Month: November 2015

Released: November 2012

Director: Sam Mendes

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 143 Minutes

Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Cast:
Daniel Craig: James Bond
Javier Bardem: Silva
Judi Dench: M
Ralph Fiennes: Gareth Mallory
Naomi Harris: Eve
Ben Whishaw: Q

“The name’s Bond.  James Bond.”  This phrase has been used in every film in the James Bond franchise.  All 23, soon to be 24, movies.  It’s one of the most quoted one-liners to date.  It’s the way Bond introduces himself, usually to women.  What can I say about James Bond?  That he’s suave, tough, and wise-cracking?  That strikes me as fairly obvious.  There have been, thus far, 6 actors who played the titular hero: Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and most recently, Daniel Craig.  With the Spectre of a new movie being released this weekend(see what I did there?), I figured it’s time to revisit Daniel Craig’s films before I go and see the new film.  I’m going backwards here, starting with the 2012 release of Skyfall.

The film opens as James Bond is tracking down a mercenary who has stolen a hard drive that contains a list of all of MI6’s operatives in the field.  If that list gets into the wrong hands, England’s intelligence department could suffer catastrophic damage.  Chasing down the thief, first on a motorcycle, and then finally, a train, Bond catches up to the man and the two get into fist fight.  Bond’s partner, Eve, is on a mountainside using a sniper rifle to try and target the bad guy, but ends up hitting Bond instead.  Three months later, 007’s boss, M, is being summoned to a new intelligence officer, Gareth Mallory.  On the way, we see a portion of MI6 get blown up in a terrorist attack.  Seeing the attack on the news, James Bond resurfaces to track down the mysterious and lethal Silva, who has a personal vendetta against M.  With any good James Bond flick, you’re going to have twists and turns and a hell of a lot of action.  Skyfall is no exception here.  The opening scene is one of the most fun and intense action sequences I’ve seen in a movie, and it ends unexpectedly.  You would think that James Bond would be successful, but as with the previous two films, it’s not so simple with Daniel Craig’s Bond.  His character is a human being that’s getting older and making mistakes.  Personally, I think that makes for a more believable James Bond.

Sam Mendes’ direction is superb and it is no accident that he’s directing the next Bond picture, Spectre.  Unlike the previous film, Quantum of Solace, Sam’s direction is coherent and very easy to follow, with the editing being spot on and smooth.  The film is wonderfully shot, with the film being shot on location in England, Scotland, and Japan.  Bond’s adventures take him all over the globe.  Some of these locations are stunning.  It also helps that Skyfall has a phenomenal cast and crew.  Dame Judi Dench was first cast as M in 1995’s Goldeneye with Pierce Brosnan.  It was brilliant casting, because while she couldn’t keep up with Bond physically, she more than made up for it with her intelligence and wit.  It is no surprise that her version of M lasted 17 years.  Ralph Fiennes is a great actor in his own right, and his portrayal of Gareth Mallory in this movie is spot on.  He gives the character a bit of a hard edge that makes him somewhat unlikable when we first see him, but then he really begins to open up as a character.  Ben Whishaw plays Q.  Now, Q hasn’t been in the previous two films because they wanted to try and take the franchise in a much different direction.  Having Q in this film and the next is kind of a nod to the James Bond movies of yore.  Previous played by the late Desmond Llewelyn, Q is the go to guy for the gadgets, weapons and vehicles that make Bond…well, Bond.  Whishaw is a very different kind of actor than Llewelyn.  He takes his job seriously, but isn’t afraid to take jab at Bond a little bit, either.  Eve is played by the lovely Naomi Harris.  Unfortunately, she gets the short end of the stick here.  I think she’ll make a great Moneypenny, but she really wasn’t given a whole lot to do, other than shoot James Bond.

