After the mixed reviews of the last installment of the
Pierce Brosnan films, it was deemed time to reboot the franchise, and
truthfully, it was probably the time to do it.
Action films in general had taken a darker tone, and with a new Bond, it
was the perfect time to reset the series.
There was much consternation over the choice of Daniel Craig
to play Bond as he did not in any way actually fit Fleming’s description of the
character. Interesting fact I found
while researching this section of the retrospective: according to director
Martin Campbell, the only other actor in serious contention to the role was
Henry Cavill (that’s right, the “Man of Steel” himself), but he was deemed too
young (he was 22 at the time).
Casino Royale (2006) –
Returning to Ian Fleming’s original books, this movie starts at the
beginning. In the opening sequence
before the credits, we see James Bond earn his 00 status. From there, the movie kicks off with a
thrilling parkour chase through the streets of city in Madagascar. This puts Bond on the trail of Le Chiffre, a
money man for a terrorist outfit who gambles with the wrong people’s
money. He ends up in a poker tournament
where he must defeat Le Chiffre in order to force him to come in and turn on
his employers.
“Casino Royale” not only reboots the series, it hearkens
back to the earlier Connery era Bond films.
It’s a great movie, with some fantastic action sequences and one of the
most grueling torture scenes I’ve seen outside of a torture porn movie.
The Bond girl here is Eva Green (she would go on to star as
Morgan in Camelot and Angelique in the “Dark Shadows” remake). She plays Vesper Lynd, a love interest for
Bond, who in the end is both his betrayer and savior. She’s fantastic and suits 007 up in his first
tuxedo.
The only carryover from the previous film series is Dame
Judy Dench as Q, and it was the right decision.
By this point, she has become the definitive “M”, and Dench continues
that in “Casino Royale”. The character
of Felix Leiter (not seen since “Licence to Kill”) is reintroduced and is played
by Jeffrey Wright.
This is definitely a raw and grittier Bond. Craig’s performance is fantastic. With all of the other films, we meet Bond as
an established character, suave and cool.
Here he is unrefined and still learning the ropes. Craig’s Bond is flawed, but it’s easy to see
the character he will become. In my
opinion, he’s the only Bond who challenges Connery for the throne. Something that Roger Moore echoes.
Even the music is new.
Chris Cornell wrote and sings the song “You Know My Name”. Unlike in previous films, much of the score
is based on his song, and we don’t hear the traditional Bond theme until the
closing credits, announcing to the audience Bond is back.
“Casino Royale” became the first film to gross more than a
$500 million. It was well received
around the world, and it made it on to several critics’ lists of the year’s
best films.
Quantum of Solace
(2008) – Craig returns as Bond, now intent on revenge for the events in “Casino
Royale”. While oil is a valuable
resource, the resource we may be most interested in in the futures is fresh
water. In this outing, Bond uncovers a
plot by an environmentalist named Dominic Greene working an organization known
as Quantum. Greene has dammed up most of
Bolivia’s water supply in order to jack up the prices when he sells it back to
them. M, finding it hard to trust her
young agent in pursuit of vengeance, revokes his status as an MI6 agent. There’s a great scene at the end of the film
where M tells him he’s been reinstated, and he says he never left.
The Bond girls this time are Olga Kurylenko and Gemma
Arterton. Kurylenko plays a Bolivian
agent trying to stop Greene; Arterton plays an office worker at the British
consulate in Bolivia who falls under his spell.
They’re decent performances, but nothing really memorable for the Bond
girl pantheon.
Judi Dench plays a larger
role in this film, as she tries to reign in Bond, who is intent of revenge. Jeffrey Wright returns as Felix Leiter,
becoming only the second actor to play the part twice and the first to do so in
consecutive films.
“Quantum of Solace” isn’t as good a film as “Casino Royale”,
but it progresses the Bond mythos effectively.
It grossed slightly less than “Casino Royale” but it was still well
above the $500 million mark.
Click here for a link to my Skyfall review. I’ll update the retrospective once the movie
has been out a little longer.
Craig has signed on for two more Bonds. Expect Bond back as early as Fall 2014.
Writer John Logan, who did a masterful job with Skyfall, is reportedly working
on a two-film story arc that will cover Bond 24 & 25.
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