Spectre (Bond 24)

Simon2015

StringerBell wrote: »

Spectre was just boring, plain and simple. Its the one description I keep returning to. It could have been much better, maybe the editing let it down, but it was just boring.

Skyfall is also borning yet that got good reviews.

Duggy747

Dull, overlong & forgettable with it being far too much of a service to previous Bond films and a regression of what they wanted to do with Craig by throwing in some nonsensical scenes and corny jokes.

Craig has been a good Bond but after Casino Royale I have no interest in all the other films.

Tigger

Sad Professor wrote: »

I don't get the impression that Craig was unhappy with the film. If anything it seems like he was partially responsible for the return to Moore-era jokes and winks, having been burned by all the complaints about the first two films being too serious. I think his repeated comments about not doing anymore Bond is just a bit of public negotiation. It’s not like he has a career outside of Bond anymore. His last non-Bond film was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo over 4 years ago. He doesn’t appear to have anything else in the pipeline either.

he'sin the biggest film this year, possibly ever :pac:

also imdb have bond 25 as announced with Craig http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2382320/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

eviltimeban

I've seen it once, enjoyed it very much in the cinema, thought Blofeld was a non-event, but still enjoyed the whole thing. Only after reading all of this kind of stuff do I see the plot holes and flaws, but I don't think I really care.

I'm looking forward to getting the DVD and sitting down to see if I enjoy it more. For Skyfall, I didn't like it in the cinema but loved it when I got the DVD. Spectre could go either way, but overall I reckon I'm going to enjoy it as much, let it all happen on front of me, and get on with my life.

BuilderPlumber

eviltimeban wrote: »

I've seen it once, enjoyed it very much in the cinema, thought Blofeld was a non-event, but still enjoyed the whole thing. Only after reading all of this kind of stuff do I see the plot holes and flaws, but I don't think I really care.

I'm looking forward to getting the DVD and sitting down to see if I enjoy it more. For Skyfall, I didn't like it in the cinema but loved it when I got the DVD. Spectre could go either way, but overall I reckon I'm going to enjoy it as much, let it all happen on front of me, and get on with my life.

Looking forward to getting this on DVD soon. They should have kept Blofeld faithful to Fleming's original incarnation I think. I think they should have kept the story of Skyfall separate as well. CR and QOS clearly fit into the SPECTRE organisation but Skyfall's villain was personal against M.

Agent Coulson

Thom Yorke? :eek:

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/686747028416626688

Wedwood

Most people don't unless you say the moany guy from Radiohead.

Sad Professor

In fairness, Smith is only 23. And obviously hasn't been influenced by Radiohead. The journalist should have known to say "Thom Yorke of Radiohead".

BuilderPlumber

Just got the DVD of SPECTRE on Saturday and watched it twice since then. Overall verdict is that it is a good film, but not as good as Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace or Skyfall. It may be Craig's poorest Bond but that does not mean it is a poor film. I will briefly summarise what I liked and what I thought held the film back.

I liked: the train fight was the highlight and one of the best fight scenes ever in a Bond film. The pretitle as often is the case also is excellent and delivers the usual stunts and action we come to expect. The chase in Austria was good and the escape by Bond from Blofeld's African desert base was also good.

I thought the downside of the film was the actual climax, the weakest since The World Is Not Enough. It was nowhere near the exciting climaxes of the last 3 Bond films. Blofeld was virtually on his own at the end and this would not have been the case in YOLT, OHMSS and DAF where Blofeld was well guarded by a private army. Shooting down a helicopter and then letting the villain in it live despite Bond having a gun pointed to his head is not what we have come to expect. But we all know this is a part 1 of 2 and I'm sure we will only fully appreciate this film when we view it in relation to the next. The C character was a bit too obvious as a bad guy right from the start. As said even before I watched it, I'd have preferred to have seen Fleming's original incarnation of Blofeld used. Also I think it would have been best to leave the events of Skyfall out of the SPECTRE operations.

Overall, I would give it a 7 or 8 out of 10 and look forward to the direct sequel. The question is this: is Madeleine the new Tracy and was Mr White the new Draco? And will Bond 25 be the new OHMSS possibly followed by a remake of YOLT faithful to Fleming's novel?

ButtersSuki

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

Just got the DVD of SPECTRE on Saturday and watched it twice since then. Overall verdict is that it is a good film, but not as good as Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace or Skyfall. It may be Craig's poorest Bond but that does not mean it is a poor film. I will briefly summarise what I liked and what I thought held the film back.

