Canon-Strike X: Bond, James Bond

[QualityChimp]

There's this tricky balancing act where people want certain things from a Bond film:
Girls, guns, gadgets, fancy cars, exotic locations and a spectacle.

Miss any of them off and people moan ("a Ford Focus?!")
Repeat them and people moan ("Another disfigured bad guy?!")

They do seem to have worn down the path of a dour agent and a dash of levity might be welcome.

[Asura]

I would love to see the next generation of Bond do a riff on the Roger Moore style. A more lighthearted feel would be most welcome. The utter seriousness of the Craig films gets on my wick.

I've hated them, and this is why. I just feel they've lost what makes the series.

Given, the character has a lot of baggage in things like sexism so I can see why they feel they need to reinvent it.

[wakka]

I think Bond needs continual reinvention in order to remain relevant. The approach they took at the kick off of the Craig era was a valid one IMO. We're just well overdue for a reset.

[Neon Ignition]

Bond's a difficult one as he is a dated and sexist character and the new films have taken the option to constantly refer to that fact but I think part of the trouble is the paying audience doesn't actually want Bond to change. Obviously from a male power fantasy angle but I'm doubtful its female audience wants it to change either hence its continued rise in popularity. Whilst they're aware he's a troublesome character, the audience is too and seems to be happy having Bond exist in a bubble. He's a character of limited depth, having every entry nag him about being a dinosaur adds to the sense of misery the recent films carry.

It's funny to see him effectively called out too as being an old man after only his second or third mission, the films are so focused on Daniel Craig's aging rather than the characters. It's enough to provide some justification for why Bond is the way he is and then just run with it. In a modern era sense a dialled down Brosnan is 100x closer to the right tone than every swing Craig has had. Have some entries where he has the banter and flirtation but doesn't have to bed the woman for a start.

I still see the Mission Impossible films as the closest to where Bond should be

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 05 - You Only Live Twice
Originally this looked like it would be the last time that Connery would take on the role of Bond, this one seeing Bond take on a... troubling journey to a Japanese island before directly battling Blofeld. Despite the furore that the next film would recieve, it was was intended to be the fifth outing for Connery but location issues resulted in this being made instead.







Was the fifth film a worthy delivery on the build up to Blofeld?
And had it been Connery's last turn in the role would it have been a fitting finale?

[Atticus]

The Bond films just need decent stories (apparently Danny Boyle had one), not a checklist of what audiences expect. When the books ran out the quality shifted. I recently watched all the Daniel Craig films back to back and Casino Royale is so far ahead of the rest it's unreal.

[wakka]

Totally agree with needing good stories, although not all the books are good. The early ones aren't a bad read, but not long ago I alighted upon The Man With The Golden Gun while at my mum and dad's and looking for something to read.

That is not a good book. Not by anyone's standards. Actually it's terrible, and would be long forgotten and out of print if it weren't Bond.

I feel like Fleming just started phoning them in after a while.

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 06 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
We finally reach the first attempt the franchise made to transition to a new actor, complete with knowing reference in the opening. George Lazenby picks up the mantle and immediately hit a brick wall with fans in a divisive entry that has improved in opinion in the years that followed. This entry see's Bond directly pursuing Blofeld after the previous entries events marking it as a more head on continuation than we had been getting, it also has Bond finally attempt to settle down with someone which again marks it as a bold departure for the series, taking the risk to not end the film on a wink and a joke.



Does it deserve a weak link reputation or is it an entry that you have all the time in the world for?

[Neon Ignition]

If I'm being honest I can't stick my neck out and bck Lazenby, I don't think he's a fit for the role even though I don't have any big issues with him in general. I think if he hadn't had the immense pressure of being the first attempt at following on from Connery he still wouldn't have panned out. However, Riggs is absolutely spot on in her turn as the woman who wins Bond over. Had Connery stuck around for another entry I think opinion on this one would be much stronger, it's having a new actor in the role that furthers peoples disconnects from it. It also feels lighter on notable action as well, like it's more of a focused adaptation than a descent into the fantasy that the few films before it are.

