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Casino Royale
R3 - Hong Kong - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (5th March 2007). |
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The Film
 When "GoldenEye" premiered it was the first Bond film in 6 years. It introduced us to a new James Bond in Pierce Brosnan, Bond was back in his cool sophisticated manner. The film would reintroduce audiences to James Bond and kick start another series of big-budget action adventure films in the same vein as the previous films that continuously grew in popularity. This time the filmmaker's had a whole new arsenal to play with which included a hot new star, more beauties than you can shake a stick at and also state of the art special effects and stunts that would add new electricity to a franchise that has seen it's ups and downs ("Moonraker" (1979) anyone?). Brosnan was a good fit for the role and carried it on in four films spanning 7 years. The series had hit a crossroads, with the 2002 film "Die Another Day" not meeting fan expectations it was decided that for the next Bond adventure they would reboot the series and start fresh, which not only meant recasting the role of Britain's most famous spy but also taking a new perspective on the entire franchise. 1995's "GoldenEye" did just that with helmer Martin Campbell behind the lens so who better than the man who had already done it once to do it again? With Campbell onboard fans were excited, as many consider "GoldenEye" the best of the Brosnan Bond films. It was however the announcement of Daniel Craig that sent many questioning the producer's decision. With comments on his hair color, eye color, overall look etc. anyone that held a passing interest in the films had an opinion on whether he was the right man for the job. In fact I had some doubts at the start then after watching "Layer Cake" (2004) I was convinced this guy could pull it off. It was only a matter of time before the world would be introduced to a new Bond, a darker more violent Bond, more inexperienced Bond in his first mission as a double "O" agent in "Casino Royale" which was the first Bond adventure written by creator Ian Flemming. In "Casino Royale" MI6 wants to bring in an International banker to the terrorists, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikklesen) and James Bond (Daniel Craig) is on the case. Le Chiffre invests the money and allows access to his clients anywhere in the world, but when Bond gets in the way of a lucrative stock deal that involves blowing up a newly built luxury airliner Le Chiffre looses over $100 million of his client's money. In an effort to get the money back he sets up a high-stakes poker game with a $10 million buy in. Bond is sent in to win the game with the help of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) representing Her Majesty's Treasury who are bankrolling Bond's buy-in into the game and also inside man Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) in an effort to bring in Le Chiffre offering asylum for information regarding his terrorist clients. Despite some initial trepidation, Craig does a fantastic job as Bond in fact it's one of the best portrayals to date. He perfectly fits the type of character Bond is, cool, smooth and always knows what to say but he's also not afraid to show off his vulnerable side adding another layer to the role. Within minutes you'll forget all those things you where bitching about when the casting announcement was originally made. In this film Bond is on his first mission as a double "O" agent that therefore he may not encompass everything we've come to know about Bond over the course of the previous 20 films, for example he makes mistakes and he's a little sloppy in his fighting style. It's exactly what we should expect from the spy's first mission. Being a reboot of the franchise much like how "Batman Begins" (2005) is for the Batman series we get to learn a lot about the origins of many staples of the Bond series such as the acquisition of the classic Aston Martin, his first encounter with CIA Agent Felix Leiter (Played in this version by Jeffery Wright) and also the evolution of the shaken martini, a Bond trademark. While the presence of Q is missed Bond has plenty of classic moments shared with MI6 boss M which sees Judi Dench the only actor from the previous Brosnan films to crossover to this film. Her inclusion here is a welcomed one as she brings a maturity and also a vicious wit to the M character that no previous actor who played the role was capable of delivering. The film's action takes this new film into another dimension, from the opening construction site chase to the airport tarmac chase to the sinking building in Venice at the film's climax each action set piece is bigger and bolder than the last. Matched with the grittier and darker tone of the film each action sequence feels a lot more real than the previous films have been able to achieve. Although improbable they didn't feel entirely impossible (for a fit man of action that is). The fighting is also rugged and brutal, the impacts and also the motivations for the fights are much more violent as well and this marks a new era for the Bond franchise taking the leap into darker territories is a risk but one that I believe paid off here in spades (excuse the pun). The action scenes will certainly keep you on the edge but so will the poker scenes, in