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Comments
Yeah. First Light feels like a prelude to Bond 26. No doubt Amazon has seen the excitement the game's trailer has created and would keeping working on bringing Bond 26 into full production, with a much surer foot.
Yeah sure. A ploy they just came up with... five years ago... for this moment.. why can't some of you just be satisfied and excited for new stuff?
Hahah @mtm i loved those films when I was a kid — we’d see them every summer when we came back to the UK to visit our family. And when I first heard the title of this Netflix film, I thought immediately of those suggestive little slapsticks !!
I feel the same way about M.
Or perhaps an old-school animal jumpscare?
Bingo.
If she shays no it meansh yesh
'You want to shlap a woman with an open palm, not a fist..."
Anyway, I'm being facetious again. I've only skimmed through the video so I might be way off the guy's analysis, but I'm not sure I fully agree with him when he talks about the Bond not being a 'hedonist' as of late and not engaging with the culture of where he's at (I guess since the Craig films?) You get Bond switching hotels in QOS (which I think is a great joke in a Bond film I'm mixed on), him commenting on the lamb in CR, and even ordering his specific cocktail in both films. One thing I loved about SF was that we saw Bond very easily drinking with locals and doing the scorpion drinking game (it's actually one of those weird things I can't imagine any cinematic Bond doing apart from Craig without looking totally uncomfortable, and yet I can imagine Fleming's Bond, perhaps a bit tipsy, doing the same thing and really applying himself to it in the right circumstance).
I think the next Bond film has to do a bit better than Bond simply turning his nose up at a certain kind of brandy or immediately knowing the kind of vintage of wine he's drinking. Or having been to Oxford and studied however many languages (unless it's done in a certain way that just comes off as bulls*it nowadays). It's a fine line between making an onscreen Bond look like a pretentious ars*hole and making him out to be cultured, but moreover well travelled and interesting.
I watched this yesterday! Brilliant observations and profound in the way it contextualizes Bond as the true bon vivant in a century that rewards (or prioritizes) style over substance, image over immersion. Could this be a way to thread a few needles for the franchise?
Although this is a 50-50 for me, I think bringing back a FRWL/GE type of Bond could be a bit insensitive especially regarding the conflict/wars happening today, but it's a been a long time since we have a Military based plot in a Bond film.
Wonder why Bond is trying to light his cigarette with a flower in this thumbnail.
The scorpion drinking game is something Rambo would do.
I think Bourne spent his time having street fights.
It may be the nature of "killing machines".
I always felt sorry for the soldier who walks in on Bond and General Orlov before getting a bullet between the eyes..!
That's fine. Love that scene. I like the idea of bond engaging in more dangerous 'local practices' like that. Really emphasises his love of danger.
Yes, it felt very Fleming. And he was still going at sunrise!
He was like F it, it's 5:00 somewhere
I think the video creator makes the case that the Bond films should not simply bring back the cultural flourishes of older entries, but immerse audiences in a time, in a place and with a people. Bond’s knowledge and tastes are cultivated from a life well lived. I’d argue that a well-lived man is inquisitive and curious and, in many ways, multicultural in his thinking and behavior.
That’s not to say that Bond’s view of the world isn’t (or shouldn’t) be filtered through British eyes, but Bond’s love and enjoyment of other peoples and customs is a clear motivation and explanation of why he chose to be Britain’s blunt instrument of justice. Fleming’s Bond is a type of colonial or Edwardian Briton that doesn’t (and maybe shouldn’t) exist anymore, but he can be recontextualized.
The video creator is smart to cite Anthony Bourdain as a possible inspiration for Bond’s modernization. Bourdain was explorative, compassionate and adventurous. Fleming and Bourdain, though separated by time, place, class and politics, shared a love for the unexplored corners of any city. In modern parlance, these two men were always looking for a vibe: a satisfying meal, a stiff drink, a good smoke, interesting people and dynamic living.
I think the Craig era spent too much time in Europe, most especially Italy. Beautiful locations shot beautifully but still too similar in their overall palette. Of course, film locations are chosen for a myriad of business and logistical reasons that supersede aesthetic, but Bond needs to go back to India or go to South Africa or the Australian Outback or the Canadian wilderness or Hong Kong (for real). If the world of influencing has taught us anything, it’s shown us that people still value curation. Audiences still want a guide to show them what they can’t do or get for themselves. The video makes an astute point.
I’ll need to give the video a proper watch. I’d say a big difference between the literary Bond and cinematic one is that the latter doesn’t express many opinions on other cultures/where he visits (partially due to the character’s internal thoughts being overt in the books, but I think there’s an element that Bond can come off as a bit of a snobbish d*ckhead if he starts voicing certain opinions. I’m thinking of the Beatles/earmuffs line in GF - bizzare line which takes me out of the film and briefly makes Bond come off as insufferable).