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Casino Royale 007
Proof that America won the Revolutionary War, James Bond and all of his sophisticated European antagonists are playing Texas Hold 'Em at the fancy Balkan casino where the hero is supposed to trump the villain and prevent him from returning the money he owes to terrorists in the new Casino Royale 007, a Sony Home Entertainment 2-Disc Widescreen Edition release (UPC#043396148598, $29). Baccarat has apparently gone the way of wigs and decorative carriages. In any case, that modification and a rather flagrant deux ex machina in the third act, where the hero is rescued by a villain who ought to just shoot him, aside, the 2006 feature reinvigorates the series for yet another generation of fans. The poor hero, played with wonderful resolve by Daniel Craig, gets banged and bruised and probably sees Ian Fleming calling him to walk into the light at one point after he is poisoned, but the film displays a maturity and intensity that the series has not achieved in a very long while. It is not entirely devoid of the sillies - a house fully collapses into a rather deep Venetian canal at the end-but it is a completely involving mix of impressive stunts, modern dangers, unforced wit, and emotionally-charged narrative. Running 144 minutes, the breathless action and uncomplicated plot (the bad guy isn't out to destroy or take over the world or anything, he just wants to make a discreet amount of money and not get killed by his creditors) cause the film feel like it has only taken up half that time. When the 'James Bond will return' message shows up at the end of the credit scroll, you hope they mean for generations to come.The letterboxing has an aspect ratio of about 2.4:1 and an accommodation for enhanced 16:9 playback. The picture is solid and sharp, and don't be thrown when the first few minutes of the film show up in black-and-white-it makes the shift to color all the more glorious and almost compensates for the lack of naked female silhouettes in the opening credits. The 5.1-channel Dolby Digital sound is not spectacular, but it does have some engaging separation effects and plenty of power. There is an alternate Spanish track in 5.1 Dolby, an alternate French track in standard stereo, and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.
The film appears on the first platter. The second platter contains 50 minutes of decent production documentaries and a very nice 49-minute piece on the actresses who have appeared in all of the James Bond movies.
April 3, 2007
DVD Roundup: This Week's DVD Releases
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