An Open Letter to the Producers of James Bond

[runnernda]

Well said. I'm a James Bond aficionado, so I agree with nearly everything in your article. Daniel Craig is one of the best Bonds we've had, the perfect mix of suave and gritty. I'm just hoping MGM gets their act together before he's too old to play Bond anymore.

 

[Squilookle]

Yes, EXACTLY. This is everything that used to make Bond great. Casino Royale was an intriguing diversion, but personally I just want to go back to the Bond that flirts with Moneypenny, Annoys Q, and actually has a good time while averting the latest monstorous WW3 plot.

And for the record Craig isn't the closest Bond to the books at all. That would be Lazenby, closely followed by Dalton. Hell, Connery is sometimes closer to the book's feel than Craig is...

 

[TheNoirGuy]

Great Article Bob! Have you seen the french film, oss 117? I feel it does a good job of solving the "secret agent enjoying his job" problem while simultaneously solving the, "audiences won't like the 70's bond because he's a heartless womanizer" problem that studios have.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwA6ir86slQ

 

[tomtom94]

I know Bob doesn't read this, but I'd like to put it as an open question.

Assuming Craig is too old to take up the role again in the inevitable reboot, who would you like to see as Bond?

Casino Royale was already a reboot of the franchise. The film even starts off with him being made 007.

You think I'm not aware of that? I want the franchise to keep going with Craig, but I doubt that's going to be possible. As it's another company getting hold of the licence, they're probably going to want to stamp their mark on the franchise.
I'd like to refer you to Superman Returns (a reboot) which is to be followed by Man of Steel...another reboot.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Clive Owen deserves Bond. And as awesome as Casino Royale was QoS was such an abortion the writers proved they couldn't keep up the pace.

They need to make an "old persons" Bond movie paced more like The Illusionist or The Prestige. Or maybe even a retro cold war Bond fighting Soviets.

 

[XMark]

The good thing about Quantum of Solace was that it wrapped up the whole story arc started in the first movie, so from this point on Craig's Bond has gotten over all his emotional baggage and is free to actually be James Bond. I'm hoping the next bond (if it happens) has more of the over-the-top stuff we've seen in previous movies.

 

[Guitar Gamer]

Gosh Gollickey Gee willickers [sup[moody[/sup] Batman this article is a thousand different words that mean right!
Right-er than the right-est right times infinity!

 

[TetsuoKaneda]

To all those who are detractors of the books, here is a small list of what the books would have given us if they'd been followed more closely:

- Lesbian/bisexual Bond Girl relationships (See: Every girl in Goldfinger)
- Some very nice set pieces.
- No John Cleese (This is opinionated...I just sort of dislike John Cleese for breaking up Monty Python in the most passive-agressive way ever, and this translates into a small amount of vitriol when he's on screen)
- More plausible but just as ridiculous gadgets


That said:
The Connery films are closest to the books for me (the first one I read was Goldfinger, followed by Moonraker and Casino Royale), carrying the right balance of wit, ridiculousness, and gritty realism. Also, the sparing use of gadgets in the Connery films made sense.

 

[in a bit of a pickle]

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.

Right, that's why Casino Royale grossed the 5th highest amount at the box office of all 22 Bond films.

Actually, Casino Royale was the highest-grossing Bond movie of all time until Quantum of Solace beat it.

From my cursory glance at the thread it seems to me the problem is a good chunk of the audience (even if it's condensed to Escapist readers) are quite happier with Moore's and, in this case, Bob's idea of Bond rather than Flemming's

Opinions are opinions are opinions. That said, Bond is not Moore's or Lazenby's or Dalton's or Brosnan's. James Bond is Flemming's. We can all even give our own interpretations of Flemming's Bond but even that is very clearly laid out in all the books and Craig's in CR is truly the closest it has ever got to the books.

There's nothing wrong with wanting movies about a British MI6 agent based on gadget's, cheese and chicks a la Moore's but that is NOT Flemming's Bond.

Why not ask for a movie about Roderick Worthhampton, suave-international-bang-the-hilarious-villain's chick-while-infiltrating-MountDeathRay secret agent instead of wanting to turn book Bond into something that he was never meant to be?

