November 21, 2002

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…

SPEAKING OF MGM:  The studio will be adding another smart Bond girl to the executive roster on December 1.  Kristin Borella, currently of Bumble Ward & Associates heads to Santa Monica as VP of National Publicity, filling the slot created by the promotion of Eric Kops.

And Kristin will not be joining MGM alone.  She’s publicizing for two now.  The lithe Borella will soon have a belly, as her baby grows.  She’s due early next summer.

Its always nice when good things happen to good people in this biz.  Congrats to the Borella, the belly and MGM.

Now, if we can only get a handle on the persistent rumor that Michael DeLuca is leaving DreamWorks to run the flailing (pre-Bond) studio.  Mike has denied even meeting with MGM as recently as a couple of weeks ago.  But if they’re hiring…

READER OF THE DAY:  NRPD BLUE writes:  “I MUST respond to this note from your reader of the day:

"Many years, there are hardly five lead performances from women to nominate. (Think about lightweight   or insignificant movies like Bridget Jones, Chocolat, Marvin’s Room, Music of the Heart, Love Field, Blue Sky that have won Best Actress nominations). "

AAARRRRGGHHH

This hindsight complaint is a common but foolish . There are always AT LEAST 5 worthy performances in each category. The question is just whether or not Hollywood, and by extension the Academy , notices. Just glancing at a few of   the years mentioned ---there was stellar work that went ignored:

2001 -I'm not going to quibble with Zellweger's nomination there because I think it was the second strongest of the bunch (everyone complains that they ignore comedy but whenever a comedic performance is nominated, people complain that it's lightweight -no one's ever satisfied.)

But at any rate, the Academy ignored the devastating work by Charlotte Rampling in Under the Sand, the thrilling breakthrough of Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive, the lauded Tilda Swinton for the Deep End, and the little seen but terrific character study by Stockard Channing in The Business of Strangers...not to mention Kirsten Dunst's touching portrayal of a teen alcoholic in crazy/beautiful. That's a whole shortlist in and of itself!

2000 -They shut out complicated performances by Gillian Anderson in The House of Mirth and Bjork's visceral debut in Dancer in the Dark. And certainly genre performances by Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger or Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath were just as worthy as that standard romantic turn from Juliette Binoche in Chocolat.

1999 -Meryl got her 12th nom for Music of the Heart but try telling critics and smart auds out there that that spot shouldn't have gone to either Reese Witherspoon's comic near-genius in Election or Kate Winslet's incendiary work in Holy Smoke! which is, imho, her finest screen performance (and that's saying a lot when you look at her impressive filmography)

It's not the lack of quality contenders. It's the lack of attention paid to actresses in general even though they've contributed as much to the cinema as the male stars have.

Try this experiment with friends and family (I've done it) and ask them to list some great performances or screen talents. Chances are you'll hear a familiar list: Pacino, DeNiro, Hanks, Nicholson, Brando, etc... occasionally you'll hear Streep (but that's about the only woman that will be mentioned) Why are you not hearing names like Julianne Moore ---an actor who is actually pushing the artform forward?

The sad frustrating thing is that the media and audiences seem to pay more attention to the men.”

And this from D’ PLAN:  “Responding to the reader who said this year has been great for women---

Without mentioning "Real Women Have Curves" , "Unfaithful", "Far From Heaven"... and in the same breath mentioning "Divine Secrets?" and was that Cameron Diaz reference meant for "Sweetest Thing"? In what universe were they great women's roles?”

E ME:  Are you ready to be shaken and stirred?