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The Biggest Flaw of the James Bond Series
I love 007 as much as anyone else on this forum. But I will say that the series is not perfect and that the series runs into some constant problems throughout its long life. Obviously it is a successful series since it has gone on for so long, but there must be some elements that the series finds weakness in.
I frame this as a question to everyone, and hopefully no one will be offended by it. What do you think is the biggest shortcoming in the franchise as a whole?
In my opinion, the series' biggest problem is that they suffer from being too long. On the whole, they run on for just way too long. Like, way too long. Spectre, the latest, clocked in at 156 minutes - 36 minutes too long. The Bond films should be under two hours long in my opinion - they should hold your attention for those two hours on screen, then end, having fully entertained you. If they go longer, they usually run out of steam towards the end.
Anyone have other opinions, or think that the Bond series is perfect and that it faces no running problems?
I frame this as a question to everyone, and hopefully no one will be offended by it. What do you think is the biggest shortcoming in the franchise as a whole?
In my opinion, the series' biggest problem is that they suffer from being too long. On the whole, they run on for just way too long. Like, way too long. Spectre, the latest, clocked in at 156 minutes - 36 minutes too long. The Bond films should be under two hours long in my opinion - they should hold your attention for those two hours on screen, then end, having fully entertained you. If they go longer, they usually run out of steam towards the end.
Anyone have other opinions, or think that the Bond series is perfect and that it faces no running problems?
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Comments
You can't just say 2 hours is the perfect running time.
There is at least one PERFECT BOND MOVIE and that is From Russia With Love.
I wish BB would try to go there with the next actor, or Craig for that matter.
It can be done, just hire some decent writers.
This resulted in too many of the entries feeling either horribly dated or just becoming pastiches of their time.
MR is the one usually singled out as 'trying to cash in on film trends', but there are plenty of others.
DAF started this I think, it was just trying to be a 1970 U.S movie for most of it's second half, and it looks awfully tacky as a result.
LALD & TMWTGG are the worst offenders. Faux-Blaxploitation and Kung Fu silliness ruins those films for me.
LTK echoes the action machismo of mid to late 80's cinema, but luckily a superb Dalton saves that movie.
CR integrated the bare knuckled Bourne-style well, but the parkour stuff is just stupid and has no place in a James Bond film. QoS has too much Bourne Supremacy going on for my liking. Even the final scene is almost a copy...
SF's Dark Knight rip-off never did it for me either.
The biggest flaw is the continuity problem between YOLT and OHMSS.
MR is probably the best example of them all. But at least that one was comedic and fun, and that has a timeless quality.
But SF and LALD certainly suffer immensely. While LALD is re-watchable for the comedic elements, SF is a dreary and drab affair with a stupid Joker rip-off.
I don't see any Bourne in CR, but QOS certainly suffers greatly from that trend. QOS is the one Bond movie with the most wasted potential. It could have been the FRWL of our times with only a few changes.
I find SF and SP to rattle by far quicker than the likes of TB and TMWTGG.
In any event to say it's the series biggest flaw is a bit excessive given for most of the series the average running time is around 2 hours 10 mins.
There's only OHMSS, CR, SF and SP that have gone significantly over the 2 hour mark and given OHMSS and CR are two of the best films in the series and SF and SP despite their flaws are still pretty solid top half entries perhaps we should be wishing for longer running times?
The fact is if you have a good an engaging script the runnng time is irrelevant. DN and FRWL have two of the shortest running times yet are two of the best so what does running time prove? To quote Edwin Starr 'Absolutely nothing'.
I'll admit quite a lot of Bond films run out of steam by the 3rd act but that's a different debate to running time.
Duh! Blofeld did not recognize Bond because it was George Lazenby dressed as Sir Hilary instead of Sean Connery.
This right here.
It's certainly one of the major ones, yes.
Err it already has. Need I remind you about the Oberhauser fiasco?
It could certainly be regarded as an unwanted distraction, yes.
And the general audience for sure doesn't know enough (if anything) about Blofeld of the past.
How true :))
Isn't that 2 flaws?
Well who's counting? ;)
Purvis & Wade are counting the £££ all the way to the bank.
I believe they are a single entity posting as two humans. Its origin is unknown, but I suspect from an alternate universe where hell is a real region on Earth. Its goal is to create havoc amongst the cinephiles.
