Skyfall director Sam Mendes will not be helming the next 007 adventure. Why Martin Campbell should return to the fold...

Okay, so Sam Mendes is officially out.  There was rumbling over the last few weeks that Sam Mendes would actual But as of today, Mendes politely bowed out of the running.  He will not return to helm the next James Bond picture following his phenomenally successful Skyfall.  I'm sure I will be but one of a million people offering their thoughts on who should helm the next 007 picture. It's tempting to once again half-jokingly offer up Terrance Malick, Warner Herzog, Sophia Coppola, and Michael Haneke as go-to picks.  But the choice is obvious.  The name is Campbell, Martin Campbell.  He directed two of the very best 007 pictures of the post-Connery era, if not outright ever (it's no secret where I stand on this... Goldfinger can suck it).  He revitalized the franchise twice with two different Bond actors in the last 18 years.  The stain of Green Lantern leaves him in a position of 'needing a hit', and there is no reason to presume he won't knock it out of the park for a third time.  But more importantly, doing the follow-up to Skyfall gives Campbell a new set of tools to play with in the 007 sandbox.  This time he'll just get to play with few restraints, without the burden of franchise rebirth.

Fail after Fail: Thoughts on Skyfall upon a second viewing.

Spoiler Warning is in place, but my non-spoiler review is HERE...

For reasons mostly involving time and other responsibilities, before last night I hadn't seen a film twice in theaters since June 2008.  Even that last occasion was merely a matter of happenstance, as my father was in town and he hadn't seen Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull yet.  I grew up with the Lucasfilm universe, so it seemed only appropriate, and a good time was had.  Anyway, last night I saw Skyfall for a second time, as my wife was unable to attend last month's press screening and we had a free evening (it was also about trying out a new theater, but that's the next essay).  Unfortunately a second viewing only heightened the film's major flaws.  Even my wife, who hadn't read my review yet, whispered to me around thirty-minutes in and said "We get it, Bond is *old*!" after which we proceeded to take a pretend shot every time someone made a reference to age or old vs. new.  By the hour mark, we both had pretend alcohol poisoning.

Weekend Box Office (11-11-12): Skyfall opens with $90 million while Lincoln earns $900k on 11 screens.

Opening with a flurry of positive buzz and already-cemented megahit status overseas, James Bond finally returned to US theaters this weekend with San Mendes's Skyfall (review 01/review 02).  The film easily crushed the opening weekend record of the 007 series, earning a massive $90 million in its debut.  This also includes $2.2 million earned via its Thursday IMAX-only release, as the film earned $13.1 million in IMAX theaters since Thursday (the large-scale format's biggest non-summer opening ever).  The picture played 60% male and 75% over 25-years old. For comparison, the last six 007 films had the six biggest weekends of the franchise, with Pierce Brosnan's GoldenEye moving 007 into modern-day blockbuster territory back in 1995.  For the record, the numbers are $26 million (GoldenEye), $25 million (Tomorrow Never Dies), $35 million (The World Is Not Enough), $47 million (Die Another Day), $40 million (Casino Royale), and $67 million for Quantum of Solace four Novembers ago. Not only is this the biggest opening weekend for the 007 series by a long shot, it eclipsed the opening weekends of all but the last four series entries by the end of Friday (if you want to play the inflation card, it still eclipsed the openings of all-but the last six entries by the end of Friday). Even though the overall consensus on Quantum of Solace was mediocre, four years of waiting but an ability to market Skyfall using the whole "50 years of Bond" angle made this one just as much of an event, if not more so, than the last few entries.  

Friday Box Office: Skyfall does $33 million on opening day (s).

Oddly enough, despite the four years of hype and anticipation, plus the IMAX sneak-peak and respective price bump, Skyfall earned just a bit more than Quantum of Solace on its first Friday.  With $33 million in the bag (including its $2.2 million Thursday IMAX sneak day), it's just above the $27 million debut for Quantum of Solace.  Adjusted for inflation and the IMAX price bump, it barely sold more tickets.  On the plus side, this new entry is likely to have much better word of mouth and thus insure a larger multiplier both for the weekend and for the long-game.  I don't have much time so I'm going to make this quick.  The weekend multiplier comparisons are the last six 007 films, basically everything since 1995 when Pierce Brosnan kicked the films into the blockbuster age with GoldenEye back in 1995.  GoldenEye debuted with $26 million off a $8 million* opening day (3.25x) while Tomorrow Never Dies earned $8 million* on its first day heading towards a $25 million debut (3.125x).  The World Is Not Enough earned $12 million towards a $35 million opening (2.9x) while Die Another Day opened with $16 million towards a $47 million opening weekend (2.9x).  Casino Royale opened with $14 million and closed Sunday with $40 million (2.85x) while Quantum of Solace debuted with $27 million and closed the weekend with $67 million ($74 million adjusted for inflation and a 2.4x weekend multiplier).  Thus assuming the mostly disliked Quantum of Solace was a fluke (it dropped a bit on Saturday) but acknowledging a more front-loaded marketplace, we're looking at something between 2.6x and 2.9x for the weekend.  Thus Skyfall could open with between $86 million and $95 million for the weekend.  Obviously we'll know for sure tomorrow...

