Alessandra - Something told me that you would be one who could appreciate the notion of Idris Elba appearing in a Bond film. You have some interesting suggestions yourself. I agree that Carl Lumbly was pretty impressive in "Alias" (not to mention his stint as a superhero in the series "M.A.N.T.I.S."), and I believe he would be a fine Bond villain. I also like your idea about Kevin Spacey as a villain. He plays creepy/intelligent/borderline-insane quite well. Who knows - he might enjoy a chance to sink his chops into a supporting role as an adversary to the film's hero (as he did with the role of Lex Luthor in "Superman Returns").
I want to see who fans think could portray an interesting and credible adversary for 007 in a future film. I would love to see Idris Elba cast as a Bond villain. I have seen Elba act in many projects, from the sublime ("The Wire", "Luther", "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency") to the mediocre ("The Losers", "Takers") to the ridiculous ("Obsessed"), and he is always interesting to watch. He can be charming, suave, intense, and menancing. Plus he projects the intelligence that I think would be absolutely crucial to his believability as a worthy opponent for Bond. Elba is physically imposing as well, which could make for a terrific fight scene between his villain and Bond. Who are some of the actors (or actresses) you folks would like to see match wits with Bond?
I like this choice. Very much so. And may I suggest Marcus Dixon from Alias as a baddie? Actor who played Dixon is Carl Lumbly. There are many who have been on Alias who would be great both as Bond villains or as Bond allies. All have clearly proved their talent in being spies (Lumbly played one of the spies and he was great at that on Alias, in action scenes, too) or being villains. David Anders is another one who was a great villain as Sark on Alias. And he was very Bond-like on Alias, too. Fine wines, nice suits, women, refined taste in general. David Anders can also do a very good British accent so he could also serve as a traitor at MI6 for example.
Rutger Hauer was also a great guest star villain on Alias, but too old now. I would love to see Kevin Spacey as a Bond villain, but I doubt he'd ever do it. Too famous and also too incline to doing "serious" movies ever to be involved in Bond. But, one can dream )
Alessandra - Something told me that you would be one who could appreciate the notion of Idris Elba appearing in a Bond film. You have some interesting suggestions yourself. I agree that Carl Lumbly was pretty impressive in "Alias" (not to mention his stint as a superhero in the series "M.A.N.T.I.S."), and I believe he would be a fine Bond villain. I also like your idea about Kevin Spacey as a villain. He plays creepy/intelligent/borderline-insane quite well. Who knows - he might enjoy a chance to sink his chops into a supporting role as an adversary to the film's hero (as he did with the role of Lex Luthor in "Superman Returns").
You may have a point, as usual. He may like to do something different. I think "Superman Returns" is a different thing though, that is superhero material, they have the liberty to play something that is just not possible in a movie with regular people, which is why I think he did it. It's not the same thing as being a Bond villain, where you are in a movie that isn't "serious" but you basically don't do anything all that special, if that makes sense. That said, this is the doubt I have over him accepting the idea, but I wasn't aware of certain details, so at this point he may well say yes. And I, for one, would be delighted.
Do you remember the guy who played one of the Covenant Chiefs on Alias? Character name was Bomani. He was on Alias in s3, almost killed Sark, and man, he was EEEVIL! ) That actor was great in the part, too. His name is Djimon Hounsou. The guy is also a former model, and he WAS very elegant on Alias despite being evil. So he'd fit the bill perfectly in terms of Bond villain.
Of course I would approve of your suggestion! And I'm not the only one liking the idea of Idris Elba, the FPA likes him too, he got a nomination for a Golden Globe this morning! So on top of playing an excellent villain, there is no doubt he stands out with his acting. I'd like to see him, Lumbly or Hounsou. I think all of them are great choices. I think Lumbly really proved his worth on Alias, and I loved his scenes with Victor Garber in particular. Such good actors, both of them.
Then again, Spacey is my ideal candidate because of how he acts those parts, and the way he looks (normal but not really haha). Though in terms of elegance, I think Hounsou would be better.
Technically Kevin Spacey has already played Bloefeld. In Austin Powers 3 he had a cameo as Dr Evil (himself a parody of Bloefeld).
If he played up the more psychotic elements (ala Christopher Walken), he would be fantastic.
Se7en is one of my favourite films, largely due to Spacey.
Also he referenced his fandom in AB by complaining he would miss the Bond marathon because he was going to his daughters school routine.
Aw, that's so cute that he referenced Bond like that!
Se7en seriously freaks me out, and if I hadn't been at the movies with my (male) friends, I swear I would have quit the movie halfway through. Way too disturbing and violent for my taste. But no doubt an excellent movie for those who like the genre. And, agreed, Spacey is brilliant in it.
Yeah my idea of Spacey playing the villain is largely due to the fact I previously mentioned of him being able to go from "normal" to "psychotic" in like no time ) Perfectly fits the crazy villain bill. I agree the more psychotic elements would be great for a Bond villain. It's this fact he looks "normal" or almost normal and then BWHAM, the crazy is on )
I had totally forgotten about Austin Powers! ) Bring it on then, Spacey as the new Blofeld! For real! )
For me Kevin Spacey's best performance was as Jack Vincennes in L.A. Confidential.
You're right, I forgot about it. Great movie.
