hey Bond fans, looks what I found...

[Pierre.Suave]

http://www.007.com/

You can watch the trailer there, looks like another kick ass Bond movie coming out.

[bikebloke]

1. Daniel Craig may just ursurp Sir Sean

As my favourite Bond...after David Niven & Woody Allen, of course.

The trailer has been out on worstpreviews.com for a couple weeks(in case anyone has trouble playing it up there).

[Deja Q]

4. Sean was okay, but he was as wooden as Pinewood Studios was.

(Sean was still far better than Brosnan... :D)

[Taverner]

9. But Woody wasn't James Bond, he was Jimmy Bond

His neurotic cousin

[JeanGrey]

23. NEVER. Sean will always be James Bond, the best.

[jobycom]

35. Well, he certainly was the best up until Roger Moore. Then debate begins.

I never liked Connery when I was younger. Seemed dull and lifeless. I read that Ian Flemming once described him as an overblown stunt man, and wanted Roger Moore to replace him long before Moore actually agreed to.

I like him more now than I used to. Kind of like the Beatles--once I put them in an historical context, I understood them better. But even now, Sean Connery's Bond seems a half-step above Stephen Seagal or Jean Claude Van Damme. He's got two or three expressions and a cool delivery line, but not a lot of depth. The directing made "From Russia with Love" and "Goldfinger" as great as they were.

I used to love Roger Moore's Bond, but that's what I grew up on. Now I don't like him as much. He's a better actor than Connery, shows a more complete character. But he's too smug at times. Some of that depends on the directing and the film.

Dalton was underrated. Best actor so far to play Bond, but they had lost all ideas for scripts in that era between the Cold War and terrorism. No clear moral enemy for the absolute moral absolutism required of Bond. So Dalton's films lacked the driving enemy to pit himself against.

Brosnan combined parts of Moore and Connery. He had Moore's suave and emotional demeanor along with Connery's lethal detachment. Plus he added a playful boyishness that fit the 90s so well. Like Dalton, he didn't have a clear enemy, but they were able to adapt current events and the international organized crime brought on by the Soviet Union collapse to develop some good stories. Still, it was clear they were lost.

I love Daniel Craig. He has Dalton's acting ability, Connery's lethal edge, Brosnan's playfulness without any boyishness, and Moore's emotional range without having Moore's touchy-feely sensitivity or paternalistic misogyny. He also incorporates Steve McQueen's masculine cool (Flemming wanted McQueen to be Bond at one point). They avoid the infallible superhero aura that infects all previous Bonds (except Connery in "From Russia with Love"). Craig's Bond is sexist but not paternalistic, confident but often wrong, and playful but not juvenile. You can believe he's real, almost.

Plus, the scripts went back to the original Flemming story (which were always superior to the mishmash adaptations that most Bond films were), modernized but not completely corrupted. Once satellites and computers were available, a lot of Flemming's stories were dated, as was the use for a Bond style spy. Most of what Bond did a computer or other electronic spy gadgets could do better. In the books Bond was often alone, left to rely on his own wits without time to appeal for help. In the age of instant communications and spy satellites, that seemed unrealistic. Later Bonds used current technology as part of the story to make the events bigger and bolder and more dramatic, but in doing so they made Bond less necessary. Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan became commanders, often working at the head of elite forces in conjunction with international commando units, to accomplish their goals.

None of that was what Flemming wrote. Bond was a lone operator, matching wits and experience and instinct against criminal minds. He was Philip Marlow (Flemming admitted this), not Horatio Caine. That's why the stories got less interesting.

"Casino Royale" found a way to get back to the lone assassin/private eye. Borrowing from writers like John Le Carre and Robert Ludlum, they re-tooled Bond as an infiltrator, able to use modern technology, but still requiring wits and instinct in situations where the world's resources were not available. The newest Bond is trying to save the world one case at a time, not having to diffuse the final extermination of all civilization with 007 seconds left on the timer.

So it's not really, to me, that Craig is a better Bond than Connery. To me it's that Craig's Bond films, so far, are better than most past Bond films. To me, two Bond films stand alone as excellent movies in their own right, not just interesting installments in a decades-long series that at times is way beyond its usefulness. Those films are "From Russia with Love" and "Casino Royale."

There's my essay. No one will read it all. :) I just like to write.

[Occam Bandage]

37. I read and enjoyed every line.

I'm not at all a fan of Roger Moore. MWTGG and Moonraker were my introductions to the Bond series, so that colors my perception of him a bit...

