17 replies to this topic

[thecasinoroyale]

Just listening to the might of Adele's 'Skyfall' main theme, reading all our great reviews and ideas and insights, and replaying moments in my head. I've never felt better about James Bond and how good a film is.

But thinking about it... probably not much room for discussion, but on the other side of the coin, where would we be now if 'Skyfall' didn't live up to expectations and gained the reviews it did? Thinking about how 'Die Another Day' was promoted, eagerly anticipated with lots of media coverage, the premier etc for a 40th Anniversary, and then the backlash started and fans and critics started to see beyond the glam....what if that were 'Skyfall'?

The marketing for 'Skyfall' started us on a bad foot, and things didn't get much better...

• What if the action sequences were badly executed and not very impressive?
• What if Sam Mendes was targeted for making Bond more of an emotional wreck and a secret agent?
• What if critics felt this just wasn't James Bond anymore?
• The chracters were used just to fill gaps - actors were wasted and not used to their best?
• The iconic moments felt more of a homage to the series rather than a sign of things to come?

You get my drift...

Where would we be as fans if we too saw holes in the plot, the direction, the type of characters that we thought would bring Bond to a new level but rather made him feel a bit more out of touch and we didn't get the film we thought we would see?

Box office takings were good at first, but audiences felt it was almost another Christopher Nolan-esque re-invention and character study rather than a James Bond action/spy film and so interest started to waver, other films took audiences to other places they wanted to escape to, not this gritty, real 007 film. It over-took some Bond films in the box-office but started to fall short of 'Casino Royale' and the others...what would this mean for EON, for the cast and crew betting on box-office gold?

What would it mean to YOU as a fan also? Would your confidence be rocked again? Would you feel James Bond just hasn't taken off as it should? Are you wavering from the new re-boot era, or dissapointed with EON, or the general public for not embracing 007?

As we've struck gold with 'Skyfall', it's probably never crossed our minds but I thank god everything just worked because if it didn't, then would this mean another fall for James Bond?

[Shrublands]

Well some people did seem very keen to jump to the wrong and rather bleak conclusions. Can't say I was ever one of them.

Why spend time now hypothesising about the details of a series of calamities that didn't happen?
Very strange indeed.

[thecasinoroyale]

I was only thinking "What If?", being thankful for how well things have gone but just wondered how the status of Bond and fans would be affected if it didn't live up to expectations.

Just looking on the other side of things but certainly don't want to bring people down looking into details of "calamities that didn't happen," at all.

[x007AceOfSpades]

I had my weak points after my first viewing, but refuted it after my second viewing. If this movie had failed, Then I believe it could've been the biggest disappointment of the year, for the franchise, the studio, the producers, etc.

BUT, it didn't and we got a fantastic film, and a great new classic Bond Adventure. Nevertheless, it's a good time to be a Bond Fan.

[JCRendle]

It would have adversely affected MGM in a major way. They've only just got out of bankruptcy and are putting a lot into Bond, if Skyfall had failed then MGM would be in trouble.

[Vauxhall]

If it had bombed, it sounds like Craig might have tried to talk his way out of the role, but I'm still fairly confident we'd have had BOND 24 within two or three years, albeit perhaps with a different actor. As has been pointed out though, MGM wouldn't have been best pleased.

[thecasinoroyale]

I wonder who would have the role if Craig left...so much new talent out there!

[Vauxhall]

I wonder who would have the role if Craig left...so much new talent out there!

Idris Elba (obviously).

Disclaimer: The above is not true.

[Double-0-Seven]

Hard to say. I'm sure it would have still made money but perhaps not as much so fast. It would be labeled a disappointment and if anything, next time around they would give us a strictly formulaic Bond film. Skyfall is more or less Craig's first "proper" Bond film but it still pushes the envelope with the formula even though he's playing more an old school Bond this time around. However, if this approach was not accepted there's no doubt next time they'd probably have to cave in and do a "by the numbers" Bond to try to re-establish the franchise.

Luckily, that's not the case. Skyfall was amazing and the creative forces and actors involved should be very proud. It's especially exciting for me because this is the closest I'll ever get to living in that "Golden Era" of Bond back in the sixties.

[Animal Clans]

As a counterpoint, can Bond 24 be better than Skyfall? What'll we think if it doesn't live up? (Or if it winds up being worse than QOS?)

[PPK_19]

As a counterpoint, can Bond 24 be better than Skyfall? What'll we think if it doesn't live up? (Or if it winds up being worse than QOS?)

Welcome to CBn Animal Clans!

There is a thread to discuss the uphill struggle Bond 24 faces in terms of equalling the quality we have seen in Skyfall: http://debrief.comma...ont-be-as-good/

I too think that if Skyfall had been poor Craig probably will have walked. Two bad Craig films in a row doesn't bear thinking of. I can't imagine the relief he felt when Skyfall was unanimously (more or less) met with open arms by critics and the public alike.

Edited by PPK_19, 13 November 2012 - 03:40 PM.

[David_M]

Where would we be?

We'd be right here, doing a post-mortem on the film and suggesting how it could have been re-written, re-edited or re-directed into the great movie it had the potential of being. Hopes would be expressed that the DVD version will feature a "director's cut" that makes it all better somehow.

Some of us would be posting an altered plot synopsis that would "fix all the problems," and the more technically gifted among us would be posting "fan edits" to YouTube using the official footage, only rearranged to "make it work."

A small but tenacious sub-group would form to aggressively defend the film as a misunderstood work of genius that will in some future, more enlightened age be recognized as one of the high points of the series.

And in a month's time, we'd all be speculating on what the next entry would be called, what it would be about, who would sing the theme song and maybe who would star.

We've been there before, and will again. Better to be where we are now.

[tdalton]

If Skyfall had bombed, we'd be sitting here wondering if there even would be a next film anytime in the forseeable future.

[Iceskater101]

Yeah exactly. That's what I am a little afraid of, if there was a really bad Bond movie would they just stop making Bond films? Or would they try and keep going?

[tdalton]

I think they'd want to keep going, but given that MGM is very financially unstable, one would have to wonder if they'd be able to move forward with another one if Skyfall had been a disappointment.

[Iceskater101]

Yeah well we don't have to think about that yet since Skyfall is going to make a lot of money!

[SecretAgentFan]

If the anniversary film had bombed creatively and financially it would have been a major embarassment for Eon, Sony and MGM. Probably the end of Craig's tenure. And a clearing of the path towards a stereotypical Bond of the first era.

Edited by SecretAgentFan, 13 November 2012 - 06:07 PM.

[Miles Miservy]

Bond movies are recession proof.DAD broke box office records, in spite of suffering from trying to hard. OHMSS had the lowest box office returns of the entire series but eventually made a profit. Over time it became one of the more memorable films of the series.

To answer your question:

Let's say that no one bothered to see the film and it did poorly. I'm sure Daniel Craig would be done. The writers would probably lick their wounds, go back to the formula of megalomaniacs, cutting edge technology, destroying the world & start over.

Edited by Miles Miservy, 13 November 2012 - 07:03 PM.