Picking at the troubling sexual politics of a James Bond movie feels like a fools’ errand, but even then, it was a bit disheartening to see Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny, at the opening a mostly capable and badass field agent (yes, she shoots Bond, but who among us could say that we wouldn’t?), to be relegated to traditional desk duties by the end of the movie.
READ MORE: Sam Mendes Says ‘Spectre’ Will Be His Last James Bond Movie, Reveals Theme Song Is Done
It’s unclear how much of new movie “Spectre” she’ll be involved in, but we’re still glad to see her getting out and about in a new Sony commercial (via Digital Spy) that’s arrived this morning. Tying in to the release of the new 007 flick, it sees Moneypenny dashing through London’s South Bank and fending off villains in order to retrieve Bond’s phone. The clip’s directed by Bond title sequence designer Danny Kleinman, so it does feel appropriately of a piece with the franchise, and it’s always nice to see Harris in the spotlight.
If she doesn’t get much of it in “Spectre,” it won’t be because she got cut for time: Digital Spy also note that UK cinema chains, which are currently selling tickets for the opening of the new movie, list the running time of Sam Mendes’ new movie as somewhere between 150 and 160 minutes long. To put that in perspective, “Casino Royale” was 144 minutes, and “Skyfall” was 143. Less a permission to kill, then, more a permission to make your arse go to sleep. “Spectre” opens in the UK on October 26th, and in the US on November 6th.