[Dean's World] Dean: Thoughts On James Bond & *Casino Royale*

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Posted by Dean:
Thoughts On James Bond & *Casino Royale*
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1165119398.shtml


   I have never been much of a fan of the James Bond franchise. I say
   that not to belittle or annoy Bond fans, I'm just saying: the series
   has never been my cup of tea. I've never hated it or looked down upon
   it, but it was always a sort of shrug for me. Partly I think because
   I've done a lot of reading about real life espionage work and, well,
   maybe I know a bit too much about how it really works. That is not a
   slap at either the Bond series or its fans by any means, it's just my
   guess at why for me the series has never been something I loved on a
   gut level. I feel the same way about most cop shows, doctor shows, and
   lawyer shows on TV: I know pretty well what those professions actually
   entail, so at some point most franchises (unless they're comedies)
   start to seem very contrived and artificial to me.

   But that's just a guess. Do we ever know entirely why we do or don't
   love something? Anyway, my point is that I'm not a big fan of Bond
   films. I have lots of friends who are though, and recognize the series
   as an cultural phenomenon. I also admire Ian Fleming & co. for their
   clever and enduring creation.

   I say all this by way of mentioning how I was a bit surprised to find
   myself at the theater to see [1]Casino Royale tonight. I wasn't
   planning to see it until it came out on video rental, but my friend
   Kevin Dombrowski invited me to go see it. Since friendships are
   valuable and sometimes require a little work, I was glad to join him
   for a movie. It was the only thing we both seemed to have any interest
   in, so we went, joined by our mutual friend Dwayne.

   I can't say that it's the best James Bond film ever made, but it's
   certainly the best James Bond film I've ever seen.

   I've seen perhaps a half-dozen others in their entirety and bits and
   pieces of many others. Given that there are [2]22 Bond films going
   back to over 40 years, you'd have to live in a cave not to have ever
   seen a Bond film, but you'd also have to be a truly dedicated fan to
   have seen them all.

   Knowing my Bond fan friends, I'd have to guess that this movie would
   have gone over like a lead balloon if it had been made 10 or 15 years
   ago. A James Bond who's a little insecure, a little morally torn, a
   little sensitive, and a little confused? Sounds like someone's
   nightmare of a touchy-feely crapfest. But the writing and direction
   are excellent, and Daniel Craig is surprisingly good. He doesn't even
   intially look like anyone's idea of James Bond, but he carries it off
   perfectly. (And from what I've read of Ian Fleming's earliest books,
   he may actually look more like Fleming's original idea of Bond
   anyway.)

   Different movies appeal for different reasons. Some films draw you in
   due to the pathos and drama, others with the campiness, others with
   intellectual or moral challenges. But that's not what anyone looks for
   in a James Bond film. You just don't. In fact, anyone who argues that
   a James Bond film stinks because "it's ridiculous, that could never
   happen" is already lost. It's like walking into Star Wars and saying,
   "there's no such thing as a light saber or a laser pistol!" Or going
   to see a Superman film and sneering that "no man could ever fly and be
   invulnerable!" Or arguing that a Lara Croft film is terrible because
   no one could ever do all that stuff she does in those movies.

   Dude. If that's your issue, then you don't even belong in the theater
   in the first place.

   But: we three guys, two of us married and not guys who go out stag
   very often, sat down as old friends and went to see a James Bond film.
   And, none of us were really particularly big James Bond fans. But in
   the first 5 minutes we were all watching the spectacular opening
   sequence. And all three of us were laughing and hooting. And why were
   we laughing? Not because it stank. Not at all. The typical wildly
   implausible James Bond Movie opening was spectacular. We were laughing
   in the "haha, this is GREAT!!!!" sense.

   Again: wildly implausible? Please, if that's your problem just leave
   the theater right now. But those first five minutes cemented the film
   for us, or at least for me. With that devastatingly adrenaline-filled
   and incredibly long action sequence, I was ready to accept Daniel
   Craig as James Bond--and laughing with delight.

   Other than the traditional action-filled opening sequence, however.
   the film then veers in a new direction. The real story: "How James
   Bond became James Bond," and we are told before we walk in as an
   audience that this is an effort to sort of update and retell the tale
   of James Bond. If it were carried off poorly it would be an
   embarrassment. But carried off as they did, this was brilliant. Reboot
   the series, start it all over: great way to revive interest in an
   otherwise long-played-out franchise.

   I think the movie was a little too long. It's also not going to make
   me rush out to rent every other James Bond film or start reading all
   the novels. But it was very well done. Well done indeed. In fact,
   after leaving the theater, not only did I realize I'd been thoroughly
   entertained, but also found myself wondering what James would be doing
   in his next film.

   Drat! The bastards got me!!

References

   1. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/casino_royale/showtimes.php
   2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_bond