Huge fan of the Craig era and what they did, but despite DAD you’ve got to salute Brosnan. He is the man who saved James Bond. We would not be here today and Craig would never have had the opportunity to do Bond if GoldenEye had bombed
The series has had its ups and downs and a good number of the films have been credited with revitalising the franchise, but the only time the series would have been 100% dead and finished was if GoldenEye had failed. If DAF, or TSWLM or CR had failed the series would have been in trouble but they would have been given another chance. If GE failed Bond would have been written off as a dinosaur and a relic of the cold war, and MGM would not have had the financial strength to risk another movie
I have my issues with GE and the direction it set the series on, which led inexorably towards DAD, and brought in the obsession with nostalgia which still dogs the series today (that damn DB5 is such a lazy crux), but being there as an 18 year old when it was released, the excitement and praise for Brosnan that film generated was enormous
I do disagree on one point there, the TSWLM had failed then it would have been the end. The series had been on somewhat uneven footing since Connery’s departure (both times) and TMWTGG’s underperformance was cause for concern. If TSWLM hadn’t landed the way it did Bond could very easily have ended in the 70’s.
However those days seem to be behind us. I can’t help but feel that if Bond 26/ actor no. 7 were to fail spectacularly then we’d just have a short hiatus, not even as long as between SPECTRE and TTTD, before the series reboots again with an all new cast. Just look at how they keep trying to make Terminator happen.
That was for a large part due to Brosnan appearing as model in ads for Brioni and fashion features for Esquire, ‘ambassador’ for Omega and the like. That whole sector massively expanded during the 90s/00s.
A trope the media loves to play with once an actor is accepted in the role. I remember even Dalton got that claim pasted over THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS once or twice.
The ease in which this can be done will be demonstrated by the new IO Interactive video game, currently codenamed Project 007. Not modelled after any existing Bond actor. A brand new start with a new continuity, intended to have consecutive games thereafter.
Maybe the definition of “cool” has to be taken into account here.
The late 90´s did considerably become all about the Tarantino-gangster-coolness, so in that respect Bond was not cool.
But Brosnan´s Bond did boffo business and ushered in all the young fans a long living franchise needs - and they did find Bond cool or groovy or heavy or… um… I’m too old for the right words.
Spot on. I’m not exactly Brosnan’s biggest fan, but I always give im credit for steering the franchise through the heavy waters that were the 90s. More than any other Bond he was the right Bond for his time, almost a natural choice. Everyone I knew back then (if those with little interest in Bond) was certain that he was born for the job, and there was an instant general acceptance. Certainly would have deserved a better finale than DAD.
I love the phrasing that DAF’s direction was happened upon. It was not planned, and depended on several factors, significantly: a) United Artists not liking the actor signed for the role, and insisting on the return of Connery; b) Tom Mankiewicz’ script being acceptable to the now-returned Connery; and c) the cultural change happening as the 1960s became the 1970s, and DAF reflecting this movement (being open to the zeitgeist has been a strength of the franchise).
Moore Bond slid perfectly into the world of Connery Bond 2 (DAF is a Bond reboot using a previous Bond), so audiences needed only to accept a new actor in the role. They had already accepted a new Bond world, demonstrated by the strong box office for DAF. We have a thread “Who do you want for Bond 7?” Maybe a corollary thread is “What world do you want for Bond 7?”
Or they do what Hollywood always does very well and they just cheat:
in the opening scene, as a tribute to the old serials, we now see how Bond in the last second miraculously manages to escape his death, find a cure and is ready for a new assignment.
As @dalton said in a previous post above, one aspect that most certainly will be present in future movies is without a doubt the personal side. Barbara Brocolli will make sure of that.
As we say goodbye to Craig’s Bond I guess I would prefer a reboot for the next 007. Clean slate so to speak. New Bond, new M, new Moneypenny, etc. Just like when Pierce was cast.
Give the new guy an entrance with a bang, a pre-titles sequence similar to TLD or GoldenEye.
Before NTTD I wanted the MI6 regulars, Fiennes, Whishaw, Kinnear, and Harris to remain and carry on with Bond #7. However now having seen NTTD I now favor a complete reboot and recasting of all the roles. The Craig Era needs to remain it’s own self contained story.
I have adored the serialized story telling of the Craig era but the next iteration of Bond needs to go back to stand alone adventures with the occasional recurring ally or henchmen. Give me a Bond that’s already established and fully formed. A static character who is the same at the beginning and the end of the story. A professional unburdened with emotional baggage and emotional trauma. We need to find the next Roger Moore.
I really feel like the static unemotional carefree Bond of the Connery and Moore eras is never going to return - tastes have changed too much and action movies where the character doesn’t go on a defined emotional arc of some kind are a very rare thing (even bad ones). If they didn’t give Bond some kind of personal crisis, it could end up feeling like a very dry film.
