28 replies to this topic

[dodge]

I bought 98%, which puts DC, imo, right up there in the stratosphere with Connery and Lazenby.

I hope, in QoS, for the other 2 percent. For the record, here mine is:

1) I could only buy his bulked-up bod as a pre-007's. Even so, his physique drew too much attention to itself. The other Bonds were able to blend and come across as harmless, when they chose to be. But dress Craig as a maitre d, he'd still look like a killer.
2) We're talkin' a couple of words here, and I don't know who could have said them any better, but his delivery of "You've stripped me of my armor", sounded pretentious and shallow.
3) His walk, here and there, was too much the gym beau's. As if his thighs were too engorged for him to work in comfort. I missed Connery's effortless panther-like grace--but, judging from the one quick clip I saw, he's nailed the walk for 22.

Not much else. A little too preening in places. But he still knocked his performance right out of the park.

Any bits and pieces you guys didn't buy?

[I never miss]

Craig's accent and delivery of lines are interesting. Obviously he dropped his regional accent many years ago, and his 'Bond voice' is very similar, if not identical, to his own - very RADA-esque. His delivery of the 'you've stripped it from me' line isn't bad IMHO, although not necessarily one of his best either. I think you'd find one or two clunkers from a Bond actor in pretty much every debut movie (DN, OHMSS, LALD, TLD, GE, CR). It's completely understandable, given the huge pressure on the leading man, that he's going to make the occasional slip-up.

As for his walk, well, as has been mentioned, I think he's toned this down somewhat in QOS. Remember that Bond is learning how to be more elegant, more considered, less rash, and to blend in more. His new/adjusted walk in QOS will hopefully be evidence of this.

[Judo chop]

1) I could only buy his bulked-up bod as a pre-007's. Even so, his physique drew too much attention to itself. The other Bonds were able to blend and come across as harmless, when they chose to be. But dress Craig as a maitre d, he'd still look like a killer.

I think his bod is the type that hides pretty well behind a suit. He's sculpted, but not 'moundy'. Considering his action sequences - manhandling Mollaka like a ragdoll, busting through drywall, ripping nails out of his flesh, LeChiffre's "such a waste" comment, sea emergence - I think his body needed to be exactly what it was. I do wonder if those types of above scenes were a result of his body, or if he got his body to make sense of the script. Little of both I s'pose.

2) We're talkin' a couple of words here, and I don't know who could have said them any better, but his delivery of "You've stripped me of my armor", sounded pretentious and shallow.

Presuming that is Haggis, that's where he steps a little too close to the end of the diving board and slips into the deep end. Most of his writing is solid and I'm glad to have him on board for QoS, but he can also make some questionable judgements like that one. People just don't say that. Without laughing. In any case, mostly the fault of the line and not Craig, but maybe it would have been better had Craig 'thrown it away' a little more instead of trying to give it weight.

3) His walk, here and there, was too much the gym beau's. As if his thighs were too engorged for him to work in comfort. I missed Connery's effortless panther-like grace--but, judging from the one quick clip I saw, he's nailed the walk for 22.

What's this!?

How is it that you've seen him walk in 22?!

YOU'RE NO VIRGIN!!! <slaps Dodge with a righteous Kanangan backhand>

[dodge]

1) I could only buy his bulked-up bod as a pre-007's. Even so, his physique drew too much attention to itself. The other Bonds were able to blend and come across as harmless, when they chose to be. But dress Craig as a maitre d, he'd still look like a killer.

I think his bod is the type that hides pretty well behind a suit. He's sculpted, but not 'moundy'. Considering his action sequences - manhandling Mollaka like a ragdoll, busting through drywall, ripping nails out of his flesh, LeChiffre's "such a waste" comment, sea emergence - I think his body needed to be exactly what it was. I do wonder if those types of above scenes were a result of his body, or if he got his body to make sense of the script. Little of both I s'pose.

2) We're talkin' a couple of words here, and I don't know who could have said them any better, but his delivery of "You've stripped me of my armor", sounded pretentious and shallow.

Presuming that is Haggis, that's where he steps a little too close to the end of the diving board and slips into the deep end. Most of his writing is solid and I'm glad to have him on board for QoS, but he can also make some questionable judgements like that one. People just don't say that. Without laughing. In any case, mostly the fault of the line and not Craig, but maybe it would have been better had Craig 'thrown it away' a little more instead of trying to give it weight.

