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Cleese vs. Whishaw - Who is your favourite Q's successors?

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Comments

  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    On the fence with this. I thought Cleese performed better as Q in DAD than he did as R in TWINE. The humour pitch was better done in DAD.
    As for Whishaw? We just simply have not seen enough as of yet? But I must say that I have enjoyed what I have seen so far! :-bd
  • KerimKerim Istanbul Not Constantinople
    Posts: 2,629
    barryt007 wrote:
    doubleoego wrote:
    Wishaw. Cleese was pastiche and a reminder of how tired and silly things had become. People say Wishaw is a bit arrogant or whatever, I don't really see it myself but he's definitely someone Craig's Bind can banter with without delving into cheap absurdity. Also, I thought the first Q in Dr.No was a bit arrogant; the way he practically chastised Bond's beretta but it's no big deal. I'm glad Wishaw has the role and I hope we get some good things from him. A Llewelyn copycat is not the approach to take and I might add that Llewelyn wasn't that great anyway.

    Ow !!!!


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • SoundofthesinnersSoundofthesinners
    Posts: 3,236
    First things first, @doubleoego, your opinion is bad and you should feel bad. Second of all, it's such a pleasant surprise to see something Brosnan-related competing with, and even beating, something Craig-related. Normally whenever this happens, Brosnan gets hauled in for his usual shellacking. Maybe he could win a GoldenEye vs. Quantum of Solace match, but that's about it.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,124
    So far Cleese is not beating Wishaw though. And regarding Llewellyn, while he himself was great, one can be fair saying the character was not always well used.
  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    Whishaw by miles. Cleese wasn't terrible but he just wasn't great as Q. It seemed he was trying to be more like Llewellyn while putting in his humor, it didn't work too well. I feel Whishaw took the role and made it his own, much like how each Bond actor took Bond and made him their own. I'm looking forward to seeing him in future Bond films.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Soundofthesinners wrote:
    First things first, @doubleoego, your opinion is bad and you should feel bad.

    My opinion is fine and I feel super

    :D :-bd
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    How ego.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    Wishaw is easily the better of the two but I don't think Cleese himself was that bad. He just did what the role asked of him.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Birdleson wrote:
    I agree with doubleoego. One of the reasons I wish that the character was just dropped.

    How double ego!
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    edited April 2014 Posts: 12,837
    I don't see how Cleese was Llewelyn 2.0. Llewelyn was a bit grumpy but he was a kind old man who clearly loved his job and did care about Bond. Cleese is a sarcy, quick witted but clumsy gadget master who probably isn't as clever as he makes out and has sort of a grudging respect for Bond.
    doubleoego wrote:
    I might add that Llewelyn wasn't that great anyway.

  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    I don't see how Cleese was Llewelyn 2.0. Llewelyn was a bit grumpy but he was a kind old man who did care about Bond. Cleese is a sarcy, quick witted but clumsy gadget master who probably isn't as clever as he makes out and has sort of a grudging respect for Bond.
    doubleoego wrote:
    I might add that Llewelyn wasn't that great anyway.


    Because the dynamic between Bond and Cleese's Q was the no different to that with Llewelyn. Q still had nothing but contempt for Bond and Bond still took the piss out of Q and his equipment.

    At least now, they've gone in a completely different direction. In SF, it was Bond who seemed to get exasperated with Q.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    QsAssistant wrote:
    Whishaw by miles. Cleese wasn't terrible but he just wasn't great as Q. It seemed he was trying to be more like Llewellyn while putting in his humor, it didn't work too well. I feel Whishaw took the role and made it his own, much like how each Bond actor took Bond and made him their own. I'm looking forward to seeing him in future Bond films.

    Who better to judge than his assistant? The matter is settled.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    edited April 2014 Posts: 12,837
    WillyGalore wrote:
    Because the dynamic between Bond and Cleese's Q was the no different to that with Llewelyn. Q still had nothing but contempt for Bond and Bond still took the piss out of Q and his equipment.

    At least now, they've gone in a completely different direction. In SF, it was Bond who seemed to get exasperated with Q.

    Bond still takes the piss out of Q and his equipment. When he finds out that Wishaw is Q he says "You must be joking" and then when he gets his equipment he says "A gun and a radio? Not exactly Christmas is it"
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    WillyGalore wrote:
    Because the dynamic between Bond and Cleese's Q was the no different to that with Llewelyn. Q still had nothing but contempt for Bond and Bond still took the piss out of Q and his equipment.

    At least now, they've gone in a completely different direction. In SF, it was Bond who seemed to get exasperated with Q.

    Bond still takes the piss out of Q and his equipment. When he finds out that Wishaw is Q he says "You must be joking" and then when he gets his equipment he says "A gun and a radio? Not exactly Christmas is it"

    But Q gives as well as he gets: "What were you expecting, an exploding pen?". He's all very laid back about it.

