Martin Campbell will never direct a Bond movie again

Avarice wrote:

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Not sure if anyone is really capable of pulling a hat trick in the Bond series or any other series for that matter.

Young did it.

True. Whatever happens, here's wishing MC well...though I must say I'm surprised to see nothing listed on his plate in IMDb. At one point he'd had a few listings, including a proposed remake of The Birds. Why not let him replace Marc Forster on World War Z?

At this point, I'd prefer that they try to find a director that can deliver a truly great Bond film and then find a way to keep him on board for at least one or two more films after that as opposed to the game of musical chairs that they currently have at the director's chair. Regarding Campbell deciding not to return to the series, I can't say that I'm particularly disappointed considering that his record as Bond is decidedly mixed, with GE being one of the duller entries in the series, and I would say that he's not even the reason that CR turned out as well as it did.

Granted, not many could have turned GE into a great film, but CR had so much going for it and really the only thing that really makes the movie, at least for me, are the performances of Daniel Craig and Eva Green. Aside from their work on the film, the rest of it comes across as a check-list adventure that's not much different from what they were doing in the Brosnan Era, right down to the same trust issues that Bond and M have with each other.

At this point in the series, it's time to find another Terence Young who can handle the reigns for a couple of pictures rather than hiring someone new each and every time out.

dalton wrote:

At this point, I'd prefer that they try to find a director that can deliver a truly great Bond film and then find a way to keep him on board for at least one or two more films after that as opposed to the game of musical chairs that they currently have at the director's chair. Regarding Campbell deciding not to return to the series, I can't say that I'm particularly disappointed considering that his record as Bond is decidedly mixed, with GE being one of the duller entries in the series, and I would say that he's not even the reason that CR turned out as well as it did.

Granted, not many could have turned GE into a great film, but CR had so much going for it and really the only thing that really makes the movie, at least for me, are the performances of Daniel Craig and Eva Green. Aside from their work on the film, the rest of it comes across as a check-list adventure that's not much different from what they were doing in the Brosnan Era, right down to the same trust issues that Bond and M have with each other.

At this point in the series, it's time to find another Terence Young who can handle the reigns for a couple of pictures rather than hiring someone new each and every time out.

I'm a little puzzled here. You seem to say that CR had so much going for it that no director could have ruined it....yet only the performance sof DC and EG made the film worthwhile for you. But I've seen the same ambivalence before on another site: with Campbell getting little if any credit at all. We disagree on his contribution, which I maintain was considerable. But I'm with you on the importance of getting a TY-style director who'll stay on and grow with the series.

dodgecunningham wrote:

I'm a little puzzled here. You seem to say that CR had so much going for it that no director could have ruined it....yet only the performance sof DC and EG made the film worthwhile for you. But I've seen the same ambivalence before on another site: with Campbell getting little if any credit at all. We disagree on his contribution, which I maintain was considerable. But I'm with you on the importance of getting a TY-style director who'll stay on and grow with the series.

The point that I'm trying to make is that, in the hands of a more capable director, CR could have been something considerably special as opposed to simply being one of the better entries in a franchise that has become stagnant. It could have been something that made significant headway towards re-imagining the franchise into something much better than what it's been since Connery left the role. Instead, though, we're given another cookie-cutter Bond film that, while very good, feels somewhat disappointing since instead of truly rebooting the series and going in a different direction, they simply dumped a new coat of paint over the Brosnan Era template. Granted, a lot of this has to do with EON not wanting to stray too far from what has been successful (at which point I'd have to ask what the point of the "reboot" was, why not go with DAD2?), but Campbell doesn't really add much to the film either.

For a film that was supposed to reboot the franchise, it feels as though, short of the Craig casting, that CR plays it safe. It in no way looks radically different from its immediate predecessors, the concocted character arc that Campbell likes to talk about regarding Bond becoming the "Bond we all know and love" is nearly non-existent (it is really only given lip service in the film), the romance that is the backbone of at least the second half of the film if not the entire thing is glossed over in exchange for some rather uninspired action sequences in the first half, M is back to her old tricks of mothering Bond at every turn (the only change in her character here is that she now misses the Cold War), and Campbell seems to resort to gimmicky choices of shots when they are not required, such as an ill-placed slow-motion shot during the parkour chase and then the "car chase" after Vesper is kidnapped is more a commercial for the Aston Martin than an actual development in the story.

