Spectre

SPECTRE
2015 | Dir. Sam Mendes | 148 Minutes

"You're a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond."

James Bond follows up on a lead left behind by the late M and discovers a sinister secret organization. In order to locate and confront the evil mastermind, Bond must protect the daughter of a past enemy. Meanwhile, the future of MI6 is threatened by the arrogant head of the Joint Intelligence Service.

Directly following Skyfall, Sam Mendes' Spectre is a decidedly less daring, less engaging picture by comparison. Constructing a cohesive continuity within Daniel Craig's James Bond films is an intriguing idea but the culmination of the ongoing story in Spectre leaves much to be desired. The return of the ultimate Bond nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld is disappointingly mishandled as the screenwriters predictably cast Blofeld in the role of puppet master behind the primary antagonists from the last three films while needlessly giving him a personal motivation for specifically targeting Bond that borders on nonsensical. The side plot that once again questions MI6's place in the modern world would have been interesting, if somewhat redundant, had it not been completely undercut by the fact the dissenting voice this time around is SPECTRE in disguise.

Visually, Spectre is a dark and flat picture. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema makes the stylistic choice to frame the picture dead center on the subject for the majority of his shots, burning out all sense of drama from any given scene. The secret meeting in Rome is a prime example, quickly coming across as more of an eye-straining slog than a tense and unpredictable sequence.

With the exception of the excellent cold open set in Mexico City, the action scenes are fine if somewhat standard. Highlights include a nighttime car chase in Rome with a few comedic flourishes that would have been fitting in the Roger Moore era, an elaborate destructive pursuit sequence in the Austrian Alps, and an intense brawl between Bond and gigantic strongman Mr. Hinx onboard a train. The climatic action sequence in the bombed out remains of the former MI6 headquarters is disappointingly rote and uninspired, amounting to Bond being presented with an impossible choice that quickly proves to be far from impossible.

Daniel Craig confidently takes on the role of James Bond for the fourth time and he remains consistently great in the part even if the writing is noticeably weak for this installment. As love interest Madeleine Swann, Léa Seydoux is convincingly headstrong and subtly vulnerable, exhibiting a deep-seated world-weariness that is difficult to quantify. Craig and Seydoux are excellent performers but they share very little on screen chemistry and the romance at the core of the picture simply doesn't work. Though the script doesn't do him any favors, casting Christoph Waltz in the role of Ernst Stavro Blofeld is an inspired choice and he makes the most of the hand he was dealt, demonstrating a believably menacing intelligence in spite of the absurdity of the material. The film also features Dave Bautista delivering a fun performance as the skillful sadistic brute Mr. Hinx, Andrew Scott appropriately irritating as Joint Intelligence Service head Max Denbigh, and Monica Bellucci as the tormented widow of a SPECTRE operative. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, and Rory Kinnear return as M, Moneypenny, Q, and Bill Tanner, each with a bit more to do than in Skyfall, while Jesper Christensen delivers a brief but harrowing performance reprising the role of Mr. White. A welcome sight, Judi Dench also makes a cameo appearance as the former M.

While it is ostensibly a competently constructed action film, Spectre falls well below the high standard set by Skyfall. The picture ties together all of Daniel Craig's James Bond films a little too neatly, not quite cleverly, and the major plot revelations it offers fall completely flat. It isn't necessarily one of the worst Bond pictures but frustratingly it could have been a much better installment considering how it has all the right pieces.


THE COLD OPEN
The elaborate Mexico City Day of the Dead action sequence is truly excellent, really one of the best cold open sequences of the entire franchise. The helicopter stunt is a real show stopper. It's a gripping, well-paced action sequence that the rest of the picture fails to match.


THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" is overproduced and somewhat dull, a weepy dirge of a tune. Though it is arguably one of the weaker James Bond theme songs, it is the second song from the series to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. However, Daniel Kleinman's opening title sequence is another winner, prominently featuring a foreboding octopus motif inspired by the SPECTRE insignia. The segment featuring a collage of eyes is chilling, while the segment with clips from past films is cheesy as hell.


