Reporting For Duty
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
In this Discussion
Cold Themes or Cold Hard Truths of Introductions
Disclaimer: I HOPE DANIEL CRAIG COMES BACK AS BOND IN BONDS 26 & 27! Again, I hope NTTD will not end up being his last Bond film. What I have written below is simply an observation I have made from films which existed many years prior to this moment.
OK so here it goes....
Ever notice how the first Bond films of a new actor that is not Sean Connery, that fans regard highly have a similar theme?
That theme is a sense of coldness....In the beginning of OHMSS, we see a new actor taking the role and he is immediately placed in a dangerous position and ends up saving a woman from drowning herself. Both he and the woman survive but she hits him and runs away in a very cold manner (although there is explanation for her behavior/demeanor to him). This Bond has his own story, one of which even Connery wished he could have had while experiencing a cold hard end to his brief marriage.
In LALD, the film uses its music, its visuals, its memorable settings and change in tone to coldly let the audience know that Connery's days as Bond are over and Roger Moore is the new Bond. His Bond is placed in many situations unseen in prior films. It takes a while for him to earn Solitaire's respect and the filmmakers made sure to assure the audience that Connery is gone. This Bond doesn't even smoke cigarettes but cigars. He doesn't even try to emulate Sean Connery, no Aston Martin in LALD, no tuxedo....Even the ending is not all that good, if you notice Baron Samedi sitting in front of the train laughing his head off be it literal or metaphorical...
Flash forward to GE.....the film starts in 1986 which is actually when Pierce Brosnan had originally intended to start filming in the role of Bond.....but that's nothing cold....here is what's cold about it....throughout much of the film, Bond endures his boss' cold hard truth about him being a relic and a dinosaur. Natalia's sarcasm throughout the film really plays out. Her lack of trust for Bond from the moment she stomps on his foot after the first rescue to the end reminds the audience that this franchise was about to be snuffed out in the years between LTK and GE not just because of the MGM lawsuit but also for becoming too predictable. Even Bond's coldness is made an issue in the beach scene.
In Casino Royale, it is made clear that this is a different Bond but with it Craig brings a gritty sense of realism and character-driven storytelling that attracts both fans and non-fans alike. Throughout the film, Bond is an outsider yet his chemistry with Vesper earns him her heart and vice versa. He tries to play coy at the end to guard himself in front of M and others but he is truly saddened by her death and confused by the things she did not tell him about, leaving him feeling cold.
OK so here it goes....
Ever notice how the first Bond films of a new actor that is not Sean Connery, that fans regard highly have a similar theme?
That theme is a sense of coldness....In the beginning of OHMSS, we see a new actor taking the role and he is immediately placed in a dangerous position and ends up saving a woman from drowning herself. Both he and the woman survive but she hits him and runs away in a very cold manner (although there is explanation for her behavior/demeanor to him). This Bond has his own story, one of which even Connery wished he could have had while experiencing a cold hard end to his brief marriage.
In LALD, the film uses its music, its visuals, its memorable settings and change in tone to coldly let the audience know that Connery's days as Bond are over and Roger Moore is the new Bond. His Bond is placed in many situations unseen in prior films. It takes a while for him to earn Solitaire's respect and the filmmakers made sure to assure the audience that Connery is gone. This Bond doesn't even smoke cigarettes but cigars. He doesn't even try to emulate Sean Connery, no Aston Martin in LALD, no tuxedo....Even the ending is not all that good, if you notice Baron Samedi sitting in front of the train laughing his head off be it literal or metaphorical...
Flash forward to GE.....the film starts in 1986 which is actually when Pierce Brosnan had originally intended to start filming in the role of Bond.....but that's nothing cold....here is what's cold about it....throughout much of the film, Bond endures his boss' cold hard truth about him being a relic and a dinosaur. Natalia's sarcasm throughout the film really plays out. Her lack of trust for Bond from the moment she stomps on his foot after the first rescue to the end reminds the audience that this franchise was about to be snuffed out in the years between LTK and GE not just because of the MGM lawsuit but also for becoming too predictable. Even Bond's coldness is made an issue in the beach scene.
In Casino Royale, it is made clear that this is a different Bond but with it Craig brings a gritty sense of realism and character-driven storytelling that attracts both fans and non-fans alike. Throughout the film, Bond is an outsider yet his chemistry with Vesper earns him her heart and vice versa. He tries to play coy at the end to guard himself in front of M and others but he is truly saddened by her death and confused by the things she did not tell him about, leaving him feeling cold.
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
I think the producers are always trying to ground the character and show his steely resolve and ways of being an agent.
I remember watching TLD for the first time and really saw how much they GROUNDED, as you said @thedove Bond but that cold method of using Kara as bait was unexpected.
When Dalton as Bond was guiding Kara at the carnival under the disguise of dancing, it was very Connery-like in his direction.