Craig is Back...But What Then?

Okay, good news is we have Daniel Craig back as 007 in 2019. The bad news, there may be a possibility that the franchise will start in a totally new direction afterwards. This I am a tad worried about. Yes, the franchise rebooted in 2006 with the introduction of Craig as Bond; however there were some connections as it still had Judi Dench as M. We finally get Moneypenny and Q after  a two film absence in Skyfall; everything is finally starting. We don't need another reboot. Please just continue the same roles with the same actors and just get a new James Bond. It's what they've done in the past. When Connery left the part, M Q and Moneypenny were the same actors. Why change it around yet again.

That being said, I understand the direction movies are changing and it's more about television shows or live streaming. You can't just have 007 pop up every 2 or 4 years. During the 60s, the spy craze was in. You had shows like Get Smart and I, Spy. It was popular and would keep you entertained while you'd wait to go to the cinema to see the new Bond film. Now, things are so in the now, if something isn't really talked about, then it's just forgotten outside of the fan base.

End of rant.

I did, however realize that the new film is currently looking for a distributor as Sony's contract ended with Spectre in 2015. As of recently, the runners up are Apple, Amazon and Warner Bros. I had read that Warner. Bros is in a closer lead to getting it, but this was a while ago.

DO YOU THINK THE FRANCHISE SHOULD REBOOT AGAIN AFTER CRAIG LEAVES?

Bond and his Aston Martin PART II

With 2002 marking the 40th anniversary of 007 on the big screen, a new Aston Martin arrives for Pierce Brosnan's fourth and final outing as Bond in Die Another Day. With BMW's three-picture deal ending with The World Is Not Enough, the car that made James Bond what he is in pop-culture makes a long-awaited return since last seeing it in 1987. 

ASTON MARTIN V12 VANQUISH

When 007 arrives back in London after his trip to Cuba, Bond meets up with Q in the Underground and is thus given his new car.

BOND PUTTING HIS GADGETS TO USE 

Perhaps the most lavish and equipped car ever issued to 007, this V12 comes with an adaptive camouflage feature, which makes the car as good as invisible to the naked eye. Now, I know what most of you are going to say: Lame! That is so unrealistic! No way! Well, to be honest with you, it's not all that far off from reality as scientists are working on such a thing right now...or at least they were...In addition to this feature, the car is also equipped with target seeking machine guns; rockets behind the front grille; an updated GPS system; ejector seat; tire tracking spikes; bulletproof glass; rear grenade launchers and finally a keychain remote for getting Bond out of pretty tough spots.

Easy access for all the features makes it easier on 007 to maneuver. Now, only 007 could think of something so ridiculous as driving someone up the wall...or someTHING in this case. 

This car has it all and I must say I would love to get my hands on one if given the chance.


DANIEL CRAIG:

James Bond is given a new Aston Martin yet again, the 2007 DBS V12. Sleeker, and more smooth than the V12 Vanquish, this car-like George Lazenby's car mentioned earlier (see Part I)-is barely equipped with any gadgets. But what the car lacks in gadgets it makes up for in design and handling. MI6 provides 007 with this new car as he arrives in Montenegro on his mission to stop Le Chiffre. 

JAMES BOND APPROACHING HIS ASTON MARTIN DBS V12.

Coming in handy, the car does feature two gadgets in the glove compartment as well. There are two layers to store things. The top, is equipped with a defibrillator in case some harm comes to 007 and the bottom is where he can store his standard issue Walther P99 and extra accessories. Purring like a panther, Bond uses it to get his way about in the city when not playing Texas Hold 'Em. 

Useful equipment for 007

After his car is destroyed in the middle of the film after an accident in order to avoid Vesper as a decoy, Bond is equipped with another Aston from England. It's identical to the one issued, but it's much darker. Clearly it's another car because if you've seen the film, you'll know that it was destroyed after multiple flips. In Siena, Italy 007 has his second car destroyed after being attacked by several gunmen working for Quantum all the while Mr. White is in the trunk of the car. The car is still drivable, but not in the best of shape with a missing door. 


Bond is issued a new Aston Martin DB10. Well, I take that back...he wasn't exactly issued the car but he ends up with it as he sneaks off with it behind Q's back. The car is sleek and it looks totally mean, cold and almost like a liquid metal design. It is almost unrecognizable from what's come before and there really is something awesome about this new look. It's not my favorite design, especially with the front of the car, but hell, if someone where to give me one I would take it. 

2015 ASTON MARTIN DB10

The gadgets aren't perfected yet as the functions don't exactly do what they are supposed to. Bond needs to take a few steps in order to rely on a car rather than on his own instincts. 

BACKFIRE BADASS

Sadly, after this great chase, Bond has to eject from his car and it sinks in a river. The car is not talked about again.


THANKS FOR READING! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASTON MARTIN USED BY 007? DO YOU THINK IT'S HIS BEST CAR TO DRIVE? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND AS ALWAYS....

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN

Why Blofeld is Weak in SPECTRE

With the recent release of SPECTRE, there have been a total of four major villains in the films featuring Daniel Craig. While some are more memorable than others, the most recent villain is my least favorite due to his lack of originality and malevolence. Here's my look at the villains.

Casino Royale has intrigue, beautiful environments and a very malevolent villain in Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).  We don't know what his motives are right away and the scar on his eye just keeps you on edge knowing that this guy is in some risky business...and no not the Tom Cruise kind. We do know he has asthma and a bunch of goons working for him. Le Chiffre is the first villain 007 faces in Ian Fleming's debut book of the same name, as well as the first villain Daniel Craig faces as James Bond. Since the films were rebooted in 2006, the producers felt it only smart to introduce a new Bond to the game. With the seriousness of Daniel Craig (thanks to Timothy Dalton) and the plot, this is not just another Bond film entry, but rather something more. Sneaky, and yet vulnerable to the people he borrows money from, makes Le Chiffre someone that is mainly just a lonely, hidden conman in the mask of evil. The chemistry with Bond and Le Chiffre is flawless because you can tell they both want to defeat each other yet both try and restrain their elegance up until the end.

