Should we get a new M / Q / Moneypenny for BOND 26 and beyond ?

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  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,921
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    I haven't read at least the last 440 posts or so, and I don't remember if I commented on this in the earlier 560, but I think that anything but a clean sweep would be a recipe for failure. I like the recent cast, but with Bond obviously starting a new timeline they should be replaced. The new beginning will need to be reflected in a total exchange of personnel, or it won't be credible. Just like dropping the DB5 and (for those who care) the PPK. Keep the shaken martini if you like.

    I feel that "Bond, James Bond" and the martini are the bare minimum tropes they need to keep--in any iteration. (Yes, I'm aware of QoS and the drink experiments in the Moore era.)
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited March 2022 Posts: 14,861
    I can live without the martini, to be honest. I think LALD shows how many of those trinkets you can lose and yet it still feels like a Bond film. No Q, no MI6 HQ, no dinner suit even etc.
    Does he not BondJamesBond in QoS then?
  • Posts: 14,800
    mtm wrote: »
    I can live without the martini, to be honest. I think LALD shows how many of those trinkets you can lose and yet it still feels like a Bond film. No Q, no MI6 HQ, no dinner suit even etc.
    Does he not BondJamesBond in QoS then?

    I think sometimes it's not so much a question of what as much as how. Taken individually, none of these elements are truly what gives Bond his uniqueness. Moore us very much Bond in LALD even though there's lot of things "missing" in it. Same with DN, CR, OHMSS (no gadgets to speak of).
  • edited March 2022 Posts: 784
    If they don't go with him or another black Bond, Idris Elba would make a great, imposing yet caring boss to a younger actor. Otherwise Anthony Hopkins really reminds me of the original one.

    For Monepenny maybe Phoebe Waller-Bridge? A comedy actress would be a great relief to what I otherwise suspect will be a tense as f*ck movie.

  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    edited March 2022 Posts: 1,400
    Emma Thompson as M= outstanding. And we never learned Q's name, did we.
  • Posts: 1,879
    mtm wrote: »
    I can live without the martini, to be honest. I think LALD shows how many of those trinkets you can lose and yet it still feels like a Bond film. No Q, no MI6 HQ, no dinner suit even etc.
    Does he not BondJamesBond in QoS then?

    Agree. Spare us the DB5 as well.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    BT3366 wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I can live without the martini, to be honest. I think LALD shows how many of those trinkets you can lose and yet it still feels like a Bond film. No Q, no MI6 HQ, no dinner suit even etc.
    Does he not BondJamesBond in QoS then?

    Agree. Spare us the DB5 as well.
    Well then - let's just do a Bourne movie.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 395
    Stop casting people just because they are black.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    @MSL49 , I’m an advocate of permitting varying points of view, but it is now obvious that you are trying to get a rise out of people with these pronouncements. You’ve made your point, if it continues it will be interpreted as instigation.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    BT3366 wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I can live without the martini, to be honest. I think LALD shows how many of those trinkets you can lose and yet it still feels like a Bond film. No Q, no MI6 HQ, no dinner suit even etc.
    Does he not BondJamesBond in QoS then?

    Agree. Spare us the DB5 as well.

    Oh yeah, I think that’s certainly gone now.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    mtm wrote: »
    BT3366 wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I can live without the martini, to be honest. I think LALD shows how many of those trinkets you can lose and yet it still feels like a Bond film. No Q, no MI6 HQ, no dinner suit even etc.
    Does he not BondJamesBond in QoS then?

    Agree. Spare us the DB5 as well.

    Oh yeah, I think that’s certainly gone now.

    I think it’s very likely that the handling of the DB5 and many of the other hallmarks will go very similar to the way it went with Craig. Start out stripped down - we want to tell a Bond story not show Bond memorabilia etc. - or updated or only with a couple of the classic signifiers and by the time the third film is in production the actor, the director, production designer and writers as well as fans and journalists will be like „That’s cool and all, but can he maybe drink a Martini and smoking a cigarette, while wearing a dinner jacket, driving a gadget-laden DB5 with a girl by his side and saying „Bond, James Bond“? I’ve always wanted to do that.“ They (we) just can’t help it.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    I think maybe just approach it like they did in the 80s; without needing to consciously bring back old things (was Tim driving an Aston the only time they did that?). If you look at something like AVTAK, although they were still wearing a lot of the old clothes they were trying to do new things; slyly copying the Goldfinger plot is about all that's old about it.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,483
    I wish we got a traditional Moneypenny scene during Spectre or NTTD. Naomie was a great Moneypenny
  • CharmianBondCharmianBond Pett Bottom, Kent
    Posts: 533
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I wish we got a traditional Moneypenny scene during Spectre or NTTD. Naomie was a great Moneypenny

    Yeah she's wonderful as Moneypenny.

