Skyfall is the 23rd EON Bond film, and the 24th, and last I've watched in my little marathon. Released in the 50th year of Bond films, it is also certainly one of the best. Spoilers are active. There is no way to talk about this movie within referencing events within it.
The basic plot of Skyfall is: Hot on the trail of a stolen hard drive that contains the true identifies of MI6 agents hidden worldwide, Bond chases his quarry through Istanbul and atop a train, ending in a missed shot by a fellow agent that sends him falling into the river below. Eventually declared dead, Bond is pulled back in when a series of terrorist attacks zero in on M, and raise public skepticism about the efficacy of MI6. Bond comes in, and after being waved past some evaluations, he heads to Shanghai, and later Macau, following the trail of the man he fought until he 1) steals the villain's girl and 2) arrives at the secret lair. After some repartee, the villain kills the girl before being captured by Bond and taken in. There, his full story is revealed: a former agent abandoned by M, he survive a disfiguring attempt at suicide and is now a sort of master hacker. While captured, his computer materials are unlocked by Q, but in turn hack MI6's security systems and allow him to escape. After a merry chase through the Tube, he and his accomplices attempt to assassinate M at a Parliament hearing. Bond thwarts them, and takes M in the old Aston-Martin to his family home in Scotland, where he lays in wait for the villain's assault. After a hella amount of fighting, Bond and a fatally wounded M defeat the villain.
Skyfall is epic, but not overly busy. Each sequence feels like the next logical step, and covers the half-moments between action. It's also remarkably simple - the only gadgetry Bond receives is a fancy gun keyed to his palmprint, and a tiny radio. This continues with the tone of the previous two films, returning Bond to his roos as a simple spy - albeit an incredibly capable one.
When Skyfall came out, there was much talk of it being about age, and getting old, and feeling irrelevant. The new Q is a young man, quite a turnaround from the previous Bond-Q relationship, and M as played by Judi Dench, is more than long in the tooth, being eased out by management. But Skyfall isn't about being old, or irrelevant. Bond only creaks because he's genuinely injured, not because he's getting on.
Skyfall is about abandonment. In the very beginning of the film, Bond is ordered to abandon a mortally wounded fellow agent. He himself is figuratively abandoned when another agent is ordered to take a shot at the risk (and result) of hitting Bond. The villain was also abandoned by M. See a pattern here? The villain abandons the girl, killing her, and on top of all this, Bond is an orphan who falls back to the abandoned family home in Scotland. M dies - the ultimate abandonment. Skyfall is not a simple techno-thriller: it touches repeatedly on loss, loyalty, and the wearying conflict between the two: how can we be loyal to something we know we may ultimately lose?
This is the key to all of the best Bond films: Bond actually experiences loss. The stakes are high, but while he may win for queen and country, he suffers a personal loss in the bargain. We see this in On her Majesty's Secret Service, in Goldeneye, Casino Royale, and now Skyfall.
Skyfall introduces some new changes. Moneypenny is finally introduced into the post-Brosnan "rebooted" series, and Ralph Fiennes steps in as the new M (Bond: he works for Voldemort). The new Q promises to be more smart aleck schoolboy than lecturing professor. And Bond hopefully for the better - can move forward from the losses of Vesper, and M, and achieve some measure of satisfaction besides vengeance in the next film.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Bond Films: Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace is a direct sequel to Casino Royale. This was a little difficult to follow when it came out, because by the time it was released nearly three years had passed since its predecessor. Because of that, and because of being hampered by a writer's strike in the interim, Quantum gets short shrift among the modern Bond films. However, watched in sequence with Casino Royale, it is a nice little chestnut, a satisfying coda to one of the better Bond films.
The basic plot of Quantum of Solace is: Having stalked Vesper Lynd's killer at the end of Casino Royale, Bond has brought Mr. White in for questioning. However, the interrogation is interrupted by a sleeper agent whom Bond chases. Following clues, Bond learns a little more about the mysterious Quantum organization, including an elaborate virtual meeting they will be holding at an outdoor opera. Bond takes photos and disrupts their meeting, ultimately resulting in a shootout wherein he kills another British agent (apparently one undercover). His documents revoked, Bond goes rogue, making his way to the South American country where Quantum has backed a military coup in exchange for land rights - ultimately, water rights, rather than the oil rights everyone has assumed. Bond meets up with the girl, who is the villain's ex-girlfriend, and daughter of the previous regime's leader. She and Bond crash a fundraiser; Bond's buddy from Casino Royale is killed, and he and the girl go to Quantum's secret facility in the middle of the desert. There, they assault and kill the villain and his pawns; Bond chases him into the desert, giving him the choice of death by dehydration or drinking antifreeze.