"Are we on coms?" (if you don't know where this is from... you've missed some really good stuff! )
The Bond films have given actors multiple roles before so I could see Benicio del Toro returning. Especially as the Dalton films are forgotten by the general public and he wasn't famous then.
I think we need an over the top, creepy, almost surreal villain again. Daniel Craig is such a physically tough Bond, but he's only fought weak henchmen and villain so far so its really useless to be so bad-ass. I know this would never happen, but I'd LOVE to see Craig's Bond take on and finish off Jaws. Jaws really deserves a better climax than Moonraker.
I love Moonraker BTW and think Drax is one of the best villains ever. Very believable yet otherworldly. And beautifully portrayed by the actor. What other Bond villain could play bridge with the Prime Minister and feed a beautiful girl to wild dogs? Brutal.
Can't see Del Toro returning. He was a minor villain, just one of the "servants of the villain", who was Sanchez. And, he was killed at the end of LTK ) He's dead, so no. Besides that, I don't think he's all that special. I think the above-made suggestions like Billy Zane or John Malkovich, plus Idris Elba, Kevin Spacey etc fit the bill for a Bond villain much better than he does.
Absolute no to the super-contrived return of villains who have been dealt with already in previous movies as far as I'm concerned. It is one thing to take inspiration from previous villains, or to create a new one who is the son/nephew or whatever else of previous ones, but to make someone who has been defeated in previous movies come back as the same character, just no. Time for freaking script writers to actually show some talent and come up with something good and new when they write a script. People on television have to do that on a daily basis for crime shows or spy shows. A movie not even every two years isn't nearly as difficult in terms of inventing something new, so the very least I expect from Bond script writers is to come up with new villains who MUST be effective. Unlike the villains in CR and QoS, who were pretty laughable in that sense. They can absolutely create a new one who can serve for multiple movies, but it has to be a new one, not sloppy cut and paste from one of the old movies.
For some reason I just thought of Aaron Eckhart as a Bond villain. I love his acting. And he's really hot ) Actually, probably too hot. Forget it. )
Daniel Craig would be good
Wait a minute... )
) ) Always said that is my thing with Craig. He looks like a Bond villain instead of looking like James Bond. ) Given the horrid writing for villains recently, I guess they could always come up with "Bond has an evil twin" ) )
"Are we on coms?" (if you don't know where this is from... you've missed some really good stuff! )
I've just thought of Peter "Robocop" Weller as a possible villain. Having seen him as Christopher Henderson in 24 I think he could be a charismatic yet menacing adversary for Daniel, maybe in the same vein as Mr White. Though he would have to have some kind of physically capable henchman.
Alessandra - Something told me that you would be one who could appreciate the notion of Idris Elba appearing in a Bond film. You have some interesting suggestions yourself. I agree that Carl Lumbly was pretty impressive in "Alias" (not to mention his stint as a superhero in the series "M.A.N.T.I.S."), and I believe he would be a fine Bond villain. I also like your idea about Kevin Spacey as a villain. He plays creepy/intelligent/borderline-insane quite well. Who knows - he might enjoy a chance to sink his chops into a supporting role as an adversary to the film's hero (as he did with the role of Lex Luthor in "Superman Returns").
You may have a point, as usual. He may like to do something different. I think "Superman Returns" is a different thing though, that is superhero material, they have the liberty to play something that is just not possible in a movie with regular people, which is why I think he did it. It's not the same thing as being a Bond villain, where you are in a movie that isn't "serious" but you basically don't do anything all that special, if that makes sense. That said, this is the doubt I have over him accepting the idea, but I wasn't aware of certain details, so at this point he may well say yes. And I, for one, would be delighted.
Do you remember the guy who played one of the Covenant Chiefs on Alias? Character name was Bomani. He was on Alias in s3, almost killed Sark, and man, he was EEEVIL! ) That actor was great in the part, too. His name is Djimon Hounsou. The guy is also a former model, and he WAS very elegant on Alias despite being evil. So he'd fit the bill perfectly in terms of Bond villain.
Of course I would approve of your suggestion! And I'm not the only one liking the idea of Idris Elba, the FPA likes him too, he got a nomination for a Golden Globe this morning! So on top of playing an excellent villain, there is no doubt he stands out with his acting. I'd like to see him, Lumbly or Hounsou. I think all of them are great choices. I think Lumbly really proved his worth on Alias, and I loved his scenes with Victor Garber in particular. Such good actors, both of them.
Then again, Spacey is my ideal candidate because of how he acts those parts, and the way he looks (normal but not really haha). Though in terms of elegance, I think Hounsou would be better.
Technically Kevin Spacey has already played Bloefeld. In Austin Powers 3 he had a cameo as Dr Evil (himself a parody of Bloefeld).
If he played up the more psychotic elements (ala Christopher Walken), he would be fantastic.
Se7en is one of my favourite films, largely due to Spacey.
Also he referenced his fandom in AB by complaining he would miss the Bond marathon because he was going to his daughters school routine.
Aw, that's so cute that he referenced Bond like that!
Se7en seriously freaks me out, and if I hadn't been at the movies with my (male) friends, I swear I would have quit the movie halfway through. Way too disturbing and violent for my taste. But no doubt an excellent movie for those who like the genre. And, agreed, Spacey is brilliant in it.