Scott Mendelson

*The opening days for GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies are estimates based on my recollection, as I can't find opening day figures.  Alas ShowbizData doesn't allow you to dig into their daily box office archives.

IMAX and midnight box office: Skyfall has $4.6 million so far. Can 007 top $100 million for the weekend?

While I am all in favor of major films doing advance IMAX-only releases, MGM and Sony's decision to open Skyfall a day early in IMAX makes the numbers a little tougher to analyze.  For the record, the 23rd official James Bond adventure earned $2.2 million on Thursday playing in 463 IMAX engagements.  The only real plausible comparison is Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol which opened five days early on 425 IMAX screens and earned $4.1 million on its first Friday of such play.  In addition, Skyfall earned another $2.4 million in wide-release midnight showings (a large chunk of its 3,500 screens), bringing its gross to $4.6 million before 'regular business hours'.  That extra day of IMAX-only play, along with the fact that Monday is a holiday for most schools and many businesses, makes the math a little more speculative, but no one said this is an exact science, so let's dive in!  

Guest (mini) Review: Brandon Peters reviews Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall

2012

143 minutes

Rated PG-13

By Brandon Peters

Skyfall switches gears for Daniel Craig’s third dabbling in the role of 007.  The film is akin to GoldenEye’s answer to License to Kill if comparing to the series cannon.  While not going too far over the top, Skyfall does jump over the limits set by its two predecessors and enters into more familiar and common Bond territory.  This is going to be rather brief in terms of what I’ve been writing; Scott has covered a lot of ground I may have covered  as I didn’t read his review until after my viewing.  And for the most part I agree with all his points.  I’d rather not cover the same ground twice (editor's note: there's plenty new to chew on here). I don’t seem to mind the borrowing from other films especially when they are actually enhancing the themes and devices and making stronger renditions of them.  One theme not brought up which I felt was more front and center than the revised GoldenEye was trust and learning to deal with trying not to take judgment calls for the greater good personally.

Skyfall spoiler discussion thread...

If you're among the lucky ones who have a nearby IMAX theater, today is the opening day for Skyfall.  As such, here is the official place for readers who want to gab about the film, spoilers-and-all, to their heart's content.  I may have a spoiler piece on Monday or Tuesday while I'm hoping Brandon Peters gets a chance to see the film this week and deliver a review, but that's depending on his schedule.  But for the meantime, have at it below, folks.  If you've seen it, what did you think?  Did it live up to the hype?  Did it work for you as well if not better than it worked for me?  While you're hopefully gabbing below, check out this well-written piece that serves as somewhat of a rebuttal to my review.  I'm actually going to probably see the film again a week from Friday, as my wife couldn't make the press screening (making it the first film since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that I've seen twice in a theater).  But I'm rambling and it's your turn to ramble.  I'm off to write my Lincoln review for tomorrow.

Scott Mendelson

Skyfall (in wide release) vs. Lincoln (in limited release) in the weekend movie preview.

Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film, and the third to feature Daniel Craig as super spy 007. Craig began his run with the 2006 release Casino Royale, having taken over from Pierce Brosnan. After finishing up work on Die Another Day, Brosnan was unsure if he would return a fifth time as he feared he would begin to be compared to Roger Moore's older turn as Bond, which had proved unpopular with some fans. Despite this, the public were still supportive of him playing Bond again and negotiations began early 2004 for Brosnan to reprise the role. But by the middle of that year, amid rumors that MGM/EON had hinted they were looking for a younger actor to play Bond (something they denied at the time), Brosnan announced he wasn't coming back. Rumors continued to persist until February 2005, when the star publicly announced he was finished with the character. The search for a new James Bond was on. While many names were bandied about, including Eric Bana, James Purefoy and Clive Owen (who clashed over contract details), it was Daniel Craig who was triumphant. In comparison to others mentioned, Craig was something of an unknown, having made his name on stage, rather than screen, though he had had a number of prominent roles before coming to Bond, including the first Tomb Raider movie, Road to Perdition and Layer Cake, the flick  rumored to have been an influence on him getting the Bond gig. EON officially announced the actor as the new James Bond in October 2005, and while public support wasn't overwhelming, each of the previous Bond players voiced their approval.

