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Mr Big/Dr Kananga in LALD - his disguise/villainy etc.?

DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
edited February 2013 in Bond Movies Posts: 18,348
Does anyone else here on MI6 feel that Mr Big/Dr Kananga is a rather wasted character as the main villain in LALD - he doesn't really seem to get very much screentime, I feel. His death was an absolute joke - as many of the Guy Hamilton Bonds were - DAF and TMWTGG also had poor villain death scenes - only GF packed any punch.

John Brosnan made the comment that the make-up job on Mr Big was very bad - he looked more white than black as Yaphet Kotto interfered in the make-up, wantuing someopne else to do it (badly). Kotto was park of the Black Pride movement and he was clearly prickly and difficult on set. The 'reveal' that Mr Big and Dr Kananga wasn't really a very big surprise - even though it did set up a great 'Tales o9f the Unexpected' moment - along with the titles sequences evocation of Voodoo.

What are our thoughts here on the duality of Big and Kananga - would it have been better if Kotto had only played one of these characters - such as Kananga alone? I think this would have been the better option as Big looked quite unreal to me.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one...

Comments

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited February 2013 Posts: 13,356
    As far as being underused, he is, yes though this only makes matters worse as the series goes on becuase then it becomes apparent he is one of the better villains of the series.

    Something more should have been made of his dual personality and that is what should have gotten more screen time.
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    If Kotto had portrayed the Mr Big persona all the way through, it could of worked so much better. When he revealed himself to be Kananga, the fear factor just dropped, and you took away a lot of the menace that the former brought to the screen. It's a pity when Bond arrives in New York near the beginning, that we only get to see Big for a fleeting moment. (Names are for tombstones Baby - take this honky out and waste him) - I thought he was actually a great villain, although Kananga wasn't that bad, and still did a good job, but what a drop in menace from before

    In retrospect, It's maybe not such a bad thing, as Kotto once again did a fine job as the other, and maybe it's something we shouldn't tamper with all these years later. But the ending, and the damn inflation nonsense, was ill advised to say the least
  • 00Ed00Ed
    Posts: 140
    I've always been a big fan of Kananga/Big. In fact, the very first time I posted on a James Bond message board (in '97, if I recall), I used "Dr. Kananga" as my handle. They don't make Bond Villains like they used to.

    I also love seeing Yaphet Kotto do something different, since from what I can tell, he's generally been typecast as a good guy over the course of his career.

    I'm a bit torn about whether I agree with the notion that he was underutilized. Instinctively, I would like to have seen more of the character. On the other hand, the minimalist approach might be part of the character's appeal.

    Kananga's explosive demise is among the most memorable in Bond history, maybe in all of cinema history. I won't argue, however, with the proposition that it looks a bit silly (as does his weird pose just before he attacks Bond with the knife).
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    I think if they look back now, they have to realize they made a genuine error with what they did with the character at the end there. I don't mind any Bond villain having an elaborate, silly demise - but they went too far that year

    Pity really, as it's my favorite Bond release of all things

    I sometimes wonder if Whisper really did survive at the end. Maybe he did deserve it, with the killing of Bond's driver in NY, amongst other things you can maybe think of
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    I'd love to hear more of your views on this complex villain!
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,361
    I really enjoyed Kananga/Mr. Big. Though I wish the character was just named "Mr. Big" like in the original Fleming Novel. He had a real menace about him. He was a political leader, yet he kept a young woman, and her Mother before her as slaves for telling him the future with there abilities. He abused them. He was obviously deranged and off the rails in the climax as he was amused by everything. I'd rather he got eaten by his own sharks rather than one of Q's gadgets.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,234
    I think Kotto did a fine job and that Kananga was a good villain, but I was never totally convinced with Mr Big. His disguise looked too fake. I also think the novel's Mr Big was more interesting.

    On the plus side, it means there is still room for a Buonaparte Ignace Gallia in a future movie.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    Ludovico wrote:
    I think Kotto did a fine job and that Kananga was a good villain, but I was never totally convinced with Mr Big. His disguise looked too fake. I also think the novel's Mr Big was more interesting.

    On the plus side, it means there is still room for a Buonaparte Ignace Gallia in a future movie.

    Yes, my thoughts exactly - Idris Elba is being mooted as the new Mr Big in some quarters for Bond 24 as a LALD novel remake.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,234
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    I think Kotto did a fine job and that Kananga was a good villain, but I was never totally convinced with Mr Big. His disguise looked too fake. I also think the novel's Mr Big was more interesting.

    On the plus side, it means there is still room for a Buonaparte Ignace Gallia in a future movie.

    Yes, my thoughts exactly - Idris Elba is being mooted as the new Mr Big in some quarters for Bond 24 as a LALD novel remake.

    Funny, I was thinking just that: have Idris Elba take a few extra pounds and there you have your Mr Big.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    There's an interesting article floating about the internet at the moment making just this very point- that Bond 24 will be a LALD novel remake - I for one am all for it.
  • SoundofthesinnersSoundofthesinners
    Posts: 3,236
    I think the idea was anyone speaking to him would be too stunned by the lines, "Names is for tombstones, baby!" and "Take this honky out back and waste him," to think that he's actually Kananga.
  • HappiestinthesaddleHappiestinthesaddle Banned
    Posts: 101
    Funny you should say he seems unhinged and off the rails in the climax Murdock.
    I have thought this too.
    I have wondered if maybe they shot this scene first, and Yaphet Kotto had not yet figured out how he would approach the character of Kananga.
    He is much more icy cold throughout the earlier parts of the movie, then turns into a fruit loop towards the end!
    The look in his face when fiddling with the compressed air bullet :))
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    Yes, he reminds me of the way Max Ziorin as played by Christopher Walken goes on in A View to A Kill (1985). He has the same manic behaviour and laugh - a true megalomaniac.
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