19 replies to this topic

[Skin 17]

I have seen quite a few websites that critique him as a weak villian. I personally think that he was rather forgetable. However, I believe that his character was a good idea but needed to be written better. What do you guys think?

Edited by Skin 17, 06 August 2005 - 08:41 PM.

[k13oharts]

Define "weak"? Is it because he loses to Bond?
I don't think so.
Vendetta against Her Majesty's government is seething quite clearly in him.
Psychologically, as a character, it works properly IMO.
Being a Lienz Cossack, that is.

How much else do we know about his character?

[hcmv007]

I think of all of Bond's villains, he was the deadliest, but all he attempted was a bank robbery, and wrecking London. Evil, but not as sinister as Blofeld or Drax.

[onthetracksof007]

At least he gave us a kick fight on the sattelite dish.
In other words, he at least was a physical threat to Bond and an equal in many ways. I like that a lot better than the businessman villain like the
Stromberg, Drax, Kristatos and Elliot Carver characters.

[hcmv007]

At least he gave us a kick fight on the sattelite dish.
In other words, he at least was a physical threat to Bond and an equal in many ways. I like that a lot better than the businessman villain like the
Stromberg, Drax, Kristatos and Elliot Carver characters.

[Skin 17]

[quote name='hcmv007' date='6 August 2005 - 18:02']I think of all of Bond's villains, he was the deadliest, but all he attempted was a bank robbery, and wrecking London.

Edited by Skin 17, 07 August 2005 - 01:23 AM.

[bryonalston]

I feel that if his background didn't contain one of the largest plot holes in Bond film history (tied with Blofeld not recognising Bond in OHMSS and Khan crushing the real egg in OP,) then it would have been much less distracting. I do like how he was a physical threat to Bond, but I would have preferred to see Trevelyan as Bond's mentor or even an aging 006 (Bond might have thought that an aging agent wouldn't have survived Severnaya anyways. Trevelyan's beef with Bond could have simply been because he thought that Bond figured he was too old to survive on his own, which is why he changed the timers to 3 minutes.)

[Righty007]

006 was a good villain. How many times has Bond went up against someone with the same skills as himself? Never. James Bond won because he is James Bond.

[TortillaFactory]

Personally I think Sean Bean is a first-rate actor with outstanding screen presence, so that you almost don't notice how lame his "sinister" plot is. Yes, he's a great villain, and his personal connection with Bond makes him that much deadlier. Still, he could've come up with something better than a bank robbery via satellite.

[Mr_Wint]

Sean Bean works fine as a modern Red Grant, a henchman. But as THE main villain... no thanks. He's far too young and unintresting.

[bryonalston]

I agree Mr_Wint, something was off about Trevelyan and that was exactly it. I guess we're so used to seeing Bond villains who are either older than Bond or are paternal figures to Bond. Trevelyan (partially due to Bean's age and appearance) doesn't seem very credible (the same thing goes for Graves. The "Bond's equal" worked for Red Grant because Grant was a henchman and not the main villain (which was Klebb? or simply SPECTRE?) I feel that Bond villains should at least look Bond's age (Sean Bean was younger than Brosnan) or be considerably older (older villains tend to exhibit much more maturity than the younger ones.)

[Moore Not Less]

Personally I think Sean Bean is a first-rate actor with outstanding screen presence, so that you almost don't notice how lame his "sinister" plot is.  Yes, he's a great villain, and his personal connection with Bond makes him that much deadlier.  Still, he could've come up with something better than a bank robbery via satellite.

Agreed. Sean Bean is a first rate actor, and he would have been a very good James Bond given the opportunity.

Alec Trevelyan is one of the better Bond villains. He was a friend of Bond and a fellow agent, so he knew Bond's strengths and weaknesses. This is what made him such a big threat.

[Janus Assassin]

Alec is my favorite villian because he wasn't a button pusher. He wasn't a Blofeld, Stromburg, Drax, or Carver. He didn't sit there and sent his orders down to a 8 foot henchman in which Bond kicks his anyway. Given the personal relationship that Bond had with Alec and how they knew everything about each other. It was like fighting your best friend. It made the movie much more interesting and I didn't expect him to be Janus when he came in.

[Skin 17]

Sean Bean works fine as a modern Red Grant, a henchman. But as THE main villain... no thanks. He's far too young and unintresting.

Good point Mr. Wint

[tdalton]

I thought that Trevelyan was a great villain, and that Sean Bean did a fantastic job portraying him. Bean as Trevelyan was one of the few highlights of the last four Bond films. But, as good as Bean was as 006, I still wish that we had gotten the chance to see him as 007.

[Trevelyan_Moneypenny]

Alec is my favorite villian because he wasn't a button pusher. He wasn't a Blofeld, Stromburg, Drax, or Carver. He didn't sit there and sent his orders down to a 8 foot henchman in which Bond kicks his anyway. Given the personal relationship that Bond had with Alec and how they knew everything about each other. It was like fighting your best friend. It made the movie much more interesting and I didn't expect him to be Janus when he came in.

Exactly! Well put! My fav villain is Trevelyan too (obviously) and I think it was great how he was different from the rest of them. Too many were older, too many were business owners (by the time they got to Carver and Tomorrow Never Dies, I was sick of bad guy businessmen). And as you put it, he often fought his own battles. I also liked the twist that he knew all of Bond's moves. Of course, we knew Bond would win, but watching the movie I was on the edge of my seat wondering if Bond might actually be beaten...pretty convincing to me.

[Scottlee]

I think Trevelyen was a superb villain, perhaps one of the top ten best. He was superbly played by Sean Bean.

Put it this way, he was streets ahead of the most recent two main villains - Renard and Graves.

[Genrewriter]

I think he's a great villain. He has a great motive, an interesting plan and Sean Bean plays villains as well as any actor working today (He made Don't Say A Word worth more than a cursory viewing). Every scene with him works almost perfectly.

[00-FAN008]

Alec Trevelyan? WEAK?!

Hahahahaha!

It's unfortunate that Sean hasn't won an oscar yet. Personally I don't think the man has gotten enough credit; he's an incredible actor. I've yet to see a single film where he isn't good.

[Qwerty]

I think Trevelyen was a superb villain, perhaps one of the top ten best. He was superbly played by Sean Bean.

Put it this way, he was streets ahead of the most recent two main villains - Renard and Graves.

Agreed.