After the success of Skyfall this is another strong Bond film. It combines big screen appeal with high quality actors. Even the action scenes were good. In the first big car chase through Rome's tiny streets Bond is also on the phone to Moneypenny back in London, which means if you're not that excited by fast cars you get some plot development too. It's all round entertainment, with a bit of comedy too, mostly through Ben Whishaw as Q.
The plot is similar to Skyfall. There is a super-villain from Bond's past, who has secretly been behind everything that's going on even though we've never heard from him before. The mechanism of evil is technological; in this case persuading several intelligence agencies to combine all of their spy satellites so everyone can be monitored all the time. They also mention drones, which may be prescient but may backfire and date this film in the same way that the Parkour of Casino Royale clearly dates it to the mid 2000s. The traditional plot element of trying to conquer the world, is absent. Instead this film sets up a nemesis who may appear in future films. Without giving it away, it's a re-imagining of equivalent scale to Khan in Star Trek into Darkness (but not as rubbish).
The Austrian villain is nicely played by Christoph Waltz, who acts calm but with an edge of madness. Sometimes you actually feel sorry for him, as he's clearly a bit of an outcast and has become progressively more annoyed with Bond always getting the better of him, looking flash and getting the women. He is introduced with a lot of gravitas through a very unusual board meeting, unlike anything I've ever experienced, where a candidate for a vacant board position demonstrates his credentials by gouging out his rival's eyes. This muscleman turns into an effective henchman. I looked him up, he's former WCW Wrestler Dave Bautista, and he wisely has been given a non-speaking role.
Waltz plays a very well organised villain, who has all sorts of protocols in place. For example, at one point in his lair he presses a button and all the ranks of spy-hackers behind him stop what they're doing and stand up. Do they practice things like that? He also lives a life of luxury, and when Bond willingly enters the lair a very smart servant pops up with champagne. Bond plays into this life of sophistication, and is dressed to kill wherever he goes. It's another world he lives in. At one point he's on a train with Bond Girl Léa Seydoux (a french Kate Moss, but better actor). He passes his suit to a butler with instructions to "press this" - you wouldn't get that on Virgin Trains.
Behind the front line and waging a political war are veteran spy-director Ralph Fiennes, and flashy new kid Andrew Scott, who you will probably recognise as evil as he played Moriarty in Sherlock. Needless to say it turns out there's still very much a place in the world for Bond's approach, and you can't trust computer's to do a man's work. There's also a few tie-ins to the previous Daniel Craig Bond films, and that makes me want to watch them all again, even perhaps Quantum of Solace.
This is the longest Bond film yet (148 minutes), and it is sometimes a little slow. Highlights for me are the opening scenes in Mexico, and the villain Christoph Waltz. I think it's going to be a massive hit, I went on Tuesday at 3pm and the cinema was packed.
No comments:
Post a Comment