I liked: the train fight was the highlight and one of the best fight scenes ever in a Bond film. The pretitle as often is the case also is excellent and delivers the usual stunts and action we come to expect. The chase in Austria was good and the escape by Bond from Blofeld's African desert base was also good.

I thought the downside of the film was the actual climax, the weakest since The World Is Not Enough. It was nowhere near the exciting climaxes of the last 3 Bond films. Blofeld was virtually on his own at the end and this would not have been the case in YOLT, OHMSS and DAF where Blofeld was well guarded by a private army. Shooting down a helicopter and then letting the villain in it live despite Bond having a gun pointed to his head is not what we have come to expect. But we all know this is a part 1 of 2 and I'm sure we will only fully appreciate this film when we view it in relation to the next. The C character was a bit too obvious as a bad guy right from the start. As said even before I watched it, I'd have preferred to have seen Fleming's original incarnation of Blofeld used. Also I think it would have been best to leave the events of Skyfall out of the SPECTRE operations.

Overall, I would give it a 7 or 8 out of 10 and look forward to the direct sequel. The question is this: is Madeleine the new Tracy and was Mr White the new Draco? And will Bond 25 be the new OHMSS possibly followed by a remake of YOLT faithful to Fleming's novel?

Completely off-topic but....I'm 99.99999% certain he (or at least the actor who plays him ) was behind me in the Express (look at me all fancy) Security line in Heathrow last Friday.....

eviltimeban

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

look forward to the direct sequel

You really think that's going to happen? It looks like Craig is done as Bond...

BuilderPlumber

eviltimeban wrote: »

You really think that's going to happen? It looks like Craig is done as Bond...

It is hard to know if Daniel Craig will return as Bond or not. It is uncertain and we have been hearing contradicting views with regard to this. Certainly SPECTRE set up a half told story akin to how season 4 of Love/Hate ended to set up season 5. In fact, the 4 Craig films all have been shown to be interconnected so therefore with or without Craig himself, the story arc has to continue as so much has been invested in it.

With SPECTRE the organisation being brought back I am sure it will be used for quite a few more films. It has appeared in 4 of Craigs 3 times under different names and then as SPECTRE in SPECTRE. So, the conclusion of the Blofeld story is essential. Of course, the original Blofeld featured in the tenure of 3 Bond actors already. He was the power behind Dr No, Grant/Klebb, Largo and (maybe) Goldfinger, and was the main villain in 3 other films. Most of the these were Connery films and one was Lazenby. His last appearance in an official Bond until SPECTRE was at the start of FYEO with Moore. So, there's no problem continuing a storyline with different actors playing Bond. It also would be ridiculous to reboot it again so soon. Blofeld was kept alive for a reason. Tom Hardy would be the ideal replacement for Craig but he will be busy with Mad Max 5.

Wedwood

It's hard to say whether Craig will or won't do another one. Could be a bargaining position for more money to do a fifth Bond picture.

Watched the blu ray the other night, enjoyed it better second time around not spending the movie waiting for the Blofeld reveal.

That said, I think I've had enough of 'gritty' Bond era and would like a return to the lighter Bond movies. If they do go that direction then Craig will probably be 'retired'.

And please not Tom Hardy, he's even moodier than Craig !!!

BuilderPlumber

Wedwood wrote: »

It's hard to say whether Craig will or won't do another one. Could be a bargaining position for more money to do a fifth Bond picture.

Watched the blu ray the other night, enjoyed it better second time around not spending the movie waiting for the Blofeld reveal.

That said, I think I've had enough of 'gritty' Bond era and would like a return to the lighter Bond movies. If they do go that direction then Craig will probably be 'retired'.

And please not Tom Hardy, he's even moodier than Craig !!!

It is probably a bargaining position with Craig. They will probably give him an offer he won't turn down and conclude his tenure with Bond taking down SPECTRE.

With regard to gritty v lighter Bonds, it is hard to tell. Tom Hardy would be excellent in the role if you prefer the Craig/Dalton style Bond but since I am a fan of both Bond and Mad Max I don't want to see both franchises delaying each other! So I'd say Hardy is booked up for that.

