CR FAQ's (spoilers inside)

[SlickSyck]

I dont know if there has been a thread like this...i looked for one like it, but couldnt find one...so im makin one. i have somethings that are annoying/confusing me to no end. anyone feel free to add to this. i have always been a bond film fan, but when i walked out of this new one, i didnt feel like i just walked out of a 007 film, it felt like just another action flick.

1. There was a bunch of dudes fighting each other in the intro credits instead of hot chicks made of fire or water or somthing dancing around...why is this...it doesnt sound like a big deal, but it definatley made the film feel less "bond" like to me. Why was this changed?

2. I was really missing the scene where Bond is always introduced to a handful of new gadgets that come out of his watch or shoes or suit coat for a time later in the movie when he needs to use it. again, the absence of this took the 007-ness away from the film..to me anyways. so whats up with the absence of that?

3. If this is a prequal, why does it take place in 2006, after all previous bond films?

4. If this is a prequal, why does Judi Dench play "M" in the film? Im instantly thinking back to in Goldeneye when they talk about the new "M" being a woman, implying it was a man in the past, so it seems to me it should have been a man in this one.

those are just some, ill add more as i think of them...

 

[Agentsands77]

1. There was a bunch of dudes fighting each other in the intro credits instead of hot chicks made of fire or water or somthing dancing around...why is this...it doesnt sound like a big deal, but it definatley made the film feel less "bond" like to me. Why was this changed?

Because this was his introduction, so to speak, the title designer thought it would be good to take a one-film break from the typically lady design and go for something different. The titles were based around the concept of Bond fighting everybody else.

2. I was really missing the scene where Bond is always introduced to a handful of new gadgets that come out of his watch or shoes or suit coat for a time later in the movie when he needs to use it. again, the absence of this took the 007-ness away from the film..to me anyways. so whats up with the absence of that?

Because, after 20 films, that scene was getting to be a cliche and rather dull. It had reached the end of the line, and it was time to change it up.

3. If this is a prequal, why does it take play in 2006, after all previous bond films?

Because it's not a prequel. It's a retcon. The same explanation goes for Judi Dench's appearance.

 

[SlickSyck]

explain retcon please

 

[Agentsands77]

explain retcon please

Retcon stands for "retroactive continuity" - which is when a character is brought into the present and changes are made to his history as he is updated. This is a common practice for comic book characters, which consistently reinvent past events for the sake of the present story.

If you don't like that explanation, you can call CASINO ROYALE a reboot (like BATMAN BEGINS was a reboot and had no connection with the previous Batman films). In that case, this Bond film is entirely unrelated to the films that came before it and is essentially a restart for the franchise.

 

[SlickSyck]

i had no idea it was a reboot like Batman Begins...in that case, it makes more sense for the changes...i guess there's some shock value involved though because with Batman, they waited more than just 4 years to hit the reset button...well, atleast now i know specific reasons why the film didnt really feel like a bond film...there's actually an explination for it and i was not aware of until now...unfortunately, knowing why its not the same as it usual has been doesnt help me miss the other kinds of bond films any less... its also weird to me that peirce didnt want to do it anymore on account of his age, and then they go and get a new bond who doesnt look much younger IMO...

 

[DCW]

Spoiler

Can someone please tell me who the heck this guy is?

 

[blitz]

I believe his name is Mr. White and I guess he was just a higher up bad guy then La chieffe (sp?)

 

[DCW]

Spoiler

^ It's not Mr. White. The guy in the picture I posted gets shot in the eye with a nail gun and dies. Mr. White picks up the money case after the end fight while Bond is trying to save Vesper. And remember Bond shoots Mr. White in the knee at the end of the film.

 

[aahhnold]

Does anyone know if the building in venice was actually real and really demolished? or was it all special effects? It certainly looked reall to me

 

[Agentsands77]

Spoiler

Can someone please tell me who the heck this guy is?

His name is Gettler, and he works for Mr. White's organization.

 

[DCW]

^Thanks.

 

[Catman]

Retcon stands for "retroactive continuity" - which is when a character is brought into the present and changes are made to his history as he is updated. This is a common practice for comic book characters, which consistently reinvent past events for the sake of the present story.

If you don't like that explanation, you can call CASINO ROYALE a reboot (like BATMAN BEGINS was a reboot and had no connection with the previous Batman films). In that case, this Bond film is entirely unrelated to the films that came before it and is essentially a restart for the franchise.

Oh God! This again? Alright...here we go again...From Russia With Love is the ONLY sequel. Each Bond film is its own film with loose references to previous Bond films. So, no, Casino Royale is not a prequel/remake. It's just a Bond film like any other and just happens to explain how he became Bond. End of story.

 

[blitz]

Spoiler

^ It's not Mr. White. The guy in the picture I posted gets shot in the eye with a nail gun and dies. Mr. White picks up the money case after the end fight while Bond is trying to save Vesper. And remember Bond shoots Mr. White in the knee at the end of the film.

oh yeah my bad.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

I was a little lost on why Vesper locked the door. Was she afraid of James?

 

[chintai80]

I was a little lost on why Vesper locked the door. Was she afraid of James?

Spoiler

I took it that she felt guilty about betraying him, so she did it to stop him from saving her.

