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The later Craig films have far more moments like that than LTK though (I’d even say they went too far at times, the dad joke puns should probably stay in the past). Fair enough if you didn’t like the personal drama of the Craig films but saying he was moody all the time just isn’t true.
:-bd
I remember what a big deal it was when CR depicted Bond recovering at a hospital after a lengthy torture because that kind of thing was so common in the novels but you never see that in film. DAD almost did it, but then immediately subverted that by having Bond instantly recover and shave his beard off as if none of the last 14 months of torture had an impact on his body.
I would say that the 'aspirational' aspect is there even in Fleming's novels though. These stories are by their very nature escapist, and there's always going to be an element of stereotypical 'male wish fulfilment' with a character who drives fast cars, travels to exotic location, seduces women etc.
Still, you can do a lot with a lot of interesting things with such a character.
Though quite different for obvious reasons, the scene in Thunderball in which Bond is shot in the back of the leg has always impressed me as a bit of realism that spoke to Bond not being invulnerable. Not that the injury seemed to hamper him in later scenes.
To an extent. He's certainly a bit more sharply dressed in the films: book Bond has a few quality items in his wardrobe but not all that much really, together with a couple of quite shabby items by the sounds of them!
But the 'Every man wants to be James Bond and every woman wants to be with him' line is attributed (possibly erroneously) to Raymond Chandler, who died three years before the films started being made, so the aspirational idea seems to be there beforehand. And Fleming's books are not critical of how this man lives his life, they celebrate him just as much as the films do, with his scrambled eggs and ringed cigarettes being portrayed as the right thing a man should do.
Even in his moments of 'accidie' and self-reflection and the like, it's that kind of manly introspection which just makes him seem tougher and sexier- like Sly Stallone clenching his jaw and staring out to sea. It's not really proper vulnerability or weakness.
Yeah that's my issue with that: he's basically Wolverine and heals instantly. Other times he's injured, like TWINE or SF, actually have a bit of an after-effect.
Yes it was a bit of a cheat: I don't think you should tell the audience a new fact (i.e drilling right there erases your memory) and then just have it turn out that the character telling you that was mistaken. That's not really fair and breaks the trust a bit.
And in fact I was actually quite excited by it: I thought it was taking us somewhere new and exciting- what happens when James can't remember her? But it just didn't happen.
It’s right down there, along with Bond’s death, double taking pigeons, CGI surfing, Tarzan yells and invisible cars.
It wasn't even the bounce-back. It was the totally pointless torture. There was nothing that Blofeld expected to be revealed by that drilling into Bond's cheeks, or I missed something (I may be forgiven, since SP has had the least re-view value for me among the Craig films). The Le Chiffre torture at least had the goal of obtaining the code to the bank account. This one was torture because someone thought there had to be torture in that movie.
Yeah I think the problems are overstated, and it is a scary scene. But I do think it’s a cheat: we are told his memory will be erased if the needle goes in, and as an audience we have to take information on faith- we have no way of proving otherwise. Imagine if the nuclear bomb in Goldfinger had counted to zero and it turned out that it was just a microwave oven pinging: that would be a cheat. We’re told it’s a bomb so we have to believe it is: likewise we’re told this drill will wipe Bond’s memory so we have to believe it will as those are the stakes presented to us. To have it just fail to do so is a bit of a cheat and breaks the trust of the audience- I do agree that it is a misstep.
Perhaps something like one of Blofeld's goons has the surgery done on him and he's kind of a zombie? It's not the worst scene in the movie, but like the rest of the film it feels underbaked.
I do feel, had the script gone through a few more revisions (hopefully someone would have nixed Brofeld), it could have been a worthy follow-up to SF. And had they kept Madeleine cold/defiant much longer into the film--she played that angle well. Maybe show glimpses of her vulnerability, as in the drunk scene. She too quickly becomes an ally, then even worse, a damsel in distress.
SP is so frustrating a film because they were maybe 60% there, as opposed to other films in the franchise that would have required a page-one rewrite (TMWTGG and AVTAK, I'm looking at you).
Maybe if Bond had managed to in some way compromise the weird 'mind wipey' torture machine thingy it would have worked? Maybe he could have stolen something and jammed it into the machine without Blofeld noticing, thus making it less efficient? I dunno...
Either that or Blofeld could have more explicitly stated that the procedure requires two separate punctures to the brain in order to work. Only one will just disorientate Bond. It's a wee bit clumsy from a script perspective (I'm not a fan anyway as it makes Bond less proactive and relies a bit too much on dialogue) but perhaps it could have been better.
Yes I totally agree: there's a lot of good ideas in there, they just don't quite come together.
I don't even dislike the cuckoo stuff- at least on the page anyway. Bond going after Oberhauser's killer (as in Fleming's Octopussy), the killer turning out to be his son, who also resented Bond- those aren't terrible ideas. Making him Blofeld.. well probably a little too much on the silly side I guess, but forgivable.
Yeah not bad thoughts; they would have worked. Maybe have Bond remember Madeline through force of will whilst the procedure is happening- focusing on her face and using the power of his love to beat Blofeld's machine. Perhaps even have him do a Harry Palmer and assert his own name to himself to make sure he doesn't lose it- "The name's Bond.. "
I do love that brainwashing scene in The Ipcress File. But yeah, something like that would have improved things.
Kinda wish a future film would try a brainwashing scene like that with Bond. It's a bit hokey if done badly, but with the right direction it could be very tense. Has its roots in Fleming's novels too in a round about way. Also would be a cool way of incorporating the 'My name's Bond, James Bond' line in a very different context if he's saying his name over and over again to not get brainwashed.
Brainwashing is potentially dodgy because it is so hokey, as you say; but I guess it can be done. It might be fun, yeah.
Need to give it a read. I've heard good things, although I'm not often a fan of the continuation Bond novels.
Of course there was a new version of Ipcress last year which left the brainwashing scene not massively changed (I think they added a drug plot in there too from memory), and I'd say it got away with it.
One reason why Sean Connery is my favourite Bond actor is because he had that special calm and confident attitude;
he seemed to interact with the Bond girls more like he gave them a chance to spend time with him, and I would say that this is a lot more attractive than a man who becomes really careful around women, and tries way too hard to be overly polite.
Sure, there are a few scenes in Sean Connery's movies that would be problematic in real life - I would certainly not appreciate if a man spanked me in public in real life and told me to leave because he would have "man talk", although this can be a fun scene in a movie, just because it is so over-the-top sexist in a very self-aware way - but generally speaking, he had a very captivating kind of calm, cold and assertive style, which I personally like to see in James Bond.
But as we have established, product placement would be an issue. And so would production values and whatnot.
I think that part of his seductive coolness is that he seems totally in control around everyone, both male and female characters.
It is also obvious from the behind-the-scenes photos that the Bond girls genuinely liked him, like for example his photos with Ursula Andress and Claudine Auger.