What I love about this villain, is that you really get into his shoes. He comes off as a mastermind who doesn't answer to anyone, but as you see him evolve throughout the film, but as I said earlier, he's really just a conman that gambles in the stocks with clients' money on the line. After losing a game of poker to 007, Le Chiffre gets desperate and kidnaps Bond, torturing him and losing his cool as he is still not given the information he needs. Then, as Le Chiffre meets his fate, he's revealed to be a scared little man with empty promises.

Care to see the read more?

In Quantum of Solace, which is a direct sequel to Casino Royale, Dominic Greene is not bent on taking over the world, but rather something more striped from the headlines of reality. Funding for his "Greene Planet", a way to provide clean water to many countries. It's obviously a personal ploy to make deals with investors to take over governments under the Quantum organization. Lying to corporations and leaving Bolivia depleted of water in order to give power to a horrible dictator is more of a reality check in how important water is to the world around us, and doesn't really sink in with being a Bond villain. Played by Mathew Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Greene is more of a business conman who tries to keep his cool but utterly fails as Bond gets under his skin more and more.

Dominic Greene: The Mastermind of Preperation

Greene is not a physically threatening villain either, and is not nearly as interesting or entertaining as Le Chiffre. At the same time, there's something about the way Almaric portrays the character that makes you want to "love" to hate him. For example, there's a scene with him in the beginning of the film where he yells at Camilla and says, "Don't talk to me like I'm STUPID!....It's unattractive." The way he yells at her and then adds that little bit of elegance really makes me crack up. But, I find him entertaining nonetheless. He is by far not my favorite villain, but not my least favorite.


Skyfall introduces Raul Silva (Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men) in the mix as a Bond villain. Having previously worked for the British government, Raul Silva is out for personal revenge after the head of the service left him for dead. Coming back to act revenge, Raul sends a virus e-mail that destroys . When Silva sends a bomb to MI6 headquarters and detonates it in the office of M, he makes his presence known and it's up to 007 to stop him. A psychotic with no means of stopping until his "mission" is complete, Silva has a sense of humor one minute and transforms that energy into a psychopathic murder. You can't get enough of his character in this film and it almost steals the show from Craig. This is what a Bond villain should be like, which is why I also enjoy watching Le Chiffre. His introduction is one long pan of him walking over to 007 and it's quite terrifying but once you watch this character, he's awesome!

After capture, Raul is sent to MI6 and finally comes face to face with M. Revealing that he has survived with cyanid behind his molar, a horrid scene occurs in which to prove why he has exacted revenge on M for so long. This isn't about killing Bond, it's not about taking over the world, it's about exacting revenge on the one person that orders the missions.. He is perhaps the most menacing of all villains in the Craig films and will certainly go down in history as one of the best! 

The way he throws that bomb in there...classic! haha

We now come to the "mastermind" behind all of the three previous villains. Ernst Stavro Blofeld played by the great Christoph Waltz. Revealing that all the previous villains out to kill Bond have worked for his organization, there is nothing threatening or memorable about the way he portrays the character. I personally found Raul Silva to be far more threatening and menacing than this guy. It's discovered that the reason for his actions is because he wants to get back at Bond for being neglected as a child. James was adopted into Blofeld's family after his parents died in a climbing accident. When discovering his father paid more attention to Bond, he's always had an agonizing hate for the secret agent.

Bond and Blofeld

Organizing an evil group known as SPECTRE, Blofeld has the ability to topple governments, threaten public officials and even have enough firepower to run a small war. Seeing that Quantum is a subsidiary of SPECTRE, which is why everything is revealed in the film, it just doesn't work to have this man behind "all your pain." I would have rather had this be a direct sequel to Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace and to have left Skyfall as a standalone film. But for this to be the ultimate mastermind behind Le Chiffre, Greene and Silva, it's a bit disappointing because I do not feel threatened by this guy in the least.

There seems to be a patter here, the weaker villains are in the weaker films while the better villains are in the better films. 

Which villain is your favorite in the Daniel Craig films? Le Chiffre, Greene, Silva or Blofeld? Let me know in the comments below and as always, thanks for reading!




Sources:

GIF of Le Chiffre courtesy of: rebloggy.com

Image of Dominic Greene courtesy of: Vinnieh.wordpress.com

Images of Raul Silva courtesy of: yourfuckedupotp.tumblr.com

GIF of Blofeld and 007 courtesy of : TUMBLR

Licence to Kill: A James Bond Retrospective

 

A James Bond Retrospective

So, you think Daniel Craig is the world's first bad ass, ruthless and hard edged Bond? Think again. This trend was started 20 years before Casino Royale with 1989's Licence to Kill. The movie is more violent, personal and out of the ordinary than any other James Bond film before or after. With extreme violence, revenge and determination, this is the ultimate and most underrated movie of them all!

Released in the summer of 1989, Licence to Kill was Timothy Dalton's second and final performance as Agent 007. Having one film under his belt, the producers made a movie focusing on Dalton's strengths. In this movie, Bond isn't just on another assignment for the good of England. He's on his own and is on a personal vendetta to avenge his best friend. This is a no non-sense kind of Bond and something most fans of the series have long been waiting for. Where Roger Moore's seven films had an emphasis on humor and gags and even a mission in outer space, Timothy's films had an emphasis on realism, espionage and vulnerability. This is the Bond that bleeds, cries, stresses and at times grows stubble. This is the Bond straight from the character that Ian Fleming books. Licence to Kill is not for the faint of heart. It is a movie filled with action and best of all, Timothy is the James Bond that is a killer and ruthless agent who just happens to be on the side called "good".

