I know I said I was sick of the Bond series, and I had no interest to see the Craig Bond movies again, but after kihei asked about that particular era, I thought back, and realized that I had forgotten a lot of the details. That piqued my curiosity, so I actually did it and watched the last four Bond movies. Now, other than the television episode from Climax! in 1954, and the comedy version of Casino Royale in 1967, I have seen every Bond adaptation in existence.
Before I go into the Craig era, I have to add to my review of the Brosnan era. While I still find him rather boring, and his movies made me completely sick of the series, I realize now, after some time away to distance myself from the bad aftertaste of that terrible, terrible last movie, that he probably deserves more props that I have initially given him. During the Dalton era, producers had felt the tides of change, and when The Living Daylights, still grounded in the Cold War conflict but with a harder edge, failed to reignite fanfare, License to Kill effectively jumped genre and became something else entirely different, though remnants of the old formula . When that failed, it led to a flux. The old formula had become diminished returns, and an effort to turn Bond closer to his action hero compatriots have not worked, so producers were at a lost.
Brosnan took over during this time, when the Cold War was definitely over, but his character was very much a product of the Cold War. Frankly, that is as bad as a hand an actor can get. Goldeneye could still tap into the residues of the Cold War, and it remained for many the best movie in this particular era as a result, but after that, the movies continued to drop in quality, evidenced by the fact that they were the three worst reviewed Bond movies in the entire series. The budgets were bigger, and the set pieces were more spectacular than ever, but the plots became increasingly ridiculous and over-the-top. Bond, consequently, felt lost, because like in real life, there was just no more tangible enemy, and the writers had to make things up to compensate. In such a difficult environment, Brosnan honestly did a fine job to keep the franchise alive, and he deserves a lot of credit. His movies might have sucked, but he did not, and he has the box office to prove it.
When Craig first took over, the world had changed once again, and Bond and his signature genre, the spy thriller, actually fitted right in. However, at the same time, everything was more ambiguous than ever before, and the old formula from the last millennium would not work. Additionally, people already criticized his choice as Bond, because not only was he a relatively unknown to the world, he also looked very different from past Bonds. Even his blonde hair, a departure from past brunettes, was subject for criticism. Craig, to his credit, took the criticism head on, and he delivered one of the most nuanced and quite possibly the best acted Bond in franchise history. Like this current era, his Bond is also full of ambiguity and doubts, which he often conveys with just one look, and he makes this superspy very relatable. Past Bonds are either a lover or a fighter, but Craig's rendition makes both aspects a part of his character. He is laser focused and rather cold, but when he turns on the charms, often in an instance, it still feels natural and not forced. Add on the difficult stunts and complex fight scenes, he instantly takes over Connery as my favourite Bond.
Thus, I also have Casino Royale as the best Craig era movie. It is very fast paced and the stunts are better than ever, but this is also the first time that the audience see Bond evolve. The Bond franchise is an anomaly in that the audience is perfectly fine with a character that is set and does not change at all, but Casino Royale changed all that. We see Bond gets his start in a brief but informative opening scene, and throughout the movie, he continues to show doubt in his chosen profession and the moral choses he made. Add to the fact that the movie gives time for the romance between the main Bond girl and Bond to develop, and she too changes throughout the movie, so much so that she instantly becomes one of the best, if not the best Bond girl in the franchise, it is definitely the most complete, if not the best Bond movie ever made. The only complaint is that Bond becomes too much like Jason Bourne, another successful franchise that revitalized the spy thriller genre and is the first to bring it into the new age, but that is what the audience want at the time. Bond, after all, has always been an exercise in popular entertainment, and when done well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Despite my praise, I am not sure I am a complete fan of this era. People trash on Quantum of Solace, but despite the annoying fast cuts, and the anti-climatic end fight scene, I actually enjoy it, since I see it as a direct sequel. The ending is actually well-done, because not only does it bring it back to the first scene of Casino Royale, it also gives the story closure. Plus, I like that this is the first time that the main Bond girl does not sleep with Bond, and she acts more like an equal, because that is a nice welcome change from past Bond movies. Unfortunately, Skyfall signaled that the change is brief. It starts off well, with an impressive opening sequence, a great villain that fascinates, and the action set pieces are probably some of the most memorable. However, for some reason, Mendes decides to change the pace and switch it into Home Alone in the last quarter, and the movie pretty much comes to a screeching halt, a common problem in the old Bond movies. It also promises more development for the character, but none of that is ever followed-up on, and Bond pretty much stays the same throughout, as usual in the original series. Finally, the female M is killed off and replaced with a male M, and both Q and Moneypenny are brought back, which indicates that the producers wants to do a U-turn and bring the franchise back to the original form. Spectre confirms it, because everything feels like it is back to the old Bond formula. From the rather uninspired plot, a clear battle between good and evil, a henchman, tin can automobiles that explodes upon the slightest contact, the new M who is very much Bernard Lee-esque, and a useless damsel-in-distress Bond girl that causes more trouble for Bond to solve, one can argue that Mendes wanted to pay homage to the franchise, and the producers want to differentiate it from the Bourne series, but Spectre just plain bores, and further proves that the old formula no longer works. Worst of all, it completely recons the backstory of Blofeld and gives him a connection to Bond to make sense of their rivalrry, but that explanation actually creates more problems and plotholes.
Craig has one more movie in his tenure, so I cannot give a definite conclusive review, but so far, it has been two distinct halves that is only enjoyable at the top. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is given credit as one of the screenwriters for No Time to Die, the last entry of the Craig era, but she is pretty much the script doctor, and she has proven that she knows the artform well, so I have hope, though I fear she will just end up as a clog in the Bond machine. I will still see it, to complete the series, but overall, I am cautiously optimistic.
. There's also an evil environmentalist who wants to wipe out the face of Earth and start over again on a terraformed Mars, seemingly just because he's evil and he can. Maybe the plot got lost in translation, but there it is. Korea's first sci-fi blockbuster seems to be jumping on the bandwagon started by the Chinese with The Wandering Earth and that other similar movie that I saw not even a year ago and can't remember the name of. Like those, it features a smorgasbord of CGI and explosions that would make Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay proud. It has good visuals and there's a robot that seems "inspired" by one or more Star Wars movies. There's action, a number of laughs, some heart and quite a bit of melodrama. Some parts are actually cute and funny (mostly involving the little girl) and some are stupid. The plot doesn't make any sense. I still don't understand it. It's not a good movie at all, but it's also silly and harmless. I was laughing at it because of how absurd it is and almost enjoyed it on that level. It's stupid, but sort of entertaining, though I did get a little tired of it near the end as it dragged on too long. I wouldn't suggest that anyone pay to see it, but it's on Netflix, so it's virtually free and maybe it'll scratch an itch if you have one for some dumb, commercial, CGI-heavy entertainment set in space. English dubbing is available for those who like things extra cheesy.
