(no subject)

[zustifer]

I never cared about James Bond, myself. Mr. Alcott speaketh for me. I hate wish-fulfilment (to me it's usually as laughable as the Beautiful and Approachable Princess of Everything episode of Venture Bros). I think the mythos is SO BORING that even a direct parody like Austin Powers isn't really very funny. I was even dubious about the (now probably defunct) Rupert Everett vehicle in which he was to play a gay James Bond type (even though I enjoy Rupert Everett and am all for gay remakes of movies).
As I recall, the only redeeming value in the movies (I haven't seen so many, though) is the overdone-cultural-meme antecedents, which are funny because I've seen them a million times elsewhere and it's entertaining to see the original (I usually like this phenomenon).

In closing, I am a big jerk who hates culture.

Comments

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

I liked the movies when I was little because, I think, of what Alcott calls the pageant. It was because they were predictable. There were elements you could learn to expect from any one of these movies, and feel a little bit of satisfaction when they rolled by again: always the main good girl and the main bad girl, the supervillain and the henchman with a crazy gimmick; Q would give Bond the gadgets at the beginning and Bond would use them all as if he were ticking off a checklist, click-click-click. It didn't matter that none of it made any sense or that Bond himself was a fairly repulsive character if you thought about it for two seconds. I didn't even get the incredibly obvious sexual double entendres.

I grew up with the Roger Moore version of the franchise, which was all about the pageantry to an even greater extent than the others, to the extent that seeing the only slightly less formulaic Connery movies on TV confused me a little. The Pierce Brosnan ones at least ramped up the spectacle a little, and one of them had Michelle Yeoh in it, but it's hard for me to get interested in these movies any more, since they're hardly even movies.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I probably won't see it in the theater, because I hardly get to see anything in the theater these days, but also because it's still hard to get interested. Part of me thinks it's slightly noble of them to try to break the formula just a little bit, but a larger part thinks that it's long past time for James Bond to go away already. Maybe it's just because I'm not a kid.

[junkerjames.livejournal.com]

I met the freerunnery guy in the beginning scene. I touched him!!!

I'm looking forward to the new one being a bit... grittier (hahaha. Grittier).

It'll never reverse its formula as much as I'd like, but we'll see.

[diaryarena.livejournal.com]

it's a shame, as far as I'm concerned the original Casino Royale was the best Bond movie ever.

I BET THOSE MOVIE PREDICTOR GUYS ALREADY KNEW THAT THOUGH.

The bond MUSIC can be pretty fun though.

[optic-options.livejournal.com]

YES!

http://n0wak.vox.com/library/audio/6a00c2251dd1ae549d00cdf7e68d57094f.html

I summon the unholy demon Bacharachus

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Ba pa pa, ba pa pa, ba pa pa pa pa pa, ba pa paa-aaaah? Ba pa PA pa pa pa!!

Re: I summon the unholy demon Bacharachus

[diaryarena.livejournal.com]

[madeofmeat.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read any Matt Helm "novels"? They make you gag at the sexism, but they also make 007 look like a bumbling idiot. Seriously, they take about 2hrs each to read and the series is worth at least one or two just for the realism.

[unpleasant.livejournal.com]

The only reason I enjoy the early Bond films is as thus: Any film that the big, saucy characterization leap forward be the woman on top is just too out of touch to not be made fun. When Grace Jones is fucking James Bond (as opposed to Jones being fucked), it's important to note that it is the year 19 Holy Shit 85. It's just too ridiculous. Sean Connery, you may have noted, is not Japanese, yet they still try. I suppose it's the trying to make the stupid non-stupid that makes it acceptable for me. This does not apply to anything with Halle Berry in it.

And, speaking of trying, I should mention this- like James Bond hasn't been gay all this time. BEE-ARD.