Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Here's the thing: Bond movies are, in one way, a genre unto themselves, and in another way are so genre-defining that it is difficult to see them for what they are. They defy auteur theory. Lots and lots of movie critics will tell you that Jaws was paradigm-shifting in the way that it created the summer blockbuster, but the Bond movies created that template years earlier. Good Smithy that she is, LCA is put off by the casual misogyny-- she lacks the critical acuity that would allow her to recognize that this is as critical to the narratives as the quips and the gadgets. Thrillers that have followed the Bond movies all acknowledge them: John le Carré's work is a reaction to Bond-- Smiley is the anti-Bond, really.
I think next we'll try the George Lazenby On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
// posted by Bill @ 10:23 AM 
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