ACTION SCHMACTION

Have you watched any of the early James Bond films lately…the ones starring Sean Connery?  Though I’ve probably seen Thunderball (1965; Terence Young\Ted Moore, BSC) a dozen times, I recently sat through it again for the benefit of an uninitiated friend.  During our post-screening debrief, one question kept cropping up: How did anyone ever think that stuff was so cool?

            In its time, the movie’s lifestyle, attitudes and action were considered the sharp tip of what was hip, and as number four in the series, it was a big success that earned the equivalent of nearly $600M in today’s market.  None of this influenced our evaluation.  To us, it looked and played like something out of the Stone Age.  The plot was absurd, the fight scenes phony and the effects cheesy.  In keeping with the era’s style, the photography was stage-bound and generally over-lit.  Worse, the sum of the parts struck me as more dated than many films of a much earlier vintage.

            Of course, this wasn’t exactly news.  But with Thunderball’s many faults (and acknowledging the fifty-nine-year gap since its release), something occurred to me: It was no more or less ridiculous and disappointing than much of today’s action\adventure fare.  For all their energetic drive and technical sophistication, most of them fail in a similar way.  Though I enjoy a wild ride at the multiplex, those movies lose me the instant someone jumps from a plane without a parachute and reaches ground safely or when one guy beats up thirty assassins.  I can’t help but feel disdainful while watching Jason Bourne, John Wick or Ethan Hunt do their thing.  They defy not just the laws of physics, but the laws of what I’m willing to accept as a viewer.

            Yeah, yeah, yeah…I get it…  As audience members, suspension of disbelief is part of the contract we sign with filmmakers.  And I respect the expert craftsmanship that holds everything together.  But escapism is so much more satisfying when it’s rooted in something just out of reach, as opposed to something that can never be reached.  As for the cool factor that was such an important part of the early Bond-era, its shelf-life is so brief today that it’s not worth mentioning.

            Yet somehow, amidst the smoke and debris, the camerawork on the latest action films never gets lost in the collateral damage.  It has certainly come a long way since Sean Connery led the charge, and I’m continually impressed by the level of imagery we’re seeing.  No matter who’s at the wheel, those cinematographers make it hard not to get wrapped up in all the flash.  I suppose that’s what keeps me coming back for more, even as I kick myself for supporting what’s usually rubbish in every other way.

            And if that tells us anything, it’s that I’m as much of a sucker for cheap thrills as anyone.