{"id":485,"date":"2014-09-27T14:17:19","date_gmt":"2014-09-27T14:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemacocoa.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2014-09-27T14:17:19","modified_gmt":"2014-09-27T14:17:19","slug":"review-james-bond-no-21-no-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemacocoa.com\/?p=485","title":{"rendered":"Review: James Bond (No.21 – No.22)"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s right, with\u00a0Skyfall\u00a0<\/em>releasing later this year I am opting to give you my thoughts on all of the Bond films! There’s twenty-two films, and when I started this challenge there were twenty-two weeks before\u00a0Skyfall<\/em>, sounds good to me!
\nI grew up in the six year drought of Bond films, between the Dalton and Brosnen Eras, so my definition of Bond is Timothy Dalton in\u00a0The Living Daylights<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0License to Kill<\/em>, while\u00a0Goldeneye\u00a0<\/em>is one of my top favourites. It took me a little while to watch all of the other James Bond films, but they were regularly shown on television, and while the Brosnen films quickly worsened I would never grow to like the Roger Moore era. At least not yet.<\/p>\n

We have reached the end of this endless <\/em>journey! Now we have two remarkably stand-out films to review as part of Daniel Craig’s ongoing era as the super spy.<\/p>\n

It is impressive to see that even now, fifty years on and after twenty films the franchise can still find some solid ground without resorting to parody or remakes. True, Casino Royale<\/em> is technically a prequel (and ignoring the Peter Sellers spoof, not <\/em>a remake!) but that is at least\u00a0forgiveable\u00a0isn’t it?<\/p>\n

So let’s see how we get on with this new, edgy James Bond. There will be free-running and rooftop chases, endless Poker games, angry, angry <\/em>revenge and slimy villains. It is the Craig era.<\/p>\n

Casino Royale<\/strong> (2006)
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\nFour years on, James Bond gets a face lift the only way movie franchises know how: with a prequel!<\/p>\n

Daniel Craig takes over the role as the special agent when he is given his 007 status from M (Judi Dench reprising her role) and he is given the task to investigate Le Chiffre, a terrorist money dealer and notorious poker player. MI6 sends Bond to participate in the Casino Royale poker game and prevent Le Chiffre from keeping his criminal finances and turn his clients against him.<\/p>\n

After directing Pierce Brosnen\u2019s first outing Goldeneye<\/em>, Martin Campbell returns to direct this fiercer, bolder and grown-up Bond outing. Craig has great presence as Bond, going from icy intensity to playfully and relaxed with ease. Eva Green is also a competent Bond Girl, to the point where she might not be considered a \u201cBond Girl\u201d in the traditional sense.<\/p>\n

The film is perhaps the most solid Bond film I have ever seen, it feels like a story with integrity; we aren\u2019t dealing with some doomsday device intent on world destruction, just a banker with a bleeding eye. Okay, so there are some unusual elements. The film has huge, lengthy action sequences strung together with Bond\u2019s character development, and the action is kinetic, real and immersive! (Then again, the last time I saw him; he was para-skiing through icebergs while being chased by an orbital solar laser beam…)<\/p>\n

It is a grown up Bond film, and even more integrated and complete than the Dalton films (or at least more so than Living Daylights<\/em>) some people may find its pacing too slow and its story lacking in \u201cwow\u201d factor; the third act does get a little lost. The villain here is pedestrian compared to previous films too, but I like the film a lot simply because it is showing the potential Bond films have<\/em>. They had better not screw up this potent mixture!<\/p>\n

This one is excellent in my opinion, it may not be for everyone, and it does have some teething problems, but it shows great promise.<\/p>\n

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\nAdditional Marshmallows: The decision to almost completely ignore the traditional James Bond theme throughout the entire film (give-or-take) may irk a lot of fans (John Barry did not work on Casino Royale<\/em>) the soundtrack is comprised of Chris Connell\u2019s theme \u201cYou Know My Name\u201d for the majority. This is however quite thematic, as the film is witnessing the birth of the vengeful, famous Bond we all know and love.<\/div>\n
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