Kincade - A necessary and important character?

scottmu65

Hello to you all!

I have seen Skyfall 3 times now and each time I have found myself liking the character of Kincade even more, not only that but I have decided that he is an important and relevant character in the new era of Bond, not only because he added to Bond's back-story and gave us information about his past, no, but because of the new, younger Q...

Now I may be the only one who holds this view but please bear with me. The new Q is a young, computer-wizard who probably plays alot of World of Warcraft in his spare time, don't get me wrong, I am all for Ben Whishaw as Q, I think that in this day and age that Q NEEDS to be younger and tech-savvy, my only problem is this; I always viewed Bond and Q's relationship as a sort of 'father and son' affair, Bond acting as the rebellious teenager thinking he knows it all and Q acting as the wise father-figure who keeps him straight, and I liked that relationship, but in the new era, that relationship has sort of been flipped over with Bond being the more experienced of the two with Q being the know-it-all being put in his place by Bond, I know that the sarcasm etc. from Q is still there and all this is fine with me except something was lacking, I missed the way Q could shoot Bond back down to earth with a sarcastic or patronising remark or two and it left me feeling kind of empty, although that was only for a short while, why? Because Kincade was introduced to me!

...The balance was restored in my eyes because of Kincade, his sarcastic and upfront attitude towards Bond coupled with his obvious soft spot and caring nature towards him reminded me alot of the relationship between Bond and Q, It was the 'Try and stop me ye' jumped up little sh*t' line that got me!

Of course I am sure that Q and Bond's relationship will be built upon further (hopefully) but I definately saw Kincade as a much needed character, one I hope we will see again in the future! I understand it would be very difficult to incorporate him into new stories, perhaps after SkyFall was destroyed Bond employs him in some other capacity at his home? Perhaps a janitor for MI6? Ok maybe not a janitor heh, but you see what I mean. I personally want to see them share at least one scene per film from now on somehow if at all possible, he, in my eyes at least, would be a more than welcome addition to the more permanent characters of the series joining M, Moneypenny, Tanner and Q!

I also wanted to ask peoples opinions on the stories behind the new M and Miss Moneypenny, I have no problems with the actors etc. as I think they will be brilliant but I am afraid that when the next film is out that it's going to bother me that I now know Bond and Moneypenny's backstory, whereas it used to be undisclosed and mysterious, also we know M's name from the off now (Gareth Mallory obiviously) not a huge issue for me but I enjoyed how Dench's M's name was left delibertly ambigious, I am also aware that in the novels we are aware of his name, coudl it be possible that these little things will take away that air of mystery surrounding the permanent characters? Could it affect the appeals of the characters and possibly run them dry in the future now that everybody knows their story?

I am very interested in peoples opinions about these subjects?

jamesbondagent007

I would like to see him return, now that you mention it. He added a much needed foil to Bond's character in that third act. Now that Skyfall is gone, I do hope he sticks around.

If Q is the Quartermaster, perhaps Kincade will be the new MI6 armorer. He does seem to have a penchant for firearms...

Think about it, in Bond 24 we could get a classic Q-esque gearing-up-for-battle sequence! Though I'm not sure what that would take away from Whishaw's character...

As for your other questions, I think having a more fleshed out M and Moneypenny over the course of the next few films will do a great deal to solidify Craig's unique tenure as Bond. Once Craig is out and Fassbender (please God!) is in, everything will change again, I imagine.

James Suzuki

Kincade was a great character and awesome at light relief.
It would be nice if he appeared as a housekeeper, groundsman etc. for Bond appearing at the start or the end.

zaphod

xboy614 wrote:

Kincade was a great character and awesome at light relief.
It would be nice if he appeared as a housekeeper, groundsman etc. for Bond appearing at the start or the end.

Cameo maybe, but please no more than that, and certainly no more back story of Bond and or Kincade.

Wilde

I would like to see Kincade return, perhaps living with Bond in his London residence or 'keeping house'. However, there is always the risk, as some have said before, of it becoming a very Alfred/Bruce Wayne situation.

I think the absence of an elder Q meant that the generational 'father figure' mentor part of Bonds character was shifted on to the new M (Dench) who served as the replacement parental figure as opposed to the more equal yet professional 'employee/ employer' relationship that a male M traditionally had with Bond. Bond was always presented as being a cut above M, remembering the scene in Goldfinger when they are having dinner with the chap from the Bank Of England and Bond shows how he is able to move through the higher echelons of society with a little more grace.

I think in M's (Dench) stead, you are right in pointing out the lack of parental style guidance from another character and Kincade would fit this part nicely as I think we might see Mallory shift back to a more traditional fitting. (Although I should like to see Mallory as a 'kick arse' M who won't suffer Bonds attitude and can meet him on his intellect and grace)

Great discussion. -{

Thunderpussy

I agree with zaphod, Kincade has done his Bit, Now lets
move on and Please NO more back story for Bond, We
know all we need to know.
( well I do anyway ) )

Wilde

Thunderpussy wrote:

I agree with zaphod, Kincade has done his Bit, Now lets
move on and Please NO more back story for Bond, We
know all we need to know.
( well I do anyway ) )

You're probably right, thinking about it.

welshboy78

He brought well needed humour to the film however I think it would be hard for him to return in some capacity story wise without it being cheesy. Obviously he cannot work for the service and would a man like that be shacked up with Bond, of course not.