As I mentioned earlier, James Bond is on his own and uses his skills and ingenuity to get himself out of danger. When Felix Leiter, ex CIA agent now working for the DEA, is informed that Franz Sanchez has entered the U.S., it is up to him and an off-duty 007 to apprehend him. Catching Sanchez just in time before he manages to escape to Cuban airspace, Bond and Felix proceed to Felix's wedding. They literally drop in to wed. Once on route to Quantico, a crooked cop aids Sanchez in his escape for a reward of $2,000,000. After Bond departs Felix's house, Sanchez's goons kidnap Felix, rape and murder his new wife, and maul him with a shark. The authorities are informed, along with James Bond, cancelling his flight back to London, and the search is on to find Sanchez. When Bond arrives at Felix's house, he discovers that Felix is not in fact dead, but seriously injured with a note reading: "He disagreed with something that ate him." Furious, Bond informs the Americans but nothing is done. It is as if no one wants to take care of the situation and overlooks it. Well, Felix is Bond's best friend and he will do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this. What are friends for?

While tracing clues throughout Florida, Bond discovers that Sanchez is no longer in the States but in his home country of Isthmus City (fictional South American Country) that he is in complete and utter control over, even with a fixed president and rigged elections. Soon, M goes to Florida to find Bond, telling him that he needs to let this situation go and leave the Americans to "clear it up." Bond refuses and tells M that he is resigning from the Service. To this, M denies Bond's resigning and instead revokes his license to kill. Escaping, Bond is now on the run from his own boss. This is something we've never seen before in a Bond movie: people on his own side trying to kill him.  Bond arrives to Isthmus and attempts to meet Sanchez.

Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez

When 007 reaches Sanchez's casino, he meets with him and they have a pleasant conversation while Bond can think of nothing else but to kill him for what he did to his friend. Looking for work--which isn't all that far from the truth since he is no longer part of MI6--Sanchez allows Bond to join his organization and trusts him enough to allow him to stay in his large mansion. James Bond is in! If this was an official mission he hit the jackpot! He now has the perfect chance to kill Sanchez. How does he do it? He does it by framing those loyal to Sanchez by making it look like they were indeed ripping him off, while all Bond has to do is watch while the pins fall one by one. You see, Sanchez isn't just a textbook Bond villain who wants to take over the world. What makes Sanchez so unique is that "loyalty is more important to [him] than money." If you double cross Franz Sanchez, you're done. So, as long as you do what he says, he will repay you greatly, but if you do something wrong, you're out of the picture permanently. He also has a henchman, Dario, played by a 22 year old Benicio del Toro. Keep an eye out for him throughout the picture! 

Q comes all the way from England to help 007

Now, this movie is not without humor or fun. When Miss Moneypenny discovers that James is missing, she sends out Q while he's on leave. Q arrives, has some gadgets for 007 and sticks around. This film marks Desmond Llewelyn's longest performance in the role. There are some great gags here and there and even though this isn't like previous Bond films, that does not mean it is void of elements that make a Bond film a Bond film.

Dario discovers 007

One of the men that Sanchez has hired for a cover operation is Milton Krest played by American actor Anthony Zerbe. His death is the ultimate death of all involving his head imploding in a decompression chamber. In order to keep the film from an R rating in America, the scene where you actually see his head implode with blood splattered all over the glass was cut. You need to get the original edition for the movie to see such a horrible scene. And to be honest, Dalton is the only Bond that could pull it off. It is not pretty and every time I watch that scene my heart pounds. It is intense. 

A grinder...what a way to die.

The climactic scene in this movie is just amazing! It involves tanker trucks used to transport drugs without detection. Bond is finally discovered when Dario recognizes him from an earlier encounter. Listening to a tour of how the drugs are concealed  in gasoline, Dario puts a gun to 007's back and tells him to be quiet. After a small quip from Sanchez, "You keep the gas, as a bonus. And if there's a problem with customs, no evidence." Bond starts a fire and sends people screaming. His cover blown, even though he still goes by James Bond, Sanchez realizes that Bond is trying to kill him and demands to know who has sent him. Punching him and putting him in a conveyor, Dario hangs over Bond and spits on him while cutting the rope used to tie him to the end of the belt, leading to a grinder right below. Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) shows up and shoots Dario and Bond pulls him from underneath him and another gross scene occurs. He is crushed alive! Catching up with Sanchez, Bond, with the help of the beautiful Pam, flies a plane over and manages to steal a tanker. Bond is now in control of one of the tankers and catches up with Sanchez for a fight to the death. When the final truck is knocked down a hill, Sanchez is about to kill Bond for his betrayal. "You could have had everything." Bond re

James Bond after burning drug lord Sanchez alive.

plies, "Don't you want to know why?" Showing him a cigarette lighter that Felix had given him during the wedding, Sanchez puts two and two together and realizes that Felix was Bond's friend and before he can say anything, Bond sets him on fire and a huge explosion occurs with a mix of the gas from the fallen tanker and Bond's lighter. Now, here is where we see James Bond cry for the first time. He is torn up, bloody, and totally stressed. Having killed Sanchez, his revenge is over and he can now go back to his life as an agent. What a great story! This is Fleming's Bond!

