New James Bond = Daniel Craig.

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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)

Yes. Pushing a basket. A veritable grocery groin, one might say.

― elmo argonaut (allocryptic), Sunday, 19 November 2006 02:33 (nineteen years ago)

So did anyone else notice that Craig was... uh... packing a weapon of significant caliber?

I didn't notice anything in the scenes of him walking out of the ocean (I was too busy cursing his flat abs), but yeah, in the scene with M in Jamaica? Yeah.

― Joe Isuzu's Petals (Rock Hardy), Sunday, 19 November 2006 02:33 (nineteen years ago)

that's really OTM re: the McQueen comparison. Dude's got that same combo of non-trad good looks and raw charisma. I don't know why anyone would prefer Brosnan over this guy.

― gear (gear), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:11 (nineteen years ago)

craignotbond.com has been closed for awhile too, from what i hear.

― gear (gear), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:16 (nineteen years ago)

craig has had his cock out in a number of films i think.

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:22 (nineteen years ago)

he certainly gets it out in "Love Is The Devil".

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:25 (nineteen years ago)

NSFW COCK

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:32 (nineteen years ago)

damn that was supposed to be a link.

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:32 (nineteen years ago)

NSFW COCK! http://rjr10036.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/danielcraignaked03.jpg

― jed_ (jed), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:34 (nineteen years ago)

This movie was great. It's gotta be my favorite Bond to come out since I was old enough to pay attention (ca. License to Kill).

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Sunday, 19 November 2006 03:56 (nineteen years ago)

1. Daniel Craig is the best bond since Connery, no surprises there.
2. Obv this Bond spent many years mastering the Sony-Ericcson user interface. There are more cell phones in this movie than there are guns. He should just turn around and txt msg the camera in the intro instead of shooting it. Where the antagonists used to run out of bullets, they now find themselves "Searching..."
3. I wonder how Mr. M deals with pretending he doesn't sleep three feet away from a pop-up computer terminal that gives you access to all of MI5's dirty secrets and requires no authentication
4. For about thirty minutes I thought Bond was going to start making friends with animals and open his own jetski rental shop or some such shit. ATTENTION 007, QUIT FAFFING ABOUT WITH ANGEL TITS AND SHOOT SOMEONE. PLEASE. GOD.
5. Music was crap. Not just the theme tune. John Barry's tremendous contribution to the sound of awesome shit happening does not need updating with half-assed breakbeats or whatever. It needs to be big bold diminished chord vamps even louder than the machineguns and anything else is a waste of everyone's time. There are some things that are not broken; stop fixing them for fuck's sake.
6. Beginning: construction site smashup. End: same thing. This is broken; fix THAT.
7. I love that when he gets in scraps he now has to actually wear bandages and keeps cuts on his face for more than one scene. This DEFINITELY works for Daniel Craig, too, since he kind of looks like he's gotten in a fistfight every day since he was eleven anyway.
8. I know that Bond is a sociopathic narcissist. It is completely unnecessary to have he and his female companion discuss this fact. This is the 21st official Bond film; it's all well and good to fill out the backstory on this violent too-cool-for-the-room douchebag, but talking about how egocentric and reckless he is like, I don't know, those echo chamber threads where everybody's in a race to tell the world that war is bad.
9. I did like the backstory of Bond being a scholarship kid at Oxford and developing his utter contempt for rich fuckbags as a result. It was like when Ridley Scott finally just told the world that Deckard was a replicant.
10. Borat should be the next villain.

― DOCTOR METH KING (TOMBOT), Sunday, 19 November 2006 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

hot naked girl from "The Dreamers"

Ah, thanks. I swear I sat through the whole movie thinking "Where the HELL do I know her from?" English accent + clothing threw me, I guess.

― Marmot (marmotwolof), Sunday, 19 November 2006 04:56 (nineteen years ago)

10. [edit] Borat should be the head of SMERSH. Kind of like how in Unbreakable, where Bruce Willis + Samuel Jackson are complete polar opposites, destined to cancel each other out, Borat is the hirsute uberincompetent foil in a monstrous neon man-thong to 007's smooth player in navy speedo.

― DOCTOR METH KING (TOMBOT), Sunday, 19 November 2006 06:18 (nineteen years ago)

The romantic interlude was kind of to the end-of-Return-of-the-King-hobbits-faffing level of DO NOT WANT, I was incredibly glad when that ended. Was it really necessary to have 30 minutes (?? at least?) of that? Other than that I have no complaints.

― Allyzay Eisenschefter (allyzay), Sunday, 19 November 2006 06:39 (nineteen years ago)

is nobody going to talk about TESTICLE CONKERS!?!?!?

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Sunday, 19 November 2006 08:17 (nineteen years ago)

> 2. Obv this Bond spent many years mastering the Sony-Ericcson user interface. There are more cell phones in this movie than there are guns. He should just turn around and txt msg the camera in the intro instead of shooting it. Where the antagonists used to run out of bullets, they now find themselves "Searching..."

I actually thought it was funny - at least for those of us stuck on "The Wire" - that this super-sophistimacated international terrorism ring actually has LESS savvy wrt communication hygeine than some West Bawlmer dope slangas.

― It's the lazy and immoral way to become super hip. (Austin, Still), Sunday, 19 November 2006 10:30 (nineteen years ago)

The reason hold'em is a better game for the film than baccarat is that poker is a game of skil (with a large element of fortune) and baccarat is a game of pure luck. I haven't seen it yet (Richmond Odeon, 2.50 this afternoon, woo!) so I don't know if skill comes into it but the reasoning's sound.

― === temporary username === (Mark C), Sunday, 19 November 2006 10:35 (nineteen years ago)

which scene do they play "The Look of Love" in?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 19 November 2006 20:22 (nineteen years ago)

it was considerate of bond not to close the lid of M's laptop completely and stop all her torrents.

exotica bosom-babe galloping stiff-backed down the beach with little children giddily chasing behind was laugh-out-loud awesome

so much was great

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Sunday, 19 November 2006 23:55 (nineteen years ago)

can't wait to see this.

― hstencil (hstencil), Sunday, 19 November 2006 23:59 (nineteen years ago)

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