Cool News
The Writer Of FROST/NIXON And THE QUEEN Joins Purvis & Wade For Daniel Craig's Next BOND Film!!
Merrick here...
A soon to be issued press release will tell us...
MORGAN, PURVIS & WADE TO WORK ON BOND, JAMES BOND
LOS ANGELES, CA June 12, 2009 – Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions Ltd and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures have today announced that Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale) will be the screenwriters of the 23rd James Bond adventure.
Daniel Craig will reprise his role as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in the film, which will be a MGM release of an EON production. Bond 23 is the latest installment in the longest-running franchise in motion picture history and will be produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. A date for the start of production is yet to be confirmed.
“Peter, Neal and Robert are extraordinarily talented and we’re looking forward to working with the three of them,” commented Wilson and Broccoli.
Peter Morgan is the award-winning writer of such films as The Last King of Scotland, The Queen and Frost/Nixon, which was based on his play. He has also scripted the upcoming The Special Relationship for HBO and Hereafter for DreamWorks. He will turn his attention to Bond 23 on completion of these duties. Morgan is represented by UTA (US) and Independent Talent Group (UK).
Since 1991 Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have collaborated on a diverse range of projects including The Italian Job, Johnny English and the past four Bond films. They recently adapted John Le Carre's The Mission Song and are also working on the upcoming sequel The Brazilian Job. Purvis and Wade are represented by Endeavor (US), Casarotto Ramsay & Associates (UK).
Ya know...
A lot of folks out there shit all over QUANTUM OF SOLACE. I get that it's a departure from what we normally expect from Bond (and might be distracting as such). BUT, although I'm not convinced it made any sense at all, I really liked the film - and I'm quite eager to see what they come up with this time around...
LOS ANGELES, CA June 12, 2009 – Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions Ltd and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures have today announced that Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale) will be the screenwriters of the 23rd James Bond adventure.
Daniel Craig will reprise his role as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in the film, which will be a MGM release of an EON production. Bond 23 is the latest installment in the longest-running franchise in motion picture history and will be produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. A date for the start of production is yet to be confirmed.
“Peter, Neal and Robert are extraordinarily talented and we’re looking forward to working with the three of them,” commented Wilson and Broccoli.
Peter Morgan is the award-winning writer of such films as The Last King of Scotland, The Queen and Frost/Nixon, which was based on his play. He has also scripted the upcoming The Special Relationship for HBO and Hereafter for DreamWorks. He will turn his attention to Bond 23 on completion of these duties. Morgan is represented by UTA (US) and Independent Talent Group (UK).
Since 1991 Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have collaborated on a diverse range of projects including The Italian Job, Johnny English and the past four Bond films. They recently adapted John Le Carre's The Mission Song and are also working on the upcoming sequel The Brazilian Job. Purvis and Wade are represented by Endeavor (US), Casarotto Ramsay & Associates (UK).
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you know the one that polished the scripts on royale and solace?
remember Purvis and Wade worked on some brosnan bonds so they aint all that.....or maybe it was the shitness that was brosnan. -
I like Peter Morgan's work with The Last King of Scotland and Frost/Nixon. Hopefully he'll have more to do with the finished script than Purvis & Wade. Quantum of Solace was really disappointing especially with how great Casino Royale was.
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And get it back on the Casino Royale track... cause we already have Bourne and other countless rip-offs...
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I've only seen Goldeneye, Die Another Day, Casino Royale & Quantam of Solace. That's it. I need to catch up. Regarding this story, that should work. Bond's a formula, so no one will come in and put Bond working at a hotel desk or something because of a demotion. Expect broads, booze, vodka, and explosions.
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Morgan seems like a great writer, I loved Frost/Nixon. Maybe Bond and his villian can have a set of three interviews instead of a final face-off. Kill that fucker with words Bond!
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And why was syfy showing Bond movies yesterday? That channel gets more and more frakked up.
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This is cool news. Only hope it's not a case of too many cooks...
QUANTUM OF SOLACE was definitely a lesser Bond film, but still better than most other films released last year. -
I know that their Bonds made money, but they were AWFUL! (yes, even - or should I say especially - Casino Royale)
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snaps, I envy you dude.
You can prob pick up the whole collection in a dvd boxset on Ebay for a reasonable price. You got some great viewing coming up... -
We almost needed a Bond goes ape shit follow up to Casino (though I agree it wasn't done quite right at all) but now I want the franchise to get back to politics and a mystery and... yes... talking about shit. Bring on the action, but give me a story about people while your at it. Plus, I think he might be a good addition if they're bringing Moneypenny into this one.
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It's rebooted, not recast. Casino was Bond 1, QoS 2, and this will be 3, I know they like to keep counting so they can say "longest running franchise" but I'm not even sure that is accurate. Either way, can we just accept that this is a new dimension of Bond and move on?
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There are fine action sequences, but if you are continuing the store of Casino Royale, then I wanted to see an angry, vengeful Bond. I saw a cool, cold Bond who didn't seem to give a shit. Maybe that is what they were going for, but it was boring. If the characters don't feel, then neither will the audience.
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We know Morgan's an amazing screenwriter, the only thing that could go wrong with this is if they make it too serious. For some reason I feel like this next film should be a tad lighter... but just a tad.
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Jesus H, dude...touchy much?
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Seems like some talented writers have been hired. Just hope that there aren't too many conflicting ideas which may backfire on the movie. Also QoS wasn't a bad movie, however the fuel powered, ticking time bomb hotel at the end of the move was a bit ridiculous.
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the next Bond film will be awesome. Eat al the dicks Jason Bourne.
RULE BRITANNIA! -
About how 'Quantum' was terrible and had nothing in common with previous films as a whole, were so willing to give Jar Jar Abrams a pass on Star Trek...
The only thing wrong with Quantum was that HORRIFIC opening title song. -
This movie is going to suck big balls
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...I'll be waiting for future Bond movies to hit Blu Ray, bypassing the theater completely.
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I think in the next film, he should befriend a spunky 15-year-old street urchin from the London ghetto. He could teach her spycraft while she teaches him a thing or two about love (platonic love, that is. Unless you want to see Bond go the "statutory" route).
Anyway, no one should bitch about Casino or QoS. Compare either of them to the last Brosnan outing and you should thank God they finally took the character in the right direction.
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that fucking awful Chris Cornell almost ruined the entire film.
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I liked both films, but was struck by Ebert's review of QofS in which he says Bond is NOT an action hero. Interesting take.
http://shrinkster.com/176s -
...to inject a little more fun -- and a little less grim, Bourne-like action -- into the next Bond movie.
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...what a perfectly stupid thing to bitch about.
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interchanging arms and legs in The last King of Scotland. Fucked up shit.
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I didn't say 'OH FOR FUCK SAKE QUIT WITH TEH GAY NUMBERS THE OLD SERIES SUCKS AND THIS IS NEW SHIT THE SHIT YO' or whatever. It's just calling this Bond 23, as if it was both in the same universe and a sequel to Die Another Day (shudder) is kinda dumb. It's a new series, like Doctor Who or the Hammer Dracula films, not just a new actor. But no, I'm chill. No hating of the Connery.
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Jar Jar Abrams... I see what you did there. That's good stuff.
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...while in production because it is the 23rd Bond film made by Eon Productions. When the film is released it won't say "James Bond 23: Subtitle". The count doesn't include the non-Eon Bond films such as Never Say Never Again or the Peter Sellers Casino Royale.
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They have complete sparked my interest in Bond movies. Before I watched them, I enjoyed them, some I liked more than others (Brosnon's run was a step up) but in general I didn't really care much outside of that. To paraphrase the Chi Tribune's review of "Pelham 123" they were like Olive Garden you go there but you're not surprised.
But once Craig stepped in I think things changed. I'm interested again, more than interested -
Didn't he once claimed that he would have liked to make a Bond film?
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was odd for me. I am definitely a Bond fan, no doubs there. Seen em all, know em all. Wehn I saw QoS in theaters I liked it. And for the first time, I think my opinion of a movie was actually effected by other peoples opinions. Everyone talked this movie down, none of my friends liked it. I guess I caved to peer pressure and started thinking less of the film. It came out on blu ray a little ways back, and I bought it, seeing as how I own all the others. After watching it, I am of the opinion that this is possibly one of the best Bond films. It was a departure from the formula, yes, but man it was a great movie.
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The next Bond is just going to be an intese interview between Bond and a bad guy?
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that was 30 fucking minutes too long for how little story they actually told. I like Craig as bond but they sure as shit need to be less Bourne and more Casino. QoS should've been epic, instead it was a boring nonsensical train wreck from a director that was completely fucking lost with his head up his ass.
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And, I loved Casino Royale. But I didn't buy the fact that QOS was a direct continuation of CR, yet 007 seemed so much more polished, and less of a neophyte in the sequel. Plus, it just seemed like it was reverting back to the dumb, explosion-filled Brosnon movies. It's no coincidence that Martin Campbell started off both series' the right way, and they both took a step back when he didn't return.
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It's just that once they named Casino and QoS, the ad people and some reviewers still tended to go on about them like they were sequels to the last series, so I just don't get why there is still some reluctance by some not so call this what it is, a new series devoid of the good ones and freed up of the shitty ones (especially of late) from before. But really, it was an offhand comment, not paragraphs of rant or bitchfest. I really don't care either way that much.
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ly bad.
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This is gonna be great.
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This movie will be titled "James Bond". This would be ridiculous news in 2002, but now we live in ridiculous times where this is actually possible.
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I liked it, but they wanted too much it to be not Bond. While Moonraker or Die Another Day are things too far out, there is a good middle ground like GoldenEye and Casino Royale. Solid action and a well-paced story. Despite its flaws I did like Quantum of Solace, but it could've more. Now it only feels as a filler between CR and Bond 23.
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Do people forget how bad die another day was. There is only a handful of decent bond films.
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The problem with QOS was that it just reverted to type - mindless action, daft plot, bang, hideout explodes. End. Royale was so much more - Bond was a human being (albeit a brilliantly cold one), it was recognizably our world, and you really got a feel for Fleming's world - the suits, the punches, the drinks, the gambling, the cars. I really think Royale fucking rocked - and QOS basically pissed it all away. My top tip - get rid of Purves and Wade altogether. They cannot fucking write. They did Die Another Day! And QOS. They were able to use Fleming's book for Royale which did most of the work for them.
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Is it better than almost any of the post "Man with a Golden Gun" Bonds? Hell, yes. But compared to the first Craig Bond, it is a big drop off. To many reasons to go into here why it was a failure for the new series.
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I do like the realistic aspects of the new Bond, but please, put a little Fleming in there.
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I just love the intensity and the chances they made with that film. It only made me more excited to see what their next take on good old Bond is next.
Frost/Nixon and the Queen were wonderful films so that's good to know. -
And the story was ridiculous, like I really care what happens to the water supply in Bolivia. Uh-oh, better send in the one man who'll know what to do. A rookie 00 agent who is more intent on getting revenge for Vesper, than really stopping a government coup of inflated water prices.
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I always liked NOBODY LIVES FOREVER and WIN, LOSE OR DIE.
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...from this. Also, don't bring back Marc Forster. "Quantum of Solace" was awful, and I'm convinced it was because of those two. Forster can't direction action worth a shit, and Haggis is too pretentious. The next Bond should actually be fun and coherent.
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I have zero interest in Bond 23, due to the apparent direction the series is taking, as presented by Quantum of Solace. For my interest to be restored, they are going to have to find a director who can competently put together action scenes and setpieces without resorting to the overuse of shakycam as a crutch. Of course, I didn't care much for the plot being a sequel to Casino Royale either (which, that element IS Purvis and Wade's fault). Hopefully, they will listen to the mostly negative fan feedback and take our concerns to heart. Otherwise, Bond 23 will be the first one that I have not seen in theaters since I've started going to movies. I refuse to sit through another piece of shit like Quantum of Solace. PERIOD.
