Skyfall

Perhaps the best action scene ever in a Bond film is a remarkable hand-to-hand scrap in a Shanghai high rise, elegantly shot in silhouette with a colourful neon advertisement in the background. It’s short but indicative of director Sam Mendes’ admirable modus operandi – brevity, judiciousness and evocative imagery – which help make Skyfall the most cinematic of all the Bond films.

Skyfall (2012) dir. Sam Mendes
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomi Harris, Judi Dench

By Alan Bacchus

We finally have an exciting director at the helm. With that said, it comes after a series of increasingly disappointing pictures since Mendes’ celebrated American Beauty, so we can’t help feel the perception of his involvement as an attempt of career rejuvenation. Well, it worked. There’s an added skip in Mendes’ step, as he delivers a film with all the energy and aggressive action, as well as a sense of the cinematic, that is missing in every other Bond film.

The idea of using only adequate technical directors to helm these now 23 Bond movies always irked me. Why did it take so long for the MGM and EON production team to realize film was a director’s medium, not a producer's? Tom Cruise, as producer of the Mission Impossible films, knew this. I guess the reasoning was that the franchise was bigger than the director, and that an auteur vision could scramble their money-making formula. The one-off success of Casino Royale notwithstanding, this ignorant view has resulted in a franchise continually stymied for creativity and freshness.

Long gone is the usual opening circular frame of the gun’s viewpoint that traditionally opens these movies. Instead Mendes cuts right into his first action sequence, the theft of the film’s maguffin, a stolen file listing all the MI6 names and their aliases (not unlike the stolen NOC list in Brian De Palma’s Mission Impossible). As 007 chases the villain through the streets of Istanbul, it’s all monitored and controlled from London’s MI6 office via satellite surveillance. The end of the sequence sets up the film’s central premise, Bond as a rogue agent outside the comfort zone of the tech gadgetry we’re used to seeing – an organic, grassroots Bond, if you will, with only his wit and guile as his weapons.

This concept plays out in several forms throughout the film – at first working as a missing agent presumed dead; then after a devastating terrorist bomb, which destroys their building, the entire department is forced to work in a WWII bomb shelter with Cold War-era tools; and lastly in the third act a retreat of sorts to a completely threadbare Bond, as he confronts his enemies in a Straw Dogs-like siege in isolation.

Mendes’ employment of one of the world’s best cinematographers, Roger Deakins, is another signal of the reboot mindset of this Craig-era Bond. Casino Royale had already discarded most of the bubble-gum elements of the Brosnan Bond. But under Deakins' visual guidance we finally have a film with some memorable evocative imagery.

The Shanghai action scene is most memorable, but Deakins' underwater imagery and the fog shrouded field chase in Scotland are emotional and haunting. And almost every action scene is directed with seemingly in-camera reality. Though there were hundreds of personnel credited with CG effects, for the most part computer effects were invisible to my eye – an admirable production constraint considering the ‘anything’s possible’ abilities of today's CGI.

The final act is also an inspired climax. After a tremendous gunfight in downtown London, Mendes and his writers turn the film inward, engineering a smaller scale actioner, a confrontation which recalls the dramatic finale of High Noon or Witness, or as mentioned, Straw Dogs – references that complete Mendes' wholly cinematic Bond film.

***½

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN

Never Say, Never Again (1983) dir. Irvin Kerschner
Starring: Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Kim Basinger, Barbara Carrera

***

“Never Say, Never Again” is one of the few Bond anomalies in the history of the franchise - the result of one of the legendary legal disputes in cinema history. The short story goes like this, before Harry Salzman purchased the rights to the Fleming novels, which ultimately became the 22-film, 47-year-old franchise, in 1956 Kevin McClory co-wrote an original screenplay with Ian Fleming based on the Bond character. The film eventually got made by the Salzman/Broccoli team (aka EON Productions) as “Thunderball”, however Salzman only purchased the rights to the Fleming novels, and thus “Thunderball” and it’s remake rights remained property of McClory.

This is how Orion Pictures and Warner Bros Distribution could have made their own Bond movie outside of the familiar franchise creators. While most of the Bondisms are retained in the film, the only aspects missing are the distinct title sequence, the POV pistol introduction and John Barry’s familiar music theme. But what coup and a slap in the face for the EON team to have Sean Connery, the original and most popular James Bond return to his signature role 12 years after he made his last film and vowed, ‘never to make another Bond film.’ This makes the title (coined by Connery’s wife, in response to his declaration) of this anomaly Bond film so appropriate.

