Films Catch Up 4

The last multi-film post for a while I hope.

1. Spectre

James Bond is back and he’s going rogue. Based on a last message from the old M (died in Skyfall, played by Judy Dench) he goes to Mexico where he has an enormous set piece action sequence, starting with an extremely long shot during a carnival, continues through several buildings collapsing and ends with some dangerous helicopter stunts. The new M (Ralph Fiennes) is not happy, as due to a merger in the security services he now has to report to C, who is going to close down the 00 section.

Bond responds by going rogue-er subverting Moneypenny and Q into his mission. (Q rolling over for him is somewhat disappointing; Desmon Llewelyn's Q would happily disobey orders to help Bond but it was always Q’s choice to join Bond). He goes to the funeral of the man he killed in Mexico, seduces his widow, goes to a meeting of criminals in Rome, then on, following the trail which leads, inevitably, into his own past.

The film keeps coming back to the question of trust. Who can Bond trust, and who will trust Bond? Unfortunately I don’t think it quite gets there, and this is not relevant to the final confrontation.

Similarly the hints about Bond’s past don’t really tie in with where the film ends up, being forgotten for the final act. (Unlike the reveal that Spectre and its leader have been behind all the conspiracies of the previous Craig films, which efficiently makes it personal in a more classic Bond style). Essentially everything about Bond’s past that is good in this film was better in Skyfall, and everything that is new is worse than in Skyfall.

Am I saying watch Skyfall instead? Well, I wouldn’t say watch Skyfall for a second time instead of this. It has some excellent set pieces, and some pontificating about Bond’s motivations that are interesting. The more ridiculous and po-faced the scene, the funnier the lame jokes are when they come, and this has many ridiculous and po-faced scenes.

Watch This: For an exciting action thriller that becomes fun when it remembers that it’s a Bond film and so can be just plain ridiculous rather than ridiculously portentous
Don’t Watch This: If you don’t like dark-souled ice-faced killers murdering each other in a variety of styles

2. Waterloo (1970)

The film opens with Napoleon Bonaparte (Rod Stieger) being urged to abdicate by his marshals as the allies close in on Paris. He refuses until a message comes that his last army has surrendered. He’s replaced by Louis XVIII (Orson Welles, who has precisely 2 scenes). With less than a thousand men Bonaparte returns and an army is sent to stop him. Instead it joins him.

Bonaparte then spends a few scenes doing some famous Napoleon things – hot bath, multiple dictations, forgiving everyone who served Louis XVIII etc. Then he learns that the Prussians and the British are combining their armies in Belgium and decides to fight them.

After half an hour we finally meet the Duke of Wellington (Christopher Plummer) having a nice time being dryly witty at a ball. When he gets the news that Napoleon’s on the march he decides to fight a battle at Waterloo, even though the Prussians led by Blücher (Serghej Zakhariadze) have been forced back by Napoleon, who has sent Grouchy and 30,000 men to stop them.

Anyway, this was filmed in the Ukraine with 15,000 extras – yes Fifteen Thousand Extras in period uniforms. So the battle scenes have the actual numbers of troops in the real battle (because they weren’t all fighting at once). Absolutely extraordinary, especially when some actors are doing an emotional scene in the foreground and several hundred men march past in the background. The overhead shots of a couple of thousand red coats in square being surrounded by hundreds of horsemen is really ambitious filmmaking.

Anyway the battle goes as it goes, I don’t need to tell you about it, and if I do I guess I need to write an actual post. We get voiceovers from Bonaparte describing his feelings, but nothing from Wellington or anyone else. Bonaparte was not well the night before or the morning, but they’re making a lot of that, he’d fought and won battles with the squits and hungover before. Maybe he was just getting old, or maybe he just fought poorly on the day when it counted.

Mostly about spectacle, it’s a fair introduction to the history and also the legend of Waterloo, with everyone doing their famous Waterloo quotes and actions. Glorious and melancholy.

