Controversial opinions about Bond films

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  • GBFGBF
    edited December 2017 Posts: 3,195
    Lazenby: "There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world."

    Craig: "The job is done, the bitch is dead."
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,195
    I actually cannot imagine Craig delivering an emotional line such as Lazenby did. Craig's Bond is too withdrawn. He does not really show his emotions.
  • Posts: 14,835
    My controversial opinion: Roger Moore played the most convincing widower.
  • Posts: 7,500
    GBF wrote: »
    Lazenby: "There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world."

    Craig: "The job is done, the bitch is dead."


    What a great, and not least appropriate, comparison. I mean, there is no difference between the scenes or stories at all...
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    And of course Both lines are directly taken from Fleming. Showing how
    Complicated Bond is as a character, for any actor to play.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited December 2017 Posts: 6,790
    Well I beg to differ here on some issues.

    Dalton played it great when he found the murdered Saunders and I think under the direction of Hunt he would have downplayed it as well.



    Great acting there from Dalton.

    Still, though I find it strange people say Dalton's reaction to Della was theatrical, which it was, and then state Craig's reaction to Vesper is proof he could have handled Tracy well.

    If anything Craig's reaction to Vesper is extremely theatrical. Look at him breezing like an animal at 2:38.



    Furthermore, I don't think the writers and Campbell did justice to Vesper's death at all in the movie version. In the book it's not part of an action scene, nor is it so theatrical. It is a moment of silent grief.

    Glad they already did OHMSS in the 60's with such a great downplayed performance from Lazenby.



    Watch both death scenes after each other and tell me which is the classier one. I, for one, prefer the subtlety of OHMSS over the bombastic CR.
  • BondAficionadoBondAficionado Former IMDBer
    Posts: 1,884
    Both scenes are great, but there's no need to compare the two. Lazenby's reaction is more delicate and reserved, while Craig's approach is more realistic imo. Totally different things and that's fine.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited December 2017 Posts: 23,883
    The overt emotions in the CR scene are just a sign of the times and their desire to appeal to the female crowd. Expect to see more of that going forward. Not to my tastes as I'm a pretty reserved guy myself, but it's the way it is. I much prefer the OHMSS scene and appreciate that it's right at the end of the film, followed by the upbeat theme. Helps one to exit the film feeling a bit better.
    ----
    Strog wrote: »
    CountJohn wrote: »
    Mathis1 wrote: »
    I'm not convinced that Connery could have pulled off OHMSS, even in his prime.

    Have to agree with this! Just cant see Connery in those scenes with Rigg!

    Connery's Bond was so rough on women it's hard to imagine him in a tender love story, not that Connery doesn't have the acting ability to do it. The dynamic with Rigg would have also been very different, Connery would have been a lot more authoritative, whereas in the film as is it feels like she's the one in charge a lot of the time.
    I think that's the key. Connery absolutely could've handled the acting side of it (in fact I think he had the best equipped chops of the lot), but picturing his Bond in a love story is difficult, given what he had played to that point.

    I wonder how his doing OHMSS would've affected both his legacy as Bond and that of the film. Would we look at his Bond differently? The franchise? Impossible to say of course without seeing the hypothetical film. It just seems to me that Joe Public sees OHMSS as 'that weird one where the guy who only did one film gets married." The pairing up of the one-off actor and the unusual-for-Bond conceit kind of add to the film's alienness. But had Connery done it, it would've just been another Connery Bond film. The series would've had a harder time escaping from OHMSS to something else, I think. And Connery's Bond might be seen as less static. I'm not sure if either would've been for the best.
    Good points and I agree. I've always said that it's for the best that Laz did OHMSS as a one off, precisely because I think any other actor in that film would have had their legacy impacted, and perhaps not for the best as you note.

    Bond is such an alpha character, and a lot of how we see him depends on the actor being able to maintain that characterization in our minds over multiple films. It's easier for the audience to buy into an actor's emotional frailty in a one off situation because it's more of a blank canvas/slate. Craig benefited from this as well in CR, because it was his first film and so we had no preconceived notions.

    Additionally, I wouldn't want an actor to become burdened on account of an emotional portrayal which he is then forced to try and top each time out at the expense of giving us a fun adventure.

    Having said that, it could work for an actor's last film just as much as it works for his first. That's why, as much as I detest the idea passionately, I think the marriage/loss/grieving thing could work for Craig in B25 as a final send off. His tenure has been rather melancholic to begin with as well (imho), and so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to go down this path.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,195
    jobo wrote: »
    GBF wrote: »
    Lazenby: "There's no hurry, you see. We have all the time in the world."

    Craig: "The job is done, the bitch is dead."


    What a great, and not least appropriate, comparison. I mean, there is no difference between the scenes or stories at all...

    Don't take my quote as an adequate comparison of the two scenes. What I think is that Lazenby is absolutely the right choice for showing the emotions in a subtle way whereas Craig's Bond is more reserved and rather displays anger instead of sorrow. At least this is how I interpret his post-Vesper-death behaviour. There is nothing wrong with that but I doubt he could have delivered that line in the same ways Lazenby did.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,790
    Exactly, the way Lazenby’s voice just breaks in mid sentence, so powerful.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    edited December 2017 Posts: 7,976
    Ludovico wrote: »
    My controversial opinion: Roger Moore played the most convincing widower.

    As he was the only one to play a widower.... Connery just forgot that part.
    GoldenGun wrote:
    If anything Craig's reaction to Vesper is extremely theatrical. Look at him breezing like an animal at 2:38.

