Trivial Matters

Of course, I saw this today… despite being broke. Caught a matinee show, which was still pretty packed, but not so much that I was squeezed between two fat guys. Was in time for the previews, thank goodness.

I say that because while I was hoping to see the new Watchmen trailer (which I had already seen online),  I was instead treated to a surprise.

A convertible is speeding down an empty highway. A cop on a bike appears in chase. The car is approaching a cliff, head-on. The driver steers to the left and rolls from the car, which drifts over the edge. The driver, a young kid (like 8 or 9), barely escapes the same fate, latching onto the ledge and pulling himself up. The bike, which we now see is actually hovering off the ground, stops and a robot cop dismounts. The cop asks the kid for his name…

(Now at this point I’m thinking that McG has seriously screwed with the Terminator franchise and the kid is about to say “John Connor.”)

…The kid responds with “James Tiberius (Fucking) Kirk!”

How cool is that? I read a description of this trailer a few weeks ago, but it didn’t click when I saw it on the screen. The scene is followed by a shot of the under-construction-Enterprise, some shots of Spock as a baby/kid, and then the usual action cuts that go with a movie like this. But that opening, man, that was just awesome.

But you don’t want to know about the trailers, do you? You want to know how the movie was, don’t you?

Well… it was good. Not as great as I had hoped (or hyped myself up for), but it lived up to the Bond name and was a fitting conclusion to the Casino Royale storyline. I had read that this was the shortest of the Bond movies, but it certainly didn’t feel short. I liked the idea of Bond’s “kill first, dodge questions later” approach in that it showed how flawed the double-0 training can be. Frankly, if you’re going to give someone a “licence to kill,” don’t be surprised when they keep using it (M, I’m talking to you).

I also liked that he doesn’t hop into bed with every woman he meets, just the ones that are in his way. (BTW, there may be spoilers in this post. Sorry.) I wonder if they’ll keep the streak going of killing every woman he sleeps with.

The movie does have some flaws, however. I don’t buy the whole secret organization thing. (Especially when one of their members goes around wearing a “Q” on his lapel.) If they were that secret and powerful, they could end Bond anytime they wanted to. Also, why would they set up a 00-agent with a licence to kill as a murderer.

Finally, Jeffery Wright was wasted as Felix Leiter. Even though he had more screen time than in the last pic, it was wasted playing assistant to a corrupt CIA assistant director. I know it’s a Bond move, not a Felix movie, but that doesn’t mean you have to make the guy look like a schmuck (even when he’s helping Bond).

Oh, and also, I was right about the theme song. There were some whispered conversations going on during the opening chase scene, but everyone shut up when the music started. It was a great return to the “naked sillouette” sequences, and did help set the tone for the rest of the movie.

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