3) His walk, here and there, was too much the gym beau's. As if his thighs were too engorged for him to work in comfort. I missed Connery's effortless panther-like grace--but, judging from the one quick clip I saw, he's nailed the walk for 22.

What's this!?

How is it that you've seen him walk in 22?!

YOU'RE NO VIRGIN!!! <slaps Dodge with a righteous Kanangan backhand>

Well, it didn't actually...penetrate my virgin consciousness. But the quickclip I saw featured Dan the Man marching ever so Conpantherly up to...I think, a hotel counter. the picture of authority. I could've sworn I heard him rrrrrroarrrrrr!

[Safari Suit]

2) We're talkin' a couple of words here, and I don't know who could have said them any better, but his delivery of "You've stripped me of my armor", sounded pretentious and shallow.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure that dialogue would be pretentious and shallow no matter how it was delivered.

[dogmanstar]

The one thing that bothered me was the hype saying that this was Bond at the beginning of his 'oo' career. We didn't get a whole lot of that in this film--he seems a pretty polished agent. So, my thing would be to make him a little more naive, unfamiliar with the trade of a '00'.

[Dell Deaton]

1) I could only....

I think his....

2) We're talkin' a couple of words here, and I don't know who could have said them any better, but his delivery of "You've stripped me of my armor", sounded pretentious and shallow.

Presuming that is Haggis, that's where he steps a little too close to the end of the diving board and slips into the deep end. Most of his writing is solid and I'm glad to have him on board for QoS, but he can also make some questionable judgements like that one. People just don't say that. Without laughing. In any case, mostly the fault of the line and not Craig, but maybe it would have been better had Craig 'thrown it away' a little more instead of trying to give it weight.

3) His....

What's this....

2) We're talkin' a couple of words here, and I don't know who could have said them any better, but his delivery of "You've stripped me of my armor", sounded pretentious and shallow.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure that dialogue would be pretentious and shallow no matter how it was delivered.

The whole falling deeply in love w/ Vesper, making plans to spend the rest of his life w/ her, resigning his commission thing never worked for me. The line, cited above, is simply symbolic of that shortcoming.

[Tarl_Cabot]

He's still blonde.

[Harmsway]

The only thing I didn't buy was his gelled hair.

[dodge]

The one thing that bothered me was the hype saying that this was Bond at the beginning of his 'oo' career. We didn't get a whole lot of that in this film--he seems a pretty polished agent. So, my thing would be to make him a little more naive, unfamiliar with the trade of a '00'.

You're right. Surprising, isn't it, since that was there stated intention: to show the evolution from rough around the edges to positively Bond.

[dogmanstar]

Surprising, isn't it, since that was there stated intention: to show the evolution from rough around the edges to positively Bond.

Exactly! It's almost like the marketing folks had never seen the movie or read the script!

[Eddie Burns]

- Despite great delivery, he appeared stiff on the train with Vesper, but not so noticeable that it spoilt the scene

- The first poker game with Dimitreos (sp), once again stiff but a lot more relaxed than Brozza in GE

- The first meeting with Mathis...that whole scene is basically a throwaway. Compare with Bond's first meeting with Kerim Bay and you'd get my point. And Eva Greens make-up------yeeeaauuucchhh

more to come

[MajorB]

Surprising, isn't it, since that was there stated intention: to show the evolution from rough around the edges to positively Bond.

Exactly! It's almost like the marketing folks had never seen the movie or read the script!

That aspect probably got a little overhyped, raising expectations of a more radical evolution than was delivered. I don't think it was ever the intention to show Bond as a raw recruit. He'd already been working for the Service for a period of time, so there were a lot of things he already knew and could do. It was just that for the more sophisticated requirements of 00 work, he was still too headstrong and impulsive and needed more refinement. Not as drastic a thing as the "high concept" descriptions pre-release might have suggested.

