You made sense. That’s exactly how I see it.
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You are absolutely making sense. As I noted upthread, I was thinking about this issue just the other day, and you have articulated beautifully the hodgepodge of ideas that have been floating around my mind.
Perfect. Connery would go on (successfully) playing the SC we wanted him to be playing whatever role was at hand for the rest of his career (echoes of Cary Grant).
Thanks for your great post.
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The Last Crusade is that to a tee. He’s not Indy’s dad, he’s not Harrison Fords dad, he’s not even Sean Connery playing a new role - Sean Connery is playing Spielberg’s childhood memory of Connery’s Bond.
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Some actors just become bigger than themselves.
Same applies to Tom Cruise. Even Robert De Niro has entered that phase for many years now. And Meryl Streep, too.
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My husband completely agrees with you. He always says Robert De Niro is just playing himself now (Al Pacino as well).
For me, Streep still loses herself in her roles. Her Julia Child was amazing.
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Yep, Pacino is PACINO now.
Streep - well, “Julia & Julia”, that’s years and years ago. She still is great, recently in “Don’t look up”. But she cannot escape into any character now anymore. It´s always: well, doesn’t Streep play this marvelously?
In any event, I love Pacino and Streep and Cruise and GRANT, of course. (Put in Harrison Ford in that category of bigger than themselves now).
As for DeNiro… yep, he was a fantastic actor in the 70´s and 80´s… sometimes in the 90´s (HEAT)… but I can’t remember instantly him being truly great after that. No, not in THE IRISHMAN (in which he played a greatest hits of his subdued “not doing anything”-acting, while Pacino really was great in that).
Then again, personalities are key for actors. And sometimes it´s already enough to be what they are.
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He’s brilliant in Stardust…but most of the joke is how it’s not what you’re expected De Niro to be playing. Even when he’s not “himself” it’s based on the shared knowledge of who he “IS”
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Gotta watch that again!
Some fan castings of my own, if we have to go with a clean slate. I personally would keep Ralph Fiennes as M (Sir Miles for sure). Please don’t judge or criticize me too much, it’s just my opinions! Here we go:
James Bond: Unknown Actor (someone born in the late 80s-early 90s, if a true origin story).
M: Idris Elba
Moneypenny: Daisy Ridley
Q: Tom Holland
May: Felicity Jones
Bill Tanner: Andrew Garfield
Felix Leiter: Timothée Chalamet
Mary Goodnight: Margot Robbie
Auric Goldfinger: Russell Crowe
Ernst Starvo Blofeld: Steve Buscemi
Irma Bunt: Diane Lane
I know I used a lot of Superhero actors and actresses, but they are the craze for now!
This article has some quotes from Tom Holland on his pitch for a Bond movie. This would never work I think and while I don’t see CR as a full on Bond Begins, there is enough of that. I know many people detest the idea of a Bond TV show. But if they were to do that, I think that would be the place where you could pursue those sorts of ideas (i.e., stuff that really could developed with longer arcs and very detailed subplots not suited for the movies).
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As we know that EON is watching The Batman and it’s influence as well, here are some pointers for them to learn from.
Batman and Gordon’s relationship: THIS is how Bond and M’s relationship needs to be done! No more personal emotional baggage. No more Bond resigning over an argument with M. No more of M’s past catching up with them. Just a trusted worker relationship.
Batman and Selina’s relationship: this could be how a Bond Woman relationship works. Similar goals, but different viewpoints.
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Peer at her getting undressed through a long lens?
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Should I judge that only @MrKiddWint had any response to Batman peering at Catwoman getting undressed through a long lens?
I haven’t seen the film yet. What you describe shows, um, surveillance which Bond would have done in earlier times?
Orion’s description also shows objectification of the female body, which Bond films also engaged in earlier times.
Haven’t watched it yet, honestly I think I’ll be waiting till the cinema run ends. That description had solidified it for me.
The person under surveillance is her flat mate, who is completely forgotten about as Batman, sat on the building opposite with a camera, follows Selina with the lens into her room as she gets undressed.
Hmm. The new reflex says: bad boy, don’t.
But isn’t Batman a bad boy, just like Bond?
In theory, yes, but in this instance he ignores the lead he was looking for to do it.
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Question is: should one feel bad about a psychopathic character for watching a woman undress?
Even if we as an audience are invited to watch with him or even smirk at his behavior - after all, he is our hero -, is that a problematic scene?
Reeves is not a right wing conversative who considers metoo or feminism as something to ridicule. I suspect he put that scene in to tell us something about Wayne as Batman. Or men in general. I would say that even those who are bright enough to understand feminism could still not fight watching a woman undress.