I'd like to see Bond talk his way out of a tight situation - in a foreign language. In some of the movies he's spoken a few words of a foreign language. I'd like to see an extended scene, 3-5 minutes. In the books, he was supposed to have studied foreign languages and I think he was supposed to have learned German and French from his mother.
I'd also like to see Bond pick an adversary's pocket.
Bring back the Modern Bond, like they started with CR. And bring back his 'Do i look like i give a damn' attitude. In Skyfall he look tired and old. I' don't know what it was. And bring back the Modern suits, ties, casual clothes, and cars please. A DB5 is a beautiful car, but for a spy a bit unreliable. Greetings.
I want a killer robot. This isn't far fetched. Apparently the US military is less than ten years away from having "autonomous weapons."
I want the robot to look human (arms, legs, head, etc.), bandages covering its face (like Claude Rains in the invisible man), sunglasses, about 6'6" tall, wearing a raincoat, gloves, a fedora, and dark pants. A nod to the Avengers show "The Cybernauts" would be nice. Obviously, it would be bullet proof, extremely strong, although slow moving.
BTW, I like the current gritty iteration and handled properly a killer robot would not be inconsistent.
Let there be civility, mutual respect and courtesy, and professionalism again between Bond and M. I've missed that. One doesn't realize how important it was to the films until it was taken away.
Let Bond be the protagonist again who does things right. He goes out into the field to face the dangers alone, like he used to, and MI6 is always the home he can return to.
Trash the backstory of the Craig films with all its deconstruction and vitriol. Just ignore that these three films ever happened. Start over again with a positive hero in an action adventure.
M., Moneypenny and Q stay at the office. They don't follow Bond into the field.
Keep Daniel Kleinman for the animated credits. He is a rare talent, a gifted surrealist who knows how to "play the scene" in his title sequences. His images are the key note and establish the atmosphere of the story.
Keep giving the opening title song to balladeers with pipes who can belt out a song like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Sheena Easton and Adele. No more cat-stranglers, no more whiners. In other words, vocalists who can sing.
Keep Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomi Harris as Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear as Tanner and I suppose Ben Wishaw as Q. Just make sure they stay back at the office.
Bring back the computer wall and desk used in QoS. This is about as far the series needs to go in terms of gadgets, and it's plausible, being a slight extension of equipment already in use at actual spy agencies.
Bring back Bond's inner confidence and moral compass, his bemused and self-deprecating humor. No more guilt trips or neurosis like in the last three miserable movies.
Abandon the feminist agenda, the politicizing of relationships. Just drop it. We've had enough of it. No more making Bond look childish and stupid so that the female lead and M can be smarter, wiser and more mature. No more she vs him nonsense.
More straightforward spy thriller plots played seriously, but not miserably.
Let the villain be dangerous by doing his own dirty work and his own fighting instead of relying on henchmen all the time.
Bring some wit back into the series. Real wit that arises naturally out of the dramatic story being told. Not slapstick, not satire, not buffonery. Eliminate comedy relief, but find the wit again.
Bring back the femme fatale who is beautiful, available, seductive, enchanting, conflicted, vulnerable and very deadly. Berenice Marlohe points the way in Skyfall.
Bring back the female adventuress for Bond to flirt with, but remember, she's the secondary lead, not the star of the movie. Only James Bond is the star of the movie. No more letting his co-star or M take over. No more geriatric female leads just because Babs has a thing for older women.
Reinstate the gun-barrel opening and the traditional James Bond theme.
Don't turn the Bond films into a talk-fest. Casino Royale consisted of endless explanatory and declarative dialogue. It had more dialogue than ten Bond films put together. The dialog-to-action ratio was just about perfect in Skyfall
Observe the rule established by the originating filmmakers of the series: the Bond films are British. Keep them British. That's part of their appeal. Stick with European and Asian locations. Don't Americanize Bond.
The top 7 Bond films: 1) Dr No. 2) From Russia With Love. 3) Thunderball. 4) On Her Majesty's Secret Service. 5) For Your Eyes Only. 6) The Living Daylights. 7) Licence to Kill.
1. I do not want to see Bond with an earpiece/microphone talking to HQ.
2. I do not want to see anything having to do with construction sites, construction equipment, or chase scene through construction sites - enough already!
3. I do not want to see CSI type touchpad monitors.
4. I do want any psychobabble or leftwing dribble - enough of this crap!
5. I want to see a theme song pair with the soundtrack.
6. I want to see Bond enjoy smoking, gambling, drinking hard spirits, and fornicating (with at least one woman) like a man.
7. I want to see really good looking women who do not look bored or boring and killed off 5 minutes they show up on screen.
+1
"I mean, she almost kills bond...with her ass."
-Mr Arlington Beech
Sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I'm really asking is for an example of a Bond film that you consider to be Flemingesque. Or have none of them measured up to that standard in your opinion? (It's clear that you don't think the Craig films have).
1. I do not want to see Bond with an earpiece/microphone talking to HQ.
2. I do not want to see anything having to do with construction sites, construction equipment, or chase scene through construction sites - enough already!
3. I do not want to see CSI type touchpad monitors.
4. I do want any psychobabble or leftwing dribble - enough of this crap!
5. I want to see a theme song pair with the soundtrack.
6. I want to see Bond enjoy smoking, gambling, drinking hard spirits, and fornicating (with at least one woman) like a man.
7. I want to see really good looking women who do not look bored or boring and killed off 5 minutes they show up on screen.
1. Yes that's always a bit of a cop out!
2. But they are so convenient as sets for stunt sequences! You can have anything Bond needs just lying around without explanation )
3. Far more annoying than earpieces, yes!
4. ???????
5. I'd rather hear this, but yes good point. I also want a genuine use of the 007 theme during the movie!
6. Where to start with this one? Smoking is not going to happen, and for the better IMO. Gambling and drinking have all played key roles in all the movies to date so I see no reason why that shouldn't continue. I'm not even going to bother responding to the last clause there.
7. Yes some interesting, respectable, genuine female characters would be good.
1. I do not want a Quantum / SPECTRE plot line.
2. I want a larger than life villain.
3. I want memorable henchman.
4. I want Bond in a Lotus.
5. I want there to be a car chase that lasts for a decent amount of time and involves gadgets built into Bonds car.
6. I want a larger than life finale.
7. I want a Bond girl that accompanies Bond through the mission a la Pam Bouvier / Wai Lin.
8. I want to see Craig in an underwater scene involving scuba gear.
9. I do not want Bond flying a plane or falling out of a plane. 10. I WANT TO SEE DANIEL CRAIG TOSSING A HAT ONTO THE COAT STAND.
11. I do not want an irrelevant PTS
1. Have to agree with you there, SPECTRE is dead and gone, let it lie. By all means lets have something similar to it in the new films, but in no way should it be connected.
2. I think Silva was pretty large, he had that mix of danger and insanity which I love in my Bond villains!
3. Yes! Bring back the villain/henchman/woman/bond format in which Bond kills the villain, then nearly gets killed by the henchman before killing him too, then celebrating with the woman!
4/5. I'm not sure Lotus really offers the kind of car Bond would drive at the moment, they're all a bit boy-racer! But I too would like to see some gadgetry in Bond's car, the TND car chase is one of my favourite Bond sequences!
6. In the larger-than-life Villain's larger-than-life evil lair!
7. That would be interesting, and would help with providing an interesting, respectable and likable female character.
8. I'd rather see skiing, but yes, Bond in some kind of perilous holiday activity, perhaps he could ride a banana boat through a bunch of sea-mines.
9. I don't even remember the last time that happened, was there a plane sequence in Skyfall?!
10. Oh my goodness yes that would be brilliant! He's back in the old office now, he has to do that!
11. I'd like to see a change in the PTS as well, they seem to be convinced that it has to be bigger and better than everything that's ever happened in a Bond film before. Not at all, it just needs to be interesting, clever, and somehow relevant to the rest of the film. I'd really like to see a toned down PTS with more brains and less brawn.
Just a personal thing: I'd love to see Bond making more of his Dinner suit. I really liked the way he wore it all the way through the island sequence in SF. It'd be great if there were two scenes featuring him wearing different dinner suits, that hasn't happened since the Connery era!
