Casino Royale

The game has changed.

What a stark and memorable way to start an entire new era to Bond. Undoubtedly throughout the course of the series the films have had loose continuity and you can track the career of Bond from the early 60s to after the Cold War, but Barbara Broccoli and the producers of EON took some inspiration from Batman Begins and wanted the series to be rebooted and modernized to staggering effect in my estimation. Casino Royale is an excellent Bond film, the filmmakers knew exactly what they wanted and how to do it. Daniel Craig, despite the howls of heresy and betrayal to have a blonde Bond, is probably the closest iteration of Ian Fleming's books while still having the charm of Moore, the action man status of Brosnan, and the intensity of Dalton, yet nevertheless takes the role as his own and does exceptional work being a much more less experienced, reckless, and cold blooded killer. That's why I really stood up for Dalton cause I knew this was what they wanted and they refined it more for this era. I do truly believe Eva Green is objectively one of the best Bond girls, not only because of her relationship with James and I still to this day stand by the only women he ever loved was Vesper and Tracy, but because they give her such an amazing character with attitude and undeniable charm that compliments Craig so damn well. I'm not even going to spiral down that rabbit hole of praising Eva Green, cause I would be here for the next decade so we will move on. And of course they got my man, my sexy man, Mads Mikkelsen playing the villain. He's perfect, they gave him just enough to make him honestly one of the most striking physiques of the entire series, with the slight Pleasance scar, the blood tears, it's a wonderful performance and will no doubt be incredibly difficult to top in the upcoming films. I cannot even begin to say how happy I am they kept Judi Dench onboard for this revival, they could have so easily recast this role but they brought her back and I can understand why, they needed some familiar face in the production to better gauge the change for audiences. And she is my M, she was the first M I ever saw and is still my favorite though Bernard Lee was grand throughout his tenure, so I'm just so thrilled it wasn't a 4 movie stint for her. I am not even able to discern which is better, the cast or just the total production value. This is the best looking film of the series, and I don't just mean because of the modern age filmmaking, the set design is nothing short of magnificent, the locations could not look better, the action is thrilling with a capital T, I can forgive entirely the lack of gadgets because of how well done these action beats are. You think I would find it inexcusable that we don't have any gadgets, that John Cleese did not get to return as our Quartermaster (which still breaks my heart to this day because he had unconditional love and respect for the part), but I can understand why they wanted to take a very realistic approach and it obviously payed off in aces. It's not even a question in my mind that this is top 10 material, it gets nothing but 4 stars, 8.5/10. This could be someone's jumping on point for the series before they get to something spectacular like The Spy Who Loved Me or more espionage antics like From Russia With Love, so I do believe it deserves the praise and recognition. Will the trend continue? Only one way to find out as we look at Quantum Of Solace tomorrow.

The Protege

F**********k, that was good!

