'The Spectator' Article - Why it's time to kill off James Bond

Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
edited April 2015 in The James Bond Films
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
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Comments

  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    The Franchise has not ran out of Ideas. In fact, there are many more to be used -{ (There is still quite a bit bit of Fleming Material to be mined)
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • Matt SMatt S Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,596MI6 Agent
    This article is nonsense! I don't care much for Daniel Craig's Bond films either, but I don't agree at all with this piece.
    Visit my blog, Bond Suits
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    It may be that now that the bonds have gone stratospheric the spectator needs an article about this to get noticed
    No one reads the spectator anyway but what it could mean someone else picking this up and running with it
    We had enough trouble regarding idris Elba and the race row. Bond is big news now. I expect lots of silly stories.
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • HowardBHowardB USAPosts: 2,737MI6 Agent
    I guess the author subscribes to the time honored literary tradition of "never let the facts get in the way of a good argument".
    Using anything gleaned from the Sony leaks is a joke....those were the ramblings and rumblings of a bunch of Hollywood bean counters who only give a fat rat's arse about the financial bottom line. The story about EON giving in to the the Mexican government for money has never been proven as fact and even if they did, EON is not the British or American Government, they are in the entertainment business and making a Bond film not a documentary on the troubles in Mexico. Finally, who cares what this twit thinks. Too much of what is written these days is to insite a reaction. The other thing that this bozo also ignores is the 5000 lb gorilla in the room....Bonds films are just as popular as ever. The bottom line is, as long as people will pay money to see James Bond films, there will be James Bond films.
  • FiremassFiremass AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
    ha ha :)) I loved that article and agree with every point of criticism about Skyfall and the direction of the new films.
    My current 10 favorite:

    1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    I agree with a lot of what the article has to say, though I don't think its writer is as clever or droll as he thinks he is.

    The basic gripe is that the writing, especially after Casino Royale, has been underwhelming, substituting the trivia of Bond's back story for what the series would in the past have embraced -- wit, romance, adventure, derring-do. He's right. The first film was enough of an origin story that we could have moved on. Bonds are a film franchise, not a cable TV serial.

    Collectively, the three films seem to have spent a lot of time to keep the character spinning his wheels while the films still feel like they want to build to something better. It's becoming trite, especially for audiences who grew up on the classic films.

    While I don't think it's time to end the Bond films, I'd agree that it's time to move on from the current approach.
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    The election isn't going to well for the tories so hit the bond fans where it hurts
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    I agree that Bond needs to challenge it's own formula a little bit and it needs to find an identity that's both rooted in Fleming but also different than anything done before. But we don't need to kill off James Bond.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    So after the most successful Bond film ever, it's now time to
    Kill off the series ? ...... :o :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    Rubbish.
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • Absolutely_CartAbsolutely_Cart NJ/NYC, United StatesPosts: 1,740MI6 Agent
    So after the most successful Bond film ever, it's now time to
    Kill off the series ? ...... :o :))
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    The Article is from The spectator, and that isn't exactly a brilliant Publication.
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,709MI6 Agent
    The article makes some valid points about the series getting too introspective an other franchises being more fun and having better gadgets, but on the whole it's wrong. The series is very vital and popular and it's full of ideas. :007)
  • always shakenalways shaken LondonPosts: 6,287MI6 Agent
    I agree with me old mucker AOS (I normaly do ) :)) an article in the spectator ,a political slagging rag ,
    what next ,a article in Zipper :))
    By the way, did I tell you, I was "Mad"?
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    Ian Fleming wrote for 'The Spectator' too however. :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • 002002 New ZealandPosts: 558MI6 Agent
    M has a target drawn on this article. All double-ohs have been briefed but I think 007 should have first refusal...
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    Ian Fleming wrote for 'The Spectator' too however. :)

    Never knew that :)

    And AS, don't you mean 'Young Mucker' ? ;) :))
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
  • broadshoulderbroadshoulder Acton, London, UKPosts: 1,363MI6 Agent
    Ian Fleming wrote for 'The Spectator' too however. :)

    Sounds like it was a scandal rag back in Flemings day. Honestly, who reads the Spectator?
    1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    Ian Fleming wrote for 'The Spectator' too however. :)

    Sounds like it was a scandal rag back in Flemings day. Honestly, who reads the Spectator?

    Conservative Party voters and members as it's their publication, just as the left-wing read the New Statesman.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • clublosclublos Jacksonville, FLPosts: 193MI6 Agent
    While I cannot comment on the political motivations of this publication nor on the political landscape of the UK, I believe the topic of conversation in this article is extrememely relevant and should be discussed, perhaps in a more intelligently crafted piece.

    Casino Royale, while far from perfect, did an admirable job of reinventing the character for modern times, a trend most certainly de rigueur. I gave an allowance to QOS for completing the story arc, but Skyfall's bastardization of Fleming's character and its fear of offending anyone classifies it as one of the series' lesser entries. Brutality, sexism and wit are key ingredients sorely missed.

