"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough...."
Last night / this morning, I finally saw Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond movie, directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road), and starring Daniel Craig as Bond, Judi Dench as M, Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story) as, uh, Eve, Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas, Brideshead Revisited) as Q, and Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) as the main villain, Silva.
It was a rather dour movie, presenting a very stripped-down Bond: in some ways it was reminiscent of the tone of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale; doubtless the moviemakers were influenced by the Jason Bourne franchise (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) starring Matt Damon, and the Jack Reacher novels of Lee Child (soon to be launched as a putative movie franchise, starring Tom Cruise, of all people...).
It was an interesting take on James Bond (although I take Richard Cohen's point when he complained that, in Skyfall, Craig's Bond wins solely by dint of his physical toughness, not because of his cleverness or quick thinking), arguably the most minimalist he's been since the movie versions of Dr. No and From Russia With Love; however, I would've liked the movie far better had Javier Bardem's character not come across as a psychopathic Stuart Smalley. Here, judge for yourself....
So, which twin has the Toni..?
It was a rather dour movie, presenting a very stripped-down Bond: in some ways it was reminiscent of the tone of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, Casino Royale; doubtless the moviemakers were influenced by the Jason Bourne franchise (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum) starring Matt Damon, and the Jack Reacher novels of Lee Child (soon to be launched as a putative movie franchise, starring Tom Cruise, of all people...).
It was an interesting take on James Bond (although I take Richard Cohen's point when he complained that, in Skyfall, Craig's Bond wins solely by dint of his physical toughness, not because of his cleverness or quick thinking), arguably the most minimalist he's been since the movie versions of Dr. No and From Russia With Love; however, I would've liked the movie far better had Javier Bardem's character not come across as a psychopathic Stuart Smalley. Here, judge for yourself....
So, which twin has the Toni..?