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Bond... James Bond
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See Maitland McDonagh and Ken Fox review this week's new flicks in Movie Talk!
This DVD Tuesday is Casino Royale, which features the sixth official James Bond, suave Pierce Brosnan's refreshingly rough-edged replacement. Though I'm often perceived as contrarian, I'm 100 percent on board with the opinion that Daniel Craig is the best James Bond since Sean Connery retired his license to kill all those years ago.
I don't think Casino Royale is the best Bond film ever: I find Eva Green a thoroughly forgettable presence (albeit a relief from the prefabricated, anonymous likes of Denise Richards, Teri Hatcher and Tanya Roberts), and I could have done without having to sit through two large-scale action sequences before the start of the story proper. Though to be fair, the parkour sequence is pretty spectacular – I just wish it hadn't been stuck at the beginning as some kind of sop to people who can't imagine a James Bond movie without a mess of overblown stunt sequences. But overall, what I like best about Casino Royale is how assiduously it strips away most of the things I've grown to dislike about the Bond franchise: the jokey quips, the CGI-assisted action set-pieces, the endless chase sequences and the preposterous, Dr. Evil-worthy plots. How great is it that Bond's mission is to take out a scummy financier by bankrupting him at the poker table? And I love that Daniel Craig not only finds the essence of Bond under the layer of mannerisms built up by five previous actors, but actually goes deeper. His Bond is a work in progress, a common thug reinventing himself as a wolf in roué's clothing. In fact, the scene in which Craig's Bond first tries on evening clothes and realizes how smooth he looks and how disarming that smoothness could be in a pinch is flat-out brilliant. As is the movie's take on the iconic shaken versus stirred issue: When Craig growls, "Do I look like I give a damn?" it makes you glad you're not that bartender. Not to mention that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is one hell of a Bond villain.
I've heard it said that people always have a soft spot for the first Bond they saw in a theater (as opposed to TV or DVD), but it wasn't that way for me: Live and Let Die (1973) was my first theatrical Bond, and I never cared for Roger Moore in the role. By the end of his tenure I actively hated him as 007. I loved Connery, liked Brosnan (too light, but after Moore he seemed like a natural born killer), and thought Timothy Dalton never had a real chance — he was stuck in subpar movies and hampered by that no-womanizing idea that blew over almost as fast as he did. I know some heretical Bond-philes think one-movie wonder George Lazenby was the best of all, but I remain unconvinced: I'd rank Dalton around the same — interesting and promising, but there's not enough evidence to make a real call.
Anyway, all this is leading to my recommendation that if you haven't seen Casino Royale yet, now is the time to do it.
Things to consider:
How did secret agent James Bond join the rarified ranks of fictional characters who entirely transcend the specific time and place that spawned them: Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera etc?
What do you consider the best James Bond movie, and why? And who do you think was the best Bond, especially if your pick for best actor isn't the star of your best-movie pick?
Where do you stand on the earlier incarnations of Casino Royale — the 1954 TV version starring Barry Nelson as an American Bond and Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre, the 1967 spoof, and the rogue Never Say Never Again (1983)? Are these movies part of the Bond canon, or are they apocrypha, as the makers of the "official" series like to claim?
For serious Bond-philes, which Ian Fleming book (or short story) do you think should be the next new Bond?
Previous DVD Tuesday blogs:
Pi
The Prestige
13 Tzameti
The Departed
Suspiria
Kiss and Make Up
Kiss Me Deadly
The Long Good Friday
What Alice Found
The Devil's Backbone
The Descent
The Devil Wears Prada
Pandora's Box
The Thief and the Cobbler
Nashville
Panic in the Streets/Jack Palance Interview
The Pusher Trilogy
Scarface
Slither
Sunset Blvd.
In Cold Blood
Brick
Also: This week's new DVD releases
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Mar 13, 2007 6:35 PM
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This will make no sense but my favorite James Bond is Sean Connery and my favorite James Bond movie is Live and Let Die. I know that Roger Moore portrayed James Bond in L&LD and he is no where near as good as Mr. Connery but the plot, action and the soundtrack just cannot be beated in L&LD!
I can only imagine how good it could have been with Sean as James Bond!
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Mar 13, 2007 7:23 PM
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Ummmm...unless I'm missing something, I think you goofed FlickChick. Connery was still Bond in Diamonds are Forever. Roger Moore didn't begin his stint until Live or Let Die, which I believe, came out two years later.
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Mar 13, 2007 7:52 PM
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Not to be a nit-picker Maitland, but Roger Moore wasn't in Diamonds are Forever. That was Sean Connery's final film after he came after Lazenby had a go in the role. Roger Moore's first film was Live and Let Die, two years later.
In answer to your questions-
1. I think with James Bond, what differs to the other literary characters you've mentioned (perhaps excluding Dracula) is that Bond has purely become a film character and it was the films that jettisoned the character to different heights. Whereas, the literature for other characters remains so strong in people's minds, something I think Ian Fleming's work is unable to do.
