76 replies to this topic

[Commander Goode]

just a little random conversation

it's sad to say when you're a 22 year old wishing you could have the build of a 41 year old man but sadly I'm in those shoes (for now anyways...I've started the p90x program recently)

but which type of build do you prefer for Daniel Craig's Bond? The brute, bulky physique of CR or the more lean version featured in QoS?

[Loomis]

A recent pic of Craig at the gym:

[Commander Goode]

so you're a fan of more of the brute physique I see

so much for a foot chase in Bond 23!

[BoogieBond]

A recent pic of Craig at the gym:

I'm sure he's got his Walther PPK packed in there somewhere

[Loomis]

which type of build do you prefer for Daniel Craig's Bond? The brute, bulky physique of CR or the more lean version featured in QoS?

I guess the latter is more believable. In CASINO ROYALE, Craig does look very impressive, but he also, frankly, looks like a hardcore bodybuilder who trains with quite a bit of chemical help. Which isn't the look I picture when I read a Bond novel (although then again in the Flemings the only exercise Bond ever seems to do is touch his toes a few times!).

[Stephen Spotswood]

A recent pic of Craig at the gym:

I'm sure he's got his Walther PPK packed in there somewhere

In the sports bra.

Here's an interesting quote from Ian Fleming on meeting Sean Connery:

"I'm looking for Commander James Bond, not an overgrown stunt man."

[OmarB]

I let my martial arts training inform my fitness and look. Functional muscle tuned to a purpose ya know. Though there's one bodybuilder I envy, Reg Park, the dude was perfect.

Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

[MkB]

A recent pic of Craig at the gym:

You cracked me up, Loomis!

(although then again in the Flemings the only exercise Bond ever seems to do is touch his toes a few times!).

... and only when he wasn't recovering from a hangover!

[OmarB]

... and the sit ups till his stomach screamed!

[MkB]

but which type of build do you prefer for Daniel Craig's Bond? The brute, bulky physique of CR or the more lean version featured in QoS?

Definitely the leaner version in QoS.
My theory is that the bulkier physiques appeals mainly on males, and the leaner one on females. And I'm not specially talking about gay males here, it's just, you know, I think males will more easily tend to admire/envy a man who looks bigger than them, more powerful, Alpha Male animal characteristics etc. I think females will pay more attention to beauty than to Alpha Male animal characteristics, and nowadays, the standards of male beauty are not favorable to a bulky physique.
Just a theory!

[DamnCoffee]

Craig had a brilliant physique in both Casino and Quantum, he looked a lot better in the latter, IMO. I would like to see this continued in Bond 23.

[darkpath]

If given a choice, I'd prefer the lean look of QoS, which I also find reminiscent of the build of the Michael Westen character of Burn Notice. Put another way, at first glance, they simply appear fit and trim; but a more thorough scrutiny reveals that they have honed their bodies to well crafted weapons. I think it fits the theme of a spy, where they ought not to be so big that they can not blend in (perfect example of too big to blend in, even in a tailored suit: the Governor of California in Raw Deal) but should be fit enough to be believable in their action scenes and hopefully fit enough to avoid injury in the filming of those scenes.

Wrong:


About right:

[Tarl_Cabot]

A recent pic of Craig at the gym:

LOL

[jaguar007]

I guess the latter is more believable. In CASINO ROYALE, Craig does look very impressive, but he also, frankly, looks like a hardcore bodybuilder who trains with quite a bit of chemical help. Which isn't the look I picture when I read a Bond novel (although then again in the Flemings the only exercise Bond ever seems to do is touch his toes a few times!).

Craig looked nothing like a steroid using hardcore bodybuilder in CR. He did put on some size for the role and did look good, but not even in the same realm as a Stallone or Governator type build.

[dodge]

I let my martial arts training inform my fitness and look. Functional muscle tuned to a purpose ya know. Though there's one bodybuilder I envy, Reg Park, the dude was perfect.
Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

Agreed. Frank Zane was also perfection, imo.

[David Schofield]

Am I the only one who didn't think Craig looked particularly big in CR?

Sure, he looks very fit in the blue trunks, but, come on, he ain't enormous. Toned, sure, but not over-bulky.

For heavens sake, most of the rest of the male cast dwarf the guy. When he's toe-to-toe with Demetrios in the Bodyworks exhibit, he looks like a little lad! And when he's replaced by Gary Powell in the stunts - see crane and stairwell fights - Bond suddenly looks MUCH bigger!

[Germanlady]

Am I the only one who didn't think Craig looked particularly big in CR?

Sure, he looks very fit in the blue trunks, but, come on, he ain't enormous. Toned, sure, but not over-bulky.

For heavens sake, most of the rest of the male cast dwarf the guy. When he's toe-to-toe with Demetrios in the Bodyworks exhibit, he looks like a little lad! And when he's replaced by Gary Powell in the stunts - see crane and stairwell fights - Bond suddenly looks MUCH bigger!

Ben Cooke is 1,83 whereas DC is around 1,78/79. NOT that much of a difference, I would say. But you are right, he is not that tall and still can make such an impact. What else is needed?

[Emma]

Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

I don't have it, but a co-workers husband uses it and loves it. My co-worker didn't like it that much, she said it was too hard.

[00Twelve]

A recent pic of Craig at the gym:

Crying out loud. Dude's sack must look like an empty balloon.

[OmarB]

Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

I don't have it, but a co-workers husband uses it and loves it. My co-worker didn't like it that much, she said it was too hard.

Too hard! LOL. That my friends is why most people are fatties. Exercise is too hard.

