IAN FLEMING IS BACK (ON TV) - Dominic Cooper to play 007's creator

Dominic Cooper, the fifth
onscreen Ian Fleming

Dominic Cooper, who starred in MAMMA MIA! opposite Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep, will be the fifth actor to portray British spy and author Ian Lancaster Fleming onscreen, after Charles Dance, Jason Connery, Ben Daniels and James D'Arcy.

The four part miniseries, tempatively titled FLEMING, will be produced by Ecosse Films  and will be broadcasted via the UK satellite signal Sky Atlantic. Set during the World War II, where fleming hold the Commander rank in order to plan and execute counter-intelligence missions against the Nazis.

"Stepping into the shoes of the spy who not only created the enigmatic character of 007, but who fantasized about being him has to be every actor's dream", said Cooper after getting the role.

Commander Ian Fleming during
the World War II

The miniseries will be shot in Budapest and the UK. Written by John Brownlow & Don Macpherson and directed by Mat Whitecross, will be broadcasted later this year.

Other productions that explored the life of the James Bond creator deceased in 1964 were GOLDENEYE: THE SECRET LIFE OF IAN FLEMING, SPYMAKER and IAN FLEMING: BONDMAKER. James D'Arcy portrayed Ian Fleming in the 2011 film AGE OF HEROES, starring Sean Bean, focused on the first mission of the Assault Unit 30 that Fleming created.

Source: MI6-HQ.com

THE BEST BOND SINCE GOLDENEYE (well, not quite) – The GoldenEye Dossier reviews SKYFALL

ALERT: there are some spoilers here, technical and some things about the plot, but you won’t find extreme spoilers here, so you’ll be able to read without guilt.

Daniel Craig as James Bond watching over London

The day has finally arrived, and this time –unlike what I did with CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE- I made the effort of stay spoiler free (something hardly possible thanks to social networks and forums). I’ve read some comments (some very painful to read) about the film when they were only a rumor, but didn’t dare to confirm it with my worldwide friends in Europe who had seen the film.

As I told in my radio interview with Sebastián De Caro, I tought friendship this time was avobe Bond itself, at least for this year, so I’ve kindly rejected the Argentinean premiere tickets I won without much effort in their official Facebook page contest.

Bond finds out that some things aren't
necesarily best kept underground...

Suddenly, November 1^st came, and SKYFALL was there round the corner. As I met my friends and I was heading to the cinemas I wondered: is it gonna be the best Bond since GOLDENEYE? The trailers sold the film very well, plus the cast list including names like Bardem, Fiennes and Finney seemed to confirm it.

I have to start here with a certain spoilerish critique (calm down, it’s not that heavy): the gunbarrel is not at the beginning, but at the end (yet again!). That pisses me off. Its misplacement was justified in CASINO ROYALE, then we had some tongue-in-cheek reason to believe it’d fit at the end in QUANTUM OF SOLACE and yes, it certainly can fit the end of SKYFALL in a sense, but it should have been at the beginning, particularily for a 50^th anniversary Bond film which combines both classic and modern touches both modern and conservative fans will like.

As we get into the ten minute teaser we see a spectacular motorbike rooftop chase over the rooftops of that exotic place were FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH was filmed: Istanbul, Turkey. Bond and rookie agent Eve are chasing Patrice, a shadowy hitman responsible leaving agent Ronson heavily wounded and stealing a drive containing a list with all the secret agents embedded in terrorist organizations worldwide. The fight between Bond and Patrice ends atop a train where Bond gets a “bloody shot” from lousy marksman Eve.  Then the beautiful main titles by Daniel Kleinman come to screen, cleaning up the forgettable disaster made by the MK12 in the previous film. Skulls, tombstones, girls, moors and Bond stalked by shadows are some of the beautiful things we see to fit with the lovely “Skyfall” song performed by Adele.

Eve (Naomie Harris) shares some jokes with 007
at the MI6 new digs.

Then we are introduced into the film’s proper plot: MI6 is blown away right after M’s computer and all the secret service network is hacked by an unknown man that has apparently made with the missing list and is constantly posting macabre jokes and games to M. Her authority is constantly challenged by her superior Gareth Mallory, brilliantly played by Ralph Fiennes.