Craig and Green, however, are what really make the movie. They manage to overcome a lot of the shortcomings in other areas of the production to make this a pretty good film. Are they perfect representations of Fleming's characters? No, but they guide the film through a sea of horrible dialogue (the whole "You've stripped it from me...whatever I am" scene comes immediately to mind) and manage to make their shortchanged on screen romance believable enough through their performances to not come across as entirely phony

MC brought a new visual style in GE to the franchise. No Bond film before it had looked even remotely the same: smooth, elegant and filled with darker colors. The Brosnan films that followed actually mimicked this template, rather than MC mimicking the Brosnan template in CR.



GE no longer plays as well, imo, as it did when it first hit the theaters. The whole tank in the square episode was a silly concession to previous form. And the deadly hands of Purvis and Wade is already, in parts, at its worst. Still, we're drifting from the topic, which is MC's direction, particularly in CR. From the opening fight to the parkour chase to the shockingly short car chase...the direction was first rate. And I all ever need to do to appreciate MC is watch the mangled Big Scene in QoS: you know, the instantly forgettable fight from the, I forget...a chandelier?

dodgecunningham wrote:

GE no longer plays as well, imo, as it did when it first hit the theaters. The whole tank in the square episode was a silly concession to previous form. And the deadly hands of Purvis and Wade is already, in parts, at its worst.

Purvis & Wade came involved with TWINE.

Bruce Feirstein

Dunno if he came up with the tank chase, but I always thought he was one of the big problems going for the Brosnan era but most fans tend to not acknowledge him when discussing the films' problems.

Sharky wrote:

dodgecunningham wrote:

GE no longer plays as well, imo, as it did when it first hit the theaters. The whole tank in the square episode was a silly concession to previous form. And the deadly hands of Purvis and Wade is already, in parts, at its worst.

Purvis & Wade came involved with TWINE.

Thanks, Sharky, for the correction.

Of course, Roger Moore laid into QoS before Campbell. It's interesting rereading this thread now that Craig has effectively disowned QoS with his 'We got away with it, but only just' comment.

Funny that QoS still has its supporters when even its principals are keen to distance themselves from it.

I have always supported QoS as my 23rd favourite Bond movie.I've watched it well over 10 times (very much appreciate Craig putting away the blue trunks, for one film at least) and still give it solid respect, as the 23rd best entry in a magnificent film series. I haven't tossed it, along with Mathis, into a Bolivian dumpester just yet. It still rates inclusion in my Bondathons (its mercifully short for a Bond film).

Faint praise I know, but I'm trying.

Quote :

Best Bond Film: The Helicopter Spies

Ambler, you like Solo and Kuryakin's efforts in the Helicopter Spies do you? Classic Uncle. Lola Albright sizzles!



To all Bond/Uncle aficionados escapist spy-fi-action fans, the complete Uncle, 8 feature film set, was made available last year by Warner Bros.

All 8 theatrical Uncle releases, including The Helicpoter Spies, are available at your local Amazon. Awesome!

Yeah, Tiff, The Helicopter Spies entertains, something EON has forgotten how to do. Plus, there was an Ian Fleming connection to UNCLE though it's rarely commented on these days.

Erica Ambler wrote:

Yeah, Tiff, The Helicopter Spies entertains, something EON has forgotten how to do. Plus, there was an Ian Fleming connection to UNCLE though it's rarely commented on these days.

I added an edit to my post above. While the Uncle complete TV series is kinda pricey, the 8 Uncle feature length films, which were released internationally in the 1960's, at the height of the Bond-fueled spy craze, as of last year, have all been packaged together, in one handy dvd collection.

I think its a must buy for fans of the 60's Bonds. The Uncle films boast bigger budgets than the TV episodes did, and feature some star powered actors of the day. The Uncle films have more of an escapist suspense driven Bond vibe, as opposed to the spoofier, Flint and Helm films of the day.