On its own, Quantum of Solace is a choppy pretty choppy film; there are purposefully rapid cuts to emphasize the action, effective at first but jarring over time. Even more jarring are some of the story jumps; I could barely follow the plot the first time I saw it. It's a kinetic film, like a bullet that shatters and leaves multiple fragments embedded as it penetrates its target. It's the action counterpart to Casino Royale's lover story.
However, watching the two films back to back, Quantum makes more sense than I remember it making, and really, the ideal way to treat the two is as Part 1 and Part 2 of one long movie, similar to what Quentin Tarantino did with his Kill Bill movies, or with what happens with some other franchises. Casino Royale ran long and Quantum of Solace runs short, but together, they tell a tale of a man who takes on a touch new job, falls in love with a woman who is then killed after she is forced to betray him, and then he avenges her death in a South American desert. The girl in this film is less a femme fatale than a fellow avenger, aiming for the coup leader's head as much as Bond seeks to kill his backer. Together, their story is an old standby: a tale of vengeance.
Bond has been in this territory before: in Licence to Kill, and Thunderball. Quantum is as topical as Licence to Kill (which stood against a backdrop of the America's War on Drugs) and, in aspiration at least, right up there with Thunderball in terms of the romantic pairing of vengeance. What is a little ridiculous is how often M is personally threatened when played by Judi Dench - once before in Die Another Day, now in this film, and - in an effective way at least - later in Skyfall. What Quantum gets right is how pointless revenge can be, and here the girl is the proxy for Bond gone too far - he manages to keep it about the mission, wherease for her, she has not purpose other than to grieve once she kills the villain.
Quantum of Solace deserves a better place in the cosmos of Bond films - but should always be preceded immediately by Casino Royale.
The basic plot of Quantum of Solace is: Having stalked Vesper Lynd's killer at the end of Casino Royale, Bond has brought Mr. White in for questioning. However, the interrogation is interrupted by a sleeper agent whom Bond chases. Following clues, Bond learns a little more about the mysterious Quantum organization, including an elaborate virtual meeting they will be holding at an outdoor opera. Bond takes photos and disrupts their meeting, ultimately resulting in a shootout wherein he kills another British agent (apparently one undercover). His documents revoked, Bond goes rogue, making his way to the South American country where Quantum has backed a military coup in exchange for land rights - ultimately, water rights, rather than the oil rights everyone has assumed. Bond meets up with the girl, who is the villain's ex-girlfriend, and daughter of the previous regime's leader. She and Bond crash a fundraiser; Bond's buddy from Casino Royale is killed, and he and the girl go to Quantum's secret facility in the middle of the desert. There, they assault and kill the villain and his pawns; Bond chases him into the desert, giving him the choice of death by dehydration or drinking antifreeze.
On its own, Quantum of Solace is a choppy pretty choppy film; there are purposefully rapid cuts to emphasize the action, effective at first but jarring over time. Even more jarring are some of the story jumps; I could barely follow the plot the first time I saw it. It's a kinetic film, like a bullet that shatters and leaves multiple fragments embedded as it penetrates its target. It's the action counterpart to Casino Royale's lover story.
However, watching the two films back to back, Quantum makes more sense than I remember it making, and really, the ideal way to treat the two is as Part 1 and Part 2 of one long movie, similar to what Quentin Tarantino did with his Kill Bill movies, or with what happens with some other franchises. Casino Royale ran long and Quantum of Solace runs short, but together, they tell a tale of a man who takes on a touch new job, falls in love with a woman who is then killed after she is forced to betray him, and then he avenges her death in a South American desert. The girl in this film is less a femme fatale than a fellow avenger, aiming for the coup leader's head as much as Bond seeks to kill his backer. Together, their story is an old standby: a tale of vengeance.
Bond has been in this territory before: in Licence to Kill, and Thunderball. Quantum is as topical as Licence to Kill (which stood against a backdrop of the America's War on Drugs) and, in aspiration at least, right up there with Thunderball in terms of the romantic pairing of vengeance. What is a little ridiculous is how often M is personally threatened when played by Judi Dench - once before in Die Another Day, now in this film, and - in an effective way at least - later in Skyfall. What Quantum gets right is how pointless revenge can be, and here the girl is the proxy for Bond gone too far - he manages to keep it about the mission, wherease for her, she has not purpose other than to grieve once she kills the villain.
Quantum of Solace deserves a better place in the cosmos of Bond films - but should always be preceded immediately by Casino Royale.
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