In case you have never heard of the Greek myth of Sisyphus, here’s a little spoiler alert for you. The tale speaks about the punishment for Corinth, the King of Ephyra.
Due to his deceitfulness, he was forced to roll a boulder up a hill every day for eternity, as he would also watch it roll back down once he finished his task for the day. This repetition without change over and over again sounds like hell. It’s tiresome, needless and unwarranted.
This seems to have become the norm for blockbuster films in general. Sequels and reboots are now targeted at the lowest common denominator with no need to insert compelling developments for the protagonists.
Now let’s talk about “Spectre,” the latest James Bond film.
This movie is the final Russian nesting doll. It’s pretty, colorful, interesting to look at, but there’s nothing inside.
Daniel Craig’s newest stint as 007 is gorgeous. Every scene is as layered as the one before it. The opening scene features a one-take scene that is as fascinating as perhaps any James Bond scene in recent history. The detail is plentiful and there are many clues awaiting the curious viewer. It’s too bad that the plot and dialogue couldn’t keep up with the visuals.
Over and over again, from Marvel to Bond blockbusters, there seems to be no sense of direction or need for originality. “Spectre” revolves around a criminal organization that has lurked behind the shadows throughout Bond’s career and will eventually control a Big Brother-like program titled “Big Eyes.” There’s a familiar undertone as this type of watchful-eye has become antiquated in today’s blockbusters. Marvel has done this type of film before in “The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” This isn’t to say the Bond franchise isn’t allowed to make a movie with this type of overseeing villain. Yet, with no new additions to the concept, it seems stale.
This flatness further stretches into the romantic interest. “They Come Together,” a comedy featuring Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd, satirizes the romantic comedy, in that it always seems that the pair fall in and out of love with each other as if a button is being pushed. “I love you. No, I can’t ... I don’t know you well enough. But, I do. Woe is I.” It’s incredulous that anyone could believe this type of portrayal of love yet it constantly arises in movies nowadays. Léa Seydoux and Daniel Craig’s characters fall in-and-out of love so quickly and constantly that it can give you whiplash.
And that, the staleness and feeling that we’ve been here before, is what scares me about this Bond movie and blockbuster films in general. It seems that we’ve hit a point where any movie that features a mega-character like Bond, Hulk, Superman or Vin Diesel wearing a tank top has become generic, cookie-cutter in its creation.
The deadlines for these movies have been set in motion years in advance and the main characters will continue on their respective paths until they become boring to the general public and then another 25 years later.
There’s never anything new, no surprises. The protagonist will fight and the villain will perish. Heroes will go on celebrating along with the big studios. We have not given these types of movies a reason to chance as we keep on gobbling them up the first chance we get.
The ‘Craig as Bond’ saga has run its course with the well drying up the more we speak. I’m hopeful that the next reiteration will do something drastic — create real stakes for this character that seems tension-less in his existence.
Yet, I doubt that’s the case. We’re in a rut that will continue as it is for quite some time.
James Bond will never die. But perhaps it’s time he should.
Greg Gottfried
