'Bond' is About to Get Artsy

Well, maybe. Apparently the next entry in the revamped Bond franchise featuring Daniel Craig is set to be directed by Sam Mendes, one of the industry's premier dramatic filmmakers. Mendes is the Oscar-winning director of 'American Beauty,' 'Jarhead,' 'Road to Perdition,' and 'Revolutionary Road,' and is by far the highest pedigreed director to ever take on the franchise, which has mostly been helmed by above-average, action-focused stand-ins.

Before anyone runs off totell their film junkie friends, this is not set in stone, and Mendes has not officially been named the director of the 'Quantum of Solace' sequel. Announcing an attached director means that the studio must get into production quickly due to contract and availability issues, and Bond household MGM is going through some pretty rough times financially and may even be sold. So for now Mendes is being listed as a 'consultant' on the film, but the writing is on the wall. It's almost certain that the next Daniel Craig 'Bond' film will be directed by one of the most talented artistic filmmakers in the business.

I love this move, and I love it primarily based on the direction the franchise has taken with the last two films. These are still exciting, action-packed spy flicks, but what the writers and Craig have done with Bond has been incredible and its injected new life into a floundering series. This Bond is tougher than ever, but his external and internal struggles are wrought with much more complexity and believable stakes. Mendes has shown his ability to mold similar characters in 'Jarhead,' where he peeled back the ultra-masculine veneer of those whose job is it kill and revealed the internalized psychological chaos common in such people. That's just what Craig has been doing with Bond.

Expect this one to be the most exquisitely filmed entry in the entire franchise. I certainly do.