Now, the advertising campaign for this film is quite a let down and perhaps one of the reasons why not as many people saw this compared to Dalton's previous outing as 007. During production, the title was changed at the last minute from Licence Revoked to Licence to Kill. Now, there is a lot of different speculation as to the real reason it was changed, but the most common and reported reason is because when MGM did a survey, most Americans thought it was referring to a revoked drivers license as opposed to James Bond losing his license to kill. In addition, another speculation is that most Americans didn't know what "revoked" meant. Now, I'm assuming it was the first reason. I could see how people could assume it would refer to a drivers license. But...come on now. You should just look it up and find the meaning for yourself. There have been other James Bond titles such as Thunderball or Octopussy that to the casual viewer must sound ridiculous. I supposed the reasoning for that is because they were titles from the Fleming novels. In this case, both titles Licence Revoked and Licence to Kill are original titles and the first not to be used in a Fleming book.

Renowned artist Bob Peak who did artwork for the first six Star Trek films, Apocalypse Now, and even The Spy Who Loved Me, did amazing new and original illustrations for Licence Revoked. Again, it would have been something never seen before in a Bond film. Check these out:

 Rejected artwork by Bob Peak for Licence Revoked

 

Now, why they felt they needed to change the artwork and total campaign due to a last-minute title change I will never understand. The artwork is the artwork. The text and letters come in later. Studios need to realize, that illustrated movie posters are still artwork. They only become a poster when fonts are added to them along with the cast and crew. Other than that, it is just a piece of art like any other. At the same time, once you are an artist working for such a large corporation like Disney, or MGM, it is now in the hands of the studio and they basically own your work. That being said...it was a shame to do a half-assed job on Photoshop such as this:

Now, if this doesn't say half-assed, I honestly don't know what does. This is the British poster used for the film. Note the title change from "Revoked" to "To Kill" and the lack of originality used. These images are just cut and pasted and this does not bring the viewer into the film. The color scheme is unimpressive and it looks very tacky. Not the smartest choice to cut down costs for the production.

That being said, Licence to Kill is one of my all-time favorite James Bond films because it is the most quotable, violent and action-packed film in the series. It's hard to believe that people consider this to be one of the worst movies. It has action, suspense, beautiful locales, gorgeous women, subtle humor and gadgets while still containing an element of grandiose. It is realistic, believable and leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what will happen next. Will James Bond survive on his own? Has he met his match? It leaves you wanting more. Now, some feel that the locations in the film are bland and not exotic enough or that it feels like James Bond meets Miami Vice. I can certainly see that point of view. You need to remember though that at the time this movie came out, it had much competition with films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, Die Hard (1988), Batman, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Ghostbusters II; all summer blockbusters and Bond had to compete with that. So, by making Bond a bit more down to earth and not a Roger Moore every-hair-in-place-coming-out-unscathed, something more was needed. It was time for James Bond to be up in the big leagues with American action movies and make it more current and to the times (according to the producers). In addition, it was getting more and more expensive to film in England so for the first time this Bond film was produced in Churubusco Studios in Mexico City and filmed in Mexico along with Florida. So, it felt like more of an American film with a British actor in the role. At the same time, over looking this, it is a Bond film and I think it captures the spirit of James Bond. I highly recommend this film.

As mentioned before, this is Timothy Dalton's second and final turn as Agent 007. In this short amount of time, Dalton certainly made the character his own. Serious at times, deadly and of course suave, Dalton read all of the James Bond books written by Ian Fleming and really wanted to depict that onto the big screen. In the long run, James Bond is an assassin and a killer and his license to kill status is what allows him to do so without getting into trouble with the law. Not as much time for the ladies as Roger Moore had, it was all about the mission with Dalton. In this case, it was all about revenge and friendship and how far people will go until a debt is settled, even if it isn't authorized. Now, some say that Timothy takes the fun out of the character, but you have to remember, Roger Moore was such a drastic change from the original character, it became almost ridiculous and totally out of context where the only relation to the books was the title. That's not who James Bond is. James Bond is something that every man wants to be and at the same time know that it can take a toll on you. Bond is not a superman, he's not an alien, he's human and yes, he does have time for the girls, but it is for the good of the mission. That does sound a bit harsh, but that is what the character was originally written to be. Just as Roger Moore didn't want to copy Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton sure as hell had no intention of copying Moore. I'm glad that Timothy was Bond and his films still live on to this day! The only reason why people prefer Craig now, is that Dalton came way before his time. The audience wasn't ready for a ruthless and dark Bond. Now that it's all about action movies and dark stories, people are now ready for this image of 007 that HAS been seen before and in a more classic and sophisticated way. Timothy Dalton is "son of Connery, father of Craig."

James Bond will return in SPECTRE this November! 

*Today, the 12th of September would have been Desmond Llewelyn's 101st birthday! I honestly had no idea until a friend of mine informed me of the news! We lost Desmond a few days after the release of his final 007 film in 1999 and I just wanted to give thanks for his wonderful performance in the role and all his other roles! We miss you, Q! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The World Is Not Enough Review/Retrospective

"I could have given you the world."
--"The world is not enough."
"Foolish sentiment."
--"Family motto."
-Elektra King and James Bond

For the 19th James Bond film, Pierce Brosnan had his third turn at bat as the suave and sophisticated agent 007. And now, James is not just on an assignment, but a very personal one at that. I'll be discussion the plot, the characters and the experience I had when watching what is perhaps on of my favorite and most quotable James Bond films in the entire series. This was also the first one that I actually sat down and watched. The first big screen 007 adventure for me would 2002's Die Another Day.

JAMES BOND AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THAT SHIT!

"You seem to have had a small reversal of fortune."