[double o ego]

First of all, Craig wasn't oversized or looked like a roid user in CR. He gained mass and bulked up and looked radically different to when we saw him at the press conference in '05. Craig's body in CR was fine. He looked nothing like a brute, he was just in great shape. Makes me wonder what type of shape and physiques some of you have. QoS he definitely looked leaner but I think he had much better definition in CR.

Prior to CR I used to weigh 22 stone at 5'9 height. Craig was an inspiration and was the last straw for me to undergo a lifestyle change. I got down to 11 and a half stone in less than a year by simply eating right, eating less and working out twice a day daily. Getting a body like Craig's isn't that hard at all and you don't need to be pumping ridiculous weights or roiding.

[Emma]

Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

I don't have it, but a co-workers husband uses it and loves it. My co-worker didn't like it that much, she said it was too hard.

Too hard! LOL. That my friends is why most people are fatties. Exercise is too hard.

My coworker is by no means 'fat'. She actually rock climbs. She just stated that she found the excercises to difficult.

[Manticore]

Here's an interesting quote from Ian Fleming on meeting Sean Connery:

"I'm looking for Commander James Bond, not an overgrown stunt man."

Someone like Tim Dalton maybe ?...

[MkB]

Here's an interesting quote from Ian Fleming on meeting Sean Connery:

"I'm looking for Commander James Bond, not an overgrown stunt man."

My theory is that Commander James Bond was in many respects Fleming's fantasy of himself. So I suppose his fantasy included that someone with his own current build (= flimsy, hard-drinking, no-sports British aristocrat) would be able to be the "unarmed combat" specıalıst Bond is. Hence Bond ridiculous diet and workout routine in the novels, and Fleming's reluctance to accept a more "unarmed combat appropriate" physique to embody his character.

And double o ego: congrats for your change of life! I don't think Craig's really oversized or roid-user like in CR, but he's slightly on the "too much" side of the muscular physique to my taste. I prefer his leaner looks in QoS. Again, like I said in an earlier post on this thread, I believe opinions on this may differ according to the sex of the observer, and that a bulkier physque is more likely to be admired by men than by women.

[danslittlefinger]

Here's an interesting quote from Ian Fleming on meeting Sean Connery:

"I'm looking for Commander James Bond, not an overgrown stunt man."

My theory is that Commander James Bond was in many respects Fleming's fantasy of himself. So I suppose his fantasy included that someone with his own current build (= flimsy, hard-drinking, no-sports British aristocrat) would be able to be the "unarmed combat" specıalıst Bond is. Hence Bond ridiculous diet and workout routine in the novels, and Fleming's reluctance to accept a more "unarmed combat appropriate" physique to embody his character.

And double o ego: congrats for your change of life! I don't think Craig's really oversized or roid-user like in CR, but he's slightly on the "too much" side of the muscular physique to my taste. I prefer his leaner looks in QoS. Again, like I said in an earlier post on this thread, I believe opinions on this may differ according to the sex of the observer, and that a bulkier physque is more likely to be admired by men than by women.

Yes me too. He looks much better aesthetically and I'm sure he can move better too.
His look in Lara Croft was good also but needed the pecs and shoulders a bit more.
I think we will see him look the same in Bond 23 and regrets his 'roid look in CR but it made an impression (much of which he probably rolls his eyes at now and wonders what WAS he thinking (slaps his forehead)..)

[byline]

Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

I don't have it, but a co-workers husband uses it and loves it. My co-worker didn't like it that much, she said it was too hard.

Too hard! LOL. That my friends is why most people are fatties. Exercise is too hard.

That may not have been what the poster meant. I exercise regularly at a gym that uses resistance machines, but there are a couple of machines I avoid because they're too hard on my knees. I have bad knees; just the way it is. Using machines like a stepper just puts me in a state where climbing stairs is painful, and that's not really the effect we want to achieve with exercise, eh? So I avoid those machines, and work harder on the others.

[I never miss]

Just my take on things...

DC's physique was perfect for CR IMO - he had the body that an ex-SBS officer with time on his hands to spend down the gym would have. Now DC's Bond is in Mi6 and he is a busier person, hence his toned, less bulky, physique.

It's also important to remember that Bond is a spy (lest we forget!!) and shouldn't stick out from the crowd too much. Being 'less chunky' should make him less conspicuous.

Edited by I never miss, 02 June 2009 - 07:03 AM.

[Manticore]

According to Fleming, 007 is slim build. 1m83 and 76 kgs. Not 1m79 for 100 kgs !!
For the record, this man is not a potential 007...

[OmarB]

Oh, let me know how that P90X works for you. I'm always curious hwo those infomercial things actually work ... from what I've seen what the guy is talking about Kenpo Karate looks like he had 1 class in kenpo and didn't pay attention. A bud of mine (Kenpo instructor) saw the infomercial and busted out laughing.

I don't have it, but a co-workers husband uses it and loves it. My co-worker didn't like it that much, she said it was too hard.

Too hard! LOL. That my friends is why most people are fatties. Exercise is too hard.

That may not have been what the poster meant. I exercise regularly at a gym that uses resistance machines, but there are a couple of machines I avoid because they're too hard on my knees. I have bad knees; just the way it is. Using machines like a stepper just puts me in a state where climbing stairs is painful, and that's not really the effect we want to achieve with exercise, eh? So I avoid those machines, and work harder on the others.

If you say so. I work through the pain. I replaced my right knee at 16 after a huge injury training for a karate tournament yet I still train 3 weeknights and all Saturday. In my eyes pain is never a reason ... but then my working out is all about pain.

[danslittlefinger]

Maybe he'll call our bluff and play an slightly overweight Bond like he joked?

With Craig, you'll never know what's around the next corner.