55 replies to this topic

[MR. BOND 93]

The 'Much appreciated, Brother" line kinda bothered me, but the scene where Felix distracted Bond in order to stop him from killing Le Chiffre was awesome.

Edited by MR. BOND 93, 29 November 2006 - 09:22 PM.

[00Twelve]

I hope this is the beginning of their eventual friendship.

[MR. BOND 93]

Agreed. Plus the chemistry between Craig and Wright seemed better than any other Bond movie that featured Leiter in it.

Edited by MR. BOND 93, 29 November 2006 - 09:30 PM.

[K1Bond007]

Do people have a problem with the line because Felix is black in this movie? As in if a white guy said the exact same line, none of you would have a problem? One person in this thread typed it as "brotha" which is rather sad. Seems like a lot of people are making a deal out of nothing, IMHO. Langley and MI6 often refer to each other as "brothers" in real life, films, and books. It's even been mentioned in previous Bond novels - specifically I recall it used in one of Gardner's novels (Licence Renewed maybe?) where they stamped a file with the line "Not For Brotherhood" (which I thought would make a good Bond title) which meant that it wasn't to be shared with Langley. I'm sure there are other uses.

[MR. BOND 93]

I have no problem with it. I actually prefer Leiter to be black.

[00Twelve]

I like the line "Not For Brotherhood" as a title as well, K1. And I don't think many folks have a problem with the race issue. At least, I certainly hope not.

Actually, I thought I'd have more issues with not sticking to Fleming's Felix, but the spirit is totally there, and Wright is a terrific actor. (Don't get the wrong idea from my sig! )

[K1Bond007]

I like the line "Not For Brotherhood" as a title as well, K1. And I don't think many folks have a problem with the race issue. At least, I certainly hope not.

I don't think many people have a problem that he's black, but instead with the use of a word that has a sort of racial association depending on its usage. Clearly this thread exists... whatever. I guess I don't see a problem .. or why this thread does exist.

[00Twelve]

Yes...good point!

[The Richmond Spy]

At least Bond doesnt go comedically ethnic like he does in TMWTGG with "I shuaa aahhhm, booyy!" when replying to Sherriff JW Pepper.

Actually, that quote easily makes my Top 10

[License To Kill]

TMWTGG and CR are like polar opposites of politically correctedness.

[bond_girl_double07]

Agreed. Plus the chemistry between Craig and Wright seemed better than any other Bond movie that featured Leiter in it.

Thank you finally! I couldn't agree more.. This is (in my mind) the first time that Bond and Leiter are believable friends!

Whoever pointed out the "Not for Brotherhood" cue from the novel is right.. If anything, the 'brother' line reminded me of Connery's repetition of the phrase "Spectre" in front of Largo.. Leiter is trying to remind Bond of their shared interest in the case (as well as to cement their new buddy relationship )..

Nuf Said!

[kneelbeforezod]

Wright is fantastic in CR... and I have a hunch that he took what amounts to a pretty small part after being promised that he'd have a lot more to do in the next film. If we can't have another involving romance in the next film, then how about a blossoming friendship?

Now, has anyone noticed this:

In the scene on the stairs, as Wright talks to Craig, he gets very close, and if you look at his eyes, he's not always keeping eye contact, his eyes drop and he appears to look Craig's face up and down, and look at his mouth.

I hesitate to say this round here but... it's vaguely erotic

[Mathis05]

All I can hope for is a greater part for Wright to play in Bond 22. That casting and his role has so much more potential to drive a story. Great fun!

[Stylo]

Do people have a problem with the line because Felix is black in this movie? As in if a white guy said the exact same line, none of you would have a problem? One person in this thread typed it as "brotha" which is rather sad. Seems like a lot of people are making a deal out of nothing, IMHO. Langley and MI6 often refer to each other as "brothers" in real life, films, and books. It's even been mentioned in previous Bond novels - specifically I recall it used in one of Gardner's novels (Licence Renewed maybe?) where they stamped a file with the line "Not For Brotherhood" (which I thought would make a good Bond title) which meant that it wasn't to be shared with Langley. I'm sure there are other uses.

