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He's certainly been the only one to ascend beyond the role, and become a serious partner in producing the films alongside EON. I know some don't like that, but because Dan was given so much decision making status and was heard when he spoke his mind, we got an era that was built for him, where he got to decide how his Bond would act, dress, etc. He feels dimensional because Dan was able to help build him that way. This is to say nothing of his staggering stunt work, which continues to blow my mind every time I watch the films. To know that it's him smashing through glass with a stunt partner or fighting on top of a moving train is simply mind-blowing to me, and it's unbelievable they allowed him to take the chance. He gave 120% every step, and made everyone else step up too when they saw how far he was willing to take it all.
Dan has just been so open and willing to work in this role, doing serious overtime in every respect, that his commitment staggers me every time I study or watch the films. It's a large part of why I don't look forward to a day where I talk about Dan as Bond in the past tense, as everything after him has a lot to live up to from every perspective. His level of commitment to each aspect of the role, from dressing Bond to doing the stunts, will be a tough act to match. I am not envious of the men who have to perform such a feat.
When I see Dan with Barbara and Michael out and about I don't think, "Oh, there's just business partners out for a dinner." They truly feel like a family, and you get the sense that they love and respect each other to the fullest degree. That's a very rare thing in show business, too rare. That's why I know the EON team will be sad to see Dan go, just as I will be. The difference is they had the privilege of watching him at work every day on set.
I was therefore ecstatic when the Dalton/Brosnan switchover finally took place (I had seen Brosnan in tv films like The Noble House and thought he had the capability to be a good Bond) and expected great things from the new man. Sadly, despite an excellent start in GE, he failed to deliver (in some parts because of him, and in many parts because of the producer's ineptitude post-Cubby).
I was quite concerned, like others, when I learned that this somewhat odd looking (my view only of course), shorter relative unknown had been cast as Bond in 2005. However, I was open to him, because I knew that the Brosnan run had descended into parody (and truth be told I actually was hoping he would be replaced after TWINE).
Craig of course delivered in the opening scene of CR, and went from strength to strength until the most recent outing (imho). However, I now feel that something is missing again, and I'm hoping for a return to more traditional Bond, with an actor who can bring the class, refinement and finesse back while still retaining the earthy qualities that Craig has brought to the character.
So as I've said before, I can live with one more Craig outing (as long as it's a standalone, which is highly unlikely), but I'd prefer someone new because I think we're ready for it after SP.
I wholeheartedly agree. I don't want to see films that are a retread of the formula. The stories of CR and the underrated QoS didn't require a Moneypenny or a Q, so they weren't there. That was so refreshing and radical.
Then Mendes came in and decided to go all retro, not only reintroducing tired characters but giving them even more screen time. And then he ended SF in the same place as any '60s-'80s Bond, effectively erasing the progress made in CR and QoS.
With SP, Mendes had some good ideas--the Mr. White death scene, Madeleine with her "wing down" in L'Americain--but these are surrounded by utter shite.
The much more original CR was on the right track, but Mendes cocked it up with SF and worse with SP.
While I viewed it 13 times alone at the cinema, I have only watched it another 5 times on Blu-ray and the last time was October 8th, 2016.
Because every time I watch it I think...oh Dear...now it can only go downwards no matter which one I pop in next.
Same applies to OHMSS which is my Christmas/Special Occasion film.
All the 60s and 70s Bonds are still more or less iconic. What came after just isn t. I am not talking about quality here. Also, Bernard Lee left a huge void after him.
Probably because he was "my" first M, but even without the nostalgia factor, Robert Brown was a worthy successor in my humble opinion.
It certainly is, but I too liked him. Second best for me, and that is good enough. We will never have another Lee. He was straight out of the pages of Fleming.
It also signifies the last film by Saltzman whom also had a stamp on the films.
Shockingly, I heavily disrespected Hargreaves/Brown's M. In two consecutive films he showed such a lack of good sense and pragmatic thought, and was a complete ass to Bond at every turn on top of it. In one big moment in TLD and LTK each I wish I could race through the screen and punch him, sometimes like Bond looks like he wants to.
I just tell myself Brown's take was written to be a bad leader to contrast with the perfect Lee M, who for all his faults never treated Bond as if he wasn't his equal, and who always cared about his agent's perspective and worries about a mission. Brown's M only wanted "yes" men, and it's clear to see why Bond tires of his "rules" by LTK, with signs of his exhaustion present even in TLD.