James Bond 007: Movie Deathmatch

This a very cool little video pitting Bond against Bond.  I completely admire its extremely unbiased approach (SPOILER: Connery doesn't always win).  Bravo to whoever put this together as it plays rather seamless.  Its short, but I could have enjoyed probably 20 minutes of this.  Skyfall opens Friday November 9th in the states and I'm rather excited for it.  Hopefully I'll be able to catch it in IMAX.  Scott's already seen it and you can find his thoughts here.  

If you've got any cool (well-made) Bond videos like this you'd like to share, feel free to throw them my way.  I'd enjoy seeing them.  Thanks to Ty for bringing this to my attention.

Brandon Peters

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Review: Skyfall (2012) delivers the 007 goods (if not greats).

Skyfall

2012
143 minutes
rated PG-13

by Scott Mendelson

Taken on its own, Skyfall is an exciting and relentlessly entertaining action thriller.  It is strongly acted by a game cast, has sharp dialogue, a stunning visual palette, and several engaging action sequences.  But taken as the twenty-third entry in a long-running franchise, one must acknowledge that it is less an original take on the iconic hero than a mix-and-match from several past films.  But what prevents the film from attaining greatness is the unsure tone and what feels like periodic pandering to the fans.  Seemingly stung by the (grossly unfair) reception to Quantum of Solace, Sam Mendes and company feel pressured to include certain franchise elements that periodically clash with the Bond film they clearly want to make.  More troublesome is the film's theme, which takes a offhand few moments in GoldenEye ("Is Bond still relevant in the modern era?") and attempts to fashion an hamfisted entire narrative out of it, complete with enough on-the-nose monologuing to make Chris Nolan blush.  What hampers the unquestionably engaging and ambitious film is the sense that we're drudging along recycled territory.

Brandon Peters's 007 series retrospective final analysis part 2.

This is the end.  Hold your breath and count to ten.  After three months of extensive and rather superb retrospective reviews of every single 007 film that's been currently released since 1962, it all comes down to this.  What follows below is Brandon Peter's final analysis, split up into two sections. Part one is HERE.  Part two is a critical ranking of every single film, complete with links to his respective essays, so you can all argue in the comments section.  Following that is my actual review of Skyfall, which I saw on Monday night was holding off on reviewing until Brandon had his say on all that had come before.  Expect said review to drop later this afternoon.  And yes, once Brandon sees Skyfall (hopefully in IMAX, as it really should be seen in said format), he will offer his take on this site as well.  But for now, let's all dive in and see how the chips fall.  As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below (for what it's worth, I rather agree with probably 90% of the rankings, at a glance).  At the very least, you should give him a hearty thanks for crafting this rather fantastic ongoing series.  We look forward to whatever Mr. Peters decides to contribute from this point on and look forward to his adventures in the Great Valley.

Brandon Peters's 007 series retrospective final analysis part 1.

This is the end.  Hold your breath and count to ten.  After three months of extensive and rather superb retrospective reviews of every single 007 film that's been currently released since 1962, it all comes down to this.  What follows below is Brandon Peter's final analysis, split up into two sections.  Part one, which deals with favorite characters, favorite villains, and the like, is below.  Part two, which is a critical ranking of every single film, will hopefully follow in the next couple days.  Following that is my actual review of Skyfall, which I saw on Monday night but am holding off writing about until Brandon finishes his series.  And yes, once Brandon sees Skyfall (hopefully in IMAX, as it really should be seen in said format), he will offer his take on this site as well.  But for now, let's start the end game for this epic 007 retrospective.  As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 22: Quantum of Solace.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple weeks, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the twenty-second entry, with a full review of the inexplicably maligned Quantum of Solace. I hope you've enjoyed what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall, because, to quote Adele, this is (nearly) the end. Without further ado...

Quantum Of Solace

2008

Director:  Marc Forster

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright

Rated PG-13

Take a deep breath, you only got one shot, make it count.

                        ~James Bond

STATS

Kills:  17

Bond Girls:  Camille Montes, Strawberry Fields

Car:  Aston Martin DBS V12

Locales:  Siena, Haiti, Austria, Bolivia, Russia

Odd Villain Trait:  Elvis, tall and has a wig that makes him look rather silly

Song:  “Another Way to Die” performed by Jack White & Alicia Keyes

Quantum of Solace (QoS) is considered the first ever direct sequel to a Bond film, starting up moments after the closing events of Casino Royale.  One could argue this untrue as Diamonds Are Forever picks up right where On Her Majesty’s Secret Service left off.  Going further, Dr. No through to Diamonds (minus Goldfinger) all carry along Bond’s battle against SPECTRE.  While calling it a direct sequel is the easiest way to spin it, the two films are more closely tied than any previous two films.

