I'll echo what a lot of you all have already said. Just stay true to the character. No trying to please a few media journalists trying to convince the world that Bond is irrelevant and no one is interested in "classic Bond".
After the drama of Craig's tenure I hope they get back to Bond just dominating the film. Straight up in your face action, with Bond fans leaving the cinema excited and thinking, now THAT was a James Bond film.
My wish is for a fairly traditional Bond film, set in contemporary times, without all the genre-twisting and implosion which has now been done to death in the Craig films. Something similar in spirit to TND. With a gunbarrel sequence in which the dots march across the screen to the opening fanfare of the Bond theme, and where the blood rolls down the screen during the Bond theme guitar riff. Let's have no more Craig film-style Bond-theme bars listing (in the maritime sense) over the opening studio logos; let's have no more wasting of the fanfare over a blank black screen. Let the shrunken dot open out to reveal the setting of a single PTS sequence...
Bond should arrive fully formed, as in DN and GE. There should be no references back to the Craig continuity. The sort of reboot which we had for GE is in order here, I feel, but without any concessions to a perceived zeitgeist involving references to Bond being "a dinosaur" etc.
I have a casting wish: Florence Pugh as the Bond girl. Ms Pugh is a clever and sophisticated enough actor to do interesting stuff with the role even without soap opera style complications - which should be avoided now. And may the character be named Gala Brand, to keep a Fleming link going. I'm not suggesting a re-make of MR but there are elements of Gala's character in the novel which could be usefully adapted.
Bring back David Arnold and allow him to write a title song. Another Oscar for a Bond song should be regarded as less important to the franchise than giving a composer like Arnold carte blanche to create a fully integrated themology for the film, with a traditional Bond song at its core. Something like Depeche Mode's 'John The Revelator' would be fun... which, like 'Thunderball', sounds ambiguously like it could be about either an alpha Bond or a bombastic villain:
A more stripped down movie, no more than 2 hrs 10 mins really. What is odd about the Craig films is that Bond's world shrunk - it was all about him, even his locales seemed similar as if not to distract from that. No India. No New York City. No Frisco. No New Orleans. No Moscow. No St Petersburg. No Paris. No Berlin. Just loads and loads of Italy and loads and loads of London. And some foreign clime we don't relate to necessarily - Haiti or Madagascar. Oh, okay, we had Berlin in the CR pre-credits.
I just feel the whole thing since Brosnan took over was Bond apologising for himself and it seems unnecessary.
Go easy on the great thespians. Pick a decent director.
I think Florence Pugh would be fantastic for a Bond movie. Especially since we'll likely get an actor in his mid to late 30s. Too old and Pugh wouldn't make as much sense.
By the time Bond26 gets made Pugh will be in her late 20s (she's 25 now). I don't think a (about) 28 year old actress and a 35-40 year old is problem. It's when we get actress at 20 and leading men around 50 it gets problematic.
More fun and adventure, less angst and depression. Bond was never intended to be LeCarre, even if the novels and some films had counterpoint elements of darkness. They've always been escapism.
The choices for the Bond characterization do not have to be either toxic White male or deconstruction of toxic White male. It's certainly possible to develop the character so he still embodies Bond's positive traits and remains overall a positive figure.
But in terms of a shopping list, here's what I'd like:
1) Better writing.
2) Cohesive, recognizable plotting.
3) Strong characterization.
4) "White knuckle" stunts and action sequences with little to no CGI.
5) Real stakes, emotional and otherwise.
6) Seamless integration of theme(s).
7) Beautiful women and scenery.
8) Powerful, memorable score -- music you can hum.
9) A film that sets a standard rather than merely imitates others.
The particulars are less important to me. I don't care if Bond is White or another race, I don't care if the plot is particularly current. I don't care if there are gadgets or none at all. I don't care if M is gay, Q is a woman, Moneypenny is a man, or MI:6 now works out of a converted shopping mall. I don't care if the movie is 90 minutes or 150 so long as it pulls me in. I do wish to leave it feeling good, though, and while that doesn't mean happy necessarily, it does mean satisfied.
I agree with all of this. Let’s just have some well-written, escapist fun. Been a while. I enjoyed Casino Royale immensely, but chasing the Bourne vibe was, in retrospect, where we started to lose the essence of Bond.
The funny thing is Casino Royale is actually the closest we get in any of the Craig films and more balanced that the rest in this regard. Some might argue Spectre was a return to form, but it wasn't fun.
That's it. The long gaps are to do with two things.
Finances
Craig.
And with Amazon purchasing MGM and Craig leaving the role I think both of those problems should be solved. Someone like Cavill, who's been in superhero films, should be more used to do a Bond film every 2-3 years. (preferably 2 year gap, with a 3 year gap later on in his tenure to give him and the crew a little bit of a break.