THE BOND GIRL
Dr. Madeleine Swann is meant to be an ideal match for Bond, an intelligent and capable somewhat prickly woman who is no stranger to the violent world of her father Mr. White. Though she demonstrates that she can handle a gun and she saves Bond from certain death on more than one occasion, she is still relegated to the role of damsel in distress when she is first introduced and during the final act. Dr. Swann is last seen riding off with Bond in his Aston Martin at the end of the picture, Bond having chosen her over revenge and continued employment with MI6, but nothing suggests their relationship will last any longer than Bond's previous romances.


THE BOND VILLAIN
Reintroducing Blofeld as Bond's adoptive brother Franz Oberhauser, and tying his villainous origin to Bond childhood is an unfortunate mistake. This new Blofeld is motivated simply by murderous jealousy, committing patricide and taking on his mother's name simply because his father took a liking to Bond. While he has the trademark white Persian, the proclivity to place Bond in an impractical death trap only to have him escape, and even the disfiguring facial scar by the final act of the film, Blofeld's forced connection to Bond makes him far less intriguing than previous incarnations of the quintessential Bond villain.


FEATURED HENCHMAN
The massive taciturn Mr. Hinx is cut from the same mold as Oddjob and Jaws, a sadistic killer with a quirky gimmick - a set of metal thumb nails he uses to gouge out the eyes of a rival when he is first introduced. Hinx encounters Bond three times in the film, presented as a nigh indestructible opponent. Despite speaking only once - he curses just as he is dragged by the neck by a half dozen kegs out of the cargo door of a speeding train, he exudes a surprising amount of personality.


BEST GADGET
The exploding wristwatch is classic Bond movie trope put to excellent use in stopping another time-honored Bond movie trope: the impractical death trap.


FLEMING FIDELITY
The secret organization SPECTRE and its leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld were first introduced in Ian Fleming's eighth James Bond novel Thunderball first published in 1961. Hannes Oberhauser was introduced as Bond's childhood skiing instructor and father figure in Fleming's short story Octopussy first published in 1966.


MCCLORY'S SPECTRE
Written to be the first Bond film, author Ian Fleming collaborated with Kevin McClory and Jack Whittingham on the initial screenplay for Thunderball. Losing faith in McClory's cinematic vision for Bond, Fleming repurposed the story and used it for his eighth Bond novel published in 1961. McClory and Whittingham sued Fleming, and the case was settled out of court resulting in McClory gaining the literary and film rights for the screenplay. McClory is credited as a producer for Thunderball and eventually produced the awful 1983 Taliafilm remake Never Say Never Again featuring a spiteful Sean Connery as Bond. In 2013, MGM formally acquired the complete film rights for the concept of SPECTRE from the McClory estate as well as all of the characters associated with the organization, paving the way for Spectre to reincorporate the evil organization and Bond's arch-nemesis Blofeld into Eon Productions' James Bond film franchise.


FRAGMENTS
- Gary Oldman was approached for the role of Ernst Stavro Blofeld

- Christoph Waltz and Léa Seydoux previously appeared together in Inglourious Basterds

- Bond, Moneypenny, Tanner, and M meet in London at a safe house disguised as the business "Hildebrand Prints & Rarities", an homage to the Ian Fleming's short story The Hildebrand Rarity first published in Playboy magazine in March 1960

- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return"


MCU CONNECTIONS
- Dave Bautista (Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

Skyfall

SKYFALL
2012 | Dir. Sam Mendes | 143 Minutes

"Some men are coming to kill us. We're going to kill them first."

Missing and presumed dead after a failed mission, a weary James Bond returns to service in response to a devastating attack on MI6 headquarters. Unhinged former MI6 agent Raoul Silva seeks revenge against M for disavowing and leaving him for dead years ago. To counter Silva's ruthless tactics, Bond must utilize unconventional methods to protect M.

Sam Mendes' Skyfall is a contemplative, stylish, atmospheric, and visually stunning James Bond film, a nearly flawless film in virtually every level. Between every death-defying confrontation, the narrative directly questions the value of Bond's loyalty to M and the service, the toll Bond's violent work takes on his physical and psychological health, and the relevance of MI6 and necessity for its continued existence in the modern world. Impressively,  the movie also manages to honor the franchise's long history by reintroducing and simultaneously reinventing several of the series' key characters and tropes in innovative and unexpected ways.

