{"id":19836,"date":"2012-10-29T15:44:25","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T15:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?p=19836"},"modified":"2017-09-16T18:26:06","modified_gmt":"2017-09-16T17:26:06","slug":"skyfall-james-bond-at-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2012\/10\/skyfall-james-bond-at-50\/","title":{"rendered":"Skyfall – James Bond at 50"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"20121029-154348.jpg\"<\/a>Spoiler alert! This post contains a fair bit of information about the\u00a0plot. If you haven\u2019t yet seen the film, and want to be surprised, stop reading now! The summary of this post that this is in one sense a stereotypical Bond movie, and you will by now know what to expect, no doubt. If you like Bond, then I recommend this film. If you don\u2019t then it is not sufficiently different to draw you in.<\/p>\n

As usual in the last few Bond files, although he is to use an old English phrase, \u201ca bit of a cad<\/a>\u201d and has sex with more than one woman, we do not see any nudity. There is of course a fair amount of violence too, but nothing that could be described as grotesque. To me the film is reasonably safe, but then I predicted that and very unusually for me, I didn\u2019t even check the IMDB parents guide before going with my son.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure about you, but I don\u2019t usually go to watch Bond movies\u00a0expecting an intricate plot. It\u2019s kind of not the point. One could\u00a0summarize most of the movies as follows: bad guy has a dastardly plan,\u00a0Bond braves many dangers (often getting captured along the way), meets a girl who may or may not get killed, and then Bond eventually saves the day!<\/p>\n

Skyfall roughly follows that plot-line, so I hope I haven\u2019t spoiled it\u00a0for you! But this 50th anniversary Bond movie is somewhat more\u00a0reflective than usual. Since watching it I have found myself thinking\u00a0about some of the issues it raises, so I thought I would share those\u00a0thoughts with you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Death and resurrection of Bond
\n<\/strong>At one point during the film Bond is asked what his hobby is,\u00a0\u201cresurrection\u201d is his reply. Sure enough early in the film Bond is\u00a0shot, falls a long way from a train into water. He is presumed to be\u00a0dead, and his property is sold while he evades duty. This time there\u00a0is not even an attempt to explain how he survives. It is a somewhat\u00a0understated and slightly odd part of the film, but it did remind me\u00a0how often our movie heroes appear to die but cheat death. Remind you of\u00a0anyone?<\/p>\n

3. The inevitability of aging and decline<\/strong>
\nDespite the image of invincibility, we see Bond struggling to perform\u00a0the tests that are designed to prove he is fit to return to active\u00a0duty. M is also told that it is time she should retire.<\/p>\n

For a franchise that is turning 50 introducing the idea that its hero might\u00a0not always be around to save the day is perhaps risky. And yet, today\u00a0we seem to like our heroes to demonstrate vulnerability. More than\u00a0any other Bond movie I remember, this one does portray him as a frail\u00a0human. And as a result, the audience empathises with him more.<\/p>\n

4. The interplay between traditional and modern<\/strong>
\nNot for the first time Bond is portrayed as somewhat old-fashioned. It\u00a0is hard to imagine him using a computer. The new Q is dismissive of\u00a0all that Bond stands for, claiming he can do more damage being a geek\u00a0than Bond can, and refusing to provide any traditional Bond toys. But\u00a0of course it is Bond and not a geek that saves the day. For the\u00a0first time in a long while we have a Miss Moneypenny. By the end of\u00a0the movie there is a strong suggestion that without replacing Daniel\u00a0Craig they intend to reboot the franchise somewhat.<\/p>\n

5. Loyalty and authority<\/strong>
\nIt is clear that M cannot lead by position alone. Despite her lies,\u00a0and authorizing the shot that almost kills him, Bond is devoted to\u00a0her. There is the vaguest hint that she wields her authority in a\u00a0different way to a man, being referred to at one point as a \u201cmother.\u201d\u00a0But even for M, there are higher authorities that as much as she\u00a0wrestles with them, she is more than willing to lay her life down for\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

6. Scottish Independence<\/strong>
\nYes, those who want Scotland to remain a proud part of our great Union\u00a0will like this film. We see Bond as the most Scottish we have ever\u00a0realized him to be. The film climaxes on the Scottish moors. Bond may\u00a0be Scottish but he is of course the archetypal Brit. It would\u00a0genuinely be a pity to rend our great nation in two.<\/p>\n

So a more thought provoking Bond, but of course the highlights are the fight scenes, car chases, and best of all the fantastic explosions. Ruining an old Aston Martin was a scandal, however! No more Judi Dench, though! How will we survive without this national treasure? My overwhelming thought is i hope the gap till the next Bond is not as long!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spoiler alert! This post contains a fair bit of information about the\u00a0plot. If you haven\u2019t yet seen the film, and want to be surprised, stop reading now! The summary of this post that this is in one sense a stereotypical Bond movie, and you will by now know what to expect, no doubt. If you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[538],"class_list":["post-19836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","tag-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nSkyfall - James Bond at 50<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spoiler alert! This post contains a fair bit of information about the\u00a0plot. 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