Martin Campbell - Appreciation Thread

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  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2014 Posts: 23,883
    RE: GE vs CR/TND, keep in mind that GE was made on a shoestring budget (I remember reading it was about $50M - $60M which is nothing).

    EON was still in financial difficulties and they had no idea if Bond would resonate in the 90's (after LTK's relatively disappointing 1989 showing & the long 6 year gap). Additionally, I'm not sure if that is what made them move away from the busy summer release period to December, but GE was the first Bond to go there in years.

    Anyway, my point is Campbell did a very good job on GE considering the budget. TND & CR had massive budgets comparatively speaking. I only wish he had his CR budget for GE - in which case that movie could have been been absolutely phenomenal. Even now, it's a damn fine movie even with the budget limit. Consider for example the cast chosen and the superb job done by all actors in this movie compared to some of the higher budget disgraces during Brozzas' tenure.

    I know he's said he does not want to come back to Bond, but even at his advanced age, I'd like him to do one more. I love what he's done for the franchise - twice.

    He has given me superb fisticuff sequences (GE was outstanding on the satellite, & CR was impressive on the stairwell), & excellent aerial sequences (GE satellite & CR crane) - the best non-CGI aerial work IMO since the good old days with John Glen.

    If not direct, at least be an advisor to any future director newbie EON may bring on, to prevent future debacles from debutantes.

    PS: RE: Edge of Darkness 1980's version - I still remember the excellent title track by Eric Clapton. Bought it on 7"
  • edited November 2014 Posts: 12,837
    Was the budget for GE that low? I'm shocked because that movie had tons of spectacle. Lots of big set pieces, glamourous locations and impressive sets. They definetely did well there with the budget they had, I'm impressed.

    So QoS (the most expensive Bond film) was made for almost 150 million more than GE? What the hell did they spend all that money on then?
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Bringing the entire cast and crew to shoot on location.

    QoS were haemorrhaging cash like money grew in the gardens of Pinewood. They squandered it big time and worse yet, there's tonnes of excellent footage that could have been used to tell a better looking, a more coherent and visually more appealing movie but it got massacred in the editing room.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    He is fine. And his two works with Bond show a far more mediocre talent, at least in that arena.
  • He's good when the material is up to snuff. Campbell isn't the type of director who is particularly artistic and therefore any project he has cultivated himself has always faltered.

    Compare the 'Edge of Darkness' TV show to the movie. With the show Campbell executes the scripts by Troy Kennedy Martin excellently and the show is often thrilling. However, the movie is Campbell's baby and the thing is seriously off-kilter and totally discards the cathartic and complex nature of the show.

    I think he was a big part of CR's success as he's a brilliant action director. The guy knows how to stage a thoroughly entertaining and suspenseful action setpiece. I mean take the whole pre-title sequence in GE or the parkour chase in CR. He's a genius when it comes to action and has a natural elan when tackling the genre akin to the work done by Spielberg. Therefore, it confuses me to no end why he took the 'Green Lantern' job as he must have know the film would rely heavily on CGI and in turn not play to his strengths.

    Campbell is a hack but he knows how to make a great Bond film. He understands the character and the world of Bond excellently, I just wish he noticed this awhile back and directed more of Brosnan or Craig's films.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I wish he had directed any of the other 3 Brosnan films, yes.
    I think "hack" has a too negative connotation these days.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    Campbell has a good visual sense as well as a good vision of the film he wants to make/see. Green Lantern got away from him a bit since others did much of the visualizing & effects shots FOR him, but look at his two Zorro films- as good as his Bonds IMHO.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited November 2016 Posts: 8,397
    Hey, did anyone hear of this new action film directed by Martin Campbell and starring Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan? according to the IMDB it's called "The Foreigner" and it's supposed to come out in 2016, but I can't find a trailer anywhere. I had no idea Campbell and Brosnan were teaming up again until now. If Campbell is still directing action films at his age, there is a chance that he would be willing to return for Bond 25. Hey, if Clint Eastwood and George Miller can still do it, why not Campbell, right?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Campbell would get my vote if viable. Would like some real news on how he's doing, etc.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,397
    Campbell would get my vote if viable. Would like some real news on how he's doing, etc.

    Yes, the Campbell trilogy has a nice ring to it. One film per decade.

    I don't think 75 is really too old. perhaps pushing it a bit, but he is such a larger than life figure on set that I don't think it would matter with him. I remember hearing that Craig and everyone on CR struggled to match Campbell's intensity levels. He brings a tremendous amount of energy to a production, and gets the best out of those he works with. Surely the greatest living Bond director.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    "$50M - $60M which is nothing"

    It wasn't nothing in 1994.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,397
    echo wrote: »
    "$50M - $60M which is nothing"

    It wasn't nothing in 1994.

    I listened to the Goldeneye commentary track with MGW and Martin Campbell last night. At the very end, while the credits are playing, Campbell states the following (I'm paraphasing):

    "We did a good job without a big budget. Well, we had a big budget, but not by hollywood standards. And perhaps that's a good thing because it forces you to work with what you have and get the best result."

    So @bondjames is right. It amazed me to hear this, because I had always felt that GE had been like TSWLM, where they had thrown everything they had at it. To find out the film was made under such limitations just makes the result even more special. Another incredible fact I learned from the commentary was that of all the scenes that were shot, only 2 weren't used in the final film.
  • edited November 2016 Posts: 2,165
    $60m in 1994 is $97m in 2016, so comparatively speaking, GE was made for 1/3rd of Spectre and 1/2 of Skyfall and QoS.

