This post is titled Casino Royale by author SoulJah. Daniel Craig was a logical choice for Bond this time. The amount of pain that Bond goes through wouldn't have been possible for the earlier Bonds. And the amount of running in this movie is ridiculous. It's no wonder they had to settle for a fit actor for this role.

As you may or may not know, Casino Royale is a prequel of sorts, taking its storyline from the first James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. Here we see Bond earning his Double-0 license by completing his first two hits, and you will see how much reckless he is in this movie than his later (earlier?) incarnations.

This recklessness is the main theme of the movie, showing him in a light that is much different than the cool and suave Sean Conneries and Timothy Daltons and Pierce Brosnans. While it might not appeal to the hardcore James Bond fanatics, this new, fresh take on the same character we all know and love will no doubt attract newer and younger viewers.

The action of the first few minutes was meticulously set up, it's nothing like anything seen before. The Parkour-esque free running sequence elicit "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" and "Whoas" from the viewing audience. To see a traditionally slow and methodical hitman running around, jumping on to and climbing up beams was quite surprising to say the least.

By the second half of the movie, the whole cinema was parked in their seats. The storyline was that gripping, that no one even got up from their seats to go to the washroom. Yours truly was one of those people. And it was revealed that another friend also held it in just waiting for the ending. In contrast, I went out at 45 minutes going into Pirates of the Caribbean.

By this point of time, the story reaches the part where this movie earns its namesake. The Casino sequence, even though it looked like it might be boring at first, drew the most gasps during the entire movie. I think that was the first time Texas Hold 'Em was introduced to the Bruneian audience, but even then, most of the viewers knew what was going on and how the game was played. This made the whole sequence exciting and intriguing.

As the movie progresses, you see Bond transfrom into Bond of yore, turning from one prone to hurting himself by being reckless, to a calculating and methodical hitman. But even then, the movie still won't let Bond get off that easily, with a torture scene much more painful to watch than Pierce Brosnan's scorpion torture.

In all, the best, next generation Bond movie played by a fitting actor. This movie and it's fast pace wouldn't have been possible with the older Bonds, so their choice of Bond this time fits the bill perfectly. I hope as the franchise progresses, Daniel Craig would closely resemble Pierce Brosnan. In my opinion, Pierce Brosnan struck a fine balance between reckless endangerment, methodical hitman and charming and suave playboy.

My only gripe is, by the end of the movie, you'd definitely wanna get a Sony Ericsson phone. The amount of product placement in this movie is near ridiculous. Most of the plot is carried forward with use of a Sony Ericsson phone, namely a K800i, and an M600i. Fords were heavily used, alongside the exotic cars, Aston Martins. Even Sir Richard Branson and his airline made an appearance. I hope I was joking on that one. But I'm not.

In all, an awesome movie, an action packed night out. I'd give it a 9 out of 10.

Posted by SoulJah at 8:43:00 AM

13 Comment(s):
exactly!!.. can i quote u on everything?? this is why i totallly loveee reading ur blog... hehe u can give greatt reviews!!..
By  Anonymous, at Monday, November 20, 2006  
Sorry about the delay in getting your comments displayed. There was some problem with Blogger I think. Anyway, sure you can quote me on anything.

Unless otherwise noted.
By  SoulJah, at Thursday, November 23, 2006  
its ok :) hehe i think becos u moderate the comment kali...

have u seen happy feet n telladege nights? hehe

i have a question..

between a dopod (the 3g one) and a mini communicator, which one will u buy?
By  Anonymous, at Friday, November 24, 2006  
Approved the comments two days earlier, but your comments appeared later. Some problem with the uploads at my server perhaps.

Not gonna see Happy Feet, but Talladega Nights yes. Will Ferrell is awesome. And the names of the kids are Walker and Texas Ranger. That's awesome right there.

By a Mini you mean 02 XDA Mini? And by Dopod you mean the one that looks like a mini laptop? It depends. If you have a 3G line already, and want to use it to surf anywhere, by all means get that Dopod. But a word of warning, surfing all day can finish your credits fast, so I recommend a b.mobile post paid line. The unlimited plan is overkill, but it's unlimited data usage means you can surf all day long.

But if you don't plan to use 3G, or will only use it for video calls, I suggest just get a cheap 3G phone (the $99 mobile is fine) and get the 02 XDA Mini. But without the use of a keyboard, so that's one point to consider.

Both will have Wi-Fi so that's good. What else...

Size. If you plan to handle your phone much, you're gonna hate the Dopod. With my huge hands, I even have trouble with the Dopod. It's just huge. The Mini is the size of a large phone so that's another point to consider.

So it all depends on what you want really.
1. Do you want a QWERTY keyboard? (Do you like typing one handed? Or you don't mind using stylus all the time? Do you use T9 dictionary input?
2. How large do you want it to be? (Small, easy to handle? Large? HUGE?)
3. Do you use 3G or a 3G post paid plan? (Do you want to surf anywhere? Do you want to make video calls? Do you want to have two lines?)

In my experience, I have a 3G phone and I rarely use 3G on it, as I have to switch my sim cards, which is a hassle. I use it almost exclusively for Prima, and I surf occasionally to check my email on it. It has wifi as well. I don't mind not having a full QWERTY keyboard as I can type fast with the T9 dictionary, on or off it doesn't matter. It's moderately large, so it takes some getting used to because I like small phones as it's easy to slip into my pockets and carry it with my mouth if I have to. But more importantly, the size fits my hand, so that's a definite plus.
By  SoulJah, at Saturday, November 25, 2006  
i do have a pre-paid 3G line and i want something that's PDA-like so i can play bejeweled. i used to have the sony clie, but now i dont have it anymore.. so i was thinking of getting a phone that's also a pda. i dont mind the size cos im planning on using the razr for my prima n i only use that for texting n calling people..

and the mini communicator is the mini version of nokia communicator atu.. but i dunno the series.

i dont do video calls...

i DO need the 3g line to go online sometimes.. cos prima's gprs is real slow.. at times.

ok now i dont know what i want anymore keke..

what is the cheapest n blackberry-like pda thats available in brunei at the moment kan??? [yes i want a blackberry actually...influenced by movies nie..hehe]
By  Anonymous, at Sunday, November 26, 2006  
btw what is ur current phone?? did u get the N80?

btw i had the N70 and its unstable.. i mean the 3g connection.. pandai hilang the bmobile logo.. so i sold it off..

i heard all N-series ada problem tho..
By  Anonymous, at Sunday, November 26, 2006  
Yes, mine's the N80. I thought I said that in my comments but yeah, seem like I forgot to mention that.

What you're describing is I think due to the N70 jumping back and forth between GSM (DST line) and 3G (b.mobile). When it doesn't have the signal, it tries to revert to the GSM line but wouldn't be able to access it. So the problem is with the coverage area of the 3G tower. For instance, downstairs, at my house, it wouldn't even get a signal, but when I go up to my room, full signal. So... yeah, blame b.mobile's spotty coverage.

If you wanna play Bejeweled, I guess you need a stylus and touch screen to play it. Am I right? So I think the perfect phone for you is the Treo 750v, available at QQStation and QQestore. It has the Blackberry look, with the Windows Mobile platform. It's touch screen and is also 3G. No front facing camera, but you're not gonna use it for video calls anyway. It doesn't have Wi-Fi but you can get a Wi-Fi SDIO card to access Wi-Fi.

Price? Not cheap I suppose. But it does match what you want perfectly.
By  SoulJah, at Monday, November 27, 2006  
oh no..

i checked out my item sudah!!!.. i decided to get the e61... :/

now that treo looks better than e61...

uhm..

uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

oh well..

thanks anyways...
By  Anonymous, at Monday, November 27, 2006  
have u ever cancelled ur order from QQestore?
By  Anonymous, at Monday, November 27, 2006  
As long as you haven't provided credit card details, or haven't paid for your items, they won't charge the 10% restocking fee. Anyway, they will call you to confirm your order first, so by that time you can say you cancel your order. And to the best of my knowledge, the restocking fee only applies when you have confirmed the order by phone.
By  SoulJah, at Monday, November 27, 2006  
out of stock! uwaaaaaa i want it NOW! *pfft*

between Deejay and Incomm - which one do u trust?
By  Anonymous, at Monday, November 27, 2006  
I always try to buy from DeeJay. The N80 I bought from DeeJay. Incomm marks up their prices too much.
By  SoulJah, at Tuesday, November 28, 2006  
*yawns*... im bored :/
By  Anonymous, at Wednesday, November 29, 2006  

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