New James Bond = Daniel Craig.

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metacritic >>>> rottentomatoes

― milo z (mlp), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:22 (nineteen years ago)

dude, it only takes 30 minutes to drive that far, don't be a pussy

― gbx (skowly), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:23 (nineteen years ago)

haha shakey you really think paul haggis injected some simplistic urban malaise subtext into this?

― gear (gear), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:25 (nineteen years ago)

haha no but it would be kinda funny if he did! he's just got such a horrible track record I don't want to be anywhere near anything he's had a hand in.

but I've never really "gotten" the cult of Bond anyway, so no big loss.

― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:27 (nineteen years ago)

well i mean considering a good 2/3rds of bond films are mediocre at best it's understandable and i only saw the last three brosnan films by complete accident (i personally don't know why brosnan is regarded as this awesome bond, i guess he's just generic enough not to offend any dumbass fanboys?). this one looks and sounds a lot better than his work, at least.

― gear (gear), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:30 (nineteen years ago)

Metacritic has this at 80% for 34 reviews, so there ya go.

Also, Haggis was only _one_ of the scriptwriters assoc. w/ the script, but not _the_.

― kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:32 (nineteen years ago)

I'm interested in seeing this. Anything that reminds me of the Timothy Dalton glory days has gotta be good.

― adam (adam), Friday, 17 November 2006 23:55 (nineteen years ago)

oh FFS. according to IMDB, they don't play baccarat in this flick. they play fucking TEXAS HOLD-EM.

― kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Saturday, 18 November 2006 01:01 (nineteen years ago)

http://i18.ebayimg.com/03/i/06/86/24/18_1_b.JPG

― gear (gear), Saturday, 18 November 2006 01:03 (nineteen years ago)

It's not the canon-breaking that i disagree with, it's that they replaced one of the trademarks(one which exemplifies Bond's usual exotic, upper-class, european shenanigans) with such a bullshit ordinary american pop trend. It's like setting a climatic scene at a nascar race.

Of course, one could hold that they did this 23 years ago and it worked then, in Never Say Never Again(with the vid games).

― kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Saturday, 18 November 2006 01:11 (nineteen years ago)

I imagine it was basically a utilitarian decision to heighten the drama for an audience of which a far larger porportion will have a basic understanding of Texas Hold Em than the now rather obscure Baccarat. I'm fine with that; Bond is a profoundly populist franchise after all.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:15 (nineteen years ago)

you're forgetting one thing: 9/11

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:18 (nineteen years ago)

which is to say: chap OTM. They updated the plot to now, and nobody plays freaking Bacarrat, assuming they ever did.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:22 (nineteen years ago)

And (I have not seen the movie yet) this is supposed to be a NEW BOND, released from the trappings of finery and endless vapid pussy, and allowed to be buff, brooding, and vicious. I approve.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:30 (nineteen years ago)

"Ah Mr. Bond, we meet at last. Both of our fates will be decided over the course of this single game of bagatelle. Would you care for a mead, shaken, not stirred?"

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:34 (nineteen years ago)

Exactly. It's a good decision to change to game to something that's actually played in casinos now. The early Bond stuff was written in a time and culture that might have actually had reverence for games and affectations that were limited to the elite and the royal. The kind of thing closes out of town now.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:38 (nineteen years ago)

bond should play the slots

― gear (gear), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:39 (nineteen years ago)

He should try to find the loosest in town.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:40 (nineteen years ago)

As a caveat I will say that I think that Bond should retain some of its nostalgia for the never-was world of men being men and overblown casino glamour and Britain being important all that, but having a card game that no one fucking understands anymore as a central plot point would just be stupid.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:44 (nineteen years ago)

I've seen plenty of movies with games or sporting events that I didn't understand at all, but I still got the point the scene was making. I'm sticking with my argument about how an "upper class" Bond doesn't play like it once did. Most of the audience doesn't know the intricacies of Texas Hold 'Em, either, I bet.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 02:57 (nineteen years ago)

Fair point, but eh, Bond has always occupied a semi-fictional class (probably less fictional in the sixties than now, but still). Part of what makes a Bond film a Bond film is the absurdness of the world he inhabits - if you want realistic espionage stories go to Le Carre. My favourite Bonds do tend to be the ones that at least allude to the real world, though.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:06 (nineteen years ago)

I don't really know what point I'm arguing any more, probably time for bed.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:09 (nineteen years ago)

I hate most Bond movies. I like Connery, because I can see that it's kind-of of its time, but other than that... Bond movies really feel OUT of their time. They feel dated and geeky and sexist and all-around awful, even for the years in which they were made. Especially Roger Moore.