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before every action scene in QoS so I knew who was who when the craziness started.
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This is not a true reboot ala Batman, because the producers are too afraid to truly let go of the past. It's why Bond 22 was Quantum of Solace, instead of Live and Let Die. It's why Bond is still a $200 million movie full of product placement. They won't remake those earlier films, because they still want to repackage them on dvd every 2-3 years. Notice also that QOS didn't hesitate to throw in plenty of nods to the earlier films. Yes, it would be exciting if Bond were to actually be rebooted, but that will never happen as long as the current producers hold the rights. Seriously, how the fuck are Purvis and Wade still getting this gig?
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...of that rather poorly edited chase scene at the beginning of the movie, QoS was right on par with Casino Royale. If you're actually being honest (and not a douchebag just shitting on something to make yourself sound hip), the different in quality between the two Craig-Bond movies is negligible.
You want to see bad Bond? I just caught "View to a Kill" again on the tube the other day, and whoever thought making a Bond movie about James' elderly uncle needs to be taken out back and paddled with a switch. -
Download the best film podcast around
joblessfilmreviews.podomatic.com -
..in interviews? Retards, both.
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are Spielberg's Bonds. So no.
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Not about "View to a Kill", but about QoS.
First off, I don't care to make comparisons of the new Bond series with the old ones. I just want them to be great films. Casino Royale set a great standard and I want each one to follow it to reach the same heights (or hopefully be even better).
In Fleming's books Bond followed orders - he might have disagreed with them and complained about them, but he followed them. And if he does break an order, he still follows the letter of it if not the intent, like in the short story "The Living Daylights" where he shoots the snipers rifle and not the sniper when he sees that the sniper is a female.
He doesn't just refuse a direct order and go out and do his own thing.
PS - If I was one of the agents who Bond beat up in the elevator, the first thing I would do when we got back to London is have all of us jump him and beat the shit out of him. Fuck you asshole, we are on the same side. -
The story is key. The character of Bond must be played faithfully. Craig nailed it in CR just like Connery did in Goldfinger. Q of S was definantly inferior to CR but still a million times better than any of the Moore or Brosnan flicks (which are all with the exception of Goldeneye completely unwatchable now).The reason CR was so good was that it kept the character hard edged,the story tight and followed all the right benchmarks from the original novels but still made it fit into a cool and unique style.
I know it sounds like a cliche but if you could pursuade Connery to appear in some way and have him act against Craig it would be cool as long as it's done true to the novels. -
Unintelligible is more like it. QoS was so far below CR. The story was shit. The action was shit. Are there any action scenes in QoS that even come close to the parkour scene or the airport scene in CR?
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Just what the fuck are you gimps after from a bond movie exactly?
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I agree, I simply don't understand why Purvis and Wade are still at it. EON now has this tendency to bring in brilliant writers yet, for some reason, keep the old shitty ones. This shows that they're still afraid of messing with the formula too much.
As for the movie itself, I really REALLY hope they get some humour back in. I'm not talking about Roger Moore's self-parody but there should be balance. How about some wit, some deadly charm, some shags? I love Daniel Craig and I'm sure he can do this. I love QOS but I do believe that turning Bond too much into Bourne is a mistake. There should be balance. Kinda like Connery, who was both deadly and charming at the same time. I sometimes worry that Craig wants to take this too seriously, it is still James Bond after all. Now that the whole Vesper ordeal is done with, it makes sense now for him to be more relaxed and crack more jokes, which I guess is what's gonna happen.
To be fair, it's difficult for EON in that if they stick too much to formula everyone starts bitching that it's turning into self-parody and getting stale and boring. Yet, if they try to mix things up too much, fans bemoan the new direction the series is taking. That's a tough balance to keep.
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Right after you watch CR. It really feels like one movie. There is alot fo stuff to rememebr from CR that plays into QofS.
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Quantum of Solace is much more "rewatchable" than Casino Royale. I like both of them very much and am always surprised by how people missed the subtle and strong performance of Daniel Craig in Solace.
Yes, he outwardly put on that he didn't care to M, etc. but anyone who didn't see past that has got to be a bit dull or a child, no? And M having to decide whether to trust him despite knowing he's acting out of passion and a personal need to see if he was fully duped. It's great meaty stuff and all the beats are there if you pay attention. (Shame on any Bond fan for thinking that Bond should where his feelings on his sleeve.)
I think the biggest fault is that it was shot for the small screen and the large screen version suffered. I was shocked how beautiful the action was shot when watching it smaller.
The other problem is that the director relied on the audience having internalized Casino Royale enough to know what everyone was talking about in this one. Obviously, if you don't carry that in with you, it makes the whole thing weaker (and you get comments like "not convinced it makes any sense."
I just watched it again a couple days ago, and I'm still lovin' it.
I'll concede that the exploding hotel went a little far... as the other action felt gritty and felt somewhat grounded in reality (the boats maybe not so much) the hotel thing seemed like they had to try pretty hard for a big finale. -
I concur.
But as a fan of Bond, I enjoyed QoS. Granted, Casino Royale was more tightly plotted, but otherwise, they were basically two acts of the same movie. Sure, the first film had reckless and cocky Bond, and the second had more desperate and detached Bond, but that's just a character arc: a natural shift in personality due to the events just before intermission.
Its frustrating and confusing to me when I hear people talk about how terrible QoS was. I just don't see it -
Quantum of Solace is much more "rewatchable" than Casino Royale.I like both of them very much and am always surprised by how people missed the subtle and strong performance of Daniel Craig in Solace.Yes, he outwardly put on that he didn't care to M, etc. but anyone who didn't see past that has got to be a bit dull or a child, no? And M having to decide whether to trust him despite knowing he's acting out of passion and a personal need to see if he was fully duped. It's great meaty stuff and all the beats are there if you pay attention. (Shame on any Bond fan for thinking that Bond should where his feelings on his sleeve.)I think the biggest fault is that it was shot for the small screen and the large screen version suffered. I was shocked how beautiful the action was shot when watching it smaller.The other problem is that the director relied on the audience having internalized Casino Royale enough to know what everyone was talking about in this one. Obviously, if you don't carry that in with you, it makes the whole thing weaker (and you get comments like "not convinced it makes any sense."I just watched it again a couple days ago, and I'm still lovin' it.I'll concede that the exploding hotel went a little far... as the other action felt gritty and felt somewhat grounded in reality (the boats maybe not so much) the hotel thing seemed like they had to try pretty hard for a big finale.
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Jun 12, 2009 1:54:00 PM CDT
QoS was going to suffer by comparison to Casino Royale
by jackrabbitslim
Casino being, in my less than humble opinion, easily the best Bond ever (well, besides the Texas Hold Em bit - shoulda been another game - whatever) The first 45 minutes of Quantum set too high a bar as well - they never really regained the energy they had in those moments. But damn I do love Daniel Craig as Steve McQueen as James Bond. People seem to be forgetting just how shitty the Moore Bond films were. Just rewatched Spy Who Loved Me - ick. Not wretched, but not that far from it either.
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and trashings of Quantum of Solace
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in Quantum was one of the best scenes in any film last year. I thought it was put togther really well. All the way to the scene where the man falls off the building.
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The bit of playing The Beach Boys when Bond was surfing down the hill - i remember as a teenager watching it in theaters thinking it was cheesy. Grace Jones made a memorable villainess - Tanya Roberts was insipid - Chris Walken looks like hes acting in another movie altogether - agreed - very weak effort.
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Thank you for your clarifying "It was shit" defense. Now all the non-sensical hatred makes perfect sense. I'm glad you were here to help me see the light.
Seriously people, I will gladly entertain someone's opinion who didn't care for the movie, but the caveat that you must ACTUALLY EXPLAIN some specific reason you feel that way. "It was shit" is shit. -
Oh, and Quantum of Solace DOES have:
"some wit, some deadly charm, some shags", ORGANIZED CHAOS
Somehow people forget? Or just didn't get it because the actor didn't wink at the camera? I was laughing out loud a few times during the movie at the clever turn of events and a even a couple of Bond quips.The movie is half ABOUT his deadly charm, in a literal way. Just sayin'. -
Jun 12, 2009 2:00:21 PM CDT
MARTIN CAMPBEL SHOULD DIRECT ALL ACTION MOVIES
by richard_gere_raped_my_gerbil
All the time. Everytime. They should clone him.
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And I didn't even read any posts.
Bourne was hugely overrated. True Lies was a better spy film. -
if he did any forn-i-cating the night before? And, I thought the opera scene was mishandled by cutting to the stage during the chase/fight scene. What was the purpose of cutting to the opera scenes in the midst of a Bond action scene? It made no sense, and detracted from the sequence.
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I like the writer choices and I like that the old writers are on their too, personally. I just hope they work well together.
The original writers have all of what they have done with all the characters internalized and will be a great resource.
The next step is a big one, so it's good to have the fresh talented blood as well. So far so good. :) -
is 30 minutes too long.I liked Quantum, but I agree that they could use a little more fun in the next one. Maybe it's time for Q and/or Moneypenny to show up? Though I have yet to see a good reason Bond hasn't been all over Moneypenny... aside from when she stayed around too long and aged.
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Damn right. When the film started screening I was telling people that QOS was part of a larger story, but everyone was caught up in fanboy rage at the fact that it did'nt "feel" like Bond, and that it ripped off Bourne (which had one decent movie in the series, the rest were turds)
I still can't wait to see where this is going, and the completion of the story. -
..Walken's death at the end. Always loved the fact that he laughed before realising he was completely fucked and then falling to his death!
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Um, was Bond's contact that got killed in QOS the same guy as Anthony Hopkins killed in HANNIBAL? (i'm considering eating your wife guy)
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QOS sucked. worst story ever. lame shakey cam. no cool stunts or action.
Casino Royale was amazing.
they need to go back to the well and copy more of royale for the next one... -
Bond was not a pro.
He goes rogue, not because he has inside information at first about how corrupt or compromised MI6 is, but because he wants revenge. He refuses all direct orders and does his own shit. WTF? For all he knows he could be fucking up a major operation, something that the CIA and MI6 and a bunch of other organization have going on.
Plus, his selfish and short sighted actions cost the lives of two people: Rene Mathias and Strawberry Fields. He gets them in a tight situation, and just bails on them during the party without worrying if they will be all right. Nice fucking planning there Bond.
And finally, one more quick example, remember the scene in the hotel room where he tracks that guy down who supposedly deposited a bunch of the marked money they gave Cipher? And the guy finds Bond and they fight and Bond ruthlessly kills him. Ok, what kind of pro does that? For all you know the guy is a dumb patsy who is just a simple currier, he doesn't know the money is tainted. And secondly, you're the idiot that cavalierly broke into his hotel room - the way I look at it the guy has a right to attack you, it is self defense against a burglar. And finally, the guy might have really useful information, but no, Bond would rather kill him and hope there clues. Good thing it just so happens he had a briefcase there that revealed he was an assassin, how convenient.
As you can tell, I have a lot of problems with the last Bond film. -
You're all crazy. Quantum of Solace was great. Sure it was confusing, but if you just look at it as if it's a straight continuation of Casino Royale (which it is) then it works really well. Bond is pissed. He's not thinking things through. Just run and gun the whole time. It seemed rushed, and needed another 10 or 15 minutes of fleshing out, but it's a solid Bond film. Gets better each time I've seen it.
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Yes, he was.
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The only bad part of CR was the retarded "only in a movie" final hand of poker. Anyone can win with a royal flush, that doesn't show Bond's skill with poker. They shoulda had Bond win it all with three sevens or something. Yeah, and QoS made no sense.
