What I like about Bond was that he enjoyed his job. A smile when things go right, a laugh when a gadget hampers his enemies and a quip when facing down the Big Bad. He didn't do all that because he was made to, he did it because he wanted to.
An Open Letter to the Producers of James Bond
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
I agree completely! I dont like Daniel Craig's bond at all!
What happened to the fun? What do you think are the best bond films? My 2 favourites are Goldeneye and Moonraker.
Goldeneye is fantastic! You cant forget that 1st (complete and utter bullshit) scene where bond drives a motorbike off the mountain and catches the plane and takes off with it! THAT IS WHAT BOND IS ALL ABOUT! FUN!
In Moonraker how about all those confrontations with Jaws (big comic relief guy with the metal teeth). Remember that scene where he tries to stop bond at a cable car only for him to chase bond to the bottom (Bond is holding a chain btw) in his cable car and smashes through the station? THEN this tiny, cute, nerdy girl comes out and Jaws falls in love with her? Jaws at about 7ft 6 tall and his girlfriend barely 5ft? Thats classic stuff! That is what Bond should be all about!
Thats why I am impatiently waiting for someone to hurry up and make a Matthew Reilly novel into a movie! The action scenes in his books are so over-the-top and mindblowingly awesome that you cant help but keep reading to find out what happens next!
What happened to the fun? What do you think are the best bond films? My 2 favourites are Goldeneye and Moonraker.
Goldeneye is fantastic! You cant forget that 1st (complete and utter bullshit) scene where bond drives a motorbike off the mountain and catches the plane and takes off with it! THAT IS WHAT BOND IS ALL ABOUT! FUN!
In Moonraker how about all those confrontations with Jaws (big comic relief guy with the metal teeth). Remember that scene where he tries to stop bond at a cable car only for him to chase bond to the bottom (Bond is holding a chain btw) in his cable car and smashes through the station? THEN this tiny, cute, nerdy girl comes out and Jaws falls in love with her? Jaws at about 7ft 6 tall and his girlfriend barely 5ft? Thats classic stuff! That is what Bond should be all about!
Thats why I am impatiently waiting for someone to hurry up and make a Matthew Reilly novel into a movie! The action scenes in his books are so over-the-top and mindblowingly awesome that you cant help but keep reading to find out what happens next!
I'm a massive Bond fan (read all books, seen all movies) and I love Craig's era. Casino Royale actually is my favourite movie of all time.
People don't realise that there were no absurd gadgets, witty quips and invisible cars in Fleming's books. Fleming's books weren't stupid fantasies like Die Another Day. Craig's potrayal of Bond is the closest to Fleming's Bond of all six actors. He's charismatic, cocky and brutal but also not immune to pain, emotionally vulnerable and most importantly, a human f*cking being.
I'd rather watch Daniel Craig's Bond getting bruised, beaten to a pulp, morally injured and STILL stylishly climbing over countless bodies to triumph at the end than Pierce Brosnan's Bond disposing of cheesy goons while adjusting his tie and smiling like a douche.
MGM, please get your shit together. You're killing me, I wan't to see Craig's Bond again.
People don't realise that there were no absurd gadgets, witty quips and invisible cars in Fleming's books. Fleming's books weren't stupid fantasies like Die Another Day. Craig's potrayal of Bond is the closest to Fleming's Bond of all six actors. He's charismatic, cocky and brutal but also not immune to pain, emotionally vulnerable and most importantly, a human f*cking being.
I'd rather watch Daniel Craig's Bond getting bruised, beaten to a pulp, morally injured and STILL stylishly climbing over countless bodies to triumph at the end than Pierce Brosnan's Bond disposing of cheesy goons while adjusting his tie and smiling like a douche.
MGM, please get your shit together. You're killing me, I wan't to see Craig's Bond again.
Actually, Casino Royale was the highest-grossing Bond movie of all time until Quantum of Solace beat it.Woodsey said:
Bless you Movie Bob, bless you. I love a good, brooding character more than anything else, but eventually everyone has to come to terms with the fact that movies are ultimately a guilt free bit of escapism. I like to see intelligence in my movies, but not so much if it comes at the expense of the fun.
While most of your comments regarding Bond are well taken, let's get a little adendum straight, here, okay?
Not every brooding hero is Batman.
Not every vengeance-driven hero is Batman.
Not every hero who thinks his work is something less than a long action-fueled party is Batman.
Not everything that can be cavalierly lumped under the heading "Batman-like" is worthy of dismissive scorn.
And if a month went by without any suggestion of Batman's unholy, degenerative influence on cinema, it would probably make, if nothing else, a good mental exercise.
I've heard elements of the "James Bond is Britishness turned to 11" before, I don't think I'd thought of him quite like a knight though, knights piss about trying to not offend "the dear lady" a bit more than Bond.
Anyway, fair points all around, B, keep up the great work.
I'm hoping for a smiling James Bond in the future at some point... maybe I should dress my Saint's Row 2 character in a fancy suit and settle for that, for now?
Anyway, fair points all around, B, keep up the great work.
I'm hoping for a smiling James Bond in the future at some point... maybe I should dress my Saint's Row 2 character in a fancy suit and settle for that, for now?
Might I add another thing?
"James Bond is an infiltrator, not a front door man."
