It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Agreed. Damon is a good actor, but he is far more limited than Craig.
I think it's also worth bearing in mind that without Bourne and Damon's performance in those films, it's quite possible that EON would never have cast Craig in the first place. We'd probably be living through a continuation of the Brosnan era, with Henry Cavill in the lead role.
No doubt Bond is what brought DC to being a leading man. That's credit to Babs who saw him in Munich and knew she was looking at her next Bond. DC in Layer Cake, the invasion, TGWTDT and Road to Perdition has shown he is a versatile actor. 4 times Spielberg arguably one of the top 3 directors/producers of all time has turned to DC. As for Damon he and Affleck wrote screen plays and cast themselves and can't argue with their talent as writers. But Team America summed Damon up. Cowboys and Aliens was awful but not for DC's performance just the whole premise but hey if you get the call saying Harrison Ford specifically asked for you will you do it, you say Hans Indiana Solo Jones asked for me?? dam right I will do it.
If you're under the misapprehension that four Spielbergs (of which I think he only actually directed two?) trumps a Scorcese, an Eastwood, a Minghella and a Coen Brothers, I think you might want to reassess your hand before doubling down.
An Eastwood? Hes made some good films but to compare him to Spielbergs legacy it codswallop. Dan has worked for David Fincher TGWTDT and Sam Mendes pre bond in RTP. Scorcese efforts in the last 10 years to get Decaprio and Oscar have been a bore. The Coen Brothers films are an acquired taste. But it's a casting agent not a director who makes that call the truth is Dan has shown on screen he can offer more than Damon. Damon is one dimensional. And I believe it's on the Everything or Nothing DVD Babs talks about looking out for the next Bond and seeing Dan in Munich.
Sorry, I just had to rave. Love that movie!
3:-O
I think the biggest problem with QOS was actually the director. He has the final say in the creative process of the film. Marc Forster could have halted for a month, to seriously retouch the script. And moreover, I don't buy it that QOS solely suffers from that "writer's strike".
It was Forster's personal choice to distance the look and feel of QOS from Campbell's approach in CR. IMO not a smart move. QOS is a good film, and I understand that Forster wanted the story to be more grittier and vengeful. But let that "breathe" inside the story, from the characters, and dialogue (aspect that was actually quite OK).
Where it did go wrong, was the fact that Forster wanted his "grittier" approach to be applied on every aspect of the film, including the technical aspects, like cinematography, editing, cutting and music. Completely unnecessary, as it felt too forced. Just imagine what Roger Deakins would have done to QOS. Or Stuart Baird.
Also, I think the producers could have halted QOS a bit. Now they know that a 3-year or 4-year gap actually works better. It makes a movie feel less rushed.
It's one of the reasons really why Sam Mendes might have felt to U-turn this look and feel again and let it breathe a more "Casino Royale"-esque vibe (visually, musically, from the viewpoint of editing and cutting).
CR isn't 'dark'. It has its moments, but it isn't bleak. I find SF bleak.
Regardless of box office performance the fact Craig is considered for the lead in a big screen film is testament to his abilities.
He is simply a terrific actor.
The thing is, I think Damon is too.
I like Damon. His work in Identity and Supremacy forced EON to up their game.
Dark and bleak mean the same thing? CR is dark for the bond films. Anyway, what I mean is that LTK and CR have more the tone of the books so they get a free pass when it comes to criticism, with many issues being overlooked.
3:-O
They don't mean the same thing, no. Yes, CR has darker moments than a lot of the series, but SF also goes to some murky places and at times is very bleak and harsh, emotionally and narratively. I'm merely saying that I don't understand your comparison, as I don't find SF to be a particularly larger than life film in the way you suggest. It's a narrative that is constantly concerned with failure and how one reacts to that. I've also seen LTK lambasted on here and SF described as a masterpiece.
"He's keen to get home"
"what makes you think this is my first time"
"the whole office goes up and that bloody thing survives"
"I read your obituary of me"
"Try and stop me you jumped up little s***"
(astonished look) "what did you say you did for a living?"
-All of the Q scene.
Codswallop? Again, a strange statement given Eastwood 's CV.
I don't think it's unreasonable to mention Spielberg and Eastwood together at all. Again, are you actually aware of what Eastwood has done as a director? Let alone his acting work.
In fact you could argue that over the last decade or so the older man has actually done the better work.
Their simple story telling style is actually not dissimilar and something I admire in both of them. The recent American Sniper could easily have been directed by Spielberg (in fact almost was, I think). Two great American mainstream directors.
3:-O
CR and Skyfall (and QoS too) connect the Craig era to the real world, because things just don't end up that way in life. I think that's part of the reason why I love the Craig films so much; they give Bond a humanity he'd lost and make the more earnest stories the films tell feel relatable and with real stakes. In the old days it was no question that Bond would come out the hero at the end with an explosion of pomp around him. Now we know Bond will still make it out alive, but are more uncertain than ever about how much of him will be left at the end.
You wouldn't have 'the circle of life', 'he's keen to get home', 'i got into some deep water' in CR.
No, you wouldn't. Which is why CR is a better film.
I know, the dialogue between Bond and Vesper when they're in love is so ridiculous and cheesy. IMO it's worst than anything in Skyfall.
Agreed. Saved only by the quality of acting. The dialogue brought back uncomfortable memories of the genius work in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
I really like Matt Damon, actually, as a person and an actor. The Talented Mr Ripley is actually one of my favorite movies and he gave one hell of a performance in it. Maybe his best. I also enjoyed his Bourne movies, although I do not think the role is that great to begin with. All the same, I find Craig the best actor.
Fair enough. DC is very good.
I also love the Talented Mr Ripley movie. Lots of good performances - Jude Law, Gwyneth, PSH.
Totally agree. I've never had a problem with it. There are also some genuinely witty and funny moments in CR. SF plumps for one liners that are so misplaced you have to wonder why no one on set just said, 'this is shit'. I'm surprised Dan let the 'deep water' line slip through the net.
In terms of director taking away Eastwood s acting roles. Spielberg is a pioneer of modern cinema Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993). Not to mention War Horse or the 150 other films he's produced. Spielberg has stepped away from the big blockbuster world to do smaller scale meaningful history telling films. Eastwood is not a pioneering film maker and has not directed anything on the scale of the above. If you still think they are on par you need to have your head checked.