Soap Opera Moments in the James Bond Films?
Silhouette Man
The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,866MI6 Agent
Which moments or specific scenes from the James Bond films would you say have a soap opera feel to them?
Is there melodrama or hammy acting in the scene?
Is there too much of a personal angle for Bond or another character?*
For me at least the scene where Lupe Lamora comes into Pam Bouvier and Q's hotel room and gushes about her love for "James" is of the soap opera variety though I'm sure that there are plenty of others!
Even though this is a slightly negative topic, let's keep it fun and remain positive!
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* The Daniel Craig films will surely feature here with all of their "personal story" connotations.
Is there melodrama or hammy acting in the scene?
Is there too much of a personal angle for Bond or another character?*
For me at least the scene where Lupe Lamora comes into Pam Bouvier and Q's hotel room and gushes about her love for "James" is of the soap opera variety though I'm sure that there are plenty of others!
Even though this is a slightly negative topic, let's keep it fun and remain positive!
-{* The Daniel Craig films will surely feature here with all of their "personal story" connotations.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
Bond's flat with Miss Caruso, M and Moneypenny comes to my mind as a soap.
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How about her and Robert Carlyle with "was James Bond better then me in bed?"
Brosnan's romance with Natalya.
Brosnan's romance with Paris Carver.
Brosnan's romance with Elektra.
Brosnan's romance with Miranda.
I think this one more than anything. Paris is a classic American soap opera character!
If you mean in terms of a serialized story that feels like it's never going to resolve itself and makes one roll their eyes at the host of improbable events that are somehow all interconnected, it's every Craig Bond since Casino Royale.
I don't think it's fair to focus on "bad acting" as being the main trait of a soap opera.
Soap Opera is not even a derogatory term. I will use a wikipedia definition to bring you up to speed on this genre:
The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations". In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the United States, the characters are frequently attractive, seductive, glamorous and wealthy.
-Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera
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It's not a derogatory term if you like soap operas, but they're generally thought of poorly for their acting and style.
But seriously, soap operas have long been known to cast people more for their supposed looks than their talent, which is why although some actors have made the leap from soap operas to weightier projects, most find themselves relegated to a career in soap operas, at least in the U.S. But it's not just the quality of the acting -- the productions themselves are lesser, the directors are not interested in artistic effort so much as cranking out another episode, and the writing leaves a lot of room for considerable improvement. As with porn, there's a certain type of professional suited for it, but it's usually not the same as other types of films.
Soaps don't tend to cast high-quality talent, which isn't to say that the people in them don't have some talent but that it's not on par with, say, the films of David Lean or even the classic era for James Bond. In the 1960s, they managed to find wonderful international talent, something that seemed to wane as the years went on until the Craig era, when suddenly bona fide actors once again were being hired, thankfully. But even with great actors, the serialization of stories is essentially a soap opera strategy, designed to hook the viewer and to make it easier for the writers to just keep building to some point without a meaningful resolution. That is something that is plaguing just about all forms of popular entertainment, as people seem incapable of just telling a story. Craig's Bonds have suffered from this and to the point that it finally backfired with Spectre for some.
That's is a supremely cheesy and embarrassing moment from a rather good Bond film. Always makes me cringe. I like Brozzer (the composite Bond) well enough, but it's a poorly written scene poorly executed in my book.
Agreed, but the 11 year old Zaphod will forever be grateful for the presence of Madelaine Smith as Ms Caruso :x
Poor Brozzer not coming out too well in this.
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" I don't listen to hip hop!"
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"Better make that two."
TWINE is full of soap opera moments and dodgy chase scenes throughout...Pierce is at his most soaptastic in this...
I quite like that line. Do you have other examples? I think that TWINE is the best of the Pierce era but would love to hear what you have in mind. I have not seen it for a while so may have repressed or false memory syndrome :007)
Watching QoS last night, the scene where M goes on about 3 Christmas presents she gave the agent who betrayed them. Seemed a bit soapy, I wouldn't see Bernard Lee doing the same!
"Better make that two."
Or even writers?
paper, while telling a good story type movie story thingy. Like what I
can.
You can't blame AutoCorrect on "wrighters" or "autocorect".