James Bond - 007

Movie Greats on Foxtel has been running a Bond retrospective, screening all twenty movies in the franchise on consecutive nights. My hard disk recorder has been working overtime. These are hugely entertaining movies, many of which I have never seen before or perhaps have forgotten. In any event I’ve been having a great time with them. Sure, the plots are often ludicrous and very similar, but then if you’re following the plot of a Bond movie, you are surely missing the point. Enjoyment of these movies lies in observing the details and style, such as Pierce Brosnan adjusting his tie while engaged in a violent tank chase through St Petersburg or Sean Connery enjoying a Martini with a twist of lemon, shaken not stirred, and made with Vodka, of course. 007 is entertaining right from the opening credits, which traditionally feature a slightly psychedelic presentation of a mixture of guns and scantily clad girls.

I suspect that the answer to which Bond is one’s favourite is a function of the era in which you grew up. Sean Connery has always been the purists’ choice, and I must admit looking back objectively now he did carry off the role with the most panache. Roger Moore was always my favourite, having come to know Bond in the seventies and eighties. He is still the most fun and epitomised the elegant, gentlemanly side of 007. Then there is the question, perhaps even more perplexing, of a favourite Bond Girl. My vote would have to go for Carole Bouquet from For Your Eyes Only, but there are so many. One of the most amusing parts of watching these movies now is spotting all the source material for Austin Powers. Its also interesting to note how the stakes have got higher over the years. I couldn’t imagine Sean Connery’s Bond jumping off a cliff to catch up with an aeroplane as Pierce Brosnan does in Goldeneye. Roll on the new Bond and long live 007. After having seen Daniel Craig in Munich, I am quite optimistic that the legacy may be in good, steady hands.

Munich

Steven Spielberg routinely turns out masterpieces and this is no exception. It has been a long time since I have been held as spellbound by a movie as I was by Munich. On one level, it is an exceptionally well made and unflinchingly realistic thriller and on another, a dramatic piece that raises disturbing and crucial moral questions. This is no slick band of assassins, but a group of ordinary men brought together to tackle the very messy business of killing people. They make mistakes and suffer crises of conscience. The bomb maker is particularly inept and responsible for some of the most suspenseful passages of the movie. Only Steve, the chilling South African, played very convincingly by Daniel Craig, seems to take pleasure in his work. I’m looking forward to the new Bond now that I have seen Daniel Craig in action here. Steve’s involvement in the group raises interesting questions around the level of cooperation between Israel and the Apartheid regime at the time. In fact the film touches on a range of fascinating themes enough for probably another dozen movies. The most intriguing is the mysterious French family that helps to find the location of the team’s victims, headed by “Papa” a former resistance fighter, played with wonderful gravitas by Michael Lonsdale. Eric Bana and Geoffrey Rush are terrific. What excellent actors Australia produces!

The Forgotten

I really like Julianne Moore. She was at her best in The Hours and Far From Heaven. She has terrific range – compare her role in The Hours to that in Boogie Nights. But here, she is let down by a weak plot. It starts out most intriguingly and sets up a fascinating mystery, but the denouement is so fantastical and far-fetched that it left me completely flat and unmoved. Screenwriters would do well to bear in mind Steven Covey’s principle of “Start with the end in mind”. It is one thing to set up a terrific mystery, quite another to end it in a surprising and satisfactory manner. See for example how M. Night Shayamalan gets it exactly right in The Sixth Sense and then gets it horribly wrong in The Village. The Forgotten is a pleasant way of passing a few hours, but holds little by way of suspense or substance.