    Its placement in the car chase was an odd choice but I loved the Moneypenny/James interaction in Spectre, how Craig delivers "At this time of night?" really delights me.

    I think the MI6 gang are a really great part of the Craig era that could and should've been utilised more, Tanner is a little neglected but I think that was probably a wise move and Rory Kinnear is always solid. And Whishaw as Q is fantastic, the chemistry he has with Craig is a big reason why. It's also why I think they should clear the decks for the new actor and build something new without stepping on Craig's shoes.
  • Posts: 1,545
    As for Bond getting out of the Aston business, I rather doubt it. For example - since his personal DBs are always getting blown up, have him get a personal Lotus Esprit ? Gorgeous car, despite it not being brand new. But the thing is -Aston is a sponsor, aren't they ?
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou. I can still hear my old hound dog barkin'.
    Posts: 8,657
    echo wrote: »
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    I haven't read at least the last 440 posts or so, and I don't remember if I commented on this in the earlier 560, but I think that anything but a clean sweep would be a recipe for failure. I like the recent cast, but with Bond obviously starting a new timeline they should be replaced. The new beginning will need to be reflected in a total exchange of personnel, or it won't be credible. Just like dropping the DB5 and (for those who care) the PPK. Keep the shaken martini if you like.

    I feel that "Bond, James Bond" and the martini are the bare minimum tropes they need to keep--in any iteration. (Yes, I'm aware of QoS and the drink experiments in the Moore era.)

    I agree they should keep some of Bond's own tropes. After all, he's the same character in a different timeline, and he should be recognisable as such. But to make clear that this is back to day 1, there shouldn't be remnants which have now been around for 60 years. This new Bond should have a new M, a new Q, and a new Moneypenny. Not to forget a new car. The DB5 business has been overdone recently anyway.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 395
    Glad she "was" great Moneypenny.
  • Posts: 14,800
    Since62 wrote: »
    As for Bond getting out of the Aston business, I rather doubt it. For example - since his personal DBs are always getting blown up, have him get a personal Lotus Esprit ? Gorgeous car, despite it not being brand new. But the thing is -Aston is a sponsor, aren't they ?

    Good point.
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou. I can still hear my old hound dog barkin'.
    edited March 2022 Posts: 8,657
    Perhaps he could get a current Aston (if the company survives until the next Bond film), and they might just consider dropping the trope of his car almost always getting destroyed. Come to think of it, I can't really remember what happened to the "Vanish" in DAD. But otherwise, the latest "survivor" must have been that laughable, superfluous, and underused Z 3 in GE. Unless you count the needlessly resurrected Vantage V8 in NTTD.
  • DoctorKaufmannDoctorKaufmann Can shoot you from Stuttgart and still make it look like suicide.
    Posts: 1,261
    Apparently Fiennes,m Harris and >Whishaw were contracted for three Bond movies. Personally I would like them to remain, as I liked them all. As for Fiennes' M, however, his involvement withe the Heracles virus, which killed several people, lead to the death of Bond could turn out problematic. If they would have managed to conceal all the events in connection with this programme, M could be found responsible for this. And after the bnombing of Safin's island, things would have gone public. So, in that terms, M would have to resign. Unless, like Dench, playing two different M's, Fiennes could stay on, ignoring the Craig tenure and its end.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    If Fiennes returns as M, wouldn t we be extremely worried for the next Bond?
  • Posts: 1,545
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Perhaps he could get a current Aston (if the company survives until the next Bond film), and they might just consider dropping the trope of his car almost always getting destroyed. Come to think of it, I can't really remember what happened to the "Vanish" in DAD. But otherwise, the latest "survivor" must have been that laughable, superfluous, and underused Z 3 in GE. Unless you count the needlessly resurrected Vantage V8 in NTTD.

