What Would The Reaction To A Female Bond (007, that is) Be?

[Tuesday Night Fever]

snip

Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond is a reboot, but in Skyfall they showed the graves of Andrew Bond and Monique Bond - James Bond's parents. The intention of the filmmakers was to establish that James Bond is the guy's real name, and not a name given to him by MI6 (which I'll admit is pretty dumb).

In the past they tried to kill that fan theory by constantly referencing Tracy Bond, the woman that James Bond married at the end of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. She married George Lazenby's Bond, then was immediately killed. She's directly referenced in two of Roger Moore's movies (one of which has him mourning at her grave), indirectly mentioned in a Timothy Dalton movie, and possibly referred to in one of Pierce Brosnan's movies by a villain that likely would have known if Bond was married at some point.

They've been trying for a while now to convey that James Bond is a single dude. A time-traveling, shape-shifting dude perhaps, but still just one guy. They've handled it... somewhat poorly. Makes sense that a reboot would be more direct.

 

[Bat Vader]

Something I would love to see is them confirm that James Bond is a code name and it isn't all the same guy. Each different actor is a different agent for when the other agent has died or retired. I think that would be awesome to see.

Instead of genderswapping a character why not have a female 006 Agent or something named Jane Bond within a separate section of MI6 and do it as a spin off. That way James Bond isn't genderswapped and people who want a female bond get one. That seems like the best compromise. After a few movies they could even have them team up in a crossover or something.

 

[zerragonoss]

How about we write some badass new characters instead of messing with all of our preexisting ones?

I've got nothing wrong with a badass female secret agent, but I'd rather have a Joanna Dark movie than a "Jane" Bond movie.

Well normally I am all for just make new characters there are a set of characters that are more icons than characters at this point. Even if James Bond is canonically a single person, the reality of the situation he is the icon for badass super suave spy, not a character at this point. Because of this you can get a much stronger message form just fitting a new person into said role than by making character of a similar role. Obviously the best message would have new characters that become this kind of icon, but trying to make an icon is not really something you can depend on.

 

[Bobular]

Why not make a Bond that's American, or a Bond that's a merc instead of a spy or a Bond who doesn't like women or a Bond without gadgets?

Because then it wouldn't be Bond. It'll just be a character with the same name.

Kind of like a Doom who's not the ruler of Latveria.

If you want to make a spy movie with a female lead that is heavy inspired by Bond go for it, I'd probably watch it, but don't just try to ride on the success of an existing character.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Well, I'm sure I'd be okay with it, but the internet is gonna light up like the Hindenburg, claiming that it's some sort of feminist propaganda or something.

CAPTCHA: heat up

Chaptcha, it seems as though you and I are always on the same wavelength.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

Obviously the best message would have new characters that become this kind of icon, but trying to make an icon is not really something you can depend on.

And that's what's MASSIVELY wrong with the movie industry these days. "Dependability." Back in the 1960's Hollywood was willing to give the James Bond character a chance, and he became a film icon. These days no one is willing to give any new character a chance, preferring to fall back on re-purposed icons from days past. As movie budgets inflate higher and higher, creativity rapidly dies in favor of marketability and "dependable" franchises. Fuck that.

What re-purposing James Bond into "Jane" Bond says to me is the filmmakers trying to express "sorry ladies, no one here in Hollywood gives a shit about your gender unless you mooch off the name of an established male, and we're only doing it as an appeasement novelty."

Icons only exist because at some point in time, someone took a chance. If you want a female icon, you need to start with a female character. Taking a male character and gender-swapping them doesn't make a female icon, it just makes a blatantly pandering weird spot on the character's wiki biography.

Women deserve their own icon characters, not lazy half-hearted reboot crap.

EDIT:

This post on Page 1 is what I'm talking about. I've got nothing to add, kitsunefather's put it perfectly.

Look at Furiosa. People are clamoring for a standalone movie for her. They didn't have to make it Mad Maxine, they just introduced a compelling character that resonated with enough of the audience to cause a stir.

/highfive

 

[HardkorSB]

Having seen every single Bond movie, some of them more than once, I can tell you that a lot of what makes Bond Bond wouldn't work if it was a woman.
A female led spy franchise would be nice but Making Bond female wouldn't be a good idea, especially after the last one made so much money and got such great reviews.
It could happen if the Bond franchise would lose steam (kind of like at the end of the Brosnan era) but even then, I think the audience would react negatively.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

For me why have a female Bond? Just seems to me every one is obsessed with a black bond or a female bond as if bond is the only way to have a great black/female spy character. Did anyone watch Salt, that movie was great with a female led character. Just give us a great movie with a well written female character and it will put butts on seats. Look at Alien/Aliens for that.It really isnt a mystery or magic, just good writing like every other movie.

