Villers or Tanner?

i expect u2 die · June 2009

Simple enough - who do you prefer:

Casino's Villers, or Quatum's Tanner?

7289 · June 2009

Villiers by a long shot, just seemed to be more of a charecter.

Tanner is supposed to be Bond's closest friend in the Service. The QOS Tanner was just too "neutral".

Loeffelholz · June 2009

I'm a fan of Tobias Menzies---he was brilliant, I thought, as Brutus in HBO's Rome. Of the two 'exposition' characters, right now I'd say the edge has to go to Villiers.

But Tanner is the long-term character; it was an odd choice to portray him as they did in QoS. Perhaps they'll build on it---be nice to see a 'chummy' scene between Bond and Tanner...but this guy doesn't seem the type to be a friend of Bond's. There again, though, conventional isn't the way Eon are trending at the moment.

Gothic ZM · June 2009

Well, since I've grown more familiar with the name Tanner over the years, I would go with Tanner....

Barbel · June 2009

I wonder if the name "Villiers" was selected by chance, being the name of one of the actors who played Tanner...? Maybe they thought the name "Kitchen" inappropriate.

As Loeff says, Tanner is the long-term character though only in GE and TWINE did he come anywhere close to suggesting Fleming's version. Always liked Charles Robinson, though- able to assist M in the office and Bond in the field.

Mister White · June 2009

I always thought they named Villiers after Gerard de Villiers?

Oh well, never mind.

I prefer Villiers as I thought the portrayal by Tobias Menzies was excellent. Great contrast to the tough Bond.

Rory Kinnear I'm not too sure about though. His Tanner was far too distant for the part if you ask me. Still not as bad as the way Tanner was portrayed in FYEO though.

I much prefer Michael Kitchen's Tanner though. Then again, I also love him in Foyle's War. Such a great tv show!

Mr_Ice · July 2009

Tanner was supposed to be an ex "colonel in the sappers..." (BTW, what are the sappers?) He was supposed to have "avoided a nervous breakdown due to physical toughness and a sense of humor..." (I'm paraphrasing from memory here, so please forgive me...). As previously stated, he was supposed to be Bond's best friend, sort of cut from the same cloth kind of thing. So the QOS Tanner stinks in my opinion; and I loved the movie. He's kind of wishy-washy and out of the loop. M had to explain to him that Bond had killed the guy in the hotel in Haiti. The literary Tanner would not have needed this explanation.

Colonel Shatner · July 2009

Villers by a country mile, Tanner was not awful but just there.

JADE66 · July 2009

Mr_Ice wrote:

Tanner was supposed to be an ex "colonel in the sappers..." (BTW, what are the sappers?) He was supposed to have "avoided a nervous breakdown due to physical toughness and a sense of humor..." (I'm paraphrasing from memory here, so please forgive me...). As previously stated, he was supposed to be Bond's best friend, sort of cut from the same cloth kind of thing. So the QOS Tanner stinks in my opinion; and I loved the movie. He's kind of wishy-washy and out of the loop. M had to explain to him that Bond had killed the guy in the hotel in Haiti. The literary Tanner would not have needed this explanation.

According to Webster's a sapper is a military engineer. If I'm not too mistaken I believe the sappers were the demolition experts. I don't think Tanner has ever been portrayed adequately though Michael KItchen came closest in my opinion. Had Colin Salmon portrayed Tanner throughout the Brosnan era instead of merely replacing Tanner with Robinson, that would have worked best. The Tanner/Villiers characters in CR and QoS are inconsequential. They exist so 'M' can vent at someone.
It's time to make the background characters stronger and more consistent. Bring back Moneypenny!

-{

Rick Roberts · July 2009

I don't think much of either character but I guess Villers was less bland.

Villers or Tanner?

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