(no subject)
Dear Quantum of Solace,
Thank you for not ruining everything!!!
See you again soon,
Blacksquirrel
Did I really just watch a James Bond film that treated women like people? *Really*?
(which made such a bizarre counterpoint to that very traditionally objectifying/gynophobic/gun as phallus opening sequence. WTF was that? And the continued linguistic trope, a carryover, I think, from earlier films, which referenced "James Bond's women" as a homogeneous class, which is not only politically annoying, but also breaks the fourth wall, because it references our cultural assumptions about Bond much more so than the actual behavior of *this* incarnation.)
And how much do I love that it was a woman who needed to kill in vengeance while Bond just needed to feel less sad and alone? Guh. So awesome.
I also appreciate that they're still pathologizing murder - it's still ugly, brutal, and unnecessary, and it still exacts an enormous toll upon those who the state chooses (coerces) to undertake that task. And it remains extremely visceral - there's an animal physicality to these struggles for life in Daniel Craig's Bond which give those scenes a much greater sense of the very fleshy, human stakes involved.
Judy Dench continues to steal every scene and just exude this amazing *presence* as M. Allow me to squeee for a moment about the Bond/M aspects of this film. The entire plot hinges around him going to any lengths to neutralize the threat to her life! He's explicitly upset at the thought that M may see him as a son (perhaps you'd like her to see you as a man, Mr. Bond?). But nutty shipping aside, I enjoyed watching them work together and dance through their version of intimacy - in that twisted and brutal world they inhabit, they have a striking emotional honesty and connection that sparks every time they talk. It was also nice to see M a little off her game, shaken (not stirred) and reassessing her position, but still very much in control. In my reality, after the credits M picks up Vesper's necklace and keeps it - all the better to focus her future brooding/fantasizing about Bond.
And Daniel Craig? Not just a pretty set of pecs face - the man can *act* too ;) Bond cradling Mathis as he dies! Bond mentoring another agent through her first kill - which so clearly evoked the opening of the last film.
And, wow, some excellent slashy scenes as well. The bar scene with Bond and Felix was fantastically flirty. Come on, Daniel Craig, keep pushing for some m/m in the next film! Slashers have developed thousands of convenient plot devices for just this kind of situation. (But Felix, man, please shave - and no more effeminate men as villains, plsethxbye)
The overall focus on actual victims of a potential international humanitarian crisis blows me away. Did you see how they talked straight about the consequences of America's anti-Communist foreign policy in Latin America? *Did you see that*?!? Next Up: James Bond storms Guantanamo Bay and infiltrates the School of the Americas, after which he has a meaningful philosophical conversation with a woman he does not immediately have sex with and takes a swim in tiny trunks. I would totally watch that film!
I'm sure there's a thousand more things to be said, but I also enjoyed the playfulness of the sex. And the way that Bond emphasizes Fields' bravery in the field - she didn't do anything *for him* that led to her death - she tripped that guy because she was an agent, doing something she believed in, and good for her. And at this point, exactly who thinks it's a good idea to send sweet, young file pushers to intercept James Bond?
Allow me to reiterate mswyrr's recommendation of this Quantum of Solace trailer parody. Perfect! ITA!
On a related note, as I was leaving to get to the theater I was in a bit of a rush, and I backed my car out of the garage too fast, catching the top of my hatchback on the underside of the still rising garage door, causing a cascade of wood shards which rained down on my roof and twisting the little rear windshield fluid nozzle all out of whack (although, luckily, it pushed back in and still works just fine). So, I had a slightly skewed perspective, watching the film. As all manner of car parts flew every which way on the screen, I was thinking, "I'll just bet I have a scratch on my roof." And indeed, I do. Sadly, I did not get it by narrowly escaping capture in a heated cross-country chase. Instead, I lost a very daring and macho game of chicken with my garage.
ETA: If you have a post up about Quantum of Solace, please link me. I can read them now.
Thank you for not ruining everything!!!
See you again soon,
Blacksquirrel
Did I really just watch a James Bond film that treated women like people? *Really*?
(which made such a bizarre counterpoint to that very traditionally objectifying/gynophobic/gun as phallus opening sequence. WTF was that? And the continued linguistic trope, a carryover, I think, from earlier films, which referenced "James Bond's women" as a homogeneous class, which is not only politically annoying, but also breaks the fourth wall, because it references our cultural assumptions about Bond much more so than the actual behavior of *this* incarnation.)
And how much do I love that it was a woman who needed to kill in vengeance while Bond just needed to feel less sad and alone? Guh. So awesome.
I also appreciate that they're still pathologizing murder - it's still ugly, brutal, and unnecessary, and it still exacts an enormous toll upon those who the state chooses (coerces) to undertake that task. And it remains extremely visceral - there's an animal physicality to these struggles for life in Daniel Craig's Bond which give those scenes a much greater sense of the very fleshy, human stakes involved.
Judy Dench continues to steal every scene and just exude this amazing *presence* as M. Allow me to squeee for a moment about the Bond/M aspects of this film. The entire plot hinges around him going to any lengths to neutralize the threat to her life! He's explicitly upset at the thought that M may see him as a son (perhaps you'd like her to see you as a man, Mr. Bond?). But nutty shipping aside, I enjoyed watching them work together and dance through their version of intimacy - in that twisted and brutal world they inhabit, they have a striking emotional honesty and connection that sparks every time they talk. It was also nice to see M a little off her game, shaken (not stirred) and reassessing her position, but still very much in control. In my reality, after the credits M picks up Vesper's necklace and keeps it - all the better to focus her future brooding/fantasizing about Bond.
And Daniel Craig? Not just a pretty set of pecs face - the man can *act* too ;) Bond cradling Mathis as he dies! Bond mentoring another agent through her first kill - which so clearly evoked the opening of the last film.
And, wow, some excellent slashy scenes as well. The bar scene with Bond and Felix was fantastically flirty. Come on, Daniel Craig, keep pushing for some m/m in the next film! Slashers have developed thousands of convenient plot devices for just this kind of situation. (But Felix, man, please shave - and no more effeminate men as villains, plsethxbye)
The overall focus on actual victims of a potential international humanitarian crisis blows me away. Did you see how they talked straight about the consequences of America's anti-Communist foreign policy in Latin America? *Did you see that*?!? Next Up: James Bond storms Guantanamo Bay and infiltrates the School of the Americas, after which he has a meaningful philosophical conversation with a woman he does not immediately have sex with and takes a swim in tiny trunks. I would totally watch that film!
I'm sure there's a thousand more things to be said, but I also enjoyed the playfulness of the sex. And the way that Bond emphasizes Fields' bravery in the field - she didn't do anything *for him* that led to her death - she tripped that guy because she was an agent, doing something she believed in, and good for her. And at this point, exactly who thinks it's a good idea to send sweet, young file pushers to intercept James Bond?
Allow me to reiterate mswyrr's recommendation of this Quantum of Solace trailer parody. Perfect! ITA!
On a related note, as I was leaving to get to the theater I was in a bit of a rush, and I backed my car out of the garage too fast, catching the top of my hatchback on the underside of the still rising garage door, causing a cascade of wood shards which rained down on my roof and twisting the little rear windshield fluid nozzle all out of whack (although, luckily, it pushed back in and still works just fine). So, I had a slightly skewed perspective, watching the film. As all manner of car parts flew every which way on the screen, I was thinking, "I'll just bet I have a scratch on my roof." And indeed, I do. Sadly, I did not get it by narrowly escaping capture in a heated cross-country chase. Instead, I lost a very daring and macho game of chicken with my garage.
ETA: If you have a post up about Quantum of Solace, please link me. I can read them now.