[jobycom]

39. Ick. Moonraker was easily the worst Bond film.

I barely remember "Golden Gun." I think I saw part of it on tv way back when, but didn't see the whole thing until recently. It wasn't horrible, but it didn't stick in my mind, either.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

58. Agreed, big time

It is the only Bond film that is literally unwatchable. The one debating point about this bomb is whether Lois Chiles or the guy who played Drax (with all of the vitality and menace of a cigar store Indian loaded with Thorazine) turned in a worse performance.

[ForrestGump]

41. Excellent!

And I agree with you pretty much all the way. I've recently watched all the James Bond films that I hadn't ever seen or hadn't seen in a long time, not in release order (believe it or not, I'd never seen a complete Sean Connery installment except for the pretty bad Never Say Never Again), and feel I've got a pretty good sense of it all. I grew up with Roger Moore as 007 (first James Bond film for me was The Man With The Golden Gun, and I loved it -- I was too young for Live And Let Die but remember all the raving about it and the product merchandising) so he'll always be a sentimental favorite from the nostalgia viewpoint, but it's also true that he did some great stuff and when he was subpar it was usually because the script was. For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me were always my favorites, I guess, and Octopussy was the last Bond film I saw in the theater (recently on DU I claimed I'd never sene it, but when I watched it a few weeks ago I realized I'd made an oopsie) until Casino Royale. I didn't see either of the Dalton films 'til way later (the second just last year) and I similarly only caught some of the Brosnan films years after their release, except for the execrable Die Another Day that I saw twice (to give it a fair shot) as an inflight movie on long transPacific hops and didn't like any better the second time around.

I'm not sure I'd want to choose who was the best Bond, or even particularly rank them. They all, including Lazenby, delivered entertainment and the differences in acting (combined with writing and direction) were differences more than they were hallmarks of quality ranking. I wouldn't say Moore was the best, for sure, but it seems like many who grew up with the '60s films are pretty adamant that Connery was God. I guess I can understand that...I always liked the first (well, fourth) Star Wars better than the second, no matter that many rate the second higher, didn't even see the third (Jedi) until video, and still have not seen any of the three prequels based on my perception -- boosted mightily by seeing ten minutes or so of rampant CGI pointlessness that looked no better than any standard sci-fi action film and worse than many -- that they were likely utter crap. Anyway, I am a fan of Sean Connery as an actor (okay, maybe not so much in Diamonds Are Forever, not that eh was really in it in any meaningful sense), but I tend to prefer his latter-day movie roles, starting with things like Robin And Marion and going on to The Rock and less action-oriented fare of the last three decades.

Daniel Craig, though....yeah, he's a radical departure, looks-wise, for anyone who grew up watching James Bond movies. But he might just be perfect and, in the same sense that the new Batman franchise fulfills, this 'reboot' of the series may be not only just what is needed but produce the best Bond films yet. For a while at least.

[jobycom]

59. Connery, Die Another Day, and Star Wars!

Just random comments on your comments. :) First, I like Connery's later stuff, too. He was good in "The Untouchables," even though I thought that was an over-rated film. He even made train wrecks like "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman" somewhat watchable. I just thought he was dull as Bond. Maybe that's a generational perception--men were supposed to be more stoic back in that era, I've heard.

"Die Another Day," I didn't hate. It had moments, but the FX at the end wore it down for me. Too much chase, not enough story. I loved the prologue, and the scene where he walked into the hotel in his hospital jammies was classic Brosnan--the good classic Brosnan, not the bad. I liked it up until the ice palace fight, and after that the FX got monotonuous, silly, and unbelievable to the point of distraction. The wave surfing just about made me walk out, but since I watched it at home, I just walked to the fridge to get a snack, instead. Halle Berry, one of my favorite actresses from before she became a superstar, was completely flat. Some actors can transition from serious actor to superhero--Angelina Jolie comes to mind--others can't.

Star Wars: it's popular to hate the later (earlier?) installments, but I liked them. They weren't the magical creations of the original three (well, two), but they completed the story nicely. For me, they make "Return of the Jedi" more watchable, because I could finally give a darn about saving Vader.
And the second and third of the Prequel series would have been better with a different Anakin. Whatever charm Hayden Christenson has off screen that makes people like him, it doesn't translate on screen. "Attack of the Clones" was awful during his scenes. He had no chemisty with Portman at all.

