James Bond 25 - Speculation and Anticipation Thread*

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Vidiot, May 19, 2016.

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  1. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    Well, it appears that #25 will not be appealing to the "aging fanbase".

    We will see how this goes.

    Speaking from that aging fanbase, I have seen my last James Bond movie.

    Good luck with the new fanbase...
     
  2. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    No kidding.

    They're still better films than what's being made today.
    They're better written, better produced, better acted, better made.
    And "dated" which doesn't interest me.

    Just like the original KING KONG from 1933 and HORROR OF DRACULA
    from 1958 are better than today's remakes. Just like STAR WARS 1977 easily
    surpasses the sequals being made by Disney. And incidentally, today's films
    are going to date faster and fall harder in quality than yesterday's films.

    I have watched early Bond films with youngsters and I found they respond
    well and were fully engaged.
     
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  3. Billo

    Billo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern England
    regardless of any dated production aspects ( and how much something has actually 'dated' to a fair extent depends on how upbeat or derogative YOU choose to see it - the so called 'Timeless' films will have some 'dated' aspects if we want to find them, while even today's films are already 'dated' to now) the key strengths re those early Bond films was the core Fleming ideas used, the charisma of the Bond actors - something now sadly very reduced I feel, well directed action scenes, good use of suspense, imaginative location filming and great camera work plus some unforgettable foes portrayed by stars like Joseph Wiseman, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw, Gert Frobe, etc and later Yapete Kotto, Christopher Lee, Robert Davi ....

    ...plus the very underrated Bond Girls (an almost unmentionable term today's silly woke 'mind control' age) where the likes of Ursula Andress, Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, Barbara Bach, Maryam d'Abo, Carey Lowell etc all gave fine performances that stand out in the memory with NONE of those characters being mere 'eye candy' - a number of those female characters saved Bond's life and if you bother to go back and watch the film's the Bond leading lady is mainly a key figure in most of the films helping Bond with only a few being more the typical 'bimbo' idea of a Bond girl !

    Skyfall badly missed having such a iconic Bond leading lady character and the ongoing series thing about Bond's prissy disapproving elderly mummy figure of 'M' drove me up the wall (a character who made error after error in her judgments quite unable to spot a traitor under her nose even if they wore a tee shirt with TRAITOR printed upon it ! - change the record Wade and Purvis !!)

    the Bond series needs to be BOLD enough to do what it originally did...lead the audience not pander to PC piffle, and make Bond a modern version of his old self complete with flaws and non dictated to opinions and characteristics a figure daring to THINK for himself and use his own wits and experience to accomplish his missions, a sharp minded character never out done re quips with a keen sense of ironic dark humour and above all a self confident guy !

    and if the 'PC Brigade' can't cope with that, if it upsets their mindsets....well they don't have to watch it do they ?

    what made James Bond stand out was the fact he was a 'maverick' a maverick with charisma, style, humour and flair who never would be put down or meekly run with the herd or ever 'know his place'
     
  4. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    Even if the movie is ‘dated’ (which is a byproduct of age not necessarily intent, what struck me about the early Bond films was the story - especially when using Fleming’s novels as the source material. Casino Royale is a great example of how easily you could shoot one of those novels and have a good modern film. If you get taken in by the story, you miss a lot of the other stuff that signifies its era.

    Ive been on a Brosnan kick lately, and yeah the technology is super dated (flip phones??) but they were good stories too, and he did a great job in the role. They hadn’t ruined Judi Dench’s M character yet either. They’re fun, and easy to get caught up in.
     
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  5. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    For me Judi Dench’M ruined the Bond films, too much emphasis on her., not enough on James Bond.
     
  6. Doctor Worm

    Doctor Worm Romans 6:23

    Location:
    Missouri
    One thing I want to see a sense of fun return to the films. For the last 15 years most of our media has been dark, violent, and nihilistic. That take worked for Craig's run in the beginning but at this point I just want to see Bond get a bit outrageous again. I'm not saying we need to go back to Moonraker levels of excess, but something along the lines of You Only Live Twice or The Spy Who Loved Me would be a refreshing change of pace. I'm starting to feel like the series is taking itself too seriously, like they're afraid to embrace the elements that made the franchise so successful in the first place. Heck, they haven't even been able to get the gun barrel opening right, which is just insane. I almost get a sense that there's a disdain and distrust of the series' most iconic elements; if it weren't for Craig being called Bond I'm not sure I'd even be aware I'm watching a 007 film at this point. I've enjoyed his run but it's just missing something, mainly those classic Bond touches.
     
  7. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    I noticed this starting with The World is Not Enough. In Goldeneye (especially) and Tomorrow Never Dies she had that hard boiled attitude that I liked from Bernard Lee. After that though...she was just too involved. Same for Ralph Fiennes M.
     
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  8. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Yeah.... meh
     
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  9. Solitaire1

    Solitaire1 Carpenters Fan

    Shoehorn with Teeth wrote the following as part of a post:

    The Spy Who Loved Me (TSWLM) was my first Bond movie (I saw it as part of a double feature with Futureworld). I'd never seen a Bond movie before but I thoroughly enjoyed TSWLM and thought Jaws was a great opponent for Bond, although he was not well used in Moonraker. I suspect that it is best that a significant henchman be used just once.

    TSWLM led me to an interest in the other Bond movies. I didn't enjoy Moonraker as much and my understanding is that the excess in Moonraker led to a pull back with For Your Eyes Only which was a much more grounded-in-reality movie. I haven't seen any of the Craig Bond movies (I've so many other movies to watch that I just haven't gotten around to them), but based on what I've read it seems the first two Craig Bond movies are good, but the series goes down from there.
     
