The Spectre of James Bond

Geeks are a whiney lot. They are notoriously difficult to please and obsess over every nuance, gesture and detail in search of any hint of discrepancy that will alter or dishonor the object of their passion. I count myself among them even though, like Groucho Marx, I would never belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member. As a lifelong 007 geek when that word meant someone who bit the heads off of chickens in the carnival, you have just entered my wheelhouse.

So get the cheese ready. I'm about to pour the whine.

SPECTRE is such an appropriate title for the latest James Bond film, but for many of the wrong reasons. Its predecessor, the game-changing SKYFALL, set the bar so high that it could be the specter looming over its follow-up, the quintessential hard act to follow and the pressure on the Bond crew to outdo it has had some unfortunate effects this go around. I'm not about to write SPECTRE off as a disappointment because there is so much it gets right. But with that, so much does not.

From the git, expectations were through the roof, especially with the brilliant pre-title sequence set at a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico. The opening shot, an extended sequence taking a page of the BIRDMAN (or TOUCH OF EVIL, if you'd rather) playbook, begins with a parade until the camera picks up Bond and a babe strolling down the street, into a hotel and finishes with 007 on the rooftop as if on his way to work. It ends with Bond and bad guys duking it out in an out of control helicopter over the heads of parade revelers below. A really sensational sequence that quite frankly steals the whole movie, I felt relieved and ready to settle in for the ride..

The opening titles, in and of themselves a rarity these days for some inexplicable reason, unfortunately give this Aston Martin some engine trouble. The song, a sad sorry number by Sam Smith that I have previously complained about in a previous post (LICENCE TO TRILL) is bad enough, but Maurice Binder successor Danny Kleinmann's visuals are positively...or negatively, rather, creepy. Danny Craig's oiled up naked torso groped by adoring females and the homage to tentacle porn put me off more than Pierce Brosnan's torture in the opening credits of DIE ANOTHER DAY.

  

This sums up the entire experience for me, a series of extreme highs and lows that by the end left me more troubled than truly satisfied because frankly, I admit to have been spoiled by the previous outing and expected something more cohesive considering the talent involved. However, I am aware that the producers of the Bond franchise often shoot themselves in the foot more often than not so I lay many of the film's shortcomings at their feet. Sam Mendes pulled off the impossible with SKYFALL,
a recognizable directorial vision. This time around, there seemed to be so much emphasis on trying to make lightning strike twice that it appears forced, awkward and something a Bond film never has been, clunky.

A few other elements rankled me as well all within the confines of  a car chase scene through Rome. While maneuvering his Q tricked out sports car through the city streets and back alleys with a deadly assassin hot on his trail, Bond insipidly calls Moneypenny mid-way for some casual banter and unnecessary plot exposition, taking the piss completely out of it and transforming into excess without success. Toss in a couple of bad gags leftover from the Roger Moore era and the movie not only takes a step backwards, but falls sharply on its ass in the process.

On the other hand, the cast is near-flawless with some of the new faces introduced in the SKYFALL shining brightly. Ralph Fiennes' M continues to impress and when Ben Whishaw as Q is given more to do, the movie is better off for it. Dave Bautista's silent killer works his pro wrestling experience (the first of that profession since Peter Maiva-Dwayne Johnson's grandpa-in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) into an excellent train fight scene. Christoph Waltz underplays his main villain role to fine effect, though some of the quirky nuance he brings to Tarantino characters would have been welcome to help feed the initial delight of his casting in the first place. The two big reveals of his character, a combination of Benedict Cumberbatch in STAR TREK IN DARKNESS and AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER, became something the filmmakers should have avoided like the Black Plague. Monica Bellucci was a welcome addition who fortunately lived to see the end credits. And Lea Seydoux overcame her poorly written character as Bond's main squeeze with great finesse, not an easy task for such an ill-conceived character. Much has been made of the Bellucci's age as a Bond girl, which is noteworthy on the surface until Bond runs off with Seydoux, nearly half his age, at film's end.

Daniel Craig, the James Bond for this generation has been reportedly and understandably burned by the making of SPECTRE, but it doesn't show on the screen. He's certainly looser here than he ever has been, even allowing himself a sense of humor (blissfully pun-free). Physically, this film has certainly taken its toll upon him and since he's invested in the entire enterprise, Craig receives a co-producer credit, a first for any actor in the role. Despite his misgivings of one more time at the helm, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in Bond 25, but given his personality, I'm sure he'll wearing his cranky pants again.

So glad to hear a Thomas Newman  musical score again (not entirely sure he worked in an instrumental of that awful title song) and while cinematographer Roger Deakins couldn't come to the party this time, Hoyte Van Hoytema, who shot HER and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, fill his shoes superbly. While I've kvetched enough about the story, there are superb individual lines and exchanges strewn within such as:
"Why did you come?"
"I came here to kill you."
"And I thought you came here to die."
"Well, it's all a matter of perspective."

The attempt to reboot the criminal organization known as Spectre (hence the title) worked for the most part by tying in all the elements from the previous three films together, though I wonder why Mathieu Amalric's Dominic Greene, the villain from QUANTUM OF SOLACE, was missing. The desert fortress in the crater became a touchstone to YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE's volcano lair, as do some other callbacks to previous entries in the series. The finale wraps up in London, something the series has never done before, putting a rather lovely bookend to the Craig quadrilogy. However, SPECTRE reminds me of the recent FX TV version of FARGO. That show works best when strays away from the source material and becomes its own entity. SKYFALL, it being the 50th anniversary recipient, was able to walk the tightrope between past and present, often seamlessly. Here, the references seem an afterthought, forced and repetitive, muddying the waters of the Bond legacy.