2. For me Goldfinger is the best. A bit cliched, I know, but there's just this fun edge to that film, be it Oddjob's bowlers hat or "the name of the female character that TV Guide won't let me post," that I really love. It also helps that it's the one film of that era that I feel has aged the best (it also trumps the Moore period - which have remained stuck in the decade that spawned them).
For me Sean Connery is the ultimate Bond. I can't explain why. Maybe because my favourite films are his.
3. Out of those I've only seen Never Say Never Again and can't say it thrilled me that much. For me there's only been 21 James Bond films.
4. It's been a while since I made it through all of Ian Flemings books, but the one that's always stuck in my mind is the Spy Who Loved Me. Shame they can't reuse the title, because it works best in its original context, but I'd love to see them take a risk and try and pull this story off. Maybe even as a spin-off sort of thing and not an original movie.
For those who don't know, Ian Flemings original story of The Spy Who Loved Me was, bizarrely, for a writer so misogynistic in previous works, from a female point of view and (if I remember correctly - someone please correct if I'm wrong) was rather sympathetic and unexpectedly showed the female character as strong - even though of course, she had to be saved by James.
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Mar 13, 2007 8:38 PM
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I saw "Casino Royale" in the theatre and I have to say Mr. Craig won me over. I am not a particular James Bond fan . . . but of what I've seen, Sean Connery was James Bond to me. I'm actually amazed to remember that I saw each of the other "Bonds" and they all blended together in my mind. Even though I liked Pierce Brosnan when he was "Remington Steele", his Bond was just another action movie.
That being said, I went into "Casino" with very low expectations and emerged a convert. I really enjoyed the same things you did, Maitland . . . his gradual transformation, his rough edge and his definite air of danger. And he was still able to convince me that he truly cared for the Eva Green character (no, I didn't care for the actress either). All in all, I have to say I found "Casino" to be a very pleasant surprise and I recommended to anyone who asked.
So there you have it: Sean Connery is #1 and Daniel Craig is a very, very close #2.
This is fun . . . can't wait to read other posts! - Jenny D.
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Mar 13, 2007 9:13 PM
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Since I'm on the road, I'm getting my Bond fix by listening to the 24 hour Bond marathon on Cinemagic on XM Radio today..... Just hearing the music and audio clips make it for me!! The sound is one thing that makes the series.. Even the lesser films always had great scores even after Barry stopped doing them.
I'll be getting Casino Royale when I get home.... I meant to see it again in theatres but of course I have a great setup at home to enjoy...
D
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Mar 13, 2007 11:30 PM
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I was pleased to see acassimaty mention The Spy Who Loved Me as a favorite Bond book. I read and re-read the Fleming books before I was out of junior high and that was the one that impressed me the most and stayed with me through the years. That's the one I'd like to see get a new treatment more faithful to the spirit of the book.
I never liked Roger Moore as Bond. I don't think he was suited for the character as pictured by Fleming and it was during his run that the franchise turned to the gadget oriented spectacle that made the films nothing more than elongated chase and tech effects delivery systems.
There was also the fact that, especially during the Moore run, Bond wasn't really much of a spy. Of course he'd steal a repairman's uniform or something and sneak into a hotel or a facility but the true deep cover work that the Fleming Bond did got little attention.
Fleming's Bond was also (maybe not so)slightly immoral. When Connery's Bond swings around so that his dance partner took the assasin's bullet that was meant for him it was an action closer to one that the "real" Bond would have taken. I mean the sociopath in you has to be fairly close to the surface in order to live with having and employing a license to kill. If I remember correctlky (and it's been a long time since I read the books) the pressure of being a 007 agent, the moral questions etc. did start to weigh on Bond after a while. This was never addressed much in the films and was completely ignored in the Moore pix.
Those films obviously have appeal for agreat many people and I don't object to that but I've been waiting for a James Bond movie-not just a generic action flick whose hero could have been invented for that film. The Bond brand was just a marketing tool but its use during the Moore years just left wanting those of us who had become attached to the character we had known through Fleming. Moore's Bond seemed more of a glamorous automatron than a living breathing human being. And while I liked the slick wit of the Connery flicks but the near-slapstick and predictable puns of the Moore years really put me off.
I like the idea of or popular fiction characters being played straight. When I read the Bond books or The Hardy Boys or Batman I took them at face value. I never really stopped to think of the "implications" of a grown man and a boy's living alone in a mansion with a cave where they'd dress up in tights and going out to fight crime after dark. I just saw two guys doing cool stuff and fighting bad guys.
So...with the above in mind I'd have to say that my favorite Bond flick would have to be Dr. No although I agree that Goldfinger was pretty darn good too.
