If ever there was a pop culture franchise that needed 10 bullets right in the head it would have been James Bond for me.
Sure, I'd like to see Star Trek put out of its misery but James Bond has trudged along regurgitating the same shit movie after movie for almost 40 years.
Now when I was a kid, I used to eat them up, especially when they'd play on ABC's Friday Night Movies. I remember various babysitters and such letting me, ass firmly planted on a pillow, stay up late to watch whatever Bond flick was on.
I was too young to understand the awesomeness of hating Alex Trebek and was too early-age geek gullible to not get sucked into the gimmicky Roger Moore era.
Hell... I recall watching that cheeseball awful Moonraker probably close to 30 times as it was run into the ground on Showtime.
But by the time of View To A Kill, I was now 14 and my growing sense of appreciation for cinema and my tastes in general made me realize that I'd been watching the same movie over and over and over for the past decade.
And yet that same formulaic James Bond film kept getting churned out every few years, going from Moore to Timothy Dalton to Pierce Brosnan and yet it was basically the exact same script with the exact same acting with the exact same gimmicks.
Not only could I never bring myself to suffer through them again, I honestly couldn't inflict anything Bond on myself even on home video or via movie channels.
I'm all for a little regurgitation every now and then but folks, the entire James Bond franchise should have died in the 60s.
Well... after coming back from a wine party last night, Giga remembered he at a Bond film to take back that was already going to be late so we stayed up and watched it.
Holy shit!!! 2006'sCasino Royale has got to be the single best Bond film ever made.
I was literally blown away and while it was still a bit too long time-wise (as all Bond films are) I found myself unable to stop watching because I actually gave a shit what the hell was going on!
It is pretty much reboot if such a thing could exist for this franchise. But honestly, it was a reboot against the 30+ years of formulaic style, writing, cinematography, and every other dreadful thing I couldn't suffer through since I was 15.
I remember when they announced that some Daniel Craig guy, who was short and blond, was going to be the next Bond and all these wankers were in their usual lame-ass internets bitch mode complaining about it.
I didn't know who Daniel Craig was and quite frankly it couldn't have mattered less to me.
But holy shit!
Here is a film that I actually felt like the script had love crafted into it.
There are some scenes of dialogue that feel as if they were written in the 1950s with beautiful acerbic wit and sexual innuendo and just so much of what doesn't exist in mainstream cinema anymore.
There's a bit of action, beautifully created rough physical action, but it isn't just the usual shit blowing up and stuff. It really makes you feel like this secret agent has to get dirty and hurts and could die!!!
He's arrogant... and that's part of his achille's heel... and it is so much a part of the character-building that this movie does!
My god! I can't believe I'm raving about a goddamn James Bond movie and doing it ages after it has been in the theatres and on DVD!!!
Casino Royale is wonderful!
If you haven't seen it, and you want a decent action-though-heavy-dialogue film, this should do it!
It'll make you think different about getting hit in the nuts too!
Yes Mr. Bond. I felt it even in an oxycodone stupor!
Honestly, I reckon I've seen more than half of the 007 films over the years & the only one I truly enjoyed (great characters, plotline & action sequences) would have to be Goldfinger. Goldfinger himself is awesome & Oddjob - I think? (fat bodyguard with razor-sharp bowler's hat) is one of the best villains in movie history. Infact, it's the only Bond movie I own on dvd & one of my favourite movies of all time.
But your endorsement of Casino Royale might tempt me to give it a go. I can remember watching the original spoof done in the 60's a while ago on the tele & it sucked balls - I just couldn't stomach that drivel & changed the channel in record time. Something tells me the new version is completely different - even though the new 007 is a blonde.
I can't believe you didn't give this one a chance earlier. It was an amazing film, and certainly better than anything in the series since Connery's first two or three.
I still haven't seen it-much like his Batman obsession, I picked up on my brother's 'No Bond but Connery' stance, and I still totally hate Roger Moore-but I've seen Craig in several films like Layer Cake and Munich, and he's a fine actor and much less smarmy and 'cute' than Pierce Brosnan.
Personally, I still think Clive Owen would have been a better choice, but I say that having not seen said film.
Pulse: It really is wonderful.
Chuck: I honestly didn't expect Hollywood to do anything different with Bond. It has been the same shit for 30 years!
Frowny: If they make a 2nd film with him and immediately rehash any other Bond cliches than this film will be the diamond in a pile of shit.
But it really was great.
I watched this one night when I was already half asleep off and on and missed most of it. Either that or I found it boring.
I don't remember which it was either.
I'll have to try again someday when I'm a bit more awake.
I loved Casino Royale. It really made me care about the Bond franchise rather than just see the films whenever nothing better was on.
The ball scene was definately amusing but my two favorites of the film was the free running chase. Pure art. The second is after things are going very poorly Bond gets to the point that he's going to just knife his target rather than continue the game. Definately seeing a much more young and rash Bond.
I've heard with this story reboot they are going to try to follow the storyline of the novels more closely and see some of the more over arching villian groups in bond rather than just being a series of guys with bizzare injuries.
Casino Royale definately makes it worth it to see the next.
Bond rocks!!! How could you NOT love this way cool franchise??? Yes, the movies are pretty derivative plot-wise (e.g., some madman wants to take over the world, etc.), but they do it soooo well!!! Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, Tomorrow Never Dies - cheese, but good cheese. Well, maybe not the Timothy Dalton flicks ....
Anyways, if you loved Casino Royale, may I suggest you give For Your Eyes Only a rental - it was probably Moore's most serious outing as Agent 007. One of the better Bond flicks IMHO.
Hey Nala, have you ever had a chance to read to original books? If not, then now would be a great time to pick up a copy of Casino Royale. Now parkour in the novel, alas, but the ending is even more poignant.
The problem with the movie line, from Goldfinger onwards (and in some respects beginning even with Dr. No) is that Bond was streamlined for mainstream consumption.
- Hard-edged character? Out the window.
- Gadgets, stream of interchangeable women? In.
We're talking about a guy who finds himself at one point wondering if he can drown his female companion before they both suffer a more gruesome villain-plotted fate, and next thing you know 'Bond' is in in the middle of a space-borne laser-powered shootout.
Having said that, Peirce Brosnan was a great Bond and GoldenEye was a return to form for the character; with typical Hollywood aplomb, they naturally followed it up with three relatively forgettable sequels. Same with Dalton; the Living Daylights is watchable exactly because they wanted to move away from the era of Roger Moore silliness.
But yeah... read the books. :) It's particularly fascinating to see where the movies diverge from the text, especially regarding the overall fate of Dr. No. ^_^
No. I've never read them.
Like I said, I'm pretty much a product of the 70s Bond movied that totally woke up to the fact that it was the same thing over and over and over and just couldn't watch 'em anymore.
I'm one of those "no Bond but Connery" people. I always found the Roger Moore movies to be too goofy (with some of the later Connery flicks trending in that direction.) I haven't really liked the Bond series since then, but I really enjoyed Casino Royale. I felt it moved away from that "Secret agent with super-human abilities and really awesome spy gadgets that get's laid a lot" formula and made Bond a more human character.
When did Roger Moore ever take a shot in the boys and then have to spend time in recovery?