Then, Bond is back from the dead to save M’s reputation and the enormous security breach in the country. And here’s where we traditionalist fans will get to rise a smile by watching the return of Q, this time a nerdy young guy played by Ben Whishaw (we can remember his scene with Daniel Craig in 2005’s LAYER CAKE) who will never make us forget the late Desmond Llewelyn but he brings freshness to the character. We get to see some gadgets. The classic Aston Martin DB5 from GOLDFINGER is there – all I will say is that it’s the same of GOLDFINGER, and not just for the BMT 216A number plate, plus a signature Walther PPK akin to Timothy Dalton’s photo camera-rifle from LICENCE TO KILL, and a radio. The radio is very useful, I can assure you!

Bérénice Marlohe as
French-Cambodian Sévérine

Javier Bardem’s Silva is probably the greatest villain since Robert Davi’s Franz Sánchez, because he’s a first class psychopath: he’s driven by revenge against M because he feels “betrayed” by her – there are some shades of our dear Alec Trevelyan in its first encounter with Bond, plus a slight homosexual characteristic that will remind you to Wint and Kidd from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (the novel, not the film). Bérénice Marlohe (or “Bérenice Lim” as she’s finally credited in the main and end titles) as Sévérine provides a lot of beauty to the screen and, in her short time onscreen, we discover shades of her unhappy past.

Naomie Harris looks very beautiful too but it’s not the Bond girl you expect to be, although she has a surprise for Bond (and the audience) in the very last minutes of the two hour and a half feature – and here’s another interesting thing to talk about: ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE and CASINO ROYALE, the longest Bonds before SKYFALL, are very good but there are slow paced scenes, unlike SKYFALL, where all the scenes in a way or another are enough to fulfill the audience’s entertainment – the film just flies!

We shall give a special mention to Judi Dench’s M, who gives probably her best acting to the Bond franchise. You will really see here she’s not just another M, but has a maternal instinct towards Bond. And Albert Finney’s portrayal of Kincade, ghillie of Bond’s Scottish residence, brings us to the mind the actual place where Ian Fleming’s James Bond was born.

Daniel Craig makes a great Bond, and we have to mention here that he has been faced off against the original Ian Fleming’s James Bond, which is not a minor challenge. And he does it perfectly, adding some nice one liner humour touches we’ve been missing in the last two films. Nobody can say he’s not James Bond now, and, if you’re a nostalgic missing the Connery era… just wait for the film’s ending.

"Is there anything left of the old Double-O-Seven?" -
Raoul Silva challenges Bond in rather
 nasty game.

Much of the film merits belong to Roger Deakins’ cinematography, who probably is the best photographer Bond has ever had (sorry, Phil!), the so missed Stuart Baird editing and Alexander Witt’s second unit direction, after the fiasco of Matt Chassé & Robert Pearson and Jason Bourne’s Dan Bradley who should be banned for life to do another Bond film, unlike scribes Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan who created a great story and script together. Thomas Newman’s music might not be in the scale of David Arnold or John Barry, but he’s a great composer to be a substitute. Thankfully, we got more of the “James Bond Theme” this time. And of course, Martin Campbell was right: Sam Mendes did a wonderful job.

Is it the best Bond since GOLDENEYE? It certainly beats off THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE ANOTHER DAY (I say this being a Pierce Brosnan fundamentalist as somebody called me) and QUANTUM OF SOLACE. By facing it off against TOMORROW NEVER DIES we’re facing it of a film I love much and well, CASINO ROYALE is Ian Fleming’s Bond genesis.

So, it is the best Bond since GOLDENEYE? Yes and no.

9.75 / 10

Nicolás Suszczyk
Editor, THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER

IAN FLEMING IS BACK! (on screen)

Nearly one week before the 104th anniversary of Ian Fleming's birth, British director Duncan Jones has announced he'll be directing another Fleming biopic, based on Andrew Lycett's book "Ian Fleming, The Man Behind James Bond".

