So is the blonde hair still a problem?

i expect u2 die

This time two years ago, all anyone seemed to care about was the colour of Craig's hair. 'James Blonde', as the media branded him, seemed to leave a great deal of Bond fans... shaken and stirred -{

Does the issue still exist? Does the hair colour really prevent Craig from being 'your' Bond? Or did his performance in 'Casino Royale' compensate for it?

I was never overly fussed by the hair, and being a Craig supporter, I've always quite liked the look of it. Its also closer in tone to my own, than any of the previous Bonds'

But, often I'll watch a Brosnan or Connery film, and then really feel the difference when looking at Craig. So momentarily, a brief return to the "him? Bond?" notion. But I guess this helps me remember that Bond is seen by many, including Fleming, as a dark, handsome man. Craig's certainly handsome, but in a very different and fresh way for Bond. I wonder if it will be time to return to the darker hair after Craig's tenure.

Tilly Masterson 007

I'm not too fussed either what his hair is like, well as long as Bond doesn't have ginger hair then that's fine!

After all, he is Bond and he should be welcomed with open arms, not criticism.

-{

Strangeways

Blond hair does not bother me one little bit.
He's Bond, he's blond, and he's gorgeous too.

Lexi

Strangeways wrote:

Blonde hair does not bother me one little bit.
He's Bond, he's blonde, and he's gorgeous too.

absolutley...gorgeous and very sexy ;%

Napoleon Plural

Blonde would be a problem. We don't want a female Bond...

emtiem

Napoleon Plural wrote:

Blonde would be a problem. We don't want a female Bond...

Arf! Napoleon's right you know...

i expect u2 die

does the spelling, 'blonde', refer only to females?

you learn something new every day... |)

emtiem

Well yeah, Daniel Craig is blond; but I don't think it's a massive crime to use only one spelling of blond/blonde.

Smoke_13

I still remember reading the article (with picture) of the new James Bond when Craig was given the job.

My immediate thought was, "What the hell is wrong with these people? How can that guy be James Bond?" Mind you, I was never so bitter that I joined Craig's not Bond. I didn't like a Blond Bond at all. In fact I vowed not to waste my money seeing it in the theater.

Then, I saw a couple clips on line of Craig in action and I was intrigued. I went to CR about 2 weeks after it opened and Craig had me hooked before the PTS ended.

His hair isn't an issue with me at all. I'd rather have Craig who has blond hair and seems to completely "get" what the Bond character is vs. some dark haired guy with a comma shaped curl of hair on his forehead who can't act his way out of a paper bag.

COUGH* COUGH* Timithy Dalton *COUGH*

stjimmy456

Smoke_13 wrote:

some dark haired guy with a comma shaped curl of hair on his forehead who can't act his way out of a paper bag.

COUGH* COUGH* Timithy Dalton *COUGH*

!

Blond hair looks good. At least its not platinum 'Mr Stamper' blond.

zaphod

Hi. long time 'lurker' and lifetime Bond fan here. Dalton is probably my ideal Bond, and would have loved to see him get his teeth into something as meaty and well scripted as CR.
The hair is not so much of a problem although some other things still trouble me despite being pleasantly surprised by a truly great performance by Daniel in CR. It boils down to a couple of areas for me. Chiefly it's that he is just too short! I know it sounds silly, but it just seems wrong to me if the leading lady is in danger of standing taller than Bond. it means that Daniel for me just lacks gravitas and staure. Tall dark & handsome is the ideal for Bond, and I could accept tall, blond, and craggy, but short,blond & craggy is just a step too far for me to fully get behind.
That said I am still eagerly awaiting his turn in QOS. I would like a little more class, and a little less squaddie in the approach though.

Lexi

Hi and welcome to AJB. {[]

zaphod wrote:

It boils down to a couple of areas for me. Chiefly it's that he is just too short! I know it sounds silly, but it just seems wrong to me if the leading lady is in danger of standing taller than Bond.

