Daniel Craig bids farewell to the character of James Bond in "Dying Can Wait".
The actor reveals a more tender and less macho aspect of the character.
This bias has something to confuse the fans of the first hour.
Finally, James Bond is back!
Delayed due to a pandemic,
Dying can wait
for Cary Joji Fukanaga lands in theaters this Wednesday.
And for his fifth and last mission in the role of 007, Daniel Craig has the heavy task of bringing back in large numbers in the audience a bit cautious.
The preview on October 28 took place under close surveillance and with the hashtag #Spoilerdoitattendre.
It is while scrupulously respecting this instruction that
20 Minutes
explains why the film, more than ever anchored in the air of the times, can only divide the fans, the oldest and the modern.
A great leap forward
The character created by Ian Fleming has changed since
Casino Royale
in 2006.
Quantum of Solace
(2008) then
Skyfall
(2012) and
Specter
(2015) cast Daniel Craig as a charismatic but tortured 007 role.
And
Die Can Wait
has definitely put an end to the macho-womanizer-worn-on-drink image.
But what the hero has gained in human qualities, notably thanks to the presence of screenwriter Phoebe Waller Bridge (
Fleabag
and
Killing Eve
), he has lost in singularity.
And his most loyal fans struggle to recognize it.
Save the Leap
The last films, those played by Daniel Craig, have become "soap opera": each episode follows the last, which is even more evident in the sublime opening sequence of
Dying Can Wait
.
We always have a mad scientist determined to destroy the world with a clever invention (Rami Malek Oscar winner in 2019 for playing Freddie Mercury in
Bohemian Rhapsody
) and we see Christoph Waltz, a supervillain who continues to harm from the depths of his prison .
But James Bond has his ears pulled to get back to business which makes fans cringe as much as when Luke Skywalker swings his saber to the nettles in
Star War
s.
Bond time is over
Once focused on horizontal missions, the James Bond Girls have grown into strong women who have nothing to envy 007 when it comes to fighting.
A sign of the times, the number 007 was even assigned to a black woman after the retirement of James Bond at the end of
Specter
(2015).
To the point of fueling rumors that the next Bond would be a woman, which the production denied!
In any case, in
Dying Can Wait
, Lashana Lynch stands up to Daniel Craig with class and talent.
Ana de Armas also steals the show from the hero in too short an action streak in Cuba.
When these ladies come into the secret agent's room, it's to talk business.
Bond for action
"Who says more tender hero implies more talkative intrigue carried on the melodrama" (Hollywood proverb).
If the stunt sequences are always spectacular, Cary Joji Fukanaga reveals an almost sentimental 007, a character trait that we had already (slightly) glimpsed in
Au Service de sa Majesté
(1969) where, in the guise of George Lazenby, James Bond was getting married and it was going badly.
But today, the love affairs of the secret agent with a shrink played by Léa Seydoux take on as much importance as the socio-political issues.
Part of the audience is moved, the other, with rage, bangs their heads against the chair in front of them.
References to Bond
Passionate fans can take comfort as references to previous films abound.
It is a "James Bond for Dummies" at the same time as a journey through time in the course of the saga offered by
Dying can wait
with lines like "We have all the time in the world
"
.
The first part of the film in Jamaica pays homage to Sean Connery and Ian Fleming who created the character there.
The second winks at Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan with his brawls, chases, and gadgets.
As for the third, more sensitive, dark and elegiac, it evokes
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
, the only episode interpreted by George Lazenby while preparing the departure of Daniel Craig and his succession.
What about Bond in all of this?
Only one thing is certain at the end of the screening: James Bond will return, as tradition dictates (and the good accounts of the production).
A card announces it even at the end of
Dying can wait
.
But who will be the new 007?
We talk about Tom Hardy to take over the role but nothing is done and the mystery remains unresolved.
No announcement will be made until next year to know the name of the one whose first mission will be to unite all the fans again.
A hell of a challenge to take up!
Daniel craig
Cinema outings
James bond
Movie theater