Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
Those countless billions don't know what they're missing. I hope that @Napoleon Plural stays around. I always enjoy his posts and hope he won't disappear. Anyway, we need to keep the numbers up here to keep discussions flowing. It'd be good to see some long-time members who are missing in action return to AJB as well. They really are the Disappeared.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
I think one of the problems with a long standing forum like this is after being a member for 18 years I've sort of said everything I need to say about James Bond. I'm also not a fan of the direction the last couple of Bonds have gone in. Then life can get in the way you can disappear for a while.
I've always popped in and read even if I haven't been logged in. My last hiatus was because I was getting angry on the forum and not contributing anything positive so I took a leave of absence. Then I watched NTTD .... 🤬
Personally the new emoticons are a big downturn for me, devoid of nuance and like Haribou sweets.
@Lady Rose has been on this site for 18 years! Dearie me! Why, I joined this site when Die Another Day came out in 2002 - ah, ahem, right...
Still would like to read Lady Rose's review of the latest, ah well.... I know what you mean @Thunderpussy - it's not just the whole Covid thing that puts people off the cinema, the films don't pitch very well. And I try to avoid crowds so that misses out on the shared experience thing.
That was back in the day when I used to argue with MBE (Mourning Becomes Electra) over Pierce Brosnan v Timothy Dalton. Then we all became united when Daniel Craig came along and we were furious a short, blonde guy with a face like a bag of spanners had been chosen. Happy days. 😁
My brief review on NTTD is that I would have enjoyed it more if it had been the very last Bond film ever but it's not. So on the whim of Daniel Craig they killed Bond, killed Leiter , brought back the cars, brought back Vesper etc etc . Also, I had serious issues of making Bond a family man and father. Bond can love but he is always destined to be alone as far as I'm concerned. Safin was a crap villain.
Craig seriously annoyed me with his arrogance at wanting to kill the character off and I can't believe the producers went along with it. They've given themselves a massive headache now.
The people who own some of the huge stately homes often say they are just the current custodians until the next generation come along. I always thought of Bond like that.
I get tired of the whole Bond business from time to time. Yes, me. I try to fade into the background a bit when that happens, but I'm always tempted back.
And yes, NTTD was definitely an interest killer. I'm trying to get over it, though.
Incidentally, not many mods about these days? You seem to be the last one, like some kind of Samurai... That reminds me of a thread I was going to do about you... oh well, one day.
And Sir Miles is still around, though posting less than he used to. Hardyboy makes an occasional appearance, too.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,844MI6 Agent
I do wonder whether the major Vanilla software upgrade of March 2021 has maybe put a few members off contributing? Of course it was a very necessary upgrade and I think the new version of AJB looks great but some people are perhaps more resistant to change. I hope I'm wrong of course, and Lord knows, I often am. 🙂
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
In one way there's a lot to talk about in NTTD, but in some other ways not. There isn't much middle ground when it comes to Bond dying. "In my opinion Bond should've died just a little bit, not a lot like he did in NTTD...".
In my view the majority of today‘s Bond fandom community revolves solely around Daniel Craig‘s Bond‘ds clothing.
you can clearly see this trend on Instagram for example. When people post old collectibles the response to that is significantly lower than for posts about „Bond-brands“ or people cosplaying.
I still remember when Bond‘s boxershorts from CR were identified and people were genuinely upset to find them after 10 years (basic white briefs but they had to be of the same brand, of course…).
And having influencers around that made being a Bond-fan a business sure isn’t helping…
I agree with much of what has been said. I took some time out in the run up to NTTD - and at other times - because I simply could not get excited about it. SP was a downer for me, I had genuine high hopes for that film but they spoiled it with all that Quantum nonsense and foster brother garbage. I just knew nothing good was going to come out of NTTD. Then it got delayed because of Covid, and I started up on here again. I'm not a mega fan, but I do love James Bond and, as some of the members above suggest - and I think its fair to say we are probably 'of a certain age' - the direction it has taken post-QOS has not cheered me at all. The recent books haven't been fulfilling either. But keep contributing folks. You never know, Babs and Mikey might announce something special at the BFI interview this year...
