Casino Royale [2006]

See Larger Image	List Price: £9.99 Our Price: £4.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 10 to 12 days Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Eva Green, Claudio Santamaria, Jeffrey Wright Directed By: Martin Campbell Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5035822350892 Format: PAL Label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2007-09-17 Running Time: 138 Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 2006
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Editorial Reviews: The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since Batman Begins, Casino Royale offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, Casino Royale is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanising performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it) and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his armour by falling in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money. For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Aston Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?". There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M who, one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, Casino Royale is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, 'makes you feel it', particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy". But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, "now I know what I've been faking all these years". --Donald Liebenson
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Best Ever! Comment: The Best Bond film ever with superb action and a great story with Daniel Craig playing Bond better than anyone! Great! Customer Rating: Summary: Amazing! Comment: Fantastic Bond film, great acting, great action and great story! I reccommend this DVD! Customer Rating: Summary: GREAT BOND ACTOR - POOR BOND STORY Comment: Daniel Craig is the best Bond actor of all times - undeniably. But the poor story lets him down. After the great 5 minutes the story just sluffs off. I really like Judi Dench as M - the UK has some of the very best actors right now. Unfortunately most of the story is a total bore. Nonetheless it's successor QUANTUM OF SOLACE is a great improvement, being the best Bond of all times. Customer Rating: Summary: Good but not great. Comment: Having now seen the new movie -Quantum of solace- it seems that Casino Royale is the one lone high point of the last 9 years. Craig in his debut gives a good and strong performance and a lot of the stunt work (some of which he done himself) is brilliant. But some sceanes are not of a bond movie the torture stuff although done very well does not belong in a bond movie. That said with what has come before and after the film was very good. Customer Rating: Summary: Craig's Bond won me over Comment: I have to admit at first I was pretty skeptical about Casino Royale. I was a big Brosnan fan and was sad to see him go and with 4 years between Die Another Day and Casino Royale I generally lost interest in Bond. I had little interest in going to see Casino Royale when it came out and it took me until about a month ago and the hype surrounding Quantum of Solace to make me interested in it. I purchased the no-frills single disc edition of this film and I didn't really know what to expect. I had heard that the film was a re-boot of the franchise and it was going to be different from most of the previous films. I approached it with an open mind and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Gone are the days of an almost invincible Bond who doesn't really like to kill people and when he does he takes out the pain by cracking a few witty one-liners. This is Bond before he became the Bond we all know. He has an ego problem, he's arrogant and reckless and he lets his emotions interfere with his mission. He's a vulnerable rookie, just recently promoted to "00" status and out to prove himself on his first mission. He appears more human than he has ever done before. A lot of people had a problem with the casting of Daniel Craig and at first I was in agreement with them. However after seeing Casino Royale I can honestly say that Daniel Craig's depiction of Bond is first class. Having read some of the novels, Craig appears to be the closest to Ian Fleming's original image of Bond. Craig plays the role to perfection and he comes across as the most realistic and believable Bond that has ever been portrayed. Onto the film itself then and without giving too much of the plot away Bond has just been promoted to a double-0 agent and his first mission is to win a game of poker arranged by terrorist banker Le Chiffre in order to bankrupt him so his only option would be to turn to MI6 for protection from his lenders and in return they want to know about the organisations he represents. It seems simple enough and the film isn't very difficult to follow. The way that the focus is on characters and story this time, rather than on stunts and gadgets is a breath of fresh air and again this is more in keeping with Fleming's original Bond. There are few gadgets used in this film and what gadgets are used are mostly just more advanced versions of current technology (e.g. a mobile phone with a tracking device etc.). Modern technology it seems has caught up with Bond . The film does a great job of showing how Bond changes throughout the course of his mision. The toll that it takes on him, both physically and mentally is something that has rarely been seen before in a Bond film. Craig's Bond actually seems to enjoy killing and he is much more cold hearted than any previous Bond. From beginning to end I very much enjoyed this film. It may not be to everyone's liking, especially die-hard Bond fans who want the old Bond back, but it is great to see Bond being brought into the 21st century and revitalised. The film doesn't end where you think it will, the story gets a bit deeper and I was actually surprised at how it ended, however I won't ruin it for those that haven't seen it. Some have criticised this film and said it is more of a generic action film than a Bond film. I would have to disagree. It is not the usual Bond but in my opinion it is a great change for the franchise and a fantastic film. After 5 viewings in less than a month I still love it and it's a must if you are interested in watching Quantum of Solace. Overall I would whole-heartedly recommend Casino Royale. It's a great film and I believe it takes the Bond franchise in a new and exciting direction. If you want a load of extra features and the like, aswell as a nice presentation box then get the new deluxe version, however if you're not interested in that then by all means just plump for this no-frills single disc version. More Reviews