The Revenant

The Revenant
A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu (as Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
Writers: Mark L. Smith (screenplay), Alejandro González Iñárritu (screenplay) (as Alejandro G. Iñárritu)
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter

Story of the Movie
In 1823, a party of trappers under the command of Captain Andrew Henry hunt for pelts in the unsettled wilderness of the northern Louisiana Purchase. When Arikara Native Americans launch a surprise attack on the party's camp, many of the trappers are slaughtered and the survivors flee on a boat. At the recommendation of the party's guide and most experienced hunter Hugh Glass, who has knowledge of the area and natives, they abandon the boat and begin the journey back to their outpost, Fort Kiowa, on foot. The decision bothers some, particularly John Fitzgerald, who is hostile towards Glass's half-native son Hawk, as he was partially scalped by natives years prior.

While scouting ahead, Glass is ambushed by a grizzly bear after disturbing her cubs. He manages to kill her but is badly mauled; the party discover him close to death and carry him on a makeshift stretcher. Fitzgerald argues that Glass will not survive his injuries and that they should kill him to speed their journey. Unable to kill Glass, Henry offers payment to those who will stay behind with him instead. Fitzgerald, Hawk and the young Jim Bridger volunteer. Henry has Fitzgerald promise to stay with Glass until he dies and give him a proper burial.

Once alone with Glass, Fitzgerald tries to smother him, but Hawk discovers them. A struggle ensues and Fitzgerald kills Hawk while Glass helplessly watches. When Bridger returns, Fitzgerald says Hawk is missing, and Glass is too injured to protest. Later, Fitzgerald lies that the Arikara are nearby and that they must abandon Glass; he drags Glass into a shallow grave. Bridger hesitates but flees with Fitzgerald, leaving Glass with his canteen. Glass crawls out of the grave and walks through the woods for days, haunted by visions of his deceased Native wife. He escapes the Arikara, whose chief is searching for his kidnapped daughter Powaqa, by floating down rapids.

On their way to Fort Kiowa, Bridger realizes that Fitzgerald lied, but Fitzgerald intimidates him into silence. When they arrive at the fort, Fitzgerald tells Henry that Glass succumbed to his wounds and that Hawk was likely attacked by the Arikara. Henry pays Fitzgerald his reward, but Bridger refuses payment.

Glass encounters Hikuc, a friendly Pawnee who shares bison meat with him. Hikuc too has lost family, but says that "revenge is in the Creator's hands." The two travel together on horseback, and Hikuc builds Glass a shelter during a blizzard. Glass wakes to find Hikuc hanged by a group of French pelt hunters. He infiltrates the camp and sees the leader raping Powaqa. He frees her, kills two hunters, and retakes Hikuc's horse, leaving behind Bridger's canteen. He encounters the Arikara again and escapes by galloping off a cliff, killing the horse and injuring himself further. He survives the night by sheltering inside the horse's carcass.

At Fort Kiowa, a lone hunter arrives carrying Bridger's canteen. Believing it was stolen from Hawk, Henry organizes a search party and leaves to find him. Fitzgerald, realizing that Glass is alive, steals the fort's money and escapes. Henry's search party discovers Glass and brings him to the fort. Furious, Henry charges Bridger with treason, but Glass assures Henry that Fitzgerald lied to him. Glass insists on joining Henry to find Fitzgerald. After they split up while tracking him, Fitzgerald ambushes Henry. Glass finds him dead and scalped.

By pretending to be dead, Glass ambushes Fitzgerald and shoots him in the shoulder. He chases him into the woods and they engage in a bloody fight on a river bank. Glass is about to kill Fitzgerald, but remembers Hikuc's words and pushes him downstream into the hands of the Arikara. The chief, accompanied by Powaqa, scalps and kills Fitzgerald but spares Glass. Glass walks away and collapses. He has a vision of his wife, who smiles at him before disappearing into the woods.

The World Is Not Enough

The World Is Not Enough 
James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.

