The Best of BOND; Let's get this over with - Page 234

I'm on Team Whishaw.  He was funny, but not in an obvious (Cleese) or obnoxious (cliche extrovert hacker character) way.  I loved his quiet arrogance, his clothes, his condescension, and even his Scrabble mug.  And I'm looking forward to his return in the next film.

Agreed. He was just the right bit of lightheartedness. Right down to the "what were you expecting...an exploding pen? We don't go in for that anymore" line. 

Actually shouldn't Q get kicked out of MI6 for such an obvious flub (plugging in the Villain's laptop without any kind of precaution)?

 

If this was reality and not a fantasy, yes.  But since everyone's going to want Q back in the next movie and they bothered to cast such a good actor in the role, the worst he'll get is some tossed off wisecrack about how he got his ass handed to him by M over it.

I can easily see Bond giving him shit for it in the next one for humor.

 

We also saw Mallory sign off on Bond and Q's off-the-books plan to spirit M off to Scotland, where she was then killed. So he probably should've gotten the sack too. Instead he was given M's job. So there's that.

 

 

I'll admit I wasn't in love with the idea of Whishaw as Q at first, exactly because I thought he would come off as a cliche, brash hacker character-- and there was definitely a lot of that to him. I had before imagined our Craig-era Q should be something like that portly, mustachioed guy who shows up in CR, injects a tracker into Bond's wrist, nods and leaves without a word.  

 

But the Whishaw's Q makes more sense in this age, cliche or not. The steady hardware engineer who invented armaments in WWII and later built your Ford sedans and shot rockets into space, as represented by Desmond Llewellyn, has simply given way to a new breed who now creates trifling apps for your smart phone.

 

And in the end, they did give Whishaw enough of that old-school, quiet professionalism that I came around on him. I also don't think you can argue with the chemistry between Whishaw and Craig. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the next one too.

Wishaw is the same age as Connery in Dr. No. Making Craig the impatient old grouch in the Bond/Q dynamic was inspired.
 

Also Q gives Bond a gun that only fires when Bond's handprint is registered (i.e. holding it). Which means that anyone shot by that gun can be traced back directly to Bond and MI6 because it's impossible that anyone else could have done the deed. God this movie sucks!

I like Whishaw as Q. In 2013 in makes sense that Q would be a Zuckerberg type;  without acting like a tool.

 

I was watching TMWTGG last night and it is a really fun flick. Not the best of Moore's run, but is good in it. Of course Lee is great as the heavy and the broken bridge is one the best stunts in a Bond movie. I would have cut out Bond's Hong Kong partner showing up at the martial arts school. Since he leaves him behind, it would make more sense for Bond to just head for the river. Bond kicking that dude in the head when he bows is a great character moment. Bond is a rotten SOB, but he is our rotten SOB.

Seconded.

And how is Bond going to use it in cold conditions? Will he have to take off his gloves in the snow to fire his gun and get frostbite? Man that Slyfall sucked donkey nutz.

I liked the 50th Anniversary Bond Oscar tribute. Cool to see a lot of Dalton and Lazenby in the montage. (they actually showed Dalton's semi truck wheelie)

I think he uses the gun while wearing gloves in the Shanghai office building.

I found it very underwhelming. I saw more impressive montages posted on youtube. It's too bad Connery was being a dick about not showing up, that single handedly shot down any chance of a 007 union. At least we got Bassey to perform "Goldfinger", so there's that.

Nope. After he parks his car he takes off his gloves to print his palms onto the gun before going after Patrice. However, during the sequence where he's sneaking up to Patrice, Bond puts his gun back in his holster and puts his gloves back on.

Do you think he was being a dick, or just not keen on public exposure? Isn't the "word" that he's pretty unwell these days? He looked pretty ropey at the US Open last year.

It was reported that he didn't want to participate, not even talk about the idea of showing up for a Bond tribute because he still felt sour over how he was treated by EON back in the day. Like Sir Rog says, he's just being a stubborn Scotsman.

That all seems very Connery.

Maybe it was considered too big a security risk to have so many 00s all in the same place at the same time.

Dr. Harford, It would have been...Nifty, to celebrate James turning...Fifty, with all the 007's...BONDing at The Academy Awards!  I did like seeing Shirley Bassey singing Goldfinger, but I would have preferred Carly Simon singing...THE Bond Song...Nobody Does It Better!

Yeah, doesn't seem like Connery would soften in his old age. So no surprise there. Did anyone else think the montage seemed light on Connery and Moore but a bit heavy on Lazenby, Brosnan and Craig?

 

After seeing Bassey sing Goldfinger...there should be no doubt who should sing for Bond 24. Here's hoping TPTB were paying attention. Either write something new or just do MKKBB but bring her in for one more.

EON would have to really fight Sony if they wanted to get Bassey back for one more theme. Sony prefers to use artists under their own label (hence why Bassey's "No Good About Goodbye" for Quantum of Solace was rejected in favor of a song by Jack White & Alicia Keys). Adele was only an exception because she was the hottest thing in the charts so only an insane person would turn that down. It would be harder for EON to get Bassey because not only is she not under Sony's label, she's not exactly topping the charts like Adele. The best they could probably do is have Bassey's song be secondary to the main title song, similar to k.d. Lang's song being relegated to the end credits in Tomorrow Never Dies.

