Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006) Review

Well, that's enough of Pierce Brosnan I think. It's time for a new Bond! How about Daniel Craig? No? WELL TOO BAD! Right off the bat I noticed something wrong...this is a prequel. I don't accept it as one and will therefore not approach this review thinking it's one. This is a continuation...YES IT IS! Anyway, let's see how well a new Bond works in this next film!

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is sent to investigate a criminal banker named Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen). Le Chiffre is trying to win back his money in a poker game in Montenegro and M (Judi Dench) sends Bond and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) to win the game and prevent Le Chiffre from winning. Le Chiffre has some dangerous connections so if Bond and Vesper, they could wind up dead. It's a dangerous game that Bond has got himself into.

I was very sceptical of Craig playing Bond but he actually pulled it off very well. Clearly he was inspired by Timothy Dalton as his films have a more action orientated approach to things. Despite his, the best scenes in this film are actually the poker game scenes that frame the story. The whole story centres around it and everything else that happens is in between games. I love the structued narrative of this film. It's great! Vesper is also one of the best Bond girls yet and Le Chiffre is very threatening. There is a lot of good things in this one.

The action is some of the best in the series, which is what you expect from a more recent film. The early scene where Bond chases that guy on the cranes is great! I felt a bit copped out though that there wasn't an epic finale fight with the villain that previous Bond films have done. They were always by favourite scenes. For that, it misses out on being the best. Goldeneye's finale was arguably the best scene in the film so it's sad that Casino Royale did not have it. Also, where are Q and Moneypenny. Don't give me the whole 'it's a prequel' crap. Why is M a woman then since it's implied she's the first female M in the MI6 in Goldeneye. Also in Skyfall, Q says he's Bond's 'new' quartermaster...anway, I'm not letting that sour this film.

Casino Royale is the best Bond film since Goldeneye. Daniel Craig is a good choice for a modern Bond, the action is top notch, the new characters are really good and this film really is one of the best. I was very sceptical but it's good to be wrong sometimes. The ending is great, by the way and it's one of the only Bond films which carries on (Diamonds are Forever carries on from On Her Majesty's Secret Service...sort of).

Verdict:
9/10
A fantastic Bond film. The action is amazing, the new Bond is awesome and everything just comes together as awesome...er!

Die Another Day (Lee Tamahori, 2002) Review

Okay, now Brosnan has done more than Dalton and Lazenby combined! Plus, this marks the 20th James Bond film. So you expect that they put all their effort into making this the best Bond film ever. They make references to the origin of Bond, classic scenes are recreated and even gadgets from previous films are seen. Does this make the film a good one or does it just come off as a cheap gimmick? Let's find out!

On a mission in North Korea, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) kills the diamond mogul Colonel Moon (Will Yun Lee) and is apprehended by Koreans and tortured. Many years later, Bond is traded for a Korean named Zao (Rick Yune) who, during Bond's mission, ended up with diamonds being studded into his face. Bond winds up in another mission which leads him to millionare Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) and another MI6 agent, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike). Bond teams up with Agent Jinx (Halle Berry) in order to expose Graves' laser beam cannon in space and discover Graves' dark secret. Bond must also find out who betrayed him and got him arrested back in Korea.

While I feel this film is a tad bit over-hated (is that a word?), this is definetly not a plus one to my patented (probably) Constroversal Bond review counter. I agree that this is very much a weak film but it's by no means that worst. What's wrong with it? The first thing is that Halle Berry does not fit in to the Bond world. Jinx is pretty rubbish and if you want to see a good competent Bond girl, go watch Licence to Kill. There is also too much plot. They'res at least three things going on at once. Bond films should have a simplistic plot and the whole 'stop Graves from world domination' thing is all this one needed...although Graves' secret is a nice twist.

Speaking of Graves, he's a pretty cool villain but is a bit too science fictiony for a Bond film. Don't get me wrong, Bond films are anything but realistic, but this is a man who can change his entire body and has a not-so-good Iron Man suit knock off...that can't fly. I do like the fight between him and Bond at the end though...but then again I always do! Miranda Frost is an okay character but doesn't really make an impression...except fencing...

Die Another Day is a weak addition to the Bond series. It seems that the Brosnan films just get worse as they go along. Thank God he stopped here or who knows how bad things could have gotten. It is cool to see John Cleese official take the role as Q but he's not in it for long. Shame really. Things got out of hand in this one and it didn't end well. Not the worst but nowhere near the best.


Verdict:
6/10
A good enough Bond film. Things got pretty farfetched hear and some of the characters are a bit crap.

The World Is Not Enough (Michael Apted, 1999) Review

Clearly Pierce Brosnan is doing something right. He's done more Bond films than Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby so clearly he's popular. I agree. He's my favourite Bond and deserves to do more. However, he started off too good! Goldeneye was his first and is the best one! How is supposed to top it! Maybe he has with this one...only one way to find out!

