Mr. Bond

“Are you Bond?”
“Yes I am Bond, James Bond.”
“Hey where are your gadgets? I don’t see any of them.”
He smiled and passed by me. “Wait Mr. Bond. What can I expect out of you this time?” I shouted. He turned back and smiled. His eyes had certain mix of intensity and vulnerability which was different from all other 007. I followed him to his entire journey of Mission “Casino Royale”.

Welcome to the new Bond. This one is less suave and charming but somehow he manages to hold your attention. I love Pierce Brosnon so I’m not going to fall into the debate that how does this Bond fares against his characterization. That is not required at all. Believe me. So let me explore the boundaries which I’ve till now avoided for my own convenience. Here is what I think of this much hyped cinematic extravaganza.

Each Bond movie has certain expectations. This one hasn’t had any. The selection of Daniel Craig had fumed perhaps the entire Bond fan fraternity. Even though I am no one I would like to put forth the apprehensions I had for Daniel Craig. But the actor has managed to pull this off and that too in style. His Bond is as human as we can envision not the usual super-hero we associate with Bond characterizations. And that is the primary reason this movie works for me though it has its own set of failures. This Bond fights without gadgets, with some raw power and his pistol. Simple. And he is witty and at the same time vulnerable too.

As far as the story is concerned nothing much to talk about. Bond on his first assignment after being promoted to “00” status had to deal with terrorists and their middlemen. The only novelty over here is that the ploy to bring in the character of “Le Chiffre”, a banker who takes care of the unaccounted money of these terrorist outfits. He uses this money to manipulate the stock market and when his plan to destroy a super jet (On which he was counting to get profit through stock market) gets foiled by Bond, he is forced to play a Poker Game through which he can earn as much as $150 million. Needless to say that our Bond is there to stop him under the supervision of beautiful Vesper (Eva Green), a Treasury official. The rest is as usual. Plots are interwoven in this nerve-gripping drama which at times is marred by languid pace.

The film is beautifully shot though at times one feels that there is a concerted effort to reduce the grandeur and glam quotient. The chemistry between the Bond and perhaps his only true “Love” is splendid. The villain here though shrewd and cunning is not as powerful and we could see a much potent force behind him towards the end. So this remains the battle more of minds than of brutal force and advanced gadgets. Direction is through out consistent. Screenplay could have been racier (but who is complaining). Action sequences are credible especially the opening chase scene. Watch the movie if you love the character and want to see him once in a human avatar.

My Ratings: 3.5/5