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
Other than Spectre I would say Casino Royale has more humour than the other Craig films. I thought CR had a lot of humour in it, just that it was less "in your face" or OTT humour.
CR is hilarious in parts, it's just masked by the gut punch at the end. There are loads of great quips and throwaway lines. They aren't 'gags', but they're very funny.
I think what sets the humour from the Craig films apart from, let's say the Moore-era, is the fact that they are much more part of the circumstances. If it's Daniel Craig running through a wall in CR, or Daniel Le Chiffre torturing him in CR, or Daniel jumping on a train in SF, or Daniel falling on a sofa in the PTS of SP, or Daniel 'trying out' Q's buttons in the car he stole from 009.......Daniel Craig never really utters a true Moore one-liner. Moore was the man who could do that, Brosnan failed by copying Moore, and Craig wisely avoids copying. I think it's just the combination of events combined with Craig's wonderful, "street-style", natural & mostly silent acting.
And even if he reacts, it's never like a true Moore-one-liner. Examples:
--> b]Bond is bedazzled when he just walked through a wall[/b ("Casino Royale", no need to put your pants straight)
--> "Now the whole world is going to know you died scratching my balls!" ("Casino Royale", not something Roger Moore or Brosnan would have said)
--> "Dammit, he killed him!" ("Quantum Of Solace", 'M' reacting to the strain of kills 007 leaves behind)
--> "OOOOpen the Door!" ("Skyfall", when the train driver looks at Bond in astonishment)
--> "Hmmm....what makes you think this is my first time??" ("Skyfall", and Silva responds "Ooowh Mr Bond!", adding even more humour)
--> b]Bond looks around in astonishment when he falls on a sofa after the building collapsed[/b ("SPECTRE", you hear him thinking "WTF")
--> "Sono Topolino!", b]Bond shows the S.P.E.C.T.R.E.-ring[/b ("SPECTRE", not really a Moore-one-liner. It's something only Craig would say)
--> "Oooowh noooo!", b]Bond pushes the button and hears 009's music choice[/b ("SPECTRE", not to mention other events that 'happen' to 007 during the chase)
Brosnan didn't fail at all and he didn't copy Moore. You just don't like him.
Craig in SP does the Moore and the Brosnan perfectly, especially as he mixes it splendidly with his own style.
It's just my opinion ;-). I feel Craig's humour, very slowly re-introduced and slightly increased over the course of 4 films, feels way more natural to me.
I mean......
James Bond in "Tomorrow Never Dies": "I would have thought watching your TV shows was torture enough." b]putting up a self-fulfilling smile, like he thinks he's funny[/b
Did not work for me. Not at all.
I originally felt Craig did the same thing on my first watch of SP (and said so negatively here). On my 2nd watch however, I realized this is 'all Craig....all the way'. It's just a bit jarring, given how he's played it before (so one's initial thoughts/memories are of Moore - since he is known as the 'humorous Bond'). The difference is that his characterization is still 'Daniel Craig' with his own brand of sarcasm.......just a little more flippant than before. It's a subtle difference, but noticeable...
I'm truly clueless everytime I hear someone call him/herself a Bond fan while even considering not watching the latest film!
Interesting points @TripAces, here's my two cents:
1. I don't think ESB was planning of killing JB and MS, he wanted them dead and the occasion presented itself after Hinx didn't succeed.
2. Interesting and possible, at the time I thought it might be a reference to the duality of Bond's own personality: the ruthless assassin vs the seductive and even caring man.
3. Totally agree! Actually, after watching the film I think the title song might actually be written in Madeleine's POV, not Bond's.
Yep, I fully agree with you there :-).
You don't have to like it of course.
There are enough people who like/liked those movies and the humour in it.
As for Craig, he finally is the proper full Bond character many of us long wanted.
Thanks to Mendes everything worked out very well in Spectre. Another director may not have been able to tickle one of the greatest Bond performances ever out of Craig.
@Sandy
It is definitely open to interpretation. In an earlier post I mentioned the scene when Bond finds ESB behind the bulletproof glass. As they talk, we see ESB's reflection superimposed over Bond's face. It's a terrific shot. This is why Madeleine's line resonated with me the second time I saw the film.
Me too. Bonkers.
It's plaster board. Bond could see it was, so could I. He ran through it because plasterboard is that fragile. He breaks through the same thing in SP to reveal the hidden room at L'Americain. The joke is that running through it saves time and is in contrast to the other guy's fancy jump through the window.
I said "old" Bond fan. I'm nearly 50 yrs old & started watching Bond movies at a very young age -- younger than I should have been allowed. In fact, unlike most Bond fans, I can't even tell you what my first Bond movie was that I watched on TV. I was so young that those old Connery Bonds all ran together for me in my young mind. I just remembering knowing who the character was & being enthralled with the imagery. TSWLM was the first I saw in the cinema. At 10 yrs old, I loved it.
As I got older, I found them to be getting too silly & losing the balance (hated AVTAK). Enjoyed the Dalton era but then TWINE was the last one I really liked (though, like all Bond movies, it had problems). I thought DAD was ridiculous. Then the Craig era went too far the other way. I didn't like CR giving us a back story. I like Bond as a mystery. SF pushed it even further & gave us a boring melodrama on top of that. That was it for me.
