Sunday 18 November 2012

Bond is Back and Writers Will Like It...

Now you may not think that the latest Bond movie has much to interest a writer, other than you might like Daniel Craig as 007, the fast cars and the action scenes- the escapist fun.

But I have to say this was actually a film that a writer can truly appreciate.

At the end I came out feeling that the story had been done properly.

On previous Bond films I've seen, by the end I've felt dissatisfied, that something was missing, but this time I knew it had been done right.

(Yes, I know a lot of that is due to the Director, Cameramen/Women, Stunt Artists, and the Editor to name just a few- and the credits are long.)

Just as in a novel there are the recognisable ups and downs that a story needs. And it certainly had a beginning, middle and an end.

There were lots of little mysteries which were all tied up by the finish of the film, but even then heralded a new beginning.

You had the big climax of the film, but just as in a good book there was that final winding up that left you with a resolution.

There was a lot of character development- 'M', you really see how tough a woman in such a high position has to be to do the job- I know it's fiction, but I bet there are women in all areas of life with big responsibilities who would probably recognise aspects shown by Judi Dench's 'M'.

There's a new young 'Q' ( Ben Whishaw) - forget the gadgets, it's all up to date now with technology- but nothing's perfect...

I even had some sympathy for the villain (Javier Bardem as Silva) at times, but he was still the baddy and got what was coming to him...

Then we have Bond. We all know that our past experiences shape us, and in this film you actually get to find out some of his back-story- someone has really thought this story through.

And if you wonder why it's called 'Skyfall', like I did, you'll find out as the story builds to a climax, as long as you're paying attention...

The final thought, technology can do a lot of things, but sometimes the old ways get the job done, which is probably the appeal of Bond...






5 comments:

Lexia257 said...

Interesting.
I've never been a Bond fan so won't be on the edge of my seat waiting to see the latest film. Mind you, I'm not a film fan in general so that probably accounts for why I usually groan when I see a 007 film coming on tv.
I do like the latest theme tune though-in fact I can't think of a Bond theme tune that I don't like.
I remember looking at a copy of Dr No when I was about 12 and looking for the "rude bits" that I had heard about. Can't remember if I found any or not. If I did they can't have had much impact on me !
Are the Bond films written as books (electronic or otherwise) before the film these days or vice versa ? And if so by whom - one person or a team ? Maybe "the film of the book" is a thing of the long ago past.

Patsy said...

You've made me even more keen to see it.

liz young said...

We'll have to wait until it reaches the TV out here!

Carolb said...

There have been a lot of Bond related books this time, because it's 50 years of Bond, but they don't seem to have produced a film book for it- unlike many film characters that always get this, Lexia.

I've been reading a lot of comments on it by people who say it was boring, Patsy, but I'd disagree with them- if it was that boring my OH would have gone to sleep and he stayed awake.

Hope you don't have too long to wait, Lizy.

Maxi said...

Couldn't agree more, Carol. I loved Skyfall (and yes, I'm glad they chose to enlighten us as to why it was called that. I had wondered). I thought it was written really well, and the characters were rounded rather than just charactures, as some (many?) other Bond inclusions have been, especially the 'baddy'. We must be on the same wavelength as I recently did a blog post that took inspiration from Skyfall's baddy. A writer's film indeed.