When I eventually rewatch SPECTRE, which of course I will do because, well, that is what I do, I may reassess many of the drawbacks I found upon this initial viewing. In order of how I rank the Daniel Craig Bond films, I rank it number after SKYFALL, CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Not a weak effort, just overblown, overdone and ultimately, not enough, goddamn it.

Sorry, James. But according to the final tag, you will return. And so will I. It's what we do.

Skyfall: The Legend Finally Continues

SKYFALL is the James Bond film I've been waiting for my entire life and it couldn't have happened at at better time for the both of us. This is the 50th anniversary of the movie series and I've been there the entire way. This new entry in the Bond canon far surpassed my expectations, which were astronomical given the pedigree of talent in front and behind the cameras, a platinum standard, to say the very least. It culminates in accomplishing what no Bond film has before: It actually resonates.

SKYFALL begins with a blissfully old school straight action packed pre-title sequence, beautifully choreographed with a light touch, a wink and a nod that the Daniel Craig era hasn’t had up to this point. For example, when Craig as Bond crashes through the back of a train car with a bulldozer, he leaps inside and, when he lands on his feet, he straightens up and adjusts his cuffs. But by the end of the sequence, things take a abrupt turn for the worse and dramatically so, showing that there is something more at stake here and these actions actually have consequences. It’s obvious from point on that SKYFALL is headed into uncharted territory where a Bond film is elevated from just light entertainment into a movie with substance and even a heart.

For SKYFALL delves into MI6 for the first time in the series and the relationship between 007 and M which plays out throughout the story to a harrowing conclusion, the finest in the series especially given the setting. And James Bond has finally been made into been transformed into a character of flesh and blood, one with deep rooted flaws and emotions, all because the filmmakers have delved into his past to inform his present.

It’s about time. I’ve been clamoring for this for years. When I was twelve years old, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE was my favorite James Bond adventure and still is to this very day. Back then, I wanted a hero to save the world from an evil genius whose hidden lair lie within a Japanese volcano. But as I grew older, the films seem to grow younger and even childish.  Sure, they continued to entertain, but always superficially without continuity or weight. Bond as a character seemed to tread water when I knew damn well he could swim the channel. It’s understandable that the Broccoli family wanted to protect their one and only cash cow, but they smothered him. Ian Fleming's creation was treated like a fraile precious object, protected from the outside world for fear of spoilage. Therefore, Bond and his stories remained the same without continuity or even a chance of growth. The formula was just that and that alone made it diluted.

Every time the series took a momentary serious note, it was just a baby step or a breather until the next chase. Bond is married in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE only to have his wife murdered by Blofeld in the closing scene. In the very next installment, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, Bond meets up Blofeld again. Any mention of the late missus? Nope. Instead we're treated to a slap-happy Las Vegas affair with Jill St. John and a pre-pork sausage Jimmy Dean. Roger Moore visits his wife's grave at the start of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, but his comeuppance with who is assumed to be Blofeld is handled in Looney Tunes fashion. Timothy Dalton’s Bond in LICENSE TO KILL avenges his CIA friend Felix Leiter, only to have him stray uncomfortably into a MIAMI VICE episode. When Pierce Brosnan came on board, there were positive signs that the character might actually evolve, especially with the introduction of Judi Dench as M. In THE WORLD WAS NOT ENOUGH, she was put into jeopardy for the first time, something SKYFALL echoes. By DIE ANOTHER DAY, however, Bond and the films are turned into a piss poor video game. But with the series reboot beginning with CASINO ROYALE, the dial was turned too far in the other direction, a serious tone that manages to be dour and frankly quite joyless. SKYFALL is a complex juggling act, keeping all the elements in the air at the same time while bridging the gap between the old and the new, thereby regenerating the series for the future.

So many things add to the enjoyment of this film: The cast including Javier Bardem’s brilliant villain, Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whisaw as Q, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris and, of course, Craig who earns his 007 stripes with full honors. Roger Deakin’s superb cinematography makes SKYFALL the most beautifully shot of any Bond film and possibly the finest of any movie this year. Stuart Baird’s razor sharp editing makes 2 1/2 pass by like nothing.

Back in the the 80s the rumor mill (something we had before the Internet), the name of Steven Spielberg was bandied about as a possible director of a Bond film. It seemed too good to be true. With Sam Mendes at the helm of SKYFALL, I'm convinced that not even Stevie-boy could match what he's done. Mendes, along with screenwriters Neil Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, have done for Bond what Christopher Nolan has for Batman.

Now for a few quibbles:

I have to admit that I’m not a big Adele fan, so the title song is a bit lukewarm for my taste. At least she kept her histrionics in check. Thomas Newman's score, for the most part, works well throughout, though in the pre-title feelings lacking in the car chase, almost laconic. I also find Silva’s big assassination attempt on M to be rather clumsy and unimaginative for something he had been plotting for years on end, though it does set up the superb finale.

All in all, on my list of Top Ten Bond films (see past blogpost: BOND, JAMES BOND: NOBODY DOES IT BETTER), I’ll still put YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE for sentimental reasons my sentimental reasons, but SKYFALL sits right behind it. I could say that the former is my favorite as a boy, while the latter, as a man.

James Bond has finally grown up. Maybe so have I.

With great pride and pleasure, I can say without hesitation, that the legend continues and four words give this fanboy another reason to live:

James Bond Will Return.