Me, I basically bought Craig in pretty much everything he did. Some of the aspects of the storytelling could have been better, as already mentioned. But I bought his Bond as a fully formed character with a point of view and a background that made sense. His buff appearance worked for a man with a strong military history (which was never stated but seemed implied by his look and attitude) and a man who sometimes favored action over thought. I thought it was all of a piece--more so than the original "gentleman spy" image, in a way--and worked beautifully.

My only real adjustment was in simply accepting that the physical image of Bond had, in fact, changed. Although I was never anti-Craig, I admit it took me some time to get used to the fact that this Bond wasn't especially tall and wasn't clasically good-looking. Those two aspects had been inherent in the film Bond since the outset, and I had to rejigger my brain a bit to be able to say to myself, "Okay, this craggy-faced, rustle-haired guy is what a James Bond looks like now." I was fine with the idea; the reality took some getting used to. But that was awhile back, and at this point, for me, Dan's the Man.

[DaveBond21]

Only the pouting - both when he gets off the seaplane in Barbados, and when flirting with Solange over the roof of the DB-5.

[Red Barchetta]

Surprising, isn't it, since that was there stated intention: to show the evolution from rough around the edges to positively Bond.

Exactly! It's almost like the marketing folks had never seen the movie or read the script!

That aspect probably got a little overhyped, raising expectations of a more radical evolution than was delivered. I don't think it was ever the intention to show Bond as a raw recruit. He'd already been working for the Service for a period of time, so there were a lot of things he already knew and could do. It was just that for the more sophisticated requirements of 00 work, he was still too headstrong and impulsive and needed more refinement. Not as drastic a thing as the "high concept" descriptions pre-release might have suggested.

Me, I basically bought Craig in pretty much everything he did. Some of the aspects of the storytelling could have been better, as already mentioned. But I bought his Bond as a fully formed character with a point of view and a background that made sense. His buff appearance worked for a man with a strong military history (which was never stated but seemed implied by his look and attitude) and a man who sometimes favored action over thought. I thought it was all of a piece--more so than the original "gentleman spy" image, in a way--and worked beautifully.

My only real adjustment was in simply accepting that the physical image of Bond had, in fact, changed. Although I was never anti-Craig, I admit it took me some time to get used to the fact that this Bond wasn't especially tall and wasn't clasically good-looking. Those two aspects had been inherent in the film Bond since the outset, and I had to rejigger my brain a bit to be able to say to myself, "Okay, this craggy-faced, rustle-haired guy is what a James Bond looks like now." I was fine with the idea; the reality took some getting used to. But that was awhile back, and at this point, for me, Dan's the Man.

Nicely said. Couldn't agree more.

[sharpshooter]

I wasn't sure of Craig mumbling a few of his lines.

[Mr. Blofeld]

That weird look he gives Solange over the roof of the DB5; I don't know what it was supposed to be, but it made him look like Marty Feldman.

[DaveBond21]

That weird look he gives Solange over the roof of the DB5; I don't know what it was supposed to be, but it made him look like Marty Feldman.

LOL, yes, I mentioned the same look. It was supposed to be sexy.

[Mr. Blofeld]

That weird look he gives Solange over the roof of the DB5; I don't know what it was supposed to be, but it made him look like Marty Feldman.

LOL, yes, I mentioned the same look. It was supposed to be sexy.

For me, it wasn't the pouting; it was all in the eyes...

[00Twelve]

The one thing that bothered me was the hype saying that this was Bond at the beginning of his 'oo' career. We didn't get a whole lot of that in this film--he seems a pretty polished agent. So, my thing would be to make him a little more naive, unfamiliar with the trade of a '00'.

THANK YOU!! I've heard so many complaints about how Bond wasn't polished (to use your word) enough[!] in CR, and never would have made a mistake, and operated like a veteran assassin from his first day in the 00 section. And it's all conjecture. We've never had anything that showed 007 at the beginning of his 00 tenure. Ever.



That being said, I didn't hear or see anything from Craig that didn't ring true. No, my good friend Dodge, not even the "stripped armor" line. But I would cede that ONLY Craig could have sold it (and here comes the ire of the Daltonites... ) without it being a serious low point in the film.

Bring on more Craig in QOS.

