42 replies to this topic

[Wade]

You have got to be kidding me. Really?

“New Bond has no heart.” says George Lazenby


One time Bond actor George Lazenby has criticised the latest James Bond movies for having no heart.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ gave his thoughts on current Bond star Daniel Craig.

“He’s a fantastic actor, but [his movies] are more violent, aren’t they? It’s the way our society has gone, You can’t have someone who’s got feelings now. Bond has to be able to shoot someone now and kiss a girl three minutes later. When I did it, it had more heart. There’s no heart to the new Bond.”

[MarkA]

Has this man really seen any of Daniel Craig's movies. Casino Royale especially is an incredibly emotional film with real heart. I have seen him many times at various functions and he truly is a person that opens his mouth before he puts his brain in gear. Listening to him as he seems to embroider his very small time in the sun has made me see the arrogance that so many making OHMSS have spoken about. Sad. Still like his Bond film though.

[Miles Miservy]

It's sad to see poor old George turning into this crusty, cranky, old crummudgeon, isn't it? What the hell else does he have to do all day except dress like Chevy Chase & trash the efforts of Barbara & Michael 43 years after the fact?

[The Shark]

You tell em, George.

[elizabeth]

I actually agree with George after seeing QOS. Then again, Bond isn't really supposed to have heart.

[Single-O-Seven]

Did his Bond truly have much heart? He cried when his wife died but maybe that was simply because he suddenly felt guilty for sleeping around with other women while he was still seeing her. Craig's Bond attempted to have heart (and was willing to quit his job to fulfill it) but had it ripped up by having the woman he loved betray him. Any heartlessness that followed thereafter was justified. I love them both for the films thy've done but why Lazenby feels the need to pop into the headlines every so often with these remarks demeaning his successors is beyond me.

[WhatMeWorry?]

George himself may not have the best reputation, but I have agree with him (to a degree).

[The Shark]

Bond isn't really supposed to have heart.

Utter nonsense.

[MajorB]

I can see him possibly thinking so if he's only seen QoS, but apparently he slept through the last third of CR.

[x007AceOfSpades]

I can see him possibly thinking so if he's only seen QoS, but apparently he slept through the last third of CR.

Best thing I've read so far

[thecasinoroyale]

Oh poor George, so mis-guided thinking he knows about the Bond films as much as he thinks.

Bond has a heart, but it's cold and untrusting and we saw the heart Bond had get ripped out in 'Casino Royale', and Craig played him wonderfully falling in love and enjoying his time with Vesper Lynd without being overtly mushy and gushing as Bond isn't very emotional if you look over the series. He feels hurt and anger and betrayal, but his heart doesn't let them over-ride his head.

Even 'Quantum Of Solace' had muted bitter feelings from Bond's heart come though talking to Camille and even at the final showdown with Yusef Kabira.

Carry on Danny-boy, you're doing Bond the way he should be done.

[jaguar007]

Yep, sounds like he saw QoS, but missed CR.

[Jim]

Daft old pickle.

[Trevelyan 006]

It is obvious the man regrets not reprising the role at this point. He is definitely a bit sour. That said, I don't blame the him.
Lazenby cannot fault anybody but himself for his decision, Likewise, we cannot fault Lazenby for making such negative claims today.


At the end of the day, it is his regret and opinion. (No matter how many disagree with it)

Edited by Trevelyan 006, 10 August 2012 - 07:35 PM.

[QOS007]

As much as i like OHMSS he's got some damn nerve criticizing Daniel Craig's character. True the new movies have a lot more action and he doesnt sleep around as much but to say there's no emotion? What a sour puss. And had it not been for the plot and the supporting characters Lazenby's bond would have been because he's not half the actor Daniel Craig is.

[Guy Haines]

Odd thing to say about Daniel Craig's interpretation of Bond.He went through the emotional wringer in Casino Royale, every bit as much as Bond did in OHMSS, if not more. Bond had his heart broken and spent an entire sequel trying to find closure.

Does George Lazenby mean instead that the new 21st century Bond isn't like the old Bond? Actually he is, if he's the state sponsored killer of the Ian Fleming books. Let's not beat about the bush. Bond is a state agent who is sent on assignment with the probability that, during its course, he will murder people - hence the "licence to kill" immunity from prosecution (By his own side, that is.) The opening, black and white scene of Casino Royale captures that perfectly, as does Bond's response to Vesper Lynd's question about whether all that death bothers him - "Well, I wouldn't be much good at my job if it did."

[Major Tallon]

Lazenby has been known to make a variety of statements, at least some of them self-contradictory, depending on the time and setting, on the subject of Bond. If he hasn't already congratulated Craig elsewhere, there'll come a point where he will. Certainly, his present remarks are manifestly wrong.

By the way, Guy Hanes, let me endorse your description of what it means for Bond to be licensed to Kill. Bond is not so much an assassin (though that's been the subject of a couple of his missions) as an agent sent on assignments with the probability that during the course of the mission he will have to kill (a word I would chooses over "murder") people, his "license" conferring some degree of immunity.