This is a big part of why my interest in Bond has really faded. Collecting memorabilia from the movies was part of the fun but there has been hardly any of that kind of content from the overly serious, self-absorbed Craig entries. That's partly because the movies themselves are now largely devoid of any cool gadgets or vehicles and EON has largely turned its back the licensing side of the business. Long gone are the scale models, die-cast replicas, licensed figures, and so on. Now all we get are discussions about what polo shirt Craig last wore.
I've been a member of AJB for almost 17 years but there's very little to talk about or get excited about these days. The movies have become unrecognizable slogs for fans of the older entries. You can only recite your favorite and least favorite movies so many times. And how many times can you really give your opinion on why a particular movie was the greatest thing ever or complete garbage without just repeating yourself. The fun has really gone out of Bond for a lot of people.
Hopefully the next movie will return to a more recognizable template and give us something to talk about. But with Barbara Broccoli at the helm I'm not exactly holding my breath.
I think the fact a few of us have responded in this thread shows a lot of us are still around. So thank you @Napoleon Plural
ITV as usual have been showing a lot of the old Bond films recently. TLD and TLK the last two weekends and it was the Moore films before that and I have enjoyed them very much. There is definitely a different vibe. One I feel most comfortable with.
I suppose it's just an evolutionary thing and probably why Bond has endured for 60 years. My daughter's boyfriend is 25 and all he has known is DC. He could not understand my fury at NTTD at all.
I suppose this is turning into a different thread. Anyway, I suppose one can't argue with the box office, but I'd suggest that one snag of the films since Brosnan almost is that they are not quite classics. Few would occupy the spot on Christmas Day. GE really is quite violent at times with the gunfire and I don't need to go through all the others but they do lack sparkle and upbeat enjoyment. The M:I films ought to have taken over that slot but they feel a bit ersatz to me, a bit charmless. All opening weekend and no knickers.
In that sense it's as if the series doesn't quite have the depth it once had, to be still showing the 'classics' all the way down the line... Again, for me there's not one since way way back that could comfortably occupy the hallowed Christmas Day/Easter Monday slot.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
Barbel is quite correct…I’m much more of a ‘backseat driver’ now…in fact most of my time here is spent removing rogue new members, seriously…I removed around 12 one day last week - all from the same IP address 🙄
To be fair, @Sir Miles is one of the remaining mods who retains that sinister veneer of yore, a shiver of apprehension goes up my spine when his name appears, you just don't get that with Barbel.
Hadn't noticed he'd not been here for a while as I was reading posts from a few weeks ago and assumed he was still active. Hopefully he's doing well and will be back with us soon.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Is it a coincidence that no sooner had Sir Miles mentioned that he was on his way to Canada than Caractacus Potts (of the very same northen hemisphere snowy-colony) disappears? I shall leave it at that, but you have all been warned.
I'm still round gang, monitoring ajb007 communications for top secret defense plans, winning lottery ticket numbers, imaginary conversations and naughty book covers. But I'm trying to get out of the habit of posting because its summer here in this northern hemisphere snowy-colony and I have to remind myself to go outside while I can, and only waste time staring at the computer when I'm paid to. I am aware I still have a Report on the Mission Impossible teevee series to complete, and swear I'll get back to it one day, when the evenings arent quite so warm and long.
whats all this about Sir Miles moving to Canada? I remember him saying he'd looked at property in Victoria. did he actually make the move? thats a much nicer part of this snowy-colony than where I now live.
Interesting to read all these comments and I agree in large.
