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Volume 72, Issue 66,
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Life & Arts 'Casino' revives Bond franchise by JAKE HAMILTON
We live in the reign of the anti-hero. The Bride's reckless massacre as she seeks to revenge her ruined wedding in Kill Bill. Bruce Wayne's loss of his parents at the hands of a cold, cruel murderer in Batman Begins. Denzel Washington‘s brutal ex-CIA bodyguard in Man on Fire. And now, one of Hollywood's most iconic characters is the newest to emerge (or re-emerge, as it were) with a newfound chip on his shoulder: Bond, James Bond. As movie fans, we can't get enough of our tortured heroes. There's nothing better than a good guy who does bad things. What's cooler is when it doesn't even seem to bother him. "I wouldn't be very good at my job if it did," Bond informs viewers in Casino Royale. In the latest installment in the classic franchise, viewers are presented with the newest and most exciting Bond to date: a tortured Bond. Not only is he tortured physically, but more importantly, emotionally. As the film closes, viewers question whether he will ever really be able to really allow anyone in; this is perhaps worse than any form of torture Bond has ever received through more than 20 films. This time, the story focuses on the newly adorned "double-0 status" Bond on his first mission in which he must stop a man from funding terrorists by preventing him from winning a $150 million poker pot at the famous Casino Royale. This is the best Bond film since Connery donned the tux in 1964's Goldfinger. The plot occasionally meanders, and viewers often don't understand the importance of a chase until after it's already over, which means the film could benefit from repeat viewings. Nevertheless, the film not only manages to avoid the cliches that have been expected in most Bond films -- it often ridicules them. When Bond tells the bartender "Does it look like I give a damn?" when asked about a martini, viewers know they're in totally new territory. Casino Royale does for the Bond franchise what Batman Begins did for the Dark Knight. It forgets what all the other installments have done for more than 40 years and starts fresh: no more gadgets, no more invisible cars and no more world conquest-seeking villains. This Bond gets beat up, tortured, poisoned and even manages to wreck his beautiful Aston Martin DBS. A much-needed sense of realism and a glimmer of humanity give this film the facelift it needs to make one of the best Bond films ever. There is no question that Daniel Craig is James Bond. Sean Connery will always hold a place in fans' hearts, but Craig has managed to do something that no other before him has: add depth to the role. Connery's Bond will always be the standard, but Craig is the first to give the character that much needed third dimension. The main villain, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is a mathematical genius that cries blood (an explanation is given for this). The character starts out with devilish intensity and could have been the best Bond villain yet, but never manages to push the envelope along with the rest of the film. The newest Bond girl, Eva Green, is not one to go crazy over. Still, it makes sense that she is not a gorgeous, model-like bimbo. Though Green also adds to that sense of realism, it will never seem natural to see Bond with any woman who is less than stunning. As the credits roll, it's hard to walk out of the theater and not be happy with the simple fact that for the first time in more than 40 years, Bond really is back. He is a man of flesh and blood, no longer and indestructible pop culture icon. At the end of the film, when a bloody and beaten
Bond finally asks the name of his mysterious assailant, we already know.
Still, one can't help but think the answer hasn't sounded so sweet in 40
years.
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