As said previously I also enjoyed Moore's Bonds as well. But would they work today is the question? When they were first made, these echoed similar franchises like Indiana Jones very well. Today the competition means Bond has to take into account franchises like Bourne and Mission Impossible. A film like Goldeneye however would be the ideal compromise as was the case back in 1995. That director should return as he also did Casino Royale and is the perfect launcher of a new actor in Bond clearly.

eviltimeban

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

With SPECTRE the organisation being brought back I am sure it will be used for quite a few more films. It has appeared in 4 of Craigs 3 times under different names and then as SPECTRE in SPECTRE. So, the conclusion of the Blofeld story is essential. Of course, the original Blofeld featured in the tenure of 3 Bond actors already. He was the power behind Dr No, Grant/Klebb, Largo and (maybe) Goldfinger, and was the main villain in 3 other films. Most of the these were Connery films and one was Lazenby. His last appearance in an official Bond until SPECTRE was at the start of FYEO with Moore. So, there's no problem continuing a storyline with different actors playing Bond. It also would be ridiculous to reboot it again so soon. Blofeld was kept alive for a reason. Tom Hardy would be the ideal replacement for Craig but he will be busy with Mad Max 5.

I think it was pretty obvious. He said "I've better things to do", threw away his gun, and went off with the girl. That was, essentially, Craig saying "I've better things to do than play Bond again". This was echoed in all the comments he made about slashing his wrists and so on before playing Bond again. I think both Mendes and Craig put that line in as a statement.

I enjoyed it as much on DVD as I did in the cinema. It was a good Bond movie, I'll watch it again happily, I can't say that about all the Bond movies.

Can't see what Hardy would bring - good actor, but I think a really suave Bond would be good. Henry Cavill in Man From UNCLE played almost a parody of a suave Bond, with the accent, suits, hair etc. They could have some fun with that kind of approach.

loyatemu

the last 2 definitely had more light-hearted moments than Casino Royale (haven't seen QoS). I thought they got it right on Skyfall, but Spectre was too long and had a fairly weak plot.

Regardless of what Daniel Craig does, they won't hire Tom Hardy next as he's too well known and would cost too much. They've always gone for relatively cheap actors, Roger Moore was probably the best known when hired, but even he was most famous for TV parts. Connery and Lazenby were unknowns, Brosnan was a TV actor, Dalton and Craig had respectable film careers but were by no means big stars.

Aidan Turner maybe? - he 4th favourite with Paddy Power, but the top 3 are all pretty unlikely IMO (Hardy, Elba, Lewis).

smilerf

Think Tom Hiddleston myself

BuilderPlumber

eviltimeban wrote: »

I think it was pretty obvious. He said "I've better things to do", threw away his gun, and went off with the girl. That was, essentially, Craig saying "I've better things to do than play Bond again". This was echoed in all the comments he made about slashing his wrists and so on before playing Bond again. I think both Mendes and Craig put that line in as a statement.

I enjoyed it as much on DVD as I did in the cinema. It was a good Bond movie, I'll watch it again happily, I can't say that about all the Bond movies.

Can't see what Hardy would bring - good actor, but I think a really suave Bond would be good. Henry Cavill in Man From UNCLE played almost a parody of a suave Bond, with the accent, suits, hair etc. They could have some fun with that kind of approach.

It is hard to know what will happen but Blofeld is sure to come back as too much has been invested in this storyline. But the main problem was that Blofeld wasn't really, er, Blofeld! It seemed the original plan was to have yet another ex pal of Bond turn against him. The Goldeneye plot in other words. A variant of this was done in Skyfall with an ex secret agent loyal to M turn against her. I think that the 'Blofeld' makeover was tacked on once Eon got permission to use the name. It might have been better to have Oberhauser as a Dr No or Largo type villain working for Blofeld with Blofeld introduced from the background.

Yes, SPECTRE overall was a good Bond film and I need to watch it some more to really rate it. I believe we have not seen the end of this incarnation of Blofeld (he is a different character to Fleming's one but he is interesting). We may or may not have seen the end of Craig.

With regard to the style of Bond, the more serious Bond is in vogue at the moment. The troubled and vulnerable hero with personal demons is hugely popular in recent times and that's what has made Casino Royale, Skyfall, Mad Max Fury Road, and the Bourne films among others. Unless there is a swing away from this, and we have to remember all these films are excellent at what they do and are justly rated highly, then the Craig style Bond is going to be with us for some time.

BuilderPlumber

loyatemu wrote: »

the last 2 definitely had more light-hearted moments than Casino Royale (haven't seen QoS). I thought they got it right on Skyfall, but Spectre was too long and had a fairly weak plot.

Regardless of what Daniel Craig does, they won't hire Tom Hardy next as he's too well known and would cost too much. They've always gone for relatively cheap actors, Roger Moore was probably the best known when hired, but even he was most famous for TV parts. Connery and Lazenby were unknowns, Brosnan was a TV actor, Dalton and Craig had respectable film careers but were by no means big stars.

Aidan Turner maybe? - he 4th favourite with Paddy Power, but the top 3 are all pretty unlikely IMO (Hardy, Elba, Lewis).

All Craig's films often broke the rules with Bond. Apart from SPECTRE, the romantic scene at the end with the girl that we saw in every Bond film from 1962 to 2002 is not included. Bond also loses people he was close to. Vesper and especially Judi Dench's M. Things did not always work out happily. OHMSS was the only one before that to do the same.

I enjoyed SPECTRE but Skyfall seemed to be just perfect. It had a good balance of everything. Casino Royale was a great classic too. I like QoS a lot too and found it a great to the point all action movie. It was very short so I think the very best way to enjoy it is to watch it in conjunction with Casino Royale.

Aidan Turner would be a good Bond. I would like to see Tom Hardy do a Bond but know it won't happen for the reasons you just outlined. I would also have liked to have seen what Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson or Tom Cruise could have done with Bond too but we also didn't get this for the same reason. But all great actors have to start from somewhere as all these did and sometimes an unknown taking on an iconic character and becoming famous as this works out best. Sean Connery is proof of that.

Avatar MIA

BuilderPlumber wrote: »

or Tom Cruise

Dear god, no, but we have seen what he could do with the MI films.

He's also about 1 foot and an accent* away from being Bond for starters.


* Before anyone suggests anything else I give you ... Far and Away

OldRio

smilerf wrote: »

Think Tom Hiddleston myself

I agree. He is serving his apprenticeship in Night Manager at the moment. Much like Daniel Craig did in Layer Cake.

mynameis905

OldRio wrote: »

I agree. He is serving his apprenticeship in Night Manager at the moment. Much like Daniel Craig did in Layer Cake.

Liking the Night Manager so far but given that he had his ass kicked by a few chefs in last weeks episode I can't see him as the next Bond.

Simon2015

Watched it last night. I was thinking Spectre must one of few Bond films were one of the Bond girls doesn't die ?

Licence to kill is the only other Bond film I can remember were both Bond girls survive.

sabat

Did they really have to put Waltz/Blofeld in that outfit with that accent giving a speech about his childhood? Made it impossible to take seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTJj4wbmAhk

BuilderPlumber

Simon2015 wrote: »

Watched it last night. I was thinking Spectre must one of few Bond films were one of the Bond girls doesn't die ?

Licence to kill is the only other Bond film I can remember were both Bond girls survive.

There was a Bond girl at the start of Dr No and FRWL IIRC who is with Bond and having a good time before Bond is called away for his mission. Goldfinger saw the deaths of 2 out of 3 Bond girls. He lost the first girls in Thunderball and YOLT and lost the main one/his wife in OHMSS.

I think Tiffany was the only Bond girl in DAF and she survives? The first girl in LALD proved to be a double agent and was killed just before she was to tell Bond info. Maud Adams' girl was killed in TMWTGG. Do not remember anyone besides Triple X in TSWLM? Or Holly in Moonraker. The Corrine girl got killed but she was not a Bond girl. Didn't they all survive in FYEO IIRC. Octopussy and Magda survived. Mayday was sort of a Bond girl and died heroically in AVTAK. Yes, all the Bond girls survive in both Dalton films. The first girl in Goldeneye turned out to be on the side of the villain. The first girl in TND was killed after helping Bond by her husband the villain. The girls in TWINE apart from Christmas were all helping the villains. Jinx was the only girl and survives in DAD. Vesper of course dies in Casino Royale. The girl survives in QOS. M is kind of the victim Bond girl in Skyfall. No Bond girl victims in SPECTRE.

BuilderPlumber

DAF: forgot Plenty O'Toole. She was the minor Bond girl and gets killed by the gangsters.

Harry Palmr

They will get it to $200m dollars :pac:

Domestic: $199,954,501

Harry Palmr

mynameis905 wrote: »

Liking the Night Manager so far but given that he had his ass kicked by a few chefs in last weeks episode I can't see him as the next Bond.

That was part of the plot, he needed to be the wounded hero and take a few blows as well as handing them out.