Originally their plan was to derail the franchise by putting a spell on Babs, so she got the hots for the most unlikely candidate for Bond, Daniel Craig.
When she casted Craig against the will of all others, P+W thought they had succeeded in destroying the franchise, the plan almost worked.
Only Martin Campbell saved the franchise by molding Daniel Craig into Bond. Rumour has it Martin Campbell was possessed by the time he directed Casino Royale by another, good entity from the alternate universe to make sure, P+W plan was foiled.
According to Michael G. Wilson, that is always the goal when they set out to make the next Bond film:
I'd love to see them go back to the template of Dr. No and From Russia With Love, but it would take a brave studio and distributor to allow that to move forward. I can't see MGM doing it, since Bond is about the only thing keeping them afloat.
I'm also not sure I'd agree with the premise that Bond films should be 2 hours or less. Now, on average, they should probably even out to that over the course of the franchise, as not every film should be a behemoth 2.5-3 hour ordeal, but that's certainly OK every once in a while, provided the film is solid and the story requires that amount of time to tell. It barely worked with Casino Royale (they could have axed an entire action set piece from the first half and been fine) and then it worked out pretty well for On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Skyfall, so there are instances of longer Bond films being worthwhile ventures. After Spectre, though, I want them to go back to a leaner, meaner film. They tried to stretch a flimsy story way too far in the last one and it didn't do them any favors. The next film should take the opposite approach, unless they can find something really interesting to do with Fleming's You Only Live Twice.
I agree running time depends on the film and what the script is trying to convey. SF gives an entirely different vibe to SP. Whereas SF's length feels appropriate SP feels like it goes on too long for a fun escapist film.
Some films just could be better if they were cut down a little. Some of the scenes in Afghanistan in TLD could be trimmed. OP definitely felt like it went on for way too long somewhere in Germany. And TB and TMWTGG definitely drag.
I will get shot for this as I once did previously but the Piz Gloria section of OHMSS definitely goes on too long.
The only film that should have been longer is QOS. So I am of the belief that Bond films should thrill you and give you your money's worth, then end. But some films can sustain a long running time quite well, so yes, as you say, it all depends.
If I were to rank the films suspense-wise:
1. LTK
2. CR
3. DN
4. FRWL
5. OP (only because of the Germany section)
6. ehhhh not much else.
Maybe in between blowing stuff up on screen EON should dedicate time to atmosphere and build-up so that there is pay-off for those explosions.
wait for it....
There has never been a perfect James Bond film.
Yes, there's FRWL, GF, and some would argue a few others, but no Bond film was ever so spectacularly & singularly excellent in all cinematic aspects that it by definition of its supreme excellence puts all others to shame. The death of a film series is when it makes 'the perfect' film out of the gate and the sequels become poor copies and/or obvious cash grabs as they go on.
The books were like this as well... evolving and imperfect... much of their charm is in the pulp fiction aspect...
If any Bond film were to win an Oscar for best picture, the end of the franchise would be mere years away.
Of course it is suspenseful. It is very suspenseful. It is also one scene in an otherwise mostly suspenseless movie, IMO.
Many of the films have some element of suspense but usually they are restricted to one or a few scenes only. For example, FYEO has a few - fight at the warehouse and car kick, underwater retrieval of ATAC, keelhauling and rock climbing scene. But they do not contribute to an overall level of suspense, not like all the fantastic build-up to the bomb in OP, for example. Everyone held their breath as Bond defused that warhead.
There probably aren't many or any truly suspenseless films in the canon. But there was little suspense in SP I thought.
What about the actual finale of GF, with Bond attached to the bomb in the vaults of Fort Knox. Timer ticking down, a fight with a deadly henchmen. It's much more suspenseful than a lot of Bond films. At least I thought it was. Cracking third act.
But that doesn't really put GF above most of the others necessarily because there is usually the countdown in the climax anyway. All of DN, YOLT, TSWLM, MR, OP, AVTAK, GE, TND and TWINE all have big countdowns as well.
But yes I do agree that the fight at Fort Knox was good and a better final act than most of its competition. That doesn't mean in terms of suspense I put it as one of the highest. There still isn't as much suspense as even FYEO for example.