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That scene was wrong on so many levels. While it may have been cute to have a little bit of twangy "surf guitar" sound in the music (and a lot of surf music sounds like spy music anyhow,) somebody got it in their head that "surf music" means "Beach Boys music," which always has vocals! Somebody grabbed the first Beach Boys song that popped into their head -- "California Girls" -- and plopped it into a scene where 007 makes a clever escape on a runner from a blown-up snowmobile. Doesn't make sense. To make it worse, they didn't even bother paying for the Beach Boys recording, and simply did a cover version with the studio musicians! All in all, one of the most retarded moments in the entire James Bond film series.
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...and I don't understand how people didn't get the film's plot. With all due respect, people...how slow do you have to be not to be able to follow a film's plot? There was nothing in the film that couldn't be understood if a person was paying attention. QoS was complex and intricate, but it was NOT incomprehensible. There will always be those a-holes determined to pronounce this film or that to be complete shit, but since they're dorks, who cares? The bottom line: Quantum of Solace was a dynamic film, and one of the better films in the series...for anyone bright enough to understand complex writing.
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This wasn't the first time Bond had gone rogue, though--he did the same thing in OHMSS, and in License to Kill. It's in his character to do so.
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Do you realize how dorky you sound when you say "Jar Jar Abrams?" Honestly, dude. Grow up.
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Ummm that was the point of the film. Because of what happened in CR he just did not give a shit anymore. He found his purpose again in the end of the film. I get what your saying though. I can see why you would have a problem with it. It sounds like you got what they where trying to get across, i just find it odd that is your problem with the film.
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I'm not sure what you're talking about--Bond WAS rebooted. Casino Royale was the beginning of his career, and none of the films before it happened now. By definition, it's a reboot.
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I agree with most of what you're saying, but please find a more hard-hitting insult than the word 'dork'. It makes you sound like a dork.
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One with some style and an interesting plan unlike the one in QAS. If I was Blofeld and you told me your master plan was to steal all the water in Bolivia, I'd press the button for the shark tank trap door.
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I know what I want when I go to see a Bond film; it's one of the few film franchises where "familiarity" is much more fun than "departures." QOS was a faux art-house/indie snoozefest. Let's get back to what we all know and love.
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First off, like I said before, I don't care about the previous Bond films. I want these new ones to stand on their own.
Secondly in OHMSS Mss. Moneypenny changes the orders so he is leave on absence, a technicality that lets him hunt Blofield, The less said about A View to a Kill the better.
As for QoS, I don't mind him having a chip on his shoulder and making it personal, but when he lets that interfere with him being a good agent than I have trouble buying it. These new Bond films are supposed to be more realistic, but am I to believe an agency is going to let one of their agents go rogue and blow the fuck out of everything just to pursue his own personal vendetta. And that afterwards they will turn a blind eye on his actions? Even if he did save the day in the end, how can you depend on such an agent? And reliability is the number one thing you need in an agent or a spy. Shit, if I am a fellow MI6 agent the last thing I want to hear is that James Bond is my backup because i am going to be thinking "The bloody wanker is probably running off to get a bj or doing his own shit instead of watching my ass." Desk job from now on.
Plus, the License to kill is a privilege with responsibility, it isn't a "you can do anything" card. Bond is basically an assassin for the British government, killing those people on its behalf as a last resort and for the better and safety of his fellow countrymen. Why did he kill Greene? He sadistically left him out in the desert with a can of oil to drink. Who elected him Judge, jury and executioner? Also, he man was defeated and could have valuable information about Quantum, but Bond's selfishness and self-centered quest for revenge triumphed the concerns and agenda of his agency. And people wonder why the CIA wanted him liquidated. -
I've said it before and i'll say it again - every Bond film needs 'a hardcore henchman'.
You know the main villain is always a thinking man, but he needs to have a hardcore henchman on hand who can fuck things up in a physical way.
SPY WHO LOVED ME had Jaws, LIVING DAYLIGHTS had that assassin milkman, TOMORROW NEVER DIES had that blond german.
The main prob I had with QOS was no hardcore henchman to back up Roman Polanski and lay the smackdown on Bond. -
In all honesty, the plot of QOS was fairly simple--it really wasn't complex at all. The problem is that the writers/director CHOSE to tell it in an unnessecarily complex way: I got the feeling while watching it that the filmmakers went OUT OF THEIR WAY to make this rather mundane plot as inaccessible as humanly possible. The reason? who knows. Perhaps they wanted to seem more intelligent than they are. To me, it came off as pretentious and heavy-handed "branding" of a rather simple plot.
People keep forgetting that what makes the Bond franchise so appealing is the FAMILIARITY. No one really goes to a Bond movie to see something *radically different* than what they expect. -
Did Roman Polanski baddie in the desert actually drink the oil?
If so, WHY?!?!?! -
VESPER: Rolex?
BOND: Omega.
VESPER: Beautiful.
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You forgot Oddjob from GOLDFINGER, Teehee from LIVE AND LIVE DIE, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Witt from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and my favorite Nicknack from THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Actually Mr. Kidd and Mr. Witt are my favorite. Noting is cooler than two gay hitmen. -
Good action, and Craig, but please can we have a villain that doesn't scream VILLAIN the first time we see him?
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He was thirsty. No really, that is why.
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Before I begin let me say that Connery is James Bond. Now, Casino Royale was the absolute best James Bond film. The problem with Quantum of Solace is that it followed Casino Royale. It was okay. Had some good moments and had some blah moments, but it was okay. I think they try too hard to have different people helm each new movie. They had a winning formula for Casino. Why change that for Quantum? And why I ask WHY get tea cozy fluff writers who seemingly haven't scripted action in their lives to do a bond movie. Is the movie goign to be tense scenes of M and Bond sipping tea while discussing agency politicking? I'm not stoo pleased with this announcement.
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And Peter Morgan will write around them. That's what they did with Haggis, no?
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Would like to see he and Leiter actually work together on an assignment if this is the case.
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Ever? Really? At all? 'Cause from here in my cheap seats, it has the smell of mold and death, that unique odor I only associate with the absolute hoariest of warhorses.
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I went to a preview screening of Casino Royale, and at the end, when he said it, the entire theater cheered.
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I take it Brosnan could still pull it off and use Craig's chimp-face to wipe his ass. Craig is a pretty awful Bond. Although not as awful as that wooden wanker Dalton.
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"James Bond" is a codename, and it is handed down, meaning that all the previous Bonds are canon, and Daniel Craig is simply playing the latest agent to be given the label.
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I really liked QoS, even though I don't know if anything that happened mattered or made any sense. I don't know why, I'm usually very against that, but it was a stylish movie. It wasn't as good as Casino Royale by any means, but it was cool enough, if stupid. Merrick statement summed it up nicely. Oh, and fuck Brosnan coming back, those movies were garbage, what a stupid idea.
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didn't M say they found Frenchie dead in the desert? That QUANTUM had killed him? It's possible they forced the oil down his throat before offing him. Or.....he could just have been thirsty.
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Here's where Bond fails to enjoy the same kind of reboot that Batman received. Imagine if Christopher Nolan had said, "We can't use the Joker again, because that character's already been done." This is basically what the Bond producers are now doing. They still consider this their 23rd film, and are not prepared to veer too far away from the established formula. QOS was approached very much like Tomorrow Never Dies was. They didn't have a completed script, and decided to pad the film with a lot of mindless action. These are the same writers and producers that gave us The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. So it was no surprise when they failed to build upon the goodwill established by Casino Royale. The same thing happened after the success of Goldeneye. If Joel Schumacher had been hired to direct Batman Begins, fanboys would've been livid. Surprisingly, everyone loves to complain about Barbara and Michael's earlier Bond films, but they have no problem with them continuing to churn them out like an assembly line.
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Thirsty or forced to drink - fuck we may never know?!
Conti, yes the two gays were cool hitmen, when one takes it in the nuts before he dies he makes a face like he loves it! Wouldn't get away with that today! -
1. There are hardly any ingenious gadgets, and
2. There are no deceptively quiet & unassuming baddie henchmen/henchgirls who later turn out to have absolutely brutal fighting skills.
Also, 3. They need to get on top of the twisty political mystery thing; it needs to be paced cleverly so that the audience feels as though they are working out some sort of intriguing web of dubious connections. -
"Try, try again, Mr. Witt"
And
"She is very attractive...for a woman." -
Conti (and any other of you gents who cares to answer) - what's your personal favourite Bond movie?
i'm chipping in with ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. It's not dates - it's just a wonderful product of its time, and the romance element with Diana Rigg is both unique and rather wonderful. -
What didn't make snese to you, Merrick?
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give it another shot.
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Bowl haircut... FTW!
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i urge anyone to track down Morgan's TV film THE DEAL, it's totally superb - even better than the other two mentioned. He could add some great stuff to this
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James Bond goes after a madman who has cornered the Scone market.
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It didn't fit a moldy mold though so people get all uppity. Geezus there are more than 20 of these they don't have to all be the same. That song won't grow on me though. This is cool news. I enjoyed QoS a lot more on a subsequent viewing too (BluRay of it rocks) well removed from the clucking that accompanied release. The way they have written Craig in the existing two is fantastic.
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i thought forster did a great job of directing it - the one criticism being is that his style works BRILLIANTLY on the small screen but it was a bit disorienting on the giant screen. I truly hope that EON continue the direction they took, it really was so much more intelligent and stylish than CASINO ROYALE - although that film did some essential recalibrating.
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I wish Bond movies would drop the shitty "recent cool band singing theme song" and just go with orchestral music.
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...and an okay Bond flick. It's definitely re-watchable, more so than the terrible Brosnan Bond movies (except for Goldeneye). I agree with the guy above who said that its problem is that came after Casino Royale, which is one of the best action adventure movies of the last decade.
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It's much less of a departure than people thing. It ingeniously twists the elements we have become familiar with. action-packed pretitles? check. bond shags a girl in the first 45 mins who then gets killed by bad guys? check. bond wears a dinner jacket (tux)? check. bad guy is part of big bad global organisation? check. (esp check with first Connery bonds, where the bad guy of the film wasn't Blofeld, he was their boss.) Final reel where a building with amazing producion design is blown up spectacularly? check. Bond girl that any red-blooded man (and many red-blooded women) would like to sleep with? check. A globe-trotting plot, with loads of local flavours and unusual terrain? check. Felix Leither? check. (I could go on...) The brilliance of Marc Forster was to make these familiar elements so fresh they didn't seem familiary at all...
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bare with me here- totally reckon they're planning the long game with these films. just like dr no and russia had the set up, then goldfinger was a one off, then they returned to spectre and blofeld for thunderball (with the big showdown in twice), they'll do exactly the same here.. go off on one for the third, bring quantum back for the fourth and fifth. shit, they may even end the forth with blofeld being reimagined and him coming in as a shock ending (and so quantum IS the new spectre) then leading in to craig's fifth and last being the massive finale. when the dust's settled on the craig era, solace will stand up better in that regard. I'm just sayin..
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keeping Marc Forster as far away from it as possible.
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I thought the scene at the beginning where he pursues the rogue agent and they both struggle for their weapons after falling through the building, was an amazing sequence. It's a shame that scene wasn't nearer the end though.
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There are people out there who want every Bond film to be a virtual replay of their favourites. (They are rather like the Harry Potter gnomes who insist that Chamber of Secrets is a better film than Prisoner of Azkaban.) These gnomes will go whatever they can to stop the intelligent revamp that Forster gave things. They want another Spy Who Loved Me / Moonraker.
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Except that Dr. No and FRWL were great, Casino Royale and QOS are fucking awful.
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..ouch!
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As a solo film, not so much. But as the ending of Casino, it's not that bad. Just call it "Royale: The Ending" and it plays better.
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Jun 12, 2009 3:34:47 PM CDT
He drank the oil and then got shot in the back of the head?
by cookylamoo
So, the Hitmen found him, watched him drink the oil and shot then him? Pretty much a waste of time since he was going to die anyway. Of course, this pales before the idiocy of constructing a hotel out of propane canisters.
