Daniel Craig unveiled as new James Bond
 

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Personally, I am very very disappointed to see that they decided not to pick Pierce Brosnan for the next Bond movie. He didn't voluntarily quit Bond, they let him go, as they wanted a younger star. I really liked Brosnan as Bond, and have usually been excited about upcoming Bond films, but it's going to feel weird without Brosnan. He was perfect for the part.

I think this is just what this tired old horse of a series needs... a younger more hard core Bond. Think of Connery in Dr. No. He kills without a second look. Doesn't rely on over the top gadgets.

I think the Bourne series already captures this niche perfectly.

Did anyone else read this and think, "They've given Brosnan the new role called "52"?

I'll be curious to see how this works out. I thought Layer Cake was allright, but definately was a riff off of Guy Ritchie and Tarrantino-esque themes. I'd like a few gadgets, just now all the crap they've had recently. That said, I think the biggest problem with Bond since the end of Roger Moore's tenture hasn't been the acting, it's been the script. You'd think the War on Terror (TM) would give them plenty of material, but nothing has hit like the early Connery era.

I agree about the scripts... well the plots really. I don't think the script has changed since they broke the mold way back in the 70s.

How many Bond films have their been since we started "The War on Terror"? I think it is really only Die Another Day in 2002... prior to that The World is Not Enough was made in 1999... Tthe plot for Die Another Day was most likely concieved prior to Sept 11, 2001.

well, i've been wondering if they think it's still too sensitive of a subject, or if they don't want to give terrorists any big ideas. maybe bond could be contracted by the riaa to hunt down p2p hosts?

but you're right - the plots have seemed mighty weak, and the chemistry between the actors has seemed pretty crappy too. i sometimes think in the move to downplay the outright sexism of the old bond, they actually pussified him too much. i think the character seemed to have lost some of his total badassness...instead of wimping him down, i wish they'd amp up his female costars more. two desparados instead of two co-dependents.

edit but i do like this actor, and i always pierce brosnan was a good choice for bond, in general. he was more of a roger moore type, this guy might just have the connery flavor to him.

Bond's not cutthroat enough for the RIAA. They'd have to get the Terminator or something.

Actually Brosnan quit, he never really like doing the Bond movies. Personally, I never really like Brosnan after Goldeneye, the quality of bond movie kinda went down after the producers thought he oughta have enough quirky gadgets. Die Another Day especially went too far.

The first time I saw "The Bourne Identity", I left the theater thinking about how there was no point in making any new Bond movies, as "Bourne" was pretty much the same thing, only much better.

The next Bond movie needs to focus on a couple of things: actually creating exciting car chases (when was the last good Bond car chase?), more direct killing of the bad guys (Guns and martial arts, not silly gadgets), and a generally more masculine Bond. Accomplish these things and maybe, just maybe, you'll create a Bond movie to rival Goldfinger. I'm not holding my breath, though...

man, i don't know. i tend to feel like the "car chase" is maybe a little played out. maybe do it in venice, and have a gondola chase? or in alaska, and have a sled dog chase. i'd like to see a seedier bond. or maybe drop moneypenny, crank the secretary back up to a hottie (i remember when moneypenny was hot) and have bond chase her around with a leash and a little whip and some scented body oil...ok, maybe not.

and speaking of martial arts, if they start having bond do all the wire-suspension "matrix-like" martial arts, i may go pee on the projector.

I've been looking at pictures of him for the last 15 minutes and I just don't see 'Bond.'

I like that they're taking the franchise down a different path. Dirtier and grittier are just what the doctor ordered, I think. Younger? I expected some brash late 20's indie actor with a nice smirk, not this guy.

I guess I'll just have to see the movie before making up my mind.

gothmund

have you seen layer cake? other than o'brien from star trek being a mobster (i hate to type cast, but that shit cracked me up) i thought this guy did a good job in "that type" of role. after roger moore, then dalton, and then pierce brosnan, i wonder if connery would fit the modern day mold of 007...and i think he's the best they've ever had, by far, hands down. roger moore got really dicey in the 80's if you ask me, but then again it was the 80's. i mean, duran duran. at least that's my opinion.

what i thought was funny was the line "it's not about redefing it, just about taking it somewhere it's never been before." huh?

Didn't Ian Flemming summarize Bond as a "Neanderthal in a tux?"
I think Craig fits that description just as Connery did in the beginning.
Although I liked Roger Moore when he was doing it (that's when I was growing up), I admit that he was the beginning of the more suave Bond. Hopefully Daniel Craig and the writers will take us back to what Flemming originally had in mind.

After seeing Layer Cake, oh, yeah, I'm looking forward to Daniel Craig. I'm hoping for an infusion of new energy and ideas.... I've always been a fan. But really, go see Layer Cake, you'll feel better about where Bond's going. It'll be a bit grittier, but definitely sexier. Don't get me wrong - I loved Brosnan, but a little roughness never hurt anyone..much. :p

Right now, I'd watch anything with Daniel Craig in it - he was fantastic in Layer Cake.

Hmmm. I read that they canned him because he was too old. I checked IMDB's news articles and they say the same thing; he would've done a fifth movie.

yeah, that's what i had done heard too...he was invited not to reappear in the role, so to speak....and if you're going for a younger, first novel Bond I guess you don't have a choice. It's like the Christian Bale move for Bond.

Either way, the next Bond movie couldn't possibly be worse than Die Another Day.








...could it?

It's another from the director of GoldenEye, so there is hope.

It's not just any Bond flick, it' Casino Royale. They better not screw this up.