I have no problem with any element of the casting, or the word "brother" whatsoever. It's very hard to imagine Jeffrey Wright wanting to play part written as "Token Gangsta CIA Guy". Equally hard to imagine Paul Haggis signing off on such a thing.

In the scene on the stairs, as Wright talks to Craig, he gets very close, and if you look at his eyes, he's not always keeping eye contact, his eyes drop and he appears to look Craig's face up and down, and look at his mouth.

I hesitate to say this round here but... it's vaguely erotic

LOL! He sees what would be obvious to a CIA agent - Bond is holding something behind his back and Leiter is trying to get a good look - then he sees the knife and says "have some faith, brother" as if he senses Bond's rage and desperation. It's brilliantly written and acted.

[bill007]

If Felix shows up again, I hope they use Jeffery. Not only because he did so well, but also to provide some continuity with the character. That was always botheriing me over the course of the serries.

[sharpshooter]

I absolutely hope Jeffrey Wright's Felix returns. For continuitys sake, and for the fact he is one cool Felix.

[VisualStatic]

I didn't even think of it as an ethnic line. When I heard him say it, my immediate thought was that he meant a fellow intelligence agent, sort of a brother's in arm type reference. Since I'm sure that the CIA and MI6 have worked together before.

[Skudor]

All I can hope for is a greater part for Wright to play in Bond 22. That casting and his role has so much more potential to drive a story. Great fun!

Agreed. I think they have set it up very nicely for some further development next time round. Just hope they don't go down the buddy movie route.... not that there's much risk. Anyway, Wright was great and had good chemistry with Craig (as far as can be judged from so little...).

[Arch Stanton]

Speaking of Wright as Felix, thought I's share this page from YTMND. Pretty funny little gag there: http://felixdoesnotbelong.ytmnd.com/



Wright kicked as Felix. Really hope he gets a bigger part in Bond 22.

Edited by Arch Stanton, 09 December 2006 - 02:46 AM.

[bond_girl_double07]

In the scene on the stairs, as Wright talks to Craig, he gets very close, and if you look at his eyes, he's not always keeping eye contact, his eyes drop and he appears to look Craig's face up and down, and look at his mouth.

I hesitate to say this round here but... it's vaguely erotic

I think they were playing Gay Chicken.. Craig won


Noooo, I didn't think it was erotic at all, I think they didn't want to be overheard, and Leiter was trying to get the knife away from Bond! Sheesh

[YellowDetective]

[quote name='shady ginzo' post='658640' date='28 November 2006 - 15:47']firstly, I thought the Felix "reveal" on the stairs was brilliantly done and would have been extra satisfying if the viewer were unaware of the casting.[/quote]

No kidding... I tell you, after reading the book only 2 mos ago, I was wondering when Leiter was going to introduce himself. I LOVED the way it was done... And the way he gave Bond the re-buy was better, too. It makes a lot more sense than simply being an onlooker who has money wired to out hero.

[quote name='shady ginzo' post='658640' date='28 November 2006 - 15:47']While I agree it could also be a cloak and dagger slang for

[Odd Job]

Like a lot of other posters, I thought Jeffrey Wright 'rocked' as Felix. It would be great to see him back in Bond 22 with a larger part. In the meantime, may I recommend watching him in 'Syriana'. This is an excellent and very thought provoking film.

[Santa]

Yep, JW was probably the best Felix I've seen . His Felix and DC's James Bond could quite believably become friends in the way Fleming had them in the books. I took the brother as both a reference to their 'special working relationship' and as part of that Felix's everyday vocabulary. It's unfortunate that the word has racial connotations now, and I admit it is probably most often used in certain racial contexts, but I also have some white, male Australian friends who call each other 'brother' as standard in the same way they call each other 'mate', and they're not related. Coming from JW it didn't seem at all forced to me and I'd love to see him more in the next films.

[bill007]

I'd consider it a compliment if Jeffery Wright called me 'brother.'

[DaveBond21]

firstly, I thought the Felix "reveal" on the stairs was brilliantly done and would have been extra satisfying if the viewer were unaware of the casting.

Yes, it was great as I didn't know he was Felix. I had also forgotten that Felix was in the movie at all, until that point.

[Judo chop]

I have no problem if Felix and Bond start to refer to each other as brother.

However, if Bond starts to ask Felix to