And even more embarrassing is the fact that the filmmaking team of Jack Schwartzman (father to Jason, husband to Talia Shire) and Irvin “Empire Strikes Back” Kerschner managed to make this film one of the better Bond films of them all.

The opening features Connery conducting a training test to evaluate his physical abilities as a spy. After all, it’s many years after his heyday as a Cold War spy. His age has shown and he’s sent by M (Edward Fox) to a spa resort. There he finds trouble in femme fatal Fatima Blush (Barbara Carrera) doing some nefarious spy work for an evil international businessman.

Meanwhile MI6 and the CIA has just discovered that two of their ICBMs have been launched somewhere into the ocean and stolen. Time to activate 007. And thus, out of retirement comes the Sean Connery Bond. His leads track him back to Blush and a slimy international tycoon with the perfect badguy name, Maximillian Largo (Brandauer). To get Largo Bond swoons his blonde girlfriend Domino (Kim Basinger), exploiting his jealousy and rage.

In comparison to the John Glen/Roger Moore 80's-era Bond, heavy on comic book action and gadgets, “Never Say Never Again” feels like the 60’s Bond. Apart from the opening gunfight scene it takes an hour and twenty minutes before the second act set piece, a well-staged motorcycle chase through Monte Carlo. Instead we get the awesome star power of Connery bedding women and outsmarting his opponents with panache. Twelve years later Connery picks up and embodies the character like his well-fitted tuxedo. Even stripped down shirtless, Connery’s manly hairy chest makes Roger Moore look like the runt of the litter.

The film is also aided by Kerschner’s humanist direction, once again showing his chops working with actors, like he did with “Empire Strikes Back”. Klaus Maria Brandauer’s sophisticated and maniacal Maximillian Largo is arguably one of the top three Bond villains (I’d put Gert Fröbe and Christopher Lee up there too). Kerschner admits on the DVD commentary that his stagy underwater layer finale was rushed and never properly lit, but before then his wonderfully conceived video game battle of “Domination” which involves a head to head battle for countries of the world with electrically charged joysticks is a great scene.

“Never Say Never Again”  successfully held it’s own against the EON production of “Octopussy” in 1983 ($55million vs $67million) and in critics’ circles handily trumped Broccoli version. Ironically through various conglomerate buyouts “Never Say Never Again” is now under the same distribution envelope as the EON films. Even then, the temp Bond titles with a numerical digit (ie. "Quantum of Solace" was Bond 22) doesn’t include this last Connery film in the oeuvre. Maybe it’s time to bring Connery out of retirement and hire a real director to remake "Thunderball" again to show them how it’s done.

"Never Say Never Again" is available on DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

QUANTUM OF SOLACE

Quantum of Solace (2008) dir. Marc Forster
Starring: Daniel Craig, Matheiu Amalric and Olga Kurylenko

**

Guest review by Blair Stewart

Mild Spoiler Alert:

Blazing forward where "Casino Royale" left off, Daniel Craig's second James Bond vehicle "Quantum of Solace" is all-action and no script. We open on 007 speeding along the lakes of Italy with the mysterious Mr. White in the trunk of the car and henchmen on the chase. After the exhaustive opening we crash headlong into boat skirmishes and rooftop shootouts bringing to mind the breakneck pacing of the successful "Bourne" sequels, which has influenced and been influenced by our English spy. There's no foreplay here, its just straight to business for the new Bond.

Throughout "QofS" our hero dispenses with basic dialogue to seek revenge for the death of his double-crossed love Vesper from "Casino Royale" while the invaluable Judi Dench as MI5 boss M sweeps up his messes and keeps the film grounded amidst the pyrotechnics. Bond will follow a trail to the all-powerful Quantum organization and its dummy environmental corporation Greene Planet led by the nefarious Dominic Greene (Matheiu Amalric), who's stealing Bolivian water. While water is certainly relevant, its not as romantic a McGuffin as Fort Knox's gold.