While Skyfall is a thoughtful picture, it is also appropriately a fantastic action film with exciting stunt work and memorable set pieces. Courtesy of legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, every single frame of the picture is a sight to behold. The epic pre-credits chase sequence is among the best, and unlike so many lesser Bond films, it only gets better from that point - a stunning neon-lit fight to the death between Bond and an enemy operative in a Shanghai skyscraper, a thrilling foot chase in the London Underground leading to a suspenseful courtroom shootout, the explosive climatic battle pitting Bond, an elderly gamekeeper, and M against Silva and his army of hired killers at Bond's dilapidated ancestral home - nearly every action sequence is bolstered by escalating danger and elevated personal stakes, for once serving the plot instead of the other way around.

Daniel Craig is at his very best in his third appearance as James Bond, delivering a powerful quietly emotional performance as a jaded damaged action hero ravaged by time. In her final featured appearance as M, Judi Dench gives her very best performance in the role, completely embodying the nobility of a leader who refuses to retire while her past mistakes are running amok, ever willing to stand up for what's right in spite of any damage sustained by her reputation. The dynamic between Craig's Bond and Dench's M has never been stronger and it effectively carries the final act of the film. As the deranged Raoul Silva, Javier Bardem is both completely captivating and absolutely terrifying, believably portraying a twisted man who is capable of anything. Ola Rapace is convincingly brutal as Silva's gun for hire Patrice. Bérénice Marlohe is thanklessly tasked with playing Silva's doomed mistress Sévérine, a stock Bond film character type that makes an unfortunate return. Albert Finney amusingly portrays the cranky Scottish Skyfall estate gamekeeper Kincade. The film also features Rory Kinnear returning as as MI6 Chief of Staff Bill Tanner, Ralph Fiennes as Intelligence and Security Committee chairman Gareth Mallory, Naomie Harris as MI6 field agent Eve, and Ben Whishaw as a modern take on Q.

Skyfall is one of the very best pictures of Eon Productions' James Bond film series. Featuring a thoughtful plot that places dire stakes on the line for both 007 and MI6, the feature is as dramatically serious as a Bond picture can possibly be while it is also ranks among the franchise's most entertaining installments. The film impressively deconstructs and reconstructs the status quo of the series, honoring what came before with genuine reverence while paving the way for thrilling possibilities going forward.


THE COLD OPEN
The intense highly-destructive Istanbul chase sequence is simply riveting. The tonal balance is perfect in execution, from the broad humor of Bond pulverizing a trio of VW Beetles in an excavator to the high drama of M ordering Eve to take an impossible shot. The fact that Bond takes a bullet ending the mission in failure sets the stage for an emotionally unpredictable ride.


THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Adele's "Skyfall" is at least as good as Shirley Bassey's best Bond theme songs. It's perhaps the best Bond theme song ever, the first Bond theme song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, a soulful ballad with lyrics that gracefully thematically reference the plot of the film, rather than literally. Daniel Kleinman's fantastic opening titles once again break the tradition of flaunting seductive female figures, instead diving into Bond's psyche prominently featuring abstract representations of Bond's mortality and the titular abandoned family estate as well as sparing depictions of the female form.


THE BOND GIRL
The latest in a long line of women Bond fails to protect, Sévérine is perhaps best seen as a reminder of all those who came before and perhaps a plot point foreshadowing M's ultimate fate. Her tragic backstory as a sex slave just makes it even more depressing when Silva guns her down to demoralize Bond in a twisted meaningless game. In the end, she is woefully underwritten and indisputably the weakest aspect of the film.


THE BOND VILLAIN
While Bond villains conceived to be dark reflections of Bond have been done before, none have been quite as chilling or intriguing as Raoul Silva. M's favorite agent until he disobeyed her orders and she disavowed and abandoned him, his customary Bond villain physical deformity is rather grotesque, a severely mutilated mouth and face are concealed by a sophisticated prosthesis, the result of a failed suicide attempt by cyanide when he was captured by the enemy. Silva's scheme to expose the identities of every secret agent in the world is in actuality secondary to his plot to take M's life and to end his own. Eccentric, flamboyant, and sexually fluid, one of the most entertaining moments in the film is when hits on Bond with Bond responding in kind.


