Why depict an aging Bond?

In Skyfall, they show an aging bond closing in on retirement. This is the first time ever this has been done that i can think of. I thought James Bond to be a timeless character?? Does this foreshadow and end to the series or in ten years will he have reversed the aging phenomenon?
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  • Sir James MoloneySir James Moloney LondonPosts: 139MI6 Agent
    usmguy25 wrote:
    In Skyfall, they show an aging bond closing in on retirement. This is the first time ever this has been done that i can think of. I thought James Bond to be a timeless character?? Does this foreshadow and end to the series or in ten years will he have reversed the aging phenomenon?

    Never Say Never Again made great play of the fact that Bond was getting older but it's never really been acknowledged in the Eon films. They didn't even directly deal with it in Skyfall (the problem was specifically related to the fact that Bond was unfit due to his injury / lack of training and had perhaps been playing the game "too long".) It was more like subtext.

    I really wouldn't worry about it foreshadowing the end of the series.
    1- CR. 2- OHMSS. 3- FRWL. 4- GF. 5- DN. 6- TLD. 7- SF. 8- TSWLM. 9- GE. 10- LTK.
    11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
    19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I think Bond's injury was more a problem for him rather than his age
    in Skyfall. I know Mallory mentions it's a young mans game, But Craig's
    face as Bond seems to have Derision on it, as he dismisses the comment
    with the "Hire me or fire me " remark. :)
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Bond isn't anywhere near retirement age in Skyfall. Maybe in his late Thirties. More world weary than physically old. The Bond in the books had this problem continually.
    ..................Asp9mmSIG-1-2.jpg...............
  • David SchofieldDavid Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent
    Do you have a lot of knackered looking 30 something friends ;)

    Or are you suggesting Craig-Bond is 38 in SKYFALL in the same way as Roger-Bond is in AVTAK?

    Unfortunatley, Craig's decision, or Mendes', or whoever came up with it, for the SKYFALL face meant Bond looks closer to just south of 50 than just south of 40, whatever the chronology intended.
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Do you have a lot of knackered looking 30 something friends ;)

    Amusingly that's not far off the truth, but I did mean late 30's/early 40's. Your quote does hit on the truth though as most long serving special forces in their mid thirties actually look a good 10 to 15 years older.
    ..................Asp9mmSIG-1-2.jpg...............
  • David SchofieldDavid Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent
    edited April 2013
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Do you have a lot of knackered looking 30 something friends ;)

    Amusingly that's not far off the truth, but I did mean late 30's/early 40's. Your quote does hit on the truth though as most long serving special forces in their mid thirties actually look a good 10 to 15 years older.

    And obviously explains Cubby's continued employment of Rog in the 1980s. :p

    Though perhaps not why Craig-Bond seems to have aged TEN years BETWEEN QOS and SKYFALL...
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Do you have a lot of knackered looking 30 something friends ;)

    Amusingly that's not far off the truth, but I did mean late 30's/early 40's. Your quote does hit on the truth though as most long serving special forces in their mid thirties actually look a good 10 to 15 years older.

    And obviously explains Cubby's continued employment of Rog in the 1980s. :p

    Though perhaps not why Craig-Bond seems to have aged TEN years BETWEEN QOS and SKYFALL...

    Yes, well, they do seem intent on revisiting that clapped-out old warhorse James Bond era ihn Skyfall. It's also rather like the James Bond of Raymond Benson's Doubleshot (2000).
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • David SchofieldDavid Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent
    Yes, well, they do seem intent on revisiting that clapped-out old warhorse James Bond era ihn Skyfall. It's also rather like the James Bond of Raymond Benson's Doubleshot (2000).

    Not a huge fan of Benson, but at least his DOUBLESHOT Bond had been doped by the Union(? ) so at least he had an excuse for being knackered and behaving un-Bond-like.

    But I'm still waiting for the the explanation for Craig-Bond going off the rails.
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    edited April 2013
    Yes, well, they do seem intent on revisiting that clapped-out old warhorse James Bond era ihn Skyfall. It's also rather like the James Bond of Raymond Benson's Doubleshot (2000).

    Not a huge fan of Benson, but at least his DOUBLESHOT Bond had been doped by the Union(? ) so at least he had an excuse for being knackered and behaving un-Bond-like.

    But I'm still waiting for the the explanation for Craig-Bond going off the rails.

    True.

    Maybe we'll get that explanation in the next James Bond film to be released "by 2016"(?) Only time will tell if this is the case so we'll all have to wait.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    But I'm still waiting for the the explanation for Craig-Bond going off the rails.

    Depleted uranium in your blood stream isn't exactly conducive to a healthy lifestyle :))
    ..................Asp9mmSIG-1-2.jpg...............
  • David SchofieldDavid Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    But I'm still waiting for the the explanation for Craig-Bond going off the rails.

