Catshanghai

Bond has had several incarnations over the last 44 years. First we had Sean Connery, then George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pearce Brosnan. Even David Niven tried out the role. His accent, gadgets, wardrobe and sense of humor may all have changed over this time, but Bond is essentially timeless and immortal. Criminal organisations stick to a formula that always causes their ultimate demise. They initially succeed in their genius, outlandish plots to bring chaos or extortion to the world  before succumbing to arrogant hubris and allowing Bond enough of a slow motion death for him to escape and save the world. Whenever we see a Bond movie, we know exactly what we are going to get. He never fails to deliver a romping spectacle of explosions, beautiful women and know-it-all back chat. It’s all great mindless fun and I owe my career as a computer teacher to him.

Last night I saw the new Bond film called Casino Royale. The old formula has been given a bit of a makeover to keep the franchise alive, but don’t be too alarmed. He still drives an Aston Martin and has a few special features added to his mobile phone. Casino Royale was the first of Ian Fleming’s Bond novels and it was originally filmed as a spoof in the mid sixties, which I confess to never having seen. Casino Royale 2006 is basically a story about 007 being sent to play poker in Montenegro to win an awful lot of money from a terrorist organisation. It stars Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. He gives the role a more physical, gritty edge than any of his predecessors. For one thing, he doesn’t look like a ridiculous middle aged man giving chase to adversaries half his age. There is much more dirt and blood than I ever remember from the earlier films that were often far too shiny. In this film, Bond is portrayed as a newbie who is still growing into his role so he lacks the finesse and the smarminess of Roger Moore and Pearce Brosnan. It also gives a good back story about why Bond is so casual and blase about his relationships with women. Is 007 capable of having feelings?

Casino Royale is great fun and still stands up as a decent spy movie, with or without its connection to the legendary 44 year old franchise.