Told you I like to write. :)

[Pierre.Suave]

56. LOL

I just read it while waiting for DS1 to respond to me below...

:rofl:

[JeanGrey]

60. Roger Moore is my least favorite Bond. He turned Bond

into a cartoon character.

[Auggie]

33. Craig is a good Bond, but his look suggests he'd make a better villain.

I always thought Bond played better with a debonair, refined look.

[ForrestGump]

42. This is pretty much how Fleming saw Bond:

But, yeah, the way he's been played so far was definitely swave and deboner. That Ian Fleming wanted him played by people like David Niven and Roger Moore says a lot, but the literary Bond (from memory...I think the last time I read a Bond book was about 1980) was definitely cold, rough, and brutal, and Daniel Craig's probably played that better than the others (including Connery, and also Dalton).

[mduffy31]

46. Yes but Bond at heart is a sociopath

Given that he is the state's sociopath though

[Parche]

2. He Looks Like A Proctologist

:woohoo: :hi:

[Deja Q]

3. OCTOBER 31ST? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (It was due for Nov 7, 2008)

:party:

if this one is as good as Casino Royale, Mr. Craig will be #1 on my 'favorite Bond actor' list, if not 'favorite flavor of Bond flick' list.

Nice machine gun too -- and I'm always a sucker for revenge-themed plots (remember 'Licence to Kill', which felt like a longer, more expensive, and much better acted version of 'Miami Vice'? :D )

[kay1864]

11. Only in the UK

Still Nov 7 in the US.

(two weeks before Harry Potter :bounce:)

[Deja Q]

14. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[kedrys]

20. Dammit.

I just taunted the s.o. for nothing. :P

(no likie going to movays, the s.o.)

[Pierre.Suave]

21. Agreed

I want the movie damnit, I do NOT want to wait one more week..

I am FLYING to England for the Premier... :rofl:

[pokerfan]

22. The H&K UMP

When you can't afford the MP5...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. sexiest Bond ever...

Daniel Craig ~sigh~

[Pierre.Suave]

6. You know that...

they modeled him after me, right?


:rofl:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. sure they did...

Dr. No, I presume :D

On edit: We need pictures, please.

[Pierre.Suave]

10. My pictures are around here...

...somewhere...

:P

[MicaelS]

8. Saw that the other day...

It's an immediate sequel, starts about 1 hour after Casino ended.

[pokerfan]

24. With the interrogation of Mr. White, I would imagine

[MicaelS]

28. Absolutely n/t

[Westegg]

12. 007 on Mars, apparently.

[jobycom]

36. One of Flemming's short stories takes place in part in a setting like that.

Bond is along a beach, and gets pursued into some gravel wasteland. It wasn't "Quantum of Solace." I think it was "Risico," and was the original source for the story of Aristotle Kristatos and Milos Columbo, which was incorporated into the movie "For Yours Eyes Only."

That's what I thought of when I saw that poster, but I don't know if it has anything to do with the movie. The short story "Quantum of Solace" takes place in the Bahamas, and is only nominally a Bond story. Bond has just completed a mission, and is at dinner with the governor, who tells him a story of an unfaithful wife and the husband's abusive revenge. But the short story was published in a collection called "For Your Eyes Only," and included "Risico." The movie "For Your Eyes Only" combined parts of several of those short stories, so I'm wondering if the new movie will do something like that.

[Sequoia]

13. Why does he need such a giagantic gun?

And aren't you in Med school? Crack open those books, no fun or movies for you! Aren't you getting married soon by the way, to that beautiful gal of yours?

[Pierre.Suave]

15. The gun only appears huge

it looks like a H&K MP40, a scaled up version of the MP5 designed to shoot the .40S&W round which packs more punch than the 9mm round of the MP5. The extension is a silencer.

Marine mode off...:P

Med school starts on the 25th and the wedding is next summer.

[Sequoia]

16. You certainly seem to know your guns.

And bravo on the school and wedding. You have a full rest of the year. Thanks for the Bond tip, I'll have to rent the last one of that rad Bond.

[Pierre.Suave]

17. The Marine side of me dies hard...

Or never at all most likely...

[Sequoia]

18. I see. JAR HEAD !!!

The Few

The Proud

The Marines !!

Once a Marine, always a Marine, heh?

My bro-in-law was a Marine.

[DS1]

32. Tedious, isn't it?

[Pierre.Suave]

44. ...

:P

[DS1]

48. HOORAH DEVILNECK LEATHERDOG!

:P :P

[Pierre.Suave]

52. lol

now I know you know you got that wrong...

:P

[Frank Cannon]

19. As I recall, this was the gun he used to kneecap a guy at long range...

in the last movie, after calmly calling the dude up on his cell phone.

I'm really digging this Craig portrayal. At last, 007 really is a "blunt instrument" in ridiculously expensive suits and sports cars.

[pokerfan]

26. I believe that it's a UMP

in 9mm (note the curved magazine).

[Pierre.Suave]

29. I saw that after I posted

damn curved magazines...

and why in the hell is Bond using a wimpy 9mm? :P

[pokerfan]

38. Why did Fleming's Bond use a .32?

But I would imagine that 9mm is a very popular movie cartridge, available in a variety of loads including blanks.

Going back to your earlier post, is there an updated MP-40? I am only aware of the WWII version:



My other question is how/why does Bond lug that full-sized P99 around? I would have thought that the compact version would have been more appropriate.

[Pierre.Suave]

43. I thought there was

and that was the name of the .40 cal version.

It may have been inaccurate, or someone elses shorthand that I picked up. I really have not stayed on top of these things since leaving the Corps which was about 8 years ago. So the potential I was incorrect is very real.

I do actually own a Walther P99 chambered in .40S&W, I like it and it makes sense for Bond to carry an SMG in .40S&W as well as hand gun chambered in the same round simply because you don't need to carry two different types of ammo, no errors in reloading during tense times, etc...

I do not know if the writers took that into account though...Probably not.

I think Ian Fleming's Bond carried the .32 for concealment purposes...

[pokerfan]

45. I was only objecting to the full sized P99

that he's been carrying since Tomorrow Never Dies. Someone should let Q Branch know that there's a compact version available that is more suited for concealed carry. :)

I own a USP (compact) in .40S&W and I couldn't imagine carrying its big brother concealed.

I was mainly questioning the choice of the .32 (7.65) when the .380 was also available in the PPK and is so much more effective. Of course, Hitler shot himself in the head with a PPK in .32 so it has that going for it.

[Pierre.Suave]

47. Little guns dont sell movie tickets...

and they look wimpy. Movie goers do not care about practicality...:P

Was the PPK chambered in .380 when Ian Fleming began writing his books? Another concern is the .32 may be easier to silence, or have more killing power when subsonic and silenced.

but, I do not really know.

[pokerfan]

49. Available since 1939 if not earlier

And, like the .32, it is subsonic and easily suppressed. I think Fleming just had a fascination with small calibers, the Beretta .25 for example. Alistair MacLean shared a similar fetish as well even creating exotic sub .22 calibers. The unassuming British agent with the little but lethal gun...

One notable exception was 'Live and Let Die' where Bond carried a .44 Magnum. That was Eon's response to the success of Dirty Harry much as Moonraker was their response to 'Star Wars.'

[DS1]

50. I think you're both wrong, I think it's an MP5 with a silencer

[Pierre.Suave]

51. Clearly, it is not

[DS1]

53. Disagree

:P

yeah, of course I got it wrong. That what happens when you spend more than a year in the fleet, beatch!

[Pierre.Suave]

54. I cant help it if I went from training to school

to training to school for most of my time in until I was finally given leave and promptly wrecked my motorcycle, ending my career abruptly...

However, I DID get in the fleet...What an experience that was...

[pokerfan]

55. Note the folding stock

The fore-grip and sights are also different.

It's a UMP...



http://www.imfdb.org/index.php?title=Heckler_%26_Koch_UMP

[DS1]

57. Yeah

See that :)

[bridgit]

25. Seen the trailer on the big screen today, we'll be there

[Connonym]

27. Jack White (of White Stripes and Raconteurs) and Alecia Keyes are doing the theme song

I 3> Jack White

[Blue_Tires]

30. i hope it's good

a lot of beautiful Aston Martins had to die for this to get made....

[Pierre.Suave]

31. Yes, I forgot about that...

What a shame...:(

[kay1864]

34. Thought there was just one

And per Wikipedia, the one they flipped (only one take on that stunt!) was not the Aston Martin DBS V12 ($265K), but rather the Aston Martin DB9 ($185K).

I mean, c'mon, they saved a whole 80K, fer crissakes! :crazy:

Did I miss another Aston Martin death? :cry:

[ReadTomPaine]

40. Starring Alexander Putin as James Bond.

Separated at birth?