Tonight's marathon is a continuation of last weeks introduction to the genre of spy films. Picking up from right where we left off with Mission Impossible, True Lies, Goldeneye, and Tomorow Never Dies, we follow up with act ll. Tonight's marathon we shift from the 1990's to the early to mid 2000's where spy films began a drastic change after the events of 9/11 changed the concept of terrorism forever. We have on our menu for this evening:
The Hunt For Red October 1990, Mr And Mrs Smith 2005, Mission Impossible lll 2006, and Casino Royale 2006
Compared to last week, the action and suspense take a serious upgrade in this lineup. Everything is more modern and faster compared to the 1990's, where the spy films had a cartoonish feel to them as well as a feeling of innocence. That innocence seemed to have faded after 2001 when terrorism became less of a joke and more serious now. Not only does the spy genre get a makeover but the whole concept of being a spy changed after the year 2000. Even great action heroes like Ethan Hunt and James Bond received significant makeovers, the latter being some of the best films in the history of James Bond. We begin the evening with the 1990's classic The Hunt For Red October, the first entry in the Jack Ryan spy franchise. The plot for Red October places Jack Ryan in the year 1984, where the USSR's best submarine captain in their newer submarine violating orders and heading for the USA. The question the audience asks throughout the film is whether the captain played by Sean Connery plans to defect or start World War lll. This is one of Sean Connery's greatest movie performances and the best entry in the Jack Ryan universe. As for Alec Baldwin playing the part of Jack Ryan, he's good but the honor goes to Harrison Ford as the best actor to play the part of the spy hero in Patriot Games and Clear And Pleasant Danger. Ben Affleck was decent but not spectacular in The Sum Of All Fears, and Chris Pine was entertaining in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Hunt For Red October came around the time the Berlin wall was being torn down, so the cold war theme is felt in the storyline for this one. We jump fifteen years later to 2005 with the release of Mr and Mrs Smith. The entry of this film is a nice pat on the back to True Lies which was viewed a week prior about a husband who is a secret spy, and doesn't reveal his true identity to his wife until midway into the film. Mr and Mrs Smith has both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie playing a bored married couple with a shocking revelation that not one but both of them are spy assassins hired by their agencies to kill each other. If only James Cameron was still directing at the time this film was made, it would've made a great sequel to True Lies. Mr and Mrs Smith is the iconic spy film in the sense that both its stars and their characters hooked up in both film and real life. The film is exciting, fun, and takes the whole tone of spy films to a more faster paced and intense atmosphere. The third film in the marathon is the third Mission Impossible. Most fans can agree that Mission Impossible ll wasn't that good and this one is just as good or better than the first entry. It certainly feels that way with the involvement of Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and JJ Abrams. The plot for Mission Impossible lll places Ethan Hunt played by Tom Cruise, coming fact to face with a sadistic arms dealer played by Philip Seymour Hoffman while trying to keep his identity secret in order to keep his girlfriend safe. The fourth and final film in the lineup is Casino Royale. This time Pierce Brosnan is not James Bond, he is played by Daniel Craig. Bond is portrayed as darker and gritter this time around, Royale goes backwards in time to show Bond at a younger stage beginning his first mission as 007, and dealing with having to defeat a weapons dealer in a high stakes game of poker at Casino Royale. This is the perfect way to end the evening with the action and spy aspect of the story reaching its highest peak. The end of Royale ends the marathon on a satisfying note but also leaves the door open for more coming next week.
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