Well, Bond is back… sort of. This latest in the highly successful Bond series takes us back to Bond’s coming of age at MI-6 and gaining his ‘00’ status. Of course, up to date for our times. Ian Fleming’s Bond smoked heavily, drank heavily, had a weakness to women, missions were of the save the world variety from some crazed megalomaniac and on missions always had some sort of Q device that would push the edge of technology and save the day. Well, none of that was present in Daniel Craig’s portrayal of James Bond. The re-invented Bond is more of a Jason Bourne than a James Bond of Sean Connery’s day. Is today’s Bond better or worse than the original? Well, only a few more films in the series will help us know that…

In this adventure, Bond is out to track down a terrorist financier. The mission takes him around the world to Madagascar, the Bahamas, and Montenegro. Bond is accompanied on his mission with a mildly attractive accounting agent from MI-6 (Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green). M (Judi Dench) does not know what to make of her new 007 as he seems to lack the respect for her with some of his early doings in her apartment.

In this film, Bond is after sinister financier (Le Chiffre – played by Mads Mikkelsen) who holds money for various terrorist organizations. But unlike previous Bond films, this one not directly about killing the master villain but choking off his money so as to face reprisals from his terrorist investors, effectively putting him out of business. When things go wrong for the financier, he finds himself at odds with Bond and a dramatic showdown at a poker table (of all places) for a winner takes all game of Texas Hold ‘Em (where’s the Baccarat table?).

I liked this film. Yes, there was no Q, no Moneypenny, no misogyny, and no dooms day plan to thwart but there was action and a new James Bond that was a bit more violent and somewhat less polished. Daniel Craig was a fantastic Bond. Only a few more movies will tell how he rates versus the others but I’d say he is off to a great start. At 2 hours 24 minutes, the movie is a bit long but never really seems to drag (though the poker tournament was a bit drawn out). The beginning chase across the Madagascar construction site was thrilling as was the scene at the airport and the finale. The movie brings big action for over 2 hours and many fight scenes where Bond shows the making of a man that shouldn’t be fought hand to hand. Again, this early Bond is very reminiscent of Jason Bourne. But, I like Jason Bourne. A great effort in re-inventing the Bond of old.

Video

This 2.40 aspect film is simply gorgeous. Initially there is a blown out black and white grainy intro that gives us a gritty feel for the new Bond. I liked it. As that fades into a more traditionally shot film we are treated with gorgeous, deep colors that really light up the screen. The scenery in the Bahamas, Lake Como (Italy) and Montenegro at night are beautiful to look at (the home where he spent his rehab is a place I have visited and is truly one of the most beautiful estates you could ever imagine. This was on Lake Como, Italy). The picture is sharp as a tack and few signs of any video artifacts. The picture is dramatic and gives a real three dimensional feel to what is on the screen. Blacks are deep and contrast is about as good as I have scene on Blu-ray. This film just looks superb in high definition. I could find little to fault it; simply gorgeous.

Audio

Recorded level allows for viewing at -2 from reference. That said, the final scene seemed somewhat boosted in overall SPL level by another few dbs. (I almost dialed back the volume 2-3 dbs but decided to let it go. It got a bit bright at times). Dialog reproduction was excellent as every word and sentence was easy to hear and understand. Dialog integration was also very good though the scene on the train (Bond and Vesper Lynd) sounded a bit overly dampened. Sibilants were minimal and surround activity was mostly supportive. No big rear effects but many side wall effects. Though the soundstage was tipped to the front, the surrounds always provided an ambient effect with somewhat muted rear wall sounds. Surround effects were very good but not as pronounced as I would’ve hoped for. Dynamic range was also very good. Dramatic highs and lows dotted this whole movie and will test the mettle of your LCRs (as a side, the Prestige even more dynamic on Blu-ray). Bass was solid throughout with low lows and loud, palpable explosions. This soundtrack exudes power. Yes, there are many sequences with bass subjectively below 20 Hz and strong mid bass. Sometimes system threatening, the bass is sure to please.

All-in-all an excellent soundtrack, but I couldn’t get past the feeling that I was listening to low bit rate DD recording. There were times where I felt the highs that at times – like the finale – were somewhat uncomfortable to listen to. Having just watched the Prestige, I was reminded of how excellent DD tracks can be. This one, though more explosive, was somewhat edgy. I might have engaged the THX filter towards the final scenes. Perhaps the uncompressed PCM track is devoid of these issues but in some respects, I was reminded of this being a lossy surround track. (* I will soon be upgrading to PCM capabilities on my Halcro surround processor and I may re-address this soundtrack in the future).

Special Features

• Becoming Bond: A basic narrative with interviews of the major players (Barbara Broccoli amongst others involved in the making of Casino Royale). About a ½ an hour in length, topics include removing the controversy of firing the highly bankable Pierce Brosnan and the dicey decision to cast Craig.
• James Bond: For Real: A short documentary of the stunts and ‘how they did them’ used for Casino Royale. Some neat stuff to watch for sure.
• Bond Girls are Forever (2006): Interviews with the Bond girls of previous films (including my favorite, the 4 times married Jane Seymour).
• Chris Cornell Music Video of the movies theme, “You Know My Name”.

Final Thoughts

I like Daniel Craig as Bond. He brings a ruggedness sorely missing in Pierce Brosnan. He’ll need a few more films under his belt before we know where he ranks against the previous, excellent James Bond actors. I like the idea of a less polished Bond. He is certainly a one man wrecking machine and showed a rarely seen personal, affectionate side (though he also falls for a woman and marries in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service). I’d like to see some gadgetry creep back in as that is one part of the Bond series that separates it from other one man killing machine films. I missed not having a tour of Q branch or his fantastic devices. Moreover, I missed some of the witty lines that dotted all the Bond films. Craig had one or two in this film (‘that hand almost killed me’, for example) but I would’ve liked to have seen more. All and all, a fun film that was exciting from beginning to end, it looks like the Bond franchise has a winner in Daniel Craig. Highly recommended!