Every great 007 movie has to have a memorable villain.  Dr. No, Scaramanga, Ernst Stavro Blofelt, Goldfinger, Alec Travelyan, and Le Chiffre are among the best villains in the Bond franchise.  These guys are great villains, because they’re not necessarily evil, they’re just greedy, except for Blofelt, who headed the notorious terrorist organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E.  He’s an absolute scumbag, through and through.  Javier Bardem’s Silva is another fantastic entry to this Rogue’s Gallery.  Bardem gives Silva a very unique…flair.  He’s a little flamboyant to be sure, but he’s incredibly intelligent, and is basically almost always two steps ahead of James Bond.  When the film reveals who Silva really is or was, you understand why he’s so good at what he does.  He’s also incredibly ruthless.  Some of the best Bond moments are when Bond is having a conversation with the main villain.  These can be great character moments when handled correctly.  Javier Bardem is a fantastic actor, and he deserves recognition for his contribution to the art.

There was a great deal of controversy involved when Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond in Casino Royale.  Why?  Because he’s the first blonde Bond.  I didn’t realize that hair was so important to making a great character.  It’s not.  What is important is whether or not Daniel Craig could deliver.  Oh, he delivers in spades.  He brings the right attitude, toughness and vulnerability to the character.  Some of this stuff we’ve never actually seen from the character before.  He makes mistakes, he gets injured, and he doesn’t always win.  It helps give James Bond a reality that’s been missing from the franchise for years.  Some people claim that he’s the best Bond yet, while others seem to think that he’s the worst.  What do I think?  I think you have to look at what each actor has brought to the character.  Each actor has brought something new to the role.  Personally, I think Timothy Dalton’s version doesn’t get enough praise, because his Bond was darker than any of the others.  However, Daniel Craig is absolutely phenomenal as Bond.  I’m not going to pick one actor over the other.  Each done did a good job in his own way.  In Skyfall, we get to learn a little more about Bond and where he comes from.  The character is still shrouded in mystery, but I think that’s part of the appeal.

The women of the James Bond movies are extremely beautiful.  That’s another appeal of Bond.  He gets the best girls.  That’s kind of where Skyfall drops the ball a little bit.  You got Naomi Harris and another girl but that’s it.  Harris isn’t used very well and the other girl just shows up and gets killed.  It’s a kind of a nitpick, but there you go.  The action in Skyfall is topnotch.  The opening sequence was just the tip of the iceberg.  We get some really fantastic action on Silva’s island, a chase in London’s train system and the final battle at Skyfall, Bond’s old home.  It’s amazingly shot and very well-paced, so you are never bored from beginning to end.  The writing is phenomenal, and the story is very engrossing.  While it isn’t perfect, Skyfall is a great action movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.  That’s exactly what the best Bond movies should do.

Is Skyfall the best Bond movie?  No….but it’s up there.  I still consider Diamonds Are Forever to be the best.  But that’s MY opinion.  Regardless, what Skyfall delivers is a great entry into the franchise, and has some of the best character and story moments I’ve seen in a James Bond picture.  I’m absolutely looking forward to seeing Spectre.  I’m very curious as to how Sam Mendes introduces this infamous organization and how Bond deals with it.  I have high hopes.  The James Bond franchise is showing no signs of slowing down, and while Daniel Craig’s turn as James Bond may soon be coming to an end, there’s no doubt that he brought something special to these movies.  I can’t wait to see what happens next.  Skyfall gets a 9.5/10.  Highly recommended.

Released: October 2014

Director: Malek Akkad

Rated R

Run Time: 90 Minutes

Distributor: Anchor Bay Films

Cast:
D.B. Sweeney: Frank
Sarah Butler: Jane Porter
Malcolm McDowell: Thaddeus Gault
Ian Gomez: Ronald Taft

I love me a good espionage thriller.  The Pelican Brief, Jack Reacher, The Bourne films, the James Bond movies; each of these films offers something different and exciting.  While some of them are also spy movies, espionage is definitely involved in most of them.  In fact, the definition of the word espionage is: spying.  This is usually used for political or industrial means of gaining information without the victim knowing about it.  Your average espionage film usually involves somebody stumbling on some secret that they aren’t supposed to know about.  The person that discovered said secret is hounded by mysterious people hired by an organization to protect that secret.  That secret is usually something that could spell doom for a company or CEO.  It’s a basic setup for a film like this.  Sadly, for each awesome thriller that I mentioned, we have a hundred that are dreadful.  First-time director Malek Akkad’s Free Fall is one of those that ain’t so hot.