Harry Palmr

At last!

Spectre + $44,791 $200,011,902 (4.9k per screen which is third highest of the week amazingly )

FortuneChip

Supposedly Daniel Craig has turned down £68m to appear in two more Bond movies.
I thought he might have done one more, despite his "slitting wrists" comment - I mean, I've quit drink several times after a bad night out, but still come back for one more eventually.

Bookmakers stopped taking bets on Hiddleston being the next Bond a few days ago.
I'd rather Hiddleston than Hardy, Elba, Cavill and some of the other names that have been touted before, but still not 100% sold.

eviltimeban

I was, not convinced by but certainly encouraged by, Hiddleston's performance in the Night Manager. He had the right blend of cool, Englishness, cunning, and physical ability to make it work as Bond. It'd be a different type of Bond - maybe more coy, more like a classic spy rather than an assassin, and he would be a good contrast to Craig. He'd have to own that role and make it his own.

I'd be VERY surprised if Craig did one more - the end of that movie was such a big "see ya!" from him (and Mendes).

loyatemu

If Craig has quit I'd say it's between Hiddlestone and Aidan Turner (who is 2nd favourite now with the bookies) - the other options mentioned are just too famous and expensive (and old in the case of Elba). If Craig does do another movie, then other candidates may emerge in the meantime.

smilerf

loyatemu wrote: »

If Craig has quit I'd say it's between Hiddlestone and Aidan Turner (who is 2nd favourite now with the bookies) - the other options mentioned are just too famous and expensive (and old in the case of Elba). If Craig does do another movie, then other candidates may emerge in the meantime.

Lewis is too Ginger Hiddleston is too nice and given that !we now know Bond is the same guy throughout all the films Elba is too black.
It's Turner's to lose. Outside bet for me is Orlando Bloom

loyatemu

smilerf wrote: »

given that we now know Bond is the same guy throughout all the films Elba is too black.

do we now know that?

anyway, Elba's just another actor, I'm not sure his being black is any different to the other actors having different hair, builds, accents etc. He is too old though.

smilerf

loyatemu wrote: »

do we now know that?

anyway, Elba's just another actor, I'm not sure his being black is any different to the other actors having different hair, builds, accents etc. He is too old though.

In skyfall when bond took m to his old house and graves of his buried buried on the grounds

Sad Professor

smilerf wrote: »

In skyfall when bond took m to his old house and graves of his buried buried on the grounds

This would in no way prevent them from rebooting Bond as a black guy.

But tbh I think the chances of a black Bond are pretty slim to none right now. Bond is a white male fantasy. Eon would not have enough faith in the box office draw of a black Bond to risk it.

FunLover18

smilerf wrote:

In skyfall when bond took m to his old house and graves of his buried buried on the grounds

The graves of his parents? How does that prove all the films are connected?

Casino Royale was clearly a reboot with an origin story.

smilerf

FunLover18 wrote: »

The graves of his parents? How does that prove all the films are connected?

Casino Royale was clearly a reboot with an origin story.

It wasn't in my view maybe it was I dunno

FortuneChip

Elba looks like he'd be potentially locked into another franchise (I know it's possible to be in two) anyway with The Dark Tower - so we can thankfully kill off the should he/shouldn't he debate. I personally never cared either way.

Tom Hiddleston would be a good change from Craig, a move away from the Bourne approach.
If they wanted a Craig clone, Dan Stevens would be right there. Physical, unhinged, but still carries a wry grin well.
Aidan Turner seems to have become popular, how much longer is this Poldark lark going on for?

BuilderPlumber

Craig's turning down of Bond is a bit like Connery and Moore in the past. I am unsure if I would rule Craig out just yet. Moore was to be replaced by James Brolin in Octopussy but came back to do this and A View To A Kill as well. Connery did You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever not to mention the unofficial Never Say Never Again even after he said he was stepping down.

We do need to wrap up this Blofeld business and Craig is the best for this and it would be a good way to finish off the storyline. Perhaps it is time to go back to a good oldfashioned world domination/extortion plot and bring Blofeld back to his roots? Then, after that, the tone of Bond films can be reset to whatever is desired.