Director: Michael Apted
Writers: Neal Purvis (story), Robert Wade (story)
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle

Movie Story
You know where you are with James Bond. Continuing the revival of the franchise established by the confident GoldenEye and slightly threatened by the somewhat wobbly Tomorrow Never Dies, this checks off all the boxes on the form with something like panache, if not actual inspiration.
All present and correct: pre-credits action (speedboat chase on the Thames) and plot set-up (at the Millennium Dome, no less); overblown title song (Garbage -the band, not the tune); semi-surreal title sequence (naked birds and oil wells); globe-trotting (Azerbaijan and Turkey); master villain with formidable henchman (the roles are cleverly scrambled a bit, though students of classical drama will note that the script tips the surprise early); bizarre handicap for Bond’s main opponent (mad anarchist Carlyle has a bullet in his brain which makes him immune to pain and unafraid of death); recurring stooges (Dench’s M, Desmond Llewellyn’s Q, Samantha Bond’s Moneypenny); cover girl babes with silly names (Marceau as Elektra King, Richards as Christmas Jones); attempted assassination set against picturesque landscape (hang-gliding bobsleigh killers attack Brosnan while out skiing); explosions and fights in giant sets (ex-Soviet missile silo, submarine sunk in the Bosphorus); high-stakes card-playing; double entendres (of Richards’ character, during a clinch in Istanbul: “I’ve always wanted to have Christmas in Turkey.”); torture and minor high-tech product placement (that Moonraker bit where the dignitaries call up Bond to find him, as it were, on the job, is recreated via the Internet and with heat-sensitive imaging).
Continuing the trend of hiring shaky A-list directors, this employs Apted - who probably worked hard on Brosnan exchanging pointed dialogue with pouting Marceau (who is very good in an unusual Bond Girl role) and baldie Carlyle (who could have been given a bit more business), but stood back and let second-unit specialists take over for the money-spinning scenes of helicopters dangling giant chainsaws and explosions chasing Bond out of tight spots.
The most cheerfully ridiculous aspect of the whole thing is, of course, Denise Richards as the sort of nuclear physicist who wears a cut-off T-shirt and short shorts while probing a leaky Soviet silo and has a habit of getting wet while talking about the insertion of plutonium rods. Bond is, after the 80s-style restraint of the Timothy Dalton period, thankfully back to being a reckless womaniser, but there’s a distinct air of trying not to remind you of Austin Powers (even if Carlyle steals the “Kreplachistan warhead” bit from International Man Of Mystery) which perhaps leads to a drabness of style.
The worst of it is the lumpen comedy, with John Cleese hauled in for a couple of scenes as Q’s assistant, and would-be witty patter that constantly sounds as if Brosnan is reading it off the back of a cereal packet. Otherwise, the star has settled into the role, delivering precisely the required mix of unflappability, arrogance, heroism and smugness while not looking too uncomfortable in the clinches or a tuxedo. There are all sorts of ways of making the Bond movies more interesting - setting one in the early 50s of Ian Fleming’s first novels, doing a story entirely in London with Bond as a detective, having him crack up entirely and become the villain - but after nearly 40 years of settling into a profitable, satisfying rut, they’re probably never going to happen. In the meantime, we’re likely to get one of these every couple of years, and it’d be a hard heart who didn’t warm just a little to something so familiar, comforting and precision-made.

Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies 
James Bond heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writer: Bruce Feirstein
Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeo

Review of the Movie
Media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) wants his news empire to reach every country on the globe, but the Chinese government will not allow him to broadcast there. Carver doesn't take no for an answer and plans to use his media empire to fuel flames of war between the Western world and China. Thankfully, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is on to the insane news tycoon and travels to China to stop him with the help of Chinese secret agent Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh).

Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace
James Bond descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organization from eliminating a country's most valuable resource. All the while, he still tries to seek revenge over the death of his love.

