The franchise lives

Rating: 8/10 (28 November 2012)

I only review movies that had some sort of effect on me. This movie did.
James Bond is back, and, instead letting Daniel Craig hunting the gang from the last flicks in another action firework, he hunts ghosts from the past: his. And "M"s.
Sam Mendes was a slightly controversial selection. MGM had no choice. They had to deliver something fresh to the table of modern agent flicks.
He did more than service to the franchise. Brilliantly shot, in much "closer" view then any of the films before. He showed depth, he delivered a more human Bond, who is showing his age - and the knowledge, that there is no simple exit plan for people like him. With the sharp writing of Purvis and Wade, this movie adds another layer to the question: why is 007 needed? Why does he exists? And who controls the chessboard with pawns like him? Is there even a political context? Some of these questions are answered, but it opens a box of new questions even someone like James Bond can't run away from.
This brings us to the 'insanity' that is played by Javier Bardem. What ever people thought about him, this is "his" Dark Knight moment. Like Ledgers legendary Joker, he breathes Silva, the ghost from the past, a worthy adversary. Not because another doomsday-device, but because he knows Bonds fears. Because Money, Guns, Computers, People...are only tools in his lunacy, in his quest to make everybody "understand" what he has to say.
Some shots with him are pure cinematic gold, comical, frighting, absurd. He is even channeling some of Bonds old adversaries like Scaramanga or Max Zorin. Mendes gives the actors room to breathe and reaps the benefits ten times.
People will continue to talk about this movie for ages. Everybody was stunned by the performance. When I left the cinema, many popcorn bags were left, half full. There was something else to do. Experiencing a well refreshed franchise, with a old Bond with lots of new wounds.
Who still has a job to do. And one or two stories to tell. My best movie of 2012.