James Bond 25 - Speculation and Anticipation Thread*

I enjoy the movies. All of them.

 

In what way did he seem fine. Did he give an interview? Even if so, mental issues can come and go as one ages

 

Come and go? You either have it or you don't. It's not a cold that you get and then it goes away.

 

Depending on how advanced it is you can have good days, bad days, good weeks, bad weeks, etc.

 

I'm not aware of him having these issues. I haven't read any news about this. It'not like I track all these matter but I'm not aware of this?

 

Well, maybe he's forgotten that he said never again!?

 

I think it goes back to The Phantom, where the family line goes back 100s of years, with each son taking over for the father. In the comics they did a similar thing with The Green Hornet, where The Lone Ranger is the uncle of the first Green Hornet (on the radio), the Second Green Hornet (on TV) is the nephew of the First Green Hornet, and Third Green Hornet (in the comics) is the nephew of the second Green Hornet. Likewise with the Katos, where the Second Kato (played by Bruce Lee), is the son of the First Kato, and the Third Kato (in the comic) is the daughter of the Second Kato.

 

However, in the world of James Bond, I'm not sure how iconic or notorious a name "James Bond" is supposed to be. It's iconic to the movie audience, but he's not supposed to be a world-famous secret agent in the films, though his name seems to be familiar to some of the people he encounters. So I don't know what the value would be of the name being passed on to different guys.

One of the more baffling things about the Bond films is that he doesn't use an alias more often. How many situations has he walked into and blithely announced himself as James Bond?

 

It's a similar issue with Batman, where he's supposed to be an urban legend with a low profile (it's supposed to be that most people aren't sure he actually exists). Yet that is contradicted by the very public profile he seems to have as a member of the Justice League and his actions (such as his creation of Brother I, a spy satellite that can monitor every superhuman on the planet that ended up becoming a threat to the world).

 

If that's your opinion, that's your opinion. I find the film idiotic, obvious, predictable and bombastic. Not to mention agenda-driven. The movie is a scolding to the men in the audience. Everytime Bond has a scene with a woman, she excoriates him, ridicules him, and teaches him a lesson. M is a dreadful old shrew. She strips Bond of his dignity with her mouth. Craig is clueless. How anyone can sit there and enjoy this diseased twisted vision of Bond is beyond me.

I agree with you about OHMSS and to a large extent Goldfinger. I've been a dedicated fan since the Connery films were re-released as double-features in 1970. I saw each film in the Connery, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan era numerous times on the big screen and have studied them, in a disciplined way, on home video. I corresponded with scriptwriter Richard Maibaum, and enjoyed a brief acquaintance with Peter Hunt after he moved to L.A. I learned a lot from both gentlemen. Moreover, I delved deep into the life and times of Ian Fleming and his brother the real-life spy Peter Fleming and their world and entourage. I know a lot about how the novels came into existence and how the early films were made. Casino Royale is my favorite Bond novel, and one of my favorite books. If Fleming had lived to see Craig version there is no doubt in my mind it would make him feel sick to his stomach.

Truth is, some of the Bond films are plodding mediocrities. Others are just bad movies. A few of them are masterworks. But no matter how bad they got, I always found something to enjoy because the plusses outweighed the minuses, and the style was impeccable. But not anymore. Craig and Barbara Broccoli just killed James Bond for me. Watching Craig dance under Barbara's strings is painful. His Bond makes me wince.

 

I watched the movie 'Inception' tonight. While I was watching the thought occurred to me, Tom Hardy would make an excellent Bond!

 

I said that many pages ago. I agree. I really like him. He's already has a lot going on ice Star Wars: Episode VIII

 

While Craigs Casino Royale is among my favorite Bond movies, I also found fault with the way he was emasculated repeatedly through it; it quickly grew tiring and annoying. CR is the only Craig Bond movie I liked; the three following it I strongly disliked for various reasons. I'm hoping the next run of Bond films does the exact opposite of the last three...

 

Are you happy with any Bond film?

 

Oh yea, definitely. Most of the Sean Connery films absolutely rock, loved some of the Roger Moore ones, and there were very occasional moments I liked in the Pierce Brosnan and the Daniel Craig movies (outside of CR). Casino Royal is the one I watch most often though. I own the complete Connery collection and am going to pick up select Roger Moore ones; I'm not interested in repeat viewings of the Pierce Brosnan films nor any Daniel Craig movies after Casino Royal.

 

I agree, Tom Hardy would make an awesome Bond...

 

Some on here think he's to short at 5'9

 

I think Fassbender would make a great Bond, after all he does speak the " Kings" when the going gets rough.

 

The best part of the Craig series was when they killed off M. God, I hated her.

 

I don't understand why OHMSS is rated so highly by so many. The art direction looks chintzy to me and Lazenby is awful. The best thing about the film is the opening title theme which I love.

 

I think amongst mainstream moviegoers, who enjoy Bond films but don't scrutinize them the way Bond fanatics do, it's probably thought of as a lesser film, if they've even seen it at all. But there are several reasons why Bond fanatics rate it so highly:

It's one of the best-directed films in the entire series. Peter Hunt, who had edited the original Connery films, got to direct this film. The direction is outstanding, even evoking (dare I say) Hitchcock at times. It's really a shame Hunt didn't get to direct any more Bond entries after this one!

The pre-credits sequence is outstanding, with one of the best Bond fight scenes ever (and it's shot and edited beautifully, as well).

Diana Rigg. Definitely stands out in the pantheon of Bond women. She's beautiful and can handle herself in a fight, and psychologically she's just "off" enough that you could see someone like Bond falling for her.

It dared to stick to the Fleming novel fairly closely, which Bond fans love, but which probably hurt it at the box office.

It's got a lot of interesting secondary characters, and a lot of really good performances.

One of John Barry's all-time best Bond scores (which given the quality of his work, is saying a lot!)

The skiing sequences were breathtaking for their day, in terms of how they were shot.

Despite your feelings about Lazenby, his performance is highly regarded by a lot of the fanatics. Again, mainstream audiences didn't really take to him, but they also didn't get much of a chance, since he was one-and-done in this series.

EDIT: just noticed you're in Mill Valley. Greetings from Santa Rosa!

 

Hello Santa Rosa! I can agree with you on the pre credit sequence, the score and sticking close to the novel. Don't care for Hunts direction and poor Diana had nothing to work with against Lazenby who had great physique but cringe worthy acting. Sinks the movie. Cheers.

 

I don't think Tom Hardy would be a good choice for Bond. He looks like a bully. So does Craig, in my opinion. Not enough style, zero humor. Maybe it appeals to wider audience these days, I don't know.
Too bad Clive Owen wasn't picked in the first place.



PS. I like Craig in general, he was really good in Our Friends in the North, for example. But as Bond? No.

 

I disagree. As I mentioned before, Hardy as Bond occurred to me while watching Inception. The character he plays is brilliant, physically intimidating, a master of disguise, kicks ass in the action sequences, looks elegant in a suit and tie, possesses that Brit tongue in cheek sense of humor, and has a British accent. Sound like anybody we know?!