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Wanting Bond to fail ? Wanting the villain to win ?...Moments you felt "Anti 007".

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Comments

  • CowleyCowley
    Posts: 486
    I can't say there's ever been an occasion in which I've wanted a villain to succeed but one of the great things about Sanchez (imho the best non Fleming villain of the film series) is that there are moments in which Davi's performance elicits sympathy.

    The sense of hurt and disappointment at Krest's betrayal (which of course wasn't the case and engineered by Bond) and Sanchez's deflated questioning of Bond afterwards is palpable.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited January 2017 Posts: 15,423
    I again didn't feel any sympathy towards Sanchez. He's not just an antagonist. He's a villain who wants power and glory just like any other Bond villain. Head of what used to be one of the largest crime syndicates in the world, or at least the western world. Viciously kills and revels in it, and enjoys distributing poison for the people. He's no more sympathetic than Goldfinger or Blofeld. And like them, he's power-hungry which he tended to achieve at all costs. Even if it meant sacrificing his men.

    I think I can in a way sympathize with Alec who didn't go for power for the glory, but for the revenge after what's done to his people (even though they're ruthless and got what they deserved) and especially parents. That Janus revelation scene was quite something.

    Antagonists however are the ones like Hugo Drax (the film version of course, as the novel version was downright bastard of a villain) who thought they were heroes and wanted to "do the world good by correcting it". They didn't think they were villains and weren't in it for themselves.
  • CowleyCowley
    Posts: 486
    Surely that's sympathising with the villain's motive than their actual character though?

    In the context of real life I find it easier to sympathise with someone whom shows the hurt of betrayal of his allies (loyalty being a key theme of the film) which is a genuine human emotion rather than a cold character like Drax whom wants to wipe out the entire human population.

    That said Drax is a great villain too with wonderful deadpan delivery from Lonsdale.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I feel sympathetic towards Elektra. A fine looking woman can get away with more.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited January 2017 Posts: 15,423
    Oh... well if you put it that way, then no, I haven't felt sympathy for any of the villains' personal losses in Bond films... as in when they're betrayed, their henchmen killed, etc...

    Even though Alec was an enemy of the west, depending on your point of view, I do feel sorry for him to see his father kill his mother and then take his own life before little Alec's eyes... And with him brought up in the hands of the people he hated all along, the same people who betrayed his own, the enemy, while the desire for revenge growing inside, I can feel what has he been through... Can't say the same for Silva (who was given a similar motive), though, who has been putting his nose where it didn't belong and sniffing sensitivity with no righteousness.

    And agreed about Drax. He's an outstanding villain as is the actor who delivered the frightening portrait of the character right on the spot.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited January 2017 Posts: 45,489
    And how about Scaramanga, the original Elephant Boy? Poor kid, no wonder he turned to the dark side.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Scaramanga didn't have to go through tragedy earlier in his life as far as I know. He just chose the easy way to better life: Killing for money.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    I thought of interpreting the thread a bit differently by thinking about moments when I wanted the villain to be stronger in comparison to Bond. I think a good Bond film is like a good football match. It must be a tight competition. Otherwise it is uninteresting. Of course there are quite many people who prefer a very clear victory for their favourite team but I actually prefer the close matches.

    And I think that is also why I want my favourite character in the Bond universe (James Bond) not to succeed in a very obvious way but have him struggle. This means that his antagonist must have equal skills. It must be an equal and very close match between the two. Hence, each time the villain is too weak compared to Bond I feel a bit anti-Bond and want either the villain to be stronger or Bond to be a bit weaker.

  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,588
    I thought Bond could have persuaded Fiona Volpe to turn in TB. She would have followed him to the end of the earth after the night they had together. I don't know if I wanted Bond to "fail," but I sometimes wish he had saved Fiona rather than place her in front of a bullet.
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