The tried and true James Bond franchise has been around for over 40 years now and has been through 6 lead actors and was in desperate need of a restart well leave it up to the man who gave us the best Bond film in recent memory (Goldeneye) to give everyone what they were waiting for.
Casino Royale introduces James Bond (Daniel Craig) before he hold his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to “00″ status. “M” (Dame judi Dench) head of the British Secret Service, sends the newly - promoted 007 on his first mission that takes him to Madagascar, the Bahamas and eventually leads him to Montenegro to face Le Chiffre, a ruthless financier under threat from his terrorist clientèle, who is attempting to restore his funds in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale. “M” places Bond under the watchful eye of the treasury official Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond’s interest in her deepens as they brave danger together. Le Chiffre’s cunning and cruelty to bear on them both in a way Bond could ever imagine, and her learns his most important lesson: Trust No One. As I said in the intro the James Bond franchise was in serious need of a restart, the last film previous to this (Die Another Day) was so ludicrous it went as far as to include an invisible car, and a horribly CG surfing sequence at the start of the film. Well Im glad to report that all this is gone director Martin Campbell went the realistic route to give us the grittiest and real 007 film ever.
This 2-Disc Special Edition leaves a lot to be desired in the features department which almost certainly means another DVD will be on the way, but with this disc you get the following:
• Becoming Bond following the decision in hiring Daniel Craig to be the next James Bond as well as his reaction to taking on the role.
• James Bond: For Real explores the effects work and action sequences.
• Bond Girls are Forever hosted by Maryam D’Abo and takes a look back at the women who played foe or partner to Bond throughout his cinematic life.
you also get a music video from Chris Cornell (formally of Audioslave, and Soundgarden)
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Presented in a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio Casino Royale is near perfect in just about every way: colors are well defined, vivid and sharp. No edge-enhancement or compression artifacts are present it is definitely a reference quality standard definition dvd release. On the audio end you get a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundmix with French and Spanish audio options as well. The audio is crisp and well placed in the surrounds, center and sub.
- Rating: 5 out of 5
On the Blu Ray side of things James doesn’t disappoint. The transfer clean as whistle and jumps of the screen with detail. The uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack is rings out loud and clear. If your home theater can handle it, the HD Audio soundtrack is the way to go. Technically Casino Royale knocks it out of the park.
- Rating: 5 out of 5
Another one of my 10 favorite films of last year makes it way onto DVD and BR, pretty soon they all will be! Casino Royale was number 2 on my list and with good cause it really is an excellent film and is probably by far my favorite film in the franchise.
- Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Film and Features: 4.5
Technical Specs DVD: 5.0
Technical Specs Blu Ray: 5.0
Overall Review: 4.5
Studio: Sony/MGM
Genre: Action
Aspect: 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio DVD: 5.1 Dolby Digital
Audio Blu Ray: Uncompressed PCM 5.1
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