It all starts, as most Bond films do, in a glamorous country and this is no exception: Bilbao, Spain. 007 is on a mission to discover the cause of death of a fellow MI6 agent and find out who killed him. When he enters the Swiss Bank, the manager of the bank seems to skirt the issue and act as if he has no idea what Bond is talking about. He has money ready for 007 that was stolen from Sir Robert King, a multi-millionaire who owns oil pipelines across the globe, for a report that the late-agent was killed for. Bond, however has not only come for the money to be returned, but to discover who in fact killed that agent. Bond being Bond, is stubborn and doesn't let it go resulting in the goons of this "manager" to come and take him out. After an awesome and action-packed shoot out, Bond notices that someone has escaped alive: the secretary of the bank. Brosnan sells the part in this scene and has officially made the part of James Bond his own. It is said that when an actor plays James Bond gets to his third movie, he managers to make the part his own and he is really to get deeper with the character and not just by face value anymore.
He is in that territory for no-nonsense and will stop at nothing to get the job done.

After the shoot-out, one person escapes the office but not before the police are summoned. Bond looks around to find and an exit and once he turns another corner, a gun is aimed right at him. Putting his arms up, there is a shot somewhere out of the window and the man dies instantly freeing Bond to escape. Who the heck was it that shot this person? Was it a fluke? Were they trying to aim for 007? No time to thing, Bond uses his own ingenuity and pulls out the strong for a set of blinds and ties it around his belt, and then goes to one of the bodies on the floor and ties it around his belt. Grabbing the suitcase with the money, Bond jumps out the window and lands perfectly onto the streets of Spain while the police enter into an lifeless room with only once survivor: The man that Bond ties the string to. Quite the getaway!

Q-Boat

Meanwhile, back in London, James Bond returns the money and and Sir Robert King is there to pick it up. After having a brief squabble with Moneypenny, Bond is summond into M's office where he meets King himself. It turns out that M and Sir Robert read law in Oxford together and had quite a background. After King leaves and goes to inspect his money, Bond and M have a little drink. When Bond pours himself a drink, he realizes something is not right. He has some kind of chemical reaction taking place and automatically things something is wrong. Bond exclaims, "King! The money!" Rushing through halls and corridors of MI6 HQ, it is too late and the room King is in explodes, along with the money, ripping a gaping whole that is visible outside of HQ! Looking out of the building through the reckage, Bond notices a laser sight on him and then quickly turns out of the way avoiding it. Heading into Q Branch, Bond quickly jumps into a small boat equipped with a ton of weapons and gadgets and goes after the culprit who tried to kill him.

Now, this is perhaps one of the most spectacular stunt chases in the entire series of films! Now only is it a good 14 minutes before the open credits, but it is highly entertaining and non-stop! After chasing her from the River Thames to the streets of London--yes, the boat is able to drive on land as it has boosters on the back--they finally end up at an event featuring hot air balloons. Jumping out of her boat, the secretary holds some of the people at gun point and tell them to release the balloon so she can escape from 007. Bond, managers to ram the boat on the shore and jump and catch one of the ropes hanging from the balloon and is taken mid air. With him trying to avoid bullets from the assassin, he pleads with her to make a deal. "We can make a deal, just tell me who's behind this! Who are you working for?!" As she threatens to blow up the balloon, Bond screams, "Don't do it! Don't blow us up! I can protect you! Do you understand?! I can protect you!" And with them, she simply replies, "Not from him!" She fires the gun at he gas for the balloon and it explodes in a ball of fire, sending Bond falling down only to have his fall broken by the Millennium Dome.

Main Title sequence by Daniel Kleinman in the tradition of the late Maurice Binder

Now, when I first saw this movie, I was totally blown away by the action and suspense used here! This all happens in the course of 14 minutes! It like a mini-movie. But that is what every James Bond pre-title sequence is about. It is a small action-packed set piece used to get the audience intrigued and pulled into the story. Sometimes the pre-titles sequence can have nothing to do with the story that follows, or sometimes, like in this case, it can have a lot to do with it and will just continue where it leaves off. Great film is about to come on with one of my favorite opening themes in the entire series. One of them, meaning I have a lot more, but this is one of them. By the looks of this sequence, you can see that "oil" is the main theme and that this is going to be a far more personal film than some that have come before.

Now, we enter the story in Scotland. There is a major funeral occurring and it is the death of Sir Robert King. Observing the event in a sling, due to his injury with the hot air balloon, James spots the eye of a young women dressed in black whom is mourning the events: Elektra King, the daughter of Sir Robert.

007's new ride: BMW Z8

Since the London branch of MI6 is no longer safe, the team moves into their Scotland location. So, Q and his gadgets are there now and he is in fact seeking retirement. He has appointed a new fellow to follow in his footsteps as the Quartermaster of MI6 and introduces 007 to his new car, a BMW Z8 with special features as always. After a few jokes here and there, Q bids farewell to Bond and his last pieces of advice is to "never let them see you bleed." Bond says, "And the second?" "Always have an escape plan." With that, Q pushes a button which sends him under the floor and that is the last we see of the great Desmond Llewellyn. After 17 films, his days of doing the James Bond films are over and he has had a long run!
Meanwhile, as the story continues,  Bond, who tries to look deeper into the information on Elektra King is unable to due to there needing to be a clearance level. When Bond confronts M about it, she tells him that there is a personal connection with Elektra and herself. You see, Elektra was kidnapped by a terrorist named Renard and Sir Robert tried everything he could to get her back. He even goes to M and is told not to pay the ransom. They all thought they had time on their side and to use her as bait. But it was to no success. Eventually, Elektra is released by killing two of her captors and heads back home. But, you see...after the death of Sir Robert, there still is an investigation that needs to be fulfilled and Bond needs to stop Renard from getting his hands back on Elektra.

