One of the themes central to SPECTRE is the question of whether the 00 Section of MI6 is still relevant in the 21st century, particularly in the wake of the literal and figurative explosions that rocked the British secret service following the events of Skyfall. It’s a question highly relevant to the James Bond franchise itself, a series that has now racked up 24 films and has proudly worn its misogyny and Cold War politics on its sleeve for over half a century.
On some levels, SPECTRE treads over some old territory, despite an incongruous and wailing opening song by Sam Smith and more tentacles groping naked women than an erotic Japanese anime film. A rogue James Bond (Daniel Craig) defies the orders of new section head M (Ralph Fiennes) and “C” (Andrew Scott), the head of a new privately-backed intelligence organisation that aims to merge MI5 with MI6 and eliminate the 00 agents, tracking down his own leads on a network that connects all of the world’s terror organisations.
Bookending the ‘origin story’ that began with Casino Royale, SPECTRE recreates one of Bond’s most famous villains, and in the grand tradition of all reimaginings, gives the bad guy (Christoph Waltz) a personal connection. All of the giant tick-boxes that you’d expect in a 007 film are there, from lavish locations to women (this time, Léa Seydoux and the age-appropriate Monica Bellucci) falling for the suave agent’s piercing baby blues.
The opening sequence around the Mexican Día de Muertos is absolutely stunning, with impeccable costuming (via the award-winning Jany Temime), and Hoyte van Hoytema’s photography gets to linger long on London, Rome, and the gorgeous Sölden region of Austria. What might surprise some is how measured the film’s pacing is, with long scenes paying great attention to the mise en scène, allowing director Sam Mendes and the cast to play with the expected.
It’s not an entirely even experience, but the film gives us enough thrills to answer its own question: there is still room for James Bond, especially one that has more than two dimensions.
2015 | UK/US | Dir: Sam Mendes | Writers: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Jez Butterworth | Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes | Distributor: Sony| Running time: 148minutes | Rating:★★★¾ (7.5/10)
In the first four decades of James Bond films, the various filmmakers have taken us on a journey from the sublime to the ridiculous, increasingly upping the ante on explosive mayhem and gadgetry. Indeed, it was at the point where the films had become a parody of themselves that 007 got a post-Bourne refresh and were brought back down to some semblance of reality with Casino Royale (2006) with the introduction of Daniel Craig to the role of Bond. Having now successfully carved out a niche for the series as serious action dramas once again, Skyfallaims it take it up a notch with Academy Award winning director Sam Mendes injecting unexpectedly dark drama into the twenty-third outing of the world’s most famous spy on his fiftieth anniversary.
On a mission in Turkey to retrieve a stolen data packet containing the details of all of the undercover NATO agents in terrorist organisations, James Bond (Daniel Craig) is accidentally shot by fellow agent Eve (Naomie Harris) and goes missing, presumed dead. As a result of the leaks, MI6 head M (Judi Dench) comes under fire from the government, with Intelligence and Security Committee Chairman, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) urging her to retire. However, when formerMI6 agent Silva (Javier Bardem) attacks the very heart of MI6 in London, Bond comes in from the cold to fight once more as a solider of the British Empire. Yet like M, he begins to struggle with his place within a modern world, wondering if he still has what it takes to hunt in the shadows.
Thoroughly and unapologetically British, Skyfallmostly takes place within the borders of the Queen’s domain, apart from three particularly spectacular sequences in Turkey, Shanghai and Macau. It’s part of a broader approach of stripping Bond back to his most basic elements, from his love of Empire to his old-fashioned nature in a world of modern espionage. It’s not the first time that Bond’s relevance in the 21st century has been questioned, but it may be the first time since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) that somebody has asked what would happen if Bond was stripped elements at his core. More than this, it forcibly knocks out the rarefied air that the Bond films have breathed for the last fifty years, ensuring that not just Bond but the whole MI6 organisation has to become accountable to the real world. In the light of some very recent scandals in British and America spy politics, this firmly grounds Skyfallwithin reality, just as Casino Royale set out to do over half a decade ago. While the film skirts dangerously close to making it seem a little too procedural at times, screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan (two-thirds of whom co-wrote Craig’s first two Bond outings) keep the film above water by using this reality to heighten the dramatic tension.
On the opposite end of the scale is Bardem’s villain, delightfully scene-chewing and practically cat-stroking his way through one of the more outlandish Bond villains of the modern era, a deformed mix of Hannibal Lecter and allegedly Bond’s own historical villain Jaws (Richard Kiel). With a hairstyle only rivalled by his singular coif in No Country For Old Men (2007), his Silva gleefully tells Bond that “Mummy has been very bad” while making sexual advances on the captive 00 agent. Indeed, this is a well-rounded cast, where even the smallest of parts makes a significant contribution to the whole, and in some cases sets up future developments for the series. Fiennes’ minor antagonist makes several dramatic changes throughout the film, surprising. The new Q (Ben Whishaw) is ideally cast as a young tech-geek, making a clear break from the befuddled quartermasters before him. Bond girls come in the typically feisty (Harris) and fatale (Bérénice Marlohe) variety, and for once are there for the overall betterment of the narrative.
