The James Bond Franchise

[Ankai]

He says he didn't, they say he did. I don't know either way, but I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

I would like to know the exact context of the quotes, which would be easy to do if I had access to the interview. As of yesterday, however, I could not find it anywhere, in French or in English. There were not even snippets of it save for the two tiny quotes that were revealed.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

How about concentrating on making the best movie you can? Also, the only Craig Bond movie I like is Casino Royale. The others have their moments, but overall don't move me.

 

 

        Casino Royale did an excellent job of rebooting the franchise.

 

        I liked Skyfall but didn't care much for Quantum of Solace.  

[Maverick]

I'm not a fan of the Craig Era. It's one thing make the series a little more grounded but I'm really tired of Bond being Mr. Crankypants Pittyparty. Bond (the film version at least) is supposed to be suave, flirtatious and amusing. He doesn't have to Moore Era camp but he doesn't have to be a poster child for an anger management class either. I'd hate to see how this version would react if they ever did the murdered wife plot.

I am glad they finally are able to bring back SPECTRE. Quantum, in addition to bein a dumb name for a terror group was a poor imitation for SPECTRE. It sounds like this version isn't going to be quite the same which is sad because I like some megalomania in my Bond villains.

[Jazzy24]

^ I have always found Daniel Craig's Bond more human than the previous Bonds that's why he's my favorite.

Yeah his Bond is broody but I liked that there was more to James Bond than hot girls and saving the world. Plus Craig is not really the "Bond" type but he has a type of swagg about him that's appealing, one of my favorite scenes of him as Bond is in Skyfall when he jumps from the train into the compartment and he does it without breaking stride and it's such a James Bond thing to do I loved it.

[Joe]

Good news! Medes says that Spectre will be his last Bond movie. I don't know who will direct the next one, but I hope they're better.

[benteen]

I'm not a fan of the Craig Era. It's one thing make the series a little more grounded but I'm really tired of Bond being Mr. Crankypants Pittyparty. Bond (the film version at least) is supposed to be suave, flirtatious and amusing. He doesn't have to Moore Era camp but he doesn't have to be a poster child for an anger management class either. I'd hate to see how this version would react if they ever did the murdered wife plot.

I am glad they finally are able to bring back SPECTRE. Quantum, in addition to bein a dumb name for a terror group was a poor imitation for SPECTRE. It sounds like this version isn't going to be quite the same which is sad because I like some megalomania in my Bond villains.

 

I've enjoyed the Craig Bond movies except for Quantum of Suckatude.  But it's time they give him a real victory in one of these.

[Rick Kitchen]

Somebody will track them down and hurt them if the next Bond isn't Idris Elba.

 

Just sayin'.

[Crs97]

I watched the trailer and found myself listening for Judi Dench's non-nonsense voice. Damn you, Skyfall!

[BetterButter]

[Joe]

It just leaves me cold. I consider myself a fan of the series as a whole, but this doesn't move me at all. Anyone else feel that way?

[OakGoblinFly]

I've enjoyed the Craig Bond movies except for Quantum of Suckatude.  But it's time they give him a real victory in one of these.

 

 

I agree with you - but then again, Daniel Craig's Bond movies used some of the better books for their source material.  I'm just glad to see Bond getting back to SEPCTRE.

[ribboninthesky1]

It just leaves me cold. I consider myself a fan of the series as a whole, but this doesn't move me at all. Anyone else feel that way?

 

I thought the first trailer was more intriguing.  But maybe this one is for fans of the books? or the Sean Connery films? I fit into neither of those categories, so yeah, my interest is waning.   

[Sharpie66]

I'm a big fan of Daniel Craig, so I'm really looking forward to the new one. I think that Skyfall might be one of my favorite Bond movies ever, between the fantastic direction, the strong characters, Bardem's very creepy villain, and, of course, the awesomeness that is Judi Dench finally getting her chance to really shine as M in a much more extended role than she usually has.

[ennui]

Somebody will track them down and hurt them if the next Bond isn't Idris Elba.

 

Just sayin'.

It doesn't matter who plays Bond if the scripts aren't there.

 

I'm looking forward to SPECTRE.  Any Bond film is better than no Bond film.

Edited July 25, 2015 by ennui

[OrientalAmish]

A Previously.TV thread devoted to the 007 franchise? Yessss please!

 

I was first introduced to Bond series by my dad when I was a little girl + been hooked since.... It's funny that even though it was my dad that brought James Bond into my world that I would become the bigger fan.... I am just going to go ahead + submit my first post before I read the others.... 

 

My favorite Bond? I am going to attempt to rank in order though I probably end up changing my mind over the years....Sean Connery and not just because he was the original actor to play him, but he was so handsome....Daniel Craig who is fucking sexy as fuck + don't even like blondes + got that brood thing going.... Roger Moore because I found him cheeky + funny.... I felt like his Bond fit with the 70's era.... That could be just me, though!

 

Least Favorite Bond? Pierce Bronson without a doubt because for some reason he bored me.... None of his Bond movies stood out to me.... I feel like I could put on one of his movies to go to sleep....

 

Favorite Bond Movie? I have seen all of them, some of them more than others.... The ones that really spoke out to my heart from the first time I saw them are Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, The Spy who Loved Me, and Octopussy... From Russia with Love is one that I did like, but didn't grow to love until I have got older....

 

Favorite Theme Songs? Thunderball, OHMS, From Russia With Love, You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, All Time High, A View to a KIll,  and Live and Let Die.... And, this is not a theme song, but I love love "007" by John Barry that got played in both From Russia with Love as well as Thunderball....

 

Anyone else love watching the behind-the-scenes documentaries that is part of the special features on the DVD version of each movie besides me? I rather enjoyed the documentary that they did on the 2 set designers: Ken Adams + Peter Lamont.... My heart broke when I lost all, but one movie in my collection.... ;-x

Edited August 19, 2015 by OrientalAmish

[OrientalAmish]

I really wish it had been her sister Olivia cast in the part. Not only is she a better actress(I had no idea she was British after years of watching her as Kevin's sister on The Wonder Years) but if you've ever seen Conan the Destroyer she can be sexy AND naive. 

 

Olivia + Maryam aren't sisters.... According to Olivia's Wiki, "She is the first cousin once removed of her father's cousin Maryam d'Abo, the actress best known for her performance as Kara Milovy in the 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights."

only Roger Moore had recently done the underage Bond Girl in For Your Eyes Only.

 

What do you mean by done the underage girl? Are you talking about the young blonde figure skater?  If you mean by had sex with, they didn't.... She only kissed him... He always brushed off her advances in that movie....And, I think she was like 18....

Perhaps, though I was okay with D'Abo not being sexy. The character as written (unless she improvised the entire last third of her part in the film) was just awful.  From pouting and demanding that the Mujahadeen rescue James, to galloping off to "rescue" him, to standing around instead of taking cover during that final battle, to going after James via the Jeep while he's trying to take off in a plane...among other things I don't feel like typing.  Naïveté doesn't have to equal stupid, yet she was stupid beyond all belief towards the end.  

 

Yeah, D'Abo's Bond Girl totally annoyed the shit out of me.... She seemed a bit needy + took the whole "damsel in distress" thing too far.... 

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Any love for You Know My Name, from Casino Royale?

always had a thing for Chris Cornell, was glad to see him tapped for a Bond song.

[ribboninthesky1]

Of the Craig era Bond film opening songs, You Know My Name is definitely my favorite. 

[Sharpie66]

The only Brosnan Bond film I liked was Goldeneye, but he has always been the model of Bond in my mind's eye ever since I first saw him in Remington Steele. It helped that Goldeneye had the best collection of secondary characters/actors ever, from Robbie Coltrane to Sean Bean to Alan Cumming to Famke Janssen, not to mention the debut of Judi Dench's M. However, the best line from the film is Brosnan's "No, no, no. No more foreplay!" as he holds the pistol up and points it at Xenia.

[benteen]

Bronson was a great Bond who had the misfortune of being stuck with lousy scripts (save Goldeneye).  But I think he deserves credit for helping to usher in the modern Bond and the fact that his last two Bond films were big hits, grossing over $100 million in the United States for the first time.

[Maverick]

Goldeneye was awesome, save for the nonsense about calling him out as a Cold War dinosaur. Bond is a literary fantasy of a spy and has little to no basis in reality to start with so stop trying to make real world commentary with/about him.

I guess it's an unpopular opinion but I really like The World Is Not Enough. Sophie Marceau is great as the first female Bond villian...or just as a Bond villian in general. The main drawback wad Denise Richards as the good Bond Girl but she was still better than Terri Hatcher.

The Bond franchise has never been able to cast a decent American Bond girl. I know they'll never have the "exotic" quality with an American accent but they can still do better than Paris Carver and Christmas Jones. Probably another unpopular opinion but the best American Bond girl was Holly Goodhead.

[benteen]

I did love the first ten minutes of The World Is Not Enough.  Hell of an opening.

[DollEyes]

 

The main drawback [re The World Is Not Enough] wad Denise Richards as the good Bond Girl but she was still better than Terri Hatcher.

 

 I respectfully disagree. The only thing more unbelievable than Denise Richards having an acting career in the first place was her playing a nuclear scientist. She was memorable for the wrong reasons; otoh, Teri Hatcher was not only great, she was responsible for one of the movie's best scenes, when she slapped Bond after seeing him again for the first time in years and he asked if it was "something [he] said" and she responded, "How about 'I'll be right back?'"

[ChelseaNH]

The Bond franchise has never been able to cast a decent American Bond girl.

 

I thought Carey Lowell did a good job.  Not a lot of pizzazz, but confident competence puts her well ahead of most of the pack...

[Maverick]

I thought Carey Lowell did a good job. Not a lot of pizzazz, but confident competence puts her well ahead of most of the pack...

Yes, she did have her moments. I found her less than believable as someone who "flew through some of the worst hell holes in South America" but I liked snarking at the boat captain when she was playing the harbor pilot and she was good taking down Professor Joe.

[Bruinsfan]

I guess it's an unpopular opinion but I really like The World Is Not Enough. Sophie Marceau is great as the first female Bond villian...or just as a Bond villian in general. The main drawback wad Denise Richards as the good Bond Girl...

Oh God, Dr. Christmas Jones! Has there ever been worse casting in a movie? I think 30 Rock said it best:

Edited August 24, 2015 by Bruinsfan

[Constantinople]

I guess it's an unpopular opinion but I really like The World Is Not Enough. Sophie Marceau is great as the first female Bond villian...or just as a Bond villian in general.

I presume you mean first female main villain since there have been many female villains before Elektra King.

Arguably, Rosa Klebb is the main villain in From Russia With Love. She wasn't the head of Spectre, but she was No. 3 and was in charge of the entire operation to get the Lektor. About the only villain who might have had more air time than her was Robert Shaw's Grant, who was just muscle and who reported to Klebb.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Constantinople

[Maverick]

Yes I meant main villian. I thought about Klebb but she was executing Kronsteins plan at SPECTRE/Bloefeld's direction and has almost no interaction with Bond. I agree it's debatable.

[Dejana]

Sam Smith drops major hint about singing the Spectre theme.

[blackwing]

Ugh.  Not a fan of Sam Smith.  I can already guess that the theme will be slow and boring.  If they have to choose a currently hot young British singer, why not Ed Sheeran?

 

I like Daniel Craig.  I think he brings a cold hard edge to Bond that none of the others have.  If he really is hanging it up, I'd love to see Henry Cavill or Michael Fassbender get a chance.  There was a rumour about David Beckham, and that would get me to quit the franchise for sure.