I can understand this idea, however at 6'1 myself, I have always had a problem finding taller men...and I vowed NEVER to marry a man shorter than me, but, I have. And it comes down to how the man feels about himself. My husband is only 5'8 but as a green belt in Jiu Jitsu and incredibly fit and strong, his height is not an issue at all. I guess looks wise on screen it might seem odd, but with the physique that Craig has, any woman, including someone as tall as me, would still hopefully look the part of protector.

Wasn't Grace Jones taller than Moore anyway in AVTAK?

zaphod

can understand this idea, however at 6'1 myself, I have always had a problem finding taller men...and I vowed NEVER to marry a man shorter than me, but, I have. And it comes down to how the man feels about himself. My husband is only 5'8 but as a green belt in Jiu Jitsu and incredibly fit and strong, his height is not an issue at all. I guess looks wise on screen it might seem odd, but with the physique that Craig has, any woman, including someone as tall as me, would still hopefully look the part of protector.

Wasn't Grace Jones taller than Moore anyway in AVTAK?


I guess that Lexi is right, and I stress that as a 6'4 mail I'm probably being 'heightist' and I was commenting on how this looks on screen and not intending to 'dis' anyone on the basis of height. I do sense that Daniel is a little sensitive over this himself. However I cannot think of anyone currently that I would prefer to be taking on the role ao I'll just have to get over it as it doesn't seem to trouble anyone else. If Lexi as a 6'1 female is cool with it then I guess thats a pretty drop dead arguement.

Jermaine76

The blond hair doesn't bother me anymore...but he should at least change his hairstyle slightly.

Lexi

zaphod wrote:

and I was commenting on how this looks on screen and not intending to 'dis' anyone on the basis of height.

Don't worry, I didn't take it as such at all

...and if you don't already know I'm rather fond of Craig (regardless of his height) so I am hugely biased towards him anyway!

I also think becasue Daniel got so much flak for being a) blond and b) not quite 6' he is prob thinking, what the hell does this have to do with portraying Bond, but as I'm beginning to learn on these boards, people have various ideals of what bond should look like etc...it's what makes these discussions so interesting.

Alessandra

For me, it's not the blond hair in itself.. it's the whole picture! ) Not tall, blond and (Lexi we're on opposite sides here) definitely unattractive. But more than that, what bothers me is he completely lacks style and class. So, glad he works great for many people, but he just doesn't do it as Bond for me unfortunately. And it's not simply the hair. Anyway, dark, tall and handsome are Bond's looks, and I pretend to have that package on screen when I watch.

I don't think Craig's hair matters at this point really. There are those who like him and those who do not, and that's not bound to change because of his hair colour I think.

emtiem

Alessandra wrote:

But more than that, what bothers me is he completely lacks style and class.

That would be a big 'in your opinion' there!
He's always winning those stylish man contests we hear about all the time, so he's obviously got something. Always looks very natty to my eye, anyway.

Higgins

Hello Alessandra,

good to see you again on AJB :x
I can see, what you say about having a very sophisticated style and I agree, if it was still Pierce or Roger. Imagining them wearing a Poloshirt or a pair of Cons would be unthinkable.

DC is a total different type, extremely athletic and pretty rough, it is really Rock'N Roll and I like his style.

On a personal note as being brown-haired myself, I am delighted, that this is your personal choice, too

Lexi

Alessandra wrote:

For me, it's not the blond hair in itself.. it's the whole picture! ) Not tall, blond and (Lexi we're on opposite sides here) definitely unattractive. But more than that, what bothers me is he completely lacks style and class.

Hi Alessandra, {[] I don't think we've actaully talked yet, but I followed your great mission on Lake Gardia with avid interest, how exciting.

However, back to the case in point. I can understand that people do not find Craig attractive. However...completley lacks style...well, I know us Brits have nothing on you very stylish Italians, but Craig has won GQ's most stylish man awards two years in a row now. (GQ is the equivalent to Vogue for men)...now if that's not a testiment to his style, I don't know what is!!

