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I
enjoy Bond movies…
Not
everyone enjoys Bond movies.
But I like them. I like the over-the-top characters, the machines
guns that never seem to be able to catch up to a running Bond,
the women who can’t help but give themselves to 007, the ridiculously
huge stunts and the corny, clever lines.
I like Bond.
Die
Another Day is the best Bond film of its generation. Really, it’s the best Bond film without Sean
Connery in it, period.
The Roger Moore Bonds have a style and tone
all of their own. The other Bonds aren’t really worth discussing.
Brosnan, who was so clearly born to this role, has
grown each time out. The
previous non-Sean best was Goldeneye, under the direction
of Martin Campbell.
But almost as though XXX was the impetus for
Bond to finally make a giant leap, Die Another Day
is the Bond of the past and the Bond of the future, finally
finding a place of comfort together.
Don’t
worry. I’m not going to give much away. But Die Another Day works on almost
every single level. Every
time you think you are about to be shorted, the movie comes
through. This movie has the best uses of Q and Moneypenny
in many, many years. Judi
Dench’s M has settled in, without all those overly portentous
speeches. The locations are the best since Scaramonga
had an island. Halle
Berry is a home run.
Rosamund Pike is a perfect second babe.
Rick Yune is solid as the diamond-studded Zao,
a visual element that is both over-the-top and damned near
reasonable at the same time… just the right tone for this
series. As the lead
baddie, Tony Stephens’ scenery chewing is not only
dead on, but screenwriters Purvis & Wade have given him
a sophisticated reason for his style that makes great sense.
In
fact, Purvis & Wade, who wrote the good-ideas/poor-execution
The World Is Not Enough, have stepped up with both
dialogue and characterization in this film to a degree that
seems almost beyond belief.
They just keep hitting them out of the park.
It’s almost as though they looked at TWINE and said
to themselves, “Enough with the accented damsels in distress
and the rocket scientists in short shorts.”
It’s not that they’ve written a Bond that isn’t hyper-sexual
and beyond logic… but they brought it closer to home, as the
Dalton era tried to do without any sense of humor, while making
it modern at the same time.
Halle
Berry’s Jinx and Rosamund Pike’s Miranda Frost are
women who revel in their sexuality and use it as they will. There isn’t a hint of bimbo to be found in
either one of them.
And
Bond himself is a revelation.
Again, I don’t want to give away too much.
But the filmmakers manage to make Bond truly vulnerable
while still embracing the mythology of the indestructible
secret agent. Bond
has a more significant arc in this film than ever before,
including in the Connery films.
And
then there is Lee Tamahori’s work behind the camera…wow!
He’s got David Tattersall as a D.P…. he’s the
guy who did the last two Star Wars films, The Green
Mile and one of the best looking action movies ever, Con
Air. In other
words, the guy knows how to do lush. Together, they have taken the Bond series father than it’s ever
gone before visually.
There
is only one sequence that I would dump from the film, because
it involves CG that simply does not work.
As wild a gag as it is, I would have been okay with
it if the visual had worked. Of course, once they moved forward, they had no real choice but
to make the best of what the effects company delivered. That said, the gag got an applause break from
the audience with whom I saw the movie.
From
the very first sequence, Die Another Day announces
itself as a leap forward. And then the opening credits come and they
stand out as probably the best in decades.
The Madonna song doesn’t quite fit, but you
get used to it eventually.
But the visuals are just beautiful.
You
want a car chase? Die Another Day has one you’ve never
seen before. And finally,
Bond’s nemesis is given equal firepower.
You want to see a great duel?
Die Another Day gives you one you haven’t seen
before. You want aerial stunts that actually go along
– to the degree that any Bond could – with actual physics? It’s here.
The first realistic sex sequence in Bond history? Got it. A
travelogue that isn’t just Prague and Paris? Got it. A Bond villain with
a motive that is more than simple selfishness? It’s there. Halle Berry
topless? Oh well. You can’t have everything. But I prefer her in a bikini anyway. It’s sexier.
There
are many who will shrug and wonder why anyone would get excited
about a Bond film. Well, like I wrote, I like Bond films. And I prefer really good ones. And this one is a very, very good Bond film.
MGM should sign both Tamahori and Brosnan for another
go. They have something
working that would be a shame to lose.
The
last Bond opened to $35.5 million and took in $127 million
domestic. I think this one will open better than ever and will gross, domestically,
no less than $150 million, maybe more. This movie has wide-open space in the action slot for almost a month
until Star Trek arrives, including the Thanksgiving
holiday. People will go back to see this one again and
in many cases, again. I
know I will be back at least once.
As
much as I love Solaris and Adaptation, a good
old Bond film, complete with all the modern touches is really
a joy. Most ironic
of all, Die Another Day makes XXX, which wanted
to bury Bond, look like the half-ass mediocrity that it is.
Now if they could only get Xander Cage as the
Bond sidekick next time around…
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