    Depleted uranium in your blood stream isn't exactly conducive to a healthy lifestyle :))

    Two doses then: the one from Patrice... and the one from some else we didn't see.

    Cos Craigy looks just as knacked at the very start of the film as he does after what (?) - his pretentious "re-birth".

    Without the "this DOES make me shagged out", erm, beard???? :)) -{

    I've said elsewhere, Fleming had the good-grace to mature, age and weary Bond over time and events. EON went with a shotgun splurge approach.
  • Sir James MoloneySir James Moloney LondonPosts: 139MI6 Agent
    I've said elsewhere, Fleming had the good-grace to mature, age and weary Bond over time and events. EON went with a shotgun splurge approach.

    I'll say. Fleming's Bond ages very slowly: In MR, Bond's year of birth is 1916 / 1917 whilst by You Only Live Twice, his year of birth has shifted to 1924/25.
    1- CR. 2- OHMSS. 3- FRWL. 4- GF. 5- DN. 6- TLD. 7- SF. 8- TSWLM. 9- GE. 10- LTK.
    11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
    19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,060Chief of Staff
    Fleming's Bond ages very slowly: In MR, Bond's year of birth is 1916 / 1917 whilst by You Only Live Twice, his year of birth has shifted to 1924/25.

    ...making him about 9 when he buys his Bentley, and maybe 14 when he won 1m francs in Monte Carlo! Personally I find it's best to just ignore all the date stuff; as has been said, 007 is always within a year or two of 40 now whenever now is, irrespective of the age of the current actor or who's writing the book/script.

    Some series characters can age in real time, or be replaced by heirs (even Next Generations) while some can't. Bond shouldn't be 20 (too young to have earned his position) or 60 (too old to do his job) so he's 40, give or take.

    The task of the actor cast as Bond (among others, of course) is to convince us that he is in that age bracket- Connery was technically too young at first, though he pulled it off, and Moore was too old at the end of his tenure (and arguably didn't, though he always appeared younger than his actual age). Lazenby was too young (29) though that wasn't a problem; Dalton and Brosnan succeeded; Craig's age is about right although he does look older than his years.
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    The task of the actor cast as Bond (among others, of course) is to convince us that he is in that age bracket- Connery was technically too young at first, though he pulled it off, and Moore was too old at the end of his tenure (and arguably didn't, though he always appeared younger than his actual age).

    LOL, it would have taken some cheek if in the scene in Zorin's office, his x-ray/"Batcomputer" said something like, "Real Identity: James Bond, Age: 42" :)) As it's been said, the opposite is being done with DC, but watch out if he does the 3 more that we've been told he'll do and by that time they'll have him wearing sagging jeans and doing action scenes with a skateboard. :p
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,060Chief of Staff
    superado wrote:
    Barbel wrote:
    The task of the actor cast as Bond (among others, of course) is to convince us that he is in that age bracket- Connery was technically too young at first, though he pulled it off, and Moore was too old at the end of his tenure (and arguably didn't, though he always appeared younger than his actual age).

    LOL, it would have taken some cheek if in the scene in Zorin's office, his x-ray/"Batcomputer" said something like, "Real Identity: James Bond, Age: 42" :)) As it's been said, the opposite is being done with DC, but watch out if he does the 3 more that we've been told he'll do and by that time they'll have him wearing sagging jeans and doing action scenes with a skateboard. :p

    I did say arguably!!! :))
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Craig as Bond aged 42,
    Would that be in Dog years ? :))

    I think the idea was that He did look Rough for Skyfall
    so we could see the change after his sexy shaving
    scene.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    Doesn't he say "youth is no guarantee of innovation" to Q?

    Bond was supposed to look older than Q but not ancient. As has been said before, it's DC's lack of body fat which has aged him, along with the too-short hair, and as TP mentions, the beard. The bloodshot eyes he has while enjoying death and back in M's home also add to the effect.

    But I don't think the intention was to make him look old - just a bit dissolute, tired and weary, and of course a few years older than Q.
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • zaphodzaphod Posts: 1,183MI6 Agent
    Craig as Bond aged 42,
    Would that be in Dog years ? :))

    I think the idea was that He did look Rough for Skyfall
    so we could see the change after his sexy shaving
    scene.
    .
    Problem was he had the shave and still looked rough :))
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    But I'm still waiting for the the explanation for Craig-Bond going off the rails.

    Depleted uranium in your blood stream isn't exactly conducive to a healthy lifestyle :))

    True. I had forgotten about that, but then I've only seen the film once so far.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Bond isn't anywhere near retirement age in Skyfall. Maybe in his late Thirties. More world weary than physically old. The Bond in the books had this problem continually.
    I agree that the intention was for Bond to appear a bit burned out, not old.
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,648MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Bond isn't anywhere near retirement age in Skyfall. Maybe in his late Thirties. More world weary than physically old. The Bond in the books had this problem continually.
    I agree that the intention was for Bond to appear a bit burned out, not old.

