ROTTEN TOMATOES: "Casino Royale" Test Screening is Fantastic

"Casino Royale" Test Screening is Fantastic

by Senh Duong | September 12, 2006

Over the weekend, AICN had a review of "Casino Royale" from a test screening in London. According to this reviewer, "Royal" is a “fantastic” Bond film. It successfully introduces audiences to a new, more humanized James Bond played, this time, by Daniel Craig.

Here are some snippets from the review regarding various elements of the film:

The Film
“It honestly lives up to the trailer AICN posted up yesterday. And for everyone that doesn't want spoilers, know this- Whatever qualms you had about the reinvention of the franchise or the film being good as a whole, you will absolutely love this film as I did.”

The Music
“The music wasn't completed with other soundtracks thrown in as a temporary guide. Some things work and some things don't. The first thing we gotta talk about is the theme. Someone said afterwards that it was by the band Audioslave, but everyone at my table agreed that... the song is crap.”

The Villan
“The main baddy in this flick is a guy called Le Chiffre. Played to absolute perfection by Mads Mikkleson. He really comes into his own in this movie and has what is easily the most sadistic torture scene in any bond movie.”

The Girls
“The first girl 'Solange' i think played by Caterina Murino is beautiful and eats up the screen with her presence. The main woman in this however is a chick called Vespa Lynd, played by Eva Green, and her character is amazing.”

Daniel Craig
“He is excellent, simply excellent. Choosing a blonde haired Bond, was a ballsy stroke of genius.”

Take it for what it is – a test screening review. The reviewer does reveal that this is a prequel of sorts, showing a James Bond who is rough around the edges; there is not a single “fancy gadget scene;” and at two and a half hours, it’s overlong.

Click here to read the full review from AICN.

“Casino Royale” opens nationwide on November 17th. It’s directed by Martin Campbell, who resurrected the Bond franchise in 1995 with “GoldenEye.”

Related Items

Celeb:	Daniel Craig
	Judi Dench
	Mads Mikkelsen
	Audioslave
	Eva Green
Movie:	Goldeneye
	Casino Royale

(1-17 of 17 posts) | Reply

lavatory love machine writes:
on Sep 12 2006 10:01 AM

I don't trust that director after that awful zorro movie last year

(Reply to this)

Merlin235 writes:
on Sep 12 2006 10:09 AM

Isn't this the same director who did Goldeneye? That was the only good Bond movie of the Brosnan Era. The other's stink.

(Reply to this)

unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Sep 12 2006 10:39 AM

The last Zorro movie did suck, but Campbell also directed the first one and Goldeneye so I have faith in him. This all sounds very encouraging, I can hardly wait.

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Aoiboy writes:
on Sep 12 2006 11:43 AM

Goldeneye was great, Tomorrow never dies & The world is not enough were OK, with much due to the leading ladies (Michelle Yeoh and Sophie Marceau), who were fantastic... Die another day was crap, crap, CRAP ! I'm having high hopes for next one once again, after seeing the trailer

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02PARSIM writes:
on Sep 12 2006 11:54 AM

Looks a brilliant Bond movie to be honest. Eva Green actually suprised me in the trailer, I wasn't sure whether she'd be any good as a Bond girll, judging by this she could be one of the most memorable! Craig looks brilliant as Bond, sure he's blonde, but so what he can act and judging from the clips here can also do action sequences. This review hopefully is realistic and will be my personal opinions on the movie. Really cannot wait.

Oh and what's everyone got against The Legend of Zorro? I really enjoyed it for some reason, its overlong and take a while to get going, but I really can't see why people state it is awful.

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aconline writes:
on Sep 12 2006 12:46 PM

Well, I liked The Mask of Zorro and Goldeneye. Legend of Zorro was just a piece of propaganda crap. The story sucked, the action sucked, the acting was horrific.

As for TND and TWINE, I liked both of them. Not as much as Goldeneye, but they were decent. DAD was almost as bad as Legend of Zorro.