What I really got annoyed with in the Craig films was that they booted the whole "subtlety" of Bond out the window. Rather than someone who at least gave a token amount of effort to be, I dunno, a spy. Yeah, true, he's often caught and has to shoot his way through things, but, at least usually he's sneaking into a complex, not chasing a man into an embassy, and then killing hundreds of people, making as much noise as possible screaming "I'm a British Assassin! Shhh shhh!"
Craig's Bond seems to be more of a Thug than a spy. A gun for hire who lacks any amount of charm or charisma. True, this might be closer to the "Book" apparently, but it's really hard to swallow the notion that this is a man of espionage when he lacks the whole espionage ability. It's like, well, admittedly, myself trying to play Metal Gear rather than someone playing it properly.
Also... really? Just hitting Bond in the testes over and over again? That's your torture sequence? I mean, it's sorta more effective than a slow moving laser towards the crown jewels, but, this is supposed to be an MI6 spy... that's not going to work and is just kinda boring, at least to me.
"James Bond is an infiltrator, not a front door man."
What I really got annoyed with in the Craig films was that they booted the whole "subtlety" of Bond out the window. Rather than someone who at least gave a token amount of effort to be, I dunno, a spy. Yeah, true, he's often caught and has to shoot his way through things, but, at least usually he's sneaking into a complex, not chasing a man into an embassy, and then killing hundreds of people, making as much noise as possible screaming "I'm a British Assassin! Shhh shhh!"
Craig's Bond seems to be more of a Thug than a spy. A gun for hire who lacks any amount of charm or charisma. True, this might be closer to the "Book" apparently, but it's really hard to swallow the notion that this is a man of espionage when he lacks the whole espionage ability. It's like, well, admittedly, myself trying to play Metal Gear rather than someone playing it properly.
Also... really? Just hitting Bond in the testes over and over again? That's your torture sequence? I mean, it's sorta more effective than a slow moving laser towards the crown jewels, but, this is supposed to be an MI6 spy... that's not going to work and is just kinda boring, at least to me.
I like the idea that's been floating around for a while that James Bond is not a character per se but rather a codename given to the top operative of MI5. It explains his changes in appearance, demeanour and that he's been alive for so damn long. This isn't to say that I want the films to acknowledge this but I can appreciate the films more individually than if you lump them all in the catagory of being the one man (just with numerous different portrayals).
Spot on, except maybe the last bit. Sure, the Daniel Craig ones might have swung a bit too far back toward realism, but there still has to be a certain level of believability. Die Another Day was the worst Bond movie I've seen (and I've seen most of them and Brosnan's probably my favourite Bond) because it completely ignored this. The invisible car, all by itself, was ridiculous enough to not only ruin the movie, but to bring the entire series to a standstill. The cell phone as BMW remote control from Tomorrow Never Dies was awesome, but it also marks the start of the danger zone with respect to believability in the Bond universe.
All I know is, Danial Craig was never James Bond. When I saw Casino Royal (remake in name only) I saw a movie of Danial Craig going out of his way to not be James Bond. Retooling a character to shun what they are known for is not being edgy or hip or new...its being a douche. Its so lame when something so iconic is taken, and everything is changed about it so its not even anything like it was except the name. Next thing youll know, Danial Craig will glitter in the daylight.
You know, if you read a bond book and then watch the bond movie of the same title, the plot, style, manner and execution of the move couldn't be further from the book.
Hear Hear!
I got pretty sick of Moody Bond in Quantum. Every other scene in that film, me and my mum turned to each other and said "This is just Jason Bourne again"
Jason Bourne is good, but James Bond is NOT JASON BOURNE. HE IS JAMES BOND
I got pretty sick of Moody Bond in Quantum. Every other scene in that film, me and my mum turned to each other and said "This is just Jason Bourne again"
Jason Bourne is good, but James Bond is NOT JASON BOURNE. HE IS JAMES BOND
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Casino Royale was already reboot of the franchise. The film even starts off with him being made 007.tomtom94 said:
Again I'd like to point out that Craig is supposed to represent Bond at the early points of his career. Said man he was chasing knew he was coming for him so subtlety wasn't really an option as opposed to get in and out as quickly as possible, before more guards are deployed. Besides he jumped the fence and no one seemed to spot him until he walked into the office.Gildedtongue said:
And the torture sequence. That actually happens in the book although is played out a bit differently. And even if LeChiffre knew its was not going to work, Bond had screwed him over badly and he wanted revenge.
Bond wasn't always the campy, gadget driven mess that it eventually became. The recent Casino Royale was a return to the source and it was much appreciated. I would prefer subsequent films to continue along that line in future. 'James Bond is fun' - well yes it is, but it can still be credible and serious. While Bond became most popular when a comical caricature, the best films in the series have been the ones less afflicted by this schlock. And honestly, Quantum of Solace is not the mess that so many claim it to be. The problem with many people today is that they have no concept of scale. The spectrum ends up as simplistically three pointed - crap, ok, awesome. It doesn't work.
MovieBob, you had so many good points in your article that I must congratulate you.
Casino Royale was an excellent whiff of fresh air after the over the top ludicruos Die Another Day (invisible car was the thing that was a bit too much) and very mediocre World Is Not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies. However, Quantum of Solace was not so good.
As you had put: Less brooding realism, more suave and fun action.
Casino Royale was an excellent whiff of fresh air after the over the top ludicruos Die Another Day (invisible car was the thing that was a bit too much) and very mediocre World Is Not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies. However, Quantum of Solace was not so good.
As you had put: Less brooding realism, more suave and fun action.