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I get that. Again, it'd be cool seeing the 00 section more in a future Bond film, as well as Bond's relationship with them. I'd watch it.
I had an idea not unlike this that I posted in a 'pitch your own Bond film' thread a while ago. The main premise was that 00 agents were going missing and essentially being brainwashed to reveal top secret information, or perhaps even be used to assassinate people (so think along the lines of TMWTGG or The Ipcress File). The villain would be revealed to have been an ex 00 agent himself (the previous 007 in fact) and was expelled from MI6 due to psychopathic behaviour, so in turn wants to destroy the 00 section.
If they pick a very young Bond and do another origin story, I would find it funny if they cast one of the guys who aged out of the role during the Craig run as a mentor. Or go really meta and have a Thunderball-type scene with a number of 00s silently in a circle and it's all the guys and girls that have been thrown around in the past. Cavill, Fassbender, Hardy, Elba, Emily Blunt, Hiddlestone, Page, hell get Clive Owen in there. That will never happen, but it would be pretty hilarious.
I don't blame you for saying that.
Having the same Q into the 90s wasn't really alarming though, as continuity wasn't in question. We were supposed to believe this Bond was the same as the others (I never believe this myself, but whatever).
However, it's more alarming when a cast member is retained across two different versions of Bond, where we know they are different men entirely with different histories and backgrounds. And I think the current cinematic era we're in holds continuity far higher than ever before, which is why I see it as a low chance that we have the same actors from era to era going forward.
Maybe it’s because he had a bigger part, but Hugh Dennis in NTTD distracted me even more than Madonna. Which is unfair really, because he is an actual actor (well, he’s done sitcoms). But he’s such a well known comedian here in the UK that I found it impossible not to see Hugh Dennis, and instead of being wrapped up in the scene, I was just sat there wondering how he ended up getting the role.
I mean, I didn't even know Dennis's background until you mentioned that, but even still, he did a great job in his moments and delivered a very good performance and gave to the scenes what they needed while blending in well, which is the whole point of having an actor in a role. Madonna on the other hand was a celebrity cameo that was very much there to say, "Hey, we not only got her to do our crappy theme song, but Madonna is also in this film too. See?!" And it just comes off as so sloppy and indulgent, as she adds nothing to the film and is in a very unimportant scene that didn't need her in it.
At least the part Dennis plays sets up the big threat for NTTD and introduces the stakes Bond is facing. Furthermore, his death at the hands of Safin's men shows just how far they're willing to go to get what they want, which comes together to set a strong tone for the rest of the film.
The current MI6 staff is top shelf, it would be great to see all of them again.
And I'm open to the possibilities. Quite a moment in time for the franchise to relish as it plays out.
Don't know why I hadn't thought of it before but watching Operation Mincemeat I think Matthew Macfadyen would be a good choice, depending on who they cast as Bond of course, they might have to skew older like the traditional 38 of Bond with him already being 47. But he has the greying at the temples, I can believe he was a sapper and he's still able to play things meekly.
And next to the other Mister Darcy maybe we could have Firth as the first M who is genuinely smoking 🔥😂
Unless you're actually going to have the friendship between Tanner and Bond on display, there's no reason to include him as the exposition stuff could easily be handled by M or Moneypenny.
The most frustrating thing about Tanner is that from SF onwards he truly seems to only exist to show that Bond (or other characters at times, even) is so much braver, smarter, capable, competent and all around more useful than he could ever be. You have moments like in SF where Tanner truly seems to cower in fear when Silva is attacking M, instead of standing up and protecting her from certain death (which would've been a great character moment for him). Instead, it's Mallory who must step up and stand against Silva. Or in SP where Tanner warns Bond to watch his step because of how slippery the entrance to the new MI6 HQ is (implying he's already fallen in that spot), only for Bond to give him a dismissive look and stride onward unimpeded. He always just comes off as so feckless and borderline bumbling, which is just a disgrace to the name he's been given.
Tanner gets moments to rattle off mission exposition and info on relevant characters and plot details to push the action along, which is fine, but that's truly the only utility he has, and that's a waste of a character. He should've just been another character entirely, much like Villiers in CR. That way we wouldn't have to compare him to the Tanner of the novels, who is an actual character and not just a bad comedic device of embarrassment. Kind of bemusing that they decided to even bother naming him after a character he is such a far cry from, especially since he and Bond have the weakest relationship out of any of the MI6 crew, when they should have the strongest bond in order for it to be faithful to the source.
I'm a fan of Michael Kitchen's Tanner personally. The guy looked constantly dishevelled/stressed but had this nice chemistry and familiarity with Brosnan's Bond. Sure, he was thoroughly embarrassed by M during the 'Queen of numbers' moment but he wasn't bumbling or incompetent.
Tanner quickly became an exposition-bot in the Craig era.
I think, because of the success of CR and SF (and perhaps SP), we are destined to keep getting character re-introductions as dramatic moments within the series. I can see the producers salivating in Bond 26, "How do we surprise the audience with the new Moneypenny?" etc.
A Tanner in a future instalment could work. They'll have to strengthen his relationship with Bond and get him more involved in the plot though. I know in the Fleming novels he's depicted as being slightly older than Bond but not much so, and reading between the lines he was a Colonel and seems to have shown a level of courage, competence and patriotism during the war. The main difference between him and Bond is that he's not inherently drawn towards the danger of the spy game and has instead chosen a quieter life with kids, the desk job and golf at weekends. Perhaps it'd be more interesting to see a new incarnation of the character sticking up for Bond more, perhaps even defending his actions to a new M initially. Can see someone like Kingsley Ben-Adir playing it who would likely be a similar age to the new 007 actor and has even been brought up by some as a potential Bond.
I wouldn’t be against it. It seems to me they wanted a Villiers/Tanner figure for Judi Dench to play against and due to there being no Q and no Moneypenny she had more of a role and needed a partner. By the time they bring in Whishaw and Harris, Kinnear is more well known actor, SF happens to have a story that is very focussed on the internals of MI6 and Whitehall, so you can’t really drop him there and suddenly you have Kinnear, Whishaw, Harris and Fiennes on hand for what are basically three bit parts.
CR and QoS worked just fine without them, didn't it?
That’s one current trend that I see EON following for a while. For better or worse, it is a movie series trend now. It’s how they do it that will make it work. I could see some reintroduced characters from the books and movies make an appearance in the next couple of Bond movies. Blofeld, Goldfinger, Trevelyan etc. If it’s another origin story, I would like to see Charmian Bond and May finally get their film introduction. Also, if they go that route, I would like to see EON take inspiration from Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson’s Bond 15 origin story. There is some great story beats in that screenplay.