I know it's a pipe dream. Really hope EON is really willing to fight for it though.

 

Closest we ever got. 3 out of 6, almost there.

Actually the closest we got was in 2002: Lazenby, Moore, Dalton and Brosnan for the 40th anniversary, which made it 4 out of 5 in its day.

Noted, and thank you for shedding light on the glove situation.

About 2/3 of the way through Moonraker, and there's been some fascinating examination of tension between classes and genders.

 

First of all, this is the first time I've ever considered Bond's yearly wage. This book goes out of its way to position Bond as middle class but comfortable at the beginning so that when it comes to the big card game with Drax there's actual stakes with the money being bet. Bond panics for a moment, realizing he may be bankrupting himself, which is something I've never considered with movie Bond. Conversely, there's a definite vibe of resentment toward new money with the character of Drax. Bond seems to simultaneously respect the man's tenacity and resent him for being "uppity" and not knowing his place in the social strata. 

 

Meanwhile, the book starts with a minor dissection of Bond's secretary Ms. Ponsonby being married to the job and that being the proper place for a woman in 1950s England. Special Branch Agent Gala Brand, however, is a strong, independent woman that is not immediately susceptible to Bond's charms. She is contrasted with Ponsonby by her undercover role as Drax's secretary, but plays up stereotypes of women to her advantage, feigning fainting and needing to pull over to powder her nose (her words). I suspect, however, that by the end Bond will have put her in her place via a good rogering, or Fleming will have a monologue about Gala's destiny as a spinster. 

The ending of MR is actually one of my favorites and something I would like to see realized on film. Given you're assessment so far, I think you'll like it too.
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

A much better Bond tribute video than what the Oscars tried to do.

 

According to his official bio, Daniel Craig turns 45 today.  Brosnan turned 45 halfway through his run as Bond.  Dalton, the same year as LTK.  Moore, a year before LALD was released.  Diamonds Are Forever came out when Connery was 41.

Mendes has officially declined Bond 24.

 

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=36712

 

 

 

It's official: Mendes won't do Bond 24. Harford, I hope you're happy!

This is clearly all Harford's fault.

Clearly.

If Mendes wanted to return for a future Bond film once he's got his enthusiasm back, I'd be the first to welcome him!

Seriously, as I've said here, I think he was an excellent choice for Skyfall, but if his heart wasn't in it, then he wasn't the right man for Bond 24. Now of course there exists the possibility that instead of Mathew Vaughn it will be someone who will cause us all to worry, and I'll look pretty stupid for having personally booted Mendes off the project.

I guess it's time to start the Christopher Nolan rumors....

Screw it, get a Yank for once and hire Affleck.

Sorry, I like Affleck just fine but what makes anyone think he has the chops to do a Bond film? Bond requires a level of spectacle that I don't see in his work. Why hasn't anyone mentioned Edgar Wright? That guy knows action, he's just been too focused on Niche Nerd properties. Time to hit the Big Leagues Edgar!

Edgar Wright would be perfect if they decided to go in a more relaxed and sexy direction for Bond 24, basically Craig's own Goldfinger where he gets to kick back and not have any personal stakes for once. Play up the old formula of Bond getting the assignment, being told who the villain is and go after him, only this time with the new dynamic they have with Mallory, Q and Moneypenny playing a more active role.

 I think Wright would have been perfect for a Moore era Bond like Moonraker, but I don't know about a Craig Bond. Casino Royale and Skyfall are the perfect balance of making Bond a real grounded person, who is still a cool suave dude. The action is entertaining while being believable; the free running chase and Bond stopping the airplane bombing from Casino Royale are great examples of this.

 

  I want to see Joss Whedon direct a Bond flick. He can deliver character, action and quips.

My short list would be:

 

Rian Johnson

Matthew Vaughn

Nicholas Winding Refn

Joe Cornish

 

And I wonder if it wouldn't hurt to ask Martin Scorsese if he was interested.

Vaughn still seems like the obvious choice to me. Wasn't there speculation he dropped X-Men to direct Bond? And he's worked with Craig before; Layer Cake probably got Craig the gig to begin with.

The rumor was a Star Wars gig, which is not the case now so maybe it could be Vaughn. I'd be glad to have him along.

Joss Whedon???!

YES!!! I do admit I'm one of those annoying people who believe he is the greatest thing to ever happen to pop culture.

God not Whedon.

Paul755, Joss Whedon, will be to busy...Assembling Avengers TOO direct 007 24.  Maybe when Craig is done, and a...Better 007 is cast, he could...Bond with James.  If Whedon has to...Spy, I would rather he directed Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Here's a name I don't think has ever appeared in this thread, but seems an obvious choice (for director):

 

Kenneth Branagh

 

Yes, and the next movie could be called You Only Dutch Angle Twice as a personal challenge to Branagh.

David Yates?