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40
YEAR OLD BOND REFUSES TO DIE - BUT GOES ON WITH A BANG
Bond plots have hardly changed since the first stab in 1962
with Dr. No. Mad criminal genius insists on controlling the
world. Only one thing stands in his way. Bond... James Bond.
In the 40th anniversary, 20th Bond flick, 007 is personified
in just under his 50th year by Pierce Brosnan who does the
biz big time. This time he's helped by what has to be the
babe of all Bond babes, the freshly Oscared, totally gorge-alicious
Halle Berry.
The plot is, of course, fairly superfluous. But like the rest
of the movie, it references and pays homage to many of the
classic Bond set-ups from the previous nineteen. In this case
'Moonraker' with a satellite gizmo to hold the world to ransom
or destroy the planet, or some such nonsense.
But as we all know, the real reason we watch Bond are for
the babes and gadgets - and the way 007 handles them both
with English savoir-faire. Throw in a load of puns ranging
from the groaners to the laffers and you have the template
many have copied but few have matched - XXX anyone? I don't
think so!
Die does not disappoint on any point - it's great fun with
a ten-minute action packed opening before we even get to the
opening titles. This time around Bond has some real ass-kicking
competition with Berry and a fantastic young English actress,
Rosamund Pike in a career making first movie. Both have the
brains, beauty and the moves to give the old chap a real run
for his money. This shows just how much the times have a changed
since Ursula Andress unforgettably rose from the sea in her
skimpy 1962 bikini. These days the girls really are on top
- in or out of the sack.
Complementing these beauties there always has to be a beast
in the shape of a megalomaniacal villain Bond is destined
to defeat. This time he's played all guns blazing and all
gums sneering by Toby Stephens (Maggie Smith's and Robert
Stephen's sprog). Stephen's has a real pumped-up physical
menace that's a major improvement on the dinky Robert Carlyle
from Bond's last outing. The six-minute sword fight (yes Sword
Fight, yes six minutes) between him and 007 is both fantastically
thrilling and campy at the same time. Classic Bond. And the
point being to take us right back to those less complicated
days with real hands on action - and when Bond's sexy gadgets
stretched to the car ejector seat and a laser watch.
In between these personal duels, director Lee Tamahori significantly
ups the stunt ante with a bevy of lengthy action sequences
involving beautiful cars, racing hovercraft, jumbo jets, space
lasers, and ice-palaces. Okay - the CGI shows sometimes, but
he directs so confidently and with such a modern style, it's
easy to forgive. It's worth noting that Brosnan hurt his knee
shortly into the shoot and that does explain a couple of rather
obvious blue screen projections. Though they could simply
be 'une homage' to Connery's back projection shenanigans in
'Dr No' and 'From Russia With Love'.
However you'll accept all that just to see the inspired gadgets.
Especially the stealth-mode 'invisible' Aston Martin Vanquish
lovingly kitted out by John Cleese's hilarious new Q who keeps
up the traditions set by the late Desmond Llewelyn. Then there's
the glass shattering signet ring, the weapon watch, the mobile
phone detonators, the knives. Yep we have the lad's wet dream
in gadgets and guns.
This also has to have one of the strongest supporting casts
assembled in many a movie, not just in any Bond movie. Judi
Dench, Samantha Bond, Michael Masden, Madonna and Rick Yune
all give Brosnan top-notch acting to play off. And watch out
for the hilarious climax that follows the stupendous fight
climax. I won't spoil it, but Miss Moneypenny finally comes
into her own.
Bond is back for the new Millennium - and to paraphrase Blofeld's
most famous line... " No I expect you to die another
day far far into the future Mister Bond!"
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Agent
007 is back in his 20th film adventure, and things are darker
and more serious now. As his boss M (Dench) says to him at
one point, "While you were away, the world changed." A serious
director also explains this shift. We start in North Korea,
where Bond (Brosnan) is undercover on some sort of diamonds-for-arms
deal that goes horribly wrong, leading to literally 14 months
of torture (perhaps the first Bond title sequence that actually
advances the plot!). Once freed, Bond is now suspect--was
he brainwashed by the Axis of Evil? But of course, he knows
there's a massive plot afoot to take over the planet, and
so he heads off to Havana, London, Iceland and back to Korea
to catch billionaire madman Gustav Graves (Stephens) and his
diamond-studded henchman Zao (Yune). Of course, he picks up
two gorgeous and very feisty women along the way (Berry and
Pike), each of whom play pivotal roles in the adventure.
Even with this more sober sensibility, the film is a lot of
fun, unafraid to flirt with absurd humour and pure silliness,
endless double entendre and outlandish stunts that really
get our adrenaline pumping (only one looks digitally faked).
In fact, the sword fight is one of the best ever put on film--awkward,
rough and thrilling. In this sense it's the first Bond film
in years that feels like a true classic of the genre. Production
values are very high indeed, and Tamahori somehow manages
to balance the film's over-the-top elements (a ludicrous hotel
built out of ice) with more believable down-to-earth tension.
These more dramatic aspects of the film make it feel long
sometimes--it drags a bit, which is surprising, but usually
means characters are being developed more than usual. Brosnan
continues to mature as his own distinctive Bond--darker, more
complex, not completely trustworthy. And the supporting cast
actually get characters who make sense ... within the daft
007 world of course. All seem to be having a great time, taking
the story seriously, but only to a point. It's pure class,
along with lots of carefully crafted humour that's genuinely
sharp and funny. Honestly, nobody does it better! Rob Cohen
and Vin Diesel must cry themselves to sleep at night; XXX
simply doesn't hold a candle to this. to |
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