Yeah my idea of Spacey playing the villain is largely due to the fact I previously mentioned of him being able to go from "normal" to "psychotic" in like no time ) Perfectly fits the crazy villain bill. I agree the more psychotic elements would be great for a Bond villain. It's this fact he looks "normal" or almost normal and then BWHAM, the crazy is on )
I had totally forgotten about Austin Powers! ) Bring it on then, Spacey as the new Blofeld! For real! )
For me Kevin Spacey's best performance was as Jack Vincennes in L.A. Confidential.
I like Alessandra's idea fo an evil twin,I'm sure Craig woul love to play them )
) ) ) *bang bang* "HEY! you shot me!" "Hey, you're evil and must die, I'm James Bond, I don't die" "Hey, I'm you so I don't die either! And, neener neener!" ) ) )
Djimon Hounsou - another great choice!
So glad you approve (also, you seem to be an Alias fan, like me, and that I VERY much approve of. It's one of my all-time favourite TV shows!). I have only seen him on Alias and he was brilliant as the villain. But I looked at his IMDB and MAN, he's done heaps of big movies ) I had no idea. All the better.
This is a part of the first Alias episode he appeared in as Bomani (! youtube apparently has all episodes ). I swear I laughed at the first scene he appears in when Sloane goes all "if you think..." and SMACK! Right on his face with his fist/elbow ) ) He really was mean and eeevil! ) Great villain.
OHH and guy with British accent talking to Sydney and calling her Julia reminded me of yet another actor who would be a great villain: Paul Blackthorne. He will be on "White Collar" as the villain starting with the January episodes (he was in the mid-season finale, in the final scene, as well). He always plays the unpleasant guy on TV shows (he was on various other ones) and he's really good at it. Has good looks and the charm/elegance that do for a Bond villain. And since he does a good British accent (or is he British? I'm unsure. ETA: checked, he IS British) he is another candidate for an MI6 traitor )
"Are we on coms?" (if you don't know where this is from... you've missed some really good stuff! )
Del Toro would make a great villian. So what if he was in Licence To Kill ? His Dario character barely appeared on screen and chances are, the general public totally forgot about him appearing in that film by now.
Del Toro would make a great villian. So what if he was in Licence To Kill ? His Dario character barely appeared on screen and chances are, the general public totally forgot about him appearing in that film by now.
He looks so different now, besides there have been others to come back as different characters.
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Del Toro would make a great villian. So what if he was in Licence To Kill ? His Dario character barely appeared on screen and chances are, the general public totally forgot about him appearing in that film by now.
He looks so different now, besides there have been others to come back as different characters.
I think this is a GREAT idea. He can do anything. His ethnic looks give him the ability to play American, European or Arab/Persian. What a great potential villain, or Quantum mastermind... B-)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Del Toro would make a great villian. So what if he was in Licence To Kill ? His Dario character barely appeared on screen and chances are, the general public totally forgot about him appearing in that film by now.
He looks so different now, besides there have been others to come back as different characters.
I think this is a GREAT idea. He can do anything. His ethnic looks give him the ability to play American, European or Arab/Persian. What a great potential villain, or Quantum mastermind... B-)
He has that ,sort of, "Anthony Quinn" quality. Just about anyone with dark skin, Del Toro can play. )
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
He looks so different now, besides there have been others to come back as different characters.
I think this is a GREAT idea. He can do anything. His ethnic looks give him the ability to play American, European or Arab/Persian. What a great potential villain, or Quantum mastermind... B-)
He has that ,sort of, "Anthony Quinn" quality. Just about anyone with dark skin, Del Toro can play. )
Anthony Quinn is right! Funny I forgot to include Latin/Hispanic ;%
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I think it's been too long since we've seen a Bond villain in the same ranks as Goldfinger.
During the Brosnan years we had Alec Trevelyan, who -- albeit being a great physical adversary for 007 -- didn't have much of a "grand scheme". I enjoyed Elliot Carver but I can see where people had problems with him. Renard, Elektra King and Gustav Graves just seemed like overly-melodramatic wasted potential. Le Chiffre was great, but he can hardly be called a supervillain or evil genius. And Dominic Greene was just a corrupt pseudo-environmentalist deserving of a S.W.A.T.-style takedown rather than MI6 sending their best man after him.
What the franchise needs to look at is something like Mission: Impossible 3, which had an outstanding villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman is a talented actor who really delivers in this role; his ruthless nature and capacity for cruelty remains unmatched by any Bond villain in the past twenty years.
So, anyways, who do I think would make a great Bond villain? Ian McShane. Anyone who's watched "Deadwood" would probably agree with me. Sure he's typecast as villains an awful lot, but I think it's about time he brought his incredible dynamic presence to a Bond film.
And because I liked Inception a lot (no surprise there), I'm going to throw in Ken Watanabe. The man looks great in a suit, and his voice has a genuinely sinister edge to it.
"The secret agent. The man who was only a silhouette..." -- Ian Fleming, Moonraker
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
Ian Mcshane,Is a great actor,and he's Black beard in the new Pirates movie. But He'll always be Lovejoy to Me. Great sunday night viewing,For people like me who enjoy Marple while sucking on a worthers )
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
Ian Mcshane,Is a great actor,and he's Black beard in the new Pirates movie. But He'll always be Lovejoy to Me. Great sunday night viewing,For people like me who enjoy Marple while sucking on a worthers )
He could be M as well, as far as I'm concerned :007)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I think it's been too long since we've seen a Bond villain in the same ranks as Goldfinger.
