The name's Bond ... James Bond
"How would you like to have your martini, sir ? Shaken or stirred ?" "Who the hell cares !!"
Hearing that from a James Bond movie is something going against conventional wisdom. Well, it still was in a James Bond movie, and these were the dialogues that made it clear that Bond, a man with his usual courteous mannerisms and self possession of the shaken martini was still in his formative days.
This weekend, after a very long time got a chance to watch a movie in the theatres. "Casino Royale" was definately a great movie to be watched in the theaters. What made it worth watching was the beautiful camera work during the fight sequences and chases and the beautiful locales, shot on a perfectly clear day.
All this month, thanks to Star Movies, we have been spending every night watching all the James Bond movies. Its a treat to watch these movies. Not for the plot, but for the superb acting, and the technically sound and innovative villians. There is one striking similarity in all the James Bond movies though. Well, ofcourse there are lots of similarities shown ;-) ... but I was talking more of the similarities of how Bond spoils the innovations of the villians. In almost all the movies, they show Bond to not be a very technically inclined person. But he is techno-savvy none the less. Always using the latest gadgets at the precise time. But, what strikes me most is that, no matter how innovative the villians be, all their works are spoilt by a very small snag that is thrown in by Bond. Like, a very small fire somewhere in the control room, or break some valve with a hammer and create a leak that destroys everything. Its these small things that make the desctruction even more better :-) .. Just goes to prove Murphy that when anything can go wrong it definately will :p
This movie was based on the first novel written by Ian Fleming, and it shows how circumstances make Bond such a ruthless secret agent 007 and get the license to kill. It was refreshing to watch Daniel Craig as the Bond. Pierce Brosnan was getting really old, and had lost his charm for this role. Infact, i dont think he was anywhere near the great Sean Connery and Roger More's portrayal of Bond, except in his first movie Golden Eye. Daniel has a fresh look, and well built to depict the impact in the fights.
For most of the length of the movie, I was on the edge of the seat with the lovely sound track accompanying the chase and fight scenes. The first chase scene where the guy just keeps jumping and hopping like an iRobot :D, is definately commendable. The camera work here was just superb. Showing the height of the cantilever and the jumps in the buildings were just breath taking. Ofcourse, there must have been some camera tricks here, but it looked very nice. Also, the fight on the staircase was good. A bit brutal, but then that was the point :-)
I did miss Q, and the cars in this movie, but then it was the era in which James was not yet 007. One particular scene that i liked was the small car chase they showed in the night. Hadnt seen such a scene earlier. They showed 3 cars zooming down a lovely valley along some curved road in the dark and you could see only the flash lights of the cars as they moved. It really looked very nice and cool.
And ofcourse, the beautiful scenaries in Venice, especially the last scene where they show that solitary house on the banks of a river under the clear blue sky was just so pretty. And thats when the old injured man asks, who are you .. and our new Daniel Craig is shown in customary trim suit with a cheeky smile saying the golden words, "the name's Bond ... James Bond"
Hearing that from a James Bond movie is something going against conventional wisdom. Well, it still was in a James Bond movie, and these were the dialogues that made it clear that Bond, a man with his usual courteous mannerisms and self possession of the shaken martini was still in his formative days.
This weekend, after a very long time got a chance to watch a movie in the theatres. "Casino Royale" was definately a great movie to be watched in the theaters. What made it worth watching was the beautiful camera work during the fight sequences and chases and the beautiful locales, shot on a perfectly clear day.
All this month, thanks to Star Movies, we have been spending every night watching all the James Bond movies. Its a treat to watch these movies. Not for the plot, but for the superb acting, and the technically sound and innovative villians. There is one striking similarity in all the James Bond movies though. Well, ofcourse there are lots of similarities shown ;-) ... but I was talking more of the similarities of how Bond spoils the innovations of the villians. In almost all the movies, they show Bond to not be a very technically inclined person. But he is techno-savvy none the less. Always using the latest gadgets at the precise time. But, what strikes me most is that, no matter how innovative the villians be, all their works are spoilt by a very small snag that is thrown in by Bond. Like, a very small fire somewhere in the control room, or break some valve with a hammer and create a leak that destroys everything. Its these small things that make the desctruction even more better :-) .. Just goes to prove Murphy that when anything can go wrong it definately will :p
This movie was based on the first novel written by Ian Fleming, and it shows how circumstances make Bond such a ruthless secret agent 007 and get the license to kill. It was refreshing to watch Daniel Craig as the Bond. Pierce Brosnan was getting really old, and had lost his charm for this role. Infact, i dont think he was anywhere near the great Sean Connery and Roger More's portrayal of Bond, except in his first movie Golden Eye. Daniel has a fresh look, and well built to depict the impact in the fights.
For most of the length of the movie, I was on the edge of the seat with the lovely sound track accompanying the chase and fight scenes. The first chase scene where the guy just keeps jumping and hopping like an iRobot :D, is definately commendable. The camera work here was just superb. Showing the height of the cantilever and the jumps in the buildings were just breath taking. Ofcourse, there must have been some camera tricks here, but it looked very nice. Also, the fight on the staircase was good. A bit brutal, but then that was the point :-)
I did miss Q, and the cars in this movie, but then it was the era in which James was not yet 007. One particular scene that i liked was the small car chase they showed in the night. Hadnt seen such a scene earlier. They showed 3 cars zooming down a lovely valley along some curved road in the dark and you could see only the flash lights of the cars as they moved. It really looked very nice and cool.
And ofcourse, the beautiful scenaries in Venice, especially the last scene where they show that solitary house on the banks of a river under the clear blue sky was just so pretty. And thats when the old injured man asks, who are you .. and our new Daniel Craig is shown in customary trim suit with a cheeky smile saying the golden words, "the name's Bond ... James Bond"