I welcome a Bond movie that I might be able to watch and not cringe.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:11 (nineteen years ago)

Did anyone EVER believe that Roger Moore could kick anyone's ass? Or had the franchise by that point totally given itself over to the idea that all 007 had to be was good-looking, no matter how mannerless and spindly?

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:15 (nineteen years ago)

I mean, come on. Roger Moore can take a punch from Jaws, much less many. These are some of the silliest movies EVER.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:18 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, it is an utterly and inherently ridiculous series of films. I think that many (including myself) have a degree of uncritical love for them instilled in childhood. The strange alchemy of a bloke in a tux leaping off something while that theme tune plays never fails to stir something in me.

I was never that fond of Moore, though.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:24 (nineteen years ago)

I have a weird affection, too.

― dutch girls must be punished for having big boobs (kenan), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:31 (nineteen years ago)

i liked this one ok. defintely better than the last few Brosnan flicks (i liked Goldeneye)!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 18 November 2006 04:25 (nineteen years ago)

Quite a good movie, to be honest. And Daniel Craig's Bond is a badass man...even more so than Craig in Layer Cake. Well...maybe not yet. But his Bond is pretty damn cool.

And all the shots of Lake Cuomo were amazing.

― B.L.A.M. (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Saturday, 18 November 2006 06:27 (nineteen years ago)

Just got back from seeing it at Grauman's Chinese with a full theater... Details to follow

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 18 November 2006 07:06 (nineteen years ago)

Just got back from seeing it in Tupelo, in a theater maybe 20% full (though the 7:30 show did sell out)...no details to follow, but I did like it.

― Django Blowhardt (Rock Hardy), Saturday, 18 November 2006 07:34 (nineteen years ago)

For once we have a Bond who won't sit around and wait for the Evil Villian to outline every detail of his plan, Craig's Bond would just shoot the bloody bastard, but not before taking out henchmen, random machinery, and the foundations of the building just to make sure. Bond is indeed badass but instead of merely aping the previous Bonds, Craig plays him as Steve McQueen-by-way-of-Universal Exports (disco violence upthread is SO OTM). It works well: the things that Craig was being criticized for early on (he's blonde! he's not like Connery!) are advantages - it genuinely seems like a fresh take on the character with just a sufficient enough familarity.

So on the ConneryMoore axis, Craig picks a little from everyone - most importantly, the what-the-hell sense of humor that Connery had. Stuff blows up, there's millions of dollars on the table, what the heck... enjoy it!

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 18 November 2006 07:45 (nineteen years ago)

Other things I liked...

- Actual SPYING AND SECRET AGENT STUFF. Bond actually has to work without having the entire plot of the movie (An evil villian has Something Bad and wants money, power, etc.) delivered to him at the office.

- Outrageousness over absurdity. It's a James Bond movie! It's supposed to be ridiculous and outrageous, but within a certain range of tolerances. The action in CR is over-the-top, but there's no invisible car, Bond jumping after a falling plane, etc.

- The opening title graphics. Cool enough to offset the anonymous Chris Cornell song.

- A relative lack of product placement. Yeah, there's Sony stuff everywhere, but I probably see more Vaios in local coffee bars than I did in CR.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 18 November 2006 08:00 (nineteen years ago)

Oh yeah, Felix Leiter is *still* the Outclassed CIA Guy.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 18 November 2006 08:08 (nineteen years ago)

saw this last night.

thought it was a brilliant action flick. probably my favorite straight-up action film (not that there are many anymore) since bourne identity.

craig was just fantastic i thought, kept enough of what i liked about old bond films but dispensing with all the ho-ho-ho smarmy smug shit.

the opening action sequence was pretty breathtaking i thought.

yeah, overall, way better than i had hoped.