The series has changed quite a bit over the last 20+ years. It's been nice going to watch the classics most Sundays at the cinema and just reaffirmed my love for them (ALL!). I can honestly say my viewing of LTK the other week was the most I've ever enjoyed it. It may be that I still find every single one a pallet cleanser after SP and NTTD. The latter, as I've said before, has some great moments and I really do enjoy some parts, but the ending and family stuff does leave an aftertaste that's hard to shake. I agree with N24's point, that they could have killed Bond a little bit. It would have had the same impact (IMO), and not divided and angered a many of the fans. Having Bond survive and end up a life raft with Madeleine would have been great fun and appealed to some of us traditionalists.
Taking from Fleming and YOLT would have been perfect, but they seemed to have greater faith in DC's idea, or it was a major proviso in his agreeing to return which I think is disappointing.
I think some of the lethargy and frustration (for me anyway) comes from the gaps between films and the delays (Covid withstanding), and what is delivered after 4-5 years has been less than satisfying. I love CR, QoS and SF but SP and NTTD, as much as I really enjoy in places have big failings for me and both left me more disgruntled and disappointed than happy and satisfied.
"Any of the opposition around..?"
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,746Chief of Staff
I believe that Victoria, BC has more James Bond message boards per person than anywhere other than Solihull, so I'm not at all surprised that you are finding lots of moderator opportunities, Sir Miles. Good luck with the hunt. As for property, they don't have winter in Victoria so you could always live in a paperbag in a hole at the back of someone's garden for a while.
Comments
Those countless billions don't know what they're missing. I hope that @Napoleon Plural stays around. I always enjoy his posts and hope he won't disappear. Anyway, we need to keep the numbers up here to keep discussions flowing. It'd be good to see some long-time members who are missing in action return to AJB as well. They really are the Disappeared.
True. This forum needs more members, old and new.
I think one of the problems with a long standing forum like this is after being a member for 18 years I've sort of said everything I need to say about James Bond. I'm also not a fan of the direction the last couple of Bonds have gone in. Then life can get in the way you can disappear for a while.
I've always popped in and read even if I haven't been logged in. My last hiatus was because I was getting angry on the forum and not contributing anything positive so I took a leave of absence. Then I watched NTTD .... 🤬
I fully agree @Lady Rose I feel, I've said all I have to say. I've had the run of discussions arguments etc. Also with the ending of
NTTD. I feel as if I'm done with Bond. The series has come to an end, Do I want to carry on with the next stage of films ? As I too
haven't enjoyed the last few films anywhere near as much as the older ones. I'll watch the next Bond but this feels like a suitable
jumping off point for me. Obviously the next Bond could be amazing and revitalise my fandom.
I still pop in for a visit from time to time but I honestly feel I have nothing to add to any discussion. In fact I seem to be losing
interest in Films in general ( Must be old age ) and have re-discovered my love of reading and do that a lot more.
Seems I've landed a couple! 😁
Personally the new emoticons are a big downturn for me, devoid of nuance and like Haribou sweets.
@Lady Rose has been on this site for 18 years! Dearie me! Why, I joined this site when Die Another Day came out in 2002 - ah, ahem, right...
Still would like to read Lady Rose's review of the latest, ah well.... I know what you mean @Thunderpussy - it's not just the whole Covid thing that puts people off the cinema, the films don't pitch very well. And I try to avoid crowds so that misses out on the shared experience thing.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
That was back in the day when I used to argue with MBE (Mourning Becomes Electra) over Pierce Brosnan v Timothy Dalton. Then we all became united when Daniel Craig came along and we were furious a short, blonde guy with a face like a bag of spanners had been chosen. Happy days. 😁
My brief review on NTTD is that I would have enjoyed it more if it had been the very last Bond film ever but it's not. So on the whim of Daniel Craig they killed Bond, killed Leiter , brought back the cars, brought back Vesper etc etc . Also, I had serious issues of making Bond a family man and father. Bond can love but he is always destined to be alone as far as I'm concerned. Safin was a crap villain.
Craig seriously annoyed me with his arrogance at wanting to kill the character off and I can't believe the producers went along with it. They've given themselves a massive headache now.
