Two times the action....

jamesbondagent007 · January 2008

...is anyone else actually worried about this? Casino Royale had TONS of good action. The Madagascar chase, the Miami airport sequence, the brawl on the stairs, the house in Venice...

Not only that, but there was a perfect balance between that and drama. Bond films--the Craig movies specifically--are supposed to by spy movies, which focus on the story and character more than on action sequences.

I hope this is a spy thriller and not an action movie. And that talk about Camille 'kicking ass' worries me after the whole point of Vesper was to pay homage to the classic, more vulnerable Bond girl (I'm not being sexist, but Bond being chivalrous rather than competitive toward women is what makes him who he is). I have nothing against a strong minded leading lady, but come on. Brosnan's era is over...

highhopes · January 2008

I am too, a little bit, because that description seems to be at odds with the title, which suggests more of an emphasis on mood. Also, Foster has said the film would explore Bond's head a little more. I don't know what to make of it. Then again, not every action sequence needs to be a lengthy set piece. The "twice the action" thing might be hyperbole. I tend to trust the filmmakers after what they did in CR to come up with good balance.

Hardyboy · January 2008

Well, Forster also said M would be "kicking ass," so maybe he just has a fixation on this phrase? But, yeah, I'm a trifle worried--if the movie, as promised, is half-an-hour shorter than CR and contains twice the action, where will the character and plot come in? But, as HH says, I'll trust the producers. . .for the time being, at least.

blueman · January 2008

I think a filmmaker saying "twice the action" can be relegated to the same slag heap as an actress saying "my Bond girl character will be different." I sincerely sincerely doubt they'll somehow forget to tell a story ala CR.

Loeffelholz · January 2008

An interesting and fair question.

I think it might be a bit of press conference hyperbole...but it might also address what was viewed by some (or many) of CR's audience as a structural flaw in the way CR was presented---which IMO echoed (to some degree) how the novel played out.

I expect we'll get a more traditional 'set piece, exposition, big set piece, exposition, set piece, exposition, really big set piece, exposition' pace, this time round---more traditional, in other words, whereas CR (by necessity) was anchored, in the middle act, by a protracted high-stakes game of cards.

I can't imagine that QOS will actually have TWICE the action of CR---far more likely that it will simply be more evenly distributed and paced---even if, on balance, it does end up having a bit more action in total.

I don't think we have to worry about the film disintegrating into nonstop mayhem, in the third act, as DAD seemed to have done. But of course we'll see B-)

jamesbondagent007 · January 2008

Yeah, I guess if you think about it, replacing a 45 minute poker game with an action sequence or two wouldn't cause major structural damage to the film.

Perhaps as people have mentioned, I'm just reading too much into the typical, press conference, 'our movie will be awesome and edgy and push limits in ways you've never seen', talk. If the same team of creative minds could pull a 180 from DAD to CR, I think they know how to make QOS a damn good movie.

cbdouble07 · January 2008

I agree. I must trust the producers on this. After CR I have faith that they know what they are doing. The title and the type of director that they hired tend to hint that there will be plenty of character development and with Haggis writing the script there should be good dialogue and character moments again. Yes, the comments made me nervous but as has been said before, what else are they going to say? Unlike previous films, this time I feel like I can set my worries over things like this aside and trust the producers. I guess that's what making a film like CR will do.

walther p99 · January 2008

"twice the action"= Tomorrow Never Dies 2

Dan Same · January 2008

I loved almost all of the action scenes in CR, and my problems with that particular film have almost nothing to do with the action scenes themselves. If the producers can equal their action work on CR, I'm not going to be too concerned.

Although I love action and I would not want to see a Bond film with little action, I think it is the quality of the action scenes that make a difference. DAD has been mentioned; well, my problem with that has nothing to do with how much action was in it and everything to do with the action scenes being among the worst in the series. I doubt that we will see any CGI-aided car chases or surfing in QOS.

emtiem · January 2008

blueman wrote:

I think a filmmaker saying "twice the action" can be relegated to the same slag heap as an actress saying "my Bond girl character will be different." I sincerely sincerely doubt they'll somehow forget to tell a story ala CR.

Yeah- I'm with everyone else; definitely the sound of hyperbole, there.

In fact, I'm of the camp that thinks CR had too much action- the sinking house bit just seems a bit redundant to me.