― M@tt He1geson: Sassy and I Don't Care Who Knows It (Matt Helgeson), Saturday, 18 November 2006 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

i really liked this movie.

and the poker thing makes 100% sense.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 18 November 2006 15:50 (nineteen years ago)

wikipedia:
"In casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, this version of baccarat [ie Punto Banco or North American Baccarat] is usually played in special rooms separated from the main gaming floor, ostensibly to provide an extra measure of privacy and security because of the high stakes often involved... Baccarat Chemin de Fer is the game of choice of Ian Fleming's secret agent creation, James Bond. ]

(the subtle difference between the two IS too dreary to explain -- but the rules they share, which is all you'd need, take abt 1 second to explain = highest sum of cards wins; face cards are worth 0; if yr cards or any subgroup thereof sum to ten (or 20) then you count that sum as zero; hence hightest possible score is 9)

the purpose in the book -- i think -- of the setting being such a highly arcane world is that it's contra expectations for EITHER side (i.e. a soviet agent OR any kind of spy really!) to be this good as such a conspicuous-consumption kind of a thing

the dynamic of the book is that at the start bond is very jaded and disillusioned about his job -- he's getting to feel that there's no difference between his side and theirs; that the entire job is m absurd charade, which he's good at but sick of (with fleming's added joke i think that actually bond is really NOT that good at it, just enormously arrogant ... see above)

by the end he is angry and worldsick and vengeful and humiliated and -- i think -- thrown back into cynical commitment once more (ie the joke HERE is that what catapults him back into being the old full-on anti-SMERSH bond is, again see above, the heartbreaking honour of one SMERSH agent and the casual lifesaving decency of another)

it's such a great book!

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 18 November 2006 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

so what are they going to do next? haven't they run out of fleming books and stories? will they start remaking the canonical films?

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 18 November 2006 18:19 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, they ran out of Fleming titles a while back - all the Brosnans have made-up names, I think.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

Next one is "Taking Sides: Bond vs. Smersh FITE"

― Joe Isuzu's Petals (Rock Hardy), Saturday, 18 November 2006 20:27 (nineteen years ago)

he has been on the same side as SMERSH since he first encountered blofeld! (ie official superpowers combine to combat master criminal running undersea -- or in-volcano -- rogue state)

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 18 November 2006 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

God I loved this movie. I generally despise this trend of making pop action movies 2 1/2 hours long, but the length was perfectly justified here. It almost felt lean. And the odd structure worked too. The third act ends, and then the film continues for another 20 minutes or so. Unusual, but it really solidified this as a James Bond character piece, which hit me just right. I've never had any sort of emotional attachment to a 007 film before. Blondie and hot naked girl from "The Dreamers" totally sold this.

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Saturday, 18 November 2006 22:08 (nineteen years ago)

i still though 2.5 hours was too long

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 18 November 2006 22:27 (nineteen years ago)

cosmo on the moneypenny about the connection between Bond and Vesper. First time I've ever seen what I thought was real chemistry in a 007 pic. Although I guess the point of that was so she could later betray him, then die, then finally turn out to actually have sacrificed herself for him and thus we see the origin of the steely sexual-user persona.

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 19 November 2006 00:02 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, they ran out of Fleming titles a while back - all the Brosnans have made-up names, I think.

Goldeneye was the name of Fleming's estate in Jamaica and "The World Is Not Enough" was the Bond family motto (as revealed in OHMSS)

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 19 November 2006 00:03 (nineteen years ago)

"Steve McQueen-by-way-of-Universal Exports"
OTM

I loved the film, but I wonder how long they can keep up the Fleming-era bad guys. Our modern lot have no class, hiding in caves and using low-tech equipment. Drilling holes in mountains, that's what you want.

― stet (stet), Sunday, 19 November 2006 00:35 (nineteen years ago)

So did anyone else notice that Craig was... uh... packing a weapon of significant caliber? Or was I imagining things? In any case: Hottest. Bond. Ever.

― elmo argonaut (allocryptic), Sunday, 19 November 2006 01:57 (nineteen years ago)

The title graphics were my favorite of any bond movie opening I've ever seen, especially the men falling apart into shapes when they were shot and the heart lines from the guns. Beautiful. I was highly disappointed in Vesper's evening wear, though. Actually, the only outfit on her that I really liked was the red dress she wore in Venice. The first Bond movie I ever saw in a movie theater that I really enjoyed, though, so not too bad.

― lyra (lyra), Sunday, 19 November 2006 02:15 (nineteen years ago)

He traded in the PPK for a .357 Magnum, Elmo?

― milo z (mlp), Sunday, 19 November 2006 02:21 (nineteen years ago)

So did anyone else notice that Craig was... uh... packing a weapon of significant caliber? Or was I imagining things? In any case: Hottest. Bond. Ever.

-- elmo argonaut (elmo.oxyge...), November 18th, 2006 6:57 PM. (allocryptic) (later) (link)

...pushing a basket?

― gbx (skowly), Sunday, 19 November 2006 02:27 (nineteen years ago)

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