Bonds Attitude in TMWTGG
AlphaOmegaSin
EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent
Do you still think it was unusual that Bond came across as a complete Thug in Parts of TMWTGG? Out of Place for Moore's Bond?
1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
Comments
untill TSWLM that they changed the scripts to suit Sir Roger's lighter more comic style.
There's nothing light or comic about Moore's Bond in TSWLM. (aside from the scene where Jaws is attacking the van)
Moore was a cold bastard in TMWTGG. People who think RM " brougt" a lighter Bond obviously haven't seen this film. Slapping maud around and almost breaking her arm. Shooting at Lazar's groin while hia family is eating dinner upstairs. Pushing the thai boy into the river. Kicking his karate opponent in the face during the bow.
As usual RM rules, but gets blamed for comic elements like jw pepper and the slide whistle.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
In short, yes I agree.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Okay, I agree that Moore showed a bit of a hard edge now and then, but let's not get carried away. I'm willing to bet that the average viewer remembers Old Rog for his raised eyebrows and comical quips more than any "cold, ruthless" persona.
That's great though. I would have gotten bored of the series if every actor's portrayal was the same. While I don't think Moore is the most talented Bond, he might be my favorite because I enjoy his style of Bond. What keeps me coming for more is that each actor has his own take and style. If the next Bond is dark, brooding, and tortured like Craig I will be severely disappointed. Not because I don't like Craig's style, Skyfall and Casino Royale are my 2 favorite Bond films. I will be disappointed because I will be ready for a change and wouldn't want another portrayal to be copying a previous Bond.
Only the comedy penny whistle on the car flip makes me cringe in TMWTGG.
-{ +1
I believe there's only one way to play Bond and that's "by the book" as Fleming has written him. Craig's Bond isn't entirely the same as Fleming's Bond (for one thing, Fleming's Bond was a lot more vulnerable) but the character is, on the whole, "dark, brooding and tortured", a man who does a very distasteful job, a man who hates his job and drinks his humanity away so he can sleep at night.
I think the aim should not be to copy the previous Bond, but do their best to put Fleming's Bond on the big screen. I agree that each actor has a different interpretation, but some are so far removed from the books that I wonder if it truly is the same character that Fleming wrote.
Interesting. I am a fan of the books as I am reading through them now, but enjoy that each actor has taken bits and pieces from the books/character. I enjoy that some actors deviate far from the novels like Brozzer, Moore, and 2nd Half of Connery tenure.
When you watch the films that are not true to Fleming style, do you view it as what could have been or do you still enjoy the films, but not to the level of one's that are more dedicated to the source material?
Just watched TLD last night and it is amazing as always. I do love Daulton's take on Bond and how true it is to the Fleming character, but I enjoy all other interpretations as well.
In this, the Fleming Bond seemed to have more in common with Devlin in Notorious or The Guns of Navarone's Mallory.
Oh I do enjoy them, but I have a strong preference for films that are either more true to the source material; or where the main characters are played very much in accordance with the way they were written in the novels. But going back to the film in question in this thread, The Man With the Golden Gun, it was the very first Bond film I saw and I do very much have a soft spot for it, but at the same time, my view is that the novel is so much better, as the film could also have been, especially the final duel between Bond and Scaramanga in the mangroves after both jumping from a crashed train, both being wounded and dirty and sick.
I dare say if the films in the Moore era were more true to the source material, I would definitely have held them in a higher regard. In particular, The Man With the Golden Gun, Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me had very little in common with the novels of the same name (in fairness, neither did You Only Live Twice and Diamonds are Forever). I think the films in the Moore era could have been better had the producers chosen to stay with the source material (the novel Moonraker was, in my opinion, Fleming's best work), but overall, I was somewhat disappointed with the Bond films of the 1970s.
Perhaps "brooding" is not quite the right word, but he most certainly did not seem happy in his job, evidenced by his numerous thoughts of resigning from the service.
Fair enough -{ . You are definitely not alone in those thoughts. Reflecting back, I'm sure many Flemingist and Modern Bond fans would prefer that and regard the series in an even higher light if that happened. However, during the 70's, I think the demand for Fleming-loyal interpretations of Bond was much less desired. That seems evident with TMWTGG which was less successful in the box office and had a more reserve tone, and was less over-the-top than all other Moore films (with the exception of FYEO).
It wasn't until Octopussy where fans started to lose interest in the over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek style. Timothy Dalton's films were too much of a stark contrast to be accepted at the time, but are held in high regard by most fans (myself included) these days. Brozzer was the perfect segway between a silly and serious Bond.
I've read a half dozen of the Fleming novels so far and Moonraker is my favorite thus far. Tremendous book. That being said, Moonraker the film is one of the films I enjoy the most. By no means do I think it is one of the "best" films, but the movie is so darned over-the-top and fun for me that it works. In that era after TSWLM's great success, I think a down to earth Moonraker would have failed. Just my two cents though.
Circling back around to TMWTGG, I like when different Bond actors try new things with their interpretations of Bond, it just doesn't always work out. In my eyes, Connery's campiness in DAF just doesn't work for me and it almost seems awkward in many places. With Moore, there are some serious elements that work, but when he slaps around Maud Adams it just doesn't work for me.
Melancholy?