Who should be the next Bond?

[Mouseferatu]

Actually, it's rumored that Christian Bale is going to be the next Batman.

Hardly a rumor. They've been filming for some time now. You can find a link to the first Batman teaser trailer elsewhere in this very forum.

Where have you been? The last Bond movie like the one you described was From Russia With Love, which was released over 40 years ago, and was only the second Bond film.

Oh, I wouldn't go that far. Many of the Bond movies have had at least elements of what I'm talking about. It really wasn't until Dalton's second movie that MGM seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

No coincidence, I'm sure, that that's the same time they stopped even pretending to base the movies off Flemming's books.

(BTW, I don't blame Dalton for that. I liked him, though not as much as Connery or Brosnan.)

 

[Desdichado]

The Bourne Identity was more Bond-like, in many respects, than the last three Bond movies.

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis? When did Jason Bourne wear a tuxedo? When did he go gambling at Monte Carlo? When did he hop in bed with a bunch of bimbos? And when did James Bond drive a Fiat (OK, he drove half a Fiat, IIRC, in View to a Kill but nothing with Roger Moore counts. )

Don't get me wrong; the Bourne Identity was great, but it was a completely different type of movie than a Bond movie.

 

[Dark Jezter]

It really wasn't until Dalton's second movie that MGM seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

No coincidence, I'm sure, that that's the same time they stopped even pretending to base the movies off Flemming's books.

Well, considering that after The Living Daylights (Dalton's first Bond film), there were no more Ian Fleming novels left to be turned into Bond films...

It should also be noted that Albert R. Broccoli, who produced nearly every Bond movie up until his death in 1996, was never a fan of the literary Bond. This is why the Bond movies (with the exception of On Her Majesty's Secret Service) don't have much in common with the novels. Heck, the only thing the movie version of The Spy Who Loved Me has in common with the novel is the title: in the book, the story is told from the point of view of the female protagonist, and Bond dosen't even make an apperance until the story is 3/4ths over.

I can't say that I disagree with Broccoli's portrayal of Bond, because on a whole I prefer the cinematic Bond over the literary Bond.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Don't get me wrong; the Bourne Identity was great, but it was a completely different type of movie than a Bond movie.

Guess I should have explained better. No, Bourne is nothing like Bond in terms of feel or specific details. I was referring more to the fact that Bourne wasn't about laying waste to entire regiments with machine guns or seeing who could blow up the biggest building. It was about a well-trained agent, up against other well-trained agents, and far more about precision than firepower.

I can't say that I disagree with Broccoli's portrayal of Bond, because on a whole I prefer the cinematic Bond over the literary Bond.

You may find this funny, after what I've said, but I do too. I'm not fond of most of Flemming's novels.

That said, there's still some very specific traits that make the cinematic Bond who he is, traits of both character and plot. And the Bond movies have been steadily losing that, IMO.

(Granted, they lost them for a while with several of Moore's movies, but that--and the current flaws--are attributable to the zeitgeist of the relevant time periods.)

 

[James Heard]

I'll summarize a conversation I had with my father today on the 'essence of Bond": James Bond is, on the surface, a suave playboy caricture of a spy. The subtext of the Bond role should have never been the gadgets or the locales, but the idea that it's all essentially an act and that James Bond has a license to kill and whatever that suggests about the character. Connery was the best Bond because you admired him without liking him all the time, he was the guy who could hit a woman because it was about saving the world and that kills people almost casually while quipping about it.

But I still think Bana can't act.

 

[John Crichton]

There´s already a female Bond - it´s Jennifer Garner from Alias.
There can only be one!!

Asmo

Nuff said.

 

[JeffB]

I thought License to Kill was Dalton's first Bond Film, The Living Daylights was the second? :\ (and IMO, TLD was the best bond film since Connery gave up the role)

 

[Mouseferatu]

I thought License to Kill was Dalton's first Bond Film, The Living Daylights was the second? :\ (and IMO, TLD was the best bond film since Connery gave up the role)

Nope. Got those backwards. TLD was first, than LTK. And I agree TLD was pretty good. Heck, LTK wasn't a bad movie; it just wasn't very Bond.

 

[jarlaxlecq]

Nope. Got those backwards. TLD was first, than LTK. And I agree TLD was pretty good. Heck, LTK wasn't a bad movie; it just wasn't very Bond.

I remember someone saying that Dolton's Bond was more like the Literary Bond then any of the others. I haven't read them so i cant comment. I myself Liked LTK. Bond doesn't have to many real "Friends" i didn't find it "unbondlike" to Go outside of official Channels to go take vengence on someone. I can imagine bond doing the same thing if someone maimed Q or moneypenny.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I remember someone saying that Dolton's Bond was more like the Literary Bond then any of the others. I haven't read them so i cant comment. I myself Liked LTK. Bond doesn't have to many real "Friends" i didn't find it "unbondlike" to Go outside of official Channels to go take vengence on someone. I can imagine bond doing the same thing if someone maimed Q or moneypenny.

Oh, it's not Bond going outside official channels that bugs me. It's just the general feel of the movie. Far more "generic action" and far less "Bond-style action."

Can't really put my finger on it more firmly than that, at least at the moment, but there it is.