The announcement was made during the Cannes Film Festiva, where Duncan said: "Fleming lived through one of the most perilous periods in world history, in a position that allowed him a unique vantage point of all the players, all the stakes. He witnesses true heroism first-hand. And he saw the evil men could do. Then, when the war ended, he went off to write fiction. The essential question for me is where did Ian Fleming end and Bond begin?"

The film is set to be produced by the K5 Film company, and no cating announcement has been done yet.

The creator of James Bond has been subject of three TV biopics so far: 1989's GOLDENEYE, THE SECRET LIFE OF IAN FLEMING, starring Charles Dance, 1990's SPYMAKER, starring Jason Connery (son of Sean), and 2005's BBC production BONDMAKER (starring Ben Daniels). In 2011, James D'Arcy also played Commander Ian Fleming in AGE OF HEROES, a film based on a top-secret mission assigned to the 30 Assault Unit created by Fleming and led (in the movie) by Major Jones, portrayed by GOLDENEYE's Sean Bean.

Source: MI6-hq.com

AGE OF HEROES – Review

(Minor spoilers)

Major Jones (SEAN BEAN) leads the 30 Assault Unit.

In the Press Release of this site, I’ve said the target of THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER was the films and videogames related to the world of GOLDENEYE.

So, why am I reviewing AGE OF HEROES, film which is not even a Bond movie? Well, I have two reasons: (a) Sean Bean aka 006 stars and (b) Ian Fleming, James Bond creator, features portrayed by James D’Arcy.

And let me tell you the film is absolutely amazing. I felt captivated by the fabulous screenplay by Ed Scates and Adrian Vitoria, who also directed the film. I daresay it’s one of the best films I saw this year, if not the best.

France, 1940: Rains (Danny Dyer), a British soldier, is arrested and sent to a military prison after beating a superior during an argument right after his team leader is killed. At the same time, Commander Ian Fleming (James D’Arcy) calls Major Jones (Sean Bean), now an instructor, back in action to recruit a number of soldiers to create a commando to act behind enemy lines. Jones arrives to the military prison asking for one of his men, but Rains, after having yet another quarrel with a ruthless prison guard, pulls out a gun and forces Jones to recruit him too. Jones then decides Rains should pass a number of hard challenges to finally be recruited as a commando; otherwise, he’ll be send back to the military prison. After the commando unit is formed, Fleming explains the details of Operation Grender, a plan to infiltrate a Nazi-occupied Norway in order to destroy the radars who had been spoiling all allied operations, and then escape to Sweden.

Ian Fleming (JAMES D'ARCY), the man who
created the 30 Assault Unit. Later, James Bond creator.

The film is an entirely British production, and you can really feel the atmosphere of Britain in the cast and crew, particularly standing is Mark Hamilton’s sharp cinematography of the snowy Norwegian scenarios and the military atmosphere of the Naval Director’s Offices in London. The soundtrack, by Michael Richard Plowman, is also brilliant.

Danny Dyer’s role is truly convincing, and Sean Bean brings back all his charisma to the screen. And even when James D’Arcy’s Ian Fleming isn’t as good as Charles Dance’s portrayal in the 1989 TV film GOLDENEYE: THE SECRET LIFE OF IAN FLEMING, he won’t disappoint the audience and Bond fans. Izabella Miko also brings a touch of sexyness by playing Jensen, a Norwegian girl whose husband has been missing, which helps the unit to achieve their mission.

Highly recommendable movie, for Bond/Fleming and war films fans. Basically, I felt the film like a mixture of Edward Zwick’s DEFIANCE, starring Daniel Craig, and THE WILD GEESE, starring Richard Burton and Roger Moore in 1978, so, if you liked these two war/adventure films, I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy AGE OF HEROES.

Nicolas Suszczyk

Editor, THE GOLDENEYE DOSSIER

AGE OF HEROES Trailer

The trailer of AGE OF HEROES, a film based on the story of Ian Fleming's 30 Assault Unit, has been released. The film will premiere on May 20th.

Sean Bean, who played Alec Trevelyan a.k.a agent 006 in the 1995 film GOLDENEYE, stars as Jones. British actor James D'Arcy will be the fourth actor to portray James Bond creator Ian Fleming after Charles Dance, Jason Connery and Ben Daniels.