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As long as it's handled correctly, that's what Bond is, but don't have him smoke a vape, please no, leave the vape thing to the Henchmen for example, it's cool seeing a henchman vaping, I mean someone like in the style of Primo (the age, the looks, the fashion).
That's what makes Bond cool and unique, different from other fictional characters.
I would like something along The Living Daylights style of Bond: less womanizing (but he still have a Bond Girl, but not as having sex per minute, he smokes and drinks moderately), everything in balance.
I mean Bond there smokes, quite drink but not on a booze, sober level like that of Craig (which made his Bond more depressing and boring to me), not having unnecessary multiple sex (just flirting).
In terms of being convicting, that’s why John Glen shouldn’t have been directing (and sounds like he wasn’t thankfully). Dalton needed a new director. With a script that wasn’t fine tuned by Richard Maibaum or Michael G Wilson.
It seems that part of this script (intentionally or not) was used for some themes in Skyfall. It also seems to predicted Bond’s personality in Carte Blanche!
So did Pierce, IMO.
I agree. For the future, EON needs to hire not as extreme artsy writers and directors, but not pure action ones as well.
Me too. That would’ve been grand!
Me three! He was always a great Bond despite the material he was often given. Can’t say that about every Bond actor.
True, very, very true. Also, a great guy, really a great ambassador for Bond, much as Roger was.
I just don't think he could have pulled it off; he's not the most stunning actor in the world, and doesn't really do 'sexy'. But I enjoyed what he did, and I thought he did it exactly right. He's very charismatic and it worked well. The bits where he had to be emotional or sullen, well he did staring into the middle distance, squinting, touching his lips with his fingertips etc. very well, but not exactly convincing stuff.
Thomas Crown.
I think if Pierce continued to play it more like he did in Goldeneye he would’ve been fine. His debut as Bond is my favorite performance from him, as well as any Bond actor for my money.
He was in top form here. I wonder what a John McTiernan of this era Bond would have been like?
They did attempt to give Pierce something like that. That's why we got TWINE. In fact I always say that film is more or less a prototype of SF.
For what it's worth, while I do think Brosnan would have happy doing another Bond film in the vein of GE, I don't think his interests in the character were ever the same as Craig's. There are themes and tropes which constantly crop up throughout the two actor's tenures, but I always assumed that was more due to the producers.
I think Thomas Crown is his best film, certainly.
Yeah, he's good in this (although the hotel room stuff feels like pretending to be deep to me: there's nothing actually there). To be honest I think he's equally good in all of his films; I especially don't think DAD would have worked with a lesser presence.
Ooooh, yes…
Ooooh, yes…
As long as he doesn’t Vape! Lol
It shouldn’t have to be necessary is the sad part. If it scales back any further than where Craig’s was at, it definitely won’t feel very Bondian anymore.
You're probably the only man who's ever worn a dinner suit not to think that way even briefly! :))
There are different shades to Bond though: no one imitates him jumping off buildings etc. but let's not pretend that he's not a bit of a style icon. Because that's why big brands try and associate themselves with him: because he's cool. Aston Martin and Omega aren't throwing millions at the films because no one wants to imitate a bit of the 007 cool, that's obviously and provably not true. You really think a load of Bond fans didn't buy themselves some Smirnoff after the hotel scene mentioned above because they thought Pierce looked cool there?
So obviously there are more surface elements to him that folks do look to imitate in some way, and smoking would be one. So it's best to knock it on the head. And as I said, nowadays smokers just look a bit desperate anyway, it wouldn't help the character. It would just make him look weak.
Of course I've imagined myself as Bond. But never have I slapped a woman because I saw Bond do it. Nor am I a misogynist, which Bond is accused of. Not a drinker in need of detox, nor a smoker. In places NTTD felt like a lecture on how men are expected to behave, lest they do bad things like the old Bond. While I like the scene with Ana de Armas, its purpose was to deflate Bond. Was it really necessary to have a new, female 007 to inform us that women can be strong, assertive, confident, and easily capable of doing what a man can? Don't we know that? Haven't we gotten that message time and again? Even though Bond is a fictional creation, have we reached the point where Bond is no longer Bond?
Agreed 100%
At the end this is how Bond was written, and like what I've said that's made him distinctive from other characters.
It seems nowadays, he's been imitating other characters like Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne, I'd liked Bond to have his own style again, made him unique from others, not just chasing other styles because, that's what the era calls him to be.
I’d like that too, but the problem is the series has been doing this since the early 70’s, and that’s one of the most critiqued elements of that decade.
I agree completely. I guess because these films ultimately have to reach as wide as possible an audience to bring in as much money as possible, they're willing to succumb to the norms of the days. Hence, Tim's Bond was monogamous in TLD; hence, Craig's Bond had a more reserved attitude towards women. At the same time, though, Tim's Bond stopped being monogamous two years after TLD. ;-) Perhaps LTK isn't the best example because of the general disinterest in the film; but at least it shows that the series can defy certain societal rules, hysterias and demands. Brosnan's Bond bedded women left and right; he even smoked a big cigar in 2002 when smoking had already lost its cool. I'm not a sociology major, but I presume that going against certain established rules can actually boost Bond's popularity. At least in our escapist entertainment, we often enjoy a bit more naughtiness and badassery than in everyday life. And, as @CrabKey very eloquently put, it's not because we like a fictional character, that we're all suddenly going to mimic his behaviour, let alone in its more controversial or less acceptable aspects.
Take Wednesday: huge among the tween crowd (hell, I'm a big fan too), but what is TikTok going with? Yes, Wednesday's dance, not the fact that she throws a sack full of deadly fish in a swimming pool full of people, or her explicit fantasies about decapitating people and whatnot.
If the fictional characters that appear in my leisurely pleasures are nothing but safe, flat, no-different-than-you-or-I reflections of the common man we call our neighbour, collegue or friend, why bother watching their adventures anyway?
I don’t think you understood my post. I said that there are different shades to Bond being an influencer, to use the modern term, and most of those revolve around more surface accoutrements of style and cool, not being a secret agent. I’m sure most people don’t adopt an English accent and speaking code after watching a Bond, but they might start self-consciously adjusting their cufflinks. The way Bond is seen to smoke cigarettes (just watch how Connery does it) was part of his appearance and his cool. And yes, the drinking is part of that: if no one on this board has ever ordered a martini I’ll buy you an Aston Martin. Surely that’s clear?
Well you’ve gone off on a slightly ranty tangent there, but I’m not quite sure what your issue is. Is the limit for a strong female character just one, ideally in a previous movie? They exist, therefore they can be in any movie. It doesn’t harm Bond at all.
I genuinely can’t see how the Cuba scene was supposed to deflate Bond, either. He literally wins out over that strong, assertive female character which so annoyed you.
It's all in the shoulders ;)
Although I must say I mix it a bit. Hand in pocket like Sean, broad stroll like Pierce,... Something between panther-like with a dash of confidence. The "Bond walk" is as important as the voice, I'd say. Raw, nonchalant confidence. Feline, almost. Dangerous at all times.