During the Brosnan years we had Alec Trevelyan, who -- albeit being a great physical adversary for 007 -- didn't have much of a "grand scheme". I enjoyed Elliot Carver but I can see where people had problems with him. Renard, Elektra King and Gustav Graves just seemed like overly-melodramatic wasted potential. Le Chiffre was great, but he can hardly be called a supervillain or evil genius. And Dominic Greene was just a corrupt pseudo-environmentalist deserving of a S.W.A.T.-style takedown rather than MI6 sending their best man after him.
What the franchise needs to look at is something like Mission: Impossible 3, which had an outstanding villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman is a talented actor who really delivers in this role; his ruthless nature and capacity for cruelty remains unmatched by any Bond villain in the past twenty years.
So, anyways, who do I think would make a great Bond villain? Ian McShane. Anyone who's watched "Deadwood" would probably agree with me. Sure he's typecast as villains an awful lot, but I think it's about time he brought his incredible dynamic presence to a Bond film.
I agree with most of your statement, however I think Trevelyan, Renard and Electra made pretty sound villains myself.
Ian McShane would be AWESOME. However he would need to clean up his mouth a bit )
Benicio Del Toro would be good in another villanous role, particularly as he looks very different now compared to when he was in LTK.
Other names? Christian Bale perhaps? He seems like quite an intense character. I could imagine hin as another Trevelyan like figure (i.e. a rogue MI6 agent)
I think it's been too long since we've seen a Bond villain in the same ranks as Goldfinger.
During the Brosnan years we had Alec Trevelyan, who -- albeit being a great physical adversary for 007 -- didn't have much of a "grand scheme". I enjoyed Elliot Carver but I can see where people had problems with him. Renard, Elektra King and Gustav Graves just seemed like overly-melodramatic wasted potential. Le Chiffre was great, but he can hardly be called a supervillain or evil genius. And Dominic Greene was just a corrupt pseudo-environmentalist deserving of a S.W.A.T.-style takedown rather than MI6 sending their best man after him.
What the franchise needs to look at is something like Mission: Impossible 3, which had an outstanding villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman is a talented actor who really delivers in this role; his ruthless nature and capacity for cruelty remains unmatched by any Bond villain in the past twenty years.
So, anyways, who do I think would make a great Bond villain? Ian McShane. Anyone who's watched "Deadwood" would probably agree with me. Sure he's typecast as villains an awful lot, but I think it's about time he brought his incredible dynamic presence to a Bond film.
I agree with most of your statement, however I think Trevelyan, Renard and Electra made pretty sound villains myself.
Ian McShane would be AWESOME. However he would need to clean up his mouth a bit )
Benicio Del Toro would be good in another villanous role, particularly as he looks very different now compared to when he was in LTK.
Other names? Christian Bale perhaps? He seems like quite an intense character. I could imagine hin as another Trevelyan like figure (i.e. a rogue MI6 agent)
I find Bale's acting to be so limited. He just broods. I'd much rather see Christopher Lloyd. Judge Doom still freaks me out. )
Alessandra - If your only exposure to Djimon Hounsou has been his work on "Alias", as good as it was, then you have really been missing out. The guy is a terrific actor, and I would especially recommend that you check him out in "Blood Diamonds". I seem to recall that he also played villains pretty effectively in "The Island" and "Push". Again, I commend you on an inspired choice. I hope the Bond producers will be as willing as you to think outside of the box!
I like Alessandra's idea fo an evil twin,I'm sure Craig woul love to play them )
) ) ) *bang bang* "HEY! you shot me!" "Hey, you're evil and must die, I'm James Bond, I don't die" "Hey, I'm you so I don't die either! And, neener neener!" ) ) )
Djimon Hounsou - another great choice!
So glad you approve (also, you seem to be an Alias fan, like me, and that I VERY much approve of. It's one of my all-time favourite TV shows!). I have only seen him on Alias and he was brilliant as the villain. But I looked at his IMDB and MAN, he's done heaps of big movies ) I had no idea. All the better.
This is a part of the first Alias episode he appeared in as Bomani (! youtube apparently has all episodes ). I swear I laughed at the first scene he appears in when Sloane goes all "if you think..." and SMACK! Right on his face with his fist/elbow ) ) He really was mean and eeevil! ) Great villain.
OHH and guy with British accent talking to Sydney and calling her Julia reminded me of yet another actor who would be a great villain: Paul Blackthorne. He will be on "White Collar" as the villain starting with the January episodes (he was in the mid-season finale, in the final scene, as well). He always plays the unpleasant guy on TV shows (he was on various other ones) and he's really good at it. Has good looks and the charm/elegance that do for a Bond villain. And since he does a good British accent (or is he British? I'm unsure. ETA: checked, he IS British) he is another candidate for an MI6 traitor )
I absolutely agree that worthy villains have been sorely lacking in Bond films lately. In fact, the only Bond adversaries I have really enjoyed in modern Bond films have been Elektra King and LaChiffre, but neither of them was on the level of Goldfinger or Blofeld. I believe Licence to Kill also had a pretty good villain in Franz Sanchez, but that is more a tribute to the way he was played by Robert Davi than by the villain's grand scheme. Time for more plots for world domination, but credible plots, not silliness. I guess that's not too easy to do.
