1 Topic by Thunderpussy

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Topic: Seeing Red with Greene

IMHO, Dominic Greene could of been a great Bond villan,But got sold short by a very weak scheme and little screen time,with a bigger plot I think Matthew Almaric would of been on many members top ten lists of villans.
The Only two scenes thet he really gets to stand out are.
His meeting with Camille on the docks when he tells her about one of his mothers piano students and picking up an iron on overhearing her saying bad things about him,the implication is clear several broken fingers and perhaps a career ruined.
In the hotel telling the general if he dosen't believe how ruthless Quantum is,to kill him and keep the money.
Both scenes I really like and feel if he had of had the chance of a couple of more scenes with Bond either as a confrontation or interogation set up,Instead he's hardly used and is there as an almost secondary story.
They could of enlarged upon his plan on hording water But ont only in Bolivia but in many other countries at the same time as quantum planing a wide spread contamination attack.Dropped the Elvis character and and given Bond a more physcial side-kick to deal with.
I hated the Greene character on first seeing QOS but with repeated viewings He's growing on me, as I said I just feel sorry he has ended up as a minor villan.But on another post theres news of a deleted sceen at the end of QOS,so who knows mabey theres more of Green on the sure to be released special collector's dvd edition.
I'd be intrested to read other members views on him and where he'd fit in the list of Bond villans.:)

Last edited by Thunderpussy (26th Apr 2009 23:54)

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2 Reply by thesecretagent

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

I thought Greene was a sound villian, but I felt he was held back - either that or the script/director failed to see his full potential.
It's a shame the QOS villian followed so closely to Le Chiffre. Both were menacing, but hardly physical. I found that the fight with Bond and Greene at the end was a little unbelievable, even if he did have an axe.
When I left the cinema I ended up feeling that the plot was a little weak, and so was the villian. Later I realised that he wasn't weak, merely underdeveloped or unfullfilled in his potential.

3 Reply by Thunderpussy

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

Your spot on with Greene being absolutly no match for Bond physicaly thats why I wish they'd of given him a better henchman Someone who could of given Bond a hard Time,No steel teeth or metal arm Jut one big bloke who you wouldn't like to spill his pint.;)

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4 Reply by HowardB

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

In hindsight, maybe Almaric would have been better cast as Le Chiffre in CR and Mads Mikkelsen better suited to play Dominic Greene in QOS. Mikkelsen is well over 6' tall (6'2"?)and IMO is capable of being much more physically imposing than Almaric and looked good doing action in "King Arthur". Almaric (a very good actor in his own right) comes off as sort of a creepy sadistic little guy which could have worked in CR as he has no real physical confrontation with Bond except when he tortures him. Just a little food for thought.

Last edited by HowardB (5th May 2009 14:23)

5 Reply by 7289

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

Greene was a wonderful villain! His interpetation of Al Gore was fantastic!!! That whole Greene Planet party sequence was a wonderful satire on global politics!

I loved it when Greene swung the axehead into his foot - I still wince every time I see it!

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6 Reply by Mister White

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

7289 wrote:

I loved it when Greene swung the axehead into his foot - I still wince every time I see it!

As do I.

Didn't Almaric call it Sarkozy's bluster and Tony Blair's smile? A great villain for our time.

But I do believe that he would have been much better served with a better henchman. Elvis was comical, at best.

This reflects badly on his employer.

"Christ, I miss the Cold War."

7 Reply by 7289

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

The only "comic" aspect to Elvis was his toupee, and prehaps the wonderful way Fields trips him on the stairs at the Greene Planet party.

Someone was vicious enough to drown Fields in oil, I am sure Elvis was there.

Elvis is the opposite of the buffon charecter "jaws", and was meant to be "nerdy" - just the type of fellow you would expect to follow "planet saver" Greene around. The driver who shot the "Special Branch" agent was Greene's "muscle".

EON is breaking the mold with this Bond, and so far has failed to buy into many of the overworked cliches of past films.

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8 Reply by agent 00

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

Was there a henchman in QoS? ajb007/lol

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9 Reply by Mister White

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

7289 wrote:

The only "comic" aspect to Elvis was his toupee, and prehaps the wonderful way Fields trips him on the stairs at the Greene Planet party.

What about the way he looks when he sees Bond at the Bregenz opera?

Or the way he keeps fumbling things?

Or the way Greene has to help point his gun in the right direction while he is cowering away, holding on to a suitcase like a security blanket?

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10 Reply by Thunderpussy

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

There's an odd look Elvis gives the other heavy at the opera making me think they might of been trying to do a modern Wint and Kidd.

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11 Reply by Colonel Shatner

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

Elvis smirking at Greene's driver who remains stoney faced is perhaps to highlight Elvis' awkward social skills.

'Alright guard, begin the unnecessarily slow moving dipping mechanism...'

12 Reply by Gassy Man

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Re: Seeing Red with Greene

HowardB wrote:

In hindsight, maybe Almaric would have been better cast as Le Chiffre in CR and Mads Mikkelsen better suited to play Dominic Greene in QOS. Mikkelsen is well over 6' tall (6'2"?)and IMO is capable of being much more physically imposing than Almaric and looked good doing action in "King Arthur". Almaric (a very good actor in his own right) comes off as sort of a creepy sadistic little guy which could have worked in CR as he has no real physical confrontation with Bond except when he tortures him. Just a little food for thought.

But the height thing simply would have been a crutch, as it is in life.  Better to have simply given Greene more to do than have him lord a few inches over Daniel Craig.