Next time you're bored at the office: A full length audio commentary for Moonraker...

Aaron Neuwurth, on whose fine podcast (Out Now with Aaron and Abe) I occasionally guest, was an early fan of Brandon Peter's nearly-complete James Bond retrospectives.  As such, he invited Brandon and I on to participate in a handful of 007 audio commentaries.  We've done three as of now, having just recorded GoldenEye two nights ago.  But until that one, please enjoy this enjoyable and information-packed chit-chat for one of the most inexplicably underrated 007 adventures, Moonraker.  That's right, Moonraker.  Long story short, it's a rather compelling and dark little Roger Moore film that gets unfairly maligned purely due to the final 15-minutes or so set in space.  It's actually one of Moore's better entries.  Don't believe me?  Give it a watch and a listen.

Scott Mendelson

Next time you're bored at the office: A full length audio commentary for From Russia With Love...

Aaron Neuwurth, on whose fine podcast (Out Now with Aaron and Abe) I occasionally guest, was an early fan of Brandon Peter's nearly-complete James Bond retrospectives.  As such, he invited Brandon and I on to participate in a handful of 007 audio commentaries.  We've done three as of now, having just recorded GoldenEye last night.  But until that one and the one we did last week for Moonraker (spoiler - it's much better than you remember), please enjoy this enjoyable and information-packed chit-chat for one of the more beloved early 007 adventures, From Russia With Love.

Scott Mendelson

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 21: Casino Royale

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a few weeks, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the twenty-first entry, with a full review of arguably the best film in the franchise, in terms of pure objective quality, Casino Royale. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

Casino Royale

2006

Director:  Martin Campbell

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini

Rated PG-13

Now the whole world's gonna know that you died scratching my balls!

                        ~James Bond

STATS

Kills: 12

Bond Girls:  Vesper Lynd, Solange Dimitrios

Car:  Bond wins an Aston Martin, but the mission gives him an Aston Martin DBS V12

Locales:  Madagascar, Bahamas, Montenegro, Venice

Odd Villain Trait:  Le Chiffre has a scar on his eye and weeps blood from it

Song:  “You Know My Name” pefromed by Chris Cornell

Casino Royale is an absolute masterpiece in the 007 series.  The film is top notch big budget entertainment and one of the best reboot films ever created.  One could argue that this isn’t the first time the series has been rebooted.  Every time a new 007 take the role, it could essentially serve as a new start to the series (minus On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).  Following the ridiculousness of Die Another Day, Eon decided to rid itself of that era and start anew, grounding James Bond and focusing on physical effects and stunts.  What hasn’t been said about this movie already?

Mega-spoilers aside, Carrie remake gets a potent teaser.

On one hand, this is a very very effective horror teaser.  The imagery is terrifying and the build-up is genuinely creepy.  On the other hand, it does blatantly give away the finale for the young kids who don't know their Stephen King and/or Brian De Palma history (to be fair, it's not like the original film's marketing hid the finale back in the day).  On one hand, you could argue that the Carrie story has an added timeliness in the wake of yet more bullying-related tragedies of late.  On the other hand, the original book/movie was as much about sexual repression and religious fundamentalism as it was about a shy and awkward girl being picked on.  Is there any chance that a mainstream film in 2013 will be as blunt about the story's sexual content as the 1976 film was?  Still, director Kimberly Peirce's claim to fame is the ever-so-slightly similar Boys Don't Cry which remains a one of the better films of its type.  I'm not sure the world needs another Carrie.  But I'm also willing to allow that a remake of Carrie will have more to offer than a remake of Robocop, so I'll try to keep my pessimism in check for now.  Plus, any movie that stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Judy Greer has my automatic interest.  Anyway, if you already know the ending, do check out this rather good teaser.  Carrie opens March 15th, 2013.  As always, we'll see.