I do not think rebooting it every time would be a good idea. It was needed in 2006 as otherwise Bond could be in his late 80s at this stage if the original character was continued. That would be based on the ages of Connery or Moore, although of course Dalton, Lazenby and Brosnan (who all played the original incarnation of Bond) are a lot younger. He would be at least born in around 1943 anyway and would be in his early 70s going on his wife's age on the grave in For Your Eyes Only and that is only assuming Tracy and Bond were around the same age (that would also reflect the ages of Dalton and Lazenby).

Sad Professor

I'm very sceptical of these Craig is done with Bond rumours. The source is the Daily Mail and I don't believe anything they print. Craig is in salary negotiation mode, so he's going to sh*t talk the role. He effectively retired from acting 5 years ago to be Bond full time, so it's not like he has anything better to be doing than Bond.

Hiddleston isn't going to happen. He's too famous, which means he's too expensive for Eon. Same goes for most of the other man crushes being proposed, including Elba.

When Craig was cast most people didn't know who he was. His biggest role was Layer Cake and a supporting part in Munich.

loyatemu

Sad Professor wrote: »

Hiddleston isn't going to happen. He's too famous, which means he's too expensive for Eon.

Is he? - he has a high profile currently because of the Night Manager, I wasn't particularly aware of him before and it was still only a BBC TV role. He was also in High Rise recently and that was a fairly low-budget film

Sad Professor

loyatemu wrote: »

Is he? - he has a high profile currently because of the Night Manager, I wasn't particularly aware of him before and it was still only a BBC TV role. He was also in High Rise recently and that was a fairly low-budget film

I'm not familiar with The Night Manager, but The Avengers, Thor, Crimson Peak, Only Lovers Left Alive were all big roles and he has bigger ones coming. He's not Tom Cruise famous, but he's too famous for Bond.

FortuneChip

Sad Professor wrote: »

I'm not familiar with The Night Manager, but The Avengers, Thor, Crimson Peak, Only Lovers Left Alive were all big roles and he has bigger ones coming. He's not Tom Cruise famous, but he's too famous for Bond.

I don't know.
He's appeared in big movies, and had some sizable roles, but he's not that "Star Name" on any big movie.

Any of his leading roles have been much smaller projects "I Saw The Light", "Only Lovers Left Alive" & now "High Rise"

On the flip, I know the tendency has been to go for the lesser known actors, but I think a franchise with as big a history as Bond now does need a bigger name.
If they're willing to offer Craig £68m for two movies, I can easily see them upping their budget on a replacement. They're willing to pay him that because he's bankable - I'd assume they'd want to replace him with someone they deem bankable as well.

I fully expect them to have had, or to soon have conversations with the likes of Tom Hardy etc (I think everyone would take Tom Hardy as Bond other than Hardy himself)

Sad Professor

Craig is only bankable as Bond. Outside of the franchise he's box office poison, which is probably the cause of the salary dispute.

The fact that we know who Hiddleston is makes him famous enough. Most people didn't know who Craig was, which was the cause of all the outrage over him being too skinny, too ugly, etc. People were judging him based on pictures and youtube clips. Eon don't just think in terms of how much will have to pay the actor now. They are thinking how much will we have to pay him in 3 films time when his contract is up. Hiddleston has a very good career ahead of him and doesn't need Bond, so Eon would have to really want him. And he'd have to want Bond and I can't imagine why he would.

BuilderPlumber

It is hard to know what will happen. SPECTRE ended with a hint that there would be a continuation of that story. With all the time invested into the buildup to Blofeld and SPECTRE being revealed as the power behind what went on in all 4 of Craig's outings, a satisfactory conclusion of that story arc is required.

If Craig was not was not reappear, Tom Hardy would be my choice to do a Bond that would finish off Blofeld. Hardy did excellent in reviving Mad Max and since that character is also like Craig's Bond a man who has lost loved ones and is shaped by that, he would be perfect. But Hardy will be too expensive for Eon. Hiddleston would make a good Bond too but would he be able to do one similar to Craig which is needed for at least 1 more anyway.

I have nothing against a black Bond and Elba would be a good Bond too. But it would require another reboot and that is not what is needed at present. Getting Elba to play the same incarnation of Bond as Craig I'm unsure: it certainly worked with Felix Leiter, who was played by white and black actors but perhaps not with Bond.

Ultimately, Bond is defined by the generation he is in. In Craig's era, the whole idea of Bond rushing to defuse a bomb that will kill 1000s or stop a madman launching a nuclear or chemical WMD was totally ditched. Would a film like Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Octopussy or A View To A Kill work today? Brosnan's era got Bond back to many elements of that type of film whereas Dalton's Bond in The Living Daylights and ones like For Your Eyes Only got things back to the From Russia With Love type film. Dalton was underrated in the 1980s and Craig just showed how ahead of his time he was.

