michael lambe

Casino Royale finally opened in Japan yesterday so Hyon Ju and I went along to see it and WE LIKED WHAT WE SAW. I don’t know if it closely follows the book or not and I don’t much care really. I tried to read a page or two in the bookstore one day but the turgid prose defeated me. The movie is great. I’ve always liked Bond movies (with the exception of Roger Moore who was always too much of a smarm for me) and I liked Pierce Brosnan as Bond, but I didn’t much like the scripts he was saddled with. This new story is very very nice indeed and Daniel Craig has made 007 his own. Bond has just been promoted to 00 status, he’s younger, wilder, reckless and still capable of making mistakes (like falling in love, having his heart broken, trusting people - that sort of thing). He doesn’t care if his martini is shaken and stirred, he just wants some booze. And all those creaky old double entendres have gone out the window to be replaced by actual wit. New Bond is cutting, and actually very funny indeed. Particularly the verbal sparring between the characters of Bond and Vesper Lynd is entertaining - until they fall in love that is (that seemed a bit sudden and unconvincing to me) and then Bond starts strapping on his shining white armor. And the locations - why is it Bond’s adventures are always in the most beautiful locations? He never gets sent to places like this, does he?

There’s a big emphasis on machismo in this movie. Right from the opening credits this is very clear, the theme sung throatily by west coast rocker Chris Cornell, and a marked lack of naked-lady-silhouettes. Bond doesn’t chase that much skirt either - unless he has an ulterior objective. In this way he’s far more disciplined than the Bond of Goldfinger days. When he has a job to do, he forgets the girl and focuses on saving lives. He’s a dude.

Casino Royale is smart and it’s slick and I think I want to watch it again because I missed a lot the first time around - it’s quite fast. RECOMMENDED.

And I can’t get this tune out of my head.

Order the audio CD of You Know My Name from amazon.com, amazon.co.jp, or amazon.co.uk.
Buy Casino Royale at amazon.com. amazon.co.jp, or amazon.co.uk.