Shaken...not Stirred

The third movie as Bond...

Jame Bond

for Daniel Craig is a good one it has a few surprises and some not so surprising elements.  Craig is rapidly becoming my favorite 007.  For one thing, he is a pretty good actor.  As proof the fact that he is far far from a good looking man (I know many a person of the female persuasion may disagree) his Bond's ability to get the Bond girl is easily believed.  Of course we guys are not looking at Bond at that point.  I don't want to give too much away about this movie, but it is filled, as is with most Bond movies, with gadgets, unusual ways to die, lunatic bad guys, an intriguing opening title sequence, and amazing action.  The classic Aston Martin even makes an appearance complete with the classic guns and ejector seat.  You know what happens to Bond cars, though don't you?

And so comes the 23rd official Bond movie, Skyfall  and no I am not going to tell you the reason for the title.  There have also been at least two independent versions of Bond.  Rumor has it the Craig is in talks to do at least five more Bond movies.  Despite one critic listing Quantum of Solace as one of the worst Bond films ever made and one that I personally liked probably as well as any Bond movie as I've ever seen, the latest Bond, Daniel Craig is less suave and more action and certainly more gritty.  He hearkens back to the original Bond of Sean Connery.  The more recent films  are less gadget oriented though and set in a modern world which is as M points out no longer has enemies that are easily identified.

Q, now a young computer geek, is great fun.  He gives Bond his assorted false identities, and gadgets, but oddly we have a unique twist. This may be something of a spoiler, so you may want to skip this but it is a thematically strong point for the movie.  When Bond first meets Q, Q gives him a gun and a radio transmitter.  Bond looks at him and curiously and Q says something like "You were expecting an exploding pen? Really 007 we don't go in for that sort of thing, anymore." The conversation moves to the ability to cause terror not by exploding gadgets but by computer control. Q announces that he can do more damage in his pajamas than Bond every could to which Bond asks why he's needed.  Q says, "Occasionally a trigger must be pulled," a reference to M's statement two movies ago about Bond being a blunt instrument.  Bond responds in an unusual manner to Q's statement.  He responds to the pulling trigger line by saying, "Or making the decision not to" pull the trigger.  That one line humanizes Bond and makes us realize that he too has a past.

Everything is now in place.  M, Moneypenny, and Q are all now back and in perfect place with a few neat twists.  I think, if you haven't seen it yet, and you are a Bond fan, you'll enjoy Skyfall.