Bond: Everybody needs a hobby.
Silva: So, what's yours?
Bond: Resurrection.
Silva: So, what's yours?
Bond: Resurrection.
The
international trailer has been released for Skyfall, the 23rd installment in
the James Bond franchise and the third starring Daniel Craig. Scheduled to
coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first Bond film, Skyfall
is helmed by award winning director Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition)
and has a great deal of expectation and anticipation surrounding it. The
Craig films bear a welcome and marked difference from most of the previous films,
steering much closer to the grittier and darker Bond that we find in the
Fleming books--and this one promises to be along the same lines.
I
have to admit, I loved the exchange between Bond and the film’s villain in the latter part
of the trailer. The trailer hints that Bond is presumed dead and, as
we know from previous films, Bond does have a habit of coming back from the
dead (and not just physically). And that gives him a definite leg up in
his missions.
The
exchange between the two also struck a chord with me because it reflects
some powerful aspects of resurrection I haven’t thought of in a while. It
reminds me that resurrection is always unexpected and there is a subversive
kind of advantage in it.
In
our Story, Jesus’ resurrection—predicted as it was by Jesus himself—is utterly,
confoundedly, completely unexpected. Even his disciples and followers were astounded
and bewildered. Death is dealt a fatal blow and overthrown. This resurrection
is a hobby of God's; it permeates his kingdom—and the wonder of it never ceases. In Living
the Resurrection, Eugene Peterson says, “It is the very nature of
wonder to catch of off guard, to circumvent expectations and assumptions.” And this habitual resurrection at the hand of a God who continually renews, restores,
and redeems has a subversive advantage over darkness, both in the world and in
our own hearts. Unexpectedly, it comes in and undermines the darkness—overthrows
and subverts it. It rebirths and plants new life.
While
I’m pretty sure that this wasn't exactly what Mendes was aiming for, it is
nonetheless a good thing to be reminded of in these open spaces.