Watch This: For a big noisy historical battle film
Don’t Watch This: If the half hour fights at the end of modern action films are too long, the more than sixty minutes they spend fighting in the back half of this will put you right off

3. Royal Flash

Harry Flashman, originally created by Thomas Hughes as the bully in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, then re-imagined as a cowardly, womanising, reluctant Victorian adventurer by George MacDonald Fraser is brought to the big screen for the only time in this adaption of the second novel.

Harry Flashman has accidently become a hero of the First Afghan War. He cuts out Otto von Bismarck (historical, Oliver Reed) from famous dancer and courtesan Lola Montez (historical, Florinda Bolkan), then later adds injury to insult when Bismarck is dismissive of boxing and gets him to fight John Gully, boxer and MP (historical, Henry Cooper).

A few years later Bismarck uses Montez to lure Flashman to Bavaria. There he reveals that Flashman is a look-a-like of Prince Karl Magnus of Denmark and for rather convoluted plot reasons needs him to impersonate the Prince and marry a Duchess. The plot weaves in and out of that of The Prisoner of Zenda (Fraser’s conceit is that Anthony Hope took the plot from Flashman rather than the other way round).

A mixture of broad humour and swashbuckling adventure, the film has the slight problem in that it invites us to simultaneously sympathise and laugh at our protagonist's reversals, while also cheering his successes and despising his attitudes.

Watch This: For a fun period romp
Don’t Watch This: There’s a better version of The Prisoner of Zenda and the book Royal Flash is better too.

4. Terminator: Dark Fate

 Sarah Connor saved the world in 1997, then a terminator came back in time and killed her son John in 1998. Now it’s 2019 and she’s not over it. Nor is the future; AIs and terminators have been delayed (and renamed from the distinctive SkyNet to the overused Legion, both products of the branding of their time).

Now a terminator comes back in time to Mexico City to try and kill Dani, (whose brother is being fired to be replaced by a robot). Also back in time comes the cyborg Grace, who, inevitably in this remix of Terminator, knows Dani in the future. And also Sarah Connor arrives, slightly late, having been tipped off by a mysterious text from Laredo Texas. So with a terminator on their tail, they have to also cross the US-Mexican border on their way to a spectacular showdown.

So a little bit of current affairs, and a lot of CGI weirdness and explosions. There are a couple of scenes where what are basically superhero fights are framed as horror for everyone around because even the heroes are unable to even attempt to save bystanders, which is interesting.

Watch This: For exciting CGI action and some callbacks to the first two films
Don’t Watch This: If you care about the Terminator timelines, or if robots fighting is not your idea of enjoyment

5. The Gunfight At Dodge City

 Bat Masterson (real) leaves Hays City (real) and goes to Dodge City (real) where he becomes a partner in the Lady Gay saloon (real). His brother Ed Masterson (real) is town marshal, but can’t keep the peace as the country sheriff Jim Regan is corrupt (this, and all following, is not based on any particular episode in Bat Masterson’s career).

Ed Masterson is running for election as sheriff, with the good people of Dodge City (the reverend, the doctor, the businessmen) backing him. Regan has him killed by Bat’s frenemy "Dirty" Dave Rudabaugh (real), but no one knows about that and Bat employs him as a dealer because he’s not afraid of Regan’s henchmen. Rather than change the vote Masterson signs, the coalition have Bat elected Sheriff and he tries to clean up Dodge City (a bit).

Bat has to break the law to do the right thing, and so is removed from post, but then he comes back and Jim Regan, not yet re-elected sheriff, confronts him. This is the titular and climactic gunfight at Dodge City.

It’s an efficient Western that even manages to get two solid female roles (Pauline Howard, Ed’s fiancée and Lily, owner of the Lady Gay) even if the main thing they do is have differing romantic entanglements with Bat.

Watch This: A classic if not first rate Western film with just a touch of politics
Don’t Watch This: If you want to learn about the real Bat Masterson who ended his career as a boxing journalist in New York City