The New James Bond - Your thoughts

Porthos · The New James Bond - Your thoughts

Casino Royale is hitting the box office soon. I am going to keep up with tradition and see it, but I must say, that I am dissapointed with the man they selected to play 007. I think they should always go with a dark haired silky, like Pierce Brosnan or Sean Connery. Clive Owen would have made a great Bond, but he turned down the role. Welsh, Irish, or Scottish actors would be the ideal Bond for me, and Clive Owen would have been the best choice. This new guy is ugly, and he just doesn't seem to fit the profile of a good authentic Bond, because he looks so different. And I heard they have a character which is meant to be a Frenchwoman, although she is not even a French actress! That's cheezy when they do that.

Deborah

He seems OK to me, except for not having dark hair, which Bond is supposed to have. He's got a good voice, and he's not ugly -- IMO.

I was disappointed in the movie Bond right from the beginning. I'd already read a couple of the books before I saw Sean Connery's portrayal. I thought it was good casting, but I was taken aback by all the quips. I remember thinking, "James Bond would never joke around like that." Of course, that became one of his trademarks in the movies.

Porthos

But don't you think Clive Owen would have made a better Bond?

Porthos

And I think Bond should always be someone from the British Isles, and definitely not an American. There's also been a lot of talk about selecting a black James Bond. I don't like the idea, but if I had to pick a black actor for the role, I think Will Smith would fit the profile best. He's suave and classy and at the same time, capable of knocking a few heads in, just like Bond is supposed to be.

Elaine

Porthos

Yeah, the dude is pretty buff. I plan on getting pecs like that once I'm out of puberty, lol!

But here would have been my top pics for the new James Bond:
Clive Owen
Christian Bale (the latest Batman)

Don't you think they would have made great Bonds? Oh, and they're both Brits.

Joanne

Porthos

Nope. He damn well better have dark hair, and he should also be a silky, to keep with tradition, although James Bond is actually supposed to be English. The blond hair on this guy just doesn't cut it for me.

Deborah

Clive Owen would have been good. I think he'd have to buff up quite a bit to fit the Bond image, but plenty of actors have been done it before him.

Deborah

Speaking of blond Bonds, Sam Neill (a dark blond) was one of the candidates when Roger Moore left the role. I could see O'Neill as Bond.

Porthos

Porthos

I'm half Welsh. I think I should play Bond. I'd be a pimp!

Joanne

Uh-oh, Porthos... more trouble in Bondland!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q2E2hQp-094

Deborah

Joanne

Deborah

I just saw Casino Royale. I liked the movie, I liked Daniel Craig, and I liked Eva Green. There was also a great stuntman who was in the first chase sequence -- he even got his own credit at the beginning of the movie. I looked it up -- he's French athlete Sebastien Foucan.

I'll go so far as to say that this is one of the best Bond movies.

Elaine

Porthos

I know I want to see it really bad. Most of my friends already saw it, and they said it was one of the best Bond movies yet.

Elaine

Joanne

Porthos

Ladies,

A little off topic, but as long as Joanne mentioned it, I've been dying to ask this question. How exactly do women check out our butts when we don't even wear tight pants? I mean, the average guy these days wears somewhat loose fit jeans or slacks. So, how do you see our butts to make an informed opinion about them? Most women wear form fitting pants, so for us, it's like, "Bam, in your face!", "baby got back!". But it's different for men, as we don't wear tight fitting clothes.

Deborah

In the movie, did Vesper see Bond come out of the water before she made that remark? It didn't seem amiss when she said it, so maybe the screenwriters figured that the audience might already be thinking that, having seen him come out of the water, and wouldn't stop to think about whether Vesper actually had any means of knowing.

Joanne

My husband was saying the same thing. Bond came out of the water in the Bahamas, before he met Vesper. She said he had a perfect ass when she only had a decent front view of him to go on. Although, I suppose she could have been checking him out before she actually introduced herself.

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Deborah

After reading Porthos's post in another thread about text messaging in English, I realized how little Bond movies mean to me in general. Despite having enjoyed Casino Royale and having liked Daniel Craig, when I came across the mention of the new James Bond movie in Porthos's text message, I realized that I had already stopped thinking about it. In contrast, great moments from the Creature Comforts DVD I got my roommate for her birthday a couple of weeks ago are still popping into my head.

laura

sorry, but I don't like the new James Bond...

maybe I'm just too used to the old imagine of this character...

but the new one doesn't look like the traditional James Bond should be...

Fredrik

Loic

I hope you're joking, Fred, but a black James Bond would provoke massive outrage from the 007's fans. Witness the outpouring of reaction from many quarters already just because the current double 0 7 is blond.

James Bond is supposed to be born to a French mother and a Welsh father, if I am not mistaken.

Actually, does anyone here read the books? I have only thumbed through Casino Royale back in secondary school and I wasn't particularly enthralled by it. I guess spy thrillers aren't my cup of tea.

Deborah

Shouga

I liked it. It was both funny and somewhat sad.

Uriel

Okay, I would be horrified by Will Smith as James Bond. There is nothing suave about that man at all. he's cheesy and full of himself and irritating as hell. And those ears! Man looks like a taxi with the doors open. Nothing remotely sexy, urbane, or dangerous about him. Sorry. Uh-uh.

