BEFORE: Enough of France, let's head to a sunnier climate. Last night's film featured an ex-spy that I compared to James Bond, so tonight here's an ex-James Bond, Pierce Brosnan (last seen in "Dante's Peak"). While the James Bond series is not on my list (I've seen a few of the older ones), when I'm done with this project, I would like to watch the Bond films in the "proper" order - story order, not the order in which they were filmed.
THE PLOT: A tailor living in Panama reluctantly becomes a spy for a British agent.
AFTER: I'm not sure I understood this film - it's a bad sign when I have to check the internet after watching a film to see what exactly took place.
I realize that the tailor was a bit off, and he was essentially making up false intel (tonight's precious commodity appears to be information), and I get that the ex-spy was using the intel as if it were real. Though I know WHAT happened, I'm quite unclear on the WHY. Another bad sign.
The tailor also appeared to be having hallucinations - talking to his uncle, who wasn't really there. I hate when one of the characters on the screen isn't real...
So, essentially, this was a big confusing mess. Besides, wasn't control of the Panama Canal given over to Panama, starting in the year 2000? This film came out in 2001, so it seems kind of unnecessary.
EDIT: I found out later this was based on a novel by John Le Carré, (which in turn was based on a story by Graham Greene), and while the book was set in the mid-1990's, when the U.S. had control over the Panama Canal, for some reason, the film was set in 2001, after sovereignty had been restored to Panama. So I'm right, the premise then made no sense. I suppose you could posit that the Panamanian president was considering selling the Canal to Russia or China, but that just seems silly. The ruling stands.
Also starring Geoffrey Rush (last seen in "Munich"), Jamie Lee Curtis (last seen in "Blue Steel"), Brendan Gleeson (last seen in "Turbulence"), and a young Daniel Radcliffe (last seen in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"), Plus character actors Mark Margolis (last seen in "Flawless"), Martin Ferrero (last seen in "Heat"), Dylan Baker (last seen in "Delirious") and Jon Polito (last seen in "The Hudsucker Proxy")
RATING: 3 out of 10 pancakes
No comments:
Post a Comment