FEATURED HENCHMAN
Patrice doesn't have much of a personality to speak of but he makes for a formidable opponent in the cold open and in the spectacular Shanghai skyscraper fight. These two memorable sequences alone elevate Patrice's placement among the all-time great Bond henchmen.


BEST GADGET
The tricked out Aston Martin DB5 is as cool as it was in Goldfinger. M's quip about it being an uncomfortable ride is hilarious and Bond's response to its destruction during the climactic showdown with Silva's men is amusingly emotional.


FLEMING FIDELITY
Bond's Scottish heritage and his father's name, Andrew Bond, are sourced from Bond's obituary in Ian Fleming's eleventh James Bond novel You Only Live Twice first published in 1964. Sévérine's death scene is inspired by a similar moment depicted in Ian Fleming's twelfth and final James Bond novel The Man with the Golden Gun first published in 1965.


FRAGMENTS
- The role of Kincade was originally written with Sean Connery in mind but producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson were unable to convince Connery to come out of retirement to make the surprise cameo appearance

- Following the gun barrel sequence, at the top of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return" below the logo commemorating the 50th anniversary Eon Productions' James Bond film franchise

Quantum of Solace

QUANTUM OF SOLACE
2008 | Dir. Marc Forster | 106 Minutes

"When you can't tell your friends from your enemies, it's time to go."

When a double agent within MI6 allows Mr. White to escape from custody, Bond discovers the traitor's connection to Dominic Greene, environmentalist entrepreneur and head of the nefarious secret organization Quantum. Greene plans to broker a deal with a corrupt general to seize control of the Bolivia's water supply. Bond partners with Bolivian agent Camille Montes, both driven by revenge against Greene and the general respectively.

While Marc Forster's Quantum of Solace is a direct sequel to Casino Royale, its opening moments occurring just minutes after the end of the previous film, the plot of the picture is woefully thin and underwritten. The narrative serves only to close out Bond's character arc established in the previous film instead of allotting him a fresh one, conceptually robbing the film of its ability to stand on its own. While the filmmakers provide Bond with a dramatic foil in the form of the vengeful Camille, the story doesn't have anything particularly interesting to say about revenge. The villains still end up dead while the heroes carry on without learning anything profound about the nature vengeance.

To make matters worse, as Quantum of Solace rolls through the dizzying cold open car chase followed by the first major choppy action sequence in Siena, Italy, it becomes clear that this entry's action direction is marred by ugly rough editing. While elaborately staged, particularly the opera house sequence and the climactic battle in the desert hotel, the action sequences are physically difficult to watch due to unnecessarily frenetic camera work and needless quick cutting. Any impressive stunt work performed for the picture is completely undermined by thoroughly poor presentation.

Daniel Craig once again fully commits to the role of James Bond, stunts and all, the action scenes clearly taking more of a physical toll during this second round. It's a shame that it doesn't translate more onto the screen as the camera work is so shoddy. Capably playing equal parts tough and vulnerable, Olga Kurylenko is convincing as the headstrong Camille Montes. Mathieu Amalric delivers the right amount of sleaze as human slime Dominic Greene while Anatole Taubman plays his henchman Elvis perhaps only memorable for having a stupid-looking haircut. Joaquín Cosío is appropriately despicable as the secondary villain General Medrano. Judi Dench makes her sixth appearance as M, while Giancarlo Giannini and Jesper Christensen return as René Mathis and Mr. White respectively. The indispensable Jeffrey Wright has the honor of being the only actor to play Felix Leiter in two consecutive Bond films. The film also features Rory Kinnear as M's aide Bill Tanner, Gemma Arterton making a strong charming impression as doomed MI6 agent Fields, and David Harbour as smarmy CIA section chief for South America Gregg Beam.

Quantum of Solace fails to satisfy as a stand alone picture. It is designed to serve more as an extended coda to Casino Royale, but it pales in comparison to that vastly superior Bond film. While it isn't awful, the feature is an odd underdeveloped misfire that doesn't offer anything significantly new or interesting.