    Well I don't know about you, but I'd be certainly be out of breath like that after trying to rescue someone from underwater, and having been there for the good side of two minutes. tbh it's been a long time since I managed two minutes......
  • GBFGBF
    edited December 2017 Posts: 3,195
    @ComanderRoss

    I would also not hold that against Craig's Bond, however, I must agree that there is nothing subtle in the whole Vesper death scene. Instead of that, they tried to overly emotionalise this scene with tons of action, Craig's overwhelming physicality and Lynd's overly theatrical moment of death.

    This is probably what people nowadays expect when they go to the cinema but I much prefer the subtlety of Tracy's death scene.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 7,976
    @GBF I'm not a fan at all of the falling house scene. Craig acts it as good as you'd expect, but compared to the looming doom in the book it's just boring. But it does indeed seem Bond has to have half the film action packed. I find Bond and Vesper scene in the shower far better i.e., which by the way shows he could've pulled off the Tracy scene as well. But yes, it seems overt dramatics are the thing these days. Many on these forums complain that Craig shows no emotions, even though to my eye he may even overdo it.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,195
    You are right, the shower scene is a great scene and indicates that Craig can handle subtle scenes. It mainly works since it is a calm and almost silent scene.

    Probably my favourite scene in CR.
  • Posts: 6,820
    GBF wrote: »
    You are right, the shower scene is a great scene and indicates that Craig can handle subtle scenes. It mainly works since it is a calm and almost silent scene.

    Probably my favourite scene in CR.

    I prefer their first meeting on the train! Well written and the chemistry between Craig and Green is marvellous!
  • edited December 2017 Posts: 15,818
    @GBF I'm not a fan at all of the falling house scene. Craig acts it as good as you'd expect, but compared to the looming doom in the book it's just boring. But it does indeed seem Bond has to have half the film action packed. I find Bond and Vesper scene in the shower far better i.e., which by the way shows he could've pulled off the Tracy scene as well. But yes, it seems overt dramatics are the thing these days. Many on these forums complain that Craig shows no emotions, even though to my eye he may even overdo it.

    I'm not a fan of that climax either. It feel obvious there was a necessity for a big action finale, and her drowning in the elevator has nowhere near the impact of the suicide in the book, IMO.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    It's one of the reasons I tend to view CR so rarely. The whole section post ball beater doesn't do anything for me I'm afraid. Too drawn out. I much prefer the quick montage to Louis Armstrong in OHMSS.
  • Posts: 14,835
    @CommanderRoss So did everyone after Lazenby save Craig. For whatever reason I find Moore very convincing every time Tracy is mentioned or alluded to, compared to Brosnan or Dalton. As for Connery... well... DAF was needed as it turned out but I strongly dislike that aspect of it.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 6,790
    I agree Craig's scene in the shower and in the train are his best moments.

    Talking about subtle reactions, I also quite like how Dalton reacts to Della before Felix tells her about Tracy.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    I agree the CR death scene is theatrical, but not dreadfully overacted.
  • SeanCraigSeanCraig Germany
    Posts: 732
    Maybe it‘s controversial but I like everything in CR - a perfect movie to me.

    Despite the editing QoS is another awesome entry.

    And SF is the most beatiful movie of them all - Deakins should have won an Oscar for it and the overall style of the movie completely puts all it‘s flaws into the background.

    SPECTRE as it is should be trimmed down to 60 Minutes and then it would be a decent entry to the series.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,093
    CR is overrated in general. I agree the best Bond film of the last 20 years, but once the comparisons start with the original films like Live And Let Die, Dr No and OHMSS - no way.
  • Posts: 6,820
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    I agree Craig's scene in the shower and in the train are his best moments.

    Talking about subtle reactions, I also quite like how Dalton reacts to Della before Felix tells her about Tracy.

    You're talking about the moment she throws the garter to him. Yes, Dalton handles that scene really well without saying anything!
    I also love Moores reaction in TSWLM, when
    Bach mentions his marriage, despite Bachs lousy acting, Moore is terrific here!
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    CR is overrated in general. I agree the best Bond film of the last 20 years, but once the comparisons start with the original films like Live And Let Die, Dr No and OHMSS - no way.

    I agree CR v LALD is no contest.

    I for one much prefer a Robin Askwith style farce with Bond hiding a bird from his boss in the wardrobe, a racist comedy sheriff dominating the film's key set piece and the villain embarrassingly being blown up like one of those sex dolls in that episode of Only Fools And Horses.
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    CR is overrated in general. I agree the best Bond film of the last 20 years, but once the comparisons start with the original films like Live And Let Die, Dr No and OHMSS - no way.

    Elaborate please
  • Posts: 12,270
    Not a given, but I think QoS is going to make the jump over SP in my next Bondathon. I believe our members here are pretty split between whether or not QoS or SP is better? I used to much prefer SP, but over time my opinion has shifted more and more to where I have SP slotted just one above QoS. I think QoS will overtake it though next time.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,093
    QoS is horrid. SP is recycled, overlong and lacking tension, levity or drama throughout, but it's at least nice to look at and competently put together. The story is weak, but its at least presented in a satisfactory manner. QoS is just horrid.
  • Posts: 12,270
    I take it you must not be a big fan of the Craig era.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited December 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Honestly I much prefer the look of QoS to SP, at least those bits which I could make out once the camera slows down. The colours are rich in the old school Bond manner and the locations, for the most part, are real and not CGI enhanced.
  • Posts: 12,270
    What's making me gravitate toward QoS more lately is that it is more energetic and a bit more original. I like both, but I'd be lying if I said SP wasn't too by-the-numbers too often.
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