I think it's been too long since we've seen a Bond villain in the same ranks as Goldfinger.
During the Brosnan years we had Alec Trevelyan, who -- albeit being a great physical adversary for 007 -- didn't have much of a "grand scheme". I enjoyed Elliot Carver but I can see where people had problems with him. Renard, Elektra King and Gustav Graves just seemed like overly-melodramatic wasted potential. Le Chiffre was great, but he can hardly be called a supervillain or evil genius. And Dominic Greene was just a corrupt pseudo-environmentalist deserving of a S.W.A.T.-style takedown rather than MI6 sending their best man after him.
What the franchise needs to look at is something like Mission: Impossible 3, which had an outstanding villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman is a talented actor who really delivers in this role; his ruthless nature and capacity for cruelty remains unmatched by any Bond villain in the past twenty years.
So, anyways, who do I think would make a great Bond villain? Ian McShane. Anyone who's watched "Deadwood" would probably agree with me. Sure he's typecast as villains an awful lot, but I think it's about time he brought his incredible dynamic presence to a Bond film.
And because I liked Inception a lot (no surprise there), I'm going to throw in Ken Watanabe. The man looks great in a suit, and his voice has a genuinely sinister edge to it.
I'd like to see a megalomaniac. Blofeld, Drax and Stromberg are three of the best adversaries so far. An all powerful genius with no care for humanity has been missing from the series for a long time. Its a staple of the films, yet it hasn't really popped up that much.
Again, Benicio would be awesome. Billy Zane is my first choice. And I've always liked Brian Cox ever since seeing him play Hannibal Lecktor in "Manhunter", He would make a great evil mastermind or M.
Count me in as another vote for Mr. Del Toro. Despite his previous appearance in The Living Daylights, I think he would be an interesting addition to the gallery of Bond film villains IF he is working with a decent story and script. Brian Cox is not a bad suggestion as an evil mastermind, although with Benicio I think you would have a guy with the evil genius to plot world domination who could also mix it up with Bond physically.
I'd like to see a megalomaniac. Blofeld, Drax and Stromberg are three of the best adversaries so far. An all powerful genius with no care for humanity has been missing from the series for a long time. Its a staple of the films, yet it hasn't really popped up that much.
Again, Benicio would be awesome. Billy Zane is my first choice. And I've always liked Brian Cox ever since seeing him play Hannibal Lecktor in "Manhunter", He would make a great evil mastermind or M.
I think it's been too long since we've seen a Bond villain in the same ranks as Goldfinger.
During the Brosnan years we had Alec Trevelyan, who -- albeit being a great physical adversary for 007 -- didn't have much of a "grand scheme". I enjoyed Elliot Carver but I can see where people had problems with him. Renard, Elektra King and Gustav Graves just seemed like overly-melodramatic wasted potential. Le Chiffre was great, but he can hardly be called a supervillain or evil genius. And Dominic Greene was just a corrupt pseudo-environmentalist deserving of a S.W.A.T.-style takedown rather than MI6 sending their best man after him.
What the franchise needs to look at is something like Mission: Impossible 3, which had an outstanding villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman is a talented actor who really delivers in this role; his ruthless nature and capacity for cruelty remains unmatched by any Bond villain in the past twenty years.
So, anyways, who do I think would make a great Bond villain? Ian McShane. Anyone who's watched "Deadwood" would probably agree with me. Sure he's typecast as villains an awful lot, but I think it's about time he brought his incredible dynamic presence to a Bond film.
I agree with most of your statement, however I think Trevelyan, Renard and Electra made pretty sound villains myself.
Ian McShane would be AWESOME. However he would need to clean up his mouth a bit )
Benicio Del Toro would be good in another villanous role, particularly as he looks very different now compared to when he was in LTK.
Other names? Christian Bale perhaps? He seems like quite an intense character. I could imagine hin as another Trevelyan like figure (i.e. a rogue MI6 agent)
I find Bale's acting to be so limited. He just broods. I'd much rather see Christopher Lloyd. Judge Doom still freaks me out. )
Christopher Lloyd could be good - I still think of him as 'Doc' from BTTF or Fester from TAF. Ecentric enough though, kind of like a mad Robin Williams.
Alessandra - If your only exposure to Djimon Hounsou has been his work on "Alias", as good as it was, then you have really been missing out. The guy is a terrific actor, and I would especially recommend that you check him out in "Blood Diamonds". I seem to recall that he also played villains pretty effectively in "The Island" and "Push". Again, I commend you on an inspired choice. I hope the Bond producers will be as willing as you to think outside of the box!
