Daniel Craig returns as the nation's favourite spy, with a trip to a beautiful city with his newest female friend. Upon a visit to pay his respects to a dear friend an old enemy he's far too familiar with rears their ugly head; but not for too long as there's a mysterious new foe for him to face. Can he finally retire in peace? Read on to find out my thoughts about the newest movie in the franchise!
This movie delivers action, great acting, some excellent fight sequences and some pretty nice cars. All the typical James Bond movie features ticking all of the boxes. But I couldn't say I enjoyed it as much as I would have liked to. For me Casino Royale is THE Daniel Craig James Bond movie, with the others having too many aspects that didn't fit my perfect Bond bill.
Daniel Craig is my favourite Bond by far; he's suave and sophisticated whilst also being a little rough and ready. His fight scenes are super well choreographed, although I'm sure we can all remember when he broke Bautista's nose for real... He's skilled that's for sure, and his portrayal of Bond is so much more than face value. I think he does a great job in every movie, but it's the storyline and the film itself that let's him down time and time again.
This movie stars Léa Seydoux as Bond's love interest Dr. Madeleine Swann, a well established French psychologist who unbeknownst to James has ties to organisations he prefers to stay clear of. It isn't specific in the movie so not a huge spoiler as it has no relevance to the plot, but after the opening sequence I was intrigued as to who the character's father was and a little bit of research indicated that her father is Mr White, a villain we know all too well from the previous Daniel Craig movies. She's bubbly, gorgeous, and seems like just this type! A crazy car chase lands her in deep doodoo, with Bond believing she set him up to be picked off by Spectre. After bidding adieu at a train station the movie picks up 5 years on from the pair going their separate ways, with fan favourite Felix offering a job to the world's greatest spy. I love that Jeffrey Wright was brought back into the mix as Bond and Felix have such a chemistry, and of course it's a little bit out of the ordinary having spies who are in cahoots with one another. Our other key characters are M, the newest 00 agent and of course the delphic Safin.
Is Rami Malek the right person for the role of Safin? Yes. Having met Rami he's so laid back he's practically horizontal. He's got a really dry sense of humour and is oh so softly spoken - you wouldn't imagine this timid fella could portray a villain. But actually, due to the way he was scripted it kind of worked... which leads me into my next question of was the character well written? I don't believe he was personally, I was so frustrated that it didn't feel like he had an evil bone in his body. It was really bizarre, he gave off a certain vibe that wasn't synonymous with typical villain tropes. Yes his childhood may have come to a dramatic conclusion and seeking revenge is indeed what any basic bad guy would do, but I can't fathom why he decided to target those he did after his initial attack. It's beyond me. An eye for an eye becomes an arm and a leg and you and everybody else you can add in to create an explosive dynamic between antagonist and protagonist.
Ralph Fiennes returns as M; the gentleman behind the day to day running of the secret service, and we find out he's not been playing by the book. A few irrational decisions have culminated in a very high risk asset with unspeakable power falling into the wrong hands. He looks and acts like a whipped dog throughout, and we find other characters are repelled by his actions and secrets, leading to their decision to help Bond against his wishes.
My favourite sequence was actually a relatively small part of the story, with a cameo from Ana De Armas, starring as Paloma. That short but sweet segment actually made me think wow, she'd be a great female Bond. She is just so charming! And the character stood out so much more than any of her female counterparts, both in terms of her attitude, looks and her combat skills. Despite her newbie façade and lack of professionalism, which I'm sure she'll learn with time, I think this isn't the last we'll see of her. I love this actress and I think everyone can fall in love with her so easily. You might recognise her from Knives Out, another movie where she starred alongside Daniel Craig.
The actual movie is an enjoyable watch visually, with some fantastic stunts, driving, special effects etc. I can't say that it was a total flop. I just wish I could have liked it more. It was trying to bounce between so many different storylines and felt unfocused. We could have done with a bit more character development. I think I would prefer to have one-shot movies in future, rather than a huge continuous story arc that spans 5 movies. There are some aspects of the writing that I acknowledge work well as tie-ins but then a lot of it feels shoehorned. It's in there for the sake of it rather than to enrich the narrative. If you're a Bond fan you won't want to miss it, but don't go in with high expectations. For a movie that got delayed for so long I didn't feel like it was worth the wait.
Review by CB
コメント