  • CrabKeyCrabKey
    Posts: 1,993
    Who doesn't like Cleese? But his casting was part of that whole the series is adrift feel.
    While I don't necessarily think younger is better, the Craig era reboot was right to point the series in a new direction. The old, stuffy Q shtick had become tiresome.
  • SharkBaitSharkBait
    Posts: 2,107
    Wishaw, because Cheese was a parody version of Llewelyn.
  • SlyFox007SlyFox007
    edited April 2014 Posts: 414
    Jury's still out on Whishaw. Only saw him for a few brief moments here and there in Skyfall, and it even took Llewelyn both From Russia With Love and Goldfinger before he really started to develop into the Q we all knew and loved. Whishaw certainly has potential, and I'm very curious to see what they do with the character from here.

    I thought John Cleese made an excellent successor to Llewelyn. The character of Q has always been there largely for comic relief, and Cleese fit that bill perfectly. As many terrible, terrible things there are about Die Another Day, Cleese's scene was not one of them (hokey gadgets like an invisible car aside, which certainly have nothing to do with Cleese's performance in the scene).
  • hildebrand_rarityhildebrand_rarity
    Posts: 316
    I think its early to judge whishaw; I thought he was a bit too smug in Skyfall but think he'll be fine. I was surprised at how well Cleese was able to mimic Llewelyn yet make the character his own. I thought he was one of the few good things in DAD.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Any old codger who could act irritated by Bond could have played Q and that's what we got with Llewelyn and Cleese. In Llewelyn's case he just so happened to be doing it for decades. He was just so familiar more so than actually being great. I know it's not a popular opinion but it's mine all the same.
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    edited April 2014 Posts: 6,396
    doubleoego wrote:
    Any old codger who could act irritated by Bond could have played Q and that's what we got with Llewelyn and Cleese. In Llewelyn's case he just so happened to be doing it for decades. He was just so familiar more so than actually being great. I know it's not a popular opinion but it's mine all the same.

    giphy.gif

    ;)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    :))
  • BwallBwall
    Posts: 11
    Whishaw is my pick. I kind of like the modern day tech nerd feel he brings.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    WillyGalore wrote:
    giphy.gif

    ;)

    Well, I spent a week at Bellevue, myself...
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited April 2014 Posts: 11,189
    I don't mean to agree with @doubleoego but it wasn't exactly a demanding role. It kept the man in work as well as in the public eye for decades, but I'm not sure it was a particularly great acting stretch for him. I'm quite certain Des viewed it in a similar way - a secure, stable job but for the most part not very challenging or heavyweight. He just had to show up and do his routine. The main reason he was so well liked was because he was a familiar face and offered some light relief. Didn't the man himself wonder why he wasn't replaced by a younger person in the later years?

    The same can be said for Louis Maxwell. By the Moore era all she had to do was show up, do her thing and take the cheque. With a few odd exceptions I don't think she really had to "act" all that much.

    I'd say the M actors were the ones who had to do the more serious stuff.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,124
    The thing is while Llewellyn was a lovely guy, the character of Q was rather limited and often routine. Before CR, when was the last great Q moment? In GE? And when was the last great Moneypenny moment? I'd say OHMSS.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    I'd say before CR Q's last great moment was his final scene in TWINE. Genuinely well acted between the two.
  • SuzanneStoneSuzanneStone
    edited August 2014 Posts: 372
    Have to agree with @WillyGalore. I love John Cleese so much, but he was miscast as Q's successor. In TWINE and DAD they treated Q like a character for comic relief, which he certainly isn't supposed to be.

    I thought Ben Whishaw did a good job. He can be a great actor and in interviews I just really like him as a person as well. Not sure if this is an crude thing to say since he's gay, but I also think he's quite attractive. :p Maybe they're trying to cater to female fans too now.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    WillyGalore wrote: »
    thelivingroyale wrote:
    WillyGalore wrote:
    Because the dynamic between Bond and Cleese's Q was the no different to that with Llewelyn. Q still had nothing but contempt for Bond and Bond still took the piss out of Q and his equipment.

    At least now, they've gone in a completely different direction. In SF, it was Bond who seemed to get exasperated with Q.

    Bond still takes the piss out of Q and his equipment. When he finds out that Wishaw is Q he says "You must be joking" and then when he gets his equipment he says "A gun and a radio? Not exactly Christmas is it"

    But Q gives as well as he gets: "What were you expecting, an exploding pen?". He's all very laid back about it.

    Cleese was the same. "Ah yes the famous 007 wit, or at least half of it".
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    Cleese. But I'm a big fan of his, so take that FWIW.
  • OHMSS69OHMSS69
    Posts: 2,341
    Whishaw hands down.
    Cleese was just too silly, cartoonish and cheesy
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