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Comments
The first and most basic rule of filmmaking since forever is the script is 100%.
With the Mendes era it appears the current thinking seems to be:
Script = 10%
Underwhelming action set pieces = 10%
M = 5%
MP = 5%
Q = 5%
Rory Kinnear standing around looking gormless = 5%
If in doubt use the DB5 = 60%
Agreed 100%
Script = 20%
When in doubt use corny gags and throwbacks to the 60's = 80%
Like I said I don't mind a bit of nostalgia but I prefer bond being a current player
I feel like they've just done so many of them from TWINE onward that any callback or homage is distracting. They've really become a crutch for the filmmakers over the years. The longer they continue on using them in the fashion that they are, the closer and closer the franchise will get to self-parody, IMO.
When Rog took over they made the conscious decision not to have the DB5, say 'shaken not stirred' etc etc and just came up with original adventures and situations in which to place Bond. They even created new iconic moments of their own such as the ski jump and Jaws.
Ever since Brozza harking back to the past is all we seem to have with the exception of CR (although they still couldn't avoid forcing the DB5 down our throats) and QOS which despite its faults has the balls to stand on its own two feet.
The Mendes era is propped up by more crutches than you'd find on a coach trip of pensioners on their way to Lourdes. On the face of it SF and SP seem very slick and classy entry but when you boil it down the guy is just Tesco Finest fan fiction.
We're back in the same place as Brozza just back in his day the shop was Lidl.
I guess at least you can say we're shopping in a better supermarket these days.
"Certainly, sir. Sorry, sir."
TheWizardOfIce--I laughed out loud at your post about the ratios!
Craig really brought out the humanity and depth of character that was present in the books, while still retaining everything we've come to expect from the cinematic Bond. Really, he is to Bond, what Jeremy Brett was to Sherlock Holmes.
As great as Connery was, there was room for Bond to evolve past the character he established. With Craig, I'm seriously wondering; where do we go from here?
Oh, I don't think there's any problem. Brosnan seemed like the ultimate Bond until Craig came along. Craig's Bond has his shortcomings like any Bond (is he really a good-looking guy?), and the next Bond just needs to not be Craig.
The next actor will have big shoes to fill, but so long as they make the role their own convincingly, they’ll be fine. I think more people will compare Bond 26 to CR and SF rather than get hung up on the lead.
I also have no idea where they go from here, but Villeneuve and Knight are much better at making films than I am, better than most people in fact, so I'm not too worried!
The only thing to take from the films is to check that they are not repeating an earlier interpretation. We saw how Moore-Bond became really successful once in stopped trying to follow Connery (in LALD and TMWTGG) and instead created his own interpretation (TSWLM)
To be fair it’s tricky completely forgetting the films and what they’ve brought to Bond. I think if anyone tried to do a completely faithful version of Fleming’s Bond many wouldn’t recognise the character. You kind of need things that the cinematic Bond is known for - the wisecracks/puns, that ever so heightened portrayal of what he can do etc. I think they should always go back to Fleming (all portrayals have elements of the source material in there) but use it to create their own version of Bond, not rely on it.
And I think it could be more if Universal wants to make a profit on what they paid now. Matt Damon isn't going to get any younger, so...
Brands and luxury have been a part of Bond since the books. Bond's lifestyle isn't supposed to be relatable or realistic, it's fantasy wish fulfillment. Who wouldn't want to travel the world, stay in luxury hotels, drive nice cars, and wear better clothes? It's a key thing that sets him apart from all the blue-collar action heroes and hardboiled detectives that dominate the action/thriller genre.
I think broken fingers lie that way, don’t try it! :D
I would quite like a Q gadget where the watch’s bracelet goes stiff or something so Bond could use it as a knuckleduster; it’d be a fun little callback. I know they sort of did it in CR but cut it out mostly.
I'd say Bourne can easily be recast and reinterpreted, because he's a "bland" character, by design. He's got far less baggage than Bond and far less tropes and personality traits. Not unlike Tom Ripley, come to think of it. And it's not incidental that Matt Damon played both characters.
I’m not so sure - I think people might be done with the franchise after both Legacy and the 2016 film. Damon himself even suggested that at some point.
It’s easy to forget that until after the release of Ultimatum - those three films were the pinnacle of the Action genre and so many people took to Damon’s Bourne. To reboot the franchise with a different actor would be an uphill battle - and I’m not sure how many people would be interested in seeing someone other than Damon be the lead. Perhaps if the reboot stuck more closely to the plots of the books I can sort of see them pulling it off - but it’s tricky.
It would be a bit of a risk, but I think it would be worth it in the long run.
Oh I'm not saying it will be or should be done any time soon. But I could easily see say Netflix making its own series with it at some point, the way they did with Ripley. Being a big fan of The Talented Mr Ripley, I found the series lacklustre and a tad beige, but not entirely uninteresting. I could easily see Jason Bourne going the same way, especially since the Damon movies were very freely adapted, for one, and like the Ripliad the literary Bourne trilogy has its own fanbase.