Matheiu Amalric follows in a line of recent Hollywood antagonists like "Live Free or Die Hard's" Timothy Oliphant or Aaron Eckhart from "The Dark Knight" Two-Face who are completely overmatched against their heroic foil. James Bond is a brilliant, skilled international super spy with a relaxed attitude towards murder and Dominic Green is a corrupt industrialist who, based upon his muscle, should seriously consider renting the services of Oddjob or Jaws.

It's admirable that the lead villain is a nod towards the real life baddies in this franchise's recent pursuit of realism but it doesn't make for strong dramatic tension when 007 is matched against the likes of Jeffrey Skilling.

Helping Bond is Olga Kurylenko as Camille Montes, the sexiest Bond girl in the series, and as a half-Russian agent for the Bolivian secret service who doesn't utter a word of Spanish during the film, one of the most inexplicable overwritten characters.

Making too brief an appearance is the great Jeffrey Wright from "Casino Royale" as Felix Leiter, the CIA insider who is an accomplice of James. As Judi Dench shows in this film, if you have Jeffrey Wright, use him as much as you can.

In the iconic role of Agent 007, Daniel Craig is still a relief from the aging ham of Pierce Bronsan, but his Bond is almost unpleasant to spend time with, an automaton of cool, capable destruction without the two vital qualities of previous Bond performances, debonair wit and chemistry with his Bond girls.

In the director's chair Marc Forster is capable in his action and cross-cutting storylines, but his flair can't hide a plot stretched thin and flung around the globe like a hot-potato.

My suggestion for the follow-up; slow it down, pump up the bad guy, leave the Bolivian water to the "other" cinema spies
and make a call to Chan-Wook Park, the Korean wunderkind is born to make a great Bond film.

Quantum of Solace

CASINO ROYALE (1967)

Casino Royale (1967) dir. John Huston, Val Guest, Ken Hughes, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish
Starring: Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, David Niven, Orson Welles, Woody Allen

**

Before Daniel Craig got really serious as the rebooting tough and coarse James Bond, there was this British swinging 60’s sex romp spoof of the iconic character.

Explaining the plot is completely unnecessary, because it barely uses Ian Fleming’s original material. Instead it serves as a jumping off point for the myriad detours, set-pieces, skits, sketches, cameos which befit a variety show like “Laugh In”.

The basic outline goes like this… James Bond (David Niven) is secretly in retirement, but his name has been assumed by other agents in an effort to confuse their enemies. But when a number of other double-O agents are killed the real Bond is recruited back in action. Like the novel and the Daniel Craig version Bond plays cards against Le Chiffre in Monte Carlo, but this seems to be a minor footnote to various meandering plot detours. The end result is as coherent as an acid trip.

The comedy is of the swinging 60’s variety, and though this bloated psychedelic extravaganza will barely cough up a giggles with modern audiences, it isn’t without merit. Firstly it’s perhaps the best example of how precisely on the mark Mike Myers was with his Austin Powers series. No matter how ridiculous and repetitive the Austin Power movies got it doesn’t compare to the overindulgences and zany antics in “Casino Royale”. 

So was “Austin Powers” spoofing a spoof movie? In many ways “Casino Royale” isn’t a spoof movie. While it makes reference to and exaggerates the hallmarks of the Bond series – the silly double entendre Bond girl names, the silly gadgets (which by 1967 had already becomes joke) etc. – its comic set pieces including food fights, hallucinogenic acid-trip sequences, the sexual innuendos and double-entendres are played as serious comedy. 

Perhaps the most attractive and noteworthy element of “Casino Royale” is the fact that two of cinema’s great icons Orson Welles and Peter Sellers share the key set piece in the film. In the climatic baccarat game, we get to watch a great game of deception on and off screen. The behind-the-scenes conflict between Welles and Sellers are legendary. Welles reportedly had no respect for Sellers, referring to him as “that amateur” and he insisted his character ,Le Chiffre, perform magic during the game, further annoying Sellers. Sellers apparently stormed off the set for days, leaving Welles to do his coverage alone. When Sellers returned, he completed his portion of the scenes without Welles present.

Modern audiences will recognize the music of Burt Bacharach. His “Look of Love” song, which is kind of an anthem for the swinging 60’s, is front and centre as well as the fluffy theme song, which SNL fans will recognize as the music Will Forte’s flaky high school football coach character plays to pump up his teammates.