THE COLD OPEN
The car chase that kicks off the film immediately gives the audience a sample of the questionable herky-jerky style of the picture's action direction. The inherent thrill of having a Bond picture open immediately where the previous one left off is pissed away as soon as you realize you can't tell what the hell you're looking at for more than a few seconds.


THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Jack White and Alicia Keys' "Another Way To Die" is an interesting sonic experiment that never quite comes together. While the tune isn't terrible, their respective distinct styles simply don't mesh very well and the song just doesn't deliver. Composer David Arnold wrote "No Good About Goodbye" for classic Bond theme song singer Shirley Bassey and even works the tune of that song into the score for Quantum of Solace and though it was purportedly never in consideration to serve as the theme song for the film, it would've been a much better fit. The opening title sequence provided by graphic design company MK12 is quite impressive, energetically presenting Bond and the standard abstract feminine figures with an sandy desert motif.


THE BOND GIRL
Camille is the first female lead character of the franchise to be written more as a foil and decidedly not a love interest for Bond. General Medrano murdered her family when she was a child, providing her with her tragic backstory and quest for revenge. Unfortunately, aside from these details, there isn't much more to her character. As capable as she proves to be throughout the picture, Bond still has to rescue her from the burning hotel during the fiery climax of the film as her past trauma disappointingly completely paralyzes her. Two steps forward, one step back for what it's worth, I suppose.


THE BOND VILLAIN
Dominic Greene fits the mold of the standard Bond villain, a megalomaniacal magnate with a diabolical scheme. The problem is that he is far from menacing, more of a irritating nuisance than a convincing threat. In the grand scheme of the series, he hardly registers as anything more than a scoundrel driven by simple greed. The fact that he isn't even afforded and on-screen death says it all.


FEATURED HENCHMAN
Elvis kind of sucks and is far from memorable. His one moment to shine is Fields sending him down a flight of stairs. Though he is more of a secondary villain than a henchman, General Medrano is a notable adversary that deserves to be mentioned as much as Dominic Greene. He's a lecherous sadistic bastard that gets a much more satisfying death scene than the main villain of the film.


FLEMING FIDELITY
The title of the film is taken from Ian Fleming's short story Quantum of Solace first published in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1959. In the short story, a governor recounts the failed marriage between a British civil servant and an unfaithful flight attendant who settle down in Bermuda. Eventually, the man abandons his cheating wife in Bermuda with all of his financial debts, having cut all emotional ties with her when their "Quantum of Solace" dropped to zero. Bond's confrontation with Vesper's boyfriend in the film's epilogue is based on Fleming's short story 007 in New York first published in the New York Herald Tribune in 1963, in which Bond warns a female MI6 employee that her boyfriend is a KGB agent.


FRAGMENTS
- Produced during the writer's strike, director Marc Forster and Daniel Craig came up with much of the picture's story while filming with a bare bones script; Daniel Craig vowed that he would never perform in a picture with an incomplete script ever again

- Pre-Fast and Furious, Gal Gadot auditioned for the part of Camille Montes

- Pre-Game of Thrones, Oona Chaplin appears briefly as the hotel receptionist that General Medrano assaults in the last act

- Friends of Marc Forster, Alfonso Cuarón cameo appearance as a helicopter pilot and Guillermo del Toro provided additional voices for the film

- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return"


MCU CONNECTIONS
- David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov in Black Widow and Thunderbolts*)

- Olga Kurylenko (Antonia Dreykov in Black Widow and Thunderbolts*)

Casino Royale

CASINO ROYALE
2006 | Dir. Martin Campbell | 144 Minutes

"So you want me to be half-monk, half-hitman."

On his first mission as a 00 Agent for MI6, James Bond prevents the bombing of an airliner commissioned by private banker to terrorists and notorious gambler Le Chiffre in an attempt to profit by betting against the aerospace company in the stock market. The banker attempts to recuperate the funds he lost in a high-stakes card game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. M subsequently orders Bond to bankrupt the Le Chiffre at the casino and take him into MI6 custody.

