66 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

Elliot Carver is one of my favorite villains. I think Bruce Feirstein had the right idea to create something new for a Bond villain. Jonathan Pryce is perfect casting. Carver gets some of the best lines ever:

"Good morning my golden retrievers! What sort of havoc shall the Carver Media Group Network create in the world today?"

"Words are the new weapons. Satellites, the new artillery."

"There's no news, like bad news."

AND, OF COURSE,

"Delicious!"

What is your take on this villain?

[Righty007]

He was cool, I guess. I think he looked like an idiot when he tried to imitate Wai Lin's karate moves.

[ShockTroop22]

I liked him, alot of people dont, but i think he made a really good excentric/weird villain.

[License To Kill]

Carver, greatest villain of all time behind Blofeld (YOLT)

[YOLT]

I think he is very good, very very good. TND is new in so many ways and old (following the series not personal things ) in so many ways. And that makes the last great Bond film for me. He could have been better, but he is fine for me.

"Let the mayhem begin"

[Double-Oh-Zero]

I feel he's a very underrated villain, along with Kananga/Mr. Big. He's a very intelligent and calculating villain, but still humourous. "Spare me the techno babble, please." Love that bit. Although I felt that once he cringingly imitated Wai-Lin's karate moves, the character was shot to hell.

[Bond111]

He is one of my favorite Bond villains. It was nice to see a bit of a change from the "I'm going to take over the whole world" kind of person.

[BondChick007]

He kinda was one of those, "I'm going to take over the world" guys. Which BTW, I was reading in the TV guide the description of DAD. It said 'James Bond teams up with a beautiful woman to stop a man trying to take over the world.' I know every movie is different but I just thought how funny that line is. You could use that description for almost every bond movie couldn't you?

Anyway back to Elliot. I thought He was a fine villian, not one of my favorites, but still underrated. I do wish they could have developed his character more though. And I also agree the Wai Lin thing killed him. He started off so well...

[BONDFINESSE 007]

carver is the best brosnan's bond has faced off with yet

[Blofeld's Barber]

I think I'm the only one who found Carver's mock attempt at karate funny....he's just so egotistical and cocky in that scene.

[Doubleshot]

Elliot Carver.

Complete fool. His dumbness reminds me most of the 70s Bond villians, which I think this otherwise mindblowing and entertaining Bond most reminds me of. Here we have what could have been a great villian (as Fierstein originally wrote in his first draft), but somewhere in the process he became a complete mess with no motivation. I love Jonathon Pryce and I think he was very good as a Bond villian but I detest this idiotic villian.

IMO, he's the weakest of the otherwise strong Brosnan villians.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Originally posted by Blofeld's barber
I think I'm the only one who found Carver's mock attempt at karate funny....he's just so egotistical and cocky in that scene.

I thought that was the intended impression. His take on martial arts is just a lot of Asian mumbo-jumbo dancing. Mind you he only does that after he's got the upper hand.

[Righty007]

Originally posted by bond111
He is one of my favorite Bond villains. It was nice to see a bit of a change from the "I'm going to take over the whole world" kind of person.

He did try to take over the world by using his media to reach every single person in the world. He tried to complete his goal by trying to start a war between China and Britain to get media rights in China for the next 100 years.

[Bond111]

True, but at least they put a spin on it.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

caver was one of the most suave bad guys bond has ever met

[Qwerty]

I also find his take on karate against Wai Lin funny and stupid together. But it adds to the character.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

Originally posted by Qwerty
I also find his take on karate against Wai Lin funny and stupid together. But it adds to the character.

but keep in mind he was really just making fun of wai lin, so what he was doing really was not dumb or stupid

[Qwerty]

True, BONDFINESSE 007.

[Doubleshot]

That scene is one of the few things I like about the character, and I think (not sure, will have to check the Roger Spottiswoode commentary for confirmation) that was all add-libbed by Pryce, who I think made the character a lot better on film than on the page.

[Harmsway]

I liked Elliot Carver. Johnathan Pryce took a potentially mediocre character and turned him into a vivid, suave, and wonderfully over-the-top villain worthy of 007.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

carver may have been the most sauve of the bond bad guys

[kevrichardson]

Elliot Carver was a move in the right direction for Bronsan Bond villian . The part certainly would have been better had Anthony Hopkins follow up on his end .

[Tarl_Cabot]

He's just not threatening enough for me.I don't see why he'd spend so much money(slealth boat!) on a plan to have 'exclusive broadcast rights'. Just seems really silly...He's already a billionaire...On paper I'm sure the villian was more interesting but it was paper thin in the film for me. The film was the most entertaining Brosnan for me though.

[Bond111]

It does seem silly, but he was mentally ill, at least I'd like to think so.

[Dmitri Mishkin]

Originally posted by Tarl_Cabot
He's just not threatening enough for me.I don't see why he'd spend so much money(slealth boat!) on a plan to have 'exclusive broadcast rights'. Just seems really silly...He's already a billionaire...On paper I'm sure the villian was more interesting but it was paper thin in the film for me. The film was the most entertaining Brosnan for me though.

I can see what you mean, Tarl. But I thought the idea of a media baron seeking world domination was current, and for once, plausible. How can one truly gain influence and control in the world today? There are the explicit methods, i.e. run for political office, obtain dangerous weapons and hold the world ransom. But those are obvious and transparent. Using the media to control minds is not. It's more subtle in method, using indirect channels to infiltrate public minds, but in the end, it achieves the same result. He may have been a billionaire already but being a billionaire and having influence on the world and its perceptions, worries and decisions puts him in an ultimate position of power.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't executed well on-screen. Jonathan Pryce was given some great dialogue to deliver, some he did well. Thankfully, Feirstein paints him as the articulate, eloquent man that you would expect in such a position, but on the whole the character is simply not convincing enough. Where was the Carver Media Group's cool, objective coverage in other parts of the world? Why weren't we given a greater sense of the extent of his power and empire? As it stands, a brilliant character in concept, pulled off underwhelmingly.

[Dunph]

Just like the film, I feel Carver is a wonderful pick-up-and-play villain. I don't take him particularly seriously, he hasn't got a wonderfully elaborate background. He's just a mentally ill/eccentric entrepreneur with an extreme inferiority complex.

The script was all over the place. Stamper was severely underdeveloped, almost criminally so. That's what I don't like about Tomorrow Never Dies, other than that, thoroughly entertaining.

[License To Kill]

Originally posted by Doubleshot
Elliot Carver.

Complete fool. His dumbness reminds me most of the 70s Bond villians, which I think this otherwise mindblowing and entertaining Bond most reminds me of. Here we have what could have been a great villian (as Fierstein originally wrote in his first draft), but somewhere in the process he became a complete mess with no motivation. I love Jonathon Pryce and I think he was very good as a Bond villian but I detest this idiotic villian.  

IMO, he's the weakest of the otherwise strong Brosnan villians.

Double: You think Renard was a strong villian?

[BondChick007]

I think renard was a stronger villian. 3rd out of 4, but still stronger than Carver imo.

[Harmsway]

Really? I thought Renard was an incredibly weak villain. A lot of potential, but still the cliche terrorist. They didn't do enough with the fantastic idea of feeling no pain.

[Dunph]

I say it was all originated with Stamper anyway, having his nervous system reversed or something, pleasure/pain. Again, never explained in the sodding film.