Casino Royale

Saw Casino Royale last night on video for the first time. Was very disappointed though I enjoyed it a lot. Daniel Craig brings the physicality that was missing from past Bonds. The James Bond character in the original Ian Flemming Novel was imagined as an incredibly violent, dispassionate man who used woman with little care and killed too easily. Craig brings some of that, but the love story in the movie detracts from the feeling of the book. There is love in the original, but not the overly sentimental love that you see in the movie. It was a violent, dangerous love that will flame out quickly, and certainly won't lead Bond to want to leave his job.

Bond is a sick individual in the true sense of the character. He kills people, and enjoys pain. He drinks hard, works hard, barely sleeps, is utterly ruthless and often devoid of normal human emotion. Craig does a good job in bringing much of this back in his Bond, but the story of this Casino Royale, could have done much to enhance that reborn feeling by changing the terms of relationship between Bond and Vesper (his love interest). Their love should have been intoxicating but not real. It should have been alcoholic, i.e. dangerous but addictive. Bond finds himself drowning with no way out. Only his unbelievable luck, cunning and skill saves him at the last minute. No sentimentality. Just Bond off to another kill with a martini waiting at the end to dull the pain. But I guess that wouldn't sell. It's more interesting though, isn't it. I guess we don't like to see to much of the dark side. You have to deny a certain number of things in life just to keeping going. But I like the sicker Bond better. He seems more like someone in that line of work. Bond is only a hero because he saves all of us. But as a person, he is terrible. Maybe we like the bad guys. We want to be them because they liberate us from the rules we hate to play by. They are intoxicating. Meaningless sex, trips around the world. Killing bad guys. Flaunting regulations. Fun. Most successful movie franchise ever. It's a vacation from your life, and everybody needs a vacation.