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Been looking at the shortlist of potential 007s and not overwhelmed and been discussing with my colleague and she came up with a genius idea............................Jodie Comer!!!! Thoughts?
There's very little that has been posted above that I disagree with and many that had me shouting "Yes!" (much to the consternation of my previously-napping dog). I would add that I don't want Bond to have a relationship with any woman who is not within 5-7 years of his age.
Why can't a 30 year old Bond have a relationship with a 20 year old woman, or a 45 year old Bond with a 30 year old woman? It happens all the time in real life.
True, I hadn't thought of that. If that's the case, babs should hand it over to Gregg Wilson, and focus on her pet projects, rather than dragging the release dates so she can make another filmstars die in liverpool (whatever it was called)
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
That’s right. Casino Royale has a completely different feel compared to every other Craig film. They were never able to replicate that. I rate Die Another Day over Spectre.
For me it’s a sharp script like CR, once you have that all the rest is easier to do well, I don’t know what happened with last two films but just wasn’t great, nothing massively memorable or particularly clever, the ultimate example being Nomi’s deadly line which was so shoehorned in it made me snort.
You are correct, it does, and sometimes the couple are perfect and look perfect together...in real life. Alas, in movies a big age gap between a man and a woman more often tends to look like the director/producers are catering to men's fantasies rather than making a solid casting or creative decision. Too often Bond has been paired with a woman at least 10 years his junior, sometimes that has worked and other times it has been cringe-worthy (I wouldn't say that DC and Seydoux were cringe-worthy, but I would have been more comfortable if she hadn't been - and looked - 17-years younger). If they're going to continue to try and make Bond more 'woke', I'd much rather they start by pairing him with a woman closer to his own age than continue with the older-man-attracting-much-younger-women trope and then introduce or continue with other PC elements that are harder to swallow.
Casino Royale had Fleming's template to draw from but was also just smartly written, with all its parts working together. My only quibble with the script is the romance got short shrift, but then that could just as easily have been editing.
Every Bond film script that follows is sloppy in one form or another, as though constructed from bits and pieces cribbed from better movies. They could easily have just put plot points on a dartboard and by random chance come up with something as coherent.
The worst offender was the vastly overrated Skyfall . . . until I fully accepted they were deconstructing the Bond we knew. Then Skyfall made perfect sense, from Bond's getting shot by Moneypenny to his idiotic plan that got M killed to the mommy issues for both Silva and him. Once I understood they were working not toward raising Bond up as a hero but pulling him down in a kind of satire of what he represents, it all came together.
I don't believe they had it figured out in Casino Royale. The ending of that movie left it open to return Bond to the guy we more or less knew. Drama is reversal, so Bond is technically on top (and literally, standing over Mr. White) at the end, even though he's lost Vesper and the money. At one point, I didn't think it mattered if Bond recovered the money or not, but once I realized the major theme that runs through Craig's Bond's life is failure, it made sense that Mr. White took it away, too. Casino Royale felt like it was poised for Bond to come back better and stronger in the next film, but obviously they went another direction.
It’s a shame Cavill was just too young when in contention for CR. I’m starting to think that the story and direction of CR was so good any decent actor could have made a success of it.
When I think back to OHMSS I begin to think about an unknown being cast in the role again. Lazenby had very little acting experience and that came across in his portrayal in a very good way. Lazenby's Bond really did seem, at times, to be a young in service, slightly over-confident individual who kept getting knocked down by those older than him. The way M dismisses him when he thinks he's accepted his resignation, and his despair that he didn't even get a thank you is so well done.
The new Bond should feature a young in service Bond, struggling to find his way in the overwhelming world of espionage and taking a few knocks along the way before using his wits to solve everything.
And as for gadgets, no need. OHMSS, FYEO, CR - all relatively gadget free and are the better for it.
I think using TSWLM would be a great way to introduce the new Bond, but I don't think you would need all Viv Michel's backstory.
It could be a lengthy PTS like NTTD was, girl working at a motel which is closed down, Horror and Sluggsy arrive and start causing mayhem, the girl escapes only to be caught and dragged back in, then the 2 gangsters are about to have their wicked way with her and suddenly the door bell rings. Enter Bond number 7.
Brilliant. If Bond 26 opens like that, I'm all in, and NTTD then just becomes another painful memory like DAD was before it.
Comments
Actually I share your optimism, but I'm not sure.
amazon didn't spend umpty-zillion dollars just to stream 25 films everybody's already seen before.
I'm sure there will be more product, lots more product, and having got CraigBond out of the way new product might be more recognisably classicBond.
I'll echo what a lot of you all have already said. Just stay true to the character. No trying to please a few media journalists trying to convince the world that Bond is irrelevant and no one is interested in "classic Bond".
After the drama of Craig's tenure I hope they get back to Bond just dominating the film. Straight up in your face action, with Bond fans leaving the cinema excited and thinking, now THAT was a James Bond film.
