What a strange, strange film.  If I hadn’t listened to some of the audio commentary on the DVD, I’d have thought everyone involved in the production had set out to make a serious Bond film and instead ended up with a farce.  For better or for worse, however, every choice appears to have been intentional, and to deliberately make this Bond entry a lampoon.  I can’t say I agree with the choice, but let’s judge the film on its own merits.

My Name is Bond.  James Bond.

We begin as we always do, with James Bond himself. The film’s teaser, in which three British agents are killed, completely eschews any appearance of Bond. Instead, Roger Moore began his 7-film stint as the iconic British agent by appearing in bed with an Italian agent.

It’s hardly a star entrance.  The camera merely pans over to the bed and there he is.  The tone is set.  Bond is a playboy, and the subsequent early morning surprise visit by M and Moneypenny plays more as a comedy of manners than an action-adventure. (more…)

I hated the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark. No, not the Citizen Kane homage rosebud scene at the end – I loved that – but the ending of the movie. I didn’t want it to end. I hadn’t enjoyed a film that much since, well, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, or Jaws. I wanted it to continue. I wanted more. 

I got more and I didn’t want it. 

Why don’t sequels do well? Obviously, I’m not alone in feeling the way I do about Raiders or Star Wars or Jaws or any other great character-rich, dynamically set film that pulls you in and doesn’t fully let go even after the end titles trail up and we see that film certification symbol fade out. So, why is it that more of what we love, we hate? Well, maybe not hate, but not love quite so much. What’s going on here?  (more…)