I need a tux...

(Present mood - Mildly stressed vs. Contentedly pumped)
(Listening to - You Know My Name by Chris Cornell)





*dun-de-da-dun-dun DUN-DUN-DUN dun-de-da-dun-dun DUN-DUN-DUN!*

...uh, that looks/sounds a lot better if you picture it coming out of a heavily twanged 70's guitar. :)

So, yes, this is going to be a 007 post. Went and saw it last night with my fellow "live-in-Div's", though there was a slight fiasco trying to get to it, seeing that none of us knew where the theatre was, nor that the early show was sold out an HOUR before we got there. Honestly, a good sign that the flick will do well - regardless, or even in spite of, the occasional negative or just to nitpicky review of it. (which I imagine this one will be a bit)

I'm hardly a Bond aficionado, though I do enjoy the films quite a bit as a genre unto themselves. As well, due to this fact, I do believe I have some idea of what belongs and befits a Bond film, and what doesn't. That in mind, here's my take on it (WARNING!! MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

First of all, our introduction to him is just GREAT. Dead on delivery of his cocksure attitude mingled with cold accuracy. Well played. Next, we have probably the best action sequence in the entire movie - a freejumping chase scene, which was high-wired and crazy-go-nuts cool. As an acquaintance of mine put it "The chase was really cool cause you saw the skilled runner versus the cleaver runner." You can guess which one was Bond.

(FYI - Freejumping AKA "Free running" or Parkour - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_running or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour and you'll get it.
Gotta LOVE Wikipedia! :) )

The cars in this flick were also great, but underused, which too was good. To those who are used to Bond and his "gadgets", this flick ain't really for you. It shows off Bond's skill to know how to handle himself given what he has at hand and based on his training. No lazer watches, no cellphone controlled cars, no "Mission: Impossible-esque" anything, really, save a portable defibrillator device the size of two decks of cards side by side. It's reminiscent of the original few Bonds (ie: Dr. No for sure) that just had Bond, his wits/charm, his skills, and his gun, to help him out of a jam. That too was fantastic, as it really played up the character being "new" as a double-O.

This is not to say that there aren't gadgets - its just that most of the gadgetry used ANYbody these days uses. That's the really weird thing. We've come so far since the original Bond that most people have access TO the gadgets once only dreamed of... well, except jetpacks (which also were not in this film). So, it was more HOW he made use of them rather than just having them. Oh, and did I mention product placement GA-LORE? Geez. Between all the cars he used, to his SONY cellphone, to his SONY laptop, his SONY cufflinks, geez. Remember when it was just Smirnoff that was strategically placed in the foreground? Said friends and I had a good laugh at the idea of how many billions they must have made off of his martini habits.

Speaking of necessary items for a Bond film - we have the new song. It's the first one since the past "reincarnation" of Bond to NOT use a woman to sing it (perhaps due to Madonna's computerized disaster last time around!) However, they chose former Soundgarden, now Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell to do it. I love Chris Cornell as a performer AND songwriter so this was a great change. He delivers too, with his tune "You Know My Name". G'head! Go to http://www.myspace.com/chriscornell and see! It's hard rock meets Bond-orchestra sound, with basic moderately-movie-theme-based lyrics, like the last few GOOD ones. Goldeneye had Tina Turner (great classic sounding choice), Tomorrow Never Dies had Sheryl Crow (also great smokey sounding choice), while the other two... well, blech.

So, all in all, great film for action, for misdirection towards the end via a lull of false security and questionable tit-for-tat, line-after-line feeding sessions, the wonderful adaptation to the "now" of the original Bond, great tune, and the lovely and hilarious Dame Judi Dench as M.

Now... about the new guy...

Personally, and I'm aiming to defend myself over this matter, I believe we have a new Sean Connery on our hands. He's buff and tall; plays the character as suave, cold and cocky - knowing how to deliver short witful lines without cheezing it up TOO much - he's a complete package! Oh, and on behalf of "Liz the Div", he's got icy-cold blue eyes that just sizzle you from the inside out. There you are, ladies. He's hot, but not "pretty"; handsome as Sean was. I mean, Sean was a boxer/bodybuilder before acting! Most of the others were Shakespeare trained (thank you, Timothy) or kinda skinny (I'm lookin at YOU Pierce). I will never say that our last newest Bond didn't do a fine job resurrecting the character (Goldeneye was great, and Tomorrow Never Dies was okay), I just think he got handed the proverbial "Joel Schumacher's Batman" versions of Bond films during his time doing them...

So, personal opinion, our new boy Daniel Craig, I tip my martini to you. Thank you for bringing the Sean Connery feel BACK to Bond!

So, go see the damn thing! It's actually good for action enthusiasts, Bond fans, and just plain ol' anybody!

Did I mention that after we got back from the LATE show of it (bloody ticket sellout...) that we proceeded to then watch Dr. No with chocolate martinis and snacks? What fun! Especially comparing where the franchise began to what it's become. I believe we have a new weekend activity over here at Trinity. :)

Anywho, back to said grindstone. More later!