My wish is for a fairly traditional Bond film, set in contemporary times, without all the genre-twisting and implosion which has now been done to death in the Craig films. Something similar in spirit to TND. With a gunbarrel sequence in which the dots march across the screen to the opening fanfare of the Bond theme, and where the blood rolls down the screen during the Bond theme guitar riff. Let's have no more Craig film-style Bond-theme bars listing (in the maritime sense) over the opening studio logos; let's have no more wasting of the fanfare over a blank black screen. Let the shrunken dot open out to reveal the setting of a single PTS sequence...
Bond should arrive fully formed, as in DN and GE. There should be no references back to the Craig continuity. The sort of reboot which we had for GE is in order here, I feel, but without any concessions to a perceived zeitgeist involving references to Bond being "a dinosaur" etc.
I have a casting wish: Florence Pugh as the Bond girl. Ms Pugh is a clever and sophisticated enough actor to do interesting stuff with the role even without soap opera style complications - which should be avoided now. And may the character be named Gala Brand, to keep a Fleming link going. I'm not suggesting a re-make of MR but there are elements of Gala's character in the novel which could be usefully adapted.
Bring back David Arnold and allow him to write a title song. Another Oscar for a Bond song should be regarded as less important to the franchise than giving a composer like Arnold carte blanche to create a fully integrated themology for the film, with a traditional Bond song at its core. Something like Depeche Mode's 'John The Revelator' would be fun... which, like 'Thunderball', sounds ambiguously like it could be about either an alpha Bond or a bombastic villain:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ_HhwnIOV8
A more stripped down movie, no more than 2 hrs 10 mins really. What is odd about the Craig films is that Bond's world shrunk - it was all about him, even his locales seemed similar as if not to distract from that. No India. No New York City. No Frisco. No New Orleans. No Moscow. No St Petersburg. No Paris. No Berlin. Just loads and loads of Italy and loads and loads of London. And some foreign clime we don't relate to necessarily - Haiti or Madagascar. Oh, okay, we had Berlin in the CR pre-credits.
I just feel the whole thing since Brosnan took over was Bond apologising for himself and it seems unnecessary.
Go easy on the great thespians. Pick a decent director.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I think Florence Pugh would be fantastic for a Bond movie. Especially since we'll likely get an actor in his mid to late 30s. Too old and Pugh wouldn't make as much sense.
By the time Bond26 gets made Pugh will be in her late 20s (she's 25 now). I don't think a (about) 28 year old actress and a 35-40 year old is problem. It's when we get actress at 20 and leading men around 50 it gets problematic.
25 year old Pugh who is in a long term relationship with 46 year old Zach Braff? Don't think age would or should be an issue.
She's very good, incidentally, certainly enhanced the Le Carré Little Drummer Girl adaptation.
More fun and adventure, less angst and depression. Bond was never intended to be LeCarre, even if the novels and some films had counterpoint elements of darkness. They've always been escapism.
The choices for the Bond characterization do not have to be either toxic White male or deconstruction of toxic White male. It's certainly possible to develop the character so he still embodies Bond's positive traits and remains overall a positive figure.
But in terms of a shopping list, here's what I'd like:
1) Better writing.
2) Cohesive, recognizable plotting.
3) Strong characterization.
4) "White knuckle" stunts and action sequences with little to no CGI.
5) Real stakes, emotional and otherwise.
6) Seamless integration of theme(s).
7) Beautiful women and scenery.
8) Powerful, memorable score -- music you can hum.
9) A film that sets a standard rather than merely imitates others.
The particulars are less important to me. I don't care if Bond is White or another race, I don't care if the plot is particularly current. I don't care if there are gadgets or none at all. I don't care if M is gay, Q is a woman, Moneypenny is a man, or MI:6 now works out of a converted shopping mall. I don't care if the movie is 90 minutes or 150 so long as it pulls me in. I do wish to leave it feeling good, though, and while that doesn't mean happy necessarily, it does mean satisfied.
I agree with all of this. Let’s just have some well-written, escapist fun. Been a while. I enjoyed Casino Royale immensely, but chasing the Bourne vibe was, in retrospect, where we started to lose the essence of Bond.
The funny thing is Casino Royale is actually the closest we get in any of the Craig films and more balanced that the rest in this regard. Some might argue Spectre was a return to form, but it wasn't fun.
That's it. The long gaps are to do with two things.
Finances
Craig.
And with Amazon purchasing MGM and Craig leaving the role I think both of those problems should be solved. Someone like Cavill, who's been in superhero films, should be more used to do a Bond film every 2-3 years. (preferably 2 year gap, with a 3 year gap later on in his tenure to give him and the crew a little bit of a break.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Been looking at the shortlist of potential 007s and not overwhelmed and been discussing with my colleague and she came up with a genius idea............................Jodie Comer!!!! Thoughts?