And as for class, well he has never pretended to be particulary classy. His father was a seaman and his mother was a teacher...so very much working/middle class. If the argument is that the actor has to have class to play Bond, well, I can rant about that till the cows come home, but I don't want to bore you...(I will defend Craig until I die )

I know you're not a fan and we will probably never see eye to eye, but I can't let someone say he has no style or class, without me putting my two pence in !

*right, rant over ;%

darenhat

Oddly enough, I didn't have a problem with Craig's hair color (or Craig, for that matter) in CR. My dislike for CR was rooted in what I consider to be a misguided re-boot and poor handling of the character.

Watching the QOS trailer, though, I have to admit that I was partly unimpressed with Craig's whole 'look' and 'presence'. If you were to scrap Judi Dench's voice-over, I wouldn't have any idea that I was watching a Bond trailer.

Lexi

darenhat wrote:

Oddly enough, I didn't have a problem with Craig's hair color (or Craig, for that matter) in CR. My dislike for CR was rooted in what I consider to be a misguided re-boot and poor handling of the character.

Really. Misguided? I thought the fact that CR had a completley different feel from the last 4 films, ie a Bond that got his hands Bloody, an actor that actually did a lot of the stunts, and wasn't afraid of showing a hair out of place, no Q, or R (well we couldn't really have Q really could we!) and some pretty specatacular fighting scenes...with no silly gadgets, well I thought that was what re-booting meant.

But, alas, I feel as though I am again just ranting, and CR is the kind of film you either love or hate..so

darenhat wrote:

Watching the QOS trailer, though, I have to admit that I was partly unimpressed with Craig's whole 'look' and 'presence'. If you were to scrap Judi Dench's voice-over, I wouldn't have any idea that I was watching a Bond trailer.

You know, it's really interesting, CR got slated for being different (everything I listed above) and of course the absense of one liners, and here we have a trailer with exactly that...and it still gets critisised.

Oh well. I guess we will have to wait and see. But if you don't like the trailer (I thought it looked great) then you probably won't like the movie.

emtiem

Lexi wrote:

And as for class, well he has never pretended to be particulary classy. His father was a seaman and his mother was a teacher...so very much working/middle class. If the argument is that the actor has to have class to play Bond, well, I can rant about that till the cows come home, but I don't want to bore you...(I will defend Craig until I die )

And that path doesn't really go anywhere anyway: Roger's a beat copper's son from Stockwell, Sean's famously a milkman from the streets of Edinburgh... we haven't exactly had many bluebloods play Bond yet!

Loeffelholz

Indeed...and, taking my cues (as I am wont to do) from the Fleming novels, I've never seen Bond as particularly aristocratic anyway. Yes, he's fastidious in his tastes---particularly for the good things in life, like nice clothing, good food and the proper cigarettes and liquor---but he's also a modestly-salaried civil servant with the good luck to travel abroad on Her Majesty's coin...and he sees himself, in TMWTGG, as a 'Scottish peasant' who will always be thus. Who am I to argue with Ian Fleming...and James Bond?

No...the blonde hair's not a problem for me Just as Sir Roger's non-black, non-comma'd hair was never an issue...

taity

I think alot of people were very trivial about things when Craig was hired. There was a big complaint that he couldnt drive manual 9first of all, someone his age propbably would be able to...), that the guy didnt like guns, that he insisted that his dentist was shipped in from London rather than use the local mone down the road. So many little things that werent serious, but got alot of press in the media.

Monique

Alessandra wrote:

For me, it's not the blond hair in itself.. it's the whole picture! ) Not tall, blond and (Lexi we're on opposite sides here) definitely unattractive.