I am at fault for not checking out any of his other works. I am a huuuge Alias fan so I tend to remember everyone that was on there, and I very well remembered his good stint on the show. But, given your recommendation, I will most certainly check him out in the above-mentioned productions. I really enjoyed him on Alias, so there's no reason why I shouldn't in movies. I'm glad you approve of the choice... I really don't like to always see the same faces and I think Alias in terms of casting was absolutely terrific. From every single regular to really every single guest star they had, they made some terrific choices, and had some great acting on the show. I think the only mistake they made was Melissa George as Lauren, she was a far weaker actress than the rest of the cast, and it showed. Anyway, back to topic, I think Djimon Hounsou would be a fantastic villain. The fact he's definitely a good actor AND a former model helps IMO because his natural elegance sits well with how a "classic" Bond villain would behave and look. Many others mentioned here, from Billy Zane to Christoper Lloyd or Kevin Spacey, would anyway make great villains.
I am opposed to the Del Toro idea mainly because he died in LTK and because with all the actors out there I don't see why they'd need to cast one who's already been in the Bond movies, and died. I don't think Del Toro is all that special compared to others, I guess that's also a thing for me. I think there are many others who could do better than him and who would be a new face, as should be, in the Bond movies.
That said, what matters is really that they finally write a decent villain, because the last couple have been really weak IMO. Le Chiffre, who was supposed to be the root of all evil, didn't scare me at all. He didn't look like a determined man with a plan. Least of all an imposing, or threatening one. He just looked like a freak to me ) ) Bond villains can certainly be freaks, but they do have a most definite "threatening" vibe to them that I didn't see in either Le Chiffre or Greene. The last one I truly enjoyed was Elektra. And before her, Sanchez who was great. The iguana thing always makes me laugh because it's like an updated version of the white cat, and much more freakish )
"Are we on coms?" (if you don't know where this is from... you've missed some really good stuff! )
I agree with most of your statement, however I think Trevelyan, Renard and Electra made pretty sound villains myself.
Ian McShane would be AWESOME. However he would need to clean up his mouth a bit )
Benicio Del Toro would be good in another villanous role, particularly as he looks very different now compared to when he was in LTK.
Other names? Christian Bale perhaps? He seems like quite an intense character. I could imagine hin as another Trevelyan like figure (i.e. a rogue MI6 agent)
I find Bale's acting to be so limited. He just broods. I'd much rather see Christopher Lloyd. Judge Doom still freaks me out. )
Christopher Lloyd could be good - I still think of him as 'Doc' from BTTF or Fester from TAF. Ecentric enough though, kind of like a mad Robin Williams.
Well he'll always be Doc Brown in my eyes. BTTF is the staple of my childhood.
Regarding the talk of Elektra King, I thought she was a rather stupid character in a film driven by flaccid emotion. What was her motivation ? The oil and how it was her legacy. I thought it was all pretty tired, especially when the explosions over whelmed everything else in the film.
Really, there hasn't been an interesting villian in a Bond film in a really long time. After Auric Goldfinger, it's slim pickins'. Sanchez was really good but he wasn't that interesting. Le Chiffre was fairly good but Casino Royale made up as too much of a business man and not the deadly opponent Bond faced in the novel.
I find Bale's acting to be so limited. He just broods. I'd much rather see Christopher Lloyd. Judge Doom still freaks me out. )
Christopher Lloyd could be good - I still think of him as 'Doc' from BTTF or Fester from TAF. Ecentric enough though, kind of like a mad Robin Williams.
Well he'll always be Doc Brown in my eyes. BTTF is the staple of my childhood.
Regarding the talk of Elektra King, I thought she was a rather stupid character in a film driven by flaccid emotion. What was her motivation ? The oil and how it was her legacy. I thought it was all pretty tired, especially when the explosions over whelmed everything else in the film.
Really, there hasn't been an interesting villian in a Bond film in a really long time. After Auric Goldfinger, it's slim pickins'. Sanchez was really good but he wasn't that interesting. Le Chiffre was fairly good but Casino Royale made up as too much of a business man and not the deadly opponent Bond faced in the novel.
I think there have been a few - though not many - "interesting" villains since Goldfinger:
Scaramanga I felt was quite an attention-grabbing character - despite the rather weak overall film. Smart, cultured and polite but also deadly and self-obsessive. Very much a darker version of Bond.
Sanchez I thought was a fantastic character. Polite, exotic and charming on the one hand and on the other paranoid and sinister. Kind of like a snake. However he could have (maybe) had a slightly bigger scheme.
Trevelyan I thought was interesting in that he was a former ally of Bond - that had never happened in a Bond film before.
Carver's media baron I thought was pretty enjoyable.
Elecktra - if a little melodramatic - was interesting to me as she was one of the few who used her beauty to really get under Bond's skin. I also liked the way her role in the wider scheme wasn't immediately clear.
Gustav was like an evil version Hugh Grant (if there is any such thing) but still quite enjoyably OTT IMO - though not particularly "interesting".
Comments
Wait a minute... )
You may have a point, as usual. He may like to do something different. I think "Superman Returns" is a different thing though, that is superhero material, they have the liberty to play something that is just not possible in a movie with regular people, which is why I think he did it. It's not the same thing as being a Bond villain, where you are in a movie that isn't "serious" but you basically don't do anything all that special, if that makes sense. That said, this is the doubt I have over him accepting the idea, but I wasn't aware of certain details, so at this point he may well say yes. And I, for one, would be delighted.
Do you remember the guy who played one of the Covenant Chiefs on Alias? Character name was Bomani. He was on Alias in s3, almost killed Sark, and man, he was EEEVIL! ) That actor was great in the part, too. His name is Djimon Hounsou. The guy is also a former model, and he WAS very elegant on Alias despite being evil. So he'd fit the bill perfectly in terms of Bond villain.
Of course I would approve of your suggestion! And I'm not the only one liking the idea of Idris Elba, the FPA likes him too, he got a nomination for a Golden Globe this morning! So on top of playing an excellent villain, there is no doubt he stands out with his acting. I'd like to see him, Lumbly or Hounsou. I think all of them are great choices. I think Lumbly really proved his worth on Alias, and I loved his scenes with Victor Garber in particular. Such good actors, both of them.
Then again, Spacey is my ideal candidate because of how he acts those parts, and the way he looks (normal but not really haha). Though in terms of elegance, I think Hounsou would be better.
Aw, that's so cute that he referenced Bond like that!
Se7en seriously freaks me out, and if I hadn't been at the movies with my (male) friends, I swear I would have quit the movie halfway through. Way too disturbing and violent for my taste. But no doubt an excellent movie for those who like the genre. And, agreed, Spacey is brilliant in it.
Yeah my idea of Spacey playing the villain is largely due to the fact I previously mentioned of him being able to go from "normal" to "psychotic" in like no time ) Perfectly fits the crazy villain bill. I agree the more psychotic elements would be great for a Bond villain. It's this fact he looks "normal" or almost normal and then BWHAM, the crazy is on )
I had totally forgotten about Austin Powers! ) Bring it on then, Spacey as the new Blofeld! For real! )
You're right, I forgot about it. Great movie.
Yes I have seen Se7en. He was a great villian. The film had one of the greatest endings in cinema history.
Also I like to add, and I think most agree, Spacey was the best thing about Superman Returns.
I think we need an over the top, creepy, almost surreal villain again. Daniel Craig is such a physically tough Bond, but he's only fought weak henchmen and villain so far so its really useless to be so bad-ass. I know this would never happen, but I'd LOVE to see Craig's Bond take on and finish off Jaws. Jaws really deserves a better climax than Moonraker.
I love Moonraker BTW and think Drax is one of the best villains ever. Very believable yet otherworldly. And beautifully portrayed by the actor. What other Bond villain could play bridge with the Prime Minister and feed a beautiful girl to wild dogs? Brutal.
Absolute no to the super-contrived return of villains who have been dealt with already in previous movies as far as I'm concerned. It is one thing to take inspiration from previous villains, or to create a new one who is the son/nephew or whatever else of previous ones, but to make someone who has been defeated in previous movies come back as the same character, just no. Time for freaking script writers to actually show some talent and come up with something good and new when they write a script. People on television have to do that on a daily basis for crime shows or spy shows. A movie not even every two years isn't nearly as difficult in terms of inventing something new, so the very least I expect from Bond script writers is to come up with new villains who MUST be effective. Unlike the villains in CR and QoS, who were pretty laughable in that sense. They can absolutely create a new one who can serve for multiple movies, but it has to be a new one, not sloppy cut and paste from one of the old movies.
For some reason I just thought of Aaron Eckhart as a Bond villain. I love his acting. And he's really hot ) Actually, probably too hot. Forget it. )
) ) Always said that is my thing with Craig. He looks like a Bond villain instead of looking like James Bond. ) Given the horrid writing for villains recently, I guess they could always come up with "Bond has an evil twin" ) )
) ) ) *bang bang* "HEY! you shot me!" "Hey, you're evil and must die, I'm James Bond, I don't die" "Hey, I'm you so I don't die either! And, neener neener!" ) ) )
So glad you approve (also, you seem to be an Alias fan, like me, and that I VERY much approve of. It's one of my all-time favourite TV shows!). I have only seen him on Alias and he was brilliant as the villain. But I looked at his IMDB and MAN, he's done heaps of big movies ) I had no idea. All the better.
This is a part of the first Alias episode he appeared in as Bomani (! youtube apparently has all episodes ). I swear I laughed at the first scene he appears in when Sloane goes all "if you think..." and SMACK! Right on his face with his fist/elbow ) ) He really was mean and eeevil! ) Great villain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfDhlxogDc0&feature=related
OHH and guy with British accent talking to Sydney and calling her Julia reminded me of yet another actor who would be a great villain: Paul Blackthorne. He will be on "White Collar" as the villain starting with the January episodes (he was in the mid-season finale, in the final scene, as well). He always plays the unpleasant guy on TV shows (he was on various other ones) and he's really good at it. Has good looks and the charm/elegance that do for a Bond villain. And since he does a good British accent (or is he British? I'm unsure. ETA: checked, he IS British) he is another candidate for an MI6 traitor )
He looks so different now, besides there have been others to come back as different characters.
http://apbateman.com
I think this is a GREAT idea. He can do anything. His ethnic looks give him the ability to play American, European or Arab/Persian. What a great potential villain, or Quantum mastermind... B-)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
He has that ,sort of, "Anthony Quinn" quality. Just about anyone with dark skin, Del Toro can play. )
Anthony Quinn is right! Funny I forgot to include Latin/Hispanic ;%
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
During the Brosnan years we had Alec Trevelyan, who -- albeit being a great physical adversary for 007 -- didn't have much of a "grand scheme". I enjoyed Elliot Carver but I can see where people had problems with him. Renard, Elektra King and Gustav Graves just seemed like overly-melodramatic wasted potential. Le Chiffre was great, but he can hardly be called a supervillain or evil genius. And Dominic Greene was just a corrupt pseudo-environmentalist deserving of a S.W.A.T.-style takedown rather than MI6 sending their best man after him.