The people who own some of the huge stately homes often say they are just the current custodians until the next generation come along. I always thought of Bond like that.
I get tired of the whole Bond business from time to time. Yes, me. I try to fade into the background a bit when that happens, but I'm always tempted back.
And yes, NTTD was definitely an interest killer. I'm trying to get over it, though.
Nobody asked your opinion Barbel! 😃
Incidentally, not many mods about these days? You seem to be the last one, like some kind of Samurai... That reminds me of a thread I was going to do about you... oh well, one day.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Nobody needs to ask my opinion, Napoleon. Benefit of being Section Chief.... 😁
And Sir Miles is still around, though posting less than he used to. Hardyboy makes an occasional appearance, too.
I do wonder whether the major Vanilla software upgrade of March 2021 has maybe put a few members off contributing? Of course it was a very necessary upgrade and I think the new version of AJB looks great but some people are perhaps more resistant to change. I hope I'm wrong of course, and Lord knows, I often am. 🙂
In one way there's a lot to talk about in NTTD, but in some other ways not. There isn't much middle ground when it comes to Bond dying. "In my opinion Bond should've died just a little bit, not a lot like he did in NTTD...".
In my view the majority of today‘s Bond fandom community revolves solely around Daniel Craig‘s Bond‘ds clothing.
you can clearly see this trend on Instagram for example. When people post old collectibles the response to that is significantly lower than for posts about „Bond-brands“ or people cosplaying.
I still remember when Bond‘s boxershorts from CR were identified and people were genuinely upset to find them after 10 years (basic white briefs but they had to be of the same brand, of course…).
And having influencers around that made being a Bond-fan a business sure isn’t helping…
IG: @thebondarchives
Check it out, you won’t be disappointed
I agree with much of what has been said. I took some time out in the run up to NTTD - and at other times - because I simply could not get excited about it. SP was a downer for me, I had genuine high hopes for that film but they spoiled it with all that Quantum nonsense and foster brother garbage. I just knew nothing good was going to come out of NTTD. Then it got delayed because of Covid, and I started up on here again. I'm not a mega fan, but I do love James Bond and, as some of the members above suggest - and I think its fair to say we are probably 'of a certain age' - the direction it has taken post-QOS has not cheered me at all. The recent books haven't been fulfilling either. But keep contributing folks. You never know, Babs and Mikey might announce something special at the BFI interview this year...
This is a big part of why my interest in Bond has really faded. Collecting memorabilia from the movies was part of the fun but there has been hardly any of that kind of content from the overly serious, self-absorbed Craig entries. That's partly because the movies themselves are now largely devoid of any cool gadgets or vehicles and EON has largely turned its back the licensing side of the business. Long gone are the scale models, die-cast replicas, licensed figures, and so on. Now all we get are discussions about what polo shirt Craig last wore.
I've been a member of AJB for almost 17 years but there's very little to talk about or get excited about these days. The movies have become unrecognizable slogs for fans of the older entries. You can only recite your favorite and least favorite movies so many times. And how many times can you really give your opinion on why a particular movie was the greatest thing ever or complete garbage without just repeating yourself. The fun has really gone out of Bond for a lot of people.
Hopefully the next movie will return to a more recognizable template and give us something to talk about. But with Barbara Broccoli at the helm I'm not exactly holding my breath.
I totally agree with your post @TonyDP
I think the fact a few of us have responded in this thread shows a lot of us are still around. So thank you @Napoleon Plural
ITV as usual have been showing a lot of the old Bond films recently. TLD and TLK the last two weekends and it was the Moore films before that and I have enjoyed them very much. There is definitely a different vibe. One I feel most comfortable with.
I suppose it's just an evolutionary thing and probably why Bond has endured for 60 years. My daughter's boyfriend is 25 and all he has known is DC. He could not understand my fury at NTTD at all.
