Bond "anachronistic"?

[BegintheBeguine]

Oh, Damon meant the movie Bond. This was in John Gardner's obituary last week: Gardner took over the Bond books in 1981 after being approached by the literary copyright owners, Glidrose. (Kingsley Amis had written just one Bond book after Ian Fleming's death in 1964.) "What I wanted to do," he said, "was take the character and bring Fleming's Bond into the Eighties as the same man but with all he would have learned had he lived through the Sixties and Seventies."

 

[Fast]

anachronistic?

There are two ways a character becomes anachronistic (and holmes is): the character is so idiosyncratic and thin in humanity that it only serves the plot and setting.

Bond's attitude toward women may be bad or unpopular, or many opther things, but it still exists. Violence still sells. If you analyze bond, his psychological and sociological stances don't relegate him to the past.

Borne's struggle for identity and redemption similarly does not relegate him to the past.

Either bond is a real man and Bourne is a whimpering snot, or bond is an unrepentent psychopath, and borne is the most troubled decent guy who happens to go around leaving bodies in his wake you ever saw.

None of this relegates either to the past. If formalwear does, then we can cancel the oscars, but hundreds of millions tune in to that anachronistic parade of prada every year.

Matt Damon seems to be a nice enough guy who happened to stick his foot in his mouth one day. Ooooops.

Carpe Diem
Fast

 

[Flitcraft]

Hooray for Harry Palmer. Too bad he didn't have staying power.

Amen, Brother!

 

[Flitcraft]

Bond "anachronistic"? ...my 2 pence, er cents...

I found it interesting that Damon mentioned that Brosnan was the one who put this idea in his head..

Wasn't the Bond role pretty darn good to Pierce? Didn't he lobby pretty hard for it?

Bond is anachronistic, but that's more the screen version.
At the time Casino Royale was written, Fleming was trying to depict the changing world of espionage- Communists investing in criminal enterprises, the nascent CIA bankrolling the more established MI6, neither completely trusting one another- Bond tortured by a mobster, but saved from death by a hit squad who might have finished what Le Chiffre had started, if they'd known who Bond was...it was all so different and confusing from the relatively straightforward military and political spygame of WWII.

Fleming may have failed, but he was attempting to depict the new Cold War landscape as he knew it, by using an alter ego who had survived the earlier WWII espionage challenge....

 

[Miss Crisplock]

Why, oh why didn't Adrian Paul get the role of James Bond?

 

[Dr Doran]

At my barber's shop I very recently too saw a magazine (Maxim? I cannot remember) in which Matt Damon called Bond "imperialist and misogynist." I loved Matt Damon in Talented Mr Ripley (speaking of psychopathic characters) so I cut him extra slack even though I was affronted.

As for imperialist, yes, Bond was that ... to be as fair as possible to imperialism, I suspect some people, and not all of them idiots or sycophants, from some former imperial possessions will say that imperialism had a very positive effect on their country. A smaller number of people will say that life was better under imperialism. So in my book, imperialism does not equal evil. Who knows how Matt Damon meant it. It could be simply a descriptor.

As for sexism, I gotta admit, I saw an old Bond recently and Connery's slapping of a nurse on the buttocks did rub me a little wrong. Maybe I've lived in Berkeley too long.

 

[MrBern]

Why, oh why didn't Adrian Paul get the role of James Bond?

THAT wouldve been great.
Even better had they done him in B&W as flashbacks to modern scenes w/ Connery working over some old nemesis.

But did he do anything worthwhile beyond the Highlander tv series?

 

[Dr Doran]

Wasn't the Bond role pretty darn good to Pierce? Didn't he lobby pretty hard for it?.

I could not stand Pierce in any James Bond role. When I saw him shirtless, he just did not look tough enough to be Bond. Bond is supposed to be one of the best assassins in the world. I don't even think Pierce could win a staring contest with me, much less kill me.

