a great deal of satisfaction back then, but the second viewing really threw some light on the whole subject.
Getting back to my second viewing and the observations I made. Firstly, since the movie opens with the back to basics formula showing how James Bond gets his license to kill (obtains his 007 status) one realizes that the cold war era aspect- an essential part of the earlier Bond movies- has become expendable quite strangebut then the producers had to start off somewhere.fair enough. Secondly, there is no spectacular opening sequence as is the trademark of all the earlier Bond movies. Disappointed with this, I consoled myself by thinking maybe this is the new style. But if they wanted to change the stylization of the movie opening, they might as well have started the movie with the credits and the soundtrack. Why get into the "classic" opening action sequence in the first place which was so lame.
As the movie continues, there were breathtaking (the chase scene in Madagascar which ends up at the Nambutu embassy) and decent amount of over the top action sequences which followed and I wasn't complaining, but then as I was mid-way, I started missing certain crucial components that form the crux of an enjoyable Bond movie...no Bombshells...there is one called Solange (Caterina Murino) who gets killed just when the temperature was about to rise...what a shame. The main heroine Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) is probably the most boring of all the Bond babes...no oomph... no sex appeal...yes she does look pretty but Bond movies aren't supposed to have PYTs...what a shame (again). No gadgets...the villain doesn't come across threatening at all... maybe the producers wanted that factor to be toned down a bit but it was one of the many things which were muffled (what a shameagain and again and again).
Surprisingly, also the main Casino scene (remember its "CASINO" Royale) was quite drab and clearly looked like it was set up in a studio. No doubt there were some interesting moments but the movie really drags towards the end which is really frustrating.
And finally, Craig Daniel. I had seen the gangster flick Layer Cake in 2004...the movie was slick and Craig was excellent in it...there is no doubt that he is a very fine actor, but being a fine actor doesn't make a fine Bond. Again, one would comfort himself by saying it was about time a new look was introduced to the franchise and the actor in question Craig was definitely an odd candidate when announced but a dicey bet. All in all, I really felt that he did a decent job as James Bond but sadly somewhere has failed as he just can't encompass what Sean Connery had...being rugged, sophisticated, charming, suave and of course wittyall in one. There are many times when he looks charming and most definitely rugged all the time but he just doesn't make it as a great Bond...he does look like a mean killing machine but that's all there is!
Craig Daniel makes a decent Bond but he is certainly not the best Bond.
Agreed that the Bond movies had become quite jaded and hence the producers went against the grainexperimented and have given a much needed shot in the arm to the serieswhich is the good newsbut the bad news is by doing so they have clearly lost direction. Casino Royale is way too buttered up and has very little Bond spirit. There are certain elements you just can't choose to ignore ...you can infuse modifications but not let go of the essential Bond ingredient: Fantasy! Because at the end of the day, the Character is BondJames Bond not Jason Bourne!
Casino Royale is a good action movie but a disappointing Bond movie.