Director: Marc Forster
Writers: Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis
Stars: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric

Short History of the Movie 
Following the death of Vesper Lynd, James Bond (Daniel Craig) makes his next mission personal. The hunt for those who blackmailed his lover leads him to ruthless businessman Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a key player in the organization which coerced Vesper. Bond learns that Greene is plotting to gain total control of a vital natural resource, and he must navigate a minefield of danger and treachery to foil the plan.

Casino Royale

Casino Royale 
Armed with a licence to kill, Secret Agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007 and must defeat a weapons dealer in a high stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, but things are not what they seem.

Director: Martin Campbell
Writers: Neal Purvis (screenplay), Robert Wade (screenplay)
Stars: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Judi Dench

Short Review of the Movie
After receiving a license to kill, British Secret Service agent James Bond (Daniel Craig) heads to Madagascar, where he uncovers a link to Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a man who finances terrorist organizations. Learning that Le Chiffre plans to raise money in a high-stakes poker game, MI6 sends Bond to play against him, gambling that their newest "00" operative will topple the man's organization.

Skyfall

Skyfall

Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. Whilst MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade

Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris

Movie Review

Skyfall, the latest installment in the long-running saga based on Ian Fleming’s James Bond character, forces the British action-hero to dig into his own past if he intends to overcome a dangerous new foe. Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty and Jarhead) ditches the inter-connected “Quantum” narrative of the last two Bond films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, in favor of an entirely new storyline that plays on larger connections to the overarching character canon and sets the stage for a more “refined” version of 007.

Considering many fans have celebrated Craig’s rough and gritty interpretation of the iconic character (currently enjoying a big screen 50th anniversary), did Mendes successfully produce a James Bond film with all the essentials (a smart story, memorable villain, and beautiful women) – while at the same time successfully balancing the updated franchise direction with the re-introduction of a few “traditional” Bond elements?

In Skyfall, Mendes easily provides one of the more inspired James Bond installments to date, painfully digging into the backstories of both 007 and M (Judi Dench) in an attempt to say something meaningful about fallible people instead of simply showcasing iconic characters in motion. Apart from its franchise appeal, Skyfall would still be a sharp character-focused spy drama with plenty of intriguing as well as thrilling set pieces; however, interestingly, the film’s various attempts to fit Bond into a more “customary” mold (especially his womanizing ways) are ultimately the weakest aspects of the endeavor. That said, while the subtle course-corrections over-complicate a relatively straightforward story, without adding much to the well-established character mold, they shouldn’t distract too much from the quality of the larger Skyfall adventure.

After a botched MI6 operation leads to a scramble across Istanbul, M gambles with Bond’s life – in a desperate attempt to procure a stolen data disk containing the identities of undercover operatives around the globe. Unfortunately, she makes the wrong call and with Bond missing in action, the disk is lost. Months later, when news of a deadly attack on MI6 headquarters catches up to Bond, who has been hiding out in a seaside paradise “enjoying death,” the 00 agent is pulled out of his self-mandated retirement to investigate the looming threat and recover the disk. Unfortunately, the time away from his secret agent life has left Bond worn-down and physically broken. Can 007 get up to speed in time to stop terrorist leader Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) – a dangerous man with an equally mysterious connection to M and the MI6 agency?

Despite an awkward pacing to the larger plot points and a core storyline that isn’t quite as unique (or smart) as its premise, in a franchise that rarely takes the time to consider Bond, the man, separate from his iconic characteristics (and numerous sexual conquests), Skyfall successfully digs deeper than most entries in the series – showcasing a version of the character that isn’t all polish and slick one-liners. Instead, Mendes offers a Bond that is actually capable of walking away from his responsibilities – drowning his anger and bitterness in the bottom of tequila glasses instead of chasing after evildoers. It’s an intriguing exploration of a familiar character’s limits (a subject that is rarely explored in the film franchise). It isn’t until Bond sees the flaming image of MI6 headquarters that he decides to put aside his grievances and get back to work.