Lennon007 · January 2008

I dont think we have anything to worry about - it will be a mix of charatcer development and action. Especially with Forster directing.

Harry Palmer · January 2008

I hope there won't be too much action. I think (cos I'm an incurable optimist) the folks at Eon are just being a little over-anxious that people might hear the title, hear someone explain it as referring to "a peculiar time in the development of Bond's character after Vesper's betrayal" and assume this is going to be a boring film.

So maybe (hopefully) they're trying to make up for the lack of "kill," "die" and "gold" in the title by assuring us, this will not be an intimate psychological study.

Sweepy the Cat · January 2008

I'm glad about more action because to be honest there wasn't as much as our usual dose in CR.

yodboy007 · January 2008

I'm sure their claim of twice the action was just their way of telling us not to worry and that there will be plenty of action in all of these "character and story-driven" James Bond flicks.

We all know that these films change in cycles. History always repeats itself. We have had dark spy thrillers (FRWL, TB), slightly campy OTT plots and set pieces (YOLT, MR), humor-filled roller-coaster rides (TMWTGG, OP), gritty character driven-pieces (LTK, CR, and probably QOS), and even films that in my view that walk that fine line with a great balance of it all (GF, TSWLM, TLD, GE).

So, several people know the producers are hung up on these gritty character and story-driven films right now. Some prefer it and some do not. Some may worry there will not be enough action and fear too much drama will be present. The producers have now perhaps put these people at ease. But, it really does not matter to most people because they know that a few films from now they will be returning to one of the other types of 007 films I mentioned above. That is a good thing in my opinion because if all these films had the same tone and style they would get boring quick. Cubby knew that better than anyone.

Brosnan_fan · January 2008

I think its far too early to be talking about how much action may or may not be in a Bond movie; bear in mind that production has only just begun.

All I will say is I do not think QOS will be going either way of DN or TND.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Marc Forster handles things, and, by November, I feel this matter will be long forgotten.

scaramanga1 · January 2008

I can see where comparisons with TND come in because
that indeed was a fast paced action packed film -but I do believe that with QOS the movie will be paced more evenly and the lengthy poker scenes of CR are probably what they are alluding too -instead of scenes which could have been a bit boring for the viewer there will be perhaps some slightly shorter scenes of drama and a bit more action to compensate - they have already admitted in the past that they have looked at the Bourne franchise and what today's audiences want -and no doubt seeing Harry Potter as a rival will have analysed the action sequences to "drama" ratio in such movies to get an idea of getting it right. After all I think the "going up against" Harry Potter in November is quite a healthy challenge for the Rebooted Bond Franchise - I think there is a determination to ensure victory hence the immense budget which has not been disclosed. I for one welcome the direction they are taking it -but you are all right when what we really want is a good thriller rather than an action movie per se. Action is good and exciting -but we don't want set pieces to feel just like filler -it has to be relevant and I'm sure that is what Purvis, Wade, Haggis et al all realise by now.

Napoleon Plural · January 2008

Well CR got slowed down because of all the card game stuff and the romance, you can cut that out of Bond 22.

The action may be more of the Bourne type, ie it's a chase that goes on a long time, like the end of FRWL.

The actor who plays the villain, Vesp's boyfriend, said in an interview in yesterday's Sunday Times that QoS is 'very dark'.

Virgil · January 2008

Please, not another TND. Never, ever. IMO the worst Bond movie by far. EON should take its time and make a really good follow up to CR, which set the level of filmmaking really high. Hopefully more action will mean another big action sequence well integrated in the plot, not a row of Bond-in-motorbike-Bond-parachuting-Bond underwater all strung together.
I don´t think that will be the case anyway. And action sequences have improved a lot with Craig.

Agent Wade · January 2008

Even in the slower Connery Bond films, Bond has had occasional ass-kicking moments, so I don't think that the whole picture will be one nonstop brawl. ;%

Lexi · January 2008

I think it's a tricky one. I think I might have been the only one who DIDNT think the card game in CR was boring, in fact I think it added something to it. It's nice sometimes to be in real time, rather than the ever changing scene, where you get no sense of depth of character.
However, with the success of CR there is now so much riding on this one, and I think a lot of people who were against Craig, (once the success of the movie was clearly shown) realised that actually he was pretty damn good, plus all the "new" fans of Bond, they are probably just letting us know that there are going to plenty of action.

