Do We Fans See Ourselves Apart From Bond's Mass Appeal?
BIG TAM
Wrexham, North Wales, UK.Posts: 773MI6 Agent
A female friend of mine has a passion for STAR TREK. She does also for Bond, but STAR TREK wins out for pure devotion. She absolutely refuses to see the last STAR TREK film showing Kirk's origins. I can't understand her reasoning for this, but she feels it sullies the memory of Shatner & co. I asked why she also likes Picard, itself a reimagining of the Trek universe. She says that's different as it doesn't impinge on Kirk's world, etc, etc. Now I like all the STAR TREK films very much, but have never had a lot of time for the TV series. Perhaps then I'm not tied down by die-hard loyalty, allowing my enjoyment to not be clouded by history.
With this in mind I wonder if fellow Bond fans have a similar viewpoint over the correlation between their passion for 007 & the character's appeal to more casual movie-goers. A good example is the box office success of DIE ANOTHER DAY matched against the general dislike of it by fans on this website. One must assume any word of mouth from people on these forums was hastily ignored for it to achieve its grosses.
)
With this in mind I wonder if fellow Bond fans have a similar viewpoint over the correlation between their passion for 007 & the character's appeal to more casual movie-goers. A good example is the box office success of DIE ANOTHER DAY matched against the general dislike of it by fans on this website. One must assume any word of mouth from people on these forums was hastily ignored for it to achieve its grosses.
)
Comments
As for Die Another Day - again, you're spot on. I don't like the film, I don't even think it was a good film, let alone a good Bond film, but it seems to have done alright in the box office. I'm definitely what some here call a "Flemingist" - I believe that a good Bond film is one that adheres to a Fleming story or a Fleming like story. If it doesn't stick to the original Fleming concept, it's not a good Bond film, period.
I'm not a Star Wars fan, but I enjoyed all six movies, although devoted Star Wars fans say Episode I was a load of crap. So I can definitely see why we, as fans, tend to rate films differently by different standards to what the general public who may not be as ... shall I say, passionate ... about the series.