I can understand the ending causing the ripples it did but I love it. It's a real impactful moment and provides an on-screen framework for why Bond is so disconnected to relationships moving forward, rather than previously simply being bad with women. It's not a justification for it as it's not really intended to be that but it's a moment of dramatic depth in a franchise that contains barely a trace of it. It's not my favourite Bond film but it's one that I have a certain level of respect for above most of the others.

[Neon Ignition]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service - still not getting the recognition it deserves!

Movie 07 - Diamonds Are Forever
Despite the legacy that followed OHMSS tepid release, Lazenby had been offered a contract that would have spanned seven new Bond films but he turned the offer down and opted to step out of the role leaving the studio in need of a third actor. After several contenders and Michael Gambon also declining the role, United Artists pressed on paying a record sum to attract Connery back to the role for one last official entry stint. Aimed to recreate the peaks of Goldfinger, the film follows the same beats and that led to a mixed response with some finding the end result a bit too campy. The film again see's Bond up against another recast of Blofeld with Charles Gray, seemingly finally killing him at the end.







Was the film an improvement on the previous attempt?

[wakka]

I love Diamonds Are Forever. The creepy killer twins, the shooting of the fake Moon landing and the Moon buggy chase, the Vegas sequences. It just pushes my buttons in a way many of the entries don't. It's cornball stuff but it's bags of fun, and I really like the ideas the screenwriters had.

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 08 - Live and Let Die
Though producers had pursued Connery to return for his seventh appearance the actor was done (for now) with the role and once again they had to look at trying to find life for Bond beyond Sean. This time they set their sights on Roger Moore, this film using the book as a basis and veering Bond away from megalomaniacs to drug lords as a villain instead. Kotto took on the lead villain role, adding to a CV that would later add films like Alien and The Running Man to it, whilst Jane Seymour leapt to the big screen as one of the few Bond girls to go on and have a notable career in its wake. Moore would prove a big hit though, finally taking the mantle after initially being considered during the development of Dr No.







As the first successful transition of actor within the franchise, the film marked a new era with a change of tone moving forward as well. How successful did you find the film and Moore's era?

[QualityChimp]

Although Moore was my first Bond and thus, "my Bond", it was definitely later in his series, where they became more cartoony, for better or worse.

His first film is quite dark and borders on Hammer Horror for some of the voodoo elements.

It's pretty stripped back too, with only minimal gadgets (compressed air) and no Bond car, but steals a double-decker bus and a speedboat.

Moore looks mint with his black shirt, gun holster and f-off giant Magnum, rather than his purse-friendly PPK. Inspiration for Albatross in Rolling Thunder?


It's one I'd like to revisit, for sure. It has some amazing moments that are still impressive, especially for a film from 1973.
CGI has definitely reduced the impact of stunts.
Watching Bond jump a road in a speedboat (and setting a world record) will always be more thrilling that watching Diesel Vin driving under a CGI exploding fuel tanker.



I think, at the time, the franchise was ready for a change in tone and pace and benefitted from Moore's addition.

Anyone read his biography? I'd like to, but I hear he's very nice about everyone, which reduces the impact of when people were genuinely nice and removes the desire for salacious tittle-tattle that make these things worth reading.

He also did a book specifically about making Live and Let Die, if this is one of your fave Bonds.

Last Man Standing: Tales from Tinseltown
The 007 Diaries: Filming Live and Let Die
Roger Moore: My Word Is My Bond

[wakka]

I realise now that I don't think I've ever seen Live and Let Die. I'm going to seek it out. Old Bonds are perfect Sunday afternoon watches imo.

Good call on the Rolling Thunder inspiration QC, I'd say you're spot on.

[Neon Ignition]

It's a strange one I find. As his first it's the most restraint of his era but at the same time it's not a Bond film I'm overly fond of. It's one of those ones that shows how the same elements in each film can still affect the outcome depending on how they're balanced.