Elektra King played by Sophie Marceau

Bond is sent in to visit and tell Elektra that she is of utter importance and that she is required to have Bond's protection to which she says, "I'm going to finish building this pipeline and I don't need your help." Bond doesn't give up and invites himself to check the servey lines with her. After they get to the top of the mountain in Azerbaijan, a crew of parahawks come down and try to kill her. Bond lures them asside and then manages to kill all of them manuverting in the snow. Bond is a major expert at skiing. Bond takes Elektra to a casino where he meets up with an old friend, Valentine Zukovsky. Offering to play a game of cards, Elektra wants to play a high draw and bet against a million dollars. Then, when Bond tells her she doesn't have to do this, she replies: "There's no point in living if you can't feel alive." To this, Bond gives off a look of puzzlement. When she loses the money, James Bond says, "Elektra, this is a game I can't afford to play." Then, later that night, Bond and Elektra have a nice of romance and now it is up to him to leave her while she's sleeping and continue on his mission to stop Renard.

Now, here is where the story gets far fetched. He bumps into a nuclear physicist by the name of Christmas Jones played by Denise Richards...of all people, and then has her lead him to Renard. Under the disguise of a Russian scientist, Bond spots Renard and threatens to kill him, only for him to say, "There's not point living if you can't feel alive." Bond is struck at this, because this is the exact same thing Elektra King tells him in a casino. A fight erupts and Renard gets away. How could he have used her exact words? This doesn't make any sense.

The film continues and eventually it is discovered that Elektra King framed her own kidnapping and began to fall in love with her captor. She wanted the oil and all it's conquest for herself and felt that her father didn't care for the family, but only the money. She is responsible for the death of her father. When Renard said he would not do anything to hurt her, she uses radiation on herself and some of her ear is missing! This woman is truly twisted. She ends up doing the entire staging and all the stress her father and M goes through is for nothing. She is the one that turned Renard, not the other way around. It wasn't Stockholm Syndrome after all. She did this to herself and that is what makes this film stand out on so many levels for me. Eventually, James Bond shoots Elektra at point blank range and says, "I never miss." The true secret agent is back and this time we are getting into the Timothy Dalton territory of focus for the mission and not for the jokes.

I personally consider this to be Pierce Brosnan's best effort as James Bond and would find myself watching it countless times back in the day. It would be a long four years before the next adventure would take place. Since this was the first James Bond film I had seen in it's entirety, this film will always have a special place for me and I highly will enjoy watching it over and over again. A high recommend and GoldenEye is a close second!



James Bond will return...

Die Another Day Review/Retrospective

An invisible car? A ring that can cut through glass? A palace made of ice? These are one of the many aspects that made the James Bond film Die Another Day a disaster for so many fans. Well, I'm going to talk about my personal aspect on this film and how I think there are some good and some bad aspects to the final film starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

It all started when I was in 10th grade. My fandom for James Bond was at it's peak, and I was finally going to see a Bond film in the theater for the first time! It was going to be with my favorite actor to play the role, and my friend James and I were constantly checking up on what the title was going to be and who was going to sing the main song. Low and behold, it came out and the title for the film was Die Another Day. A pretty straight forward title, catchy, nothing special really. But we were still excited. Since the song was released a few months before the movie came out, I remember hating it with a passion. I have no problem with Madonna, but the song was just full of distortions and pauses and it was a lot of electronica that I couldn't stand. Over time, however, it grew on me and I began to enjoy it.

Now, for those of you who have not seen the movie, I suggest you stop reading now or continue at your own risk. Here we go...

James Bond escaping in a hovercraft in North Korea

James Bond is on a secret mission to North Korea to infiltrate an arms dealer who has enough weapons and tanks to run a small war. It is up to Bond to stop him and complete his mission. When Bond arrives, he captures and steels the identity of a man sent to ship African conflict diamonds to the dealer, Colonel Tan Sun Moon. Bond hijacks the helicopter, puts a package of C4 under the tray of diamonds, and then heads over to make the trade. Hoping that Moon would open the case, Moon's assistant Zao takes the case from 007 and then has someone inspect it. After doing so, Zao get's a message from an unknown sender that has Bond's cover blown and outs his entire mission. With nothing left to do, James Bond then triggers the diamonds to blow with Zao caught the middle of it and a major chase ensues. This is a spectacular chase and how the makers were able to use hovercraft

was amazing! Those things are hard to steer and are exactly made for their ability to float over minefields, rather than escape and getaway. Anyway, by the end of the chase, James Bond manages to fight Colonel Moon and then has him fall to his death...or so we think. After the battle is over, Bond, with his cover blown, is captured and tortured in North Korea for a year and a half! Brilliant story-telling! We've never seen Bond captured let alone tortured brutally ever in the series! He always manages to get away in the skin of his teeth and hurry back to jolly old England. But not this time.

Now, this opening of the movie is utterly entertaining. I loved it! After James Bond is freed in a prisoner exchange with Zao-who was captured in England during Bond's imprisonment-he is taken back to his superiors but not welcomed back. Injected with a sedate he passes out and is then on a ship for an analysis on the condition of his body. M comes in and asks that Bond's status as a secret agent is revoked (nod to Licence to Kill) and that James Bond no longer has his freedom and was only taken out so no more secrets or leaks would be revealed to the Koreans, believing him to have cracked under torture. The way Brosnan portrays the character is so dark and serious and you believe that he is a man who has gone through a lot. This being the forth movie, Pierce has mastered the character and has made it his own. Bond, being Bond of course, managers to slow down his heart rate, which is possible for some people to do, though not entirely sure if that's accurate, and then manages to escape the ship he's on. Not in England, Bond is actually in Hong Kong and he swims to get to the main land. Now, mind you, James Bond has been tortured for quite some time and has a full beard, so when he checks in to his usual Hotel in Hong Kong, he is not recognized at first. But right away, Mr. Chang, the manager of the hotel, knows who he is. Chang comments, "Mr. Bond! It's been a long time!" Now, after this, Bond shaves and is back to his usual self. Now, some say this is when the story begins to slow down, and I can agree with that aspect.