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Fuck, that is hard. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE I love, save for George Lazenby (doesn't have the gravitas to be in the same screen as Dame Rigg); GOLDFINGER is still the perfect archetype of a Bond film - often duplicated, rarely equalled; I love Casino Royale; but I think I am going to go with LIVE AND LET DIE. Yes, lots of flaws in that movie, but fucking Yaphet Kotto is one of the best bond villains, a hot as fuck Jane Seymour, a bunch of awesome henchmen (including Tee Hee Johnson), an awesome boat chase, a death trap involving alligators, and a theme song so fucking awesome it actually replaces the classic Bond theme in the movie for action scenes. Fucking top shelf.
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Unfortunately, these gnomes happen to be in charge of producing the Bond films. They "want everything to be like a virtual replay of their favorites"? Did you watch QOS and its myriad of cutesy Bond references? They "will do whatever they can to stop the intelligent revamp"? Did you read about Roger Michell turning down the director's gig, citing that the producers were more concerned about the release date than the script? Or the fact that Paul Haggis spent a year working on his Bond 22 script, only to have it thrown out completely? These guys don't want to reinvent Bond. They want to ape whatever's popular at the time, which is how somebody finally did it better than James Bond 007. (See: Jason Bourne, cinema's most influential spy of the 2000's.)
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LOVE live n let die. from russia's also right up there, even more then goldfinger for me personally. spy who loved me.. it's just wicked.. and living daylights. dalton's sort of now being rediscovered by folk (ffolkes) since craig came along, which is nice.
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It was the movies that were bad. I always thought Dalton should have been Agent 006 in GoldenEye.
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Where Craig's Bond walks into a room for evaluations, and all the other Bond's - Moore, Dalton, Connery, Brosnan, etc, are there to evaluate him. It would be great.
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that's a really interesting idea about timbo being 006. thought bean was a good choice, but reckon they all dropped the ball- suddenly having him act like "the villain" where as it'd've been far more interesting (and cool) if he'd played it as he would play bond himself.. like trevelian totally believes he's bond basically.. that HE'S the hero of the film and not 007. that make sense?
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http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118004872.html?categoryid=13&cs=1
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Classy and hard-hitting. Craig just comes across as a thug.
The Living Daylights is awesome, as all serious fans know. -
On film, I love Casino Royale. Craig beating the shit out of consulate officials, Vesper freaking out after helping kill someone, graphic ballsack torture, the lukewarm victory at the end... Just a perfect F You to the cartoonish Bond movies the past few decades. My favorite book is Moonraker. So good.
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Jun 12, 2009 4:01:36 PM CDT
Holy crap! THE QUEEN is going to be in the next Bond?
by the bicycle sharer
Damn, I loves me some Elizabeth II! (I assume that THE QUEEN to whom they're referring.) Perhaps they'll make reference to her work during the second world war? I don't know; maybe it's Rania of Jordan. I certainly hopes it's not Michelle of the US. Although Bond IS an equal opportunity lover. (Yuck, just pictured him and Elizabeth II going at it. Gotta go throw up.)
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truely terrifying
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After Casino Royale, it's the best Bond film, and I have been a big fan of the series my entire life.
It was a bit of a disappointment compared to Casino Royale, but who could make an sequel as good as that? -
I agree with one of the talkbackers in letting him direct all action movies. He's one of only a hand full of directors who can give great stories and not at the expense of action (or vise versa). I can't wait for his Green Lantern movie. I think. ..no it will own TDK. MARK MY WORDS!
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Cool, keep the favourite Bond's coming.
I'd never thought about the LIVE AND LET DIE music in the movie before, that's true though. So good you had to use it twice (loved the skulls in the title sequence too). -
Great, great, GREAT John Barry score, and damn, if that ending doesn't get me teary everytime. Damn emotions!
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just needed to forget about trying to 100% be like the book Bond, he forgot to add his own naturalism and charisma to the role. he looked like he had a stick up his ass which audiences agreed since his were the lowest grosses of the series.
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Goldfinger. C'mon, would the name Pussy Galore even get by the censors today? Not in a PG13. And if you freeze frame just right, you can see where Sean Connery fucks his back up for good during the Fort Knox fight with Oddjob.
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Godzilla came out in 1954 and if you only include up Godzilla: Final Wars in 2005 that Franchise ran for 51 years. Doctor No came out in 1962, if you include the present date the James Bond franchise has only been running for 47 years. Some one needs to check their facts.
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where did he screw his back up? i remember conster said in an interview the part where he gets chopped in the back when he's looking at the refridgerator that he still feels it some nights!
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No one thinks it's cool. And can we please have a little more spectacle to a Bond movie? I missed the days of hijacked space shuttles.
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is From Russia With Love definitely. Sean Connery and Robert Shaw beating the shit out of one another, nary a greater thing in the world.
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Best train scene ever. And I may have my facts screwed up, I thought Connery messed up his back during the Fort Knox fight. I recall that Harold Takara (?) didn't hold back much because of his wrestling backgrond.
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my spelling sukks.
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Instead of James Bond relying on the cliches that made the series a hit. It has all been abandoned in order to emulate Jason Bourne. And that sucks, because I liked the old Bond that used his charm, gadgets, and a smooth operating style to overcome any and all challenges. Now, he's turned into a hardcore bruiser like Jason Bourne.
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Maybe some of you should rewatch Quantum of Solace, especially if you've only seen it once. When I watched it a second time I loved the heck out of the first 45min or so, yes even the ADHD opening car 'chase', but the rest of the flick is DIRE. The story is the worst in any Bond movie (apart from Die Another Day). The villain is shit. Bond doesn't feel much like Bond. Everything feels stark and disjointed, just a load of scenes slapped together, unlike a proper complete movie. They dropped the ball the minute they decided this would be a sequel to Casino Royale. They dropped it further when they couldn't back up the Quantum organization idea with anything good. 'We have people everywhere'. Bullshit. The idea of Bond meeting a girl who wants revenge like he does just doesn't come across as being natural at all onscreen. On first viewing I thought they were being clever and she had just been playing into his hands all along by telling him that story about her family. It all turned out very boring. No balls torture scene? I'm out.
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This is why I love Bond and Bond fans. You can't get two of us to agree on anything. Except maybe that OHMSS is fucking classic. We all have a list of demands for each new movie. And by the way, it's Bond 23, okay? It's not a whole new series and it doesn't need to be. Quit with the fucking reboot crap, please. I thought Craig was much more Bondian in QOS than the dour thug he was in CR. He needs to lighten up and work the suave side of the street. He will never be my ideal Bond - he's just too fucking butt-ugly and classless - but I believe this next one may be where he finds a little style and charm. I'm an optimist by nature.
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Is probably the best Bond film ever. The first one in the whole series where the guy seemed like a real human being with something going on behind the facade. Some of the action scenes were shit, but that goes for every single Bond movie ever...
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Jun 12, 2009 6:24:10 PM CDT
The Living Daylights is my favourite Bond movie
by richard_gere_raped_my_gerbil
You have the opening where Dalton is introduced only after the lesser agents are killed off, the uber-sexy violin chick (I love the scene where they ride the violin case through the checkpoint), the cool henchman who uses his walkman headphones to kill people as well as exploding milk bottles(!), the mad general with his TOYS OF DEATH, Dalton's grim and gritty performance (a refreshing change from Moore's clownish portrayal) and THE THEME SONG.Fuck! I love that song.
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Jun 12, 2009 6:25:18 PM CDT
Although Licence To Kill has my favourite line
by richard_gere_raped_my_gerbil
"They disagreed with something that ate them."
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It should, of course, be "HE disagreed with something that ate HIM."Poor ol' Felix.
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For any criticism of CR or QoS, whether it be music, acting, plot or whatever, simply remember these three words: Die Another Day
The Craig Bonds have so been so vastly superior to all Brosnan Bonds (excepting Goldeneye) as to virtually defy comparison. -
...to the guy who said, "We need more shuttle hijackings/Moonraker"...
(Motors wheelchair over) That would be a NO, you crazy Dutch bastard.
Ugh, Moonraker. Worst. Bond movie. Ever. -
IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY: at one point...a long while back...when Sony thought it had the rights to make a Bond movie on its own & was contemplating having the (then) white-hot Emmerich & Devlin wrangle it (this possibility was litigated to a close I think)...there was discussion of introducing a hunky/hot/younger James Bond...and over the course of the film...we'd learn (conclusively) that Bond is an assumed identity passed on from one agent to the next (there are occasional hints to this effect in the series, some more obvious than others). Over the proposed adventure, new Bond would come face to face with Connery, Moore, etc. & we would've seen what happened to the previous Bonds after they left their 007 rating behind.
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...the Craig bond flicks do end up using that idea. It'd be a chance for them to have a little bit of fun with the concept, without going too far into the Roger Moore camp, uh, camp.
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This would be an awesome movie where Bond is sent to track Bourne down cause he is framed for something and they team up. This would make a shitload of money.
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How about Bond and Jack Bauer are sent to track down Jason Bourne?
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...Xander Cage is killed off in the opening action scene.
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I just cannot let this same myth be stated over and over. GE is not the best Brosnan - it is an incredibly sluggish film with a few moments of greatness. I prefer TND to it, at least that fucker moves. DAD could have been cool in an over-the-top way if it had been directed by someone else. As it is, I admit it's a mess. But my favorite Brosnan is TWINE because it has great pacing, a good story, and I can watch it over and over and still enjoy it. Sophie Marceau is fantastic. It's not perfect, but it's the closest Brosnan got in my book. He never got his TSWLM, let's face it. But man, that guy was a great Bond. Craig is getting better, but he's still too much of a fucking thug. Bond is not angry and scowling, he is cool, collected, clever in the face of danger - and he fucking enjoys life! He needs to (gasp) smile once in a while. Oh yeah, and he NEEDS to be handsome because a big part of his character is his way with women. I'm sorry, ol Picasso face just doesn't cut it in that department. When is someone going to cast Craig as Putin? It'll happen, I bet you.
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Okay, so their Bond films make money. That doesn't represent quality. What didn't make any money at the US box office in 1989? Licence to Kill. What's the best bond film - okay; From Russia with Love, but Licence to Kill is a close second. Their writing is a formula; a shoddy, by the numbers, twat pleasing formula. Charlie Higson(young bond books) should take a stab.
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I'm drunk and can't imagine correcting my own spelling. Where would my ego be then?
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Is actually from "Live and Let Die". The book anyway.
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I love Daniel Craig. In fact, he's probably my favorite Bond right now. I think his performance was EXCELLENT in Casino Royale and even in QOS. The problem with the latter was that while there was "wits, shags and rugged charm", I just don't think there was enough of it to differentiate Bond from Bourne. I know people are probably sick of the Bourne comparaison but I do think that it is a valid one. As much as I love Craig there's something too cold and serious about him. However I still think they had a good reason for QOS's tone considering it was more or less a "revenge" story. The fact that Bond has now (hopefully) come to grips with Vesper's death makes me REALLY excited for Bond 23, because now maybe Craig's Bond will be fully formed and he'll be able to enjoy himself a bit. That's gonna be interesting to watch.
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Just open it where he has to go infiltrate Quantum without any help from anyone. Set up the mission quick like they did in the old days, and then just go at it.
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They should have had a wakka-chi-wakka arrangement of the James Bond Theme over the opening credits.
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...it has the best closing line in all Bond films:
"I thought Christmas comes only ONCE a year."
HAHA, priceless. -
I think it isn't up to us men (I am assuming you are a man) to say who women find attractive or not. I live in Hollywood and I know a lot of women, some super hot, who all think Daniel Craig is to die for. You ask them if you think he could easily pick up a hot piece of ass like he does in the movies, and they all enthusiastically say yes.