For long-time Bond fans, there are many rewards to be found in the deliberately delayed final act. In many ways, it is a distinct entity from the rest of the film, taking place almost entirely in Scotland and giving the film a clear line-of-sight to Sean Connery. The film characteristically lurches from high-concept to the slicker demands of suits and cocktail parties. Yet as Skyfall works its way to a DIY siege in the final reels, Mendes and his team prove that Bond still has a few surprises up his tuxedo sleeve after all these years.
Skyfall is released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
Everybody’s got a story, and we all have our favourites and guilty pleasures. From the art-house to the bargain basement, movies impact us all in different ways. Judge not lest ye be judged. Here we hang out our Personal Bits. This week’s guest is Steven Savona.
When I think of impressive directorial debuts, Sam Mendes’ American Beauty races to the forefront of my mind. Written by Alan Ball (in his screenwriting debut), it is a richly nuanced film, and of all the films I’ve watched in my life to date, I’m happy to call it my favourite. In a nutshell, it’s about a middle-aged man named Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), whose apathetic existence is injected with vitality once he grows attracted to his teenage daughter’s friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). Below the surface, it is about a whole lot more, and that’s what I’d like to espouse throughout this article.
It pains me that people dismiss the film as ‘sick’ because they hear about the relationship between Lester and Angela. I’ve heard people declare that they refuse to watch it because of this plot point, and others have watched the film and disliked it for this reason alone.The mark of a great film, or a great piece of art in general, is that it can focus on a theme that is generally frowned upon by society, and make the audience accept it. I didn’t feel the slightest bit sickened by the relationship between Lester and Angela. In fact, I wouldn’t even say they enter into a relationship, per se. Both characters seem enthusiastic about the possibility of sexual exploration, and at no point is sexual harassment evident or implied. Again, I must stress that American Beauty does not use this element of the story as its fulcrum.
At its heart, American Beauty is about Lester realising that he lives an unhappy, monotonous life, and taking steps to fix that problem. He comes to realise that the ‘American Dream’ is just a myth, and that he needs to start doing things that make him happy—not things that society believes leads to happiness. We see Lester change his lifestyle by rebelling against his family and society’s expectations in general. He lusts over Angela, as his marriage to wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) has been reduced to a semblance of what it once was. He starts smoking marijuana once he is acquainted with his new next-door neighbour, Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley). He quits his job as an office worker to work in a fast food restaurant. He eventually buys his dream car – a 1970 Pontiac Firebird, without his wife’s knowledge. All of these actions help Lester to recapture the essence of his adolescence—a time when life’s challenges weren’t so distressing.
Lester’s wife, Carolyn, symbolises the irritating demands of society. She is a real-estate agent who is a portrait of materialism, without even knowing it. She doesn’t have to be happy to find contentment. Seeming happy is good enough for her. Her life revolves around the constant struggle of projecting an image. In one of the film’s most powerful scenes, she fails to sell a house, and afterwards slaps her face with brute force and bawls her eyes out in that very house she failed to sell—all behind closed doors, of course. She tries to keep herself together by listening to a self-help tape which features the mantra “I refuse to be a victim.” Carolyn becomes involved in her very own adulterous sexual exploits, as you will find out.
Ricky Fitts is characterised as an ‘outcast’ of society. Or, for lack of a better term: the weird kid. He sees beauty in a dead bird, and in a homeless lady freezing to death. In arguably the film’s most recognised scene, he shows Lester’s daughter, Jane (Thora Birch), the most beautiful thing he has ever filmed: a plastic bag ‘dancing’ in the wind. Ricky explains the significance of this bag to his life:
“It was one of those days when it’s a minute away from snowing and there’s this electricity in the air; you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that’s the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and…this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. The video’s a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember…and I need to remember: sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in.”
Ricky’s words resonate as the film’s enduring message. There is, after all, so much beauty in the world. We just don’t always realise it, as we don’t attempt to look closer. “Look closer” happens to be the film’s tagline. By the end of the film, the major characters have all taken a close look at themselves, and they come to realise that the dreams they aspired to at the beginning are nothing but mere illusions. Some of them realise the beauty in this, whilst others are left to slay their personal demons.
Examining the film on a technical level, Conrad L. Hall’s cinematography beautifully encapsulates the underlying beauty and personality of a quiet American suburb. There’s a particular scene where Hall creates the illusion that Chris Cooper’s character is disappearing as he walks into the rain, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking considering what takes place before it. It’s also worth taking note of how the colour red is used as a motif for a life force than cannot be suppressed. Thomas Newman’s score is the film’s pulse, and it complements so many pivotal scenes perfectly. His track Dead Already will sound awfully familiar, even if you haven’t seen the film. That’s because so many ringtones sound like it.