As to the actor, a trim a tux and a devilish smirk.. yeah, I can see him as Bond.

snippet from CNN
I SO would have loved to see Colin Firth or Hugh Grant get it.....I might have actually gone to see a james bond movie if they had :lol:

shani Hugh "I'm a sop" Grant? Say it ain't so.

Personally, I just want a new Bond movie...

Doesn't matter to me who Bond is.

i thougth Die Another Day was one of the better Bond films. In any case, this guy looks like *I* could kick his ass. I dunno.

Third time's the charm, eh?

GO WATCH LAYER CAKE DAMMIT!
ahem. sorry.

He's not a pansy, he'll be fun!

I like Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, but I think that they would both make awful James Bonds. Neither of them have a hard enough edge to play Bond. Unless you wanted to change the franchise to a comedy...

Bumpity bump bump to that.

Time will tell, i am gona miss Q though.

yeah, what she said :D

but at least it would be somebody I wanted to look at!!!

sorry, Im not a huge bond fan.....I will only watch the Sean Connery ones and only if there is nothing else on tv :D

well, of course, but then again, you see, he's originally from scotland. makes perfect sense.

I saw Layer Cake, it's a great movie. I'm definitely looking forward to Casino Royale - I think it'll be amazing, and though I will miss Q a little, I'm looking forward to the "rougher" James Bond without his gadgets.

i wouldn't mind a little old school gadgetry myself - connery had a little bit. little neato pens and shit, swiss army knives that kind of stuff, groucho marx disguise kits. just not a suit case full of "i'm so bad i kick my own ass twice a day", you know?

Man, Hugh Jackman all the way. He was offered it 2 months ago - and rejected it.

He said he didn't like that fan base. Idiot.

IMDB news articles aren't that reliable, its the same as wilkpedia. It's based on collection of information from other sources. Plus, nowhere in the article that you posted did it says that Brosnan was canned, neither was there a subtext saying that he got the boot for a younger guy. Its understandable that the script for Casino Royale called for a younger bond but that doesn't mean Brosnan wouldn't get it.

http://www.universalexports.net/Movies/bond21.shtml

There are numerous sources on that particular page saying that Brosnan wanted to quit, especially in an interview done by Entertainment Weekly.

The only bond that can be bond is Connery. Roger Moore was too...corny but that's 70s/80s. Dalton was too darkish, then again that's just the 80s. George Lazenby was...just a blip on the bond radar

Okay, Okay...I'm going to watch Layer Cake since so many of you seem to think that it's going to change minds about this guy.

Just to clarify a bit...I'm not worried about his acting ability. There's a certain something that Bond has to have. Connery had it in spades, Moore kind of touched it every once in a while and Dalton was never anywhere near it. Brosnan, however, was probably the best Bond ever. Not the stories; the stories were convoluted confusing crap for the most part, but the essence of James Bond is? Brosnan had it.

Oh well, maybe the new kid has it...I'm off to see if I can pick up Layer Cake....

I heard that the producers wanted to bring in a new Bond, and that Brosnan had no choice. Brosnan was the best Bond in my opinion, he looks like Bond should, and has the strange sophistication that I think the character was designed for. That being said, Goldeneye was an excellent flick, and my favorite of the Bond movies, but the most recent installment was utter crap. I think what the producers did was look at the success of the movies and the video games, and whittle it down into a recipie:

Start with a base of Almost Retarded Gadgets

Add in:
1 Stupid Looking, Shitty Car (at least make it a 'vette or an S7 or something)
2 Crappy Sets
2 Pointless Driving Scenes
A pinch of Jokes that Aren't Funny
Add more Almost Retarded Gadgets to taste.

I've always thought that Bond's first scene in Goldeneye was comedy gold

[Russian in toilet cubicle looks around his newspaper to see Bond hanging from the ceiling]
James Bond: Beg your pardon, forgot to knock.

Suave. James Bond has to be suave. And I agree with you--Connery had it, Brosnan had it, but I don't see this guy as having it. I'm happy with the direction theyre taking the series, but I'm not sure that this guy was the best choice. If they're gonna make it just another action movie, leave it to the Bourne series, James Bond still has to have that suave, debonair manner. I dunno, I'll try to see Layer Cake, but that might be hard given that I'm living in Germany at the moment and a German dub would totally lose it all in translation.

As for the gadgets, a few well done gadgets have always been a part of the movies, but recently they were taken completely overboard. I think Brosnan was a close second actor to Connery, but that he was just given crap movies to work with--with the exception of Goldeneye, which was as close to classic bond as we have come recently.

True. So, I'll quote Brosnan's own website instead, then:

I enjoy the old james bond movies more. Where there wasn't as much 'running in and shooting everyone'. Also the invisible car in the last movie was just stupid. I agree with the recent gadgets being overblown. Compare the last movie with the older ones and it just feels like the whole thing has just been dumbed down into another action flick.

I'm not going to make any judgements until I see it I guess. I had no interest in 007 movies after Moore was out of the picture. Big mistake. I caught a bit of Die Another Day on HBO one evening when there seemed to be nothing else on. After that I decided to rewatch the entire series facilitated by my Netflix account. Brosnan IMO is the best Bond since Connery. I look forward to returning to the theater with a big tub of buttery (read greasy) popcorn and a vat of Coke to enjoy this movie and decide there if it is any good or not instead of making my decision now.

OK, I'm watching Layer Cake right now, and I think Craig can pull it off, but he's gonna have to totally reinvent the character. I don't think he has the same swagger as Brosnan or Connery did, but he could do the dark think well. Here's hoping he does it well, and doesn't try too much to impersonate his predecessor, who, like I said, I consider to be a rough tie with Connery for best Bond.