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
It did, thank you for clearing that up. My apologies my brash behavior with you on this website. The days leading up to X-Mas were quite stressful for me, between a job transition and the actual Holiday season, and I think it needlessly took it out on you in our debates. I hope this clears any negative air between us!
Thank you, hopefully 2021 and a new Bond film will prove to be much better experiences than anything 2020 has provided us!
Hugely agreed. We've had plenty of films where Bond gets a job, goes to meet a villain and defeats him. I like to see new takes on it.
Craig The Bonds will take on a lighter touch, not as gritty. A s I think People will
just want some entertainment. Not to mention some relief from the Politics
nightmare we're seeing in the US.
I would love to see Greg's face while reading this thread...
"They think we are going to do WHAT!!!"
why?
Gregg did screw up the plane chase in SP.
Barbara did NOT screw up the tanker chase in LTK.
because it makes sense
Craig's first Bond film was directed by Martin Campbell.
I don't know who will portray Bond next, but I DO know who'd be great for Director !!!
He will be taking his father's place and producing WITH Barbara Broccoli! Michael G. is likely to take more of a more of a background role.
Script writer I hope,.
This is one of the two ways I would be happiest to see the franchise go. Either go much lighter, almost to the point of comedy, or go for "Bond, the addict".
This is an idea that came up in this foum before (most likely this very thread. I am too lazy to look it up). To be very clear, I don't mean a drug addict - although I wouldn't mind incorporating his use of uppers in missions from Fleming - I mean addicted to this lifestyle. The danger. The adrenaline. The question I always come back to when thinking about Bond in the 21st century (and I believe one that Fleming thought about in his time as well) is why does he do this to himself? or, to turn it around: What type of person would agree to live the life of an anonymous (kind of) government assassin in a world in which the World Wars and the Cold War are history?
And one of the possible answers to that is: He is addicted to it. He likes the lifestyle, basically the only person he has a deeper personal connection to (being an orphan whose first great love kills herself on one of his missions) is the man who keeps sending him on these missions and he is great at it, so he keeps doing it. He goes crazy, when he doesn't get to go on a mission. He tries to substitute it with gambling, drinking, eating great food, driving fast cars and starting affairs with married women, but at the end of the day all he really wants to do is go out there and do something dramatic (while also gambling, drinking, eating great food, driving fast cars and starting affairs with married women) and get that validation from M.
Basically, take this line from Moonraker and make it the thesis of the films: "On these things he spent all his money and it was his ambition to have as little as possible in his banking account when he was killed, as, when he was depressed, he knew he would be, before the statutory age of forty-five. Eight years to go before he was automatically taken off the 00 list and given a staff job at Headquarters. At least eight tough assignments. Probably sixteen. Perhaps twenty-four. Too many."
EDIT: Ok, i did look it up after all. The original idea is this from @thelivingroyale:
Taking Bond lighter, to the point of comedy would harken back to films like MR, and characters like Sheriff Pepper. I for sure wouldn't want that, and I'm not sure how that would fare with audiences now who have grown up on edgy, dark Netflix dramas and violent movies.
Going for your other option, yes yes YES. Let's have more of the Bond character that Fleming wrote about, who loved eating fine food. When have we ever seen Craig's Bond tuck into a plate of scrambled eggs, or any other meal for that matter?
Let's see him doing press-ups in his apartment and taking his cold showers as part of his routine. You only need a few seconds of this, but it would give far more insight into the character than the recent `Fleming reimagined' crap that we have endured over the past few years, with orphaned angst, and long lost brother Blofeld garbage.
Great post. They could do worse than to work that bolded line into one of the scripts. They probably wouldn't commit to the 45-year-old age, but Bond spending all his money because he could die at any time is a nice character detail.
At any rate, the idea of a Bond nearly unhinged and really a psychologically disturbed person -- he's a professional killer, after all -- might well be where they go. As a practical matter, it would admit the obvious. Also as a practical matter, they'd likely want to keep him somehow likeable enough that fans root for him and show up for the films. Fleming went down this path after a while. Bond went to Shrublands in TB the novel because of his incessant drinking and smoking. He lost Tracy in OHMSS the novel as well as the film -- right in front of him, in a manner related to his work. In YOLT the novel he lost his memory after a traumatic killing that capped a several-book arc. Hit on the head, sure, but he lost his memory and his brain may have been coping with more than impact to his head. In the beginning of TMWTGG he'd been brainwashed, then tried to do something very uncharacteristic, and then collapsed. After that he was sent on a mission where could just as well have died, and, back at MI-6, a "so be it" attitude was at least partially in place. Agents like him do not last long, and they're best spent, so to speak, dying in action.
They need to seriously go back to the drawing board, and go back go what worked for decades, and at least attempt to recapture some old magic. I feel like 1962 - 2002 pretty much every film had the same goal in mind, even OHMSS didn't step TOO far out of line. I think since then the films have lost some of their entertainment value, because they are always trying to do more than just being simple escapist fun.