Free Fall starts promisingly enough with a high-ranking exec apparently committing suicide by jumping off the roof of a high-rise building.  The next day, the employees of the company, Gault Enterprises, are mourning the loss of that particular exec.  At least, most them are.  One of them, Taft, is acting pretty strangely throughout the whole ordeal.  Thaddeus Gault, the owner of the company, comes in to offer his “sincere” condolences.  That’s not ominous, and I don’t know why people aren’t picking that up.  Gault strikes up a conversation with Jane Porter, who was friends with the deceased.  She begins collecting things in the exec’s office for his family when she notices a small thumb drive taped to his desk.  She brings it to Taft’s attention who suggests that she waits until after the building closes to deal with the situation.  There’s a HUGE number of problems this movie is facing right from the get-go.  For one: Taft.  You can tell right from the beginning that this dude is up to no good.  It’s plain as day.  Two: The thumb drive.  You would’ve expected somebody to find something like that attached to the side of a desk.  Nope.  Everybody’s oblivious.  Three:  Taft tells Jane to wait until the building closes before dealing with the information on that drive.  This should set off red flags almost immediately to anybody of any sort of intelligence.  So, why would he do such a thing?  To send a hired assassin after Jane.  THAT’S not cliche.  Not at all.

There are more issues with logic that I’ll deal with later on, but let’s move on to the acting.  The heavy-weight of the film is Malcolm McDowell.  I love to watch that guy act, no matter how old he is.  He’s only here for about 5-6 minutes tops.  D.B Sweeney plays Frank the Assassin, not Frank the Pug.  The character is a scumbag, no doubt about it.  Sweeney, at least, gives the character some kind of personality….mostly.  I first saw Sarah Butler when she played Jennifer Hills in the I Spit on Your Grave remake.  I thought she did a really good job in that movie.  She returned for the character in I Spit on Your Grave III.  She still did a good job.  It’s a shame that she doesn’t do a particularly convincing job of a corporate worker in a very dangerous situation.  The character makes some really ill-advised moves.  First of all, she never should have brought the drive to Taft’s attention.  She knew he was acting strangely.  When Frank enters the picture, she runs away from him only to get stuck in an elevator.  There’s a dumb-ass move if there ever was one.  Especially if there was no way to escape from that elevator when the power goes out.  Afterwards, she gets out and fights back and wins and blah, blah, blah.

Going back to the complete lack of logic in the film, it is completely unrealistic.  If you get stuck in the elevator, you need to be able to escape.  Jane can’t because the escape hatch is sealed.  The assassin can’t get in, and she can’t get out.  You know, having that hatch sealed is a blatant violation of multiple city and building codes.  I would assume Akkad did that to ratchet up the attention, but he fails miserably.  The whole damn thing is boring.  Aside from all the lousy cliches and gaps and logic, there’s really nothing here worthwhile.  Malek Akkad was a produce on a number of Halloween films, but his first real gig as a director is a monumental failure on almost every level.  Free Fall hits all the notes, but it just doesn’t do it very well.  I’m still waiting to see Sarah Butler play something other than a victim that eventually fights back.  Free Fall isn’t worth anybody’s time.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen worse genre movies, but this not even middle-of-the-road.  It’s the worst kind of generic thriller.  This one is guilty of under-utilizing Malcolm McDowell, and just blindly following what other thrillers have done and done better.  Therefor, I sentence Free Fall to the Dunce Corner with a 3/10.  Abysmal.  Avoid it.