By Peter Skrzypczak.
“You are a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond.”
This is most certainly the third best “Bond” film of the four starring Daniel Craig . “Skyfall” takes the number one spot with his debut in “Casino Royale” following.
Considering that this is also the second worst of Craig’s Bond films, it comes off as a bit… uninspired.
If anything, this movie is a testament to why Bond NEEDS to be shaken up from time to time. Yes, there is a clear cut formula for Bond: There’s ALWAYS the Bond girl, sometimes a henchman and it is almost guaranteed the spies in Spectre will be around.
But to say goodbye to Craig in a formulaic film like “Spectre”? No.
“Skyfall” brilliantly shows us a Bond out of his element: questioning his age and his ability to finish the job.
“Spectre” takes place after his trials, and I’m not sure what it will do to the series in a broader sense. We will have to wait for the next Bond to see that.
The theme of security state is handled fairly well, especially in regards to the Bond mythos. In a world of constant surveillance what is the point of having people to do the dirty work? The questions the movie asks are one of the few things that help this movie to stand on its own.
The production is a little boring. The shots don’t add anything. The music (aside from the iconic theme) isn’t anything special. There is, however, a persistent visual stylization in the beginning leading up to the reveal of Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz). But after the reveal the techniques are lost. For the first third of the movie that is what really drew me in.
I’m not sure how the general movie-goer will feel about Waltz’s casting choice. It seemed to be more for people who know of his talents, and specifically wanted to see him in a Bond film.
Spoiler Alert: Christoph Waltz is in fact Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Though not fully utilized as a man of his talent should have been, he was my favorite part of the film. The climax comes with the reveal that all the past occurrences were engineered by the menacing Blofeld… only to cut into a montage that falls flat: “Hey remember ‘Casino Royale’? Oh look! A picture of Le Chiffre. ‘Skyfall’!… Also a picture of Raoul Silva.” It feels more kitschy than anything.
All in all, Craig stars in his most Bondish film yet, but should have slept on “Spectre.”
