When you have a bond film the excitement comes with the
discovery of the plot as you experience it in the theater To give you an
honest impression about this film, this franchise, which is as familiar to you
as the nursery rhymes your grandmother told you, I have to avoid all mention of
the story, the plot, the angle of attack, the nuance of character. I have to
give you a feeling for the film that will allow you to say, yes, that’s my kind
of place to be, or no….British super spy W.T.F? I don’t want to ruin the journey
you get to take.
Bond films can be all alike. The Brits have a problem, they
have a man they can call on. He can be vicious (Connery) Suave (Moore)
Cartoonish (Lazenby), Rough (Dalton) or even ready (Brosnan). Only recently in
the last three films has James Bond actually been a killer. Much credit goes to
the writers of Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and the latest, Skyfall, for
making a Bond we believe could do you some serious damage, while at the same
time being a human being who does things for a reason.
So what can I tell
you about Skyfall?
I can tell you those reasons are all there in Skyfall.
Loyalty, Country, Anger, Vengeance and even Love are rolled into a film that is
as much about the world of dysfunctional families as it is about espionage and
action.
I can tell you Bond is damaged and has to face a threat like
he’s never experienced.
I can tell you Javier Bardem gives a performance as the villain
that is truly brilliant.
I can tell you it looks beautiful and despite some nods to
the past it provides cinematography that is at the same time familiar and
different to the Bond cannon. Sweeping cityscapes
and romanesque labyrinths sit alongside neon glass houses and deserted cities.
What you do notice about this film eventually is that it is
not about the physical journey. It is about the personal one. Who is James
Bond? The director’s use of reflection, close up, the minutiae of expression
all try to capture what has been for so long elusive, the reason for Bond’s
being.
And at the film’s conclusion you are still in doubt. But
during your journey you will have seen moments, albeit fleeting moments, of the
truth of James Bond. You will have connected. It will have been with a look, a
movement, an action or a word that pass too quickly for you to be sure. Because
even the filmmaker cannot unravel and make bare the closed book, the quintessential
Englishness of James Bond.
But trust me. By the time the credits roll you will feel you
know him, just a little more.
What you know? Well that depends.
9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment