So as we're getting closer to the latest James Bond movie 'No Time to Die' finally being released, I think it's time to write a bit about the upcoming film and its prospects. Is there a chance that the movie is going to be any good and that the audiences are going to like it?
Indeed, ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit last year and the release date has been postponed again and again, there has been speculation about the quality of the movie. Some have said there's no way it's going to work and that the producers are really worried about the movie.
So when it comes to my views about the upcoming film - as a writer and a teacher who uses Bond films to illustrate story structure - there are at least a couple of things to discuss. I think I have at least some sort of an idea what to expect from the movie.
Character-wise, the very first thing that needs to be addressed about the film has to do with the online complaints that the movie is going to be too 'woke'. Supposedly James Bond as agent 007 has lost his masculinity and is now part of the #metoo movement.
Indeed, since we have been told that there are also female 00-agents in the film's universe, that somehow kills the franchise. The producers have supposedly given in to the woke-crowd and those who want to emasculate the character, so all is lost now.
In reality though, the problem with this argument is that even though some of these 'new' elements can be interpreted as 'pandering', these female elements aren't actually new. We've already had strong female characters over the years that have made Bond look even 'weak'.
Indeed, when you think about how in 'Thunderball (1965)' the Bond girl kills the villain and saves Bond or how in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977) 007 has an equal Russian partner, how is that different? This time the female 00-stuff even happens mostly off screen.
Story-wise, the biggest challenge with the new upcoming film is that the producers have been struggling with the franchise for quite some time. Ever since 'Golden Eye' was released in 1995 after a 6 year hiatus, there have been problems in figuring out what the whole thing is about.
Indeed, once Soviet Union ceased to exist, that changed not only the real world but especially the James Bond universe. Once the almost mythical cold war and its many insanities ended (spying, stacking up nukes etc.), it had a big effect on the franchise.
Film-wise, it's not a secret that Brosnan's last two films lacked any kind of relevance or excitement, whereas Craig's post 'Casino Royale' films (implausible poker plot) weren't that good either. They were basically average at best 'Jason Bourne' & 'Mission Impossible' imitations.
Script-wise, another big problem with the franchise has been that the quality of screenwriters working on these films has gone drastically down lately. Ever since Bruce Feirstein wrote 'GoldenEye' and Cubby Broccoli passed away, the films have been mostly written by hacks.
After all, every Bond movie after 'Tomorrow Never Dies' has been written or co-written together by two guys (named Neal Purvis and Robert Wade). This duo who co-wrote the latest movie is also responsible for the mostly lame and unfunny Johnny English films.
In contrast, when the franchise was living its golden age quality-wise, most of the films were written by writers who knew how to tell a story. These guys like Richard Maibaum - who contributed to almost every Connery & Moore films - actually had real talent and craftsmanship.
In that sense, when it comes to the upcoming movie and the whole thing, especially considering that the last film 'Spectre' had a bad story structure, I can't say that I'm that hopeful. I can't be that optimistic about 'No Time to Die', even though part of me wants to do that.
After all, when you look at the trailer of the film, there's no question that it admittedly looks pretty good. Based on what we're shown, it actually looks like it could be a solid and entertaining movie - even though other aspects tell that the movie isn't going work.
Still, when it's all said and done, when it comes to the quality of the final product, we won't be able to tell for sure before it is released. We don't know yet and have to wait for three more months before we can tell how good or bad it is (September 30th release in my country).
In that sense, in the end, we can only hope that Daniel Craig's final Bond is going to be an entertaining one. We can hope that it's going to be a solid movie, although the chances are that it won't be and that it will be a pretty flawed movie with some redeeming qualities in it.
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