oss 117 : cairo nest of spies (2008)

this gallic pseudo-satire of the james bond genre proved to be a great experience. the film combined all out spoof with drama and action to create a film that i enjoyed thoroughly.

strangely, the oss 117 series predates the bond series by some years, hence the tag of pseudo-satire. jean dujardin, a former french talent show contestant, proves formidible in the title role, with bérénice bejo great as the archetypal bond girl. the quality of the film is impressive, its high concept and a blockbuster in the visual sense of the word. knowing nods to the production techniques of the time that the film is set (1960's), with the use of back projection and limited camerawork prevailant. in turn the film reminds of the early bond films, albeit with a great deal of modern political allusions and references. the film is incredibly funny too, with the scene involving the prayer leader a particular standout. comparisons to inspector cluseau and the pink panther films will no doubt attach themselves to this, but personally i have never been a fan of those films.

not only is "oss 117 : cairo nest of spies" a great satire, but its a great film too, and much more interesting than the actual films that its spoofing.

firefox (1982)

a surprisingly successful attempt at post-star wars casual science fiction for clint eastwood, with the film boasting a much more experimental element than one would have expected. eastwood fuses casual sci-fi with the espionage thrillers he was familiar with at the time of the films production to combine a winning formula. the advertised notion of a plot revolving around a super-fi jetplane takes a back seat for the first hour, as we see eastwood's vietnam vet attempt to infiltrate the russian military. the latter half of the film takes place on and around the plight aboard the plane, in a vein that is perhaps the direct opposite of similiar fare like "top gun". "firefox" is to be commended as a very different piece of work to the usual clint eastwood film, and it succeeds much better than expected.

true lies (1994)

james cameron and arnold schwarzenegger's third collaboration is probably their most downright entertaining. "true lies", a remake of a french film, basically turns the conventions and expectations of the spy genre on its head, creating a film that comes off like james bond crossed with a sitcom. the film also has the unique selling point of tom arnolds finest moment, as arnie's wingman. sure the film is ridiculously over the top, but its a significantly more entertaining film than any of the pre-daniel craig bond flicks. interestingly i noticed the use of scope and depth that cameron seems to be keen on. perhaps this was an indication of the 3D-obsessed direction he would undertake in the years after.