    The Vanish is still around. It's just that no one knows quite where.
    The Z3 was a BMW promotion to an extreme degree. Good grief - it served no purpose other than transportation !
    And why say the Vantage was "needlessly resurrected" ? Bond needed a car. His older DB was damaged, and unavailable, at any rate.
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou. I can still hear my old hound dog barkin'.
    edited March 2022 Posts: 8,657
    Since62 wrote: »
    j_w_pepper wrote: »
    Perhaps he could get a current Aston (if the company survives until the next Bond film), and they might just consider dropping the trope of his car almost always getting destroyed. Come to think of it, I can't really remember what happened to the "Vanish" in DAD. But otherwise, the latest "survivor" must have been that laughable, superfluous, and underused Z 3 in GE. Unless you count the needlessly resurrected Vantage V8 in NTTD.

    The Vanish is still around. It's just that no one knows quite where.
    The Z3 was a BMW promotion to an extreme degree. Good grief - it served no purpose other than transportation !
    And why say the Vantage was "needlessly resurrected" ? Bond needed a car. His older DB was damaged, and unavailable, at any rate.

    I guess both of us agree on the Z 3.

    Regarding the "Vanish": I know what happened afterwards with the car that was used, including the fire at Brosnan's home which destroyed his substitute. I'm referring to what happened to the one in the movie, and I just don't remember while writing this or my last post, but just don't feel like re-viewing my eternally least favorite Bond movie to answer that question.

    As for the Vantage V8 in NTTD: Yes, but it was quite a stretch to accept that Bond had two previous "personal cars" in store somewhere, the first recovered in SF (to much applause) and then destroyed, but apparently restored in SP times, but unfortunately destroyed again in NTTD, and then the Vantage as a substitute in NTTD. The first one still in Q-Branch "refinements" condition, the other, well, apparently normal, without the stuff installed in TLD. He could have simply rented a VW Golf (or maybe Fiat, in Italy) instead. Using the VV8 was just another attempt to trigger Bond nostalgia by the producers. Legitimate, I'd say, especially with WHATTITW playing in the background. I was kind of elated by that as well, so I don't complain personally. One just doesn't have to fall for it, and I think they overdid it. And I'd especially not recommend it for a new start of the franchise. Let's keep the strictly personal traits of James Bond for a new start, but none of the old items that are basically just McGuffins trying to establish a connection to the past.
  • Posts: 1,545
    Yes, they might as well have gone with a late 60s Aston to evoke OHMSS even more, but the Dalton Aston still worked well for the "callbacks."
    As for the Vanish being around but no one knowing where...I am afraid I was too subtle (really ? me ?) in referencing its Invisibility....therefore, no one know where it is now...See ? I mean, not see.
  • brinkeguthriebrinkeguthrie Piz Gloria
    Posts: 1,400
    Speaking of M, I came across this on Wikipedia. "Mission?"

    'M is a codename held by a number of fictional characters in Ian Fleming's James Bond book and film series; the characters are the current or past heads of the Secret Intelligence Service—also known as MI6. Fleming based the character on a number of people he knew who commanded sections of British intelligence. Like Q for Quartermaster, M stands for "Mission".
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 395
    White Leiter next time around.
  • Posts: 1,545
    MSL49 wrote: »
    White Leiter next time around.

    Your comments indicate that you are quite fixated on having white actors in the next film ! Are you sincere, or are you a troll ?
  • Posts: 12,243
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Stop casting people just because they are black.

    Pretty obvious something is wrong. You are specifically rooting for a white Moneypenny and Leiter and insist the last ones were cast just for their skin color. You’re doing the very same with another skin color.
  • DenbighDenbigh UK
    edited March 2022 Posts: 5,834
    FoxRox wrote: »
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Stop casting people just because they are black.

    Pretty obvious something is wrong. You are specifically rooting for a white Moneypenny and Leiter and insist the last ones were cast just for their skin color. You’re doing the very same with another skin color.
    +1
    Denbigh wrote: »
    Denbigh wrote: »
    Moneypenny - Anya Chalotra (The Witcher)
    So to move away from that, I want to just touch on Anya again. Not only do I think she's a good actress, even if I've only seen her in The Witcher, she comes across to me as an actress who would be wasted on the Bond girl role. I also feel, depending on who they cast, she'd have great chemistry with a new James Bond as Moneypenny.

    1599px-Anya_Chalotra_%2848418062617%29.jpg?20190730231822
    Anyway, any The Witcher fans in the discussion? :)
  • Posts: 1,545
    Witcher good, Anya GREAT ! By the way, I think in terms of prestige, a lead role surpasses a repeat background utility character role. She's worthy of a lead, and in her OWN films, for that matter, not playing 2nd fiddle to Bond.
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