Casino Royale: Welcome to new 'macho', 'virile' James Bond

New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) Those hoping to witness the sight of their favourite 'James Bond' romancing a host of 'nubile nymphets' in 'Casino Royale' a'la the earlier bond films could be in for disappointment! In a radical departure from the 007 movies over the last nearly three decades, 'Casino Royale', the 21st James Bond film, portrays the British spy as a 'man of action' who would rather be indulging in daredevilry to accomplish his mission rather than romancing good looking women.

As one may witness at the very beginning of the Martin Campbell directed movie 'Casino Royale', the new 007 Daniel Craig tears through a building site in pursuit of a human bomber, swinging from the neck of a crane and hurling himself from ledges and chasing down his quarry with the pitiless speed of a leopard on an antelope, one is left watching in amazement at his feats of athleticism which would easily put him in league with action heroes like Tarzan.

The new image of Bond - muscular, athletic and full of virility - is a sharp constrast with earlier bonds like Roger Moore or even Pierce Brosnan who were often seen huffing and puffing through the action sequences.

Infact, at the very beginning of the film, the spy's boss 'M' (played by Judi Dench) is shown as wondering whether she did the right thing in promoting this 'trigger happy' person to the status of 007.

It was this leaner, meaner 007 - endowed with a boxer's face and a well toned upper body - that greeted a host of celebrities who thronged the premiere of 'Casino Royale' at the capital last night.

Indeed, for many of these celebrities, which included actor Shivani Wazir, PVR's Ajay Bijli and Sanjeev Bijli and a host of people from the world of modeling and fashion, the new face of Bond - 'all brawn but 'little romance' - unlike his predecessors Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.

In the latest James Bond movie, this dour, no-nonsense 007 is pitted against Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) who has been busy financing the world's international terrorists, unspecified by name but apparently drawn from everywhere barring West Asia. In order to foil his schemes by taking his money, Bond must face Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale and prove to the world he can look good in a tuxedo.

Aiding Bond in his mission is a beautiful woman from The Treasury, Vesper Lynd (a role played by actress Eva Green). Vesper provides the only romantic element in the Bond film.

The changed image of James Bond notwithstanding, 'Casino Royale' retains many of the essential Bond elements, including sharp suits, gravity-defying chase sequences and spectacular locations that range from the Bahamas to Montenegro.

Being distributed in India by Sony pictures of India Limited, 'Casino Royale', an adaptation of Ian Fleming's first-ever Bond novel, will be screened in four versions. Besides the original English version, the Hindi, Telegu and Tamil versions of the film are also being simultaneously released across India.

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