Friday, January 2, 2009

Bond, James Bond


We just rented Daniel Craig’s first turn at James Bond, “Casino Royale,” and were blown away by it. Here’s a Bond you can actually believe—a little mysterious, a little cruel, and a hint at why. He has a glimmer of a heart, but we don’t see a whole lot of it. But hey…in the end, he’s licensed to kill, right? A trained assassin. This Bond, like no other, makes SENSE.

The second movie, “Quantum of Solace,” which is still in theaters, is also great—though I liked it a tad less than the first one. It’s worth renting the first one before you see “Quantum of Solace”—it’s a sequel.

Whoever is behind this new set of Bond movies has clearly decided they’re going to develop this character, and his stories, in a credible and serious way. The Bond theme is used sparely. The Bond motifs—martinis, shaken, not stirred, etc.—are, if anything, made fun of.

There are no more scenes in which Bond gets tripped up by his Achilles’ heel (or rather, the one Hollywood has developed for him over the years), i.e. the chance at a romp with a gorgeous female.

Nor do we see him getting attached to a lot of them. If anything, he uses them to achieve an end—always spy-related—and appears to feel a little befuddled, and guilty, when they pay the price for his use.

There are also no more goofy double entendres.

What’s left? Great, hair-raising movies. I’ve been bored for years with the limp fare they’ve been trying to pass off as Bond movies. This is a Bond to anticipate.

p.s. Craig has amazing chemistry with Judi Dench as “M.”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel the same about the first vs the second Daniel Craig Bond movie. If you are ready to suspend disbelief for some of the amzing stunts - it's refreshing that the characters at least seem a bit more like breathing, bleeding, vulnerable human beings.

Along this vein, I'd recommend the first Borne Identity movie. As much as I dislike Matt Damon, his character was intriguing and the European setting carried the perfect blend of grit and old world charm to truly transport you to an exciting escape - minus the exorbitant airfare.

Spike in Austin

Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn said...

The first scene of the second movie is astounding...in fact, I leaned over to Paul to comment on the camera work. Can you imagine setting up each shot? And editing all that together? Thanks, Re: the bourne movies...I've been meaning to watch them. I don't dislike Matt Damon, but I don't dislike him...At least he made better choices than his pal Affleck.