CASINO ROYALE (License To Kill & License To Thrill)

in novemeber last year when i was in london,one of the books that my daughter was reading was 'casino royale'. initially,the book didn't interest me as i thought it was one of those fiction novels. when i read the name of the author, ian fleming,the creator of 007 james bond,i asked my daughter to pass the book on to me after she had completed reading. she and her husband have relocated to mumbai now and the book is on board the ship coming with all their bag and baggage. my interest having been aroused and having read a few reviews of 'casino royale', i decided to watch the movie. it was a very enjoyable action film. exhilarating. you are sitting on the edge all the time. never a dull moment.good storyline,excellent cinematography,pleasing music and the oustanding acting of daniel craig overshadows everything else. wow,what a movie!!

i have seen sean connery, pierce brosnan and others playing the role of james bond. sean is my old favourite but i must give credit to daniel craig for a super performance. when he steps out of the sea in swimming trunks he looks stunning. costars eva green and caterina murino are raving about his liplock style.and he has been crowned the "best bond since sean connery"

there were many misgivings whether daniel craig was the right person to play the world's most famous spy.too short,too blond and too northern. now his critics are eating their words. even 'hate craig' sites and chat rooms had sprung over the internet. he was being criticised from his blond hair to his blue eyes. et al. in one stroke he has silenced them all.by the sheer force of his acting.

there has also been an advertising blitzkreig of the top of the line product brands in this film.which appears to be a trend these days. walther p99 and walther ppk,spirit 54 yacht,aston matin db5, armani,brioni roma and turnbull and asser.not to forget his swimsuit and the lingerie of all his girl friends from la perla.and to top it all the omega seamaster professional.sleek stainless steel case,a unidirectional rotating bezel,helium escape valve and a unique blue dial with applied luminous hour markers .omega,the classic omega.

500 prints have hit indian theatres and james bond is speaking in hindi,tamil and telugu. seems it may earn the tag of "highest earner of any bond movie". it is the 21st james bond 007 film. 007 has made daniel craig the most famous actor in the world.

what is the story about? james bond is sent on a mission to prague primarily to kill an m16 section chief, dryden, who has sold british secrets. his mission is also to kill both dryden's associate fisher and then the section chief.he kills fisher in the men's room and then dryden in his office. having earned his colours for the daring double killing,he gets the 007 tag and is despatched to madagascar in the hot chase of of an international bombmaker,mollakka.the scene from the time he spots him and the chase right upto the nanbutu embassy has been brilliantly picturised.he not only kills the bombmaker he also blows up part of the embassy to escape.

the main villain of the film is le chiffre.an unscrupulous financier of terrorists. 007 is now despatched by m16 to montenegro to bankrupt le chiffre who is a high-stakes poker player. before he leaves for montenegro,a microchip transmitter is implanted in his arm which is actually a tracking device. now his boss 'm' would know everything regarding his movements. vesper lynd(eva green), the beautiful woman enters the scene. she is supposed to assist him,courtesy 'm'. they fall in love. and during a rest break in the poker game, bond is poisoned by le chiffre. bond gets a heart attack but is saved by instructions on the cell from hq. three cheers to the fillibrator. eventually james bond wins the high stakes. but then he is waylaid and tortured by le chiffre to reveal the password of his swiss bank account by which he could get access to the game's winnings. meanwhile vesper has been pretty quick.she knows the password, takes the money to a mysterious organisation. james bond gives her a chase and sees her and several of the group's men hiding in a building. a gun battle ensures.the building in which they are located is undergoing reconstruction. bond shoots and ruptures the floating devices which are supporting the structure and foundation. the building collapses. vesper commits suicide by locking herself in the elevator.mr white is shown walking away with the briefcase containing $10 million. bond feels absolutely betrayed.he learns that vesper had a french-algerian boyfriend who was kidnapped by this organisation. to save her boyfriend's life, vesper had negotiated with the terrorist outfit. in her cellphone, she leaves behind mr white's name and cell no for bond. bond tracks mr white and shoots him in the leg. when mr white asks him who he is, he replies in the trademark james bond manner. " 007. the name is bond. james bond".

the film is based on ian fleming's first novel. there is an aura of danger and unpredictability all the time throughout the film. the locales chosen are exotic and bond moves only with beautiful and scantily clad women. catrina murino is one of them. directed competently by martin campbell, this high-octane action film with sizzling female fatalles is a winner all the way.