Directing his second James Bond feature following the phenomenally entertaining GoldenEye, Martin Campbell's Casino Royale is a more polished, better-paced, even stronger film. The twenty-first picture of Eon Productions' James Bond franchise radically resets the tonal trajectory of the series, trading broad gimmicks and over-the-top gadgets for genuinely engaging dramatic stakes with an emphasis on grounded practical stunt work. Between the truly superb set pieces, troubled love interest Vesper Lynd questions how Bond's occupation erodes away his humanity, compellingly presenting much more meaningful introspection for the character than ever before. The character of Bond is redefined as more of a blunt weapon than a suave precision instrument, prone to violence and brash decision-making, carrying out his duty with extreme prejudice more to selfishly satisfy his own ego than to serve Queen and Country.

From the brutal brawl before the opening credits to the literally breathtaking finale in Venice, Casino Royale delivers exhilarating action from top to bottom. Stand-out sequences include an intense parkour chase through a construction site in Madagascar, an explosive high speed pursuit across the tarmac at Miami International Airport, and a bloody knock-down drag-out fight in a stairway at the Hotel Splendide. The uniformly excellent cinematography and editing perfectly capture every thrilling moment. Perhaps the most impressive feat of the picture is that the filmmakers even manage to imbue the poker scenes with palpable tension combining excellent performances with clever staging.

Daniel Craig's debut James Bond performance is a revelation, bringing a convincing harder edge as well as subtle vulnerability to the quintessential secret agent, crafting a well-rounded character that is truly a welcome departure from previous takes on 007. Eva Green is mesmerizing as Vesper Lynd, exuding sharp intelligence and a sort of quiet torment that tragically culminates in the film's final act, her onscreen chemistry with Craig's Bond is off the charts. In one of his finest roles, character actor Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre is chilling, somewhat pitiful but delightfully creepy. French freerunner Sébastien Foucan is absolutely mind-blowing, demonstrating his considerable parkour skills as the bomb-maker Mollaka in his brief but memorable appearance. Claudio Santamaria as the crafty terrorist operative Carlos is considerably less impressive by comparison. Simon Abkarian is perfectly slimy as Le Chiffre's petulant associate Alex Dimitrios while Caterina Murino is appropriately alluring as his doomed wife Solange. Judi Dench returns as M, amusingly somehow sterner than before, and Jeffrey Wright is the seventh and best actor so far to fill the role of Bond's CIA ally Felix Leiter for Eon Productions. The film also features Giancarlo Giannini as smooth-talking French MI6 agent René Mathis, Jesper Christensen as the mysterious Mr. White, and Tobias Menzies as M's assistant Villiers.

Casino Royale is one of the very best pictures of Eon's storied James Bond franchise. Stylish, suspenseful, action-packed, and even slightly meditative, Daniel Craig's first Bond film confidently refreshes the very idea of 007, appealing to contemporary sensibilities by discarding more problematic aspects of the series while still remaining surprisingly faithful to its source material.


THE COLD OPEN
Presented in striking black and white, Bond confronts corrupt MI6 Prague section chief Dryden in his office as he recalls his brutal drawn-out fight to the death with the Dryden's contact. Killing his second target with relative ease, Bond gains 00 status, immediately establishing Daniel Craig's Bond as a colder, rougher take on 007. Working the iconic gun barrel shot as Bond shoots Dryden's contact to transition the cold open into the opening titles is simply sublime.


THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
Grunge rocker Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" may not be among the most celebrated Bond theme song but its aggressive uptempo style is tonally fitting for Casino Royale. Daniel Kleinnman's opening title sequence also presents a appealing departure from previous introductions featuring stylized abstract male figures in combat, in stark contrast to the series' standard of seductive feminine shapes, constructed from imagery inspired by playing card and casino imagery.


THE BOND GIRL
Vesper Lynd carries the dubious honor of being the source of Bond's dysfunctional attitude towards women. Fortunately, Vesper is more than a one-dimensional desirable object. When clashing with Bond verbally, she gives as good as she gets, constantly challenging Bond's methods and disposition with valid logical arguments. Bond is so stricken with Vesper, he nearly leaves MI6 to be with her, and even invents a drink and names it after her. The shock and heartbreak of her betrayal is enough to install an indefinite emotional detachment to women in Bond's psyche.


