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Comments
Yeah Spy is missing a good villain, although I guess Jaws actually manages to make up for him.
It's hard to tell how it's going to go: lots of people say they'd cast someone else as Blofeld in Spectre, but I think in 2014 or so any one of us would have leapt at Christolph Waltz playing him after Inglourious Basterds, Django etc. - he's incredible in those other films. (I still don't think he's as bad as Blofeld as lots of folks say, but regardless).
Likewise Jonathan Pryce, someone I was really excited for and yet he didn't quite meet what I was hoping for; even so i think he's no disaster.
I kind of don't mind what they were going for with that: Greene is like a cornered animal at that point and just goes goblin mode; Bond can't really predict what he's going to do and he's just liable to hurt himself as Bond (which of course he does do) and that makes him dangerous, especially with an axe. It's quite an interesting moment, although it's no big showdown as you say. I still rather like Amalric in that film, he gives good creepy when he's afforded the chance. But he doesn't get to look Bond in the eye much, which Mikkelsen got to do loads of, and I think that helps a baddie a lot.
I often think Amalric would have made a good Le Chiffre too.
Yeah, Forster was trying to subvert the norm with Elvis, but it's a joke which crashes to the ground every time. There may well have been a writers strike on, but shooting a comedy character and it coming out as baffling rather than funny is just bad direction, pure and simple. Maybe some of the worst direction in the whole series in fact; John Glen might be bland but I struggle to think of many other situations where you're not actually sure of what the film is trying to say to you.
I rest my case.
Grow up. They should totally establish an evil version of Ana De Armas, and have her kick Bond's ass. That would be awesome.
To be fair, they usually try to avoid direct confrontations with a villainess. Rosa Klebb is killed by Tania, he does not shoot Fiona Volpe, I think he only ever kills Elektra directly. I cannot remember how Irma Bunt dies.
Even for Onatop though, Bond kills her indirectly, shooting the pilot. It's quite telling that they tend to avoid direct physical confrontation between Bond and a female villain.
I suppose you could say that about a lot of the male villains too (that Bond doesn’t directly kill them by shooting them himself etc.) I don’t think it’s as much that they avoid it, it’s just that there have been comparatively few female villains. The fights with Onnatop are pretty brutal, and Elektra’s death is probably Bond’s most direct kill.
I don’t think it’s limited to female villains. As Frank said above, that’s what henchmen are for.
I’d say just give a female villain the appropriate death for the character.
He killed Stromberg by gunshot. And he fought Goldfinger physically albeit very briefly and in an unusual environment. But yes, for main villains he rarely kills them directly. They often have a sort of Disney's death.
Also I think recently we’ve seen more female characters who can believably beat guys up: I watched Thunderbolts the other night and I buy that Florence Pugh is winning those fights, Rebecca Ferguson in MI, Ana De Amas in NTTD as mentioned above; if Bond had to have a brutal fight with a female henchman and kill her I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t happen.
Sorry if anyone thinks I’m posting a lot: I’m stuck home with covid and not much to do.
Some women can look like capable fighters, but I think by and large, pitted against a male adversary they come off as the underdog. Personally, I never thought Jinx came off as very convincing. Or Miranda Frost, for that matter. Way Lin was a different matter entirely, for obvious reasons. And, for all the flaws of AVTAK, I think May Day came off as very dangerous. She looked strong and lethal.
Anyway trying to get back on topic, IF they want to have a female as the main antagonist, I'd say Cate Blanchett (and I'm not the only one who suggested her). She got robbed of her Oscar (again) with Tar, I could easily see her playing a similar character, but adapted to Bond. Make her a lesbian sexual predator like Rosa Klebb.
As for a bit of a left field suggestion, Israeli actor Lior Ashlenazi. Right age now, I've seen him in a few things and he's solid, another unknown veteran. Maybe a tad too handsome.
You need to grow up. There is zero chance of someone like Ana De Armas could win a fight against a 30something Bond. To pretend otherwise is fantasy, and ridiculous.
In today’s climate, not sure an Israeli villain would be wise.
Israeli actor, not necessarily villain. Don't know if he can do other accents, but that's a hypothesis anyway.
If you can't imagine such a woman, you're ignorant. Please stay out of the writer's room! Anyone who says hard no to any idea, particularly involving a woman, is a red flag and antiquated.
Can you give me some examples of female athletes bettering their male equivalents in Elite level sport when strength, speed etc. are paramount?
I'm not having this conversation with you. It's a disgusting narrative and not what I'm arguing. A good filmmaker can make a challenging physical opponent for Bond in a woman, and it can be cast. I can think of half a dozen ways to handle it. You're sexist.
I really hope you are not married.
Okay gents lets leave this here.
Time to walk away.
Oh yeah! Rewatched that film recently. It's a weirdly Bondian film in many ways. That's a great bit of it too.
Anyway, I think all they can do is depict what's appropriate for the story/characters they're constructing. If they need a female villain or henchwoman to take on Bond, they'll need to devise the best way for our hero to defeat them in that situation and for them to take him on convincingly (yes, a woman can realistically take on a man even in his prime depending on those involved, but we're talking about a film ultimately).
I haven't seen the movie, but there's a difference between science fiction, in a setting that can have aliens, robots, mutant, what have you, and the at least somewhat realistic, real world setting of a spy thriller. I'm not saying it can't be done, but there's a context to take into account. It would also depend of the actress cast. Some can be more convincing than others.