Daniel Craig"s Debut As 007
The announcement that Daniel Craig was to be the new face of 007 in November 2005 came with quite a lot of controversy, with many hard core fans who had been brought up on the Pierce Brosnan films hostile to the new actor and angry that "their" James Bond had been given the boot by producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.
One group of fans was quick to air their displeasure by setting up a protest website, declaring that "Craig was not Bond.
" The media caught onto this and reported that Bond fans were unhappy; they also attacked Craig for having worn a lifejacket while about the Royal Marine's high-speed powerboat that was used to transport him to the press conference.
Once filming got underway in 2006 a string of negative stories were published by the British tabloids; Craig was not tough enough to play James Bond and had had his teeth knocked out while preparing for an action scene; and that he couldn't drive a car with a manual gearbox were just two of the stories.
However, once the Casino Royale trailers hit the Internet the reception by the majority of Bond fans was overwhelmingly positive and the negative stories became replaced by more positive ones.
While fans of James Bond are used to having high hopes which are often dashed by disappointing films, the buzz around Casino Royale only got better.
Film critics who attended private screenings ahead of the premiere were astounded at the film that had been produced and both Casino Royale and Daniel Craig's portrayal of Bond were widely praised across the board.
What had started off as a potentially risky casting decision, and which at times had looked like it might have backfired paid off.
Casino Royale was the first Bond film in many years that proved to not only be a commercial success but a critical one too.
The movie-going public were taken by the much more realistic and physical version of James Bond that showed much more violence and minimised the reliance on those fabulous gadgets that always seemed to get him out of trouble just when required.
The story was expanded from the book, which is fairly light on story, and involved 007 directly in the reason for Le Chiffre's need to make money at the poker tables.
While the plot was expanded and the end changed quite considerably, Casino Royale remains true to the core of Ian Fleming's story while updating the story and bringing 007 right up to date in the 21st century.
One group of fans was quick to air their displeasure by setting up a protest website, declaring that "Craig was not Bond.
" The media caught onto this and reported that Bond fans were unhappy; they also attacked Craig for having worn a lifejacket while about the Royal Marine's high-speed powerboat that was used to transport him to the press conference.
Once filming got underway in 2006 a string of negative stories were published by the British tabloids; Craig was not tough enough to play James Bond and had had his teeth knocked out while preparing for an action scene; and that he couldn't drive a car with a manual gearbox were just two of the stories.
However, once the Casino Royale trailers hit the Internet the reception by the majority of Bond fans was overwhelmingly positive and the negative stories became replaced by more positive ones.
While fans of James Bond are used to having high hopes which are often dashed by disappointing films, the buzz around Casino Royale only got better.
Film critics who attended private screenings ahead of the premiere were astounded at the film that had been produced and both Casino Royale and Daniel Craig's portrayal of Bond were widely praised across the board.
What had started off as a potentially risky casting decision, and which at times had looked like it might have backfired paid off.
Casino Royale was the first Bond film in many years that proved to not only be a commercial success but a critical one too.
The movie-going public were taken by the much more realistic and physical version of James Bond that showed much more violence and minimised the reliance on those fabulous gadgets that always seemed to get him out of trouble just when required.
The story was expanded from the book, which is fairly light on story, and involved 007 directly in the reason for Le Chiffre's need to make money at the poker tables.
While the plot was expanded and the end changed quite considerably, Casino Royale remains true to the core of Ian Fleming's story while updating the story and bringing 007 right up to date in the 21st century.
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