I just got back from seeing the film for second time and was very discouraged by the attitude of the audience, particularly as it relates to Bond's disposal of Mathis' body (I'll get to that in a moment).
Once again, the audience laughed throughout the entire film, no mater how intense the scene was supposed to be. They chuckled throughout the fight scene in the Port Au Prince hotel, the boat chase and they couldn't contain themselves any time a Bolivian local was shown ("Look, they have dark skin and dress differently than we do, let's point and and laugh!").
Now, as far as the Mathis' scene goes, this has been of great debate amongst Bond fans since the film's release. It seems that people either loved it or were somewhat horrified by it. However, I believe that finding actual humour in the scene is a new one for me.
As for my own personal opinion, I loved it. I thought it was very well done and very moving. As for the controversial dumpster scene, I believe it was done to illustrate the new direction of Bond - the human, emotional Bond. It's simply a cold demonstration of the harsh business he is in. When it comes right down to it, everyone in the business is expendable and when a person dies, one must think of the mission first and one's own self-preservation rather than any kind of mourning or ceremony. Mathis knew this ("He wouldn't have cared") and Bond was simply acting out of necessity. As Camille said in the previous scene, "there is something horribly efficient about you". Bond needed to get rid of the body as quickly as possible with the police now looking for him and he needed the money from Mathis' wallet as he had no funding from MI6. As I said, it's simply about self-preservation and dedication to the mission.
This is very much a scene I could envision Fleming writing and I appreciate the fact that EON decided to show that Bond's world is not about the glib one-liners and Aston Martins that we see on the surface and that underneath, he is involved in a cold, ruthless line of work.
That said, if they had taken more time and care in developing this sub-plot, then maybe it wouldn't have sparked such different reactions in viewers. What some of us find to be a well-done portrayal of the ugly reality of Bond's occupation, others find appalling and offensive. And of course, there are those that laugh at it, but let's be honest, the majority of those people are morons who don't have the attention span to sit and enjoy the subtle emotional and psychological aspects.
My two cents. Thanks for reading.
Edited by MystikTK, 20 November 2008 - 04:35 AM.