review: CASINO ROYALE

Sony Pictures  //  Buy from Amazon.com CASINO ROYALE introduces JAMES BOND before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to "00" status. "M" (Judi Dench), head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly-promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientele, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. "M" places Bond under the watchful eye of the Treasury official Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre's cunning and cruelty come to bear on them both in a way Bond could never imagine, and he learns his most important lesson: Trust no one. I'll start this review by giving an analogy: I'm a huge Mac fan - always have been, always will be. However, about a dozen years ago, I was also very supportive of the Mac clones that came out from such companies as Power Computing - in fact, I owned two Power Computing Mac clones, and I loved 'em. They had more juice than the Apple Macs, cost far less, and were just a bit more edgy than what big, corporate Apple was putting out at the time. Well, Steve Jobs found his way back at the helm of Apple, and promptly killed the licensing of the Mac OS to clone companies, and I was irate. I was furious. They were making a huge mistake. I wrote letters. I was pissed off. I even considered switching over to Windows (admittedly, only for a short period of intense fury.) Thankfully, cooler heads prevaled, I waited to see what Apple would come out with... and they introduced the first iMac. The rest is history. The analogy here is that Pierce Brosnan was the perfect James Bond - he was made for the role: he looked, talked, walked and was Bond. When all of the web sites started detailing how he was "forced out" and was being "cast aside," I was sure they were killing the franchise. When I heard they had casted Daniel Craig in the iconic role for the next film, I was amazed. This was really going to stink - what a huge mistake they were making! Well, let me be one of many to eat my crow, and tell you that it tastes damned good. "Casino Royale" is fantastic. It's beyond fantastic - it is truly, absolutely, unequivocally kick-ass. Bond is reinvented here through Craig, and everything about this movie is spot-on Bond - the music, the intro fight sequence (holy COW what a fight sequence!), the sweeping photography, psychotic bad guys, martinis, guns, and M. I don't think I blinked once during this entire movie, and while the last 1/2 hour or so kind of petered out, the first 2 hours were unbelievable, and the first 15 minutes redefine the term "chase sequence." Do yourself a favor and go pick this one up - you will not be disappointed. Best action movie to come out in years, hands down. Video The film is presented in a pristine 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that is first-rate through and through. Razor-sharp detail, rich coloring and deep blacks make this a reference quality disc! Audio The included Dolby 5.1 surround mix is stupendous, with an incredibly dynamic mix that will rumble your subs and rattle your surrounds! Extras "Becoming Bond" featurette on the casting of Daniel Craig as 007 "James Bond: For Real" stunt featurette "Bond Girls are Forever" featurette Chris Cornell "You Know My Name" music video trailers Closing Thoughts Phenominally well-done Bond flick + 2nd disc of extra goodies = solid, solid recommendation