Granted I didn't really know too much or really knew what to expect, but Christ that was a good movie. It's not the action movie the trailer leads you to believe, it's here to tell a story, it knows what it wants to be, and it pulls it off in spades. Now the trailer did get me to see the movie, 100% due to it's star power but you get a proper good movie here. Okay so the plot follows two assassins played by Maggie Q and Samuel L. Jackson as they take on another case and hunt some bad guys, typical action movie plot. Then you have the wild card that is Michael Keaton. Now I'm not saying this movie is amazing because of Michael Keaton, I am a huge fan of his but at the same time...his character and the personality he gives to it is what makes the movie so much better than it already is. This dynamic between him and Maggie Q got me super invested and I was already really rolling with the plot and was digging the hell out of it, because they are two pieces on opposite ends of the board here but you see it and hear it in his eyes he does not want our main character dead, far from it even. That added so much for me, I just loved this movie! It's a very character driven story, and you get a few shooty shoots and they're done quite nicely, but it is at the heart of the matter the relationships between Maggie, Sam, and Michael that not only is the majority of the film but pushes it above my expectations. Now I can fully 100% understand why some people would walk out of this movie feeling a bit bait and switched, it's geared up to look like a out for blood revenge story with wall to wall action, but that's far from the truth. I get it. It's fine. Yet everything about this movie clicked with me. I love the actors, I mean anytime Maggie Q is in a new movie is a welcome celebration for me cause she's been kicking ass for years and I truly adore her, maybe even crushed a fair bit on her character. I don't know, a girl with reddish hair, owns a bookshop, and has a love for cats, assassin or not I can see myself settling down with for the rest of my life. Sam is a lot of fun, and has some dang nice chemistry with Maggie and as you learn more about their relationship it only gets stronger. And Michael, holy mother of mercy this is what I signed up for. So funny, can still kick ass, gives just enough of that off-ness to really knock these lines out of the park, and dude that final scene f***ed me up a bit. It really reminded me of Heat, and at the same time gave me final standoff in a western kind of vibe, this is some good stuff man. Like it has been awhile since I gushed about a movie this much, that should be clues enough for you to go check it out. Nothing short of 4 stars, 8.5/10, like man this movie could have a following and I am all there for it. What a high note to go out on this week, I genuinely hope next week can give the same when we look at Candyman so I'll see you soon.

Goldeneye

My first James Bond film.

Am I going to be biased? Yep! I can't help it, I have such fond memories of this movie and even arguably more so with the game, but this is a mighty fine entry in the Bond series and is loved by countless individuals. After the 6 year hiatus, we got a big overhaul with an all new cast, producers, director, and the end of the Cold War made a huge impact to say the least. Pierce Brosnan was already familiar to a spy role in the hit television series Remington Steele, and is my personal favorite Bond but his performance is just the right blend between sly quips, espionage, and action. Izabella Scorupco is one of my favorite Bond girls as Natalya Simonova, and could be the best match with Bond for this era. Sean Bean is one of the best Bond villains, having a more strong connection between Bond and easily has one of the best scenes in the whole flippin' series. Hell all the villains are god tier henchmen in this movie, each with a colorful and fun personality. Gottfried John is more the straight man to the more crazy henchmen but has a great screen prescence, Famke Jannsen is...Jesus I cannot believe I got away watching her in this movie when I was a kid but she does look like she's having the time of her life playing Xenia, and Alan Cumming is always awesome and is probably my favorite of them all. Even the MI6 regulars got switched up, mainly with M being played by Dame Judi Dench, and yes she was my M so it will be endlessly great to see her in more movies to come, Samantha Bond is wonderful as Miss Moneypenny but I can't decide if I like her or Lois Maxwell more just yet, thankfully Q is still the same and in my opinion is at his absolute best in this era. It's a wonderful, even glorious roll call of actors. It's way more the action movie this time around but when am I ever gonna complain about that? From the pre-title sequence to the end credits, the action is incredibly executed and keeps the pacing of the film perfect. But what's the story? Well Bond is brought in to investigate the use of a Soviet satellite known as Goldeneye by a criminal organization and must stop it before it is put to use against London. The film really takes advantage of the post Cold War climate and fully brings the series into the modern age, with great settings in Russia and well crafted sets throughout. This is an amazing Bond film and is the contender for the best Bond film ever once I get to my list making, every aspect of the production is great, the story is fun and interesting, the cast is a dream, and I am very nostalgic for this movie. I'm such a geek I busted out my VHS tapes for Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and The World Is Not Enough which were the only Bond movies I saw or owned for quite a good few years before I saw Connery or Moore's films, so I'm incredibly biased towards this era but honestly I've taken grievance with "official" Bond movie rankings and no doubt mine will be viewed in a similar light but it's my reviews and opinions, and I fully respect a difference of opinion. Nevertheless 4 stars, 10/10, I am such a fanboy for this movie and am proud of it! Join me next time for Tomorrow Never Dies.