13 replies to this topic

[seawolfnyy]

After rewatching GE and CR I had a thought, what if Martin Campbell had directed DAD instead of Tamahori? Campbell clearly understands Bond as evidenced by both films. P&W admitted that much of the CGI and outlandish elements were of Tamahori's creation and not theirs. Granted, neither CR or GE had much if any CGI and when Campbell did finally do a CGI-heavy film (Green Lantern) it was a disaster. I have to believe though, that Campell wouldn't have relied so heavily on CGI and we wouldn't have had the ice wave or possibly the disintegrating plane. I don't think Campbell would've made it the best film in the series, but I do think he would have done much much better than Tamahori. What do you think? Would Campbell have been able to salvage the Die Another Day? Or was it doomed from the start?

[Belmont]

An interesting "what if?" scenario, indeed. I'd like to think that had Campbell directed, we might have gotten something closer to Skyfall in a lot of ways, really.

 

There are so many shared concepts between the two films that really make Die Another Day seem like Proto Skyfall, and given Campbell's interest in making Bond films closer in tone to the earlier Connery era, I think we might have gotten a much more balanced 40th anniversary film.

 

My biggest questions would be: Would Campbell have edited Jinx completely out of the movie? And by doing so, just how much more enjoyment would I suddenly get out of the new and improved Jinx-less Die Another Day?

 

Alas, we'll never know for sure. 

Edited by Belmont, 28 December 2012 - 08:25 AM.

[007jamesbond]

I think it might a lot better consider Goldeneye success and relationship with Bronsan.......but we will never know? It is likely the new Goldeneye and hopefully he would not added the invisible car in and kept the original script with some tweaks 

[seawolfnyy]

My biggest questions would be: Would Campbell have edited Jinx completely out of the movie? And by doing so, just how much more enjoyment would I suddenly get out of the new and improved Jinx-less Die Another Day?

 

Alas, we'll never know for sure. 

I thought about that too. I think we definitely would've had someone else play her. It's also possible it could've been another character entirely. Also, Miranda Frost may have stayed Gala Brand in the film.

[Mallory]

Campbell would have been more respectful than Tamahori, but the disaster was inevitable. GoldenEye proved that Bond can go on after the Cold War even though in the movies, he rarely fought the Russians, he joined forces with them more than he fought. I think a lot of the blame should go to the producers for not being as inspired as Cubby and Harry were. Campbell would have prolonged the inevitable that it was time for a change. The same year the Bourne Identity was released and reinvented the Spy Genre that Barabra and Michael would have no choice but to imitate. If Brosnan did one more film in similar style to the Bourne's his successor may have trouble getting the audience to accept him. 

 

DAD's disaster with fans and critics IMO help usher in Craig as the new Bond. Since GoldenEye, Brosnan's sequels were quite underwhelming and that wasn't his fault, it was the producers. They played it safe by having the films meet expectations like they did with Octopussy and A View to a Kill but they lacked heart. If you look at the numbers of admissions, Brosnan doesn't even crack the top ten. Maybe DAD's over the topness was needed to start fresh. 

[Dustin]

It was probably more the general decision to go wildly over the top - surely a decision supported by the producers - than any one specific element or idea the director may have had or may have prevented, casting or plot-wise. Especially the script offers numerous fine ideas - Bond imprisioned, tortured, betrayed and 'bought back' for example - that could have made a decent film. The decision to pull all stops and throw everything together into one large pot was what worked against the result. The invisible Aston is not really that much more ludicrous or grotesque than the submersible Lotus. But DAD wasn't satisfied with just that one bizarreness; it put the uber-gimmick against another uber-gimmick, a Jaguar apparently fitted out for just that battle, turning it into an Inspector Gadget cartoon. This and other problems of DAD was not the fault of one director. Doubtless Campbell would have delivered a different film than Tamahori did. But I doubt it would have necessarily been a vastly superior result.

[FlemingBond]

it couldn't help but to be an improvement

[iBond]

It wasn't all that bad of a film...at least the first 30 minutes of the movie. But I believe that Campbell would have done a far superior job than Tamahori.

Edited by iBond, 08 March 2013 - 02:09 AM.

[Odd Jobbies]

Brosnan would've got a 5th Bond movie... Good


Daniel Craig may never have become Bond.... Bad :(

Edited by Odd Jobbies, 08 March 2013 - 08:58 AM.

[talos7]

I think he would have built upon the first 30 minutes; no doubt it would have been a better movie. On the other hand Campbell is not above "jumping the shark"; Bond catching up with the falling plane in GE is proof of that.

[tdalton]

It didn't really matter who directed Die Another Day.  Unless the director ordered a complete rewrite of the script (which the director probably couldn't even have done under EON's watch in the pre-Craig era), there's not much anyone could have done to avoid this trainwreck of a film. 

[Odd Jobbies]

I think he would have built upon the first 30 minutes; no doubt it would have been a better movie. On the other hand Campbell is not above "jumping the shark"; Bond catching up with the falling plane in GE is proof of that.

 

At it's best Bond is Bond because he can continually jump the shark, but it looks/feels great and he always does it with such panache. The fact that catching up with the plane in GE is daft, but bloody great, yet surf the wave in DAD is not just daft but also bloody embarrassing goes to show that it's not what you do, but how you do it.

 

I'm sure in Campbells hands he'd have given a version that was daft, but bloody great.

 

Having said all that, the first half of DAD is pretty damned entertaining, just falls apart when we hit iceland and the invisible car and bionic suit - utter tosh more suitable for a john woo movie and all the 80's slo-mo that goes with it.

[jrcjohnny99]

I love CR but think GE is one of the weakest entries in the series so I'm not as confident as others, especially given Campbell's record on non-Bond films.

[AMC Hornet]

I'm sure in Campbells hands he'd have given a version that was daft, but bloody great.

 

Having said all that, the first half of DAD is pretty damned entertaining...

...as is the second half, IMCO, regardless of who directed it.