Flight and Skyfall

Whip Whitaker and James Bond are drug-addicted alcoholics, who use women in an attempt to fill the emptiness in their lives.  Both men have professions which carry great responsibility, and it really would be best if they could lay off the mind altering distractions (at least while they’re on the job).  In Robert Zemeckis’ newest film “Flight”, Denzel Washington plays a commercial airline pilot who saves the lives of hundreds of passengers; drunk and under the influence of drugs.  Daniel Craig has adopted a new “debonair bum” look in the new James Bond movie “Skyfall” directed by Sam Mendes.  As usual, Bond drinks his way through a series of “romantic” escapades accented by the occasional world-saving mission; only now he has also become dependent on pain killers.   It seems to me that Sam Mendes took an extraordinary risk by humanizing James Bond; there’s no going back to the shallow, glorified Bond of old.  Both Zemeckis and Mendes have made films about the fallibility of man.  While one, or maybe both of these men are redeemable (within the context of their respective films) it will be a difficult path.  If you’ve seen any previous Mendes films, you will surely know that Bond doesn’t find redemption at the end of “Skyfall”, and that’s not a spoiler (but in retrospect I guess I just spoiled the ending of “Flight”… sorry).  A number of questions come to my mind regarding “Flight” and “Skyfall”:  Why are we drawn to movies with people who perform heroic feats, yet are such horrible role models?  Why would such a long running series as James Bond so abruptly criticize its central character?  Please don’t interpret this as anything but a positive review; I’m happy to leave the theater asking questions.  In the case of “Flight” I would suggest that Denzel played the typical “Bogart” hero; a man who spends 95% of the film frustrating the audience with his selfishness and even cowardice, followed by a satisfying display of genuine goodness.  Mendes’ examination of James Bond could only have come after 50 years of films, featuring probably the most despicable heroes of all time.  Finally we are seeing Bond for who he really is, and it’s ugly and sad.  Now some of you may have already seen “Skyfall” and you’re thinking, “Did we see the same movie?  All I remember are those sweet action sequences, and the amazing lighting and camera work during the high-rise scene.”  I would suggest that “Skyfall” was a great James Bond film, with all the necessary elements, but it also dispelled the lie which suggests that Bond is actually satisfied with his life.  There will never be a happy ending for James Bond.