[Guy Haines]

Lazenby has been known to make a variety of statements, at least some of them self-contradictory, depending on the time and setting, on the subject of Bond. If he hasn't already congratulated Craig elsewhere, there'll come a point where he will. Certainly, his present remarks are manifestly wrong.

By the way, Guy Hanes, let me endorse your description of what it means for Bond to be licensed to Kill. Bond is not so much an assassin (though that's been the subject of a couple of his missions) as an agent sent on assignments with the probability that during the course of the mission he will have to kill (a word I would chooses over "murder") people, his "license" conferring some degree of immunity.

Thank you. Good point about "kill" over "murder". Bond is more of a soldier - trained to kill in the line of duty, although who ends up dead by him he doesn't always know in advance.(Though with his disposal of Dryden and contact in CR he had the "mens rea" for murder.) Bond has never struck me as being a "spy", inspite of the media describing him so. Spies collect information covertly and anonymously. Bond is a troubleshooter (literally!), a blunt instrument. As for "secret agent"? Probably the worlds least! ;-)

[Major Tallon]

Yes, Guy Hanes, I've previously quoted Kingsley Amis' taking issue with all the various descriptions of Bond's job, and concluding that Vivienne Michel should most accurately have entitled her book The Medium Grade Civil Servant Who Loved Me.

[freemo]

He's allowed to not like them.

Get a grip, people.

[Binyamin]

Old Bond has no JOB.

[Guy Haines]

Yes, Guy Hanes, I've previously quoted Kingsley Amis' taking issue with all the various descriptions of Bond's job, and concluding that Vivienne Michel should most accurately have entitled her book The Medium Grade Civil Servant Who Loved Me.

Indeed, Major, although Bond is quite unlike any medium grade member of HM Civil Service that I've ever come across, and I'm related to two people who work at that level. I guess that, in Fleming's novels, the British Civil Service is a "very broad church" when it comes to types of employment. ;-)

[Mr_Wint]

(...) apparently he slept through the last third of CR.

Who can blame him for that?

Anyway, Craig's Bond has a heart... but not much soul.

[tdalton]

He's allowed to not like them.

Get a grip, people.

Indeed.

I certainly don't agree with Lazenby's assessment of Craig's films, but he's certainly entitled to his opinion nonetheless.

[David_M]

Well, I look at it this way: every ex-Bond is going to be asked about whatever's the "current Bond" as long as they live. With Roger, you know you'll probably get some generous compliments (unless you ask him about QoS, which even he couldn't love), with Sean it's usually more like "I'm sure whatever they're doing now is great" but with Lazenby you're going to get an honest answer; if he doesn't like it, he'll say so. It's a little late at this stage to expect diplomacy or gentility to suddenly enter into his personality.

That said, his line of reasoning is faulty: I'll grant you modern audiences are more violence-hungry than any before, and the unstoppable killing machine that is Craig would likely not have gone over as well in 1967, or 1977. But with a few exceptions (including, ironically, CR), the big-screen Bond has rarely shown "heart" as defined by Laz. "Bond has to be able to shoot someone now and kiss a girl three minutes later," he complains. When has this NOT been true? Indeed, the interval has often been a lot shorter than three minutes. If you're going to judge Bonds by that measure, then Roger had less "heart" than any of them, since both the kissing and the killing were usually performed with a bemused detachment.

Laz's single entry benefits from one of the few actual "romances" in the long movie life of a man who rarely forms attachments beyond the physical, but even Laz-Bond kills a lot of folks in violent ways and doesn't seem to lose much sleep about it. As Exhibit A, I give you "He had a lot of guts," delivered with a huge grin. Not a comment you'd expect from a guy with "a lot of heart." Let's face it, every Bond in his own way is kind of a bastard, and that's pretty central to the character's appeal.

[elizabeth]

Did his Bond truly have much heart? He cried when his wife died but maybe that was simply because he suddenly felt guilty for sleeping around with other women while he was still seeing her.

...K.

[Single-O-Seven]

Did his Bond truly have much heart? He cried when his wife died but maybe that was simply because he suddenly felt guilty for sleeping around with other women while he was still seeing her.

...K.

Don't read too much into my rant. At the end of the day, who really cares what George or anybody says (including me!)? Bond is meant for entertainment and there's something fun there for everyone.

[dodge]

I can see him possibly thinking so if he's only seen QoS, but apparently he slept through the last third of CR.

Best thing I've read so far

Agreed.

[J B]

I would want George Lazenby to clarify what he meant by "heart" at all. It sounds very vague. Daniel Craig is certainly one of the better James Bond actors, although I like Lazenby too. Wasn't he also wrong about absolutely no vodka martinis in Skyfall (on the subject of Heineken)?

[Miles Miservy]

(...) apparently he slept through the last third of CR.

Who can blame him for that?

Anyway, Craig's Bond has a heart... but not much soul.

We WANT him to be 1/2 monk; 1/2 hit man.