Although the movie is based on the book of the same name by Ian Flemming, the film itself does everything in its power to break up what it means to have a Bond film. It utterly destroys conventions in any way it can. For one, James Bond can barely stand being around women. Women make him nervous, and he tends to stutter around them a lot too. That said, he is still straight and even has a woman who he still feels loyal too who had since been murdered.
The reason for this sudden change in character is attributed to the other movies which make him seem like a very silly, gadget-using, womanizer. But see... this movie is a comedy. The whole point is to make fun of itself, and it does that for the full run. But even as a comedy, this movie works very hard to sell what it is to an often baffled audience. It somehow comes across as sincerity.
The music was another aspect of the film that nobody will expect. It often sounds like circus music even in places where it doesn't seem to belong. The quality is good, and some of the action scenes can feel more fun with the silly music somehow. It's hard to explain without being able to show it to you.
The writing is all over the place and filled with stuff that strays from the main story. This happens often. There is also a level of convolution as well. Even though there is only one James Bond, the real Bond hires a bunch of agents and forces them to use the same moniker as him just to confuse the enemy. So nearly ever main character in the film will be known as James Bond by the end of it.
Despite all the chaos in the writing, the presentation is shockingly good. There are a ton of celebrities, the set design is always first class, and the acting, such as it is, is spot on for what they are trying to do. The humor is all incredibly straight-faced and dry, which sometimes can lead to the confusion of if something was meant to be funny to begin with. If it is possible for humor to be dry then this movie is a desert.
Much of the latter half of the movie gets extremely surreal and almost hypnotic in its presentation. There is this weird facility that trains double agents for both Russia and America. This whole section of the movie feels like a strange dream. The torture scene of Bond was replaced with an equally surreal scene where Le Chiffe uses a mind control device to torture one of Bond's many doubles, causing him to think he is going insane. "Why do any of this?" I asked. Because they wanted to and so they did.
This movie is the product of a bunch of people having a silly idea, and then pumping as much money and effort into it as they could. What came of it was a movie more fascinating in that it exists than it existing as a comedy that's mildly funny. The movie, at least in my own opinion, is good because it fascinates the brain for the entire time you are watching it. But on its own merits as a film, it appears to be a bad movie.
"Casino Royale" might be chaos in its construction, but it also seems to have been very carefully made with love. It's a movie worth seeing, and I do recommend that you see it at least once. You may like it or hate it, but you'll have to admit that it is one of the most novel movies you will ever see in your life. And seriously if you watch it for anything, watch it for the group of henchwomen wielding Sterling submachine guns. That sight never gets old.
This blog was written on February 21, 2023.
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Oh, those henchwomen with submachine guns is why I bought the DVD! There was an interesting chase scene in which the villains used models and moving model cars to track an assassination attempt on Bond. Very weird... but interestingly so.
ReplyDeleteNot so bad its good. It's more that its bad but very interesting.
DeleteYea, I'd say it is one of those movies that is kind of hard to say one way or another if it's bad or good. The weirdness is entertaining at least. At least their was sexy women even though Bond wasn't really interested.
ReplyDeleteThe women were cool. One of my favorite aspects of the movie.
DeleteComedy is usually better when done seriously. Drawing attention to the funny parts is often like laughing at your own jokes. Let the audience decide how to react to the work.
ReplyDeleteA little deadpan can help sometimes.
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