I have not seen a James Bond movie in maybe 12 years, partly because I did not find the productions too interesting as they were (more or less plain chasing movies, and I’ve never been a fan of chase movies), and I also did not think re-filming the same story all over again could be really entertaining. And as I am not interested at all whether the actor for that kind of franchise is Scottish or Lybian, has blond hair or green, wears Omega watches or Rolex, the whole hysteria around the last couple of Bond movies was just not directed at me, I guess.
One thing works for me, however: if I hear or read that there is a good film around, I am likely to have a look. And this time the right people said that this might actually be a pretty good movie with a pretty good lead actor and some nice ideas on the action side. So I went, and I will not regret: Daniel Craig is just a very good actor for this role, with the necessary edges and scars, with that certain cruelty in his eyes. There is this nice scene where Bond not only has to wear a dinner jacket and a bowtie, but some other jacket than his own. Standing in front of the mirror, looking sceptical and unpleased, he very well confirmed the notion from a conversation he earlier had with his femal interest on the train: he does not come from money, he has not been born into dinner jackets, he still looks more comfortable in a sweaty t-shirt chasing a murderer up or down a 50 meter ladder. This guy is much more physical, much more body than any of his predecessors, and I am sure people will savour this. The James Bond character of old was established when Fred Astaire and Dean Martin were still role models. Today’s role models are much more attached to their physical being, and Bond sweats so much as if he has to proof that he is up to this.
While all the ingredients for this kind of amusement have been put together rather well and professionally, there is the fate of all modern action films: you need much more than just one culmination point for the action. It very much feels like "24", when the first plot unveils, and it is about a bomb in a plane, and the reaction will be: come on, just a bomb on a plane, you can do better than this! Here it is bombing a plane on the ground, which is even less plausible to be the real highlight. You know you have to wait for more… and here it comes, but none of it is the really big thing, just a look into the dull work routine of a professional killer, sorry: agent, who does not need to save the hole world every day, and it’s not the whole world collapsing if he fails, but maybe just (as this time) the accountant of Her Majesty’s Treasury, who has lost a bit of money and cannot find it anymore. Maybe sign of the times is: James Bond is taking care of the petty issues, and the big wheels are being operated by other people these days. A bit of a symbol of what Bond’s government is experiencing these days, isn’t it? But never mind, those little conflicts can make an entertaining afternoon or evening all right.
thomas4cinema 