Here is a clip from the interview posted on here, that makes me confident that they are not going to scrimp on plot!

DC: "We're doing things that you won't have seen from Bond before. We're always going to be pushing the envelope. Special effects are going to play a part in this movie, but they are going to be as they were before – about the plot."

Plus I think Craig has always been a fan on the psychological side of Bond's character. But lets not forget, hes a man, he's just been betrayed by his real love and he's out for revenge, of course he's going to kick ass!

a rogue AI · January 2008

The best news from that MSN interview (currently linked to at the front page) is that the film will have a "60s Ken Adam" vibe to it. Looking forward to that. Now, if they could do a no-vocals title song, a la OHMSS, I'd be happy. Not that I'm counting on that, of course.

Loeffelholz · January 2008

Lexi wrote:

I think it's a tricky one. I think I might have been the only one who DIDNT think the card game in CR was boring, in fact I think it added something to it.

Welcome to AJB, Lexi {[] As a matter of fact, you're far from the only one who felt this way. I really enjoyed the fact that the card game was basically the centerpiece of the picture---how else to do Casino Royale? :007)

Most of us here who loved CR have very highhopes (pun intended, HH!

) that we're in a brave new Bond world---one that will hopefully last for many more pictures. I personally hope they can keep Craig interested in doing Bond until he's...about the age where Brozzer left the franchise

blueman · January 2008

If they're using CGI for the squid, then I'm all for it.

taity · January 2008

One thing I hated about DAD was the pace - a brisk pace up until London with the occasional set piece along the way. Then 3 big action sequences right after the other. Then a little rest when we got to Korea, then a big action sequence.

I dont mind how action packed it is, provided they get the pacing right

Mister Biswas · February 2008

This is my first post here after a long absence. Anyway, while I was initially worried about this when I heard Michael Wilson's mentioning of it during some interview, it was a friend of mine that told me this: From Russia With Love probably has "twice the action" as Dr. No, and look how that turned out. I would also add that perhaps the same, or similar, statement could be made about, say, A View to a Kill-The Living Daylights. Since I am a huge fan of both FRWL and TLD, I am now not so worried about the "twice the action" thing. Of course, there have been other results in the past, many of which have been astutely mentioned by posters already. No one certainly wants to see a film like DAD or TND, not after Casino Royale so skillfully set up a potentially complex plot arc that could conceivablly carry the Daniel Craig series through to a couple more pictures.

Anyway, here's hoping that QoS is to Casino Royale as FRWL was to Dr. No.

spectre7 · February 2008

I never understood why Casino Royale's detractors complained about the card game going on for too long when it's punctuated by the vicious stairwell fight, Bond's attempt to kill Le Chiffre with a knife (only to be halted by Leiter) and the poisoning scene.

scottbuster2000 · February 2008

Everyone should remember that a large aspect of the movie business is promotion. Some even go as far to say that Hollywood does not make movies but SELLS movies for consumption. This is how movies like the Pirates trilogy make over a Billion at the box office even though they have no legs to stand on(As far as story goes) and classics like The Usual Suspects & Bladerunner are financial flops. Which movies have influenced filmmakers not the Pirate movies thats for sure but they are good for the bottom line revenue point of view.
I think Wilson is just putting the twice as much action out there for all those Bond fans who like action movies but are not Bondphiles like us(They don't give a toss about some writer name Fleming(Blasphemy!!!), they just want to be entertained).After all they are the main reason why CR and even DAD did so well.
You have to give Babs & Mick G some credit for artist integrity cause as far as money goes the way the series was going with DAD(The same as Moonraker) was perfectly fine. Still they know when somethings was not right the series direction just like Cubby knew in 1979. I don't think anyone has to worry, sure QOS will have more action than CR but not twice as much(Unless it's a 3 hour epic). Now that the series has been re-established they will pace the story like the classic Bonds(No big love story which was necessary for CR).

Dominic Greene - "James Bond 007, License to Kill... or be killed I believe No? An instrument of her Majesties Secret Service. You are...how you say the spy that never sleeps. Tell me Mr.Bond what exactly is your business with me?"

Two times the action....

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