We’ve just got back from a late screening of Casino Royale, which is a superb return to form of the Bond franchise. I can’t have been the only long-term Bond fan to have found the bravado, gadgets, explosions and chases getting far too much a characterisation of itself. Bond as a super-hero, with bad guys that should be in a video game, just got tiring, and the producers knew it.
So returning back to the first of the Bond books, and restarting the Bond character in his ‘pre-00′ days was a shrewd move that fits in with the times a bit more. Another franchise reboot was Batman Begins, and both take a darker and moodier look at the hero. Bond is certainly painted as a more human figure, with weaknesses as well as strengths. At last, we’ve also got bad guys who are ‘realistic’, aren’t seeking world-domination. It’s all a lot more played down, and with more personal and consequently more immediate, action sequences.
It’s not perfect. The product placement is painful to behold. I mean, come on. Speaking out brand name watches was really just over the top. Seeing Richard Branson’s cameo in the Miami airport sequence (he’s going through security at the same time as Bond) was cringe-worthy. And I felt some of the plot jumps and character developments didn’t flow in quite the way they could have. You get the feeling they had to make a few more cuts than they would have liked.
But still, this is Bond, and we’re not expecting complex characters and especially tight scripting. We (well, I) want to be entertained and that we certainly were (except for the now notorious torture scene!) with gusto.
Excellent stuff, and a great evenings entertainment. Even Frances, not the biggest Bond fan, seemed to have enjoyed it more than she was expecting, and that’s saying something!
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