On the line of Casino Royale, I like the trailer. I liked Craig in Layer Cake. I think it is hilarious that the theme was crap. They were talking about it all over the radio that Audioslave was doing it. How it would be cool. Now, I laugh.

I will be first in line to see this new Bond. I have waited long enough for a new one.

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BFBF writes:
on Sep 12 2006 01:05 PM

[b]Cant wait...[/b]
Good review...this film is gonna rock..

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taran72 writes:
on Sep 12 2006 02:56 PM

I was excited by the preview, which hasn't happened since Goldeneye.

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Kudos Mooney writes:
on Sep 12 2006 06:43 PM

[b]two movies i am definately going to see...[/b]
this and smoking aces. both look drop-dead gorgeous. kudos to Daniel Craig. i think he'll make a magnificent bond. who gives a rat's ass about hair colour. if you've seen Road to Perdition, then you know this man has the chops, no questions asked. and smoking aces? haven't seen a trailer in years that has floored me like that one. i'm starting to feel better about movies already. now if they can just not fuck up megatron...

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MooNWalkeR writes:
on Sep 12 2006 10:28 PM

why do you idiots at Rotten Tomatoes put a screening review from AICN up as news?...thats not news...

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bigbrother writes:
on Sep 13 2006 01:25 AM

In reply to this comment (#844138)
[b]Not News????[/b]
It is if you're a site dedicated to bringing people information about movies??? What am I missing here. Oh and I agree this movie is going to be awesome. The purists were wrong James Blond is going to be great. Who cares about hair color anyone remember the arguments about Tom Cruise as the Vampire Lestat? and he acted Brad Pitt off the screen in that movie. Given they haven't dyed Craigs hair here, but the point is still valid

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BUCK69 writes:
on Sep 13 2006 07:36 AM

In reply to this comment (#844138)
This is going to be a great movie. Moving these kinds of movies towards realism (Batman Begins, Superman Returns) and away from camp seems to be the trend and its high time. "Die Another Day" had its high points, but invisible cars? I don't want to roll my eyes every five minutes when I go to an action movie.

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new12play writes:
on Sep 13 2006 07:45 AM

I'm still holding out hope that the theme song will be great by Audioslave. Their newest CD is probably the weakest of their three, but still good.

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BuckRogers writes:
on Sep 13 2006 10:27 AM

My interest in the bond movies died after Connery & Roger Moore retired. This movie is gonna kick arse! Not because it's a Bond movie, but because it's a Bond movie with a bloke that is much more likeable than the one he is replacing and more importantly has GREATER ACTING ABILITIES...IMO.

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rms555 writes:
on Sep 13 2006 11:27 AM

[b]Ho-hum[/b]
At first glance, the trailer is certainly rousing what with the operatic choral singers and flashes of explosions and such. Watch it again, however, and it's obvious we're in for anything but "a new direction." There's Craig looking woefully out of place, Eva Green isn't half as alluring as the actress who plays Solange and there's deja vu all over the place: Bond in Venice for the third time, Bond in a casino for the 21st time, Bond fighting in a men's toilet (wasn't that in "True Lies?"), Bond being betrayed like in the last four movies. There's definitely a sense of been there, done that. If this movie is supposed to be a big departure from business as usual (that is, the four most successful Bond films in the series' box office history), why was the original screenplay written by Purvis and Wade (who gave us TWINE and DAD)? Why is it directed by a hack like Campbell? And why is Judy Dench playing "M" again on Bond's "first mission" when she was introduced in "Goldeneye?" It seems the only thing different about this Bond film is that the most bankable Bond in the series' history has been replaced by Barbara Broccoli's personal friend. After 20 films in 44 years, count me out.

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thadeus_79 writes:
on Sep 13 2006 09:12 PM

This is going to be enjoyable. I enjoy a good story about how the character started, and so far I see Daniel Craig as a young james bond.

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thadeus_79 writes:
on Sep 13 2006 09:14 PM

rms555: That is true about M, I was a little disappointed she was in it since her character shouldn't be around based on the movies.

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