A new era of spy movies, inspired by ``Skyfall'' and ``Mission: Impossible''

"Poetry" that appears in "Skyfall" and "Rogue Nation"

Come to think of it, "Skyfall" and " Rogue Nation " both have in common the fact that they are about a battle over a "data file." But what really captured the hearts of many movie fans was the "spy mentality" that was unearthed in a chain reaction from that.

Originally, the super agents we see in movies and TV dramas are all people who suppress their own emotions and devote themselves to their missions with an iron will. However, both works take advantage of this tacit understanding and have a structure that makes it very easy to understand the spirituality and destiny that the protagonist must abide by. Both of them use "poems" left by British Victorian authors.

For example, in Skyfall, M (Judi Dench) impressively recites a passage from "Ulysses" by Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson to discuss modern-day "heroes."

"Though we are no longer the strong men who once moved the earth and the heavens, we are who we are today. The common temperament of the heroic heart, though weakened by age and fate, is strong in its will, striving, seeking, searching, and never yielding."

( "Translated Tennyson Poems" edited by Nishimae Mimi / Iwanami Shoten / 2003 )

“Skyfall” SKYFALL(C)2013 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

The previous 007 films had never dealt with such a serious context. This scene really conveys the seriousness of Skyfall. At that moment, Bond is shown running through the government district of London. Even if his abilities have declined with age, his willpower has never been lost. This poem not only projects the inner cry and way of life of the lone spy, but also aptly sums up the mentality that the 007 series has built up over the past 50 years.

By contrast, in Rogue Nation, the opening lines of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If-" are spoken at an unexpected moment (and by a semi-unconscious British Prime Minister):

"If you can keep your cool when everyone else loses their cool, if you can believe in yourself when everyone else doubts you"

The content of the story coincides perfectly with the situation in which the protagonist finds himself, fighting alone, and can also be seen as a thread that runs through the entire " M:I " series.

Is it pure coincidence that both works use poetry in this way? Or is it the result of some kind of rivalry or playfulness? The truth of the matter is unclear, but at least for fans, it is a highly stimulating comparison that seems to show both works facing the times head-on while being conscious of the other.

Two major series that continue to evolve towards the future