Well, it’s official, just a few weeks after director Danny Boyle departed Bond 25, Cary Joji Fukunaga has been named as his official replacement. Now, I wrote a blog a few weeks back regarding my thoughts on some possibilities for who might be slated to take the reins, and I’m embarrassed to say that Fukunaga was not on my list. Fukunaga has a knack for delivering extremely powerful scenes in his work, a feat that was more than apparent in True Detective and Beasts of No Nation. On top of this, he’s a talented writer that can work across a diverse subject matter. Not to mention he brings out the true potential of the actors that he works with. If you add all of these pieces together, what you get is the potential for an all-time Bond movie for Daniel Craig’s (probable) swan song.
One of my favorite parts about James Bond movies is that almost every film has a distinct, classic scene that is forever ingrained in your memory. There is the epic train fight in From Russia With Love, the interrogation in Goldfinger, the car chase in The Spy Who Loved Me, the opening in Goldeneye, the foot chase in Casino Royale, the rat monologue in Skyfall, I mean the list goes on and on. The point here is that it’s imperative that these types of scenes be brought to a Bond movie, because if not it’ll fall to the wayside like For Your Eyes Only or Quantum of Solace. With Fukunaga, we have a director that has proven he’s an absolute genius when it comes to delivering scenes on this level. One of the best scenes of TV I’ve ever watched is the single take tracking shot in the ghetto in True Detective. He masterfully keeps you hooked the entire time, holding your breath and waiting to see how things unfold. It’s suspense and tension at their finest. Another scene of his that had me glued to the television was the “chop him” scene in Beasts of No Nation. You witness Idris Elba’s character break down a child and have them commit an atrocious act of war. It’s brutal and horrific yet you can’t look away.
Now, I’m not sure if Fukunaga will be involved in the writing of Bond 25, but I think it’s safe to say he should be. He’s a man that has provided excellent stories across a wide variety of subject matter, from the life of child soldiers in Africa, to killer clowns who eat children. What people really enjoy about certain Craig Bond movies (Casino Royale and Skyfall to be exact) is the fact that there was more substance to them as opposed to being 2 hours of mindless action. In Casino Royale we get to see how Bond became the man he is. We see him vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, and we understand what drove him to turn into a cold-blooded killer. In Skyfall we’re given an amazing revenge story where Bond must do everything he can to protect the one woman that truly means something to him. These movies stand out from the pack because they feel Oscar worthy, and that is the kind of quality I’ll be expecting from Fukunaga.
Javier Bardem blew us away with his performance in Skyfall. It was reminiscent of how I felt after seeing Heath Ledger’s Joker, where I was so caught off guard by that kind of a performance in a superhero movie. Fukunaga has the potential to get us another villain of that calibre. In True Detective, we see the best Matthew McConaughey performance of his career. I know he won an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, in which he is phenomenal, but his acting as Rust Cohle was such a transformation that I can’t believe it to this day. He provided such a deep and intriguing performance that I’m not sure I ever have (or will) see better acting in a series. Along with McConaughey, Fukunaga bought us Elba as the terrifying African warlord in Beasts of No Nation. We get this character that we hate so passionately, yet we can’t await his return to the screen. Getting that kind of performance from an actor is sheer brilliance. There was also quite a bit of controversy over Elba receiving no Oscar nomination for that role. And more recently, after watching 9 out of 10 episodes of Fukunaga’s new show, Maniac, I wouldn’t be surprised if Emma Stone and Jonah Hill pop up for acting nominations at the Golden Globes next year.
To me, the formula for success in a James Bond movie is comprised of powerful scenes, a captivating story, and memorable performances. If you have these things you get the next Skyfall, if you don’t have these things you get the next Tomorrow Never Dies. The movie is slated to start filming early next year, so over the next few months we should start to learn more details about the story and additional castings. Between having Craig and Fukunaga locked in, though, I’d say things are off to a great start.