Thoughts on the villains of Die Another Day

MilleniumForce

One thing I don't see many people discuss about DAD is the villains. So what are our thoughts on them?

Gustav Graves:
Yeah, I love Graves as a villain. He's pure evil. He kills his own father. And it's scary to think someone as evil as him can make everyone believe he is the hero they all make him out to be. I don't think his robot suit at the end is that bad considering the film its in; we had already seen some pretty ridiculous stuff, so I'm not too fussed about a robot suit. We've got Bond cruising around in an invisible car trying to find Jinx in a melting ice palace whilst a man with diamonds embedded in his face chases him in a jaguar equipped with missiles and machine guns after Bond surfed a tsunami. Yeah, a robot suit doesn't seem too over the top now does it?

Zao:
A wasted opportunity. We have someone who can be a modern Jaws, but we see him in Cuba, a few scenes in Iceland car chase and then he's dead. He could have been so good as a henchman.

Miranda Frost:
She's a very good villain, but again she doesn't do much as a villain.

Col. Moon:
Even though he's the same person as Graves, I feel they are two completely different villains. I feel how Bond funds out that they're the same person is a bit weak. Some repeated dialogue would have been good. Anyway, I liked Moon, I would have liked to see more of him.

Silhouette Man

I think they've a poor and unmemorable lot sadly. Gustav Graves is the best of the lot though, along with the delicious Miranda Frost.

Gassy Man

As with most Bond films of the past 30 years, the problem isn't the concept of the villains. It's what the villains actually do -- or more often, don't do. At least with Graves, he and Bond had a confrontation earlier in the film, the fencing version of the golf game in Goldfinger. Zao, on the other hand, suffers from being all dressed up but having nowhere to go. The diamonds in his face, while somewhat visually reminiscent of Jaws and the metal teeth, doesn't really do anything with them. Miranda Frost, who is suitably and predictably cold (get it?), had "villain" written all over her from the beginning, and her double-cross of Bond serves the plot but doesn't seem to have much impact.

The psychology of the film is hinted at but not developed. Family, and in particular, filial piety, is traditionally important in Korean culture, so patricide could rise above the level of just garden variety murder. Moon betraying his father should have had more blunt force than it did and perhaps have been threaded better through the film. As it stands, I get the idea from what is there. What I don't experience as much is feeling much about it from how it is presented.

Asp9mm

They are so stupid and unimportant that this is as much time as I'll ever waste in discussing them.

Thunderpussy

I liked Gustav Graves, the rest are a bit forgettable.

Gala Brand

I liked Toby Stephens as Graves. Stephens is the son of Dame Maggie Smith who starred in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brody" as well as some TV show I can't remember the name of.

The first 30 minutes of DAD was okay, then it sort of went off the rails.

Absolutely_Cart

great villains. pretty much made a strong statement on western envy. how disgusting wealthy westerners can be yet both eastern people (and lower class westerners) aspire to be like that. gustav graves is a mirror of bond, and was made in his likeness. he majored in western hypocrisy too.

broadshoulder

MilleniumForce wrote:

Gustav Graves:
Yeah, I love Graves as a villain. He's pure evil. He kills his own father. And it's scary to think someone as evil as him can make everyone believe he is the hero they all make him out to be.

What a mess he turned out to be? Toby Stephens has a pretty good reputation in London starring in Jane Eyre and Tom Stoppards the Real Thing where I'd seen him perform. Why he took on Gustav Graves i don't know? It must be down to Lee Tamahori to portraying him so badly. He plays him as anti Bond, badly, Theres no reason for him to do this; with Le Chiffre we know why he behaved so badly as Quantum was after him and Silva because of revenge. And the dialogue he's given doesn't help.

Easily the worst of the Bond vllains..

MilleniumForce wrote:

I don't think his robot suit at the end is that bad considering the film its in; we had already seen some pretty ridiculous stuff, so I'm not too fussed about a robot suit. We've got Bond cruising around in an invisible car trying to find Jinx in a melting ice palace whilst a man with diamonds embedded in his face chases him in a jaguar equipped with missiles and machine guns after Bond surfed a tsunami. Yeah, a robot suit doesn't seem too over the top now does it?

And now we enter Childrens TV terriotory. We actually enter Marvel superhero territory. The only redeeming feature of this one is that it allows Pierce to practice his "pain faces"

MilleniumForce wrote:

Zao:
A wasted opportunity. We have someone who can be a modern Jaws, but we see him in Cuba, a few scenes in Iceland car chase and then he's dead. He could have been so good as a henchman.

To me he's dead. A superman straight from the comic books. A waste of space

MilleniumForce wrote:

Miranda Frost:
She's a very good villain, but again she doesn't do much as a villain.

In the entire bloody film she's the only one with any credibility (and the Cuban guy). Considering how well her careers going she must cringe every time she thinks of Dad

MilleniumForce wrote:

Col. Moon:
Even though he's the same person as Graves, I feel they are two completely different villains. I feel how Bond funds out that they're the same person is a bit weak. Some repeated dialogue would have been good. Anyway, I liked Moon, I would have liked to see more of him.

He didn't register so when Graves shoots him its so what? Whats the point of building the character up and then needless shooting him?

What can be said about the villains of DAD? The worst of the series?

Barbel

broadshoulder wrote:

MilleniumForce wrote:

Col. Moon:
Even though he's the same person as Graves, I feel they are two completely different villains. I feel how Bond funds out that they're the same person is a bit weak. Some repeated dialogue would have been good. Anyway, I liked Moon, I would have liked to see more of him.

He didn't register so when Graves shoots him its so what? Whats the point of building the character up and then needless shooting him?

No, it's General Moon (the father) that Graves shoots. As MF points out, Colonel Moon and Graves are the same person.

AlphaOmegaSin

Gustav Graves is really Hugo Drax (From the MR Novel)

And Colonel Moon was originally supposed to be Colonel Sun, as a Reference to Kingsley Amis's Novel.

Alec 006

Samuel L Jackson's character in Kingsman: The Secret Service reminded a bit of Graves. The billionaire philanthrope with evil motives.
I quite enjoyed Graves, and as for Miranda Frost, great name for such a hottie, but yes much under-used here.

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Agent Purple

Miranda Frost is a solid femme fatale imo, Graves is well-acted but poorly developed as a character, so he ends up as a meh villain.

Zao is a meh henchman, apart from the diamonds incrusted in his face he's just an average tough guy if anything. Funnily enough though, he's better than the extremely bland Elvis (QoS).

(I do prefer QoS to DAD, but Elvis really is a useless buffoon.)