Since this was Ian Fleming’s first novel, this film always seemed like a stain on the franchise. Back in 1967, at $12million, then an astronomical sum of money for a feature film, it was a flop. Now thanks to Daniel Craig and the Bond producers, the “Casino Royale” title has its respect back. But don’t forget that this 1967 version still exists, and though it’s a complete disaster, think of it as a time capsule of swinging 60’s and an ironic accompany-piece to the Austin Powers series.

"Casino Royale" is available on Special Edition DVD from MGM Home Entertainment

CASINO ROYALE

Casino Royale (2006) dir. Martin Campbell
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judy Dench, Mads Mikkelsen

***

I’m not saying anything that hasn’t been said already, but “Casino Royale” certainly is the badly needed shot in the arm for the Bond series. An ample dose of toughness, reality AND emotional investment has invigorated people’s interest in the now 45 year old character. After all, the suave, invincible action hero of the Bond series has now been trumped by the Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer new millennium hero. The Pierce Brosnan Bond was supposed to reboot from the lagging late Moore/Timothy Dalton films. And for a couple of films (“Goldeneye” and “Tomorrow Never Dies”) it was mildly interesting, but then the series devolved into the same comic-book trappings that plagued those other films. Will the Daniel Craig Bond devolve into double-entendre gags, silly gadgetry and ridiculous world-takeover plotting? Time will tell.

“Casino Royale” has the best opening of any Bond film by far. James Bond is still a fledgling MI6 agent. He’s infiltrated the home of a suspected traitor and he has his gun pointed to his head. The traitor doesn’t think he has the cojones to kill him. In a clever flashback sequence we see Bond’s very first kill as an agent – a rough and tumble fight in a bathroom. This is Bond’s initiation into the world of the double O’s.

The opening sequence sets the bar high for the rest of the film. The next major action sequence involves a wonderful chase of a terrorist through the streets of some African city. The terrorist has some neat parkour skills which allows him to leap and jump up walls and through windows with ease. Somehow Bond catches up to him though and kills him indiscriminately. This is Bond’s weakness – he’s a thug who can kill, but according to M he needs to see the big picture and “take his ego out of the picture”. One of the faults of the film is that beyond the cool action of these first two scenes, the rest of the film, technically, is a let down. Martin Campbell’s direction is adequate but uninspired.

Bond traces the perp to a higher level playing field involving a high stakes poker game, which if won by the international financier, Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson) the money will go to fund more international terrorists. Bond is sent to play on behalf of MI6 and the CIA to stop Le Chiffre from winning the game. Therefore we now get to see Bond’s poker face and skills at reading people. But Le Chiffre is just a pawn in the “big picture” as there are more nefarious men behind the curtains whom we have yet to see.

Bond develops an attraction to the woman who has supplied James with the money to bet with at the game. Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) isn’t the “Bond-girl” type, she doesn’t chase down bad guys, nor pack any heat. She’s just there to see that Bond wins the game. But she’s also ridiculously gorgeous. Bond eventually falls deeply in love with her, and this becomes a major part of the story. Bond’s is so smitten he leaves the Secret Service altogether in hopes of starting a normal life. But a double cross quickly halts those plans.

By the end of the film Bond’s weaknesses and softness are gone. In the next installment he’ll likely be the hardened, callous, and unattached Bond we’ve all grown up with. Hopefully not. I hope the depth to his character will be more fully explored. The film doesn’t end with a neat wrap-up, as a sequel is set up nicely. A character whom we never meet is introduced late in the story as being key to the bigger picture. I think this is the only way to keep the series alive - to serialize the films into a trilogy or a group of trilogies. With the competition from “24”, “Bourne”, and the rash of recent “trilogies”, just a one-movie narrative just isn’t good enough. So I’m sure the next two Bond films will be fed from this first film.

“Casino Royale” received a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes last year – a remarkable achievement. But is “Casino Royale” that good a film on its own? No. I think the film has been received by audiences and critics in the context of the other Bond films. Indeed, it blows most of those other films out of the water, but as a film unto itself, I’ll take a couple episodes of “24”, or either of “The Bourne Identity” or “The Bourne Supremacy” any day. The producers succeeded in rebooting the Bond series and making it legit, but there still is much room for improvement. Good luck Bond. Enjoy.

Buy it here: Casino Royale (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)