1. Ursula Andress is too masculine-looking for my tastes. I've never considered her "sexy."
2. Dr. No, as a whole, feels like a test run. It's a mediocre film, until the final act.
3. I've never understood the appeal of Honor Blackman, either: see #1. Same thing. But to her credit: she has aged very well.
4. I'm sorry: nothing worse than seeing James Bond in a kilt in OHMSS. In fact, much of the wardrobe in the film is awful.
5. Lazenby was not a good Bond and OHMSS suffered because of it. Thank God for Barry's score and Wally Bogner's ski sequences. They helped save the film.
6. DAF is so bad that it's good. I can't say the same for MR and FYEO.
7. MR is by far the worst film in the series; and it's not just a bad Bond film. It's a bad film, period. If EON wanted to make camp, they needed John Watters or Roger Corman to direct it. Actually, Corman could have taken this material and done it right.
8. FYEO: Winner: worst scored Bond film. Bill Conti was out of his depths here. The music is so bad during the ski chase that it needs to be muted.
9. OP: Best post-title sequence. Gotta love a clown being chased through the woods.
10. In retrospect, LTK is better than TLD. Benicio del Toro's presence in the film might have something to do with that.
I'm assuming that when the Fast & Furious franchise reaches 24 films, Vin Diesel and co will be racing their muscle cars around the rings of Saturn.....
First one I enjoyed but 2 Fast was dull.
You're lucky. I unfortunately saw the last one.... :-S
You really should sit through the following few movies, the franchise takes a completely different turn and becomes a different beast entirely. Now they're grandiose heist films, of a sort.
I think of them as a bit like the Saw movies. The first one was enjoyable but they soon become a bit of a cash-cow.
I suppose at the heart of them, they all are driven by a major heist, or brutal revenge, but the films have become something completely different from the first three. I'm not crazy about the fourth installment but it's definitely when the series started to become the massive juggernaut it is now. It's worth sifting through those earlier installments to see what the newer titles have in store.
Ok well I may just do that.
That would be nice to have again, at least a couple times. TLD is literally the last Bond film not to have a heavy dose of personal stuff going on. Of course, it was fine in LTK, given that it was Felix, and had it's roots in Fleming. And I also love the Craig movies.
But it's really enough at this point...
Bond's BFF maimed by a shark
Shoehorned 00 agent goes bad
Villain's wife is Bond's ex
M's BFF's daughter is the baddie
M and Bond have a big fight, another MI6 employee is a baddie
Bond falls desperately in love
Bond wants revenge for the lady he fell in love with
Another 00 agent goes bad
Bond's sort-of stepbrother is the baddie
The series, though I've loved the last ten years of it, does seem to revolve around the personal problems of Bond and M....I'd love to see M hand Bond a file and say "007, these people who neither of us has ever met, and who have no connections to us at all, are up to bad stuff. Go to it." :-D
As it is the current EON show runners have had Eight movies as well, it seems that they are out of steam as well. I prefer muscle cars around the rings of Saturn over a halfbrother who runs SPECTRE. ;)
Well, the playing field got bigger, is all. I agree though that Bond doesn't have competition worthy of it, even now. Nobody lines up to see an MI or Bourne film like they're heading to church on Easter, for example. The MI films are fun and the Bourne films portray an interesting, if entirely cynical view of the world, but neither have the verve, style and life of Bond, often injected with a splash of the vintage and all the nostalgia you could ask for. These movies are their own genre, and play by their own rules. Most importantly, Bond feels like an actual man (especially with Craig), whereas Hunt and Bourne are very much action men that things happen to, and because of that they do feel very hollow or false in their attempted depth. They certainly aren't going to be cultural icons, or make people want to be them.
100%
The rock is entertaining as a purely comedic actor , vin diesel is a shit actor. I could not be payed to watch a fast and the furious film again. The mission impossible films are all crap pretty forgettable and boring. The first Bourne film is okay but the rest are either the exact same but worse or down right uninteresting. Just reminds me that even die Another Day is leaps better than any of those
It's a new world...
With new enemies...
And new threats....
But you can still depend...
On one man.