It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
It's very much like expecting everyone in a comedy film to be a jokester. There does have to be a straight man for the film to work...
And people complain that MI6 is featured too much to Bond's detriment. Now they'd need every MI6 member to have their shining moment? And was Michael Kitchen THAT memorable and indispensable in GE? Sure seeing Tanner was a nice moment but that's it.
On a side note I really enjoyed the poisoning scene in CR. But I have no idea of the names of the actors and if they'd work a lot on their character's motivations. I think they all did a good job.
You're missing the point somewhat.
I wouldn't say dear old Desmond or Lois were exactly oozing charisma but they were memorable characters. Kitchen's Tanner and Robinson had no different a role to Kinnear but are at least somewhat engaging when on screen.
I don't think anyone is saying the part calls for George Best or Russell Brand as it's a minor role but give us something instead of an exposition spouting automaton. Despite the same exposition role Kitchen and Salmon both bring more life to the part than Rory with his one expression of mild bemusement, like a bloke who is constantly worried if he locked the front door or not.
With his dull autocue reading of exposition he's like the human embodiment of the Star Wars crawl (and not a good Star Wars crawl. One of the ones from the prequels about trade disputes) minus the goosebumps you feel when John Williams' score kicks in.
Although in his defence it's a thankless task. Personally I don't see the point of the character. We got through most of the series without the need for him and in the current classic mate he just adds more ballast to the already bloated MI6 scenes.
Is it a symptom of weak writing that you need a character to keep regurgitating vast chunks of exposition? Maibaum used to manage quite easily with just M and in half the screen time.
I've always said that instead of QoS as a sequel CR should've been followed up by a spin-off that followed the medical specialist at MI6 and his entire team, including Villiers, as they go about their lives after helping Bond. A series high moment, for certain.
I think it's relevant to the exposition guy yeah. When they're setting the scene (e.g. Tanner letting the audience know what's gone on since SF on the boat on the thames, Robinson giving a rundown of the terrorists and weapons on show in TND) they need to be able to sell the exposition without making it boring.
In a nutshell.
Rory would still be tedious if he was presenting the news on 9/11.
I've seen none of those, but it does make you wonder what the 'classically trained' Tim Dalton must make of all that.
The thing is, Kinnear is a fine actor, it's pretty tough to dispute it all things considered. Whether he floats everyone's boat as Tanner is the question I guess.
People keep saying this but the evidence doesn't back it up.
I've seen him in Bond, The Imitation Game, Lucan, The Long Walk To Finchley and Black Mirror.
Black Mirror is the only one you could say he's anything other than beige and even that is largely down to the script being so outrageous even Rory can't ruin it with his leaden performance.
Didn't he play Hamlet on stage a while back? That must have been a long evening for audience members.
He's a chartered accountant trapped in an actor's body.
I happen to think Timothy Dalton is a bad actor, so what do I know.
I guess so.
Maybe he undergoes some sort of metamorphosis on stage?
He won one of his Oliviers for playing Iago FFS! That's a part where charisma is essential. Personally I can't think an actor less suited for the role.
Maybe he's actually very good and the direction he's getting is 'Bill Tanner is basically a guy who should be a mid level manager in a company that makes vacuum cleaners but inexplicably finds himself working for MI6' so that's how he plays it?
The man is duller than dull.
Same here..his 'Frankenstein's Monster' was terrible..boring too.
Oh don't you start Barry :))
He he ;)
Agreed.
'Perennially Dreadful' would be a good title for Rory's autobiography.
Just because it's a small part doesn't mean they can just use any old actor and the audience won't notice how poor he is. There's a reason Kinnear gets so much crap on here and that's just because he isn't very good imo, although to be fair Tanner is written pretty appallingly, especially in comparison to Colin Salmon in the Brosnan films. Compare "get out of it James" and teaming up with Bond in the VR simulation to Rory cowering behind the desk in SF or Bond treating him like his bitch in SP. He's not very good at all but the scripts doomed him from the start, he never had a chance.
Well people do mention charisma a lot criticizing him as if it's that really important aspect of the character.
It's not important if I'm going to see a bloke to give me a quote on decorating my kitchen (which Rory's delivery would be perfect for) but in a Hollywood blockbuster the worst crime you can commit is sending the audience to sleep.
As @thelivingroyale says above anyone defending him should directly compare his performances with Kitchen and Salmon. Kitchen has to tell the audience what an EMP is and Salmon has to explain what is going on in the TND PTS but they both do it better than Rory's soporific 'new digs' and 'C' speeches in SF and SP. They even tried to inject some life into the latter by needlessly filming it in a speedboat on the Thames (that whole scene probably put another 500k on the budget - nice one Sam) but whatever the setting Rory just looks as dynamic as an assistant manager at Natiownide assessing someone for a loan.
Yes it's a thankless task but Dench, Fiennes, Wishaw and Harris all have chunks of exposition they have to get through but with them it never seems like the film has ground to a halt while someone explains the plot to me for five minutes before we can carry on.
(Haters can go and throw things at him I guess.)
:))