What the franchise needs to look at is something like Mission: Impossible 3, which had an outstanding villain in Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the arms dealer Owen Davian. Hoffman is a talented actor who really delivers in this role; his ruthless nature and capacity for cruelty remains unmatched by any Bond villain in the past twenty years.
So, anyways, who do I think would make a great Bond villain? Ian McShane. Anyone who's watched "Deadwood" would probably agree with me. Sure he's typecast as villains an awful lot, but I think it's about time he brought his incredible dynamic presence to a Bond film.
And because I liked Inception a lot (no surprise there), I'm going to throw in Ken Watanabe. The man looks great in a suit, and his voice has a genuinely sinister edge to it.
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
He could be M as well, as far as I'm concerned :007)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I agree with most of your statement, however I think Trevelyan, Renard and Electra made pretty sound villains myself.
Ian McShane would be AWESOME. However he would need to clean up his mouth a bit )
Benicio Del Toro would be good in another villanous role, particularly as he looks very different now compared to when he was in LTK.
Other names? Christian Bale perhaps? He seems like quite an intense character. I could imagine hin as another Trevelyan like figure (i.e. a rogue MI6 agent)
I find Bale's acting to be so limited. He just broods. I'd much rather see Christopher Lloyd. Judge Doom still freaks me out. )
Again, Benicio would be awesome. Billy Zane is my first choice. And I've always liked Brian Cox ever since seeing him play Hannibal Lecktor in "Manhunter", He would make a great evil mastermind or M.
Christopher Lloyd could be good - I still think of him as 'Doc' from BTTF or Fester from TAF. Ecentric enough though, kind of like a mad Robin Williams.
I am at fault for not checking out any of his other works. I am a huuuge Alias fan so I tend to remember everyone that was on there, and I very well remembered his good stint on the show. But, given your recommendation, I will most certainly check him out in the above-mentioned productions. I really enjoyed him on Alias, so there's no reason why I shouldn't in movies. I'm glad you approve of the choice... I really don't like to always see the same faces and I think Alias in terms of casting was absolutely terrific. From every single regular to really every single guest star they had, they made some terrific choices, and had some great acting on the show. I think the only mistake they made was Melissa George as Lauren, she was a far weaker actress than the rest of the cast, and it showed. Anyway, back to topic, I think Djimon Hounsou would be a fantastic villain. The fact he's definitely a good actor AND a former model helps IMO because his natural elegance sits well with how a "classic" Bond villain would behave and look. Many others mentioned here, from Billy Zane to Christoper Lloyd or Kevin Spacey, would anyway make great villains.
I am opposed to the Del Toro idea mainly because he died in LTK and because with all the actors out there I don't see why they'd need to cast one who's already been in the Bond movies, and died. I don't think Del Toro is all that special compared to others, I guess that's also a thing for me. I think there are many others who could do better than him and who would be a new face, as should be, in the Bond movies.
That said, what matters is really that they finally write a decent villain, because the last couple have been really weak IMO. Le Chiffre, who was supposed to be the root of all evil, didn't scare me at all. He didn't look like a determined man with a plan. Least of all an imposing, or threatening one. He just looked like a freak to me ) ) Bond villains can certainly be freaks, but they do have a most definite "threatening" vibe to them that I didn't see in either Le Chiffre or Greene. The last one I truly enjoyed was Elektra. And before her, Sanchez who was great. The iguana thing always makes me laugh because it's like an updated version of the white cat, and much more freakish )
Well he'll always be Doc Brown in my eyes. BTTF is the staple of my childhood.
Regarding the talk of Elektra King, I thought she was a rather stupid character in a film driven by flaccid emotion. What was her motivation ? The oil and how it was her legacy. I thought it was all pretty tired, especially when the explosions over whelmed everything else in the film.
Really, there hasn't been an interesting villian in a Bond film in a really long time. After Auric Goldfinger, it's slim pickins'. Sanchez was really good but he wasn't that interesting. Le Chiffre was fairly good but Casino Royale made up as too much of a business man and not the deadly opponent Bond faced in the novel.
I think there have been a few - though not many - "interesting" villains since Goldfinger:
Scaramanga I felt was quite an attention-grabbing character - despite the rather weak overall film. Smart, cultured and polite but also deadly and self-obsessive. Very much a darker version of Bond.
Sanchez I thought was a fantastic character. Polite, exotic and charming on the one hand and on the other paranoid and sinister. Kind of like a snake. However he could have (maybe) had a slightly bigger scheme.
Trevelyan I thought was interesting in that he was a former ally of Bond - that had never happened in a Bond film before.
Carver's media baron I thought was pretty enjoyable.
Elecktra - if a little melodramatic - was interesting to me as she was one of the few who used her beauty to really get under Bond's skin. I also liked the way her role in the wider scheme wasn't immediately clear.
Gustav was like an evil version Hugh Grant (if there is any such thing) but still quite enjoyably OTT IMO - though not particularly "interesting".
Le-Chiffe was ok
Dominic Green was a joke!