It's been 20 years, people are ready for a romping ride of a Bond film again, we don't need more Bond soul searching, family backstories, social commentary and trust issues. It's not novel, or interesting, it's just dull and done to death. People liked those Bourne movie back in the early 2000's, because they were all gritty and realistic, it seems like Bond is still stuck in that period, and everyone else has moved on. We used to get darker superhero films like Dark knight, Watchmen, Man of Steel, now we have lighthearted Aquaman and Wonder Woman.
This is your view on things, I'm pretty sure not everyone shares your opinion.
The only reason so many actors want to play the part and distinctly different ones before 2006 is Craig's portrayal.
Your boyfriend wouldn't wanting to play it like Pierce pretty sure of that and no the Scientologist hasn't usurped Bond at all.
We certainly don't want your director of choice at the helm as well after that nonsensical bollocks he put out last year.
Its dull to you, I hate Spectre, I make no secret of it but other than that, I've been more than happy with this era, most certainly leaves heated over Moore era of the Transatlantic one in the shade and that includes GE, possibly one the most overrated films of the series since GF.
Skyfall will cast a long shadow over Bond and just because broken records like you churning out same old rhetoric are around doesn't mean that the rest of us are beating the same old tired drum.
So go and watch that vile Scientologist in his next Mission not so impossible if you don't like what this series is giving you because Barbara Broccoli has made a great success of the last 15 years of Bond and I believe she is in control and the last thing she wants to do is make lighthearted capers again like you seem to so want.
Hear hear! =D>
I hated the Brosnan era with a passion, and never want Bond return to what drivel we were given back then. To me the franchise gave us its best films in the 60's, it dropped off in the 70's, resurged briefly by the end of the 80's (although I know not everyone is a Dalton fan), and then dropped off a cliff in the 90's until 2005, when Craig arrived on the scene. He has made Bond cool again.
I enjoy both Bond and Mission, myself.
Less of the so called 'naval gazing' and to a fun, rip roaring spy adventure. I'm not talking the nonsense of DAD, but something more in line with TB or TSWLM. Films are trending away from the more somber elements now. Craig's films have done a great job with this (well two of them did) and they fit the times well, but a change of actor needs a refresh creatively, too.
Growing up I always viewed the franchise as family entertainment that anyone can watch. After goldfinger, every 6 year old wanted a corgi Aston Martin, and as a boy I would watching Bond marathons and pretend to be Moore or Brosnan. What does a young kid today get from watching Skyfall today, what memorable scenes do they want to replicate with their friends? The baddie taking out his teeth and his face falling apart?
To be blunt, these movies aren't made for everyone anymore and that's a sad fact. They are made for Hollywood liberals approval of out of touch elites. No wonder it's considered a franchise for old people now, what could possibly trigger a young imagination any less than two fogies looking across a moor. Deconstructing Bond has no purpose other than for Barbara to show off to her Guardian reading elitist chums.
And all people like me have heard for the past 15 years is how this era is the best thing since sliced bread, and so much better than those old dusty, rubbish movies from the 70's. In reality your average Roger Moore outing is more inventive and suspenseful than the entire Craig arc altogether. Which is not to say that Cubby never made any mistakes either. There are duds in the original movies, but even a Diamonds Are Forever or Moonraker is still highly enjoyable despite its flaws because it's only mission statement is to make you smile. That's it. And there is a wonderful earnest quality to it, whereas with Quantum of Solace or Spectre not only are they bad but they have a self-seriousness, pretentiousness which just sours the whole experience. Why the need for so many hearings and grand councils adjourned, M interrogated by her seniors, huh? It's a bloody Bond caper for heavens sake!
Yet you like nonsensical pretentious nonsense like Tenet, kind of at odds here aren't or are you going to tell me that Tenet was an enjoyable frothy little caper?
I like Nolan a lot well not Tenet and Interstellar but his films aren't much removed from the DC Bond era, in their tone and seriousness
I said heated over Moore, I wasn't referring to Rog's films, (I'm not their biggest fan though) I meant Brosnan's films.
The DC films repositioned the series, it needed to be done if they'd have continued with anything more with Pierce after DAD however much they'd tamed the OTT business down like MR - FYEO it wouldn't have worked.
His Bond was cast and trying to make him more serious and not so jokey just wouldn't have convinced, the same as if Dalton had suddenly become all jokey with his proposed 3rd film.
They tried it with Spectre with Craig and didn't work.
I really don't see them moving much too far away from what they've established, especially with BB who you so obviously hate being in charge.
So suck it up or move on, MI seems much more your bag anyway.
I agree and disagree with you both on this. I think that some of what was done in the Craig era was necessary, just to keep with cinematic trends, if not for anything else. And it may be these new elements that helped push Bond back to the top of the mainstream.
I do think EON have taken it a bit far, on occasion though. The male fantasy element that Mendes4lyfe mentioned is something that has been lost from Bond, and I believe it needs to be returned in the next actors era. I'm not talking about full bore, DAD stuff, but slightly lighter fare would be appreciated. From me, at least.
To be fair, it's the fans here asking for more scenes of him sitting in his flat, making scrambled eggs, sitting around the office doing nothing etc. rather than the film producers.