[__7]

This may be blasphemous, but the one thing I thought just wasn't quite right was his delivery of the "Bond, James Bond" line. And I'm kind of wondering if there aren't more of you out there that think this way but just haven't wanted to think about it. It's just that every time I watch the film and get to that line, somewhere in the back of my mind I'm thinking "Ohh, you almost had it." Having said that, it was still way better than any of Broza's.

[dodge]

The one thing that bothered me was the hype saying that this was Bond at the beginning of his 'oo' career. We didn't get a whole lot of that in this film--he seems a pretty polished agent. So, my thing would be to make him a little more naive, unfamiliar with the trade of a '00'.

THANK YOU!! I've heard so many complaints about how Bond wasn't polished (to use your word) enough[!] in CR, and never would have made a mistake, and operated like a veteran assassin from his first day in the 00 section. And it's all conjecture. We've never had anything that showed 007 at the beginning of his 00 tenure. Ever.



That being said, I didn't hear or see anything from Craig that didn't ring true. No, my good friend Dodge, not even the "stripped armor" line. But I would cede that ONLY Craig could have sold it (and here comes the ire of the Daltonites... ) without it being a serious low point in the film.

Bring on more Craig in QOS.

I have a compromise solution I'm certain will delight you. In a perfect world where I, Dodge, had been hired to polish Paul Haggis, I could have saved him and the film and Dan from this single embarrassing moment. I'd have given Dan, instead, this only slightly changed but infinitely better line:

You have stripped me of my armoire. I have no place for changes now!

[HH007]

And Eva Greens make-up------yeeeaauuucchhh

What does that have to do with Craig?

[BoogieBond]

There is not much to me. I was pretty sold on him.
There are a few minor things about Craig that I think could be improved for Qos and Bond 23. I think the raw Agent he is portrayed in means my critisisms of him may be intentional by Eon for CR.
As mentioned he still needs to develop SC's grace and movement.
And also Needs some of SC's and RM's Charm and Suaveness.

There are some things Craig can't do much about though. The Image of Bond is a Tall, Dark character and most people picture Sean or one of the others, not much he can do about that(grow a few inches and dye his hair). But Vivre La Difference, and if Craig acts the other actors off the park, then this will be what the public will think/be convinced of, rather than a "Tick the Boxes" Bond.

[jaguar007]

Some of the things that many people have brought up that they did not like about Craig are some of the things I do like about Craig. I thought physically he looked like he should. A young Connery and Lazenby are the only previous Bonds that looked to be in the physical shape of someone able to do what Bond does. I think Connery was actually bigger than Craig, but Craig has less bodyfat and that made him looked more ripped and appear bigger.

I love the scene of Craig in The Bahamas where he wins the Aston Martin and picks up Solange. It worked for me. He actually did something to pick up the girl. I thought Craig showed some humor and charm where in other films, the women will just flock to Bond for no reason.

[dogmanstar]

A young Connery and Lazenby are the only previous Bonds that looked to be in the physical shape of someone able to do what Bond does.

That's right! I knew I was sold on DC during the crane chase. As outrageous as it was, as high energy, I really believed one man could do this . . . . and that man of course, is DC's James Bond!

[dodge]

You guys are coming up with some pretty cool stuff. Now, I'd also be interested in knowing where you think Dan the Man feels he should improve. He's said a couple of times that he's less than completely satisfied with his performance. Great artists always look ahead. What might Dan be focused on improving?

[00Twelve]

You guys are coming up with some pretty cool stuff. Now, I'd also be interested in knowing where you think Dan the Man feels he should improve. He's said a couple of times that he's less than completely satisfied with his performance. Great artists always look ahead. What might Dan be focused on improving?

Take it from another actor-- Very nearly everything. We always think of things we wish we'd done better in terms of making the character look and feel like a real person. Natural actions & reactions to what happens in the scenes, mannerisms not just for the sake of mannerisms, and (and this was dear Pierce's problem) not "telegraphing" to the audience (i.e., giving them a chance to figure out the character's feelings on their own, and not with the actor's "help").

I think he'll be wanting to up his game (while not going overboard) in every detail. Another reason why he's glad to have an actor's director like Forster in the chair.

[DaveBond21]

I thought Craig showed some humor and charm where in other films, the women will just flock to Bond for no reason.

Well, you're right, but he didn't have to. The tennis girls and the receptionist both seemed ready to have him right there and then!