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I wouldn't have a huge problem with that TBH. So long as he was good. The best actor for the role, end of as far as I'm concerned. Spiderman and Batman have been played by English and Welsh actors and the world is still spinning.
I don't hate the idea of an American playing Bond as long as he can do it convincingly, but that is a tough ask. Mind you, Brosnan's accent was fine and I'm not entirely sure what that was! :D
Technically we've just had an American playing Bond, apparently! :)
you sneezed that offends me ;)
In all seriousness we have three issues
1. if the net bond actor checks off a minority box there will be many who will wonder if its just because of that minority aspect rather ten that they were the best candidate for the role.
2. Even though I have moved past the days of being ignorant about actors and actresses (the later Craig era has actors and actresses I either saw in something else like Rami Malek and Lea Seadoux or that I heard on this forum as the best next villain in the case of Javier Bardem and Christoph Waltz) I dont see a frontrunner that isn't already huge because of (insert comic book movie role they did)
3. Even in terms of direction I hate to say it but post 2020 and Me Too I feel for the first time since the end of the cold war does Bond fit in this world? now obviously I want the answer to be yes as Bond is someone I want to learn from be etc but yeah
I've been reading 'is Bond outdated?' for years, possibly back to the first Brosnan picture, (where he was even called a dinosaur). But like you, it's only recently I've actually thought current sensibilities have made even the recent cinematic Bond redundant.
Yes, fair points I think. I think in terms of the first one it's tricky because the person who gets the gig is never just the best candidate, there are lots of other real world issues too: just look at Brosnan and Dalton and how, despite being good enough to eventually get the job, they weren't able to actually take it first time. I'm a fan of Doctor Who and I think Peter Capaldi was great as the Doctor, and you might say he was the best candidate when he got it, but it's not as if he wasn't acting when the previous four or five Doctors were cast! :) There is no one best person in the world to take a role; there are just those who available, want to do it, and fit the job at that particular moment in time.
So it will be a decision to even choose to consider non-white actors, and I think all the signs are that they will do that, but anyone who wonders whether that person was 'the best person they could have picked' is oversimplifying the task they have. And if their race is part of the decision and they've decided that they want to say something with that, well that's up to them. I don't think calling it 'box-ticking' is helpful.
Ultimately people will complain about anything. Look at all of the ridiculous complaints about Nomi in NTTD we got before the film came out. Besides all of the stupid 'I won't accept another character as 007' stuff, we had people on here who knew for certain that she would make Bond look bad and old and show him up and she'd be totally perfect all the way through the film. And then we saw the film and guess what: it was all absolutely fine: none of those terrible things actually came to pass, and it turned out that another character being 007 didn't actually make any difference after all. So if folk go on Twitter or here and whine about the new guy not looking exactly how they want, well so what. It happened last time and, guess what? Yup, it turned out fine then too.
Regarding your point .3; well I know what you mean, sometimes I wonder if Bond really does belong. But when you look at the Craig Bond films I actually think Bond has changed quite a bit from the guy with the slightly dodgier traits of the past and yet remained recognisably Bond, I'm not too worried that they'll find a way ahead with that. I certainly didn't see any objections which gained traction about NTTD being an offensive film from the perspective of social justice. They need to lose that 'old dog' thing which gave them a bit of an excuse for him to be a bit less than progressive in some of his attitudes and make him fit in today's world, but I don't think that's impossible to reconcile. He'll still be a male fantasy figure driving fast cars and all that, but I think you'd have to be quite the entrenched feminist to object too much to that.
But if you're a Bond fan you've had Dalton's safer sex Bond, Roger's Bond packing in the fags, Pierce's even had a cry quite regularly etc. - he's always moved with the times, albeit not too fast.
Much truth, here. I learned this lesson in 2011, when I heard the rumours that SF was going to be a full-on gags and gadgets fest - I was gutted and sulked and pouted for a long time. Then, when I finally saw the film, it wasn't at all the trope-by-trope reversion that'd been threatened, so I'd been narked for nothing. These things can drain your energy and it's all pointless, because they're going to make whatever film they like anyway, so...
The films need to unashamedly embrace who Bond is and not try to turn him into something he's not. The Craig era started off great, exploring how Bond became the man we know him to be but then it all changed with SF and it became something else.