    The film is great given the money spent on it. Appreciably the cost of making films has increased, but even so.

    Also, GE's worldwide box office was $352m, which in 2016 is $557m, so thats a decent return on investment.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,397
    Here's some footage of Campbell from a few months ago. He still seems in pretty good shape, all these years later.



    And here's the video I talked about, where the cast struggle to keep up with Martins energy levels. Everyone seemed to love having him as a director.



    I respect the man a great deal for his contributions to the Bond franchise. Hopefully in the near future we will see him return, one last time, to complete the trilogy by kicking off a 3rd consecutive Bond era.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2016 Posts: 23,883
    Here's what appears to be some footage from the new Campbell film The Foreigner (starring Brosnan and Chan) from some Indian channel which I found on youtube. The man hasn't lost a step from what I can see here.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited November 2016 Posts: 8,397
    bondjames wrote: »
    Here's what appears to be some footage from the new Campbell film The Foreigner (starring Brosnan and Chan) from some Indian channel which I found on youtube. The man hasn't lost a step from what I can see here.

    Wow, incredible footage! It's really encouraging to see Campbell still taking on this major projects. Gives a bit of hope that he may still be interested in Bond when the next changeover happens. Cubby kept producing into his 80's, and Campbell is from New Zealand. They're made of strong stuff over there.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Campbell was the only Bond director behind one of the very worst as well as one of the very best Bond films.
  • mcdonbbmcdonbb deep in the Heart of Texas
    Posts: 4,116
    Campbell was the only Bond director behind one of the very worst as well as one of the very best Bond films.

    Mine too. Loved CR not so much GE. Same with Mendes loved SF but not so much SP.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,520
    There is already movie with that name from 2003.



    Movie is written by Darren Campbell :-?
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,397
    What is interesting about Campbell is how his attitude towards Bond changed over the years. During the GoldenEye commentary, he comments that the plane going off the cliff and Bond leaping after it is, "pure Bond". He remarks something similar when Brosnan delivers his " good squeeze" line.

    However by the time of CR, he seemed to cite the books a lot more. I think perhaps Campbell had to work within the producers framework a lot more with GoldenEye. When he returned for Casino, he had already proven himself and so was permitted the extra creative freedom.

    I have a hard time deciding which film I prefer sometimes. CR is closer to Fleming, and perhaps a more artistically accomplished film, But GoldenEye is far tighter, flows better, and is generally more structurally solid. CR has more peaks and toughs whereas GE is consistently enjoyable from start to finish.
  • Does anyone know why Campbell didn't return for either Tomorrow Never Dies or Quantum of Solace after the successes of GoldenEye and Casino Royale? Was he simply not asked for some inexplicable reason? Or did he simply want to focus on non-Bond projects (again, for some inexplicable reason)?

    I just can't help but think how epic that would be if Campbell directed the next Bond's debut film and left his contribution to the series three consecutive stellar Bond debuts. Yet I'm also curious as to why he hasn't directed more Bond films than he has already.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I have a hard time deciding which film I prefer sometimes. CR is closer to Fleming, and perhaps a more artistically accomplished film, But GoldenEye is far tighter, flows better, and is generally more structurally solid. CR has more peaks and toughs whereas GE is consistently enjoyable from start to finish.
    I agree.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,131
    Martin Campbell knows how to treat classic heroes like James Bond and Zorro. He revived Bond twice and Zorro once. Granted, The Legend of Zorro is quite flawed but it's an atmospherical movie nevertheless.

    In the end, he did make GoldenEye, The Mask of Zorro and Casino Royale. He should just stick to classic movie characters and I think he'd be fine.
  • Posts: 1,680
    I truly believe he truly is being considered for the next one.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,397
    Tuck91 wrote: »
    I truly believe he truly is being considered for the next one.

    Just thinking that gives me chills, I want it so bad.
  • Campbell seems to be making a comeback of sorts.

    A decade ago after CR came out, I recall his name being attached to numerous projects. Then he made a more “personal film” with Edge of Darkness, which was an outright disappointment. Also, the less said about Green Lantern, the better. That film sunk Campbell’s career. After he seemed resigned to making television pilots for show’s that never aired.

    BUT…..things are looking good. The Foreigner is in the can – no way of knowing if it’s generic action nonsense yet. I’m more intrigued by Campbell’s Hemingway adaption, which is gearing up production now. I hope it isn’t another Beyond Beyonds – self-righteous and misjudged. Isabella Rossellini has just joined the cast and it’s filming this month. So far, it all sounds very promising.

    http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afm-isabella-rossellini-joins-pierce-brosnan-adaptation-ernest-hemingway-novel-944078

    So Campbell is making a return to pictures after some years in the wilderness. Could he be gearing up for a return to Bond? We know EON offered him every film post-GE – do we think that is still the case?
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    What's going on with his Brosnan/Chan vehicle? That's been a long time coming. It almost seems delayed.
  • SatoriousSatorious Brushing up on a little Danish
    Posts: 233
    Does anyone know why Campbell didn't return for either Tomorrow Never Dies or Quantum of Solace after the successes of GoldenEye and Casino Royale?

    I can't answer QOS, but I recall reading after Goldeneye a quote from him which went along the lines of "there are only so many controller rooms you can blow up" - hinting he didn't want to repeat himself. I think idea of a new actor and back-to-basics reboot concept excited him which is why he returned for Casino Royale.

    Not sure he'll be returning anytime soon, but you never know...

  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    My Dog, does this man ever age?? He looks great! Sounds great! Age hasn't stooped this old man!!
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