As for enjoying life, yes the movie Bonds do, but Fleming's versions was much more brooding and dour. In the book Casino Royale, Vesper Lynn describes him as "cold and ruthless." In the Living Daylights he bitches and moans to himself about how the higher ups have no idea how tough his job is. Craig has got the Fleming Bond down pat. -
But then in comparison to Royale most films are not so good.
Casino Royale was the exception to the rule. Most Bond movies are ok. Only a few are great. QoS had the best Bond girl though IMHO - loved Camille. -
MITCHELL...best MST3K ever. Needs to be on Blu-Ray. And in the Smithsonian.
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Don't you think a lot of that female reaction is simply because he's playing Bond? Would they notice him at all if he did the roofing on their house? You're right, I can't speak for women, but to these eyes he is one fugly dude. And the enjoyment of life and charm part is integral as well. Part of Bond's appeal as a hero is aspirational, you should want to be him. Like I say there were a few hopeful signs in QOS, but so far, Craig has been much more tortured and angst-ridden than cool and clever.
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About more than the best Bond movie, but the best things that compose a Bond movie. Here is my list:
Best James Bond: Sean Connery (your first Bond, like your first girl, will always hold a special place for you).
Best Bond Girl: Diana Rigg from ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. She might not be the best looking, but she is the only Bond girl I could ever imagine that he could actually fall for and marry. To bad she wasn't cast against Connery or Moore.
Best M: Dame Judi Dench. I like Bernard Lee, but there was always something a little comical about him. Dench is no nonsense and a ball-buster, as well as being a little bit of surrogate mother for Craig's Bond.
Best Moneypenny: Lois Maxwell. By far.
Best Q: Desmond fucking Llewelyn you knuckleheads.
Best Henchman: I like Mr. Kidd and Mr. Witt from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, but that is mostly for their audacious manner. For pure scariness, Red Grant (Rbbert Shaw) from FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. The guy had Bond dead to rights, but only his greed got in the way. I don't think any other henchman has ever seemed even more dangerous than Bond.
Best Villain: Tie for Me: Goldfinger from GOLDFINGER, and Scaramanga from THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. Goldfinger is the archetypical Bond villain with a master plan, and you also have to admire his grandiose plans and his sneaky nature: the guy has an American officer uniform under his clothes and has no problem turning on his partners to save himself. As for Scaramanga, he is the only Bond master villain who is actually a real physical threat (until Agent 006). The guy is also better than Bond - Christopher Lee would have killed Moore in the end if he wasn't so egotistical and decide to use a gun that only fired one shot. If he was willing to fire off a couple of rounds, he might have been able to hit Bond early.
Best Blofield: Not the best villain, but his most important one. Telly Savalas from OHMSS.
Best Song: LIVE AND LET DIE,.
Best Chase: Going with LIVE AND LET DIE again, followed by the parkour scene in CASINO ROYALE.
Best Death Trap: GOLDFINGER's laser, the aligators in LIVE AND LET DIE, the shark pool in THUNDERBALL are all pretty cool, but I think the ball whacking in CASINO ROYALE is the best one ever. For the first time I was really wondering how Bond would escape (actually I wasn't, i read the book before). But still, this one should Bond in a more vulnerable place than he ever has been before, and he only escapes it because he was rescued by someone else (and by another villain no less).
Curious to see your list Cobra if you want to give it. -
I heartily agree with most of your choices. The fact is, for all the ups and downs, this has been a hugely entertaining franchise.
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Jun 12, 2009 11:40:09 PM CDT
Quantum of Solace is one of the worst Bond movies...
by badwaldo s revenge
I could list a few bad Bond movies, but Quantum of Solace is beneath Die Another Day as a wretched excess. Style over substance. Casino Royale was a riveting film with actual substance in story, while QOS is a polar opposite. I actually stopped watching QOS at about 20 minute mark, because what I saw is a bland, daft story that lead to nowhere. That should tell you how damned awful QOS is. A truly weak movie. After the massive disappointment of QOS, Twilight, Ben Button, Watchmen and Star Trek, I'm retiring from watching new release movies temporarily, because the current stream of Hollywood movies have proven to be consistent humdrum garbage competing for box office dollars for the youthful movie-going demographic. Classic movies provide far more satisfying experience. The last GREAT movie in the theatre I saw was Apocalypto, and I came in with low expectation because I found Mel Gibson's movies to be ham-fisted and hideously cheesy. Bond deserve a great movie; don't make the mistake of hiring HACK screenwriters like Paul Haggis and PRETENTIOUS-ASSED arthouse directors like Marc Forster who jerked QOS over with Bourne-like headache- and nausea-inducing shakycam. Shakycam = automatically bad movie.
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Dr. No hands down. The newer ones, CR and QoS are trying to emulate that film, it's obvious. Casino Royale was good because they had gone back to the novels and used them to make a no nonsense Bond. That was until the end where it went off the rails and this is why QoS doesn't work because it's plot is based on the end of CR which doesn't work. If they are not going to remake the old films they have run out of Fleming novels to mine. There aren't even any short stories left even for titles expect The Hildebrand Rarity and Risico. They could go with the John Gardner novels, not sure if those are good, haven't read them. What they need to do though is not try to write something completely on their own because they know nothing about the real Bond. The writer needs to go read all the Fleming Bond novels then maybe they can write something decent.
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Can't wait for the Craig trilogy or whatever to END. We need a cool, very retro Bond that captures the essence of Connery and brings back the luxurious, classy look and feel of 60's Bond.
I like Craig as an actor, but he simply isn't James Bond. -
Sorry, that's just the way I feel. TWINE is terrible beyond belief, esp. everything with Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards and the Submarine. Oh God that was bad. And DAD, wtf?? A crazy super-villian in a robot suit? Space mirror? Genetic transformation? I would expect a better story from a Saturday morning cartoon. It was a fucking insult.
However, I agree that Brosnan was a very good Bond (perhaps 2nd or 3rd) and was very poorly treated by the film-makers.
I agree with everyone who says Craig's Bond is closer to Fleming's, ie a hard, cold bastard. Personally I loved CR, liked QoS in spite of its flaws and am looking forward to the next one.
Whoever said they should do a 'Bond meets Bourne', that's fucking genius. I would be so there. -
That's a fucking retarded as saying Batman is a handed-down vigilante identity because there have been multiple Batman movies over the years. I.e., very fucking retarded.
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Peter Morgan is a phenomenomal writer!!! Quantuam of Solace blew fucking ass nice to see their going in a differnet direction.
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Besides, you'd have to ignore On Majesty's Secret Service. Actually, that wouldn't be so bad.
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Just want to second that emotion
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& that the character has become a "bruiser" or a "thug", doesn't know enough about Connery's Bond. The problem is, Bond became so pussified that a whole generation expect him to be this smooth, immaculate looking, Gillete guy.
Just watch the Red Grant fight scene! That's as brutal as any fight in a Bourne movie (albeit it was made before fancy Kung Fu was popular).
As far as I'm concerned, Bourne ripped off Bond first & while the modern Bond movies might have modernised to keep up, they're really only re-claiming Bond, not mimicking Bourne.
JB..James Bond, Jack Bauer, Jason Bourne.
As for Ebert saying Bond isn't an action hero (Embeedeuce's link), that's bullshit. Ebert never gets it right with movies like this & looking through his archives after reading his review, the number of mistakes & plot misunderstandings in his reviews of action/sci-fi/genre movies is staggering! In some reviews he doesn't even seem to understand what the movie was about. & he's wrong by the way, when he says he's "driven that route" shown at the start of the film, "From Nice, through Monaco.."etc. Wrong route old man.
Not only is Bond an Action Hero, he's THE Action Hero! The archetype.
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To a point. I think Bond is more than just an action hero. To me he is the British offspring of the two-fisted American PIs like Sam Spade and Dashiel Hammet. He is part detective and part action hero - thinking is just as much a part of Bond's MO as driving, fighting, shooting or fucking. Maybe even more so.
He actually thinks his way out of harm's way when Red Grant has Bond covered by his pistol. Same thing when he is tied up by Goldfinger and about to be cut to pieces with the laser.
Not completely disagreeing with, just saying Bond is more than just action (which was one of my problems with QofS). -
"The archetype"? Don't tell me that's in your PhD as well
You're right about the JB thing, I'm beginning to think they do it deliberately... -
Not as good as Casino Royale, but still a pretty great film. It's subtle & gets better the more you watch it.
There's a reason some people on here are saying QOS isn't much like a Bond movie, while others complain about the hotel at the end because it's like going back to the old over-the-top style.
It's both. In many ways, the QOS Bond is closer to the Bond of old than we've seen in years, but Marc Forster's style gave it a different feel.
The look & tone of the film really grows on you & the Opera scene was a pretty ballsy thing to do. Ordinarily, a scene like that would have involved a gun fight & explosions, with Bond hiding behind something & using his watch/other gadgets to blow stuff up or escape. The way Forster did it, was really fresh & surprising. It felt like I was watching a film, with a bit of artistry ton it, instead of a bunch of set-pieces.
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As you said, part of Bond's appeal is aspirational. Well, he gives this fugly man hope that he too can pick up woman and be cool and suave.
But truthfully, everyone has their own idea what the epitome of masculinity is, and what type of person Bond should be. Craig works for me, but he apparently doesn't work for you. I can't criticize you for that - to each their own.
Except for Connery, Everyone must agree he was great. -
I know what you mean. I didn't mean he was only an Action Hero, just that, when you think of what an Action Hero is, Bond has all the elements.
Kobaal..do I need a phd to use the word archetype? If so, the world's going to hell. -
Is actual a moral one. Bond's morality. I just can't buy a guy who is supposed to be a true pro acting that way. He has a code of ethics he has sworn to follow, which despite the obstacles he faces he must not break.
Yes he is angry that the girl he loved was killed and he was used, but the movie should be about his professionalism overcoming his rage instead of his rage overcoming his oath to serve Queen & Country. -
Jun 13, 2009 4:08:43 AM CDT
Don't worry Shite, not taking you to task for saying Action Hero
by continentalop
I really don't know what else to call Bond either, but I do think he is somewhat beyond action hero. Which is why I like him - he is kind of like every type of hero thrown into one: Action Hero, Romantic Hero and Hard-Boiled Detective.
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That's the trick.
Throughout the movie, he insists that he isn't doing it for revenge (even though he may want it). This is thrown into doubt by the fact that people keep ending up dead. I think he even says something to M, like "I'm motivated by my duty."
I think his actions were meant to fool the audience & in the hands of a less subtle director it would have been more obvious.
By the end of the film, he's proven himself, by not killing the guy both the likes of M & the audience watching, expected him to kill. Think James Bond's Gran Torino. -
Sure he lets this low level agent live who set up Vesper, but that character only appears in the last 5 minutes of the movie and the audience has not built up any feeling towards. That is one moment of token mercy. Mr Greene, however, he kills.
He interrogates the guy, gives him a bucket of oil and sends him out to the desert, knowing that he would be assassinated by Quantum for talking. Of course, M can prove this so she can't do anything to Bond, but I just can't help wonder who gave Bond the moral authority to be executioner?
Bond is a servant of the British government. It isn't his job to determine who to kill or who to let live, that is the job of his superiors. As I said before the License to Kill is a responsibility. It can only be used by decree of his superiors, who are representatives of the British government. Bond is an assassin, killing enemies of the British government who are either planning on doing harm to the British people or are have done some crime against them and cannot be punished. He is really a weapon of last resort. And the decision to use this weapon should not be in hands, because otherwise he isn't an impartial weapon of the crown but a murderer killing people for personal reasons.
Mr. Greene might of had valuable information, but instead of bringing him back he decides to kill him. That isn't the sign of a pro, that is the sign of someone doing it for himself.