It's simple. Bond is a licensed hitman/spy for the British government. He's a lady's man that enjoys the indulgences and trappings of the finer things in life, while beating up bad guys to save the world. That's the only blueprint you need to build a compelling story that honors the character and silences those think Bond is an abominable misogynist who has no place in today's entertainment.
They'd have more to cling onto with his seduction of Lucia Sciarra IMHO.
I also think that Bond being called a misogynist is way off the mark. He likes women because of what they provide (whether that be sex or anything else - depending on if they become important to him). If anything then you could argue he has chauvinistic beliefs but misogyny? No, I never saw it that way.
However, he can still have some of those archaic beliefs and "be in our time". There are plenty of men that think that way and even though it may not have been stated in NTTD there was an element of Nomi still having to earn his respect. You can choose to view this through that lens or not. It's really up to the viewer. It's ambiguous on purpose.
Well, this is the wrong thread for it, I guess, but I felt compelled to reply.
But I agree with @mtm overall. They will think long and hard about it and I trust in EON to make something that will resonate regardless... And not completely trash Bond or his ego/persona/legacy while completely reinventing him for the time. Whether this turns out to be a POC or not they will end up making a great film (Just like they did with CR even with the backlash for Craig) and people will be chomping at the bit to see it.
I agree it's a non issue. Or rather it should be, because I think for some unfortunately it always will be. As for Luke Evans specifically he could give masculinity lessons to a lot of straight men. He doesn't quite look like I'd imagine Bond, but he can certainly play a masculine hero convincingly. At 43, I think he's too old now however, especially since the next Bond movie might take a long while to be shot. A couple years ago, I would have certainly given him an audition.
1) Timothy Dalton de-aged. Okay, you don't like the idea, fine.
2) Clive Owen. Wow, missed the bus on that by going with Craig.
3) Jason Isaacs. Too late, Trek has him.
4) How about an actor who is moving into just the right age now? HENRY flucking floggin' CAVILL?????????
It takes more than looks to play Bond, I would hope. Cavill is fine in the stuff he's been in, but the acting bar has been set much higher than him, I'm afraid.
I will never for the life of me understand the appeal of Clive Owen to some. And Cavill hasn't really been outstanding in anything. He's good looking, but that's it. And he's Superman. And the Witcher.
So what’s there to do? Even though it’s a bromide, I think the only way is for EON to choose an actor that they think fits the role right now and for a filmmaker to make a film they think tells a good Bond story for right now and take what may come.
I think they need first to know what they want next, not only the next film, bit the next tenure. I think full standalone movies in a franchise are a thing of the past, or at least won't happen for a while. I think they will keep most if not all the recurring cast (M, Moneypenny, Q, etc.), if only to keep things simpler. Casting a new Bond is time and energy consuming enough. So until they find this new Bond, they can ask themselves what if anything from the previous era(s): do they want more gadgets, less gadgets (I think the DB5 is here to stay), Spectre and Blofeld again, Bond as a widower, or grieving for Vesper, etc? And after NTTD, we won't take Bond for granted.
Well sure, but as you say, if that’s the situation regardless of anything they do they’ve just got to get on with it and not worry about that stuff.
Although I did think it was interesting that Mr Wilson said in the Being documentary that he still thought CR would have made more money had it not been for the Craig backlash. So it’s perfectly possible that they will be mindful of that this time around.
$600m WW box office on a budget of $150m isnt a bad result for poor Mickey 😅
Cavill will never get the role. Thankfully.
I agree with you about Clive Owen. Everything about him is so boring. His voice sounds like he's either just woken up or is about to fall asleep.
+1. I can only see Owen as Bond in the beginning of a straight adaption of YOLT. Very despressed.
Which makes me wonder, might be interesting to see a Bond film where multiple actors play the character in the same film, I'm Not Here style. Wouldn't be a popular opinion around here I don't imagine, but it could be interesting.
For me, he always looked like a tired boxer who had one fight too many and one drink too many.
Don't you think the next Bond should be able to do more than just look the part?
Genuinely asking, like... don't you want a good actor to play Bond?
I mean, none of the Bonds have exactly been Oscar-winning actors, but at least they are actors. I feel a Lazenby-based rebuttal coming on, but clearly we're past that era.
Despite all that, the Gandyman keeps popping up on my Instagram feed and I can't help but think... I wish he was a great actor! ;)
Exchushe me
:D