Keeping up with the times - is it really a good thing?

w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
in Bond Movies Posts: 2,252
One thing often heard in the process of Bond filmmaking is that the producers are always "keeping up with the times". The most notable examples are Live and Let Die (Blaxploitation), Golden Gun (Martial arts) and Moonraker (Star Wars). More recently world issues have crept into the Bond films - Quantum of Solace (resources) and Spectre (global surveillance).

Most articles claim the producers have adapted and stayed modern by using current issues in the films and is often used as praise to indicate the Bond films are remaining contemporary. While this is true, why can't the producers think outside the box and become the trendsetter again instead of trend follower?

I'm afraid the answer could simply lie from a financial perspective - the studios do not want to gamble on something unique in case it backfires, whereas following the most popular trends at the time is a much safer path. This is quite evident in the choice of theme song artist since the mid-80's which have had increased studio input.

It may not happen for some time, and almost certainly not while Craig is still Bond, but what about a return to the outlandish? He does not have to go into space, but what about a Ken Adam style lair or iconic henchman? Perhaps modern audiences "do not go for that anymore" but there are some more unconventional ways to go forward, such as Bond driving a Bentley

Comments

  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,402
    Bond should get back to his thriller roots.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited March 2016 Posts: 1,984
    Bond has always kept up with its time, but the difference is that as of right now, it isn't piggybacking on cultural phenomena to the same degree as in the 70's (the 90's came close, though).
  • Posts: 4,325
    The Bonds always seem to be one step behind. DAD's editing style - speed ramping etc. - was very much the zeitgeist post Matrix. CR and QoS follow in the wake of the Bournes. SF and SP follow in the footsteps of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and the serialization of the recent onslaught of comic book adaptations.

    In the 70s, TMWTGG is in the wake of the Bruce Lee/Kung Fu phase, LALD is in the wake of Blaxploitaion films - Shaft etc. And Moonraker was in the wake of the enormously successful Star Wars and Close Encounters.

    BB and MGW have always started their planning with 'what's the threat in the world'. Hence a Rupert Murdoch type in TND, oil is the basis of the plot in TWINE.
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