Has Sam Mendes ever directed a film where even a single
character comes off as believable? His fakery overruns
_Revolutionary Road_ and _American Beauty_. Daniel Craig
has some almost-human moments in _Skyfall_ but not even
the marvelous Lea Seydoux can breathe life into the
moribound _Spectre_. The film is a strangely self-
reverential object, as if trying to attain grandiosity
from the reflected glory of all Daniel Craig entries but
only succeeds in reminding us how much poorer it is
compared with _Casino Royale_. That earlier film has
real stakes in it, and Craig actually comes across as a
deeply flawed human (as opposed to the caricature
of himself in the latest calcified appearance). The
masterstroke of _Casino Royale_ is of course Eva
Green's character, whose acid wit and smothering
passion make everyone and everything around her come
alive. So many great scenes are built around her
intense presence, perhaps the most memorable being
her death, when she takes a deep gulp of water and
recoils, like some dark and exotic sea dream
returning to the deep. Most Bond films are either
too glossy (_Spectre_) or too grubby-looking (_Quantum
of Solace_). In _Royale_ the two extremes, perhaps
personified by Green and Craig, settle into a fine
balance.

Seydoux's gift for acting isn't far from Green's;
her brilliant and highly varied roles in _Farewell,
My Queen_, _The Beautiful Person_, and _Blue is the
Warmest Color_ attest to her potential. In _Spectre_
she is given too little screen time to assert herself.
Her character is a highly educated ice princess, who
only occasionally lets her hair down. She does OK
with the psychology but really has too little to do.
She probably sees Craig's character as a proverbial
second coming of her violent father, and looks forward
to reform him. What Bond sees in her (other than her
stunning pale green evening gown) is not made clear
in the film. He usually consorts with women who
fawns over him (even Eva Green eventually does that);
I don't see him in a worshipper role required to
deal with the aristocratic, Catherine Deneuve-like
Seydoux character.

Yet Seydoux is still the highlight in a film where
things just meander to their foregone conclusions; fine
actors (like Ralph Fiennes) seem acutely embarrassed
to be popping out of nowhere for a few seconds to serve
predetermined plot points. Mendes does a long tracking
shot in the opening sequence and must have sleep-walked
his way through the rest of the directing process
congratulating himself. From the ending, this is
Craig's last go-around, and I'm sure he won't miss
the franchise. He looks bored.

The James Bond films grew out of cold war paranoia
and reaction to the crumbling of the British Empire.
Looking back at the early Sean Connery editions,
I find they have aged so badly as to be unwatchable.
The Roger Moore era at least doesn't take itself
seriously. Then there is the cellist and the Afghan
mujahideen in _The Living Daylights_ (unintentionally
documenting the seed of jihadist terrorism) and
Sophie Marceau's flamboyant turn in _The World
is Not Enough_. (I always have a soft spot for
cellists, and it goes without saying that the
Bond films only go as far as their female leads.)
The second best Bond film, if you ask me, would
be _Die Another Day_. Not only are Halle Berry and
Rosamund Pike athletic and skilled (Pike is good as
long as she doesn't have to carry a film), the script
actually has something interesting to say. The
slavish imitation of Western playboys by the moneyed
youths of Asia, and the self-loathing that comes with
it, are well-played in the film. But the crown jewel
of the series will always be Eva Green and _Casino
Royale_.

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