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Connery bored in YOLT? Where? I don't see it.
chrisisall
Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
Last night I watched YOLT on Blu Ray, and I was seeing lots of cool detail I'd never seen before, and was also watching for bored looks, blank stares, non-reactions to other actors, etc. and I didn't see any of it. His repartee with Moneypenny was charming & quick, his usual determined face was quite determined, his reaction to Siamese vodka was very funny...
My fellow agents, you who call his performance tired or bored, can you please give me examples?
My fellow agents, you who call his performance tired or bored, can you please give me examples?
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Comments
I never felt any strong ... zest, anger, threat, sizzling chemistry, passion, or commanding presence from him in this one (to the best of my recollection right this moment). His natural charisma was missing or toned way down below his usual (first three films) vibes ... only exception being his camaraderie with Tiger; that was good.
I think many who know the behind the scenes story might be reading into his performance a little too deeply.
May I also say I had a blast seeing it so crystal clear as well!
I still do not feel - and I felt this when I first saw it - that it was in any way a strong Connery performance. It was lacking. Not the different, definitely overweight, and unappealing Bond in DAF (which I still enjoy moments of). But not great, no. And I did not know the background story of YOLT until the past 2 years, so my impressions were not colored by all of that.
Just different tastes, I suppose. The power that Connery usually exudes was not in his performance in YOLT for me.
However, that little sparkle in his eye that was so evident in the first 4 films has begun to fade and we only get flashes of it. His presence is still good but it doesn't demand your attention like it once did.
Is he still a good Bond? You bet. The greatness he was in the first 4 films? no.
(Well, maybe once :)) )
EDIT TO ADD:
I just realised that since Dalton is my favourite Bond, the idea of Bond being slightly burned out & not quite so thrilled with his job is appealing to me, hence Connery's performance in YOLT would of course be in my good graces.
What kind of second career would he be setting himself up for if he got a reputation for being bored and not giving his best effort when unhappy.
There was a certain kind of continuity in the first four films, in the way the character of Bond was displayed, there was a lot of boyish charme that isn´t much in YOLT. YOLT takes a slightly different angle, Bond comes across in a more serious way, and he seems very focussed on his mission. Furthermore, he tries to adapt to the Japanese mentality, where males are less playful with their facial expressions than in Europe or America.
That´s why sometimes he can come across as less involved than in the first four films.
This 'bored' label came about in a book, and it mushroomed from there. In fact the pace of the film is a notch up from TB and maybe Connery's casual manner didn't suit the film quite as much.
The films changed, not Connery.
My thoughts exactly. Like most things with Bond, it was a commentary in a book that started this one, though I can't recall which book it was at the moment. As you say from this book the critical line (and canard?) on Connery's performance in YOLT was born and indeed mushroomed. It shows the power and potency of the printed word even in this day and age of easy media sound bites and 24 hour rolling news coverage if nothing else...
And it is of course true that the films did indeed change with YOLT (and probably not for the better, OHMSS excepted of course) even if Connery remained much the same as before.
I was seeing lots of cool detail I'd never seen before, and was also watching for bored looks, blank stares, non-reactions to other actors, etc. and I didn't see any of it
because that is effectively what 'bored' would mean, and I don't ever see that either. Connery is a pro and wouldn't sabotage any film by stifling a yawn during an important scene. :-)
His Bond grew more casual and self effacing as the series progressed. The Bond in DN is not the same man who we saw in GF, nor was the YOLT Bond the same as the GF Bond. It was the same man of course, but a man who had matured and grown.
YOLT is one of my top ten in the series, and sits way above TB (in itself almost the definition of cinematic boredom).
YOLT has always been one of the most purely enjoyable films in the series for me. Connery's Bond has matured. He's purring like a finely tuned machine and the Japanese setting is just perfect. YOLT is one of the few films in the series that really captures a strong sense of time and location - it might be a fantasy Japan, but it definitely has a very strong sense of place and it couldn't be set anywhere else (unlike so many other films, where the locations are really just incidental). Love it from start to finish. Tiger is without doubt one of the best allies in all the films. The cool Toyota 2000GT is a nice refreshing break from the DB5 and I even (dare I say it) enjoy the Bond going Japanese sequences.
Those who 'think' they found Connery's performance below standard, based on a viewing from years ago, should go back and give it another go. Classic Bond.
Yes, that's true. In both YOLT and DAF he was noticeably more flabby than before.
And so far, no one can come up with any examples except to say 'that spark wasn't there'.
Yeah, he could have said the code words "I love you" to Aki in a more gleeful/come-on way, but that's why I liked the way he did say it because it was different and shows that Bond has moods and is not just a walking penis; sometimes he's quite all business.
Exactly.
Maybe Sean was going for a slightly different take on purpose. But I simply did not enjoy his performance as much as in his first four films. It is a rather subtle difference, but it is there.
Coming off the heels of FRWL, GF is always a disappointment. Bond is lacking that lethal edge that was always prominent in DN & FRWL. In the post FRWL films, Connery's Bond comes of as, for want of a better word, limp.
I'm sorry but this line of dialogue did it for me, where as in the previous films his voice was quite smooth by the time we got to YOLT he just sounded like he couldn't care less and that line of dialogue in particular made him sound like manual labourer.
As for DAF it's a travesty and it's only the fact it's Connery that it's get's a easy time of it, his physical state shows he didn't take the role seriously, he was just in it for the money and nothing else .
:P