Clive Owen would have made an excellent 007. Did you catch him in Sin City? Totally has that edgy noir thing down, and he ain't hard to look at, either, without being too pretty.

Agree that a black Bond would be pretty strange, but hey -- if they went down that road, I think Chiwetel Ejiofor would be my candidate, based on his performance as the calm, cool psuedo-samurai assassin in Firefly (and not so much as Keira Knightley's better half in Love, Actually). After all, I was shocked when they cast Mos Def as Ford Prefect in Hitchhiker's Guide, but he pulled it off perfectly -- and not only was he black, but American to boot! So anything's possible with the right actor.

Deborah

Loic

He would not. Having a James Bond of colour would be political correctness gone mad. Even the most savvy marketing man in the world would not be able to rectify the backlash of such a casting decision.

Deborah

Uriel

If a black 007 offends the sensibilities, perhaps it is time for a 008!

[img]It would work for me! I grew up watching the classic 19th-century European ballets and am accustomed to seeing non-European dancers in leading roles (such as Asian ballerinas dancing the role of Giselle -- a German peasant girl -- or black/hispanic danseurs playing Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake). Those ballets are fantasies, but then so are Bond movies.[/img]

Exactly. Look at all the black and Asian opera singers, singing and acting in an inherently European art form, telling historically European stories. It was once thought ridiculous to have a black soprano sing in those roles. Now people line up to pay for tickets. It's the performance, not the person.

Joanne

I don't know about you guys, but during the Pierce Brosnan era, I had always found myself wishing that Colin Salmon -- who played the bit part of "Charles Robinson" in the 007 movies -- was James Bond instead of Brosnan:

God, that man is gorgeous, and he has the loveliest baritone voice...

Pauline

Loic,

if your reason for not have a black James Bond, is because in the storys his parents are french and welsh, then it's not a good reason !!! (my opinion of course )

In france there are very many black french peolpe, so maybe James Bond's mother /father was black french or welsh. I don't know if there's black people in Wales, but I can't imagine that there are only 100 % pure celt white people there. for sure, there are secret agents of all ethnies.Also, maybe those french /welsh parenst adopted him. there are many possibilities !!!

Pauline

Deborah

Yes, Colin Salmon is very nice, but Chiwetel gets my vote for the first black Bond:

Shown here with, appropriately enough, Clive Owen:

And he 6 years younger than Daniel Craig, so Craig could get a nice run and then hand the role over the Ojiofor.

Benjamin [inactive]

Loic

It is not about racism or about having a parochial mindset. It's about being faithful to the spirit as well as the letter of the book.

Has anyone here watched The Nativity? What pleased me in the film was the total absence of any blond and blue-eyed Nordic-like people in the cast. All of them had dark features and rather Semitic appearances which only serve to make the story more believable and real.

Yes, there are Welshmen of black ancestry. There are certainly many Frenchmen whose forebears hail from Africa or the French West Indies. That is not the point. Ian Fleming had in mind the archetypal European playboy who is able to be as charming at the poker table as in bed.

If there is a historical film on the life of Martin Luther King Jr, would you recommend a white actor to play him then?

Deborah

Loic

That is just a superficial improvisation. I am sure Ian Flemming would have been pleased with anything that'd enhance the character of his invented character.

Deborah

Loic

Well, it is true that James Bond is a fictional character. You do have to realise, though, that for some people, he is larger than life. He transcends the boundaries set by Ian Flemming.

Personally, I am not madly in favour about a James Bond that deviates so much from his predecessors in a physical aspect. Anyway, I feel that the discussion about his race is purely academic as the producers would probably not plumb for a James Bond of colour.

Speaking of Casino Royale in general and the Bond girls in particular, has anyone noticed how the ravishing Eva Green seems to get fitter and fitter?

Elaine

Deborah

Eva Green was also in that recent movie about the crusades (don't remember the title). I really like her face. I haven't noticed her looking particularly fit, though -- to me, looking fit means having more obvious muscle tone. But she has a comely figure.

Joanne

Eva Green and Gillian Anderson both remind me of an econ professor I once had. It's the eyes, mostly... diamond-shaped with an evil, icy stare *shudder*

Deborah

Kingdom of Heaven is that movie about the crusades that Eva Green was in. Before that, she was in Bertolucci's The Dreamers.

Elaine

Ah! I must've missed those two movies. Were they any good?

Deborah

Uriel

Okay, I finally saw Casino Royale last night, and that movie was EXCELLENT. I loved it. It was a refreshing change to see a flick that was all about action and balls (in more ways than one!) and not so much about the silly gadgets and cheesy one-liners.

Did I buy Daniel Craig as Bond? You're darn tootin'! He was better than most, and by now, I'm so used to Bond changing faces more often than Batman that I really don't care. Call it the Dr. Who syndrome -- you just suspend your disbelief and get on with the story. And I liked the tough son-of-a-bitch Bond better than the British Rico Suave thing that's been happening lately. His blond hair and blue eyes bothered me not at all -- when he was shirtless, I didn't even notice them!

I do remember actually reading an Ian Fleming Bond novel once (don't ask me which one), and I remembered his manner, but not his physical description, anyway. As long as he's sleek and fit and has that riveting animal presence, it doesn't much matter what the details of shade and hue are.

Loic