Casino Royale
Thursday evening was full of excitement as we drove into Brighton to see the new Bond film.
As a dedicated James Bond fan, I was seriously concerned that they were going to muck it all up like they did with the previous film, Die Another Day. That film was great in itself, but just didn’t cut it as a Bond film. The acting was bad, the story was poor and the gadgets were just too far over the line. And so I was Driving along the A259 in a state of almost pre-emptive depression at how the world of Bond would be destroyed for me in the next few hours, clearly Daniel Craig was the wrong choice, firing Brosnan was a mistake, Judi Dench had now become an anachronism, and the main point of the book was the Baccarat game, now they’re playing poker!
I was proved utterly wrong…
Before we got into the film, the cinema really annoyed us. I’d booked online for the 8.30pm showing, and when we arrived it transpired they were using allocated seating, and Sarah and I had been seperated. We sat in our seperate seats for a few minutes and quietly stewed before the trailers had even started. Then we wen’t and complained, as there had been no indication when I booked that we’d be seperated. The best they could do was give us seats together in the 9.30 showing instead. We reluctantly agreed, then wen’t and played pool for an hour which we really enjoyed, then went back and found our new seats.
It wasn’t long before my expectations were shaken (not stirred) and I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. Granted they’d been fairly cavalier with the book, but all the key points were in there. At the start of the film you’re thinking, I was right, Craig Daniel isn’t Bond, but then once you remember that this film is about how he becomes the character we now and love (i.e. the character isn’t developed yet) you settle down a bit. In the very last scene of the film, before the credits roll, I found myself thinking “He is sooo James Bond”
I’ve never been more excited to see those words at the end of the credits:
James Bond Will Return…