Tracking Zao, Bond discovers he is in a clinic in Havana, Cuba. When he arrives, somehow Zao is undergoing gene therapy to alter his appearance to look like a German. Bond interrupts this procedure and has a fight with him, who still has diamonds stuck to his face after the case exploded back in Korea. Now, Bond meets up with CIA agent Jinx Johnson played by Halle Berry. Her character is very generic and does not bring anything new to this movie. After Zao manages to escape, Jinx then jumps off a cliff in a very poorly done CGI shot to her contact waiting for her on a boat. James Bond then managers to grab one of the diamonds that Zao has onto his face. What was Zao doing in a gene therapy center? Now, there's an awesome character here by the name of Raoul that Bond meets up with and it's a shame we don't see much of him. He tells 007 where those diamonds and upon closer inspection, tells Bond they belong to the Graves Corporation in Iceland.

One of the best fight scenes in the entire series

Bond arrives in England, and eventually tracks down Gustav Graves: a man who has just discovered diamonds in Iceland a year or so ago and has become a major millionaire. Hidden behind the cameras of a press conference at Buckingham Palace, Gustave graves arrives after him in a ridiculous publicity stunt in a parachute and says, "What a wonderful day to be come a knight." Which is quite clever and you can tell that his persona and look upon life is pompous and careless. Now, this is where the story gets me thrown off a little. This man, Gustav Graves, whom nobody's heard of until a year ago, manages to get knighted by the queen? Come on! I can understand he discovered the diamonds in Iceland, but shouldn't 007 be knighted if anyone should be? Let's continue. Now, here we go with the cameo of Madonna as a lesbian fencing instructor. Now, I see how people think her acting is lame, but I didn't have much of a problem with it. She has a student by the name of Miranda Frost (Rosemon Pike), who acts cold, and sometimes rude to 007. There's a line where James meets Gustav and they ask if she wants to place a bet on the winner, to which she replies, "No thanks. I don't like cock fights." Classic Bond. Anyway, this innocent fencing fight begins to escalate to the most memorable and awesome scene again never before seen in a James Bond movie. Bond is having a sword fight! It is so cool! I loved this fight and Bond and Graves literally tare this club apart and then it escalates to outside. Now, this is one of the most overlooked scenes in the entire movie and it should be recognized for that. After Bond wins, naturally, Gustav asks him to join him to Iceland over the weekend for a celebration of something. Something called Icarus...

James Bond's new ride equipped with all the usual refinements

Arriving in Iceland, James Bond is equipped with his new Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, that is invisible...but it is explained and the idea is not all that far fetched. Tiny cameras on all sides of the car act as a reflection that is bounced back on the opposite side rendering the car practically invisible to the casual eye. Long story short, it's a cool car and I love it. But, it does take away some of the realism in this film from earlier. The car is also well-equipped and just like with the previous Aston Martin used by Sean Connery, it has an ejector seat! The car is also gorgeous and probably is my favorite Aston Martin used in the entire series of films. A close second would be the one used by Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights.

Gustav Graves' Ice Palace in Iceland

The Ice Palace...yes...a ridiculously spectacular mansion that is made solely for the demonstration. James Bond then meets up again with Jinx, and they both watch together as Gustav Graves enters the podium to demonstrate his new satellite, Icarus. Icarus is made from diamonds and the official reason for this invention is to help solve the world's crop and global warming issues. Why would a man who found a diamond mine all of a sudden get knighted, in addition to having the ability to create his own satellite?

After the demonstration, 007 takes a look around and bumps into Miranda Frost, and discovers that she is an MI6 agent after all. Bond comments, "Ah, that's why you tried so hard not to be interested in me." Ensuring that 007 is not screwing up with the mission at hand, Miranda and James go into a bedroom to "keep up the facade of being lovers." Good one, James! After Bond and Frost get it on, he then gets ready to do some more spying and check out the nuts and bolts of this palace and what Graves really has up his sleeve. Returning to a location he was in earlier, Bond is waiting for Graves and discovers that he is indeed Colonel Moon! Bond says, "So you live to die another day, Colonel?" "At last, I was beginning to think you'd never guess." As 007 is about to alert Miranda that Graves is indeed the man he thought he killed a year and a half ago, a twist of events occur. Miranda is not only working for Graves, she was the one that blew Bond's cover a year ago! Now it all makes sense why Zao was getting a gene change and Moon invited Bond for this demonstration.

Bond escaping in Grave's ice-dragster

CRINGE TIME

Now, sad to say this is probably the worst scene in 007 history. Stealing an ice-dragster, 007 escapes the wrath of the outed Graves and his henchmen. When Graves uses the Icarus satellite to pin point Bond's location, there is a beam of light that melts the ice and nearly reaches 007. When Bond's snow vehicle gets to the end of the cliff and a tsunami is about to hit, what more is James Bond to do? Has he finally met his match? No...he uses the parachutes as sails and the hood of the vehicle as a surf board. The scene is very poorly executed and just is in no way plausible. I remember watching this with my dad and hearing him say, "Oh, come on!" I mean, it's one thing to suspense disbelief...but it's a totally other thing to go too far. The producers did the latter. The James Bond films are known for their stunts being done for-real. This was just a major factor of poor CGI and one of the main reasons why the majority of people hate this film.