    Well, Craig Bond's nearing the age Fleming had agents reture from the double-o section in his third Bond novel, Moonraker - 45 years.
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Sir James MoloneySir James Moloney LondonPosts: 139MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Bond isn't anywhere near retirement age in Skyfall. Maybe in his late Thirties. More world weary than physically old. The Bond in the books had this problem continually.
    I agree that the intention was for Bond to appear a bit burned out, not old.

    Well, Craig Bond's nearing the age Fleming had agents reture from the double-o section in his third Bond novel, Moonraker - 45 years.

    Poor old Rog started off past retirement age!
    1- CR. 2- OHMSS. 3- FRWL. 4- GF. 5- DN. 6- TLD. 7- SF. 8- TSWLM. 9- GE. 10- LTK.
    11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
    19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
  • BlackleiterBlackleiter Washington, DCPosts: 5,615MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Bond isn't anywhere near retirement age in Skyfall. Maybe in his late Thirties. More world weary than physically old. The Bond in the books had this problem continually.
    I agree that the intention was for Bond to appear a bit burned out, not old.

    Well, Craig Bond's nearing the age Fleming had agents reture from the double-o section in his third Bond novel, Moonraker - 45 years.
    Yes, but remember we're talking cinematic Bond here (e.g. see Sir James Moloney 's comment about Moore at 45).
    "Felix Leiter, a brother from Langley."
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    The aint Bond old theme is a subtext, most likely, for England or the UK being all played out and knackered; on its last legs and overstretched, possibly to tie in with an anticipated economic meltdown.

    As a surface narrative, it doesn't amount to much. It may be a hangover from the original script, where Bond had tried to bump off M as with the opener of the novel TMWTGG, and had to prove he was psychologically fit for duty.

    But I felt that it would have been better to have Craig play Bond in OHMSS, and Lazenby play Bond as the young fella in CR leading up to SF. But here we have it: Lazenby was a tall fella, Craig aint. There would be something even more odd for a six footer to still have issues past 40, whereas shorties can get away with that Tom Cruise still on a learning curve schtick.

    Otherwise, well, again hypothetical but really, watching the Cavill Man of Steel trailer, it would make sense for him to be the right age to be walking through that padded door of M's office now. Now he looks like the real deal.

    And the new M would be a generation ahead, whereas surely he's the same age range as Craig now.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Sir James MoloneySir James Moloney LondonPosts: 139MI6 Agent
    And the new M would be a generation ahead, whereas surely he's the same age range as Craig now.

    Although the age gap between Fiennes and Craig is almost exactly the same as the age gap between Robert Brown and Roger Moore, so at least there is precedent.
    1- CR. 2- OHMSS. 3- FRWL. 4- GF. 5- DN. 6- TLD. 7- SF. 8- TSWLM. 9- GE. 10- LTK.
    11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
    19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
  • CmdrAtticusCmdrAtticus United StatesPosts: 1,102MI6 Agent
    Ahhhh....the cunundrums of casting actors for a character that hardly ever ages and filmmaking! Look at Connery's physicality from No to DAF. At least he lost
    the poundage and rallied for NSNA. Moore was the most noticeable of course and it didn't help that he was hired on past forty. If they are going to have actors make
    anywhere between four to six films, they really need to look at men in their mid thirties. Lazenby may have been the youngest but I thought he looked just right. Brosnan was also fine and wasn't aging too fast. Craig's problem is he was already 38 in CR, and that would be ok if they could do en entry every two years, but given the complexities of the business now, it's a miracle to get these huge productions out in that short time frame. If he had been 3 or 4 years younger, his current appearance would not be discussed as it is. My suggestion is that he get some laser resurfacing done before his next one (it's a quick fix and would take a few years off him) as well as add another five to ten pounds)...but then I also keep saying he needs to darken the hair.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,239MI6 Agent
    12108311_1.jpg?v=8CEC59D90BF92B0

    "Did someone say 'laser'?"
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I think with an aging Bond they want to show a Man.
    Who has lived life with a big L, & suffered pain with a big P,
    ( Althought that might just be a prostate problem. :p )
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • David SchofieldDavid Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent
    Could just be that Mendes realised that DC was starting to look just the wee bit TOOOOO knacked and that it might be best to play on that?

    I mean, how DO you explain a bloke having gone from 38 to 65 in 6 years?

    :s :))
  • RAINbowTRAILRAINbowTRAIL AmsterdamPosts: 77MI6 Agent
    Didn't they just rough him up a bid for SF. Anyone with a two day beard looks way older... and besides aging is the trend at the moment...
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