I'm pretty much with with Ale on this one. Although I still think he hasn't aged well, and really don't find him attractive, I do think Craig has had some sexy, charismatic moments as Bond, and he does have a great body. It's more his personality that is a bit of a turn off to me, the perpetual sullen sneer, the stand offish-ness. I think I'm over the fact he's not tall, dark and handsome, unfortunately that type of Bond just doesn't seem to fit the last few films. But maybe it will come around again. -{

But for now, we won't fight you for him Lexi.

frostbitten

Lexi wrote:

Really. Misguided? I thought the fact that CR had a completley different feel from the last 4 films, ie a Bond that got his hands Bloody, an actor that actually did a lot of the stunts, and wasn't afraid of showing a hair out of place, no Q, or R (well we couldn't really have Q really could we!) and some pretty specatacular fighting scenes...with no silly gadgets, well I thought that was what re-booting meant.

Craig was certainly a very physical Bond in CR, but he is not the only Bond actor who did a lot of the stunts. Didn't Brosnan get a scar over his mouth by getting cut doing a stunt while filming TND, and hurt his knee while working on DAD? Also, he had some pretty spectacular fight scenes as well, like the fight in the GE finale, or the DAD sword fight.

Anyway, Craig is Bond now, and gave a good performance in CR, so I won't complain about him. He does have screen presence, which compensates for his lack of height and atypical Bond looks.

Fitzochris

The only differences between Craig's Bond and Fleming's is that he is blonde and maybe a little shorter. However, the way he portrays Bond on screen is very loyal to Fleming's Bond - even more so than Connery's or Dalton's.

After DAD I thought the franchise was dead. It truly was the worst of all the Bond films and it felt too American (Halle Barre's 'eat this bitch' to name but one example).

Invisible cars? Ice palaces? Facial transplants? C'mon. Fleming would have been turning in his grave.

Understandably, once I saw CR I was as happy as a pig in, well y'know.

For me, Craig and the scriptwriters saved the Bond franchise from implosion. They just have to be careful not to turn it into a Bourne-style farce now.

Bring back the traditional gunbarrel walk and quality Fleming-esque plotlines and Bond will be well and truly back.

blueman

Lexi wrote:

I thought the fact that CR had a completley different feel from the last 4 films, ie a Bond that got his hands Bloody, an actor that actually did a lot of the stunts, and wasn't afraid of showing a hair out of place, no Q, or R (well we couldn't really have Q really could we!) and some pretty specatacular fighting scenes...with no silly gadgets, well I thought that was what re-booting meant.

It's for basically the above reasons I have a hard time thinking of CR as a reboot: toss out YOLT and CR fits in quite nicely with the other 60s Bond films IMO, especially DN and OHMSS IMO. There's a decent range of Bond displayed in that first decade, and that CR was released out of linear order doesn't bother me much at this point - it's Bond as much as DN, FRWL, GF, TB, and OHMSS were IMHO, as some have more or less gadgetry, more or less character emphasis (but all "feel" Fleming to me), different types of plots/action/villains/girls/etc. YOLT and DAF through DAD "feel" much more generic to me, could be any old spy (and being honest, parts of TB "feel" that way as well just not enough to be distracting), guess I'm weird or something. {:)

emtiem

taity wrote:

I think alot of people were very trivial about things when Craig was hired. There was a big complaint that he couldnt drive manual 9first of all, someone his age propbably would be able to...), that the guy didnt like guns, that he insisted that his dentist was shipped in from London rather than use the local mone down the road. So many little things that werent serious, but got alot of press in the media.

Well they also weren't true of course! Well, maybe he doesn't like guns, but I'm not sure how anyone could interpret that as a bad thing!

spiderman

I like blond BOND cause it makes him more special

95% percent of the world´s population is dark haired, call that boring :-)

blonde hair make him more special - he can be one in a crowd among all other fellow 00 dark - haired agents

007 is the best

Lexi

emtiem wrote:

Well, maybe he doesn't like guns, but I'm not sure how anyone could interpret that as a bad thing!

From what I know of him, he really doesn't like Guns. (but does that mean he doesn't make a good bond)...well it's not like I have to say it is it?