 

[Bat Vader]

Something I would love to see is them confirm that James Bond is a code name and it isn't all the same guy. Each different actor is a different agent for when the other agent has died or retired. I think that would be awesome to see.

Instead of genderswapping a character why not have a female 006 Agent or something named Jane Bond within a separate section of MI6 and do it as a spin off. That way James Bond isn't genderswapped and people who want a female bond get one. That seems like the best compromise. After a few movies they could even have them team up in a crossover or something.

Skyfall already put the code-name theory to rest. It's his real name.

Spoiler

I liked the whole different agents theory too.

 

[Aerosteam]

What Would The Reaction To-

Stop right there. Bad.

I don't get it? Its a legit question.

I'm cutting him off and answering his question before he finishes.

Because, let's be honest, everything can cause some sort of negative reaction from people nowadays no matter what you do.

 

[FPLOON]

My first response would be "Will the movie be directed by the same people who worked on Salt and Columbiana?" while my second response would be "Hope they put actual work into it, I guess"...

Other than that, I wouldn't watch it until I know that it's good... or, at least, as good as an Austin Powers movie...

 

[Sampler]

They already did, check out Michelle Yeoh's character in "Tomorrow Never Dies" - Wai Lin is his equal, sometimes better. Ok she's Chinese Intelligence rather than British but otherwise a female bond character.

[edit]

Also:

Michelle Yeoh, who did most of her own stunts, asked her fellow motorbike stuntman to drive faster in the helicopter chase scene as it would make her hair fly out behind her, adding to the effect of speed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120347/trivia?item=tr0726512

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, I have the feeling that if you made a female Bond who acts like James Bond, a big load of feminists (the extreme kind) might roll up and call her a slut because of all the sexual encounters Bond goes through throughout his movies.

 

[Dragonlayer]

A few people would complain about supposed abuse of the source material, a few other people would call those people misogynists and then the entire discussion would be drowned out beneath a shit-slinging fest between the most zealous of both of those groups.

I wouldn't be fussed, largely because I already consider Skyfall's revelation that Bond is actually Scottish to be high treason.

 

[Brown_Coat117]

No, this gender swapping BS should be limited to Deviant Art. James Bond is an established character, the whole "theory" that James Bond is a code name was shot to hell in Skyfall.

Honestly this gender swapping it the very definition of female tokenism, women, including fictional characters should stand or fall by their own merits, not ride on the coat tails of men and hell feminism keeps telling me that they can, so how about you try to create a character that earns her spot and stop trying to coopt stuff that men create.

So instead of wanting to make iconic characters into same ones with a different gender, why don't people simply want a similar character instead? Isn't that what Nathan Drake is compared to Lara Croft?

Thank you Adam Jensen you beautiful SOB, and remember the Lara Croft was a for all practical purpose a female Indiana Jones.

 

[Brown_Coat117]

A few people would complain about supposed abuse of the source material, a few other people would call those people misogynists and then the entire discussion would be drowned out beneath a shit-slinging fest between the most zealous of both of those groups.

I wouldn't be fussed, largely because I already consider Skyfall's revelation that Bond is actually Scottish to be high treason.

Ian Flemming named James Bond after an American author who wrote a book on bird watching and made him a Scot in the books due to his love of Sean Connery's performance in DR. No.

 

[Dragonlayer]

A few people would complain about supposed abuse of the source material, a few other people would call those people misogynists and then the entire discussion would be drowned out beneath a shit-slinging fest between the most zealous of both of those groups.

I wouldn't be fussed, largely because I already consider Skyfall's revelation that Bond is actually Scottish to be high treason.

Ian Flemming named James Bond after an American author who wrote a book on bird watching and made him a Scot in the books due to his love of Sean Connery's performance in DR. No.

Interesting, I didn't know that. Just so it's clear, I was being tongue-in-cheek about the treason comment; I really enjoyed Skyfall and Daniel Craig's incarnation of Bond.

 

[Brown_Coat117]

Interesting, I didn't know that. Just so it's clear, I was being tongue-in-cheek about the treason comment; I really enjoyed Skyfall and Daniel Craig's incarnation of Bond.

I figured.

 

[Nazulu]

It would be greatly mixed, that's for sure.

Me, I never cared for the franchise, and I will always say that they should just make a new a franchise instead on treading on old shit. Hell, I would rather see a Perfect Dark film than a new James Bond one.

 

[Brown_Coat117]

Hell, I would rather see a Perfect Dark film than a new James Bond one.

Not sure that I can agree given the crap that is still video game movies, and I think that continuing franchises are fine as long as they keep the quality up. If a Perfect Dark movie did come out I damn well would be pissed if they cast for a man for the lead in place of a woman, see it cuts both ways. While we're on the subject on Perfect Dark remember that it was originally a spiritual sequel to GoldenEye 007 that in the eyes of many, myself included, surpassed the original.