For me, MI took over from Bond in 2012. Ghost Protocol was one of the best "Bond" movies ever. ;-) (And Rogue Nation was pretty darn good too!) I'm now more a fan of that series.
I had no intention of seeing SP. However, as I mentioned in my last post, hearing that SP was "classic Bond" caused me to come to this forum to hear what others are saying. I know that a *Craig* classic Bond wouldn't be too silly -- but, also, if *truly* classic, it also won't be a brooding melodrama like SF. Thus, I'm now thinking of seeing SP & giving Bond another chance. I'd love for him to regain his throne from MI for me.
I have to agree that the third act fell flat and dragged on a bit too long, though I did genuinely forget about EST's scar, so that was a nice surprise at the end when he turned around.
I know that there are more Bond references in this than you can poke a stick at, but honestly, the film didn't feel that Bond-like to me at all. I just sat there thinking, I know all these people are in a Bond film, but this really doesn't feel like one to me at all. I can only assume that this is because the film is such a departure from the tone from CR, QoS and SF that the lightness and humourous moments really stood out to me. I think I laughed more in the first 30mins of the film than I did in the last three combined.
A much better score from Thomas Newman this time round, but I still can't help but wonder how much better the film would have been if they brought back David Arnold. I didn't particularly notice WOW during the title sequence, mostly because I hate octopus' and that was way too many tentacles for my stomach to handle.
And I couldn't help noticing that Christoph Waltz ankles got more screen time than Daniel Craig's bare chest. What happened to him saying 'of course I get my kit off'!?
So you are an ex-Bond fan (whatever that means) and a MI fan, not an old Bond fan. We have an thread for the so-called "original fans" whose first Bond in the theatre was Connery, those are the old fans. By the way, and the daughter and grandaughter of "originals" my first memory involving anyone apart from my family is Roger Moore in TSWLM title sequence, now THAT is definitely what I call too young.
- three times during the movie I removed myself from the film and thought 'this is beautiful, how do people hate this so much'
1. once during the PTS during the helicopter sequence when the music comes back, a great Bondian moment
2. Right after Hinx/Bond battle on the train - after the WOTW instrumental plays... everything from Madeline and Bond in the car to the theme over the train as it rolls through the desert. Love it.
3. All of the Palazzo scenes
- Plot-wise: I agree with how Blofeld's relationship with Bond is not needed, and simply Bond screwing with his plans suffices. More importantly is the speech M gave to C on when to not kill, and how it plays out with Bond on the bridge. Doesn't ruin it for me though.
- Ultimately I wish they scrapped everything in London and had Morocco as the final location. Used the cut London time to spend it on the 2 minutes we get of Bellucci and make her feel worth it. More time in the lair in Morocco + the escape could have lasted 10 minutes. Same ending.
Overall, after my first viewing, 8.5/10.... now... 7.5/10. I'll give it an 8.
"X-Bond fan", for me, implies I somehow have gone back on ever having been a fan. That's not the case. I'm still a fan of many Bond movies and I'm *open* to being a fan of the movies to come (if the balance is brought back). I just haven't liked the recent overly serious direction (any more than I liked the silly direction of the later Moore Bonds or DAD).
What I really want to see is the *balance* of a serious dramatic espionage thriller, fun action/adventure & bit of fantasy camp that most of the Connery Bonds had, aspects of the Dalton Bonds had and a couple of the Brosnan Bonds had -- though, admittedly, in this day, that "balance" should lean more toward the serious than it did in Bond days of old. From what I'm hearing, SP fits the bill -- hence my new found desire to see it. (However, "balance" does *not* mean sticking dumb/silly moments in an otherwise serious movie, ie FYEO -- I'm talking overall *tonal* balance.)
BTW, while I have recently enjoyed the MI movies more than Bond movies, I do think they lean a little too much to the silly side. I found the Benji character in Rogue Nation to be more annoying (ruining the action scenes) than humorous. The humor should be dry, witty & slightly sardonic. Somehow fuse the thrilling & inventive action set pieces and gadgets of Ghost Protocol (but without the cliche Bond plot) with the gritty drama of Casino Royale (but without the unwanted back story and the major plot faults) & you'd have my tonally perfect Bond movie with just the right & lightest touch of camp & humor.
This, people like to harp on the Craig era for being too serious, but they are full of tiny little humorous moments. He doesn't go around spouting one-liners left and right, the humor comes in more subtle ways. I've always enjoyed the "park my car" scene in Casino Royale. The humor isn't as pronounced, but it's always there.
Guess the dude likes action and hates talking in movies.
There was a moment where Hinx actually catches up with Bond and even pulled up beside him. Hinx didn't pull out his gun and start firing at Bond, he didn't ram into him or do any aggressive maneuvers to stop him. I didn't perceive any immediate threat. And then to make it worse, Bond decides to have an expository chat with Moneypenny mid chase. That didn't help create a sense of immediate danger either.
It's what made Marvel big, and made UNCLE flop ;)
Good point. I was wondering the same thing. What was Hinx hoping to accomplish? Get Bond to pull over from intimidation?
Oh no, there's a Brosnan fan working with you? How can you cope with such specimen? ;)
Didn t ask him anymore than that. We work while at work. We are not French.
Ha. Awesome.
Good post. One that mirrors my own thoughts. Especially the bit I highlighted above.