Imagine a Delta Force Operator whose wife was killed in 9-11 out in Afghanistan and finds Bin Laden. He has the right to be angry, and I think we could all understand why he would kill Bin Laden if he had him in his sights, but that wouldn't make him a good soldier or operator if that went against direct orders. Now if he has standing orders to kill on sight, we could understand this soldier offing Osama without hesitations, but if no such order had been given and he captured him I would expect a PROFESSIONAL to take him back to be interrogated and tried instead of deciding to enforce his own justice right then and there. Especially if Bin Laden might have information regarding possible future plots (which Quantum no doubt has).
And like I said, if he did kill Bin Laden, I can understand why he did it but I would also understand why you couldn't put him out on the field or why you would have to reprimand him. The guy is no longer dependable, he is someone who puts personal feeling ahead of duty.
And I expect Bond to do the same thing - do his duty and obey orders (as long as they are not illegal or go counter to his oath). Deciding the direction and policies of the British intelligence agencies is a little bit out of his pay grade.
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Conti, I would post a list of Bond faves but it would be spookily identical to your own. I think you nailed every single one.
The best Bond girl has to be Diana Rigg really (for many reasons) but.. the most 'fuckable' Bond girl (and hey that's pretty important too!) for me would be...
Agent XXX Barbara Bach from SPY WHO LOVED ME. As a young Cobra she aroused feelings in me that I didn't quite understand but I somehow knew were gonna be REAL important when I was older. -
He's Bond. He can do what the fuck he likes & his boss will like/trust him even more for it.
He effectively kills Greene, yes, but only after he's already told him what he wants to know.
Bond movies have always had Bond going out on his own & making the decisions. He'd be a pretty dull character if he took orders all the time. I think (his fuck ups aside), he sticks to his job in QOS moreso than in a lot of the Bond movies, where he's essentially free to wander around tropical loacations killing indiscriminately between bouts of shagging.
I'm glad you're not Q Conti! Where would we be if a megalamaniac threatened the world & you'd fired Bond for being drunk on the job & shooting a bad guy? -
"...Bond could have a set of three interviews with villain..." LOL. Nice:)
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Worst Bond: Lazenby.
Worst Bond Girl: Denise Richards/Dr. Christmas Jones is up there, but I think Mary Goodnight from THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN deserves this title. She is so fucking incompetent she just annoys you - put a bullet in her head Bond and you might get out of this alive.
Worst Bond Villain: Gustav Graves from DIE ANOTHER DAY. You're really a North Korean? Really? Fucking stupid.
Worst Henchmen: Grace Slick. Bond should never sleep with a henchman - ever. Except for Fiona Volpe. Honorary vote goes to the twins from OCTOPUSSY. I always hated those guys.
Worst Chase: DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. A moon buggy?
Worst Song: THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. So bad Alice Cooper did a cover of it.
Plus, I should add my most FUCKABLE Bond chick - Fiona Volpe from THUNDERBALL, She had a great death, but I was thinking if that was me I would still feel her up as I but her dead body down. Man she had a nice rack. -
Nice piece of gossip there. Thank god it didn't happen - woulda' killed it off. Shows how poor the filmmaking is if they fear they can't convince the audience over the course of the movie that the character is real. Assumed identity is a crappy stunt.
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Bond:Connery.
Bond Girl: Rigg/Greenen for the same reason. Also the same reason Conti gave. I believed in Bond falling in love with both characters. I quite like Kurylenko too, but that's more loin based.
Best M: Tough one. I've grown accustomed to Dench, although I grew up with Lee. Not in the same house.
I do like the dymanic of Bond having a female superior though.
Best Moneypenny: Lois Maxwell. That's easy!
Best Q: I refer you to the aforementioned Conti's "Desmond fucking Llewelyn you knuckleheads." There IS no other. Cleese was just Cleese & the gimp in NSNA doesn't count.
Best Henchman: Red Grant. With Jaws a close second. Fuck Knick Knack in the eye.
Best Villain: Gotta be Scaramanga for me.
Best Blofield: Hmm. I'm tempted to say Telly Savalas, for his ability to actually pose a physical threat, but there's something about the reveal of Donald Pleasance in YOLT, that makes his incarnation the embodiment of Blofeld for me. I also live not far from where it was filmed, which makes me love the movie more.
Best Song: Live & let die/you only live twice. I also have a soft spot for "We have all the time in the world". Not a theme tune, but a Bond song nevertheless. & the theme from OHMSS is fucking great!
Best Chase: Tricky. So many. Bus chase in LALD, Tank chase in Goldeneye, Parkour in Casino..but I have to go with the little Nelly/helicopter scene. I suppose that's a chase.
Best Death Trap: Tied up & bollocked.
I'll add a category too..
Best Bond movie: From Russia With Love. -
I am all thumbs, so you don't want me trying to invent and build anything.
Secondly, I wouldn't fire Bond for being a drunk and shooting a bad guy, I would fire him for being responsible for a junior agent getting killed - Strawberry Fields. He left her high and dry at Mr. Greene's party, basically hanging her out to dry because he was so caught up on his revenge kick. Bond is as responsible for her death as Greene and Yusef Kabira, Vesper's lover. Is some old flame or relative going to come after Bond now, and does he get just as much right to kill him as Bond got to kill Mr. Greene?
Plus, Bond must be the greatest interrogator ever if he can get information out of Greene so quickly. Of course, he couldn't possibly know anything else that could be important to MI6 or British Intelligence.
Sorry Shite. You might like it, and I can't blame you if you do, but to me it was just lazy. It goes against several core beliefs I have about how people who work for the government or the military should operate, especially if they are still to be viewed as heroic characters. That is just my opinion. -
I meant to say "Bond is as responsible for her death as Greene and Yuself Kabira, Vesper's Lover, are responsible for Versper's death."
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Jun 13, 2009 5:15:53 AM CDT
Nice list Shite. But one more category before I go to bed
by continentalop
Worst Bond Thesis: That the name James Bond is just a code name and there has been more than one.
Don't you people read comics? It is like DC comics before Crisis on Infinite Earths, there is more than one Bond and more than one Bond universe, each similar but different. Connery is the Golden Age Superman, Moore is the Silver Age Superman, Brosnan is the Bronze Age Superman, Dalton is the Superman from an imaginary tale, and Craig is the Post-Crisis Superman.
Lazenby is Ultraman from Earth-3. -
Anyway, my worst..
Worst Bond: Moore. Don't get me wrong. I love the guy. He's great! The more I know about him as a person, the more I like him. Humble, funny, mocks himself constantly. Nice guy. But I hated his Bond. I understand his take on it now & appreciate what he was doing. It just wasn't for me.
Worst Bond Girl: 4 come to mind..Richards..Hatcher..the little jailbait skater chick (maybe not technically a Bond girl but wtf was she doing in it?)..but THE ABSOLUTE WORST BOND GIRL is Grace "The Man" Jones. Now you might say, she isn't a Bond girl, but he shags her, she turns goodie at the end. She's a Bond girl in my book.
Worst Bond Villain: Gustav Graves/Charles Gray's Blofeld. Weak enemies & also fucking dumb.
Worst Henchmen: Wint & Kidd. Hate those fuckers!
Worst Chase: Moon buggy/anything involving skis (except the classic mountain jump).
Worst Song: Maddona DAD theme.
Most fuckable Bond chick? Daniella Bianchi, FRWL.
Unofficial? Shit, what was her name? The batshit crazy dark haired chick from NSNA. -
My mistake. I try to write fast so I can respond while the conversation's still on-going:-).
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Has an interesting, turbulent background - his parents fleeing Germany; something that could be useful in understanding Bond's orphan sense of being an outsider as a child. He's fluent in German - interesting again, since Bond has an international aspect - fluent in German and French (his mother was Swiss). Better still is Morgan's chops on films that are complex in both plot and character (plot is where QoS fell down). Haggis was excellent at dialogue, but so is Morgan (see Frost/Nixon - how about Nixon as a villain?;) . According to IMDB he's writing Le Carre's Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy - no better place to study if they continue to make Bond a darker, complex character, operating among traitors. This suggests they are developing the Quantum group further - i hope so. He's a great choice, i just hope he's not simply polishing a Purvis & Wade turd, but in from the start, developing the story - character and dialogue isn't something you just stick onto the story - they are the story. BTW, QoS may have fallen down on plot, but in terms of dialogue and character arch (for Camile, Bond and his relationship with M, it was a success - a gritty, gripping thrill ride, with a meey boat chase and silly sky-dive that had P&W all over it. The opera scene was about the best Bond seen EVER. And the finale, leaving Green in the desert with a bottle of oil was bloody classy writing. I wish they kept the original 'Bond getting shot' ending - woulda been classic. Read From Russia With Love - has a similarly shocking end and leaves you as excited as hell to find out what happens next. Best literary end of all goes to You Only Live Twice - a spectacular twist. The film version was great in its own right, but couldn't hold a candle to the book - they really need to remake many of them with more faithful adaptation (as with Casino Royale) - the books have only been shot in name only. This is what they should do if they really want to repeat CR's success.
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I predicted Craig in a talkback after seeing him in 'Love Is The Devil' years before he was picked. And after watching Frost/Nixon i recently suggested him in a talkback as a Bond writer. Is there a way of seeing your own talkback histor???
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Interesting!
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Apparently Mr White snipes him as he's walking away in the snow. Sounds like a great image, but they bottled it, as it would force them to keep using Quantum as the villains (which is what they'll do anyway if they're smart - the new SPECTRE)
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I'm not being attacked by the TALKBACK KILLER (sounds like a good movie) - i pressed enter by mistake, doh! Anyway, HELP! Can someone tell me how the hell you do paragraphs here, please?
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It's easy.
Just at the end of a para, but without the spaces. -
According to masses, CR had too much talking, and QoS had too much action. Hopefully they'll strike a balance this time around, and I think they got the right writer to do it. And I liked both films. I was pleased with the drama of CR, and interested in the departure from formula by QoS. Besides, Olga rules.
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ThanksDarkShite
:)
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She was what made Casino Royale work. QoS didn't have a character who made an impact like her. Bond 23 needs a strong female lead to counter Bond. Olga was super annoying in QoS and she can't act.
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researching afgahnistan as a possible story for bond. maybe this bond film will have a global dimension. I say say bring it on.
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Whole point of CR is to kill Vesper, giving Bond a wake up call to trust no one, kill all bad guys and bring much needed depth to the cinematic character. He's caught between his emotions for her and her betrayel. QoS brings closure to this.However the books leave him hanging and emotionally complex until he meets Teresa in OHMSS. Her tragic end puts him on self-destruct in the great Blofeld trilogy.IMO the worst thing they can do to the franchise is have a reoccurring love interest - nearest we should ever get is Moneypenny's 'surrogate mother' figure (and that should be far more subtle when eventually reintroduced.Check out how the CR book ends - it's bloody chilly and leaves you feeling sorry for whoever gets in Bond's way thereafter. I remember thinking, 'Wuh, that's a bit harsh' and had respect for the character as beyond my own limits. They botched this a little at the end of the movie - you could tell that Eon were afraid of making Bond too unsympathetic. But it would've made much more sense of his killing spree in QoS. So Eon were wrong on that - wrong on dropping the original QoS ending too.But give them plenty of credit for getting so much right at last - particularly the risky casting of Craig.
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Can't be said enough.
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"Believe me Mr Bond, I could shoot you from Stuttgart und still create ze proper effect!"
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In an interview --http://tinyurl.com/mktbkc
-- I did with Purvis & Wade, I specifically asked them about this (because I always thought it was a retarded notion). I asked them to answer in their official capacity as Bond screenwriters, and the answer was:
"We don't believe Bond is just a transferable codename - and don't like the idea at all. Bond is a character, a special individual, who happens to have been played by different actors."
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It was a pretty ridiculous and weird Bond flick. It was non-stop, over the top action from start to finish. Plus a ludicrous plan from a villain with a henchman who has seriously gay undertones. It was almost a subtle parody of Bond movies.