 

[KL15]

Matt Damon had some words about the character James Bond at his UK premiere of the Bourne Ultimatum which you can read here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6948445.stm

Here are some snipets: "The Bond character will always be anchored in the 1960s and in the values of the 1960s,"

"so anachronistic when you put it in the world we live in today,"

"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes."

Your thoughts on either Matt Damon, the comparison of Bond and Bourne, or your thougts on Bond being outdated.

Well, I don't give a damn what Matt Damon has to say. As far as I'm concerned he's useless as an actor. I love the James Bond character. I get sick when I see whining little maggots on film who are out to save the planet, wonder how they brought all of this destruction on his or herself, and how they can lecture the audience on how to live their lives. Hey Damon SHUT UP!!! Who in the hell are you anyway? What have you ever done? You've done three films that have sold and.....? I like to watch bad things happen to bad people. Especiall when you can have a drink, crack a joke, and spit on their dead carcus! And one more thing, I'm half Cajun and half British so guess what? I'm an imperalist ass and I love every minute of it. How dare you destroy a legendary character to promote your little cap gun film. Guys that kick ass, that will never go out of date. Sorry to rant everyone, but this is why no one watches Hollywood films anymore.

 

[Diamondback]

Please, sir, be nice. I happen to like both Bond (both versions) and Bourne (novel version) and any of these would take Mr. Damon down a few pegs...

 

[MrBern]

context

has anyone noticed that in the article posted, theres no question to put the comments in context?
Did an interviewer ask, "Is Bourne the new Bond?" Or " Is Bourne the American Bond?" or " Do you think you'll do as well as the new Bond movie?"

Hardly an insult to call the Bond movies grounded in the `60s. After all, CasinoRoyale went to a lot of trouble to fit in the retro aesthetics like the old aston martin sportscar to please the old-school fans.

 

[Feraud]

At my barber's shop I very recently too saw a magazine (Maxim? I cannot remember) in which Matt Damon called Bond "imperialist and misogynist."

Apparently Damon is becoming the poster boy for idiotic comments.

 

[KL15]

Please, sir, be nice. I happen to like both Bond (both versions) and Bourne (novel version) and any of these would take Mr. Damon down a few pegs...

My apologies. I'm just sick of living with this in today's world. I suppose this one reason why I began with vintage. Not only for the fashion, I loved what a man was back then.

 

[Edward]

I could not stand Pierce in any James Bond role. When I saw him shirtless, he just did not look tough enough to be Bond. Bond is supposed to be one of the best assassins in the world. I don't even think Pierce could win a staring contest with me, much less kill me.

This is much how I feel about Roger Moore. Connery's Bond I was certain could kick seven shades of doo dah out of you - Moore looked like all you'd have to do was kick him in the gut once and he'd be gone. Not remotely convincing.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

"I'd like to apologize to Matt Damon. We ran out of space and had to bump him from this thread. We'll try to get him in next time. Good night."

 

[Starius]

This is much how I feel about Roger Moore. Connery's Bond I was certain could kick seven shades of doo dah out of you - Moore looked like all you'd have to do was kick him in the gut once and he'd be gone. Not remotely convincing.

Moore always gave me the vibe of a "British William Shatner" I'm afraid to say.

 

[Edward]

Moore always gave me the vibe of a "British William Shatner" I'm afraid to say.

lol Did Moore have a similar dodgy hairpiece when he was Bond? It looks like it to me...

 

[Starius]

lol Did Moore have a similar dodgy hairpiece when he was Bond? It looks like it to me...

Hahaha, I think you might be right about that.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

But what about Matt Helm?

It was really just a parody of Bond and really had nothing to do with the books, but it was still fun.

 

[Doctor Strange]

If you're talking parodies, I'll take Derek Flint over Matt Helm anyday!

And I always liked Patrick McGoohan as both John Drake and Number Six (whether they are the same guy or not!) - here was a super secret agent who was all business, tough without being cruel, and with just a very dry sense of humor... minus the Moore-ish smirk and Martin-esque smarm, neither of which have aged well.