[Princess Sparkle]

Ugh.  Not a fan of Sam Smith.  I can already guess that the theme will be slow and boring.  If they have to choose a currently hot young British singer, why not Ed Sheeran?

 

I like Daniel Craig.  I think he brings a cold hard edge to Bond that none of the others have.  If he really is hanging it up, I'd love to see Henry Cavill or Michael Fassbender get a chance.  There was a rumour about David Beckham, and that would get me to quit the franchise for sure.

I heard the theme this morning, and I am not into it.  I really liked Skyfall, so it would've been hard to live up to that, but this one seems like a complete miss to me.

 

As for the next Bond, I saw an article a little while back that said bookies in England moved up the odds on Tom Hardy landing the role, but Idris Elba and Damien Lewis are still tied with the highest odds.  I hadn't even had the thought of Tom Hardy as Bond, but now that I've seen it floated out there, I want him in the role immediately.  

[blackwing]

Hmmm, isn't the whole point of replacing a Bond is to get a younger actor who could play the role for the next 10 years or so?  I'm not sure exactly how old all of these people are, but I would have thought that Idris Elba and Damien Lewis aren't significantly younger than Daniel Craig.  Tom Hardy seems a bit younger.

[revbfc]

Something occurred to me when watching License To Kill and Goldeneye back-to-back. Bond is not above three ways where the other dude is a colleague.

My evidence is thin but here goes:

LTK - Leiter's bride is WAY too affectionate towards Bond on her wedding day.

Goldeneye - Trevelyan, while attempting to seduce Simonova, says that he and Bond shared "everything."

Now, we all know Bond is a freak, but this adds a new, fascinating wrinkle to the legend of 007.

Edited September 28, 2015 by revbfc

[revbfc]

I heard the theme this morning, and I am not into it. I really liked Skyfall, so it would've been hard to live up to that, but this one seems like a complete miss to me.

Same here. Of course I was just as underwhelmed by "You Know My Name" until I heard it in context with the opening credits. Now it's one of my favorites. Not saying the same thing will happen here, but it's not out of the question.

[blackwing]

Is there any place online I can hear it without having to sign up for Spotify?  I went to You Tube and it's all just self-promoting cover versions by others.  Tried googling, I guess my googling juju isn't as good as it used to be.

[Kel Varnsen]

Hmmm, isn't the whole point of replacing a Bond is to get a younger actor who could play the role for the next 10 years or so?  I'm not sure exactly how old all of these people are, but I would have thought that Idris Elba and Damien Lewis aren't significantly younger than Daniel Craig.  Tom Hardy seems a bit younger.

Facebook today told me that Damien Lewis is the 1st choice to be the next bond and I don't get it for exactly the same reasons. I looked it up and he is only 3 years younger than Craig. So when his Bond movie comes out he will be the same age, if not older than Daniel Craig is now. And by the time his second Bond movie comes out he will be over 50. Now of course being 50 today isn't the same as being 50 in the Connery era, but at the same time, am I supposed to believe that MI-6 doesn't have some kind of mandatory retirement age?

[AimingforYoko]

Facebook today told me that Damien Lewis is the 1st choice to be the next bond and I don't get it for exactly the same reasons. I looked it up and he is only 3 years younger than Craig. So when his Bond movie comes out he will be the same age, if not older than Daniel Craig is now. And by the time his second Bond movie comes out he will be over 50. Now of course being 50 today isn't the same as being 50 in the Connery era, but at the same time, am I supposed to believe that MI-6 doesn't have some kind of mandatory retirement age?

Here's the thing: Gingers don't age. It's all part of that not having a soul thing.