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It was definitely a parody of henchman.The basen-headed plonker got angry with a girl....Fell down some stairs....Got blown up pointlessly....Someone's taking the piss there!
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Jun 13, 2009 2:04:40 PM CDT
Will he actually smile in this one and do something charming
by picardsucks
Or just grunt and grimace his way through the whole film. Liked Casino Royal and I loved Layer Cake but Connery he ain't.
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Definitely shot for the small screen. Watching it at home I liked it a LOT better than I did in the theater. Which is shitty directing on the part of Forester--one more reason to dislike this guy. The action scenes just resolve better, somehow on a small screen. But the screenplay is undercooked a bit--and that's because Haggis was racing against the Writer's Strike, and turned it in just hours before midnight. That's showbiz. But Craig's fight with the knife-man in the hotel room is among the best in the entire series. The damn car race at the beginning is, too--if you look at the choreography. The direction was simply trying too hard to be "edgy" or something. Yuck.
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Jun 13, 2009 4:21:22 PM CDT
I knew this one asshole who said Majesty's was the best
by lockesbrokenleg
and he pretty much ignored all the other ones. What a fucking idiot.
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The asshole was half right at least. OHMSS IS the best.
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OHMSS is not even in the same league.
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Jun 13, 2009 4:57:11 PM CDT
Crap! Bond's probably gonna be sitting around talking...
by mrmysteryguest
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Lots and lots of people liked it. I friggin' loved it, except for the fact that they killed off Mathis. That was retarded. Otherwise, it was pretty well perfect.
For the next one, I hope Quantum turns out to be merely a codename for the real evil organization, correctly named SPECTRE. And a bald leader. And a white kitty cat. And a fuckin' pissed-off bond.
But, in this next one, I want Bond to be a consummate professional. He's done the "rogue agent" thing. Now it's time to get to fuckin' work for Queen and Country.
And one of the locations should be in Canada. It's, like, the one country where Bond's never been on film. Something to do with the Northwest Passage, which WILL be a geopolitical hotspot over the next century, what with the ice cap melting and the passage opening up for shipping.
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AttentionMORGAN, PURVIS & WADE: Please write the villian part for an older Scottish man in his late 70s. He said in previous interviews he would be interested in such a role.
Don't blow it! -
whoops! I'm the worst speller.
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The only good thing about it was Telly Savalas.
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... if you're a supervillain, don't build your lair out of fuel cells.
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Bond vs. Bond: Sean Connery vs. George Lazenby. Not even close - Connery. There hasn't been a Landslide this big since Reagon vs. Mondale (and at least Mondale managed to get Minnesota).
Bond Gorl: Pussy Galore vs. , Contessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo. Close one. Both Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg are ex-cast members of the Avengers, and both are iconic Bond girls. Pussy has the better name, but Tracy had a bigger impact on Bond and actually marries him. By a nose - Tracy Bond.
Better Villain: Auric Goldfinger vs. Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Another squeeker. Both movies have great villains. And while I love Telly Savalas's Blofield, I think this one goes to Gert Frobe's Goldfinger.
Better Henchman: Oddjob vs. Irma Blunt. Yes, Irma Blunt is a memorable character, someone we love to hate. But Oddjob was the original weird henchman, and is probably only second to Jaws as most memorable Bond villain ever. Oddjob.
Better Theme Song: Goldfinger vs. On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Goldfinger by Shirley Bassy. Sorry but a Bond song needs lyrics.
Better Opening Credit Sequence. Goldfinger. No doubt.
Opening Cliffhanger: OHMSS. The "This never happened to the other guy" is a great way to break the fourth wall.
Actual Movie: While OHMSS had Bond falling in love, Blofield, and a Swiss mountain base filled with women, Goldfinger had a woman killed by being painted with gold and had someone crazy enough to try and rob Ft. Know (but with a twist that somehow made it believable). Goldfinger.
Final Analysis: GOLDFINGER 6. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE 2. The Winner GOLDFINGER. -
I really do not think he can convincingly portray "evil" without coming across cartoonish. I cite The Avengers as evidence.
I'd love it if they brought in someone like Gary Oldman to play Blofeld. -
I love OHMSS with a passion. Yes, some of the dialogue gets a little corny, but even that is better than any of the dialogue from the Moore films.
It's got the most "realistic" spy gadget of that era (the "portable' photocopier. At the time, that was ultra-high-tech). It's got awesome scenery in the alps. The helicopter ride is damned cool. The ski chase is awesome. The girlies in Blofeld's hideaway are damned hot. And the ending is genuinely sad.
I think a lot of people can't get past the opening fight scene on the beach, and the terrible piece of dialogue at the end of it. Once that's out of the way, the rest of the movie is awesome. -
...and keep a straight face?
So, A View to a Kill is a better movie than OHMSS?!
Diamonds are Forever is a better movie than OHMSS?
Die Another Day is a better movie than OHMSS?!?!?!?!
What...ever... -
Arteska: Agreed. Until Daniel Craig came along, Daylights was my all-time favourite Bond film.
RICHARD_GERE: Agreed, I loved Kaufman as a villain. I also think that Jonathan Pryce's "Rupert Murdoch Villain" doesn't get enough respect, and Stamper is one of the best "evil henchmen" of the franchise. Despite that movie's faults, the villains are great. -
He has more charisma in his thumb than Lazenby did. And it also had Patrick McGoohan.
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Many of the best Bond villains were cartoony. that's what makes them fun i.e. Goldfinger, Drax, Dr. No, etc. It's Bond, not real life.
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Best Bond film: Casino Royale
Worst Bond film: A View to a Kill
Best Bond: Daniel Craig
Worst Bond: Roger Moore
Best Bond girl: Diana Rigg
Worst Bond girl: Tanya Roberts
Best Action Sequence: Stuntmen fighting while actually hanging off the back of a Hercules in The Living Daylights.
Worst Action Sequence: Fighting on the Arecibo dish in Goldeneye.
Best Title Sequence: Die Another Day
Worst Title Sequence: A View to a Kill
Best Pre-Titles Sequence: Casino Royale
Worst Pre-Titles Sequence: Diamonds are Forever
Best Theme Song: Live and Let Die
Worst Theme Song: License to Kill
Best Chase Scene: Boat chase in Live and Let Die
Worst Chase Scene: Firetruck in A View to a Kill
Best Stunt: Car flip in The Man With The Golden Gun
Worst "Stunt": Chasing after the airplane in Goldeneye.
Best Henchman: Grace Jones
Worst Henchman: Julius Harris from A View to a Kill
Best Villain: Scaramanga
Worst Villain: Franz Sanchez
Best Felix: Jack Lord
Worst Felix: David Hedison
Best Car: Aston Martin in The Living Daylights
Worst Car: Invisible Aston Martin in Die Another Day
Best Gadget: Exploding Keyfinder from The Living Daylights
Worst Gadget: Water Sphere from Diamonds are Forever -
Perhaps you're thinking of Patrick McNee?
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Jun 13, 2009 10:21:50 PM CDT
Oops, you're right. I keep getting those guys mixed up
by lockesbrokenleg
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With all due respect, the results of your Goldfinger vs. OHMSS duel have all the objective legitimacy of the Iranian election. ;)
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The worst action sequence BY FAR has to be the CGI iceberg surfing in DAD. What were they thinking?
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She's basically his partner nowadays. When we're witnessing her bathroom habits then something is really wrong. By the next movie she's going to be the Bond girl of taking calls while sitting on the toilet.
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I actually agree with his GF vs. OHMSS points except for the theme song, both are great. I liked the pure instrumental DR. NO and FRWL ones so a return to it with OHMSS was nice. My favorite theme song of all though is YOLT by Nancy Sinatra.
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Pretty much anything by Purvis & Wade..
"Pump her for information" =shit.
"Big Bang theory" =my sides are splitting.
"I thought Christmas only came once a year" (that one takes an extra prize for also making the audience aware that the character was so named, purely to make that one joke.
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http://www.totalfilm.com/features/7-reasons-olga-kurylenko- should-be-black-widow/ page:5
Remove the spaces kids & enjoy! -
Funny thing is those same writers are still around.
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"Stamper! Stop yelling in my ear, ja!"
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..setting up the worst joke in the worst movie.Fuck Mr. Kill.
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He was even cooler than James Bond which is a hard thing to do but damnit he was like the evil mirror image of Bond. If Bond went evil or something
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What's good about the film is the source material. But it's not nearly as good as the book.Book begins with Bond composing his resignation, while touring Europe pursuing a vague lead on Blofeld. Much better than the movie naff, though well executed fist-fight.I think this is where the confusion comes - it;s such a great story that the film seems good, but in fact the film itself is mediocre (especially in comparison to Craig's movies)What is great about the movie OHMSS is Barry's score - the whole score is the best of the Bonds.The ski chase sequences are still great because of the lunatic that filmed them, swinging by a rope from a helicopter that followed the skiers. He lost a leg, or arm! And carried on working. Years later he fell to his death from a helicopter while filming. It's men like that who make films like OHMSS age well.Also have to give Lazenby some credit. He's not up there with Connery and Craig - he never convinced as a ruthless, trained killer, but he did convince me that the character had fallen in love and wanted to hang up his gun. The final death scene survives from the book intact and is one of the strongest scenes in any Bond movie because of that. It's as good as Craigs comforting Vesper in the shower. Apparently Brocalli ordered Lazenby not to cry - Bond never cries, but Lazenby read the final passage in the book again just before the cameras rolled and he cried anyway. Good for him.
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Next Bond Girl: Asin Thottumkal. Indian actress who starred in Ghajini.
Next Bond Villain: I wanted to go with Toni Servillo, an Italian actor from the movie Gomorra, but I don't think he can speak English. Instead I am going with Aamir Khan, an Indian actor from the movies Lagaan and Ghajini. And I wouldn't even change his name - Aamir Khan is a great name for a Bond villain.
Next Henchmen: Since we have been talking about Red Grant so much, I thought they should try and do a mirror image Bond again. Jason Statham would be cool (ex British SAS turned freelance mercenary), but probably to gimmicky. Instead I would cast French actor Clovis Cornillac and I would just say that his last name is Mathias, which also explains why he is willing to try and kill Bond.
Next Bond Singer: I think they have gone the rock route for to long - I love Live And Let Die, but not every Bond song should be rocking. Maybe something slow and soulful. And the singer should finally be British. Even though I am not a fan of hers, just have Duffy do something.
Next Ernest Stravo Blofeld: I wish they could bring back Blofeld, and if they could he would be one villain I would cast a recognizable (at least to western audiences) face. But one thing I would do is through away all the previous portrayals of Blofeld - sorry no cats, baldness, scar or Nehru jacket. This Blofeld needs to be modern, intelligent and dangerous. I nominate Hans Gruber himself, Alan Rickman. The guy can do an Eastern European accent without it seeming ridiculous, and he can pull of being both charming and diabolical at the same time. Alan Rickman as Blofeld. -
Questioning the results of my GOLDFINGER/OHMSS duel? Consider yourself under house arrest until my Revolutionary Guard get there.
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Good choice. So there's still hope for Bond...
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Rickman's been there, done that to well in Die Hard - you'd just end up comparing Blofeld to Gruber
I always wanted to see Rutger Hauer as a Bond villain - he'd make a fine Blofeld.Gary Oldman's played plenty of villains, but there's no iconic role (such as Gruber) that i'd be comparing his Blofeld to. Also, he's shed the villain thing with his brilliantly understated Commissioner Gordan, so if he was up for it...!
An obvious choice for the iconic Blofeld is Ben Kingsley. And yes, i'd want him to be just like Sexy Beast:)If they want younger, then, well that's tricky...How about Viggo Mortensen? He can do just about anything. His biuld and mean look is not unlike Craig - i can see those two face to face.