I've never been able to sit through the 1967 Casino Royale so, as much as I like David Niven I guess that says something for my opinion of him as Bond tongue in cheek or no. Haven't seen the Barry Nelson one either.
Craig looks the part. I had always hoped that Sam Neill would have gotten a shot at the part but I can't think of anyone around now who would fit the role better than Craig seems to. Like you Maitland, I don't think Timothy Dalton got a fair shake. I thought he was pretty good and I probably would have returned to the franchise if he'd continued as Bond.
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Mar 14, 2007 4:14 AM
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To those of you who complained of not liking the Roger Moore Bonds, just remember, Mr. Moore's only connection with the films was that he did the job he was paid to do: he enacted the role of James Bond. He did not write, produce, or direct the films, nor was he production designer or set decorator, etc. If you don't care for the acting of Roger Moore as James Bond, that's one thing, but it is totally unfair to blame him for the way they turned out: he's only one man.
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Mar 14, 2007 8:23 AM
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Re: Diamonds are Forever. Several of you caught me in the weirdest memory glitch. The title Diamonds are Forever is somehow inextricably intertwined with my first Bond movie in a theater -- the Loew's 83rd Street (now the Loew's 84th and an entirely new structure that was built after the block was razed to make way for construction of a high-rise tower that incorporated a movie theater into the ground floor but shifted it half a block north -- when in fact the film was Live and Let Die (1973), two years later. I saw Diamonds are Forever on TV. Odd the tricks our minds play, isn't it?
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Mar 14, 2007 10:49 AM
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Re: Roger Moore. I'd like to clarify that I don't dislike Moore -- I just dislike him as James Bond. This may be in part because as I kid I used to watch the UK TV series The Saint in syndication, and loved Moore as Leslie Charteris' suave international adventurer Simon Templar. His light tone and witty repartee was perfect for that role, and I always felt he played Bond to similarly. Templar, after all, was not a license-to-kill kind of guy -- more a bon vivant with a mission.
And I don't blame him for all the excesses of the Bond films made under his tenure -- only for taking the spine out of the character.
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Mar 14, 2007 11:00 AM
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I love most of the Bond flicks and at least like the others. I like every single Bond because they all have their own strengths. I really get bothered when people don't like certain Bond actors! Don't know why.
I am not sure which movie is my favorite, but The World Is Not Enough is my least-favorite. Even though it has one of the best opening segments out of all the films. As soon as the main theme starts playing (I think it's Garbage playing it, can't remember), we are in for a dreary ride. But even that one has its virtues, slim though they might be.
Who knows... maybe in time I will look upon it more kindly. God knows I hated A View to a Kill when it first came out. Now I think it's one of the better ones!
I will watch any Bond film, any time.
On an off topic note, TCM is showing Ace in the Hole this weekend. I have never seen it and it is not yet on DVD. Should I FauxVo it?
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Mar 14, 2007 12:07 PM
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I may be one of the few on the planet who didn't care for "Casino Royale". I have absolutely no problem with Daniel Craig's portrayal but I couldn't stand Eva Green, who was completely wooden in my opinion. I also didn't care for the story; I'm happy they toned down the camp factor but they seemed to have upped the melodrama by a corresponding amount.
My favourite Bond film is "Tomorrow Never Dies" primarily because it actually has a female character who has a part in the plot beyond T & A. I loved Michelle Yeoh and I believed that she could kick ass. The plot was somewhat lame but I enjoyed Pierce Brosnan's portrayal and the glimpse into Bond's past.
I also enjoyed the novel, "The Spy Who Loved Me" for similar reasons. The main character was a female, whose role was not solely that of a damsel in distress, and her interaction with Bond was not of the wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am variety that is usually portrayed in the films. Bond also didn't come across as a stone-cold, professional killer.
I think I like the more fun Bond movies better because I don't have to take them or their portrayal of women seriously. As soon as I am expected to believe what's going on, I get irritated with the sexism. I guess I'm just too much of a girl. 
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Mar 14, 2007 1:35 PM
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I'd like to echo maitland's words about Roger Moore. Nowhere in my post did I say I didn't like Moore the actor. I don't like him as Bond and I didn't like the Bond movies he made. I never suggested that he was responsible for the scripts etc. as Jay implies. Like Maitland I also watched and enjoyed Moore in The Saint.
It's also rather patronizing to suggest that those of us who did not like those films are unaware of the extent of Moore's involvement in the production.
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Mar 14, 2007 3:50 PM
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achyfakey: Do not miss the opportunity to record Ace in the Hole/The Big Carnival!!!!!!!!
It's one of the greats, it's not on DVD, and given the number of times a DVD release has been promised and then withdrawn I wouldn't take any chances.
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Mar 14, 2007 5:38 PM
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Yes ma'am! And so glad you reminded me of the other title. Who knows which one my FauxVo will use. I knew you would be lovingly pedantic!
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Mar 14, 2007 6:41 PM
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