Wednesday 3 January 2007

A little late - But Craig is no Bond.

Before I go on, I should probably preface that I'm quite the fan of James Bond - the movies and the books - some might even say (and they have) that I'm a bit of an elitist. 2007 being the year of Bond, I thought I might address the latest addition to the Bond franchise. Six weeks too late? Probably. Still valid? Hope so.

When Daniel Craig (a fine thespian by the way) was first cast in the iconic role of the suave super-agent, I have to say that, to put it mildly, I was aghast. And yes, some might argue that it was for purely superficial reasons, but then again, I am a bit of a purist.

I was pretty much in line with most of his most vehement critics. He's blonde (something easy to remedy but wasn't), and to be perfectly honest not that attractive (something not so easy to remedy). Does that mean I hated the movie? No. Does it mean he didn't do the role justice? No. It just means he wasn't Bond, and if he wasn't Bond, then it wasn't a Bond movie.

Look, I've heard many converted critics say he played the role very well, and yes he did. But he didn't look like James Bond. Danny Devito is a fine actor and IF he could pull off the role of James Bond, would critics still be as forgiving? What's next? An Indian James Bond? A Mexican? An African? A Midget? A Woman? Bond is about more than just his character. There's a certain look and presence required to execute the role of 007, which Mr. Daniel Craig just does not have. Sorry.

1 comment:

Eric said...

An Indian James Bond eh?

"My name is Bond. James
Bond. Well, that isn't my real name. Ok I'll do it again."

"My name is Patel. Bupinder Patel."

Not bad but doesn't have the same cache I don't think.

I imagine Bollywood probably has a version of James Bond. Anyone know his name?