I think the best bet is if Bond is up in his neck of the woods and needs a favour however I expect to see more exotic locations in the next few movies )

Moore Than

An enjoyable character with some memorable lines but I doubt we will see Kincade again. If they do decide to bring him back then I have one piece of advice. Do not give him a torch......DOH!

schaduwoog

I love the character. First time I saw, i thought they wrote him in to kill him 10 minutes later. I'm glad that they didn't. He doesn't have to come back, leave it when it's good. Otherwise we get antoher jw pepper.

JimboBond

I'd like to see Jeremy Bulloch return as one of the test subjects )

Barbel

JimboBond wrote:

I'd like to see Jeremy Bulloch return as one of the test subjects )

Great idea- hope he could fett it into his schedule.

Thunderbird 2

I am with Thunderpussy on this one.

Kincade was a prop support in the final scenes of the film, because there was only so much Bond and M could say to each other and exposition was needed to explain where they were. (Lacked why, but there you go). The scenes needed someone else. and Albert Finney did a great job.

However, - the dynamics of the character were thrown in there, then thrown out. Bond is NOT Batman! I cringed at the bolt on nature of this, and lets face it, Bond has never been looking over his shoulder ruminating about the past, or needed a Father figure. (Either version of M does not count!) It worked here because its the lynch pin of the story a la Silva. Plus even if you did bring him back, where would you put him? Bond spent more time in the UK in this film than all of the others put together.

I think the final scenes say it all. - No more looking back!

77007

Keep hearing people complain about Bond's backstory in SF. There's not really much of it at all. Quick mention of the word Skyfall in his evaluation. They head to Skyfall to get away from technology at the end. M makes small talk with Bond for a few seconds in Scotland. Kincaide shows up talks for a few seconds to Bond and M while showing her around Skyfall. Maybe a minute total of dialog/informational imagery in the whole film.

OMG! PLZ NO MOAR BACKSTORIEZ!!!!!!!

Silhouette Man

A necessary character in SF, yes, but i don't really think that he should return - he's served his purpose and that's it!

Thunderpussy

But if he does come back for another outing he could work on his scottish accent. )

scottmu65

Thunderpussy wrote:

But if he does come back for another outing he could work on his scottish accent. )

I don't think he was intended to actually be from Scotland.

Thunderpussy

Thought it might of Been like Mathis a French Bloke with an Italian accent.
( Or scottish in CR67) )

Just like an Englishman to come up and Put a Scottish game keeper out of work.

zaphod

77007 wrote:

Keep hearing people complain about Bond's backstory in SF. There's not really much of it at all. Quick mention of the word Skyfall in his evaluation. They head to Skyfall to get away from technology at the end. M makes small talk with Bond for a few seconds in Scotland. Kincaide shows up talks for a few seconds to Bond and M while showing her around Skyfall. Maybe a minute total of dialog/informational imagery in the whole film.

OMG! PLZ NO MOAR BACKSTORIEZ!!!!!!!

I am probably one of the 'complainers' and just want to clarify. My concern is not so much with Skyfall (which is primarily concerned with M's past and not Bond's) it's more about the potential to overplay this element in future if not careful. I have never been comfortable with the amount of M That we have had in recent times. My main disappointment with Skyfall is that it's a film primarily about M. This tendency to be self referential has a'pop will eat itself' resonance for me, and if unchecked will mean that Bond ultimately becomes only about himself. I want to see a new thread, a new mission, unconnected with Bond or any other main characters past, where M does not treat Bond as a dysfunctional child.

We may get precisely this next time, tantalisingly the end leaves it open. A lazy and cynical option would be to dig into Bonds past, the death of his parents ( a major fear for me) Mallory or Kinccade could be easily mined. If it goes along that road it will be the beginning of the end.
I hope EON don't take the easy option.

77007

I agree about M's role with Craig, and glad the mum is dead.

Silhouette Man

I liked his line 'Welcome to Scotland" and the fact that he calls M "Emma"!

Napoleon Plural

The reliance on M is simple. Most of the villains and gals and characters since Cubby passed have been bland, so in the preview finds, most people just write, hey, loved Dench as M cos she's the only one who stands out. So they think, wow, we've got something on there, give em more of what they want!

L Jones

I liked Kincade, but he did not strike me as important or necessary.

HowardB

Kincade served well as a needed charactor for the third act. I thought he was played fairly realistically as a tough old man who can still handle himself. I would doubt he will be back in Bond 24 or see the need for his return. I'm really looking forward to Ralph Fiennes as "M" in 24. His combination of no-nonsense military man and politician should make for a refreshing change. He just looked so "right" as "M" sitting at that desk.