tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post1942926028474366507..comments2016-10-25T17:01:56.456-07:00Comments on leigh & harriet : Daniel Craig and the Modern BondAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848788698504374414noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-16483981501535729592012-12-11T08:59:19.551-08:002012-12-11T08:59:19.551-08:00I went ahead and re-watched "Casino Royale&qu...I went ahead and re-watched "Casino Royale" after you posted this. I couldn't remember all the details. I'd forgotten how much he loves Vesper in that movie, and yes, it feels like a real departure for Bond as a character. Also, she as a character feels far more well-developed and empathetic than most "Bond girls," and her death is actually, really tragic. Bond feels real grief, not the sham grief of another innocuous pretty girl lost.<br /><br />Now I have to watch "Quantum of Solace"! It is wonderful to have these popcorn movies become real, full-blooded experiences.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05848788698504374414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-57604419077893129952012-11-23T22:18:38.780-08:002012-11-23T22:18:38.780-08:00Okay, so I didn't get to see the new movie aft...Okay, so I didn't get to see the new movie after all. (Bonnie's sit-bones can't generally handle movie theater seating, and this hoped-for exception... wasn't. No surprise, in retrospect.) But, based on the first two Daniel Craig movies, I agree that whole new dimensions have been opened in this series.<br /><br />"Casino Royale" was a revelation to me. I have always taken popcorn-level pleasure in the Bond movies (hey, I even liked Roger Moore), but seeing one with actual story and character depth was SO satisfying. I still remember the opening chase scene, lots of parkour, and you could see the way Bond landed on the metal crane that it really HURT. It's wasn't one of your Hollywood, too-graceful feather landings. This signaled we were watching a movie where people really felt things.<br /><br />This physicality extends to sexuality, as you've observed. He's not just a guy who looks good; even straight guys like me can feel him there as a corporeal presence. And, of course, he gets tortured in a way every man can feel. None of your buzz saws stopping an inch from his nose. He doesn't just almost get hurt. He gets really, really hurt.<br /><br />Same with his heart. We know he loves Vesper, because we're allowed to love her, too. Her loss is a loss we feel with him. Is this the first real empathetic Bond? What a radical notion.<br /><br />So there's the brutality, the real pain, the deep love (therefore the deep loss), the constant inner conflict at the same time as the onslaught of external, physical conflict. Suddenly, the Aston Martin is just a fast car that's necessary to escape the onrushing steel of another car. The unreal rules of life that James Bond has always lived under seem less ethereal when you know he's limping into the casino.<br /><br />It's nice to know that one can add depth to a story without slowing it down, making it less entertaining. Even without the benefit of swooning over Daniel Craig, the approach of these new films make my old popcorn pleasures satisfying enough for a whole meal. <br />John Opsand Sutherlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190181386169492055noreply@blogger.com