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movies, in brief
Dec. 30th, 2008 05:04 pmQuantum of Solace is a perfectly respectable Bond film, although at times, I found the editing to be a bit frenetic; it has the usual handsome locations, and one of the most vertiginous fight scenes I've seen since Remo Williams: the Adventure Begins. (Also, after his sufferings in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it's pure delight to watch Mathieu Amalric running around, doing his bad guy thing.)
What lifts this movie above mediocrity is its Bond: Daniel Craig is simply the best actor ever to play the role. Connery had arrogance, and charm, and a sense of menace in his movements; however, it was hard to believe that his Bond could ever fail (most of the best moments in Never Say Never Again centered around the fact that his Bond *was* aging- that, and Klaus Maria Brandauer, who had devilish fun with his absurd role. See Bond duel with the bad guy-over a video game!) Moore was rarely more than a quip and a cocked eyebrow (although he was capable of much more- see him in Ffolkes, for instance); while his ultra-smooth approach suited the gadget fests the movies became in those years, it gave you no real sense of a human being. Brosnan gave it a good try, but was hampered by a creative team that had no real sense of direction; Dalton simply looked as though he needed more fiber in his diet. As for George Lazenby, who performed probably the most under-appreciated Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (still the best Bind film overall)-he did well enough, in the thankless task of following up Connery: his Bond was at least as amusing as Moore's, while also helping to sell the pathos of the ending, at least to a point.
( A brief, spoiler-laden note on the ending of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. )
Daniel Craig's Bond is fully believable as an assassin, and as a grieving lover; he has both a killer's eyes and a human frailty. It's impossible to imagine Moore or Connery making, say, the torture scene in Casino Royale work to the same degree: this is a man with human vulnerabilities (it's no accident that both Craig Bond films have centered around the possibility of Bond's failing at his job).
( Were the World Mine, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, and Milk. )
What lifts this movie above mediocrity is its Bond: Daniel Craig is simply the best actor ever to play the role. Connery had arrogance, and charm, and a sense of menace in his movements; however, it was hard to believe that his Bond could ever fail (most of the best moments in Never Say Never Again centered around the fact that his Bond *was* aging- that, and Klaus Maria Brandauer, who had devilish fun with his absurd role. See Bond duel with the bad guy-over a video game!) Moore was rarely more than a quip and a cocked eyebrow (although he was capable of much more- see him in Ffolkes, for instance); while his ultra-smooth approach suited the gadget fests the movies became in those years, it gave you no real sense of a human being. Brosnan gave it a good try, but was hampered by a creative team that had no real sense of direction; Dalton simply looked as though he needed more fiber in his diet. As for George Lazenby, who performed probably the most under-appreciated Bond, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (still the best Bind film overall)-he did well enough, in the thankless task of following up Connery: his Bond was at least as amusing as Moore's, while also helping to sell the pathos of the ending, at least to a point.
( A brief, spoiler-laden note on the ending of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. )
Daniel Craig's Bond is fully believable as an assassin, and as a grieving lover; he has both a killer's eyes and a human frailty. It's impossible to imagine Moore or Connery making, say, the torture scene in Casino Royale work to the same degree: this is a man with human vulnerabilities (it's no accident that both Craig Bond films have centered around the possibility of Bond's failing at his job).
( Were the World Mine, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, and Milk. )
