He arrives on the fire-surrounded rock where Brunnhilde has been under a sleeping spell since "Die Walkure".
Ever since Die Another Die's appalling ice-skating invisible car debacle, Bond has tended to keep well away from cold environments.
Ever since "Die Hard," Rickman has stolen movies as though under cover of darkness, and he filches this one with a single speech: "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death".
And, weirdly, in an age of action films that play out increasingly like weightless C.G.I. manga, Nolan managed to make the grittiest and most human thriller since "Die Hard," despite the presence of capes and full-body costumes.
Still, she took on Brünnhilde, her first performance of the role in a complete "Ring," and in each of the operas since "Die Walküre" opened last spring she has fared better.
And ever since "Die Hard" put him on the A-list, any time he has tried to experiment and turn his ready-for-anything iron-man persona on its head, audiences have taken his grasping for something other than playing a guy's guy as a slap in the face.