I suppose this is turning into a different thread. Anyway, I suppose one can't argue with the box office, but I'd suggest that one snag of the films since Brosnan almost is that they are not quite classics. Few would occupy the spot on Christmas Day. GE really is quite violent at times with the gunfire and I don't need to go through all the others but they do lack sparkle and upbeat enjoyment. The M:I films ought to have taken over that slot but they feel a bit ersatz to me, a bit charmless. All opening weekend and no knickers.
In that sense it's as if the series doesn't quite have the depth it once had, to be still showing the 'classics' all the way down the line... Again, for me there's not one since way way back that could comfortably occupy the hallowed Christmas Day/Easter Monday slot.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Barbel is quite correct…I’m much more of a ‘backseat driver’ now…in fact most of my time here is spent removing rogue new members, seriously…I removed around 12 one day last week - all from the same IP address 🙄
To be fair, @Sir Miles is one of the remaining mods who retains that sinister veneer of yore, a shiver of apprehension goes up my spine when his name appears, you just don't get that with Barbel.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Since we're on the subject of disappearances, where's @caractacus potts ? Has he found Napoleon Plural's secret bunker ?
I'm too frequent a poster for that.
Hadn't noticed he'd not been here for a while as I was reading posts from a few weeks ago and assumed he was still active. Hopefully he's doing well and will be back with us soon.
Sir Miles knows where all the bodies are.
Is it a coincidence that no sooner had Sir Miles mentioned that he was on his way to Canada than Caractacus Potts (of the very same northen hemisphere snowy-colony) disappears? I shall leave it at that, but you have all been warned.
I'm still round gang, monitoring ajb007 communications for top secret defense plans, winning lottery ticket numbers, imaginary conversations and naughty book covers. But I'm trying to get out of the habit of posting because its summer here in this northern hemisphere snowy-colony and I have to remind myself to go outside while I can, and only waste time staring at the computer when I'm paid to. I am aware I still have a Report on the Mission Impossible teevee series to complete, and swear I'll get back to it one day, when the evenings arent quite so warm and long.
whats all this about Sir Miles moving to Canada? I remember him saying he'd looked at property in Victoria. did he actually make the move? thats a much nicer part of this snowy-colony than where I now live.
Is it too soon to do it all again? This time with "No Time To Think This Through" as the endpoint.
And hello, caractacus!
Interesting to read all these comments and I agree in large.
The series has changed quite a bit over the last 20+ years. It's been nice going to watch the classics most Sundays at the cinema and just reaffirmed my love for them (ALL!). I can honestly say my viewing of LTK the other week was the most I've ever enjoyed it. It may be that I still find every single one a pallet cleanser after SP and NTTD. The latter, as I've said before, has some great moments and I really do enjoy some parts, but the ending and family stuff does leave an aftertaste that's hard to shake. I agree with N24's point, that they could have killed Bond a little bit. It would have had the same impact (IMO), and not divided and angered a many of the fans. Having Bond survive and end up a life raft with Madeleine would have been great fun and appealed to some of us traditionalists.
Taking from Fleming and YOLT would have been perfect, but they seemed to have greater faith in DC's idea, or it was a major proviso in his agreeing to return which I think is disappointing.
I think some of the lethargy and frustration (for me anyway) comes from the gaps between films and the delays (Covid withstanding), and what is delivered after 4-5 years has been less than satisfying. I love CR, QoS and SF but SP and NTTD, as much as I really enjoy in places have big failings for me and both left me more disgruntled and disappointed than happy and satisfied.
Thank you 🍸 that’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever had 😍🤣
I have been sent over to make sure he’s ‘still operational’ 🤣
Haven’t moved over yet…just here on holiday at the moment - and checking out property prices…which are horrific 😱
Plenty of jobs about though, for an old and burnt out moderator 👀🤣
I believe that Victoria, BC has more James Bond message boards per person than anywhere other than Solihull, so I'm not at all surprised that you are finding lots of moderator opportunities, Sir Miles. Good luck with the hunt. As for property, they don't have winter in Victoria so you could always live in a paperbag in a hole at the back of someone's garden for a while.