'Casino Royale' appears a triumph

[Kasept]

Having waited endlessly for the lightweight Pierce Brosnan to be dispatched back to his Remington Steele days, I was delighted when every indication of the direction of the Bond series was 'back to basics'. That meant the casting of a real actor with a hard and dangerous edge to better personify the true character Ian Fleming created in 1953 with Casino Royale.

With the selection of Daniel Craig, the psychotic son of Paul Newman's Irish mob boss in the pulp comic novel interpretation of "Road to Perdition", the Broccoli family took an initial step in rewarding Fleming fans for their loyalty and patience through the hapless 'Brosnan years'.

With the film prepared to open Friday, the reviews are in, and the opinion appears nearly unanimous: triumph. Below is the link to the fabulous website "Rotten Tomatoes", which links every major film review and quantifies the yeahs or nays into a "fresh' or 'rotten' verdict. With a few dozen reviews in a day early, 'Casino Royale' is being smashingly received.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/casino_royale/

For those unfamiliar with the "real" Bond of the Fleming novels and short stories, whose view of the MI6 assassin comes from the horrible screen adaptations featuring Brosnan and Roger Moore, he is not a likeable individual. And every indication is that the new film, drawn very closely from the first Bond story itself, has totally captured what Naval Commander James Bond truly is: a ruthless, vengeful, souless sadist with a taste for life's luxuries and pleasures.

While not mirthlessly written, Fleming brought to life a character pulled from his own experiences and contacts during WWII and the early Cold War era. The individual he brilliantly created was a complex and hard-living professional killer that humorlessly dispatched victims at the behest of his government: not a flippant bon vivant. It appears those that have longed for a Bond that personifies the character 'as written', will have it in Daniel Craig.

Personally, my own preferences for the screen versions of 007 run counter to those of the general public. Other than bare bones glory of "Dr. No", the "best" Bond film IS "On Her Majesty's Secret Service": the lone series installment that faithfully lets the book live as the script. The only 'love story' written for Bond by Fleming, it was unlike any other Bond in the string leaving the audience devastated at a heartbreaking ending. It demonstrated the one time the character opens his heart to anyone, and the crushing reward he receives for doing so.

It also doomed any hope for New Zealander George Lazenby, who turns in a terrific performance, continuing on in the role. Following in the impossible to fill shoes of Sean Connery, Lazenby would have been better served by producers Cubby Broccoli and Harry Salzman, had his first turn at Bond been in a less complicated and "downbeat" edition of the franchise. "OHMSS" had filmgoers leaving the theater in tears, and it was immediately held against Lazenby.

Now we are back to the beginning, literally, with Bond, as this Casino Royale "introduces" the recently-promoted Royal Navy officer to audiences. Every indication is that with Bond's high stakes battle with Le Chiffre as the backdrop, (baccarat in the book, poker here), we are going to be treated to an honest, simple and straightforward version of the character that is one of the best known literary creation ever. The exciting part for those of us that are fans of Fleming's Bond is that as well known as the character may be, most will be seeing him in Casino Royale as he was meant to be.

Needless to say, I haven't anticipated the arrival of a Bond film this much since the departure of the wooden and vapid Moore. With top flight actor Timothy Dalton a step in the right direction in "The Living Daylights", it has been since 1989's "Licence to Kill' since I ran to the theater to be among the first to see a new Bond film. Many will likely be seeing their "first" Bond film ever with the arrival Friday of "Casino Royale", even if they've seen the last dozen.