John's Movie Musings

In preparation for Quantum of Solace (the next Bond flick), I watched Casino Royale again. I hadn't seen it since the theaters and it was nice to remember what made this such a great movie.

Back in '06, I had a lot of doubts about Hollywood rebooting the Bond series. Casino Royale squashed just about every one of those. Daniel Craig made an excellent Bond and the rest of the characters were perfectly suitable. The villain even cried blood. Can't do much better than that.

I also enjoyed the fact that the character is now going through a contiguous story arc. In the previous movies, you could pretty much count on them having very little relation to the others. Quantum of Solace picks up right where Casino Royale left off, continuing not just the main plot, but also the emotional journey of Bond. He seems more like a real character now and I'm hoping for good things in the sequel.

Now two years old, it's interesting to see the Texas Hold 'Em scenes not holding up very well. It caused some minor ripples in the fan base when Bond ditched Baccarat for Poker, but the game was hot back then, so I didn't mind. Now that the fad is fading, I think the scene may have been better with Baccarat.

There also weren't any typical Bond gadgets in the film. Even watching a second time, it didn't bother me. But I am hoping for some sort of tech in Quantum. Maybe not as campy as in previous movies, but something that should be out in five years would be cool to see.

So if you're excited to see Quantum of Solace next month, definitely rent this to freshen up your memory. If you've never seen it, you need to. The intro chase scene is one of the best ever.

Grade: A-