Does Anyone Wish Lazenby Starred in a Second Film?
ZorinIndustries
United StatesPosts: 837MI6 Agent
Given his circumstances, Lazenby did a terrific job carrying the role of James Bond. He was edgy when he needed to be, but whenever Tracy was present he appropriately showed deep emotion. I've been asking myself this and now I'll ask the forum. Does anyone wish Lazenby did a second film?
"Better luck next time... slugheads!"
1. GoldenEye 2. Goldfinger 3. Skyfall 4. OHMSS 5. TWINE
1. GoldenEye 2. Goldfinger 3. Skyfall 4. OHMSS 5. TWINE
Comments
A little harsh on Rog perhaps, but I'm inclined to agree with you on both points.
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It is a shame he walked away from the series and Dalton only did two.
In my fantasy 'Bondiverse' Lazenby continued as Bond until Dalton took over probably with TSWLM and Brozzer joined the squad in TND.
I think TB would have been the perfect intro for Lazenby. It was a very physical film, and he really excelled at action scenes and fights. Plus, the acting requirements weren't particularly challenging, so it would have been a good chance to for him to hone his skills as an actor before the really tough work required for OHMSS.
A Gent in Training.... A blog about my continuing efforts to be improve myself, be a better person, and lead a good life. It incorporates such far flung topics as fitness, self defense, music, style, food and drink, and personal philosophy.
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Actually, I rather liked Connery in TB (though not YOLT). I just prefer Lazenby in general, and think he'd have done a fine job in TB.
A Gent in Training.... A blog about my continuing efforts to be improve myself, be a better person, and lead a good life. It incorporates such far flung topics as fitness, self defense, music, style, food and drink, and personal philosophy.
Agent In Training
Contrast this with Daniel Craig. I throughly enjoyed his performance in CR and starting to "get it" to the point where we had a character very recognizeable as 007 by the end of the film, but thought QoS was a letdown simply because his character's development seems to have stalled inexplicably and even started to take steps back. Why do we see Bond having such a poor grasp of international relations when he seemingly had a better one in CR and still getting lectured (if anything, lectured more) by M? This a formula for your first movie, not your second. I will of course grant you that Bond 23 could change all that really quickly, Craig was working with what he had, and I still have a high opinion of Craig's Bond, but I don't think he actively came out and saved the film a la Dalton and LTK.
And finally, there was Brosnan. He seemed pretty lousy and disappointing in GE despite a solid film, but then, as soon as he turns into a stronger, more credible Bond in TND, the plots go south and in the cases of the watchable-but-weak TND and TWINE, he's propping the film up.
Lazenby deserved a second film for the same reasons Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig got one: to see what he was capable of. It was clear that Dalton would improve, I think, and the whole "evolving character" thing going on with Craig due to the continuity reboot sort of demands it of Craig (I hope...), but did we really think Brosnan would get better at first (plots aside)? I sure didn't. Could Lazenby have gotten better? Yes, I think he could have. On the other hand, could Lazenby have actually gotten worse? Although I wouldn't use those terms, it's possible that he would've been unable to reprise such a difficult and excellent entry in OHMSS, thus not leading to a bad Bond, but rather a let-down Bond. Either way, one film makes it very difficult to judge him, and for that, he does deserve a second movie at least.
Lazenby is such a tool though.
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But the cast of this film was all wrong. Jill St John & Charles Gray badly cast in their roles & this ruined the film for me. The film itself would have more continuity with Lazenby & more revenge perhaps. Connery was good in some scenes but didn't warrant all the hype & money they paid to get him back.
But Lazenby blew it. He didn't sign a long-term contract & took bad advice. His fault. He should have been less greedy-put his ego aside & taken the best role in film history.. His performance in OHMSS deserved a fair deal of praise, but he will always be 'bottom of list' on the Bond actors. 1 film is never enough. Dalton only did 2, but made a great impact in his films. He wasn't overly liked by casual Bond audiences (many who were used to Roger Moore) for so long. But he certainly made Bond a more realistic & dangerous character, more interesting too. Dalton was a class act in my view & worthy of more Bond films. Unfortunately for him- his tenure coincided with the franchise a bit stale by the late 80's. The 6-year gap to Goldeneye set for an eager audience to return, with Brosnan as new Bond to add publicity. I think Daniel Craig's performances as Bond owe much to Dalton's interpretation. I like Craig a lot, but anyone who thinks he's the best - i would soon point out Dalton & Connery who i think edge him out. - they set the standards so high.
I often think with Lazenby being Australian he just seemed like the odd one out of the Bonds. i'm not sure the wider audiences would accept him either? he did look the part though, although i think he's too slim/lanky for Bond at times. Watch him in the opening scene on the beach -in the fight. Yes he was a good fighter but looked incredibly thin. For his height he was under weight.
Mmmm.perhaps that would have been too long and I got a bit carried away....the main thrust holds for me that Lazenby would have continued until Dalton took over the helm, we can of course debate when that could/should have been. I would have liked Dalton to have taken over in his early rather than late 30's (before his hair started to recede?:)
To be honest, I actually didn't mind Jill St. John (although, ironically, in terms of looks, she's near the bottom of my list of Bond girls). But I do agree about Charles Gray. The question, then, is if Lazenby could have made up for Gray's weak Blofeld, all the while. Of course, since they probably would have tried to play it straight with a Lazenby script (since it's fairly obvious he wouldn't have done DAF with the same camp comedy style Connery did), maybe we see Gray attempting to play a serious Blofeld (it wasn't as if Gray himself was totally incapable of playing a villain). How does that work out? Nobody can say. But Jill St. John's character probably stays the same, for the most part.
I'm in a small minority about Jill St. John's performance in DAF, I imagine. Although with Lazenby's delivery, you probably get the line "you won't be needing this anymore...b*tch" delivered completely straight/deadpanned and thus adding, early on, a very intense side of Bond that's only been explored in film by Timothy Dalton (Pushkin's mistress anyone?) and Daniel Craig (Greene and motor oil, anyone?), you may have absolutely awful screen chemistry. The reason I say Jill St. John worked well in DAF is because she managed to fit in with the light-hearted way in which Connery went through the film. Does she work with a Lazenby Bond? I really, really doubt it.
On another topic I have often wondered how DAF would have played out if the screen play was written without all of the goofy comedy stuff like Blofeld in drag, the Moonbuggy ride, and Wint and Kidd.
I honestly think Connery should not have returned for DAF, as I have a very negative opinion of his performance in it.
Thank goodness Moore took over for L&LD and brought the series back on track after that mess.
Although I wouldn't say DAF is terrible (it is a Bond film) but it does rank quite low for me).
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
who made the deal, to get him back.
If Lazenby returned, I don't think that would have affected the film we got. DAF wasn't silly because of Connery.
the series.