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Thank you @peter, I greatly appreciate that. I try to be a bit level headed and take everyone’s views and opinions into consideration when it comes to these types of discussions, because the great thing about Bond is that what doesn’t work for one person works incredibly well for another. One version doesn’t invalidate the other. Craig doesn’t invalidate Connery, Moore, or the others for me, because (I say this a lot) I love each actor and what they each brought to Bond.
I love watching Pierce Brosnan mow his way through faceless guards with a machine gun. Is it over the top? Absolutely. Is it realistic? Not in the slightest. Does it scream Fleming? Absolutely Not, but it’s still James Bond to me. I loved watching all the intimate moments Craig had throughout his tenure, especially the scenes with his daughter in NTTD, it’s a new step for the character, but it’s still James Bond to me. Watching Craig’s Bond die at the end of NTTD is not enough to derail my love for the series and the character, a love that goes back to 2004 when I was just 7.
After Die Another Day, the formula had to be put away for quite some time, because you’re 100% correct, Bond would’ve died if things kept going like that. But as you said, I think enough water has passed under the bridge to bring the formula back. Not that I’m opposed to another connective story arc, because if they do decide to go for that, I hope they plan things out from the start and have a clear direction of where to go from there, but I also miss the episodic feel of the first 20 films.
For now however, I’m optimistic for the future of Bond. It’s been 60 years since Dr. No, we as fans are getting so many announcements and goodies to hold us over until the next actor comes in, and we can all finally book mark and celebrate the end of an era that has redefined Bond for modern audiences. Bond Fans are truly eating good.
Because they do this on the fly.
It worked for me in the first two (very well, actually), but then the script-by-committee/we're so clever(not) s**t crept in.
I'll be honest I don't really understand your last comment, but all I'll say is that Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time To Die are the films that fully cement the reboot. The theory that Casino and Quantum could've been prequels to the franchise were thwarted as soon as Skyfall was released.
Sorry,
Skyfall sucked. Kill a character save a franchise.
SPECTRE was fun, but it sucked. Twist a past, rejuvenate a threat.
NTTD sucked. Kill the protagonist, rake in the bucks.
The next movie will make boatloads of dough because of curiosity. All according to plan.
They used to be interested in entertaining folks too. Now it's more of a business than ever.
As a whole, the Craig era was a critical and financial smash. It couldn't do both if it wasn't entertaining. To me, what the era also brought to the table was a level of depth, of character and of filmmaking. These were four filmmakers at the top of their game, even if the scripts (at times) left a lot to be desired. It was a terrific ride.
I must respect your opinion as well. As I have stated many times I enjoy Batman & Robin immensely even though the conventional wisdom is that it sucked. Never take anything I angrily rant about all that seriously. Even if I'm serious. This is the internet. ;)
SF and SP don't really have plots in the traditional sense, there's a sense of randomness in these movies, and Mendes seems like he tries to cover up the lack of narrative with tryhard iconic images and lots of long shots of Bond looking moody and walking through empty locations. IMO these movies are lifeless, joyless slogs and there isn't any real depth to them, either. Madeline babbling about "two Jameses" gives the appearance of depth but has no relevance to the actual story. And making MI6 Bond's adoptive family in SF was just weird. Bond isn't looking for family at MI6, he's looking for adventure. Fleming's character has no interest in staying home. MI6 as his family is the last thing he wants. I'm not against the Bond series doing new things but Skyfall did things that don't belong in Bond movies.
As for NTTD, well I see it as basically Bond succumbing to modern filmmaking trends, and it's clear that it was constructed to see Craig's death wish through. I'd like to ask him why he wanted to kill his character to begin with, and why BB and MGW went with it. All this strikes me as a series that doesn't have any story left to tell and nothing more for its protagonist to do but be perpetually at war with himself. I expect this trend to continue with the next reboot (ugh).
Give ME 100 million dollars & let ME make it up as I go, and I guarantee you a better product.
To hell the whole film is footed in Fleming.
Kill Severine, kill M. Two birds with one sexist mentality stone.
That he could have saved them both if not for his self-indulgent wahh wahh.
Seriously, very seriously here, why do you need him to watch a film he knows he's gonna hate? I watched it out of curiosity knowing where it was going. And I hated it. And paid to hate it. Why ask him to waste $20 like I did?
If he hasn’t, then I can’t take him seriously regarding NTTD discussions. Also, I wasn’t asking him to watch the film, I’m simply asking if he finally has.
And SKYFALL is great. ;)
The formula *was* growing creaky. 1997-2002 prove this. They had nowhere else to go but to reboot.
Peter, you've hit on exactly what I just don't get about those who have this venomous, you ruined my life take on NTTD and I can't watch another film and how do you bring him back and all that.
By all means, discuss the film, but stop repeating the same whining points over and over and over again. I learned this the hard way by joining a Bond Facebook group and makes me wonder what some of these people do with the rest of their lives when they're not moaning about this film because it's all they seem to do. Put more energy into celebrating the Bond legacy and not just your perceived problems with one film.
Now pay attention, 007. We're issuing this device to all 00 personnel assigned to missions written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. It will save you in situations of bad writing. We call it "The Maibaum Device."
LOL!!! So funny....
That’s where you and I differ. I don’t mind seeing Bond fail. I don’t mind seeing Bond make mistakes that result in the death of others. Bond isn’t a superhero, or at least he shouldn’t be. For all his insane feats like surviving a bridge fall, he still fails to keep M alive.
If they were hellbent on not letting him STOP it, he should have been in emotional agony after Severine's death. No, scratch that- he should have gone berserk.
Oh, but she's a throwaway character so who cares.
Not US, I guess.
It was sheer crap, and everyone ate it up.
And of course everyone ate it up, it wasn’t a piece of crap like QOS after all. ;)
It was the tone, the timing & killing of a sex slave Bond just slept with hours before. F**K Me Too, eh?
Yes the idea of them making more Brosnan-style films makes me shiver. It seems odd to me that fans of a series would actually want it to become formulaic again. That’s usually a word used very much as a pejorative.