  10. MPLRecords

    MPLRecords Owner of eleven copies of Tug of War

    Location:
    Lake Ontario
    I thought most people preferred Skyfall to Quantum of Solace.
     
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  11. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Less M in QOS.
     
  12. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    I think putting Casino Royal and QOS together into one film (maybe tighten up with some editing) and it would be an excellent installment.

    I don’t get the negativity about it, even if I do think Skyfall is a better film.
     
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  13. MPLRecords

    MPLRecords Owner of eleven copies of Tug of War

    Location:
    Lake Ontario
    Me neither. I put it as the weakest of Craig's films... he's had a pretty good run. The films don't feel as "Bondish" anymore but they're still quality.
     
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  14. AppleCorp3

    AppleCorp3 Forum Resident

    Good point on the “Bondish” feel. I agree there’s something lacking about them. Quantum always felt like an overlong Epilogue of sorts but I just watched it recently and it was good and did tie up loose ends.
     
  15. dunkrag

    dunkrag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I can see this being pushed back to summer 2021... I think they will want to be well clear of pandemic before this comes out..
     
  16. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    I'm glad you enjoyed TSWLM but please recognize that Jaws was a staggeringly
    stupid thing to introduce into the franchise. The character signals the rot that had
    set in under Michael G. Wilson's creative control. Jaws represents the gradual
    deterioration and everything that goes wrong with the series.
     
  17. Phil147

    Phil147 Forum Resident

    Location:
    York UK
    You forgot the 'IMHO' bit...

    Jaws was a great villain in TSWLM, IMHO. I will give you that he should not have come back for Moonraker and go thru the character arc he did there though.
     
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  18. shokhead

    shokhead Head shok and you still don't what it is. HA!

    Location:
    SoCal, Long Beach
    I enjoyed jaws in all of them
     
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  19. Doctor Worm

    Doctor Worm Romans 6:23

    Location:
    Missouri
    I feel like Craig's films have lacked a truly memorable villain or henchman. They finally got around to bringing Blofeld back and it was so underwhelming. I can't see any of the modern villains holding up like many of the older ones do.
     
  20. Billo

    Billo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern England
    I would like to see Bond just get back to going on missions for 'M' again

    - I SO wish they would drop the 'rogue agent going it alone / traitor right under their noses' tired old formula they serve up in film after film now

    and have Bond with a touch of style, flair, charisma and some witty one liners

    M, Q, Eve Moneypenny are all fine so too the latest Felix, keep them all but besides a few scenes M really only needs to appear purely as Bond's chief giving him his mission as Bernard Lee / Robert Brown's 'M' both did - the overplaying of Judi Dench's appallingly inept M was a big failing in the films for me

    a couple of those films felt more like an 'M' film than a Bond film....

    Also required are a beautiful strong character leading lady, some decent suitably evil hench men / women....

    ... and a credible formidable MEMORABLE leading foe are essential to make Bond films work - no more idiots going 'cuckoo' please...!

    keep the gadgets to a minimum and then both believable and useful in Bond's mission - no more invisible cars please....

    and no more trying to copy or parody other films - once other films tried to copy Bond !

    and please please give Bond back his personality and sparkle - the stone faced 'wounded animal' colourless character who meekly accepts silly put downs to presumably appease feminist egos is pathetic and boring...and no way Bond, James Bond
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2020
  21. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I agree. It's like they are trying to compete with The Bourne Identity or Mission Impossible. Bond is the original, and it should return to the original type campy movies.

    But, I'm still looking forward to the Bond 25! :edthumbs:
     
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  22. Billo

    Billo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern England
    They are most certainly trying to copy Bourne and other such modern film series now

    I don't think the early Connery, Lazenby, a few of Moore's Bond films or Dalton's two were remotely campy at all

    and the Bond film series was built upon the sixties early Connery films

    You Only Live Twice was a Roald Dahl story with key aspects borrowed for The Spy Who Loved Me re craft opening up to swallow American and Russian craft to begin a world war between the west and the east
    - the films were of course Ian Fleming book titles only
     
  23. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    No, Jaws is not a great villain. He is inappropriate, a cartoon suitable
    for slapstick, farce, comedy. The Bond films always had a sense of
    humor but never at the expense of drama and suspense -- they were
    not supposed to be slapstick, farce and comedy. Jaws has no business
    being in a Bond film. The fact that some children enjoyed him in their
    first or second Bond film does not make it right. All it means is that
    they started out on the wrong foot.

    In fact, Jaws was not in the original drafts of the script. To read the
    script without Jaws is a revelation. It's a leaner meaner suspense
    thriller with a measure of unrequited romance for the adults in the
    theater, and yes, a touch of self-deprecating humor. What a superior
    film it would have been. Jaws is idiotic and introducing him into the
    story was Wilson's way of giving the middle finger to everybody.
     
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  24. shokhead

    shokhead Head shok and you still don't what it is. HA!

    Location:
    SoCal, Long Beach
    But do you like Jaws?
     
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  25. Doctor Worm

    Doctor Worm Romans 6:23

    Location:
    Missouri
    Jaws is a great henchman. Silly in places, yes, but memorable and especially fun in TSWLM. The romance angle in Moonraker was pretty dumb but seeing him help Bond at the end was kind of cool.
     
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