 

[brazilnut]

When Bond found out he had been poisoned, what was it that he drank when he rushed to the bathrrom? Was that salted watter?
I'm curious to find out if there's any scientific backing to whatever it was that he did.

Thanks!

brazilnut

 

[Agentsands77]

I was a little lost on why Vesper locked the door. Was she afraid of James?

No. She didn't lock the door because she was afraid. She did it because she knew the elevator would drop and kill her. It was a move of suicide.

When she leaves Bond in the Venice hotel, she's leaving to deliver the money to Gettler, the money which she used to save Bond's life. When she leaves, she also thinks she's going to her death, assuming Gettler will kill her once he's received the money (M says so on her phone convo with Bond, and this is also why Vesper leaves her cell phone behind with a text message addressed for Bond - so Bond can get Mr. White and his organization after she's dead). She's prepared and willing to die, knowing that she's ultimately preserving Bond's life. When she says good-bye to Bond in the hotel lobby, she takes him in one last time (it's a brilliant bit of acting by Eva Green).

However, things get messy. Bond puts stuff together, which she didn't intend, and thus she gets caught in the middle of a very ugly situation. But just as she was ready to die before, she's still ready to die. She knows that if she lives, she won't be safe from her employers. And neither will Bond. She kills herself to save him and her.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

I see what you mean.....and it does make sense too. I was looking at how she kept saying "sorry, James" and thought guilt was something weighing her too.

 

[Agentsands77]

I see what you mean.....and it does make sense too. I was looking at how she kept saying "sorry, James" and thought guilt was something weighing her too.

Guilt undoubtedly plays into it as well. She's a very complex character, and her motivations are very layered. It was a move of self-sacrifice, but what really made her willing to make that move was the combination of love and guilt she felt.

 

[ChrisBaleBatman]

Yeah.

I really loved Bond's mixed emotions too. He undoubtly planned to kill her, yet he still tried to save her at the end.....then pushed her away again, then held her when he realized she was really dead.....then pushed her away again (the ***** is dead).......007 is really complex, man.....loved it.

 

[SpideyFanGP]

OK I understand that Vesper was associated with Mr. White.....the thing I don't get is....I thought White worked for Le Chiffre.....why did he want the money...Was he also a terrorist and wanted his money back for fear of losing it to La Chiffe manipulating the stock market?....And if Vesper was associated with Mr. White....why did she tell La Chiffre that Bond new about his 'tell' in poker....and after all that...I'm still a bit confused by the whole 'Ellipsis' angle....I know that Bond finds the word in a text on that bomb makers phone and that it is a password used to get into the secure area of the airport....When he traces the text to Alex Dimitros in the Bahamas I don't get that when he kills Dimitros and calls the number that the Ellipsis text was associated with....it isn't the bomb maker....but yet another terrorist planning to bomb a prototype plane....Did Dimitros send this text out to multiple terrorists?

 

[Golgo-13]

Well that's a good set of questions. I'm still confused about how involved Vesper was with Mr.White and whatnot but as for the 'Ellipsis' password; once Mollaka (the black bomber maker) was killed (remember lechiffre saw the pic of Bond killing him on the front of the newspaper) Lechiffre recruited 'another bomber' to take Mollaka's place, therefore had to text the second bomber the password (Ellipisis) so he could do the job that Mollaka was assigned to do, before Bond executed him...

 

[SpideyFanGP]

ya thanks....that actually makes perfect sense....I dunno why I didn't think of it.....still wonderin about the whole Vesper/Mr. White thing....also even the Vesper kidnapping gets a bit confusing....with Vesper sayin she got a call....its almost as if she staged the kidnapping especially if that guy bond thought was involved really wasn't.....but then why would La Chiffre tell bond that Bond's friend was his friend.....

 

[Agentsands77]

OK I understand that Vesper was associated with Mr. White.....the thing I don't get is....I thought White worked for Le Chiffre.....

No, Le Chiffre worked for Mr. White.

And if Vesper was associated with Mr. White....why did she tell La Chiffre that Bond new about his 'tell' in poker....and after all that...

Because she was working for the organization that employs Le Chiffre. They're all on the same team. But Mr. White was Le Chiffre's superior, and thus Vesper's biggest boss.

Here's the whole deal with Vesper, from beginning to end:

Vesper is initially blackmailed into becoming a double-agent for Mr. White's organization due to her Algerian lover's capture. She complies with their demands.

During the assignment, she grows attached to Bond. When she discovers the organization intends to kill Le Chiffre, she makes a promise to deliver the money (which they were presumably just willing to accept as lost - after all, it was Le Chiffre's clients' money) if Bond is left alive. That's why, after the torture scene, Bond is not killed.

During the recuperation with Bond, she knows she has to ultimately deliver the money. She also understands, though, that once she does, Mr. White's organization will kill her once she's delivered the money (she would have served her purpose and is no longer of use to them, and if left alive, she will inevitably be brought in to MI6 to be interrogated).

So, when she leaves Bond in Venice and goes to deliver the money, she believes she is going to her death, but hopes that delivering the money and fulfilling what they demand of her will simultaneously enable her boyfriend's release and fulfill the negotiation she made for Bond's life. Knowing she will die, she leaves Bond a text message to track down Mr. White in advance.