Sorry for the essay,
JediM
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice and everyone dies.
BIG TAMWrexham, North Wales, UK.Posts: 773MI6 Agent
I'm not really sure what I want from BOND 24. Probably just to build on the quality. I'm in the camp that likes a bit of leftfield originality whilst staying within the boundaries of what constitutes a 'Bond movie'. Ergo, the Skyfall manor shootout provided originality of location & context whilst still offering a rousing climax.
I was listening to the TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY audio commentary recently. There was an interesting part where the director stated in his research that Russian spies were often sent out as a husband & wife team whilst their children were essentially held captive by the powers that be as an incentive for them to complete a mission. I must assume this to be correct though I've not delved into its origins myself. Could be an interesting subplot for BOND 24 or beyond.
Another hope for Bond 24 is good publicity artwork and not cheap Photoshop crap that isn't any better than a lot of the fan-made stuff we have to endure here.
Sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I'm really asking is for an example of a Bond film that you consider to be Flemingesque. Or have none of them measured up to that standard in your opinion? (It's clear that you don't think the Craig films have).
Can you give an example of what you consider to be a "real Flemingesque" Bond?
1. Return to the Manichean concept of Bond and self-awareness of this role of Bond.
2. Return to the proper duty and role of 00 agent as self, not as collective.
3. Less stunt work, more realistic action.
4. A more verbal, seemingly intelligent Bond - Not too brilliant, but little more than a glorified stuntman.
Dr No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy
A View To Kill
Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
Not saying these movies are perfect, just that they are "Flemingesque"
"And if I told you that I'm from the Ministry of Defence?" James Bond - The Property of a Lady
In that case, I would certainly add Casino Royale to the list. Perhaps Skyfall as well. I realize you don't agree, but I think the Craig films are at least as Flemingesque as TWINE and OP.
Sorry I didn't make myself clear. What I'm really asking is for an example of a Bond film that you consider to be Flemingesque. Or have none of them measured up to that standard in your opinion? (It's clear that you don't think the Craig films have).
1. Return to the Manichean concept of Bond and self-awareness of this role of Bond.
2. Return to the proper duty and role of 00 agent as self, not as collective.
3. Less stunt work, more realistic action.
4. A more verbal, seemingly intelligent Bond - Not too brilliant, but little more than a glorified stuntman.
Dr No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy
A View To Kill
Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
Not saying these movies are perfect, just that they are "Flemingesque"
1. I want to see Bond's Flat again. We've only seen in it in Dr No and Live and Let Die and I reckon just seeing his house would show Daniel Craig's Bond character a bit more.
2. Make Bond a bit more suave. I enjoyed Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace but I reckon Craig needs to show that he isn't just a mindless brute, but that he has class. Shown a bit in Skyfall with his one liners but I reckon they could do it better.
3. I want to see Bond working stuff out. I think instead of him finding something which leads him to a certain place, where he shags a woman then finds out from her where the villain is, I want to see him approach the problem almost like a Police Officer who has no restrictions. I want to see him ask questions, make decisions and have things to solve.
4. I want to see Bond face off with the Main Villain in a Man to Man fight. I loved SF, but I was a bit disappointed that Bond and Silva didn't scrap it out with fists. I want to see Bond shaken, bleeding as he both beat the sh*t out of each other.
5. I want to see Bond prove his knowledge on a subject. I want to see his intelligent, intellectual side a little more.
6. I like the idea of Bond starting up a relationship with the villain, not knowing if he is evil or not. Like in For Your Eyes Only. This would also make the ending fight scene more brutal I feel.
“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
There isn't much that I don't want at the moment, but I do have a few things. While I wasn't bothered by the origin stuff at all whatsoever, I do think we should stay away from the origin stuff. Bond has now become Bond and we now have a lot of the pieces in place: M, Moneypenny, and Q. Another thing for me would be to NOT have M in the cross fires again.
As for what I DO want....well, James Suzuki's post pretty much took the words out of my mouth.
"When it gets up to your ankles, you're going to beg to tell me everything. When it gets up to your knees, you'll kiss my ass to kill you!"