As for music, Duffy or Winehouse are good for a soul tune. But if they want another alternative tune, then how about The Klaxxons? They can do melodic (Golden Skans), or relentless (Magik, my fave). They won the prestigeous Mercury Prize and are British if that counts! -
"my most FUCKABLE Bond chick - Fiona Volpe from THUNDERBALL, She had a great death, but I was thinking if that was me I would still feel her up as I put her dead body down. Man she had a nice rack."
HAHahaha! Nice one Conti - so hot she could move a man to necrophilia. -
My worst Bond incidentally would be THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (nice theme tune, nice opening, but seriously downhill from there).
Worst Bond girl Sophie Marceau (yeah I picked her above Denise Richards, because at least Denise had great tits back then). -
could be someone like Pete Postlethwaite. Come to think of it, he'd make a good M too. For my tastes anyway!
Good shout on Sexy Beast style Kingsley DC Films!
Themetune? I'd love to see a real band get the chance. Someone like Radiohead for example. Again, just my taste, but they're pretty much the only band around who can make a big epic song. -
not that it matters much, as long as the song's good, but in terms of British bands, they could do a Bond song easy!
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Anyone male here, who considers himself heterosexual & hasn't checked my Olga link a few posts up, really should.
I'm still picking my jaw up off the floor. -
DC Films - you are fucking firing on all cylinders lately. That would be great. Love the Kingsley.
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So long as it's Sexy Beast Kingsley and not Thunderbirds Kingsley (his follow up to Sexy Beast!!!!!! :0Maybe they could get Beast's Director Jonathan Glazer to direct!No no no no no no no no, no thunking way no fuvking way no fucking way, you made me look a right cunt, Bond!
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Contrary to popular belief Bond is not the longest running film series, Godzilla has that honor with 28 films beginning in 1954 - Bond may have a chance to catch up in a few years if Godzilla continues on its current hiatus.
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Jun 14, 2009 1:48:45 PM CDT
How bout he tries to prevent North koreans from selling a Nuke t
by picardsucks
Real news not politically correct enough?? Or will he thwart evil white-Euro eco facsists bent on taking advantage of poor misundertood islamic fanatic countries who only want to slit our women's throats not because they don't have clitoral circumcisions and dare to expose their hair and legs to open air in public, but because white-euro capitalists and our evil evil gov't and militray, manipulated them so.
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Jun 14, 2009 1:48:45 PM CDT
How bout he tries to prevent North koreans from selling a Nuke t
by picardsucks
Real news not politically correct enough?? Or will he thwart evil white-Euro eco facsists bent on taking advantage of poor misundertood islamic fanatic countries who only want to slit our women's throats not because they don't have clitoral circumcisions and dare to expose their hair and legs to open air in public, but because white-euro capitalists and our evil evil gov't and militray, manipulated them so.
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Goldfinger, OHMSS, and,...... The Spy Who Loved Me. (that's right fuckers one of the three is The Spy Who Loved Me)
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Die Another Day, View to a Kill, and QOS tied with Tomorrow Never Dies
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...How North Korea was in talks, until Die Another Day came out!!!Just saying
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For Bond films. They live in caves, not in Monte Carlo, they don't drink and they might have beautiful women but you would never know because they have them wear burkas and keep them locked away all the time.
HoWEVER, I would love Bond to touch upon real world intelligence threats. Like someone selling terrorist weapons or like how they had Le Chiffre in CR be an investor for terrorist.
I would also like to have a non-European villain. Not so much because of PCism, but because I think that some other ethnic groups and races might actually dig playing a suave and sophisticated villain. That is why I picked Aamir Khan above. -
Yeah, I was thinking of Ben Kingsley as well, but I only fear that he is to much on the nose. He already has this kind of Donald Pleasance thing.
But the guy is a great actor, and we know he can play scary and intelligent. Plus, he is Sir Ben Kingsley - giving him equal weight and rank to match up against Dame Dench. -
Or a European guy.
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Licence to Miami Vice, Crapino Royale, Quantum of Shit.
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but wouldnt that be cool--fucking kingsley as the head of SPECTRE or QUANTUM? i really enjoyed him in sneakers, when he played a smart badguy, but he can also play the nutso--sexy beast.
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Instead, it was poorly directed and therefore mediocre. Bring back Martin Campbell.
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I always wonder why they don't have more Islamist antagonists aside from the politically correct b.s. But that makes sense. They don't exactly lead "glamorous" lives (aside from the big-money oil sheik loons in their massive million acre mansions piping in white slave prostitutes). I now understand why they tend to go the other route.
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... Of the resort hotel/conference center.
Built in the desert. In the middle of nowhere. With some power/heating system that's built so that if a car blows up in the parking garage, every room of the hotel violently explodes-- one after the other. Its GOT to be some kind of insurance/investment scam, don't you think?Carefully staffed with hot babe maids convenient for tyrant-raping (living on-site, I guess). Is there really that much business in the secret evil cabal conference and convention game?
What was that old Saturday-night skit... nobody ever thinks of the catering, you have to feed your men or else they go wandering into the nearest town for lunch wearing their orange jump suits and talking about the secret volcano fortress they work in... -
You don't have Moonraker on your worst list?????
Dude, that says more about you than about Bond films. -
I told you fuckers Olga rules.
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Why does everything look more glossy and high tech. Why the need for the fancy graphics wall and table? Couldn't they just explain that Bond and M are tracking Greene?
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That's what that looked to my fuzzy eyes late at night. also olga rules at sucking my cock.
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Never has so much been written about Bond by people who know so little. Allow me to close a few things out:
1) James Bond is NOT a cover name passed on from agent to agent and anyone who thinks that please go and dangle your testicles in the waste disposal unit to prevent your retarded seed from spreading.
2) The plot of Quantum of Solace is not at all confusing. Bond follows tagged bills from Le Chiffre's organisation to Mr Slate in Haiti in order to find out more about the mysterious organisation that had blackmailed Vesper to betray him and managed to infiltrate MI6.
There he meets and then saves Camille. Greene / Quantum are planning to help instigate a coup in Bolivia and re-install General Medrano to power. In exchange they are to be given complete control over a tract of seemingly useless land within Bolivia.
Greene tells the CIA that if the Americans turn a blind eye to the coup then he will give the Americans a share in any oil that Greene finds in that tract of land. They see Bond as a threat to this so they put pressure on M to control Bond. She tells them to piss off so they apply pressure above her in the Govt.
Bond follows Greene to Austria where he uncovers more about the plot. In the process of doing so he is implicated in the killing of the Special Branch bodyguard of an advisor to the Prime Minister. The adviser is part of this mysterious organisation, which Bond has learnt is called Quantum.
It is only at this point he goes "Rogue" as the incident with the Special Branch officer needs clearing up but Bond decides to continue to pursue Greene to Bolivia.
Seeing Bond as a serious threat to their chances of getting their hands on the oil, the Americans now decide to liquidate him. Again they fail. Bond discovers that it is not oil at all that Quantum are after.
They have, in fact, been damning up underground river systems to take control of the water supply for much of Bolivia and beyond. They will find no oil, so the Americans will turn a blind eye to the coup but get nothing in return.
3) Bond is NOT rogue for the entirety of this film. After he is implicated in the murder of the Special Branch officer M orders him to come back for a debriefing and he refuses in order to continue pursuing Greene. Thats it, he decides to follow his instincts rather than orders but as he puts it at the end, "I never left.".
When M confronts Bond in the hotel and listens to him, she resolves to look after her agent and the Americans can go whistle. She tells Bond to carry on. So he is "rogue" for about 25 minutes of screen time. So actually, he disobeys ONE direct order.
4) Quantum of Solace fucking rocks! It does exactly what they wanted. It moves like a bullet all the way along and is the 3rd act to a 5 hour movie, of which CR was act 1 & 2. If you can't keep up, maybe you need to go back to watching XXX Xander Cage movies.
5) The whole ending with Greene in the desert is straight forward and dovetails nicely. When Agent Fields is found dead, it is mentioned she basically drowned in oil, with it filling her lungs and stomach. So when Bond abandons Greene in the desert he throws Greene the motor oil from the car and tells him "I give you about two hours before drinking that seems like a good idea" or words to that effect, due to the heat in the high desert. It's Bond getting revenge for Fields.
M mentions he was found later with the oil in his stomach so Bond was right, he did try to drink it. But Quantum caught up with him and shot him as well.
6) Bond doesn't wander around killing people needlessly and for fun, and if you thought that then you need to go and watch QoS again, properly this time.
7) Explosive hotel? Did you not understand the bit when they talked about Eco tourists and the hydrogen fuel cells?
8) Bond has a licence to kill. That means it is his call completely when and where and how he kills in the pursuit of a mission. He doesn't have to go back to M to check before he pulls the trigger. So the guy up above who talks about Bond disobeying orders as a professional has kind of missed the point of him. And M would just prefer he didn't leave a trail of bodies but that is his perogative. As mentioned above, there is no point in this movie where Bond kills someone for the hell of it.
I am bored now. -
Very well explained - the three act description is bang on. Plus i agree that everyone's primary desire seemed to have been to keep the movie moving, as you say, like a bullet. That it did wonderfully and I love it as complimenting CR perfectly.The only thing that i can add is Bond's 'maturation theme' which develops through all three acts, most literally through Bon's relationship with Mathis. The way Bond deals with the deaths of Vesper and Mathis are quite different; true, Bond wasn't in love with Mathis, but there was still a professionalism with Mathis, not the rage he experienced with Vesper. This arcs complete with Vesper lover in the epilogue: Craig's as cool and dispassionate as Connery in this scene - he's matured.
While i loved QoS, that doesn't mean it was perfect. The script did make sense, but a the break neck speed it moved along at, it was easy to miss things. Strength of a story is not whether it makes sense under analysis, but that the audience know everything they need in order to think they understand what comes next. I think the amount of [inaccurate] accusations that it didn't make sense and Bond killed indiscriminately, shows that a little polishing wouldn't have hurt .My personal issues with the script are it's reliance on coincidence. One coincidence in a script, OK, so long as it is somehow acknowledged - that luck can be as important as training and judgement.But coincidence number 2: parachuting into an underground river which is that exact piece of knowledge Bond needs at that moment to understand Greene's plan while enroute to the hotel.For the movie was successful in that i fucking loved it and can't wait to see it a third and forth time, but it has some serious problems. Everyone complain's about the over-edited action and there's certainly a lack of geography and logic to the boat chase, but the opening car chase was a beaut (not too long, like TWINE's boat opener). and that opera shoot-out, starting with the tensely drawn out recognition, when Greene sees Bond, followed by the silent shooting (Pay attention Lee Tamahori, that's how you use slow-mo... Shit, i still can't watch the finale of DAD). So Forster did a great job overall. -
...what QoS' coincidence number one was: Bond running into Camile outside Mr Slate's hotelThat one's forgivable.
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Did Quantum of Solance HAVE a writer? The only thing that stopped it being a silent movie was the explosions.
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The thing with Bond as a hugely long running franchise with different actors, writers, directors and approaches means that you can discuss it endlessly. One man's meat is another man's poision. My Grandma thinks Roger Moore is the best Bond ever and still chuckles her way through View To A Kill whenever it is on TV. I think Craig is every bit as good as Connery. Others disagree. You can debate this forever which is part of what makes it all so good.
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Last year Sean Connery said he would consider playing a Bond villian (if the money was right). If someone from Sony is reading this...You must Cast Connery. It would be UBER-COOL!!!
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Please make the best Bond film ever by writing the villain part for Sean Connery. How cool would it be to coax the original 007 out of retirement to return to the franchise that made him famous.
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is that CR had the mother of all Bond girls with Eva Green. Even if QoS is a revenge movie to honor this goddess without her it feels quite empty. From now on every girl Bond makes out with will seem like a cheap crack hooker by comparison.
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