[Dejana]

You can't believe 90 percent of the speculation about upcoming James Bond movies in the British papers, especially several years out. Practically every vaguely famous British singer is "tipped" to perform the title song at some point. Now that Craig has been a success, the media don't have stick to tall, "suave", dark-haired actors, when throwing out names for the future 007. For all the reports in the early and mid-2000s that it was nearly Clive Owen, he's said he was never offered the role. I think the press just stick to people who are old enough to be James Bond now, because the public isn't quite ready to deal with it being...Nicholas Hoult, or someone from that generation.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Dejana

[ribboninthesky1]

I listened to the Sam Smith song a few times.  I kind of hated Skyfall, so I thought there was no where to go but up.  And...it's about the same level of annoyance for me, where the song starts off fine, but the chorus makes my teeth itch and ruins the song.   

 

I really enjoy You Work for Me by Laura Mvula from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - I would've liked to hear her take on a Bond theme song.     

Edited September 29, 2015 by ribboninthesky1

[Kel Varnsen]

Here's the thing: Gingers don't age. It's all part of that not having a soul thing.

If they want to get a Homeland actor to play Bond, someone like the guy who plays Peter Quinn would be the better choice I think. I mean the actor is British, and he is actually in his early 30's. To me if a character in a James Bond movie is over 50 he would be better off playing James Bond's dad, not James Bond. If you make James Bond too old the physical action stuff starts to become harder and harder to believe.

[Athena]

If they want to get a Homeland actor to play Bond, someone like the guy who plays Peter Quinn would be the better choice I think. I mean the actor is British, and he is actually in his early 30's. To me if a character in a James Bond movie is over 50 he would be better off playing James Bond's dad, not James Bond. If you make James Bond too old the physical action stuff starts to become harder and harder to believe.

 

Rupert Friend. I agree that he would be a really good contender for the role. He recently starred in an action flick Hitman Agent 47. It received really bad reviews, but that's not all on him.

 

I think Craig has at least another film on him. I wouldn't mind him being a Bond just a little over 50 if it's willing to be fit for the part. Connery and Moore aged out because they started looking their age more quickly than actors do now. In that era, celebs did live much more roughly. I'm biased because I like Craig.

 

I do think they should be casting younger. Consistently, Bond actors land their role around their 40th birthday or just a couple years shy of it.

[Pothunter]

Based on his performance in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I think Henry Cavill could be an excellent Bond.

[Joe]

Is there any place online I can hear it without having to sign up for Spotify?  I went to You Tube and it's all just self-promoting cover versions by others.  Tried googling, I guess my googling juju isn't as good as it used to be.

Here.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

They basically ripped off Michael Jackson's Earth Song.

SMDH....

[Kromm]

Here's the video for that Sam Smith song...

 

With some decent footage from the film in it.

[blackwing]

Thanks for posting.  As I suspected, thoroughly slow and boring.  I kept waiting for the tempo to pick up and get better, but being that it's Sam Smith, I didn't expect it to.  I thoroughly don't understand his appeal.  Very high pitched voice, very slow, very boring.  When he hit the even higher notes with that drawn out "the wrriiiiiiiii-tiiiinnngs on the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllll" I think my eardrums bled.  I truly hope this song doesn't get an Oscar nomination.

 

I disliked "Skyfall" as well, but at least that song had some semblance of a melody.

Edited October 5, 2015 by blackwing

[Athena]

Spectre trailer #2

 

[lovemytvshows]

Any love for You Know My Name, from Casino Royale?

 

Yep definitely lots of love here. Jack White & Alicia Keys' song from Quantum of Suck-the-momentum-out-of-Casino-Royale was a hot mess. Adele's Skyfall was a bit meh to me because it slowed the usually bombastic Bond themes in recent times (The World Is Not Enough, Goldeneye, etc) waaaay down. And it seems like Sam Smith is following that slowed down mold...which is fair enough for any typical Sam Smith song but it just seems to clash with Daniel Craig's darker, grittier, get his hands dirty and kick ass Bond. 

[Ohwell]

Damn that Sam Smith song is awful.  Might as well have Celine Dion sing it.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Damn that Sam Smith song is awful.  Might as well have Celine Dion sing it.

They should've gotten Siouxie and the Banshees.

Love Crime sounds more Bond, than this dreck.