When an oil baron is killed when visiting the MI6, Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to protect the oil baron's daughter Electra King (Sophie Marceau). A new foe called Renard (Robert Carlyle), a man with a bullet in his head which has destroyed his senses, plans to blow up a pipeline under orders of a secret villain. Bond gets assistance from Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards) and must stop Renard from destroying Europe. When M (Judi Dench) goes missing, Bond grows supicious of Electra and things start to unravel.

This is the first film in which we see M on the front lines. Before this, M had always just been the person behind a desk so it's good to see why she is the head of the MI6. Renard has a very interesting concept and is one of the forgotten Bond characters. Something quite sad about this film is that it's the last one in which Desmond Llewelyn plays Q as he died after the release of this film. It also sets up R (John Cleese) who will act as his replacement...it's Basil Fawlty working in the MI6...and I love it!

That's not to say it has it's problems. The plot has a few twists and, while they are good, it isn't exactly the best we've seen. Also, all the effort seemed to go into the opening scene. Don't get me wrong, it's incredible and one of the best scenes in the series but after that, everything else doesn't compare. Christmas Jones (by the way, what kind of name is Christmas?) is pretty useless. They only made her a doctor so that she would seem smart, which she is, but isn't very active in terms of story. She was really only needed for one scene. Electra King is good though.

The World is Not Enough is a good film but doesn't reach the heights that previous films have reached. Goldeneye has set itself as the best so I didn't expect any other ones to beat it. Some people may be turned off by this one since it doesn't seem like a classic Bond film but it's enjoyable. People often overlook it so I would say that you should check it out.

Verdict:
7/10
A decent addition to the Brosnan films. There are some good characters introduced and the opening scene is one of the best film scenes ever.

Tomorrow Never Dies (Roger Spottiswoode, 1997) Review

I remember saying in my review for Licence to Kill that I wouldn't want to see another overly violent Bond film (just to remind you, it was very violent) but along comes Tomorrow Never Dies which proves to be pretty violent too. Sure, it's not as violent as Licence to Kill but it's close. Well, Goldeneye was so amazing, let's see if Pierce Brosnan can do another great film!

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to investigate the media tycoon, Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce),who wants to complete his media empire but in order to achieve this, he must achieve broadcasting rights in China. Bond teams up with a Chinese agent called Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) in order to stop Carver's plans which would inevitably lead to World War III! Bond, Wai Lin and Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker), Bond's help from America must now stop Carver and avenge Carver's wife Paris (Teri Hatcher).

This is the second most violent Bond film. People falling into printing presses, someone being killed by a sea drill and someone getting their foot clamped and left to be blown up...yeah, it gets pretty violent yet not that bloody...okay once. The plot is quite an interesting one as it sort of parody of business tycoons, specifically ones in the media. Eliot Carver is an interesting villain and Jonathan Pyrce is a good choice to play him. As before, Pierce Brosnan is a great Bond.

Normally each film has 2 Bond girls but I would say that this one only has 1. Paris Carver is only in it for about a quarter of the film leaving Wai Lin as the main Bond girl. It's weird and sort of breaks Bond tradition. Also the plot is a bit weak. It doesn't really hold up compared to previous Bond films (such as Goldeneye and Licence to Kill).

Tomorrow Never Dies is a good entry to the Bond film series and it's a shame that it came right after Goldeneye since I still stand by my statement that that was the best Bond film. It's often over looked because of that and it's a shame because it is an enjoyable movie. Check it out if you haven't, you should enjoy it.

Verdict:
8/10
A solid entry the Bond franchise that seems to carry on some great things that Goldeneye introduced.

Goldeneye (Martin Campbell, 1995) Review

Well that's enough of Timothy Dalton, wouldn't you say? I think his last one didn't do very well...for obvious reasons. It was time for a change and we got a brand new Bond...and a new M...and a new Moneypenny. Clearly they were trying to aim for the classic Bond style. A powerful theme (provided by Tina Turner), a classic villain and a suave Bond. So, was the change good? Let's find out!

007 James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and 006 Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) are sent on a mission in Russia that sees General Ourumov (Gottfried John) execute Trevelyan as Bond blows up his base. Several years later, a man named Janus recruits Ourumov, a sexy assassin named Xenia Onnatopp (Famke Janssen) who has an interesting way of killing people and Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming), the elite hacker. Bond must stop Janus' Goldeneye satellite from gaining access to millions of pounds. Now Bond must stop Janus (whose identity will blow his mind) with the help of a computer hacker, Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco).

I think I'll just say: This is the best Bond film yet! This one is incredible! A cinematic treat (except I didn't see it in the cinema...). The opening is fantastic, the characters a great, the new cast are some of the best in the series and leads up to one hell of a finale. I know I say this a lot but Janus is one of the best Bond villains. Pierce Brosnan is my favourite Bond actor to date, so to sum up...I love this film.