recent years Texas Hold'em has gained intense popularity so it makes sense to feature this version of poker in the film and not Baccarat as in the original novel. These scenes although stretch a fraction too long do provide some tense moments, anyone that's played Texas Hold'em will know exactly what I mean in the sense that you feel like you're playing the hand as much as the characters are. I did however grow tired of Mathis informing Vesper how big the pot is after each betting round. Now with any Bond film you'll also have a certain level of product placement some more blatant than others and this film is no exception with Omega watches, Sony Blu-ray discs and players, Sony Ericsson cell phones and Sony computers (considering this is a Columbia Pictures release, which is owned by the Sony Corporation this comes as no surprise), and also the usual boys toys such as the Aston Martin and also Ford is represented here too. It does take you out of the film for a moment when you are distracted by these products but it has become such a regular thing with Bond that it's somewhat tolerable but in some cases it feels like watching a commercial for the products. I'm glad that in this film the product placement wasn't too blatantly obvious like with the BMW's in the Brosnan films. I was also a little disappointed with a lot that takes place in the final 20 minutes of the film, after all the action and all the bad guys put away (seemingly) Vesper and Bond cruise around the seas in their boat as they fall in love with each other leading up to what is ultimately a mild twist that can be telegraphed from the minute Bond awakes in the Italian hospital. This felt tacked on and disrupted the flow of the film, it almost dragged it down to a near standstill until the sinking building action scene clicked us back into the movie and considering the film's long runtime (over 144 minutes) the end does drain you a bit. Overall however it doesn't escape the fact that this is the best Bond film to date, Craig is perfectly cast and Campbell does a terrific job of re-igniting the series with a huge bang. This is 007 at its absolute finest and I can't wait to see what the filmmakers have in store for Bond's 22nd adventure in 2008.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.40:1 this anamorphic widescreen image pure brilliance from opening frame (in perfectly contrasted black and white) to the film's final moments the image is a sheer joy to watch. Firstly it's sharp and pristine, the print is flawless. The colors are well balanced and appear vivid and lush, skin tones are a perfect match and appear natural at all times. Black levels are stunningly bold and shadow detail remains consistently good throughout especially holding up well in dimly lit scenes. I found no damage, no compression problems, edge-enhancement, moire patterns or any other problems that could be associated with film to digital transfers. In a word this transfer is superb.
Audio
Three audio tracks are included on this disc, an English DTS 5.1 track as well as English and Thai Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. For the purpose of this review I chose top view the film with its DTS track. The DTS track is half-bitrate 786Kbs, while not the preferred full-bitrate this track is still has some grunt behind it. To put it into perspective it has both the bark and the bite, with crystal clear dialogue presented without distortion to start with and a full range of dynamic tricks up its sleeve makes for a track that balances the intricate subtleties of the ambient sounds creating some very natural sounding quiet moments in the film as well and the heavy handed nature of the action which is aggressive and robust. The music adds yet another layer to the mix immersing the viewer in the entire experience. As far as half-bitrate DTS tracks go this gets another shining mark to their already exemplary record. Optional subtitles are also included in Chinese, English, Korean and Thai. UPDATE: It appears some people have found fault with the DTS track on this release, the problem centers around a drop out of sound for half a second around the 137 minute mark. Having watched this copy for review twice and specifically going to the part of the film where drop outs occur I can confirm that this disc does not have a fault in the audio. This does not mean that the fault does not exist, perhaps it's a batch issue with some first pressing? I'm not entirely sure but please be aware that there are DVD's floating around that DO have a fault in the DTS track.
Extras
Sony Pictures have released "Casino Royale" in two editions in R3, a single disc and a double-disc, this edition is of the former and thus does not include all the extras on the more elaborate release. The only thing you'll find on this disc by way to extras are a collection of bonus trailers for: - "Stranger Than Fiction" which runs for 2 minutes 36 seconds. - "The Pursuit of Happyness" which runs for 2 minutes 26 seconds. - "Spider-Man 3" which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds.
Overall
If you're really a fan of this film then you'll want to find the 2-disc version for the extras. Otherwise if you're not all that bothered about the supplements and just want the movie then this single disc edition is more than ideal as it boasts a dynamic DTS track matched with the stunning visuals.
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