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Yes I think so too. What's become apparent with all the recent writers trying to adopt the Fleming style, they all admirably try and give it their best shot, yet it still never feels exactly right.
The only person who could write like Fleming is Fleming. The books were an open door, an insight into his mind, how he thinks and feels. That became just as essential as the plot itself, and all the writers have tried to grapple with this and yet never quite pulled it off.
Every now and then Horowitz would use a turn of phrase or comment that just didn't feel like Fleming would write, and it immediately took me out of the book every time it happened.
I feel like if there HAS to be any continuation novels, it’s better to just hire a writer doing their own thing with Bond rather than trying to imitate what another writer did more than half a century ago in an era that no longer exists. I hadn’t read CARTE BLANCHE, but I liked the idea of rebooting and trying to write a James Bond adventure for contemporary times while trying to maintain Fleming’s spirit. Unfortunately, IFP abandoned that conceit after just one book in favor of period pastiche.
Part of the charm of Fleming’s works is that he reflected his worldliness on the page. Nobody really has that insight in the 2020s, so why not try to bring a writer who brings their own insight?
Books like Carte Blanche I see more as a bit of an experiment. The Horowitz books worked for me better that the other continuation books after Colonel Sun.
I can't imagine where literary Bond will go now. Oddly, over the past few years, as the movies became more unraveled, the books got stronger (in my opinion, or course).
100% agree on this.
I hate hearing the script wasn't right or they were in a rush, I think most people would be more forgiving of the gap between films, if we got Casino quality script by the end of it
At some point audiences are going to prefer a new hero or heroes borne out of their present, rather than figures of the past that have changed to reflect the times. That doesn't necessarily mean they won't make new Bond films anymore, but they'll become a niche kind of thing. It's not something that's likely going to happen in the short term, though.
Bond's appeal has to do with good and evil to some extent, but as you say, many films are about that. Star Wars is about that. Marvel. Westerns in their heyday. So there are alternatives to Bond in that aspect, plus new ones waiting to be created. The formula of elegance, sex and action is more specific to Bond, but even in that sense Bond is replaceable.
I wouldn't be surprised if new films and books kept appearing for a long time, but I think long before that, they will stop being frequent and regular. But yes, by then there will be a lot to enjoy. There already is.
I think Bond is an avatar for classic stories. There will be others to take his place, even if he doesn't entirely disappear.
You are right about Haggis being the best writing choice. His writing--not just CR but other works such as thirtysomething--speaks for itself; his scripts are alternately sensitive and disciplined and original.
He also said all the right things when leaving Scientology in support of his lesbian daughter...
...which makes the recent accusation all the more shocking. Unlike many others in #metoo, he comes across, both in speaking and writing, as a sensitive straight guy. People contain multitudes and conduct in one arena does not presage conduct in another. Or this could all be more Scientology-based attacks.
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/paul-haggis-scientology-rape-italy-1235314352/
And they finally sorted his hair out too!
Of course it doesn’t help that the very next film end with him retiring. Not SF’s fault, but just shows how Eon was more concerned about the story of the film they’re focusing on rather than paying attention to the grand scheme of things.
When they made SF, they weren’t looking at it in terms of being a third chapter of Craig’s story. It was just another Bond film, with a story of its own. And then SF tried to play it all as a saga!
Cringe. Super Cringe.
Sure, as if “I can’t find the uhhh stationary” wasn’t cringe.
If that scene is cringe, almost every Bond film is replete with cringe moments in my opinion.
In SF, he's older for sure, let's say early 40s which is roughly Bond's age in most books/films anyway, but it's made clear that the lifespan of a 00 agent is limited, as it was in Fleming's novels. Any hint that he's 'past his prime' isn't necessarily about his age but in this context, as well as how burnt out Bond is physically and mentally. He's still that experienced agent who will disobey his superiors if he feels it necessary.
Say what you want about how they handled Craig's Bond, but I do feel these aspects of his character were remarkably consistent.
I liked both scenes.
Same here…
It’s supposed to be, it’s the whole point, which is why it works. Just having met Bellucci and stating he doesn’t mind dying in her arms is just wtf. Baaaaaad dialogue, even if the melancholic opera gives a nice touch of death and despair.
Kissing was too passionate, breathing too heavy and the hands loool. They should have milked the stillness a bit more.
Craig was more Brosnian than Brosnan himself in this film, and if it had actually been Brosnan it would have worked.
And the Lucia scene in SP is one of my favourite sequences in the Craig era.
Same here they take so long and we still get bad bond films. I say they give it over to Nolan.
It's interesting how the old bond films they used American terms like trucks instead of lorries in Goldfinger. Here it's british terms instead of American its stationary instead of paper or pen.