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It's true, you heard me. It's the best. And I'm not just saying that because I spent £120 on a cast and crew jacket (but I totally did). It's great for a lot of reasons and I want to talk about it.
(Disclaimer, this isn't my favourite I lied. But I really like it and I couldn't pick any 007 film to be better than the rest)
Elliot Carver is a really good villain.
This film gets a lot of flack for Carver being almost cartoonish in his demeanour however I would argue that is what makes him so likable. He's almost similar to Iago in his villainy, so Machiavellian to the point of near ludicrousy. It's hard to take him serious which makes him such a good villain. It's ridiculous to hear a Bond fan complain about a villain being 'too camp' when they have (gladly) endured Charles Gray as Blofeld or Goldfinger.
The plot?
Right... it's a Bond film it's one of the same 3 plots picked at random and rewritten. But I love it anyways. Yes, a drill would not do that to a submarine and yes, there is no point in Elliot killing Paris. I simply do not care. You chose to put a James Bond film on, sorry. Don't expect art because they aren't and the expectation that they are is precisely why the Daniel Craig films are unsuccessful at creating a captivating film. The concept of Carver's villainy is really great though, a media mogul who manufactures stories is fantastic though I fear it could have been used in a better way. I really love him I can't lie.
Dr Kaufman..
Wow. No notes. It's like a Connery era henchman stumbled onto the set thirty years late and I have zero qualms with that. He's goofy and really breaks up the tension and I just love silly goofy guys like that.
The women
Right so I have very strong opinions of Bond girls (not in a dodgy way I am actually writing a paper on the representation of them I'm not a creep okay? banger) and I find Paris Carver and Wai Lin to contrast heavily.
Let's start with Wai Lin. I love her representation though, as usual with great Bond girls, the romance feels burgeoned on the back half of the film and almost negates her character. She's one of the most positive representations of a Bond girl, in my opinion, for she's capable and flirts back on her own terms (in contrast to, for example, the forced kisses with Octopussy or the rape of Pussy Galore). Furthermore, I feel the motorcycle chase is a great example of her character, not afraid to oppose Bond and equally quick-witted. I also love her outfit in the submarine fight, slay!
It could be argued that Paris Carver is a rather hollow character. The concept of James finding an old, now married, flame is interesting and unique however the writers do absolutely nothing with it which is incredibly infuriating. It doesn't serve much to the plot as Elliot doesn't seem too bothered about it. Furthermore, it saddens me that her actress, Teri Carver, didn't really like the role and only took it to fulfil her then-husband's fantasy. (I just reread this and realised how negative this is. But I won't take it out. All Bond films have issues with women I think as an inherently misogynistic franchise. Also she's really not in it for very long at all I just generally adore talking about the women of the franchise :D)
I'm not sure if it's relevant but I will be talking about M here as well. I hate her. She contrasts completely with her characterisation in Goldeneye as the 007 franchise once again has its cake and eats it too. Within Goldeneye, she describes Bond as a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War" -a line I have a lot of issues with though I will save that for a future blog post. This juxtaposes her telling James to "pump her for information" (in reference to Paris Carver) and is entirely juvenile and against her previous characterisation. However, I really do like Judi Dench's portrayal of M and bad writing won't stop me from adoring her character.
Pierce Brosnan is kinda~
Fellas, is it gay to gaze upon another man? There is a reason why Brosnan is my favourite Bond and it certainly has nothing to do with Die Another Day. He's just really hot guys I'm sorry go watch the film. I HATE his blue shirt though.
Okay, okay I will actually give reasons why I love Bond's characterisation within this entry. Tomorrow Never Dies has Bond doing really sick nasty shit. He's mowing down goons and fighting every other guy and it's just a really good time if you like action. It's easily has the most gunfire of any Bond film which makes it quite exciting. I understand that this has received criticism as the emphasis on action makes the film seem overly American though I don't see it.
Alright I have ran out of things to talk about now
Nobody has read all of this, if you have, you are lying. This one is just for me; I love talking about James Bond. I hope you had fun with my poor SPaG (I have barely reread this) and my asinine rambles.
You should go watch it though it's banger
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