The other option is to take a look at the post-Fleming books. Colonel Sun and Devil May Care are particularly strong books that are up there with Fleming. Those 2 would make very good films. There are other Bond books best forgotten especially some of John Gardner's ones.

eviltimeban

They may have cocked up by setting up the Blofeld story and not finishing him off in Spectre. They probably thought Craig would sign on for the follow up no bother, next thing you know he makes the "slashing wrists" comments.

I don't think it'd be possible to continue that story arc with another actor playing Bond - what would that mean for Skyfall, Vesper etc? Those things are intrinsically linked to the Craig Bond.

So either they give Craig more money than he knows what to do with, finish off the Blofeld story, and then he retires, they're going to have to reboot again, with no Blofeld / Waltz.

Who knows. I'd like to see Hiddleston get the part, just because he'd be different from Craig, and I enjoyed him in Night Manager.

FunLover18

Surprised to see people think the Blofeld thing needs to be finished off. I hated Spectre but what I took away from it was that Bond was done with the spy game and by not even bothering to kill Blofeld, he won. It was a complete story with Bond driving into the sunset with your wan and Blofeld arrested by MI6. IMO it was a complete waste of Blofeld and SPECTRE so I really don't want them to continue with it.

They have the perfect opportunity now to start a new arc with a new Bond.

BuilderPlumber

eviltimeban wrote: »

They may have cocked up by setting up the Blofeld story and not finishing him off in Spectre. They probably thought Craig would sign on for the follow up no bother, next thing you know he makes the "slashing wrists" comments.

I don't think it'd be possible to continue that story arc with another actor playing Bond - what would that mean for Skyfall, Vesper etc? Those things are intrinsically linked to the Craig Bond.

So either they give Craig more money than he knows what to do with, finish off the Blofeld story, and then he retires, they're going to have to reboot again, with no Blofeld / Waltz.

Who knows. I'd like to see Hiddleston get the part, just because he'd be different from Craig, and I enjoyed him in Night Manager.

I think it would be best to have Craig do one more and finish off the Blofeld story. The other issue I feel is that they have the rights to Blofeld and SPECTRE back and will include these in future films. Rebooting it too many times as said may not be a good idea. Perhaps do a Live and Let Die or Goldeneye on it: do not mention what went before and have a new enemy for Bond to tackle.

In the past, there was a continuity. Connery's Bond became Lazenby's Bond and that then became Moore's Bond. References to Tracy prove this to be the case. Dalton's Bond was the same Bond as The Living Daylights features General Gogol and Licence To Kill once more mentions Tracy. It is implied that Brosnan's Bond is also the same incarnation with the mention by Bond of Judi Dench's M's predecessor. Craig's Bond is a different Bond and Judi Dench's M is a different character to her M in the Brosnan films obviously too.

I would like to see a film like The Living Daylights or Octopussy being made as a follow up. Have some rogue elements in some place trying to stoke up trouble and cause a war between superpowers with Bond teamed up with a Russian ally to take them down. Whoever succeeds Craig will have a great first film anyway: The first films Dalton, Brosnan and Craig did are all examples of Bond at his best.

BuilderPlumber

FunLover18 wrote: »

Surprised to see people think the Blofeld thing needs to be finished off. I hated Spectre but what I took away from it was that Bond was done with the spy game and by not even bothering to kill Blofeld, he won. It was a complete story with Bond driving into the sunset with your wan and Blofeld arrested by MI6. IMO it was a complete waste of Blofeld and SPECTRE so I really don't want them to continue with it.

They have the perfect opportunity now to start a new arc with a new Bond.

While I liked SPECTRE, I agree 100% that it was a complete waste of Blofeld and SPECTRE. It was not true to Fleming's original incarnation and instead was based on a minor character in I think (Fleming's short story version of) Octopussy (that was not used in the film version). I think the reason for this was the Oberhauser character from Octopussy was expanded upon and cast as the enemy for Bond before they got the rights to SPECTRE and Blofeld. Oberhauser was originally another Silva from Skyfall or Trevelyan from Goldeneye type baddie. They turned Oberhauser into Blofeld the last minute rather than waiting to do him proper justice in the next film. Imagine the next Bond's arc being based on SPECTRE and Blofeld as they should be.