Spy Night Part lll: The Final Act. Comparing And Contrasting Spy Films 1990's/2000's

Tonight marks the final evening in a three week story arc of spy films. As we come to a close, we end the run with the most epic evening of them all. The movies selected tonight are to not only take the action to newer exciting heights, but to also give the marathon a sense of closure for the spy run of movies. This does indeed truly feel like the end, with some of these being the best installments in their respective franchises. We have on our menu for this evening:

Enemy of the State 1998, Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol 2011, The Bourne Ultimatum 2007, and Skyfall 2012

If there was an epic way to end a three week theme of movies, this is it. As we fully cross over into the modern spy films of the last five years, we take a moment to remember the end of the 1990's where spy films were getting more serious in tone and making bold predictions about events such as 9/11, or the government trying to wiretap Americans. The first movie in the marathon to tackle these issues is Enemy of the State. In this film, Will Smith plays a lawyer who becomes a target by a corrupt politician played by Jon Voight, because he accidentally receives key evidence to a politcally motivated crime involving murder. He receives aid from a man named Brill, played by legendary actor Gene Hackman in trying to prevent the evidence from falling into the wrong hands. The movie deals with ethical issues on whether the government should be allowed to wiretap the public to prevent terrorist attacks from happening. As the film shows, the one congressman who is against the passing of the bill is killed in the opening sequence of the film, showing the government corruption that the bill is unraveling. The difference between all of the spy films done this far, is that Will Smiths character is a victim of the technology used by spies to keep America safe from terrorism. The ethical question the movie poses is could that kind of surveilance and technology be used for the wrong reasons. The next film in the marathon is the fourth installment of the popular Mission Impossible series. Titled Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol, the plot of the film deals with the IMF being shut down after being implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin. This causes Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rouge to clear the name of their organization. After the outstanding success of the third film, the filmmakers were challenged with the task of making a fourth installment that topped the third film. For most film series, it's a rarity for that to happen but the filmmakers pull it off here. One waits with excitement for the next installment in the Mission Impossible franchise due in late 2015. The next film in the series Bourne Ultimatium, deals with the finale of the Jason Bourne story arc. Jason Bourne in Ultimatum dodges a ruthless CIA official and his agents from a new assassination program while continuing to search for answers for his past life as a trained assassin. Not only is Bourne Ultimatum the best installment of the Bourne series, it also gives the feeling of a story arc coming to its epic conclusion which is happening here tonight. This only allows for the best and final film in the history of the James Bond series, Skyfall. In this film Bond is forced to protect M when her past comes back to haunt her. When the agency called MI6 comes under attack, Bond must hunt down and destroy the threat regardless of how personal it becomes. This is unquestionably the greatest installment in the Bond series, the most emotional and has great acting from Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem playing the epic villain, and Judi Dench as M. The latter has an emotional and heartwarming farewell to the Bond franchise. Skyfall is such a great Bond film that the makers behind the series can end the series here and leave movie history with a bang. But one thing everyone knows about Bond, is that he will never retire...at least onscreen.