Blu-ray Review: Casino Royale - Collector's Edition

On November 14 the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, will make its way into theaters.  It features Daniel Craig as the licenced to kill double-O agent, Craig's second outing in the role.  Craig first slipped on the tuxedo in 2006 for Casino Royale, a reboot for a franchise which needed no reboot (the box office take from Die Another Day, the last Brosnan Bond film was huge).  Even so, despite being lambasted in the press, Craig's new Bond film received outstanding reviews.  I may have even called it the best film of 2006.

Casino Royale features Bond on his first assignment with a licence to kill (the pre-title sequence shows him receiving the licence), and is based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel.  Craig's Bond is not yet the suave, smooth, unflappable character that he becomes down the line.  Craig's Bond is still rough around the edges and works more based off his heart than his head (closer to Timothy Dalton's representation than Roger Moore's). 

The basic plot features Bond out to stop Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), who is masterminding a nefarious terrorist scheme involving banks.  On the way, Bond falls in love with the woman M (Judi Dench) sends to help him, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green).  But, without ruining anything that happens, I think we all know that James Bond and love are two things that simply don't work together.

This outing has just been released to Blu-ray and regular DVD in a special "Collector's Edition."  As one has a right to expect from a Blu-ray release of a recent film, the picture and sound in this edition are truly outstanding, but, if you already own a prior release the question of whether this new one is worth it depends more on the new special features than the presentation itself. 

Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition is "Know Your Double-O".  This is a trivia game with multiple skill levels and consists of, as one would assume from the name and the release it's a part of, quizzes people about their knowledge of Bond.  While the questions do seem to skew towards Casino Royale, they are not exclusively centered on the film.

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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