I have vague memories of first watching American Beautywhen I was six years old. Fast forward nine years, and I could only remember specific images from it, but that was enough to make me buy the film on DVD, one Thursday afternoon in 2008. I immediately watched the film when I arrived home, and my eyes were filled with tears when the end credits began to roll. The film touched me in a profound way, and I knew that I had watched something special. One of my greatest values in life is truth. Many people have labelled American Beautyas a satire of American suburbia. I agree with that view, to a certain extent. The backdrop of American suburbia elegantly complements, though paradoxically contrasts against the film’s truthful elements. Though the film’s story is fictitious, I felt for the characters as though they were real people. I felt their joys, however scarce they were, and I occasionally ached for them. Let it be said: American Beauty is a film you need to watch experience at least once in your life.
Got your own Personal Bits? If you want to write about your favourite film, please let us know! We will feature a new one every week!
An old friend is returning in the next James Bond film, Skyfall. It’s not just Ben Whishaw as Q, but a companion that goes all the way back to Goldfinger (1964). It is, of course, the infamous Aston Martin DB5, the most recognisable of all of the Bond vehicles.
As director Sam Mendes explains in the latest video blog below, “There’s something about the last part of the movie which is deliberately, very consciously could have taken part in 1962.”
Skyfall will be released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
The first trailer for Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, was released today online (via 007.com), giving us our first glimpse of the third outing with Daniel Craig from director Sam Mendes.
We only get a few precious moments of action footage, but it looks like it will be cranking up the volume on the series yet again. The one consistency with Jame Bond is the oneupmanship of the series, but the last few films have been tempered by the cool and steely gaze of Craig, arguably a new breed of Bond born from a audience-driven demand for more “realistic” super spies. The interrogation scene is reminiscent of our first glimpses of Craig as 007 back in Casino Royale.
Skyfall will be released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
With all of the other big releases between now and the middle of the year, it’s easy to forget there’s a new James Bond film coming out at the end of the year, and it’s being directed by Sam Mendes.
007.com has released the first video blog for the film, along with a new photo of Judi Dench on set as M.
Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Skyfall will be released in the US on 9 November 2012 and in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
Sony has unveiled the first bit of plot detail concerning the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, released just in time for the film’s golden jubilee. It might be brief, but this is the first word we’ve had on the plot for the new 007 adventure, which has been tactically stingy with the details until now.
[stextbox id=”grey”]Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in Skyfall, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.[/stextbox]
Even with that, we don’t know too much, but it it is interested to see that this will be an M-focused adventure, giving the mighty Dame Judi Dench a chance to do a bit more than sit behind a desk.
The 23rd James Bond adventure will be produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, and directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall stars Daniel Craig as James Bond 007, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Helen McCrory, Ola Rapace and Ben Whishaw.
Skyfall will be released in the US on 9 November 2012 and in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
This morning EON Productions, MGM and Sony held a press conference in London to officially announce the start of Bond 23, and reveal its official title as Skyfall.
In addition to the title, Craig confirmed his love of the series (“Bond with a capital B”) and said that he could do it for a few more years, and Barbara Broccoli confirmed that “Yes, definitely” he would be around for that period.
Sam Mendes, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe also discuss their roles in the film.
Bond 23 will be released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
The video of the press conference can be found below:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIchuaYT_ac
The official press release reads as follows:
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today presented the cast of the 23rd James Bond adventure, entitled SKYFALL. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his third film as James Bond 007. The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. SKYFALL, which goes into production on Monday, November 7th, will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th 2012 and in North America on November 9th 2012.
Joining Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Director Sam Mendes were members of the cast of SKYFALL, including: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe. The filmmakers also announced Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw.
In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
“We’re so delighted to have Sam Mendes direct SKYFALL and be working once again with Daniel Craig. We’ve a great script, an extraordinary cast and an incredibly talented creative team for this latest James Bond adventure,” said Wilson and Broccoli.
The Director of Photography is Roger Deakins, a nine-time Oscar® nominee who previously shot the films Jarhead and Revolutionary Road for Mendes. The Production Designer is Oscar® winner Dennis Gassner, who previously designed Quantum of Solace and collaborated with Mendes on the films Road to Perdition and Jarhead. The Editor is Stuart Baird, A.C.E., whose many credits include Casino Royale. Jany Temime, whose many credits include the Harry Potter series, In Bruges, and Children of Men, is the Costume Designer. Action specialist Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Gary Powell is Stunt Co-ordinator, Chris Corbould is SFX Supervisor and Steve Begg is Visual Effects Supervisor, all of whom have worked on previous Bond films.
While we don’t have a title for Bond 23, unless they are really bold and go with that, we do know who the titular hero will be wooing in the latest installment of the long-running series. TwitchFilm reports that relatively unknown French actress Bérénice Marlohe has been cast in the coveted role of James Bond’s female counterpart.
has most recently appeared in Guy Mazarguil’s L’art de séduire, and is currently filming Un bonheur n’arrive jamais seul with Lucky Luke and Hellphone director James Huth.
Bond 23 will see the return of Daniel Craig as British spy James Bond, with Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) taking the director’s chair. MI6-HQ.com also reports that the opening scenes will be shot in Instanbul.
Bond 23 will be released in Australia on 22 November 2012 from Sony.