Top 10 best Bond films(imo):
#1 CR, #2 SF, #3 GE, #4 GF, #5 LTK, #6 OHMSS, #7 TSWLM, #8 FYEO, #9 TB, #10 FRWL
Comments
I'd also like to see Bond pick an adversary's pocket.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
I want the robot to look human (arms, legs, head, etc.), bandages covering its face (like Claude Rains in the invisible man), sunglasses, about 6'6" tall, wearing a raincoat, gloves, a fedora, and dark pants. A nod to the Avengers show "The Cybernauts" would be nice. Obviously, it would be bullet proof, extremely strong, although slow moving.
BTW, I like the current gritty iteration and handled properly a killer robot would not be inconsistent.
I guess it's not impossible, but it seems to me that this would be awfully difficult to pull off.
Let Bond be the protagonist again who does things right. He goes out into the field to face the dangers alone, like he used to, and MI6 is always the home he can return to.
Trash the backstory of the Craig films with all its deconstruction and vitriol. Just ignore that these three films ever happened. Start over again with a positive hero in an action adventure.
M., Moneypenny and Q stay at the office. They don't follow Bond into the field.
Keep Daniel Kleinman for the animated credits. He is a rare talent, a gifted surrealist who knows how to "play the scene" in his title sequences. His images are the key note and establish the atmosphere of the story.
Keep giving the opening title song to balladeers with pipes who can belt out a song like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Sheena Easton and Adele. No more cat-stranglers, no more whiners. In other words, vocalists who can sing.
Keep Ralph Fiennes as M, Naomi Harris as Moneypenny, Rory Kinnear as Tanner and I suppose Ben Wishaw as Q. Just make sure they stay back at the office.
Bring back the computer wall and desk used in QoS. This is about as far the series needs to go in terms of gadgets, and it's plausible, being a slight extension of equipment already in use at actual spy agencies.
Bring back Bond's inner confidence and moral compass, his bemused and self-deprecating humor. No more guilt trips or neurosis like in the last three miserable movies.
Abandon the feminist agenda, the politicizing of relationships. Just drop it. We've had enough of it. No more making Bond look childish and stupid so that the female lead and M can be smarter, wiser and more mature. No more she vs him nonsense.
More straightforward spy thriller plots played seriously, but not miserably.
Let the villain be dangerous by doing his own dirty work and his own fighting instead of relying on henchmen all the time.
Bring some wit back into the series. Real wit that arises naturally out of the dramatic story being told. Not slapstick, not satire, not buffonery. Eliminate comedy relief, but find the wit again.
Bring back the femme fatale who is beautiful, available, seductive, enchanting, conflicted, vulnerable and very deadly. Berenice Marlohe points the way in Skyfall.
Bring back the female adventuress for Bond to flirt with, but remember, she's the secondary lead, not the star of the movie. Only James Bond is the star of the movie. No more letting his co-star or M take over. No more geriatric female leads just because Babs has a thing for older women.
Reinstate the gun-barrel opening and the traditional James Bond theme.
Don't turn the Bond films into a talk-fest. Casino Royale consisted of endless explanatory and declarative dialogue. It had more dialogue than ten Bond films put together. The dialog-to-action ratio was just about perfect in Skyfall
Observe the rule established by the originating filmmakers of the series: the Bond films are British. Keep them British. That's part of their appeal. Stick with European and Asian locations. Don't Americanize Bond.
+1
-Mr Arlington Beech
You'd have to shoot the robot sequences in a dark, noir-like mise-en scene. Night-time, lots of shadows, low-key lighting, etc.
And we're not far away from having fully autonomous, human appearing robots. The Bond films always were slightly ahead of their time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIuF5DcsbKU
God, no. Anything but that. Also, having a hard time seeing a noir mise-en-scene working with the Moore iteration of Bond.
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan."
1. Return to the Manichean concept of Bond and self-awareness of this role of Bond.
2. Return to the proper duty and role of 00 agent as self, not as collective.
3. Less stunt work, more realistic action.
4. A more verbal, seemingly intelligent Bond - Not too brilliant, but little more than a glorified stuntman.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
2. But they are so convenient as sets for stunt sequences! You can have anything Bond needs just lying around without explanation
3. Far more annoying than earpieces, yes!
4. ???????