THE BOND VILLAIN
Le Chiffre is a relatively simple but still fascinating adversary. His customary Bond villain deformity alone is memorable, a health condition that causes him to occasionally bleed out of his left eye. A compulsive gambler in charge of financing terrorist activities for a mysterious criminal organization, his diabolical schemes are small-time when compared to other cinematic 007 antagonists but his methods are remarkably nasty: attempting to bomb a massive jet for profit, poisoning Bond in the middle of the poker tournament, and whipping a captured Bond's genitals demanding his bank account's password after Bond bests him at the card table. It's somewhat unfortunate that Le Chiffre meets a rather unceremonious end, shot in the head by Mr. White.


FEATURED HENCHMAN
Ill-tempered and generally despicable, Alex Dimitrios is just irritating enough for it to feel satisfying when Bond wins his Aston Martin in a hand of poker, woos his beautiful wife, and ultimately kills him silently in the middle of the Body Worlds exhibition at Miami International Airport but not unique enough to be notably memorable. The ultimate middle manager, his underlings, bomb-making parkour master Mollaka and resilient operative Carlos, are much more formidable adversaries by comparison.


BEST GADGET
One of the most practical gadgets of the series, the compact government-issue defibrillator plays a vital part in the memorable poisoning sequence.


FLEMING FIDELITY
While the first half of the film is comprised of original material, the plot of the second half is remarkably faithful to Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel Casino Royale published in 1953. The screenwriters made only a handful of changes to modernize the story. In the novel, Le Chiffre is an accountant for a branch of Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH who loses SMERSH's money by investing it in brothels just before a general prostitution ban, the card game featured in the novel is baccarat, and Vesper's suicide is by sleeping pill overdose.


FRAGMENTS
- There are two prior screen versions of Casino Royale: an Americanized adaptation for CBS television program Climax! starring Barry Nelson as James "Jimmy" Bond aired in 1952, and a loose comedy film adaptation starring Peter Sellers made without the involvement of Eon Productions released in 1967

- Madame Wu, The poker player who appears onboard Le Chiffre's yacht and at the tournament in Montenegro is played by Tsai Chin who previously appeared as the undercover MI6 agent Ling in the cold open of You Only Live Twice

- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return"

Die Another Day

DIE ANOTHER DAY
2002 | Dir. Lee Tamahori | 133 Minutes

"Let's just say my relationships don't seem to last."

James Bond is captured by North Korea during a mission, betrayed by an unknown double-agent within MI6. Released in exchange for a villainous North Korean agent, Bond defies M's orders, escapes MI6 custody, and hunts for the mole. Going rogue, 007 teams up with NSA operative Jinx to uncover a sinister plot devised by British millionaire Gustav Graves.

Objectively, director Lee Tamahori's Die Another Day is the worst picture of Eon Productions' flagship franchise. The action sequences are somehow simultaneously over-the-top and uninspired, the editing is jarringly choppy, the visual effects are technically shoddy, the dialogue is overloaded with cheese, and the plot is thoroughly absurd. Despite enduring a ludicrously stylized torture sequence at the top of the film, Bond carries on as a nigh invulnerable, ostensibly infallible protagonist effortlessly romancing beautiful women and defeating his enemies without plausible struggle or dramatic tension. Sauntering her way through the feature, Jinx isn't much better, created to be Bond's equal but sexually objectified and constantly rescued by Bond all the same. Devoid of the pathos and drama of the best Bond films, this installment ironically makes a strong argument that James Bond is no longer relevant as a viable cinematic action hero.

The set pieces are mostly hilariously awful. The hovercraft chase through the Korean Demilitarized Zone minefield at the start of the film and the confrontation with Zao at the Cuban gene therapy clinic are overall serviceable but everything that follows is thoroughly terrible. The fencing duel between Bond and Graves escalates to preposterous levels. The climactic battle onboard Graves' cargo plane is beyond silly, full of corny slo-mo and cheap-looking visual effects. The absolute worst action sequences all take place in Graves' visually unappealing ice palace. The invisible Aston Martin chase is silly enough but Bond surfing a massive tidal wave to safety indisputably takes the prize for the most absurd moment of the entire series.

