While nowhere near as well-written or as satisfying as Casino Royale (Daniel Craig's first venture as 007) this is still a very good movie that succeeds at feeling like a Bond movie and reinvigorating the franchise for a promising new run (if MGM can stay in business that is). Here director Sam Mendes and his trio of screenwriters choose to celebrate the famous British spy by referencing classic Bond motifs and asking the question, is a spy like Mr. Bond relevant in today's world? The answer is yes. Especially with a villain like Javier Bardem, who really creates a dangerous nemesis for MI6. Judi Dench is great as usual and I'm glad the producers gave us an updated Q to root for. There's a lot to love about this movie. I just hope that this is not the moment when this rebooted franchise gets soft and silly like during Roger Moore's tenure. Grade: B+
Spoilers: Before reading any further I want to make it clear I will be ruining the ending, okay? Here we go. It's something cruelly refreshing yet unsatisfying to watch over 2 hours of an adventure film to see the hero lose. Bond fails at doing everything that he was supposed to do. He gets the sexy slave woman killed, he allows the villain to invade British soil and accomplish his goal of revenging Bond's boss, M. The only thing Bond does right was keep his job (although why it's unclear since he failed so miserably; I mean really, realistically he would have been fired). This has got to be the most displeasing Bond ever, even surpassing Her Majesty's Secret Service. I would have liked to have seen Bond win at the end, even if just a little. Maybe Bond should have stayed "dead" and retired, or maybe this tragic hero is never supposed to win. He's damned to be a lost soul forever. It doesn't really make me very excited for the next one if that's the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment