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And I agree that Modesty is the greatest character in espionage fiction (although technically it's not really espionage), and that Peter O'Donnell certainly had a knack for making his readers care about his characters.
Just a question JodyKihara, why do you say that the fabulous Modesty Blaise books are technically not espionage when most of the assignments are commissioned by Tarrent (head of Mi6)?
You obviously love his stuff as much as Bentley & I do - O'Donnell was the best and a lovely man with it!
It's a clever adaptation and the writer and producer have done a great job at capturing the mood and the essence of the characters. Willie Garvin in particular comes across as very true to the novels.
I hope some big producer picks up on this and recognises the potential for the silver screen. Well done it would knock Bond out of the park. Sacrilege on this site — but true!
I do agree. Of all the american "man's adventures" series that came out in the 70s, The Destroyer is the only one that was, and stayed, original. The rest you can bury in the seepest pit of hell.
In France, you get Largo Winch, which started as a series of novels, then gave birth to a graphic novel series, a TV series and two movies. The novels were written at a time where Jean Van Hamme had some good ideas.
XIII started good, but jumped the shark with "Pour Maria", IMHO.
If I had a minor criticism it would be that Blaise and Garvin are given too much of an air of infallibility in the way they triumph over the bad guys, and also in their judgement of other people.
Of the many imitators from the sixties, I really enjoy Adam Diment's Philip McAlpine, who I envisage as looking like Owen Wilson. Shame the books were never filmed.
This is particularly true when you consider all the failed attempts to develop thriller franchises with female leads. You would think that producers would research the genre and pick up on what remains the biggest cenematic opportunity of all ?
I don't know if it's true but many say that Tarantino owns the rights. If correct, this may not be a good thing because I don't think he's the man for the job. IMHO you need a Brit because there is something quintessentially English about Blaise and we don't need a spoof - we need the real deal from A-Z. We live in hope.
@mikeninja008 I tried a couple back in the day (The Silencer & The Wrecking Crew) but I just couldn't get those silly Dean Martin movies out of my head whilst reading.
Shame but if ever there was a case of movies getting in the way of books, that was it!
Maybe not as well written but I find them more entertaining and involving than some of the Bond books. I like a few Bond books better but overall I think Stone is the better series.
Why the hell Quentin Tarantino doesn't get on and make the movies, I'll never know.
If he wants a franchise bigger than Bond as his legacy, this is it!
It was a first class adaptation that, although heavily abridged, captured perfectly the era and Blaise zeitgeist. Why on earth a big producer doesn't pick up on this franchise beats the hell out of me — when you consider all the attention 'The Man From Uncle' reboot is getting you'd have thought Blaise would have been a natural.
Maybe these guys just don't like making money?