James Bond 26

[ChrisIII]

Bond kind of went semi-rogue in Quantum of Solace, although his heart was in the right place the whole time (As he says, "I never left").

Also in the first half of No Time To Die he's semi-retired and when working with Felix he's technically part of the CIA. DIE ANOTHER DAY also has him rogue for the first hour but M realizes he might be on to something and hires him back.

Some of the other films like OHMSS and MOONRAKER have him "off the books" working to keep some higher-ups off his back but still with MI6 support.

[j9ac9k]

I haven't seen all of the M:I films, but doesn't Ethan Hunt go rogue several times as well? People don't seem to mind that.

[Jekyll]

Just be done with it. No Time to Die was a great send off.

[Jekyll]

I haven't seen all of the M:I films, but doesn't Ethan Hunt go rogue several times as well? People don't seem to mind that.

Just about every film However, these films are a lot of fun..........something that Bond isn't.

[Powerboy]

Just about every film However, these films are a lot of fun..........something that Bond isn't.

In my opinion, Bond hasn't been fun since probably sometime in the Roger Moore era and maybe not even the last of those as it moved too far beyond the 1960s and the Cold War, which was essentially the core of the whole concept. But that can still be done with the advantage of a lot of time to look back on it, see the whole picture and do it with a historical perspective, well, as much as something can be that is ultimately a wish fulfillment spy fantasy.

[thwhtGuardian]

In my opinion, Bond hasn't been fun since probably sometime in the Roger Moore era and maybe not even the last of those as it moved too far beyond the 1960s and the Cold War, which was essentially the core of the whole concept. But that can still be done with the advantage of a lot of time to look back on it, see the whole picture and do it with a historical perspective, well, as much as something can be that is ultimately a wish fulfillment spy fantasy.

I thought all the Craig Bond films were pretty fun

[ChrisIII]

The novels are a bit more invested in the Cold War; in the original novels SMERSH was the main villain; SPECTRE actually didn't show up until fairly late in the novels. Le Chiffre, the FWRL villains, Mr. Big and Dr.No were pretty much all SMERSH members instead of SPECTRE like the novels.


Funny thing is, it's really the Moore films and the first Dalton era which are more heavily based in the Cold War; in the Connery films SPECTRE is largely doing it's own stuff or pushing the countries against each other as a provocateur third party. However, when SPECTRE was unable to be used, the Moore films featured a few plots featuring the cold war, so much that M's KGB opposite is a recurring character starting with SPY WHO LOVED ME, and Octopussy has an actor playing Breznev.

This pretty much ends with LIVING DAYLIGHTS, which ironically one of it's plot lines is a red herring revival of SMERSH.

Of course there are exceptions; GOLDFINGER and MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN feature China but mainly as an investor of the schemes of the villain; LIVE AND LET DIE and LICENSE TO KILL involve the drug trade.

The Brosnan films do all sort of feature the legacy of the Cold War; especially GOLDENEYE.

[choptop]

Just be done with it. No Time to Die was a great send off.

I disagree but even if you did like the send off I don't see why that needs to be the last one I mean that's like saying no more Batman or spiderman movies because they had good send offs.

[choptop]

Rebel Wilson has auditioned for some role, at least according to her. Although she has lost a lot of weight it's probably not the Bond girl.

Thinking she might actually be a good fit for Q, there was a female Q in a few of the novels and usually the role involves some level of comic relief/timing.

Even if she didn't lose weight I don't see why she can't be a bond girl.

[Powerboy]

I thought all the Craig Bond films were pretty fun

I should have exempted those movies because I haven't seen them all. I saw Casino Royale and No Time to Die. I liked CR. I guess the only issue I had with NTTD is that the original versions of Blofeld and Bond were so awesomely and unapologetically goofy. Now, there is NOTHING wrong with a more serious version but I just wish that in the years since Connery and Moore, I didn't have to turn to DS9 episodes and the Man From Uncle movie and even an Austin Powers movie that carried it too far in order to get something that, to me, feels like a James Bond movie.

Edit: I don't think the Bond movies are yet in such dire straights that they need to resort to this but I think maybe, eventually, there could be a streaming series where the cost is not so prohibitive that it needs to make hundreds or at least tens of millions to justify its budget. Then, maybe, we could get a Cold War James Bond again.

[j9ac9k]

I thought all the Craig Bond films were pretty fun

For me, as much as "Casino Royale" was a welcomed change of pace in tone and temperament, in retrospect I don't really find the Craig films to be "fun." They worked best when they were dramas and the ones where they tried to be fun ("Spectre") fell flat to me.

So for me: (going on memory as I haven't seen a most of these in quite some time)
Connery = cool
Moore = campy
Lazenby (I never saw)
Dalton = serious
Brosnan = (mostly)fun
Craig = (mostly) serious

[ChrisIII]

Connery wasn't always goofy. His first two films aren't that too far off from the Craig films in tone. If you watch the films in order Craig also lightens up a lot after Quantum of Solace (Although he had plenty of light moments in CR), especially in the second half of SKYFALL.

Funny thing is bald movie Blofeld in OHMSS and YOLT is actually a bit toned down in a few ways. In the YOLT novel he actually wears Samurai armor and is also known as Shatterhand (Which would be an awesome title for a Bond movie but never has been used).

It's possible this novel Blofeld, who also has a "garden of death" inspired Safin.

Waltz camps it up a bit more in SPECTRE if you haven't seen it, he even has the cat. Part of the reason the character was changed is that the producers wanted to avoid comparisons to Austin Powers when they got the license to SPECTRE and Blofeld back (Basically, for years it was out of their hands due to a rights issue involving THUNDERBALL, which novel-wise introduced Blofeld and the organization).

[ChrisIII]

It's kind of weird, Dalton is probably the most serious Bond and the most uncomfortable with the humor, yet also had the goofiest villains in The Living Daylights with. Part of the General Koskov'ss thing was an act but he never seems intimidating and Whitaker is Joe Don Baker really camping things up with even statues made of his likeness but wearing the hairstyles and uniforms of various dictators. Necros comes across as pretty good although he's really just Red Grant with less dialogue and character. (Grant clones already being pretty much a recurring Bond trope as well).


Stromberg from TSWLM might've wanted to build a post-apocalyptic undersea city but he wasn't jumping around and cackling playing with miniatures at the end of the movie like Joe Don Baker was.

[Frobisher]

Waltz camps it up a bit more in SPECTRE if you haven't seen it, he even has the cat. Part of the reason the character was changed is that the producers wanted to avoid comparisons to Austin Powers when they got the license to SPECTRE and Blofeld back.

And then they made Bond and Blofeld adoptive brothers, which is literally straight out of Austin Powers In Goldmember.

[ChrisIII]

Here's an interesting video on the Blofeld/Dr. Evil stuff: