33 replies to this topic

[Joe Bond]

After seeing Edge of Darkness (2010) I think he was high on the list. I think Campbell has earned respect from Eon at first after they were impressed with his work on the British mini-series Edge of Darkness which is why they were interested in him for Goldeneye. Despite what anyone thinks of Goldeneye it did make quite of bit of money and did well critically which again I think added their respect of him. I doubt some of the okay movies he made after say The Mask of Zorro affected their decision for wanting him to do Casino Royale since sometimes a director may just be perfect for specific genre or material. I think that Campbell is a really good director for the action/thriller genre and when it comes to Bond he is an expert. Last time I have checked Vertical Limit, Beyond Borders, and Legend of Zorro are not Bond films so if he knows how to make a great Bond film then why does it matter that some of his other NON-BOND films weren't too good. After seeing Edge of Darkness (2010) I can tell that his direction in this film is visually similar to CR but is slightly different at the same time for a more thriller look but there is nothing in the direction of that film to make me think he was not a big part of the success of CR. Terence Young was very much the same where he knew how to direct a Bond film but other than Wait Until Dark there really wasn't any particular good films other than the Bond films that he directed and from various featurettes I have seen on the Bond movies he directed its apparent that he was very important to the success of those Bond films.

[Tybre]

What about this stinker he did in 2000:

http://www.rottentom...vertical_limit/

?

...or this one from 2003:

http://www.rottentom...beyond_borders/

It's even MORE of a stinker, with Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen.

It' got a big 14 (out of 100) on RT!

And the one that made us all fear in dread on CommanderBond.net the year in which he was announced as director:

http://www.rottentom...egend_of_zorro/

I don't know how many of you were on this site when that Zorro movie came out...but I can certainly tell you that many of us here were fearful that Campbell would make a total pig of it.

The combined Rotten Tomatoes scores of these three Campbell masterworks are LESS than what Quantum got!

Fancy that, eh?

The guy ought to feel lucky that Broccoli and Wilson and Fleming and Haggis and Craig came along and saved his sorry after the howlers he'd been making.

Campbell would be NOTHING without James Bond and Eon. NOTHING.

All he'd be left with are Vertical Limit, Beyond Borders and the Legend of Zorro!

He didn't even want Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Pathetic!

So his films outside of Bond are apparently . I haven't seen them. Maybe I'll like them. Maybe they're stories with superb direction. Sure, GoldenEye and Casino Royale aren't masterpieces, but GoldenEye is fairly well directed, and regardless of how much or how little involvement Campbell had, he still did a damn fine job with Casino Royale. And really, that's what's important. You could line up the finest actors alive and put them behind the strongest script ever written, but it wouldn't matter if you hired someone like Uwe Boll to direct. Even if Campbell had absolutely nothing to do with CR beyond the direction process (which I severely doubt), the man still deserves some credit for its success.

And so what if Craig wasn't his first choice? Maybe the person he wanted was better. Or maybe Craig is the wiser choice and it is Broccoli's push that got him. At the end of the day, what matters is there's a damn fine actor in the role. Whoever
made that choice is irrelevant. He's there now.

I also said that it's really precious to pan a film he didn't want to direct,

He also said CR left him exhausted, which I can believe. For one, the final product certainly seems like it took a damn lot of work. For two, I recall people saying in interviews that Campbell is a very dynamic, high-energy director. Production on Solace started pretty damn quickly after Royale. If Campbell exhausted himself working on CR, it's understandable he would want more time off than when Solace went into production, and I doubt he could have delayed filming by a year (filming on Edge of Darkness began one year and a day after filming began on Solace, according to Wikipedia, and unless he's done television in the meanwhile Campbell did nothing in 07).

Alright, I can dig the claims of Campbell being offered the gig just because that's how EON works. Maybe that's true. But personally I do think Campbell is a very good director -- not the greatest, but very good -- and the one of the only two worthwhile directors (along with Forster) to have done a Bond project since Brosnan began his run.

Only the craignotbond gang were concerned about Craig.

Not too long ago I found the thread where people were discussing the race for Bond 6, which was where CBn announced Craig. The archives tell a very different story, friend. Even some who are praising him now were either against or wary of the decision way back when.

He would be no more a prize asset than a reasonably competent James Bond helmer like Terrence Young

Oh come now, Young was certainly better than "reasonably competent".

I can respect that you're not overly fond of Campbell as a director. I can respect that you prefer Solace to Royale. But just as there are people to argue in favor of Brosnan when I'm there bashing him, I'm more than willing to argue in favor of Campbell and Royale.

[The Shark]

I also said that it's really precious to pan a film he didn't want to direct,

You know what's considerably more precious and petty? You're childish hatred of the guy, expressed here and my news thread about Campbell criticising your baby (QOS).

That is simply odd, no question about it.

[Jim]

Pointless thread, this.