Scott Mendelson

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 20: Die Another Day.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a few weeks, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the twentieth entry, with a full review of one of the worst films in the franchise, Die Another Day. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

Die Another Day

2002

Director: Lee Tamahori

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese

PG-13

I’m Mr. Kil

                        ~Mr. Kil

Okay, so I’m starting a little early, but I have to mention this.  This moment is so horrible.  Bond gets out of his car and this big goon by the side of the road just awkwardly and out of place says this to him.  FOR NO REASON.  Bond doesn’t acknowledge the guy or anything.  Its almost very “I like turtles” variety.  And seriously?  Mr. Kil?  That’s like calling Oddjob ‘Mr. Hat’.  Or Red Grant “Blonde Strong”.  Or calling Jaws…uh…oh…well…”Giant Metal Mouth Biting Man”. 

STATS

Kills:  16

Bond Girls:  Jinx, Miranda Frost

Cars:  Aston Martin Vanquish

Locales:  North Korea, Cuba, Iceland

Odd Villain Trait:  Zao has the side of his face embedded with diamonds

Song:  “Die Another Day” performed by Madonna

Ridiculous.  If I were to describe Die Another Day with just one word, that’s what I would choose.  Bond’s 20^th film, released on his 40^th anniversary features poor direction, performance and much absurdity with an overabundance of call backs (some obvious and some very Where’s Waldo-ish).  Like the other long tenured Bonds, Roger Moore and Sean Connery, before him, Pierce Brosnan bows out on an obvious sub par entry and one of the worst films of the series.  Funny, both Pierce and Sean left off with diamond related satellite-laser beam plots by madmen who are having DNA reconstruction done to change faces.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 19: The World Is Not Enough.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a over a month, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the nineteenth entry, with a full review of one of the most underrated entries, The World Is Not Enough. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

The World Is Not Enough

1999

Director:  Michael Apted

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Denise Richards

Rated PG-13

Remember 007, shadows always remain in front or behind... never on top.

                        ~Q

STATS

Kills: 25

Bond Girls:  Elektra King, Christmas Jones, Dr. Molly Warmflash

Cars:  BMW Z8

Locales:  Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Istanbul

Odd Villain Trait:  Renard has a bullet in his head, taking away his body’s senses, it will eventually kill him as it slowly travels through his brain, making him already dead.  Also there is Bullion who has a gold set of chompers.

Song:  “The World Is Not Enough” performed by Garbage

Okay, skipping an introduction paragraph and shooting right past the brief synopsis, let’s just get to THE biggest sticking point of this movie right away.  Denise Richards stinks.  And she lays a big egg in this film.  I’m fully aware of that.  Not only is her performance lame, but she’s brings zero accountability to her role as a nuclear scientist.  I don’t think she is the worst Bond girl of all time (minor spoiler, I prefer this kind of crap Bond girl to what we’re going to get in the next film), but she definitely earns a place in the top 5-10 worst.  Just because she sucks does not mean this film does.  I think a lot of the ill regard to The World Is Not Enough revolves around people’s memory of this character.  She doesn't show up until an hour in, and a better costumed and more skilled performer might have people looking back more fondly on this film.  And yes, her character has no business (maybe because Richards isn't good) being involved in many scenes, but I argue this is far from the first time this has happened.  For me, and after seeing pretty face after pretty face “attempt” to act in earlier films during my marathon, I’m able to shrug it off and enjoy the film being provided.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 18: Tomorrow Never Dies.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a over a month, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the eighteenth entry, with a full review of  Tomorrow Never Dies. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

Tomorrow Never Dies

1997

Director:  Roger Spottiswoode (of Terror Train fame!)

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce, Teri Hatcher, Judi Dench

Rated PG-13

When you remove Mr. Bond’s heart, there should be just enough time for him to watch it stop beating.

                        ~Elliot Carver

STATS

Kills:  25 (estimate)

Girls:  Paris Carver, Wai Lin

Car:  BMW 7 Series, Bond’s casual ride is still the Aston Martin

Locales:  Russia, Hamburg, China

Odd Villain Trait:  Stamper, another Red Grant but trained in Chakra torture

Song:  “Tomorrow Never Dies” performed by Sheryl Crow

Other notable song:  “Surrender” performed by kd Lang

GoldenEye’s follow up film, Tomorrow Never Dies, was a studio rush job in trying to cash in the restored success of the 007 series.  The production seemed to be a mess, starting off with an incomplete script.  It’s surprising as none of that seems to translate to the final product.  It’s not the best of the series, but seems to float on the better side of the middle ground like For Your Eyes Only.  Tomorrow Never Dies features media mogul Elliot Carver trying to start WWIII between China and the UK.  He has a stealth ship in which he initially uses to sink a British battleship.  James Bond is sent in to investigate Carver, looking to gather information from his ex-flame and wife of Carver, Paris.  Bond also stumbles upon a Chinese agent, Wai Lin who is also investigating Carver.  The two team up to uncover and stop Carver.