Unsurprisingly, Craig revels in the chance to continue fleshing out Bond’s deep-seeded issues – instead of just hitting series action beats. As mentioned, the resurrected Bond presents a lot of fun opportunities for Craig to toe-the-line between his Casino Royale character, a man that would smash through walls to accost a fleeing bad guy, and a more “familiar” variation of 007 – basically, as Q (Ben Whinshaw) says while describing Bond’s new Walther PPK-S, “less of a random killing machine, more of a personal statement.” Still, for moviegoers who crave hard-hitting action set pieces, Craig is afforded plenty of rough-and-tumble butt kicking – especially during the film’s opening and finale sequences.

While the last few Bond movies have delivered competent adventures, it’s been a while since a modern Bond film included a villain that could stand shoulder to shoulder with memorable rogues like Oddjob, Goldfinger, and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. However, in spite of his homicidal tendencies, Skyfall terrorist Silva is very fun to watch – relying on a smart juxtaposition of charm and ruthless bloodlust to mirror Bond’s own demons. Unlike recent 007 villains who, even with their own unique quirks, are little more than human faces superimposed onto malevolent organizations, an extremely shaded performance from Bardem will, for many, remind them of the “love to hate him” experience of Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight – cementing the character as a worthy addition to the list of James Bond scoundrels.

A new batch of supporting players also help to make everyone on the MI6 team relevant in the moment, not just pre-mission exposition machines. For example, the interactions between Bond and Ben Whishaw’s Q are especially entertaining – but the character’s utility isn’t just limited to equipping 007 with gadgets, he’s also integral to the larger movie narrative. Similar to Bond, Q, along with characters like Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), and Eve (Naomie Harris), are developed human beings with their own personal arcs that interweave with 007’s secret agent antics. The result is a much richer world for Bond to inhabit – one that, subsequently, gives audiences an amusing collection of fleshed out personalities to enjoy.

Skyfall also makes a strong argument for the impact of practical effects – especially in an industry where eye-popping 3D visuals are increasingly becoming the go-to approach for blockbuster filmmakers. Few of the action set pieces rely on CGI fillers and the result is a grounded and immersive experience that, in lieu of over-the-top gimmicks, allows for a number of entertaining cat and mouse chases, hard-hitting hand-to-hand fisticuffs, and a surprisingly impactful finale that’s as big on emotion as it is explosives. Additionally, Mendes, and cinematographer Roger Deakins, convey a number of breathtaking images (especially in Shanghai) that rank among the most captivating visuals ever depicted in a Bond film (or quite possibly film in general).

Still, for all the film does right, Skyfall‘s attempt to bring 007 in harmony with Fleming’s iconic creation often work against the success of the experience – at times dropping nuanced character exploration in favor of showing Bond engaging in his usual “iconic” antics. There’s no shortage of sexual encounters in the film but one in particular, a mid-movie shower rendezvous, serves absolutely no purpose in developing the character or advancing the plot. Some viewers will no doubt defend the scene by saying, “Bond is a womanizer” but, given the insight that Mendes attempts to supply for the man behind the legend, it’s an abrupt shift when the director then subverts the man and recklessly glorifies the legend for no greater purpose.

Nevertheless, as mentioned, Skyfall‘s few shortcomings are not enough to derail enjoyment of the film. Scene to scene, moment to moment, the movie offers one of the richest and most interesting Bond adventures – even if the core premise isn’t quite as sharp as the various characters scrambling around the screen. For every awkward misstep in Skyfall, Mendes provides several standout moments – resulting in an especially entertaining and provocative 007 adventure.

Spectre

Spectre

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

Director: Sam Mendes

Writers: John Logan (screenplay), Neal Purvis (screenplay)

Stars: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux

About the Movie 

A cryptic message from the past leads James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Mexico City and Rome, where he meets the beautiful widow (Monica Bellucci) of an infamous criminal. After infiltrating a secret meeting, 007 uncovers the existence of the sinister organization SPECTRE. Needing the help of the daughter of an old nemesis, he embarks on a mission to find her. As Bond ventures toward the heart of SPECTRE, he discovers a chilling connection between himself and the enemy (Christoph Waltz) he seeks.