Bond and Uncle = escapist spy adventure = guns, girls and thrills.

Here's the complete list of films:

• To Trap a Spy (1964)
  
• The Spy with My Face (1965)
  
• One Spy Too Many (1966)
  
• One of Our Spies is Missing (1966)
  
• The Spy in the Green Hat (1966)
  
• The Karate Killers (1967)
  
• The Helicopter Spies (1968)
  
• How to Steal the World (1968)
  

Great stuff. They almost got the word 'spy' into every title. ;)

Maybe you should copy that post into your UNCLE thread:

https://bondandbeyond.forumotion.com/t921-the-man-from-uncle?highlight=uncle

Erica Ambler wrote:

Great stuff. They almost got the word 'spy' into every title. ;)

Maybe you should copy that post into your UNCLE thread:

[url=https://bondandbeyond.forumotion.com/t921-the-man-from-uncle?highlight=uncle

https://bondandbeyond.forumotion.com/t921-the-man-from-uncle?highlight=uncle[/quote[/url]]

Yes thanks, I must update that Uncle thread, now that I have watched the entire series, all the way through.

I got sidetracked with this thread. https://bondandbeyond.forumotion.com/t1102-60-s-bond-inspired-spy-craze-best-of

I do strongly encourage all 60's Bond fans to grab that Uncle Movie dvd set. Its the closest thing to 60's Bond that I've ever seen, and the Uncle films are not as PG as their TV episode counterparts.

Makeshift Python wrote:

Bruce Feirstein

Dunno if he came up with the tank chase, but I always thought he was one of the big problems going for the Brosnan era but most fans tend to not acknowledge him when discussing the films' problems.

Nope, it was Barbara who came up with that. Originally it was supposed to be a bike chase, but she wanted something more spectacular and we get a tank chase. It was probably Bruce who had the bike chase resurface in TND, and honestly, I think that's more spectacular.

I don't like either. Besides the handcuff gimmick, it's just another by the numbers sequence by Vic Armstrong.

The tank chase works because it ties into the whole 'tearing the icons' theme from the title sequence. The bike chase is just there. Pointless.

It's a good idea but Bond should have had obstacles to make it an effective sequence, for the most part he just plows right through with no trouble which makes his tie adjusting moment pointless because nothing challenged him.

The whole point is that it's a release from the claustrophobic buildup in the archives. It's deliberately saddled between two suspense sequences, the second being with the Soviet Missile Train.

Tank chase is too cute for my tastes.

Louis Armstrong wrote:

Tank chase is too cute for my tastes.

Bond should have detoured and taken in some starving Bolivian peasants. Thank God we're past entertainment.

The tank chase is a good bit of fun in a film that feels a bit dour at times. I just wonder how Bond managed to roll that thing unimpeded all the way from St Pete's city centre to that deserted train depot.

No one had a bazooka handy?

It feels like dead weight to me, a sidetrack that lacks danger. I feel the same about the LALD boat chase and the TLD ice chase (although the latter squeaks by on its exuberant music).

Oddly, I'd enjoy the GE tank chase if it was more OTT. I want the Bond theme to blare when the tank crashes through the wall, not for it to crawl along tediously.

Louis Armstrong wrote:

It feels like dead weight to me, a sidetrack that lacks danger. I feel the same about the LALD boat chase and the TLD ice chase (although the latter squeaks by on its exuberant music).

Oddly, I'd enjoy the GE tank chase if it was more OTT. I want the Bond theme to blare when the tank crashes through the wall, not for it to crawl along tediously.

I think its the lack of restraint element again, these scenes are decent for a while but someone needed to call time a bit sooner or else do something to shift the gear. I do agree that TLD benefitted from one of Barry's greatest scores so that gets more than a pass from me, plus I could stare at that Aston all day.......

Erica Ambler wrote:

Of course, Roger Moore laid into QoS before Campbell. It's interesting rereading this thread now that Craig has effectively disowned QoS with his 'We got away with it, but only just' comment.

Funny that QoS still has its supporters when even its principals are keen to distance themselves from it.

Since the opinions of the "principals" are almighty, I assume you'll embrace CR given DC and Micolli's appreciation for it.