Casino Royale: Significant Differences... Besides the Obvious

There is of course the obvious that comes to mind when you watch Casino Royale:

"James Bond is more rugged, he's less polished that the usual James Bond we're used to"

"The love story is different, it's not about bond the womanizer but Bond falling in love pledging that 'whatever shreds of humanity are left within him he will give to Vesper.' "

and then of course "Bond doesn't have the usual gadgets, just a machine to prevent cardiac arrest and of course a nifty automobile."

but what else? What else do i feel puts this movie in a category that's simply more classy than the other Bond's?

The Villian

Le Chiffre and Mr. White are both different villains than any previous Bond movie for the simple reason of vulnerability. When you think of villains like Trevlyn, and Elliot Carver they're all virtually invincible villains. But the charm of Bond to the viewer is that he would always think of a way to outwit his enemies showing that no matter the brains, or the class, or the money of the opponent he was always a class above.
But not in this movie. First obvious observation is that Bond can hardly be a class above when he's stripped naked and repeatedly hit in the genitals, that's infact demasculinizing and dehumanizing. But most importantly, Le Chiffre is a weak villain. He's not only attacked by people who he initially places himself superior to he also killed not by bond but by Mr. White. The main villain has never been killed by anyone other than bond before!!! This is clearly a different breed of Bond film.
In addition to that, Mr. White himself who would be the "senior" of all villains in the movie (due to the fact that his organization employs Le Chiffre, and he's the one to eventually kill him) is shot in the knee at the end and weeps at the bottom of the steps as Bond introduces himself. This is a key moment of vulnerability that isn't really present in the other films.

Find me a movie blog site!

Ugh! I've been looking for probably about a couple of hours now, but i'm looking for a site that archives movie titles and allows people to openly blog about them, and of course provide commentary on those blogs. It would be much easier than making a standalone blog such as this one. But sigh.... until i can locate that site i'll have to just keep my thoughts on this site alone.