When Bond returns to the Ice Palace to get Jinx, an awesome chase ensues with his Aston and Zao's Jaguar XKR. This is a pretty neat sequence and my second-favorite of the movie. Now, the stunts here are done for real and there really is racing on ice. The producers had several models of the Aston Martin just in case it should sink or fall under the ice. In one case, it almost did and they managed to get it out. The ice had to be just right in order for them to have cars driving on it. It worked and the result for the movie good! Christian Wagner, the editor for the film, chopped it up here and there to make it more "hip" and it really didn't need to be. He sped up some parts of the movie and slowed down others. It was a bit distracting like with the Madonna theme song for this film. Anyway, afterward, Bond and Zao enter the palace and a pretty good death scene happens when Bond shoots one of the chandeliers, killing Zao instantly.

Ice Chase!

Then, after leaving Iceland, James and Jinx go to a military bunker to meet up with M and the rest of MI6, while she deals with her superior Damien Falco of the NSA. They infiltrate Grave's plane, and find out that the real reason for Icarus is to clear a mine path for his troops in North Korea. It's a bit convoluted but you get the idea. James Bond then manages to kill Graves and then the plane is destroyed, along with Miranda Frost. The films ends with Jinx and James enjoying some vacation time in Korea until they go back to their lives. The End.

Pierce Brosnan's forth and final outing as Agent 007

Now, I enjoyed this film for the most part. It is in no way my favorite James Bond film, nor my favorite film starring Pierce Brosnan. I don't despise it as much as other people do, but I can see their reasoning as to why they dislike it. I'd watch it over Octopussy or For Your Eyes Only, but that is just my opinion and I'm sure many of you will disagree with me on that. It is, just as worthy of being a Bond film as any other and even though it could have been better, it certainly could have been a lot worse. The first half of the film was brilliant, as I said countless times. It just took a turn for the worst and got very far fetched in the end. The movie was made in 2002 and was in the #1 spot in America for quite some time. It was also a hit financially, if not critically. After this film was released, James Bond was out of the picture until 2006 when Daniel Craig stepped in and started making his mark on the series. After the first Jason Bourne film came out in 2002, the producers wanted to take a more realistic approach and bring James Bond back to his routes as a spy. Daniel Craig is certainly a good actor to play the part, however not so much as a spy. But that's a whole other discussion for another time. Thanks for reading!!!

JINX WAS GOING TO HAVE HER OWN SPIN-OFF SERIES BUT LUCKILY THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN...

 

SPECTRE SPOILED?

 SPECTRE

SPECTRE © 2015 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Trademarks © 1962-2015 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation. SPECTRE, 007 and related James Bond Trademarks are trademarks of Danjaq, LLC All Rights Reserved.

Well...this certainly bites. The script to the new James Bond has been leaked as a result to the major leakage from Sony Pictures. I was so pissed when I heard this, but I guess I shouldn't really be all that surprised. This was after all, bound to happen. I really hope it was worth Sony to push forward with the release and making of the new mess starring James Franco and Seth Rogen. For those of you not in the know..as I'm sure is quite impossible considering how much information has been released world-wide, Sony Pictures Entertainment had their entire computer system hacked which resulted in the outing of a ton of e-mails, social security numbers, accounts and movie scripts. There's a movie that is set to release on Christmas day called "The Interview" which is about these two American producers that are sent to North Korea to "take out" the leader Kim Jung Un by simply shaking his hand. This is meant to be a comedy. Oh, wow...a duo comedy. My, my...how original is that? Anyway, this blog isn't about The Interview, it's about the new James Bond film being leaked. 

I'm not going to go into much detail about the script, but I did in fact read most of it and from what I have read, I'm not digging it at all. The third act of the movie was noted to be quite lame according to the producers and filming has already begun as of December 8th. Even before the script has been leaked, the third act was a problem for some of the producers and the only difference now is that it is known to the public. So, even if it was a great ending, I'm sure they would have to change it anyway since it was outed, so that might be a good thing after all.

Here's what we do know about the new film that everyone knows about: The movie is called SPECTRE, starring our man Daniel Craig as James Bond for the forth time. Since his last film, Skyfall, which became the highest grossing film in England, the highest grossing Bond film and garnering over $1,000 million worldwide, this new movie has a budget of $300 million and according to Daniel Craig, the script is even expected to be better. Well, from what I have read, I am not all that impressed. I hate to say it. But, in the end, it is the film and the execution that will be what counts. Of course, there are going to be a large share of action, car chases, girls, gadgets, including the debut of the new Aston Martin DB10, made specifically for this film.

James Bond's partner in crime. Aston Martin DB10. The car was made specifically for this film and only 10 have been produced. Unlike the BMW Z3 for GoldenEye, which was also made for that film, it will not be available to the public. I can't wait to see what she can do!

Sony Pictures bailed MGM out of bankruptcy in 2005 and has since been in charge of distributing the James Bond films since Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. Now...who will help bail out Sony? Well, considering that filming is still underway with SPECTRE, Bond is in good hands. This will be the fourth 007 film since the producers worked with Sony, and thus the first one with an outed script. As of the date this blog is written, December 17th, 2014, the James Bond team is well into filming in England with Daniel Craig (007) and Rory Kinnear (Tanner) filming on the River Thames. Check it out!

No matter what happens, I'm going to see this film. I don't care if anything is leaked or not, this IS a James Bond film and even though this is the first time in the films history of 50+ years where the script has been leaked, this is going to be a great addition to the fabulous collection of James Bond movies. There is always a setback and I'm just going to remain positive and happy about the release of this new film. Once a Bond fan, always a Bond fan. With the amount of money put into these movies, I doubt a group of hackers that compromised Sony will make the Bond producers bring their precious franchise to a close. Yes, everything must close, but we are far, far from the end of Bond movies. 

*Thanks goes out to Daily Videos on YouTube for the video!