I remember again reading in one of the books of a particular scene where Bond is beaten half-to death by a guy wearing rugby shoes. As campy as that may sound at first glance it was written in such a way that made you connect with Bond since for all his training and expertise he had been caught with his pants down and there was really not much he could do to save himself. IIRC, he only makes it through because there were orders to throw him in a cell. From which he escapes (again, if memory serves me)by crawling down a pipe that at one point is flooded with steam so that he comes out bleeding from the beating and half-boiled to death on top of it.

Then he proceeds to make an improvised set of brass knuckles out of his watch and a razor blade with which he proceeds to go to town on the first guard he comes across.

I was reminded of that sort of thing by the defibrillation scene in CR. Something that I haven't had watching any of the other films.

/sorry for the tl;dnr post

 

[Doug]

James Bond is no cowboy.

No, he isn't. Right there.

He's ever conscious of class, status and their attendant symbols.

....? How so? Class in what regard? You are aware this isn't the 1960's anymore and we don't really have a class system over here beyond "Broke, Poor, Alright, Doing well, Loaded", right? Same as the yanks?

James Bond is an (idealized) Englishman.

I would like to point out we aren't all cold blooded murders in an idealised form.... I mean, the SAS are but their kinda expected to be.

There something I'd like to add to that list:

Bring back Q and his gadgets!

For me, its just not a James Bond movie without crazy-cool spy gadgets.

Didn't Bob just say "James Bond is NOT Batman"?

 

[theSovietConnection]

Have you read the books?

It seems odd that you fight for Fleming's original concept, yet then seem to push against that, despite Craig's Bond being the closest to the style of the books by far.

I'm glad someone else recognizes this. Craig is among my favourite Bond's, right up next to Sean Connery.

EDIT: Looking at MovieBob's list, it'd be like if they ever make a biographical film about Jeremy Clarkson and say "This needs to be more like the real Clarkson", and then cast him as a good looking man who isn't very fond of British cars.

 

[Erick.S]

I always want to scream "James Bond was supposed to be fun!" when I watch the new films.
Thanks, Bob, for saying it out loud.

And he's supposed to have charm as well, not be some brooding, sociopath brute who mauls people and then complains about how shitty his life is, while scoring with random hot chicks in five-star hotels!
That combo makes no sense, unless you're a marketing 'expert' who steals traits from ten other successful characters, and mixes them together to create one lumbering, mutant bully.

The new James Bond has just about enough class to sell fish in a market, and then go home to beat his wife.

Bloody amateurs.

 

[Nihlex]

JB needs more bewbs.

James Bond must be a woman you say? Yes, yes i like the way you think....

I like new Bond, but I never really saw the older movies so who am I to comment here.

 

[dsmops2003]

JB needs more bewbs.

James Bond must be a woman you say? Yes, yes i like the way you think....

I like new Bond, but I never really saw the older movies so who am I to comment here.

Jane Bond. She can objectify men and be all smooth and such. Then shoot at people.

 

[Slinker07]

I'm not that really into James Bond. So I wouldn't mind not seeing anymore of them.

But it would be very neat doing a Bond movie. With the evil fortess and an army of goons. And with an super vilian wearing an eye patch and has some laserbeam that will destroy the world. All that really goffy stuff. But do it all in a serious way. No Austin powers jokes. Oh wait... You just said that. I agree then.

 

[RTR]

Big fan of your work, Matt.

 

[RTR]

Well, Nolan himself said that the Joker isn't coming back in the next Batman. I don't think he'll introduce Harley at some point 'cause she's basically a team player. As far as I'm concerned, I've never seen her work solo. She's always either with the Joker or someone like Poison Ivy.

 

[sketch_zeppelin]

Right on Movie Bob, i'll admit i loved Casino Royale and even enjoyed Quantum of Soliace for what its worth, but i do miss the classic days of bond where a car could simply swerve off a cliff and explode in mid-air for no apperent reason and where each of the villians had some sort of identifiable oddity like Gold fingers love of gold, Doctor No's hands or Odd Job's hat.

movies need to learn to be over the top again and take it with a straight face. "Yes James bond did just blow up a car using a bazooka desgised as a pen and yes he is currently in a hot air ballon making love to Hott Pants, the dead villians daughter...your point?"