There's very little that has been posted above that I disagree with and many that had me shouting "Yes!" (much to the consternation of my previously-napping dog). I would add that I don't want Bond to have a relationship with any woman who is not within 5-7 years of his age.
It could also be argued Barbara is less keen than Cubby and isn't in much of a hurry to make the next film - she has her own projects.
I imediately see one problem: Jodie Comer is a woman, James Bond is a man.
Why can't a 30 year old Bond have a relationship with a 20 year old woman, or a 45 year old Bond with a 30 year old woman? It happens all the time in real life.
True, I hadn't thought of that. If that's the case, babs should hand it over to Gregg Wilson, and focus on her pet projects, rather than dragging the release dates so she can make another filmstars die in liverpool (whatever it was called)
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
That’s right. Casino Royale has a completely different feel compared to every other Craig film. They were never able to replicate that. I rate Die Another Day over Spectre.
a more modern future focused bond , not a bond where everyone everey villain is bonded to each other haha
Whatever they do, please do it in less than four years.....preferably three years. I ain't gettin' any younger🤔
For me it’s a sharp script like CR, once you have that all the rest is easier to do well, I don’t know what happened with last two films but just wasn’t great, nothing massively memorable or particularly clever, the ultimate example being Nomi’s deadly line which was so shoehorned in it made me snort.
I'd say there were one or two memorable moments in NTTD ...
You are correct, it does, and sometimes the couple are perfect and look perfect together...in real life. Alas, in movies a big age gap between a man and a woman more often tends to look like the director/producers are catering to men's fantasies rather than making a solid casting or creative decision. Too often Bond has been paired with a woman at least 10 years his junior, sometimes that has worked and other times it has been cringe-worthy (I wouldn't say that DC and Seydoux were cringe-worthy, but I would have been more comfortable if she hadn't been - and looked - 17-years younger). If they're going to continue to try and make Bond more 'woke', I'd much rather they start by pairing him with a woman closer to his own age than continue with the older-man-attracting-much-younger-women trope and then introduce or continue with other PC elements that are harder to swallow.
Please finally bring Gala Brand to the big screen and cast Kaya Scodelario.
I agree with you om both counts.
Casino Royale had Fleming's template to draw from but was also just smartly written, with all its parts working together. My only quibble with the script is the romance got short shrift, but then that could just as easily have been editing.
Every Bond film script that follows is sloppy in one form or another, as though constructed from bits and pieces cribbed from better movies. They could easily have just put plot points on a dartboard and by random chance come up with something as coherent.
The worst offender was the vastly overrated Skyfall . . . until I fully accepted they were deconstructing the Bond we knew. Then Skyfall made perfect sense, from Bond's getting shot by Moneypenny to his idiotic plan that got M killed to the mommy issues for both Silva and him. Once I understood they were working not toward raising Bond up as a hero but pulling him down in a kind of satire of what he represents, it all came together.
I don't believe they had it figured out in Casino Royale. The ending of that movie left it open to return Bond to the guy we more or less knew. Drama is reversal, so Bond is technically on top (and literally, standing over Mr. White) at the end, even though he's lost Vesper and the money. At one point, I didn't think it mattered if Bond recovered the money or not, but once I realized the major theme that runs through Craig's Bond's life is failure, it made sense that Mr. White took it away, too. Casino Royale felt like it was poised for Bond to come back better and stronger in the next film, but obviously they went another direction.
It’s a shame Cavill was just too young when in contention for CR. I’m starting to think that the story and direction of CR was so good any decent actor could have made a success of it.
When I think back to OHMSS I begin to think about an unknown being cast in the role again. Lazenby had very little acting experience and that came across in his portrayal in a very good way. Lazenby's Bond really did seem, at times, to be a young in service, slightly over-confident individual who kept getting knocked down by those older than him. The way M dismisses him when he thinks he's accepted his resignation, and his despair that he didn't even get a thank you is so well done.
The new Bond should feature a young in service Bond, struggling to find his way in the overwhelming world of espionage and taking a few knocks along the way before using his wits to solve everything.
And as for gadgets, no need. OHMSS, FYEO, CR - all relatively gadget free and are the better for it.
I have no idea who to cast though...
I think using TSWLM would be a great way to introduce the new Bond, but I don't think you would need all Viv Michel's backstory.
It could be a lengthy PTS like NTTD was, girl working at a motel which is closed down, Horror and Sluggsy arrive and start causing mayhem, the girl escapes only to be caught and dragged back in, then the 2 gangsters are about to have their wicked way with her and suddenly the door bell rings. Enter Bond number 7.
Brilliant. If Bond 26 opens like that, I'm all in, and NTTD then just becomes another painful memory like DAD was before it.