The sun sets on another day and while it set I went to see a new movie. (And of course the clouds made the sunset a little off today).
Minor spoiler if you are going to see “Spectre”.
You know, many people walk into a movie and see just the surface. Some walk in and see a few stories, but there are usually several going on at the same time. In the movie “Spectre” we once again have James Bond returning to save us all from ourselves. He is saving us from our dependence on technology this time, or at least saving us from being watched every moment by bad guys and thugs. Sounds easy and fun, but as I watched I saw a more intense story was about fear, life, selfishness, and unselfishness.
Fear is one of the most impressive motivators in our world. More people do things out of fear than any other emotion in my opinion. I wish it were different, but many of the decisions we make are motivated by fear, from wearing a seatbelt, to how we deal with our decisions. (Years ago I had a fear of heights, with that fear I decided I would be done with it, and went to the top story of a hotel and hung over the balcony until that silliness was gone.) We fear the unknown and as often fear ourselves. In the movie, Bond’s fear is minimal, as he is driven by two very powerful emotions, loyalty and love. (Bond, love? Say it is not so, but it is!) I will tie this together in a moment.
Of all the Bond movies this one speaks to life more than most. Daniel Craig did a great job of acting, even though he did not seem to have as much fun as in previous movies (Bad script or sad actor I am not sure). In this movie he finds a father whose only concern is for his daughter. (Those of you without daughters, well, you just won’t get it as much) The father lived only for the daughter, and the daughter did not love him as she should. At the same time we learn that all of Bond’s pain in his life was from a pseudo sibling, and as such we learn how he sees the world as he does. Loyal to no end and always looking for the love he has never been able to hold.
As Bond was looking for love, our selfish character sought only vengeance. Vengeance is a tricky thing. It feeds upon itself unless the user is righteous. In this movie, the user was not and sought only to destroy Bonds possibility at happiness. Some gruesome ideas that would make the creators of “Saw” cringe follow, however the endgame of our villain is simple, take over the world (Duh, it is Bond) and make James Bond suffer more than any man.
Many of us think we are unselfish. (Even me sometimes) Here is where the movie hits home. The problem is sometimes people do not see the forest through the trees. A father gives his money his whole life to his children. A family works at a soup kitchen for Thanksgiving. A mother gives up happiness to quell a child. All these can be unselfish, but can also be driven by fear, or misunderstanding of the best path, or worse, selfish needs that are not immediately evident. Instead consider A father gives his money his whole life to his children and in the process feels unselfish, but did not give them the love they needed. A family works at a soup kitchen for Thanksgiving, so they can be recognized but do not see the pain of those they serve beyond that day. A mother gives up happiness to quell a child, but does not see the long term damage it does to herself and the child. In our movie, it is my opinion Bond became the unselfish person he needs to be by seeing that love should always be the driving force in our lives. At one point in the movie he realizes there can be no passion greater than what he feels with the woman he is with, and at that point she feels the same. There is no more pure honesty in their actions than their utter passion for each other. (Remember, in my opinion, life without passion is not a good thing at all) When the villain tries to take this away, there is no way it can be done (Medically or otherwise) and finally when Bond is faced with a choice, he chooses his love and passion over all else and comes to terms with the fact (yes fact) that true love between 2 people finds a way.
So, sappy love story? No, or maybe only to me. Lovey dovey story that pushes you to the edge, nope. Good movie. Absolutely, but we know most people will walk into this movie and see the top level, action, excitement, fun toys and of course an Aston Martin DB10. When you consider the movie, and as you consider the beauty of the sunset, take a moment and consider just how great life is when filled with passion, love, and the myriad of colorful days it brings us. Every day there are better reasons to love if we open our eyes and see them, no matter what.