Even for such a mediocre installment, Pierce Brosnan does his best with the material. It's just a shame that he ends his run as 007 with this atrocity. Halle Berry looks like she's having the time of her life as Jinx, a role that requires none of her esteemed acting talent. Toby Stephens scowls his way through the part of arch-villain Gustav Graves, his performance somehow more shameful after the late-film reveal that he's essentially playing a Korean man playing an Englishman. As the traitorous Miranda Frost, the versatile Rosamund Pike in her feature film debut is mostly ridiculous going from emotionally-detached MI6 agent to awkwardly evil baddie. Rick Yune chews all sorts of scenery as Graves' prime henchman Tang Ling Zao but he's at least more memorable than Michael Gorevoy as Graves' personal scientist and Lawrence Makoare as non-descript muscle Mr. Kil. Michael Madsen sleepwalks his way through his brief role Jinx's NSA boss Damian Falco, while legendary Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang's considerable talents are wasted on the part of the relatively noble General Moon. Judi Dench returns as M while Samantha Bond, John Cleese, and Colin Salmon make their final appearances as Moneypenny, Q, M's Deputy Chief of Staff Charles Robinson.

Pierce Brosnan's turn as James Bond ends with a colossal dud. Die Another Day represents all of the excesses of the film series in the very worst way. It is dreadfully, hilariously bad, more or less serving as a blueprint for what a modern Bond film shouldn't be.


THE COLD OPEN
The cold open is arguably the most plausible, least embarrassing part of the film. Bond's mission in North Korea is compromised after his cover is blown by an unknown source, later revealed to be Frost. He seemingly kills rogue North Korean Colonel Tan-Sun Moon played by Will Yun Lee but is captured by Moon's father the general.


THE THEME SONG AND OPENING TITLES
As Bond is tortured the North Koreans, Daniel Kleinman's opening titles break away from the boundaries of good taste, showing abstract manifestations of fire, ice, and electricity taking seductive female forms. Madonna's "Die Another Day" is pure techno trash, arguably the worst-fitting Bond theme song ever. Oddly, Madonna even makes a distracting cameo appearance in the film as Graves and Frost's fencing instructor Verity.


THE BOND GIRL
Though she is technically conceptually Bond's American equal, Jinx never quite measures up. Constantly objectified by the camera and her less-than-subtle sexually suggestive one-liners, she comes off as something of a parody of an old white screenwriter's idea of the ideal Bond love interest. She's got a ravenous sexual appetite like Bond but her dialogue is more foolish than sexy. She's resourceful and capable but she still needs Bond to rescue her. She's a skilled fighter but she can only defeat female villains, particularly the other woman Bond sleeps with in the narrative. It's a real blessing that Jinx's planned spin-off film never happened.


THE BOND VILLAIN
Gustav Graves is meant to be a twisted evil interpretation of James Bond, but the message is lost in the muddle of ice palaces, solar-powered space lasers, and North Korean aggression. The series already delivered a fine anti-Bond in GoldenEye and Graves pales in comparison. The fact that he is literally a genetically whitewashed Korean man adds an extra layer of unnecessary problematic discomfort.


FEATURED HENCHMAN
Tang Ling Zao, in his diamond-pocked incomplete genetically-altered glory, is perhaps best known for trying to out-quip Bond at every turn, more than any other henchman. He's got a memorable goofy/disturbing appearance but otherwise, he kind of sucks as a henchman, not even making it to the climatic battle.


BEST GADGET
The invisible Aston Martin is memorable for all the wrong reasons, just like the film itself. It remains arguably the most outlandish, implausible gadget of the series, more despised than the crocodile submarine.


FLEMING FIDELITY
Die Another Day was not inspired by or named after existing source material written by Ian Fleming.


FRAGMENTS
- Michelle Yeoh's Wai Lin from Tomorrow Never Dies was originally supposed to return to aid James Bond in Hong Kong but she was replaced by Chinese Intelligence Agent Chang played by Ho Yi

- While filming their love scene in Cuba, Pierce Brosnan perform the Heimlich maneuver on Halle Berry when she choked on a fig, saving her life

- At the bottom of the end credits, the film advertises that "James Bond Will Return"