    I'd agrue that another reboot will be required after Craig's tenure, not in story but in tone, similar to FYEO's following of Moonraker. However, given current trends, the Bond custodians (I cannot refer to them as producers) will most likely revert back to the over-indulgence and fantasy of Brosnan's films.
  • BIG TAMBIG TAM Wrexham, North Wales, UK.Posts: 773MI6 Agent

    Oh dear, another writer with an anti-Bond agenda. I really have no time for these essays by superior types. They read dull & humourless despite their striving for cool irony. In fact I could write such pieces for them as I know exactly what they're going to say in advance. It's also a little laughable when they attempt to show a knowledge of 007 by shoehorning in the clichéd 'glory days' line, as though their (limited) knowledge is well on a par with real Bond fans. Film critics have always come unstuck with this & the Spectator writer is no exception. A long-running series has to evolve with the times whilst staying faithful to the ethos of the character. I think the last three films have done just that.
    So, I can accept criticism from my fellow AJB fans - people with a passion for the character, books & films. But not from somebody with a desire to hate a well-loved series of films because it doesn't fit in with their skewed political ideology.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    clublos wrote:
    While I cannot comment on the political motivations of this publication nor on the political landscape of the UK, I believe the topic of conversation in this article is extrememely relevant and should be discussed, perhaps in a more intelligently crafted piece.

    Casino Royale, while far from perfect, did an admirable job of reinventing the character for modern times, a trend most certainly de rigueur. I gave an allowance to QOS for completing the story arc, but Skyfall's bastardization of Fleming's character and its fear of offending anyone classifies it as one of the series' lesser entries. Brutality, sexism and wit are key ingredients sorely missed.

    I'd agrue that another reboot will be required after Craig's tenure, not in story but in tone, similar to FYEO's following of Moonraker. However, given current trends, the Bond custodians (I cannot refer to them as producers) will most likely revert back to the over-indulgence and fantasy of Brosnan's films.

    Well, I really wouldn't go that far, old chap. :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • clublosclublos Jacksonville, FLPosts: 193MI6 Agent
    clublos wrote:
    While I cannot comment on the political motivations of this publication nor on the political landscape of the UK, I believe the topic of conversation in this article is extrememely relevant and should be discussed, perhaps in a more intelligently crafted piece.

    Casino Royale, while far from perfect, did an admirable job of reinventing the character for modern times, a trend most certainly de rigueur. I gave an allowance to QOS for completing the story arc, but Skyfall's bastardization of Fleming's character and its fear of offending anyone classifies it as one of the series' lesser entries. Brutality, sexism and wit are key ingredients sorely missed.

    I'd agrue that another reboot will be required after Craig's tenure, not in story but in tone, similar to FYEO's following of Moonraker. However, given current trends, the Bond custodians (I cannot refer to them as producers) will most likely revert back to the over-indulgence and fantasy of Brosnan's films.

    Well, I really wouldn't go that far, old chap. :)

    I guess what I meant was that a drastic shift in narrative and characterisation might substitute for a reboot, thus presenting the world an updated Bond that more closely represents Fleming's idea but inserts a modern pathos, for those that find it necessary...
  • CmdrAtticusCmdrAtticus United StatesPosts: 1,102MI6 Agent
    edited May 2015
    Though I understand some of his points, I would not be surprised if he had read even one of Fleming's novels.

    How many of these "journalists" have pronounced the Bond series and the character to be a dead, anachronistic piece of art every time a new actor was brought in or the direction was updated. It really gets tired after a while. It's almost as if they are forced by their employer to write the piece so they already have a bad attitude to start with.

    They cover up their ignorance of a subject by attempting to write with a pseudo sense of style and pompousness that to me just reveals their contempt for the subject and the laziness of their ideas (lets compare the third act of SF to Home Alone - once again, since no one on the planet has ever seen any other film in the history of cinema where this has been done before - and it certainly doesn't belong in a Bond film!).

    "Journalists" like these scare me. Because their article is in a well known publication, those reading their work automatically assume they know what they are reporting on.
    Instead, they remind me of many of their generation. They don't care about the past very much - in particular anything that happened of relevance before their lifetime - and what's worse will forget it. Then they will produce another generation who will think Sherlock Holmes is a film character that was played by Iron Man or that Orson Welles only did Rosebud - oh, wait, Cititzen Kane, or....wait, who's Orson Welles?
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Pathos !, I don't want any of the Musketeers in a Bond film ! ;) :))
    ( Sorry, silly joke ) ;%
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    Any valid points the author may have, and in my opinion there aren't many, are totally obscured by the unrelenting and condescending garbage he spews throughout. Such trash! :v
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Over the years so many bad journalists have written Bond off. :# luckily
    Their powers of prediction have proven to be as bad as their prose. :))
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • JagJag Posts: 1,167MI6 Agent
    I was surprised to agree with most of the article. I don’t want Bond to live in a fictitious world. The countries he visits and even embassies he attacks should be real. The Craig-formula Bond has been largely exhausted. I hope it’s not time for Bond to go, but it’s time to re-invent the
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Hasn't Bond visited fictitious countries before ( LALD), I can see why they do it. As
    They don't want to insult or cause problems during filming in a country, even ( LTK)
    Had a fictional country, as I'm sure any S.American country would be complaining
    if they were shown to have corrupt politicians in the pocket of a drug lord. ;)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • AlphaOmegaSinAlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,924MI6 Agent
    Look at the Problems that EON has had with filming in Rome :#

    But thats more to do with Rome's Mayor and Council.
    1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
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