You know it's a good film when the only complaint I can make are continuity cock ups. Seriously, that's the only problem. It's such as great film and is hands down the best Bond film...short paragraph...I'm sorry but this is such a great film.

Goldeneye is the best Bond film ever! The plot is fantastic, the characters are great, the action is top notch (the tank scene alone is fantastic) and everything else is just great! If you watch one Bond film today, make it this one. You will not be disappointed.

Verdict:
9.5/10
The best Bond film yet! Everything is excellent and is the true pinnacle of the series.

License to Kill (John Glen, 1989) Review

If you're squeamish...I suggest you look away...things are going to get very violent. Apparently people wanted to forget the previous Bond films due to how comedically stupid so they decided to make things a lot darker. The Living Daylights was a clear indication of this and is one of my favourites but what about the follow up to it? Well, does the darker image of Bond work twice? Let's find out!

After capturing drug selling tycoon Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), James Bond (Timothy Dalton) attends the wedding of his good friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison) who we've seen working with Bond since Dr. No. The celebration is short lived when Sanchez breaks out of prison, has his henchman Dario (Benicio Del Toro) kill Felix's wife and feeds Felix to a shark. Bond wants revenge on Sanchez but his vendetta could jeopardise his role as an MI6 spy...so he quits. M (Robert Brown) takes away Bond's licence to kill and seeks out Dario with the help of Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell).

My God is this film violent! If ever you wanted to see someone's head explode from explosive decompression, someone fall into a cocaine grinder, someone lose their leg to a shark or someone be set on fire and blown up. Yeah, it gets pretty bloody. It's one of two Bond films to be rated 15 (the other being Goldeneye).This is one of the only films where Bond doesn't have that many one-liners because of how horrifying everything is! Honestly, it works...but only as a one time thing. If I see another Bond film like this, it probably won't be that great (Tomorrow Never Dies came very close).

Pam Bouvier is one of my favorite Bond girls. She's even more competent than Bond is. She is easily one of the best Bond girls (GASP!)...Lupe is alright, I guess. Robert Davi is excellent as the villain, Sanchez. He is brutal as hell and doesn't give second chances. You feel like he can strike at any second even when he's just sitting a room...he has a creepy presence. He reminds me of Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2...sorry, I've been playing it a lot and had to put it in somewhere...

Licence to Kill is a very interesting addition to the franchise since it takes a WAY more dark tone on the Bond license...to kill. Sanchez is one of best villains because of his omniscient presence and even Dario is a sinister character, despite not being in it that much. Yes, this is incredibly violent almost of a Saw level but it's fine....for now.

Verdict:
8/10
An incredibly violent version of the classic spy, this one has a great villain, well written characters and one of the best plots.

The Living Daylights (John Glen, 1987) Review

Another decade, another Bond. It seems every Bond is affiliated with a certain decade. Connery and Lazenby in the 60s, Moore in the 70s and now Timothy Dalton steps in for the 80s. I think we've had enough of the comedic style of Bond films, am I right? Let's see a much darker Bond film that's closer to the books...yeah, did you forget these films were based on books...I forgot...so, does the darker tone work? Let's find out.

James Bond (Timothy Dalton) has been contracted to protect a Russian general, Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) from anyone that tries to get to him. When one of Koskov's allies tries to murder him, Bond goes to Afghanistan to see what happened. While there, he encounters an arms dealer named Brad Whittaker (Joe Don Baker). After teaming up with a violinist named Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo), Bond must defeat Whittaker and find out what is really going on.

The action in this one is top notch, some of the best is the series. From the epic plane fight with henchman Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) to come excellent horse fights (is that a thing?), the action featured is truly incredible. Also, something I should have really mentioned before, the music is great too! It's one of three Bond films that I have the soundtrack for (the others being A View to a Kill and Goldeneye). The theme is one of the best ones and the background music is great!

Timothy Dalton is one of my favourite Bonds. He's much more accurate to the books but sadly lacks the tuxedo. There are only a few times he actually wears it but he focuses on action and a darker tone so I can't really complain. Joe Don Baker is a rather interesting choice for a Bond villain but he actually managed to pull it off well. Being obsessed with guns helps, I suppose. As for Kara. She's alright. She doesn't really do that much...

The Living Daylights is another one of my favourites. Timothy Dalton is a good choice for Bond, the action is great, the music is superb and it all comes together nicely. It's often a forgotten Bond film but you will enjoy it...probably. Right, so Dalton only did 2 Bond films. The next one? Erm...parents...you better cover your kids eyes...it's going to get pretty violent.

Verdict:
8/10
Another one of my favourites. Dalton is good as Bond, the action is great and is just another great Bond film.