5. I'd rather hear this, but yes good point. I also want a genuine use of the 007 theme during the movie!
6. Where to start with this one? Smoking is not going to happen, and for the better IMO. Gambling and drinking have all played key roles in all the movies to date so I see no reason why that shouldn't continue. I'm not even going to bother responding to the last clause there.
7. Yes some interesting, respectable, genuine female characters would be good.
1. Have to agree with you there, SPECTRE is dead and gone, let it lie. By all means lets have something similar to it in the new films, but in no way should it be connected.
2. I think Silva was pretty large, he had that mix of danger and insanity which I love in my Bond villains!
3. Yes! Bring back the villain/henchman/woman/bond format in which Bond kills the villain, then nearly gets killed by the henchman before killing him too, then celebrating with the woman!
4/5. I'm not sure Lotus really offers the kind of car Bond would drive at the moment, they're all a bit boy-racer! But I too would like to see some gadgetry in Bond's car, the TND car chase is one of my favourite Bond sequences!
6. In the larger-than-life Villain's larger-than-life evil lair!
7. That would be interesting, and would help with providing an interesting, respectable and likable female character.
8. I'd rather see skiing, but yes, Bond in some kind of perilous holiday activity, perhaps he could ride a banana boat through a bunch of sea-mines.
9. I don't even remember the last time that happened, was there a plane sequence in Skyfall?!
10. Oh my goodness yes that would be brilliant! He's back in the old office now, he has to do that!
11. I'd like to see a change in the PTS as well, they seem to be convinced that it has to be bigger and better than everything that's ever happened in a Bond film before. Not at all, it just needs to be interesting, clever, and somehow relevant to the rest of the film. I'd really like to see a toned down PTS with more brains and less brawn.
Just a personal thing: I'd love to see Bond making more of his Dinner suit. I really liked the way he wore it all the way through the island sequence in SF. It'd be great if there were two scenes featuring him wearing different dinner suits, that hasn't happened since the Connery era!
Sorry for the essay,
JediM
I was listening to the TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY audio commentary recently. There was an interesting part where the director stated in his research that Russian spies were often sent out as a husband & wife team whilst their children were essentially held captive by the powers that be as an incentive for them to complete a mission. I must assume this to be correct though I've not delved into its origins myself. Could be an interesting subplot for BOND 24 or beyond.
Dr No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For Your Eyes Only
Octopussy
A View To Kill
Living Daylights
The World Is Not Enough
Not saying these movies are perfect, just that they are "Flemingesque"
2. Make Bond a bit more suave. I enjoyed Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace but I reckon Craig needs to show that he isn't just a mindless brute, but that he has class. Shown a bit in Skyfall with his one liners but I reckon they could do it better.
3. I want to see Bond working stuff out. I think instead of him finding something which leads him to a certain place, where he shags a woman then finds out from her where the villain is, I want to see him approach the problem almost like a Police Officer who has no restrictions. I want to see him ask questions, make decisions and have things to solve.
4. I want to see Bond face off with the Main Villain in a Man to Man fight. I loved SF, but I was a bit disappointed that Bond and Silva didn't scrap it out with fists. I want to see Bond shaken, bleeding as he both beat the sh*t out of each other.
5. I want to see Bond prove his knowledge on a subject. I want to see his intelligent, intellectual side a little more.
6. I like the idea of Bond starting up a relationship with the villain, not knowing if he is evil or not. Like in For Your Eyes Only. This would also make the ending fight scene more brutal I feel.
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Oh yes, just look at the suit and tie combination worn by Grant - light grey with a dark blue tie. It's a very nice combination.
Also, sorry for the delay in responding.
So do I. I would just add a couple of things I don't want: No back story, no crew cut, no M out in the field.
I want to see a much simpler approach. We need a FYEO or a TLD Bond
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
As for what I DO want....well, James Suzuki's post pretty much took the words out of my mouth.
Top 10 best Bond films(imo):
#1 CR, #2 SF, #3 GE, #4 GF, #5 LTK, #6 OHMSS, #7 TSWLM, #8 FYEO, #9 TB, #10 FRWL
It seems we have come to a parting of the ways! I strongly disliked FYEO.