A mystery for Bond to solve

If it’s any comfort to women of a certain age, Monica Bellucci, at 50, is the oldest actress to play a “Bond girl,” one of the many nubile beauties who provide pulchritude and distraction to the secret agent with a “license to kill” in the 50 years of the movie franchise.

In “Spectre,” Bellucci is cast as Lucia Sciarra, widow of a Spectre assassin who lets go of her sad memories of her late husband with the help of the aging Bond. Yes, James Bond, played by Daniel Craig in his fourth (and, so he says, his last) outing as the British spy, is showing his age. And it’s about time, too. Even at 50, though, Bellucci remains radiant with more than a hint of dignity and vulnerability. In fact, in my opinion she far outshines Lea Seydoux, a much younger actor who plays Madeleine Swann, the psychologist-daughter of a former Spectre figure who becomes another girl who captures the spy’s heart.

In recent Bond movies, there had been attempts to “freshen up” the franchise, with new and much younger actors taken in to replace the doddering Q and Miss Moneypenny. There had also been a praiseworthy attempt to add a twist to the character of M, the head of M16, with the choice of Dame Judi Dench, who brought gravitas and even a sense of maternal softness to the role.

But from the relatively heavy psychological load of “Skyfall,” with its glimpses of Bond’s childhood and even a delightful cameo of the original Aston Martin, “Spectre” takes a step back to the beginnings of the franchise, evoking the antic style and lively spirit of the early movies. Where “Skyfall” was burdened with too much backstory and emotional weight, “Spectre” takes a new generation of viewers to the hi-jinks of earlier Bonds, complete with action-laden scenes, although there is a distinct lack of the gimmicky gadgets which had been Q’s specialty.

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“Spectre” is not a bad way to go, if Craig’s announced intent to step away from Bond is truly serious.

The opening scene set in the city center of Mexico City during the “Day of the Dead” festivities gives Craig a chance to show off his action chops, running across rooftops, leaping onto a helicopter, kicking off a deadly assassin to fall to his death.

We then take a virtual tour around the world, zipping from London to the Austrian Alps, to Rome, to Tunisia (actually, Morocco) and back to London.

Filipinos would be interested to know that the villain who gives Bond the biggest grief and the deadliest blows is Fil-American wrestler Batista, who plays Hinx, a henchman of the Spectre chieftain who dispatches his enemies with deadly and brutal efficiency. The organization Spectre is itself a throwback to previous Bond films, especially to the archvillain Ernst Blofeld, who we remember mainly for the menacing Persian cat he strokes gently while issuing the most evil orders.

There’s been speculation on who the producers will next tap to play Bond, should Craig choose to abandon the role. My vote goes to Idris Elba, the black British actor who I first saw in a small role in “Love Actually,” but who has since become prominent in TV shows like “The Wire” and even as a supernatural guardian of Asgard in “Thor.”

But here’s a truly revolutionary turn. How about Bond being played by a woman? Can we look forward to a series of bodacious “Bond boys” then?

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Now here’s a mystery into which James Bond might want to sink his teeth.

Commentators and social observers scoffed at statements of officials who insisted that the episodes of “laglag/tanim-bala” at the airport, with airport security finding mostly empty bullet casings in the bags of departing passengers, were real and not tied to a supposed extortion scam.

“Filipinos really use bullets as amulets (anting-anting) for protection,” officials have said, noting that the reason overseas Filipino workers were among the passengers most often caught with the bullets was that many of them relied on these charms to seek protection from possible violence and exploitation in a foreign land.

“Mareng Winnie” Monsod, in her column yesterday, told of encountering two women who, while not passengers, had gone to the airport to see off/meet their relatives, were found to be carrying bullets in their bags. Both admitted they carried the items as “protection.”

Unfortunately, no matter their motive, the women were still violating the law since carrying even just one bullet on one’s person is a crime and, thus, they would be brought to a police station for “questioning.”

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Monsod questioned the rigidity and narrow-mindedness of the officials, even if they had already satisfied themselves that the women were indeed innocent of any dark motive.

My take on this growing scandal is that indeed quite a number of departing passengers in the past had been caught with anting-anting bullets in their possession. But that, in their eagerness to be let go and board their flights, they had resorted to offering bribes to the officials concerned. From such innocent “offers” evolved, I suppose, a widespread racket that consisted of mulcting the bullet-bearers, and then led to outright bullet-planting. Corrupt officials and employees are nothing if not quick learners in these parts.

I agree, huge signs announcing that one could get arrested for possession of even just one bullet should be posted all over our airports, especially around the x-ray machines. But families of departing OFWs and travelers should also exercise vigilance, making sure their relatives aren’t bearing any contraband in the first place.

And airport authorities should also dismiss outright or arrest erring workers to show the rest what’s what, that harassing our departing OFWs will not be tolerated.