How Emotional Storytelling Has Changed the 007 Films

Pretty excellent video on how the Bond films have evolved over time to include more personal/emotional elements, but I think he could have expanded more on why exactly Bond films went that direction.

If you look back at the 80s, that's when action films started to push for more character arcs and emotional journeys, and has remained ever since. Indiana Jones, Rambo, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, etc. Heroes were no longer the unflappably cool protagonists that never had a hair out of place of yesteryear, they were emotionally troubled people that contemplate suicide, morose over the decline of marriages, suffering from PTSD, dealing with familial issues, etc. The character arc/emotional journey remains a staple in major action films to this very day in modern blockbuster franchises like John Wick, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, etc.

So when Bond fans do ask "why can't Bond films just be like they used to be in the old days when it was just a man on a mission?" (a question I have often seen posted on these forums for nearly a decade), they're not considering the fact that storytelling in action/adventure films has changed over the past 40 years and naturally Bond has gone on to reflect that in order to remain relevant. Part of why LTK took such a dramatic shift wasn't just because of Dalton hungry for a more emotional component to his performance but that it was an attempt to update the franchise in a way that made it feel fresh like its contemporary counterparts because that's what modern audiences come to expect. If we do move away from what the Craig era has done, I absolutely agree with Calvin that we may return to something closer like the Brosnan films, but I have doubts that we'll ever return to the classic Connery/Moore formula.

The closest there is to films like those are now lower budget VOD actioners featuring martial artists showing off stuntwork, like Jason Statham in the Transporter movies. I think the closest thing he has to an arc is just driving from point A to point B on his GPS map.

Rambo started that way, but by the sequel had pretty much degenerated into the standard cartoonish bullet-proof action hero (in fact, I think there WAS a animated spin-off show).

I saw that too but think too many discredit the original films without looking into context and especially ignoring character revealed by actions as the narrative progresses. There is more character and nuance in Bond's reactions in say FRWL than you get in entire series nowadays.
Calvin brought up at one point Bond's "revenge for 009" in OP as being a throwaway but it is there and properly motivated-yet Bond can't sit there and revel in that moment because there's a ticking clock aspect to be dealt with and he's stuck in the woods on foot.

Good video, but to me it highlights the ridiculous way they painted Bond into a corner with all the retroactive "I'm the author of all your pain!" shit in the last movie which will seemingly continue with Never Die On Time.

Also, I'm unsure that today's audience would be unaccepting of a purely fun Bond film that doesn't explore the meaning of life or whatever. You can't have Bond going on an "emotional journey" in every single film, after all.

CJB wrote:

Also, I'm unsure that today's audience would be unaccepting of a purely fun Bond film that doesn't explore the meaning of life or whatever. You can't have Bond going on an "emotional journey" in every single film, after all.

We probably won't find out until both Mikey and Babs are no longer running the show, as they seem to relish with those types of stories since 1989. At this point, Bond having a personal motivation has become a part of the formula as much as the gadgets.

Given Calvin's enthusiasm for CR, I'm struggling to click into it. I might come back to it at a later time.

I'm curious, do you generally avoid other Bond communities outside of this forum?

No.

I quite enjoy Calvin dysons commentary videos, he really knows his Bond and whether you agree with him or not, he is entertaining. My only gripe would be the inflection at the end of his sentences, that's a rather annoying trend amongst young people these days.

I quite like Calvin's content also. In fact, I started a thread here in the fan section linking his videos to share the joy around a little. It's only that I know in the above video, he'd be praising the untouchable CR06 as an example of emotional arcs done right because he likes the film... but it's that origin story that seriously hinders the film (if one chooses to scrutinise it for what it actually is).

Just to be clear, the video isn't really CR centric. It's definitely brought up as a pivotal moment, but Calvin does a good job of showing the evolution of how the series went from non-personal missions to what it is today. For example the few instances of Moore showing a personal interest during a mission, like his brief "and that's for 009". It also brings up one of my issues with QOS. Where CR ends with Bond being triumphant and fully formed as the secret agent we should be familiar with in the prior films, QOS takes a step back to give us the same beats again as if the filmmakers realized "oh, that's what people liked about CR, let's give them more of that!"

But if positive opinions of CR make you wince that much, I guess you should avoid it.