The Great Bondian Identity Crisis

Correction: I accidentally refer to Terence Fisher near the end of the video when I meant Terence Young.

Co-written by Michael S.

With No Time to Die on the way, it's time to look back on Daniel Craig's run as James Bond and to consider what the series has lost along the way. This video essay analyzes the four Bond films of the Craig era, with an emphasis on the way the character has changed in his modern iteration.

Please like and subscribe for more classic and contemporary film analysis.

[LocutusBorgOf]

"And really, any Bond movie that was all grit and no fun would be a complete disaster"

*SMASH CUT TO QUANTUM OF SOLACE INTRO*

That's the reason I suscribed to your channel sir, wanted to let you know that.

[zolafuckass]

The problem with bond these days is that the original was partially written as a response to the decline and dissolution of the British Empire, and the insecurities the British faced at the time. Bond was a power fantasy, a sign that even though the Empire was fading, Britain was still strong and independent. The thing with modern bond is that it doesn't know what bond is a representation of anymore.

[OoJohnisbackoO]

To me, the closest James Bond films come to a genuine, timely, intriguing and analytical bent is The Living Daylights. If you actually look into the Plot, it's a smoke and mirrors game of generals on both sides of the cold War using the proxy wars that result and causing more. I wish the film leaned more in its larger plot, because its one of the last interesting cold War movies made when it was still happening

[neonatalpenguin]

Here's an idea: Make the post-Craig Bond films period pieces, set in the era that the Fleming novels were written. That way, they don't feel obligated to keep deconstructing the character for modern audiences. They can make Bond a contradictory Don Draper type.

[DwRockett]

It’s funny, the need to over analyze the character of James Bond seems to be a similar problem to the one that the modern Superman movies keep running into

[spaceodds]

Terence Young mate, Terence Fisher worked for Hammer. Great video by the way, totally agree with your points

[theyellowlightsaber]

The thing about the books is Bond is a fairly humourless man, and the gadgets are at a minimum, it was Sean Connery who introduced the tongue in cheek quips to make his job more interesting and ofcourse the gadgets and situations in the book were dialled up to 11 in the films especially in Goldfinger which is pretty much the film responsible for the over the top ridiculousness that the canon has never truly lived down, it was Dalton and Craig who got the character back to what he was in the books, a workaday spy who enjoyed the good life on the expense account of the british government. And thats all Bond ever was, escapism for middle class brits living under grey skies who dreamt of exotic locations, but these days when the average person now has the ability to travel to exotic locations the world of Bond isnt as fantastical as it was back in the 1950s.

[HaphazardStuff]

Great job with this analysis! I really enjoyed it!

If I was forced to bet, I’d wager they’ll stick with doing a more planned out continuity over several films with the next Bond actor. It’s just too trendy a thing for them to resist. Little nods and references aren’t enough anymore.

[esyphillis]

This is a trend that arguably became solidified with Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, where we only got the title cards of the movies at the end, and the movie began with an abstract bat symbol.

[dewittbourchier]

I hate to say this but ... Quantum of Solace is actually based off of real life pre-2005 history of Bolivia. Look up Bechtel - including them getting Bolivia to pass a law making collecting rainwater illegal as it was 'unfair competition' and also Luis Garcia Meza Tejada, as well as US support for Bolivian separatist in 2007/2008. Yeah, it is not well executed. But I was shocked at how much of it is just a stylistic exaggeration of real history.

[TGE]

4:37 Slight correction, SPECTRE never tried to conquer the world. All their schemes were strictly about making money. The only Bond villains who were specifically after world domination were Drax from Moonraker and Stromberg from The Spy Who Loved Me.

[paulware]

The obsession with huge story arcs is the bane of modern storytelling. It infests everything. The era of the well-crafted, beginning-middle-end, standalone story seems to be long gone. The big franchises that are still with us were built on the episodic approach (Star Wars being the only major exception). Bond, Marvel, Star Trek--even the Planet of the Apes series was built on films that were self contained and that did no more than reference what had gone before. Continuity in film series goes right back to the old Universal Frankenstein saga, but just as with Marvel back when Stan Lee was writing it, continuity was essentially kept to sub-plots. I've lost interest in plenty of TV shows in recent times because I've been asked to watch a hundred and forty odd episodes before finally getting the payoff. A through-line or arc is fine, but it needs to be done as part of the storytelling process, not as the reason for it.

[b]

The problem with modern Bond is that they forgot what the tuxedo was for. In recent films, the tuxedo (or tailored suit if they want to tone things down a bit) is just the "James Bond costume". It's something that he wears because he wouldn't look like James Bond otherwise. In the early stories the tuxedo had a point, though, with that point being that a tuxedo isn't combat attire. Same goes for his equipment which, aside from a fairly small and weak sidearm, was limited to whatever Q could fit inside of a pen or a wristwatch. Bond isn't an assassin or a special-forces operative, he's a spy. His job is to gather information. He wears the tuxedo because his plan A was to go to some social function get the information he needed by talking. When he fights, it's a sign that something has gone wrong and tension is heightened because he needs to rely on skill and wit to overcome the odds.

The Craig films, on the other hand, started off by establishing Bond as a "blunt instrument" who uses physical force as his go-to method for problem-solving, which puts him fundamentally at odds with how the character had been established for decades. Because of this, whenever they try to add more "classic Bondian" elements to the films it doesn't work because this character is not James Bond and never can be.

[adamfreddo]

I'll say one thing about the Waltz Blofeld, that is a pretty badass facial scar.

[gordonjreeves]

Thoughtful and articulate analysis. Well done, 'Old Man'.

[Falor]

"John le Carre, but stupid" is a perfect description of Quantum of Solace.

[utubrGaming]

My idea if I was given the reigns of Bond?


Send him back to the Cold War. 


Bond? as either Royal Navy or SOE, and a veteran of WWII and/or the Spanish Civil War. 


The UK? Wedged between the power play of the USA and NATO, and countered between the Warsaw Pact, while her own colonies and overseas territories are slipping away by the fingertips. The nation, still feeling the effects of both rebuilding from the war and rationing is still a recent memory. 


Technology? Where analog systems, hidden weapons, and miniaturization coexist, as well as the transistor. Meanwhile, the Space Race begins and atomic power is both a source of awe as almost-limitless energy and a source of fear, with the shadow of nuclear war hanging over Europe. 


The Enemy? Soviet KGB, Fascist revivals and Nazi sympathizers, CIA deniable operatives and secret assets, American millionaires who made it big in the post-war reconstruction.

[DwRockett]

Ok name dropping Haphazardstuff, that’s just beautiful, bravo to that 👏

[michaelmanning]

I've been enjoying your videos. You caught me off guard in this one, referencing some guy named Carr. Then the penny dropped. There's an accent aigu over the final "e" in Le Carre, making it sound like “luh kahr-AY, ”

[jumpbox]

I'm new to your channel, started with your death of the gangster film. I am a life long James Bond fan and am absolutely floored that you have summed up the problem with current Bond in 60 seconds. Consider me subscribed. Amazing work.