This new era of realistic Bond
The long awaited return of James Bond has finally happened. The suave British Secret Agent with a license to kill and a penchant for vodka martinis returns to the Big Screen this week with an explosive and action packed movie, Spectre. However, as is common with all the franchises that last as long as Bond’s has, the question remains: Does this movie live up to its legacy? The answer is a resounding “yes”. Spectre is probably the best movies of the era of the “New” Bond, and is probably going to be one of the top five for anyone comparing the movies within the entire bond franchise.
Sam Mendes works the same magic he did in Skyfall, moulding a coherent multi-level narrative, giving everyone something they liked. For the action movie fans, there are chase and fight sequences that are a treat for the senses. For the politically inclined among us, it has national and international political power flavour. For those of us looking for the tell-tale marks of a thriller, you can find an excellent thriller in there. Last, but not the least, for the dedicated Bond fans, a badge I am proud to wear, there is the quintessential bond film: British, Witty, High Stakes Drama.
One thing that stands out this time, more than it has ever stood out before in any bond film, is the extensive continuity nods, and the hints at the ongoing story arc. To wit, Spectre is framed as a concluding part of a traditional three act play. This movie, while it won’t be incomprehensible to people unfamiliar with Bond, would certainly be a bit harder to understand for those who have not seen the past three movies. We can extend the three act play analogy to the Craig Quadrilogy. Casino Royale was brutal. It had a raw Bond who could do anything and had just been reintroduced to a world in which he was increasingly obsolete. This, in a traditional Bond movie would definitely be the opening prologue, before the psychedelic theme song would play. Quantum of Solace, on the other hand, was a quieter dramatic way to introduce and reintroduce more and more characters to the mythos. They establish Bond as he is, getting increasingly closer to the traditional James Bond from the sixties and seventies. This would be the First Act. Skyfall, serving as the Second Act, has the stakes getting higher and the fire burning closer to home for Bond, literally as well as metaphorically. Thus, we get to Spectre, where the story arc concludes. We finally meet are chief antagonist, Spectre, a shadowy organisation that has been controlling the events around Bond as far back as Casino Royale.
This increased focus on continuity makes Spectre a treat for all the continuity buffs. Yes, there’s still the bulldog on Bond’s table. Yes, the old MI6 headquarters is still destroyed. Yes, Moneypenny is still played by the charming Naomie Harris and yes, Ralph Fienneds is still M, which apparently now only stands for Mallory. These and other call backs to the previous movies make the transition and the connections much smoother for those watching.
The story of Spectre is also different. Instead of following the formulas of classic Bond, the stories in Craig era are now more personal. Spectre is no different. The movie digs up the old trope of opposites created by and for each other and plays it so well that quite frankly, it is astonishing. The return of Blofeld to the Bond universe was a welcome surprise as it is, but to make it so that Bond and Blofeld are in fact Mirror images, created by circumstances within their reach, unconsciously making the existence of each other possible is a master stroke.
As far as the acting is concerned, Craig’s Bond is his usual self. It’s how he established himself at the end of Skyfall, that is still prevailing. In a world that is increasingly finding the Double-O program irrelevant, Craig’s Bond plays the captain willing to go down with the sinking ship. A more surprising act was put on by Fiennes. M Fiennes is by no means a mediocre actor, but here his acting really shines. Performing as the newer, more badass M, he takes control of the situation and tries to act in the best interest of his agency. Naomie Harris’s Moneypenny also gets a more expanded role, and she does it well. However, Ben Whishaw’s Q is where you get to see what a geek could do if his abilities were not handicapped by regulations in this world. Whishaw plays his Q really well, and in the brief chase sequence, you can feel that he is much smarter than others would give him credit for.
Andrew Scott takes the mantle of a new character, “C”, but you can barely separate him from his other recent role of James Moriarty in the British Series Sherlock. His “C” is effectively the same person as the Moriarty, except he is not the boss here. That distinction goes to the inimitable Christoph Waltz, who plays the primary antagonist of this movie and the instigator of the plots of the previous three films, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Waltz, let me be very honest, is the best person to pay Blofeld in the entire Bond series. His Blofeld is nuanced and menacing, while at the same time amicable. He does not chew the scenery much either, which brings a sort of gravitas to his character. One other character that needs to be mentioned is the archetypical Bond Villain Henchman, Mr Hinx. Hinx, portrayed by Dave Bautista, is one in a long line of mute and menacing henchmen, that includes such people as Jaws and Oddjob. Bautista does this role quite well.
In this new era of realistic Bond, we see bond struggle with bureaucracy and the increasing obsolescence of field agents like him. Consequently, the Bond gadgets have also been toned down. Given only a watch that can explode, Bond still manages to be the MI-6 agent we have come to expect of him. That said, the appearance of the new Aston Martin DB10 concept car is something quite extraordinary.
All said and done, this installment in the Bond Franchise has a very unsettling feel of a finale. Even then, I hope there are more of Bond to come in the coming years. The world is still a dangerous place and as Q puts it, there is still place for blunt instruments like 007 in this new world.
Rating: 4.5/5, an action packed adventure.
