zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Dave, your eMail brings to mind an article I read years ago while traveling -- during the production of "Licence to Kill" (1989). Timothy Dalton talked down the Bond role (lacks depth, challenge), and made a point of mentioning that he read Shakespeare between takes. A "classical actor" is he.

Well, if you saw the movie, just about every "quip" fell flat. Whatever he thought of the role, had he been a good actor, I'd have expected him to have pulled it off. Humor is one of Bond's psychological coping tools, and to me that IS depth. And, since delivering that humor turned out to be such a challenge for Dalton, perhaps the gentlman doest protest too much, me thinks.

Ironically, Robert Davi (Franz Sanchez, the lead bad guy) lamented that history and stereotypes precluded him from playing this role -- which he coveted.

My current vote, and this responds directly to your "I don't like guns" thing, Dave, is that you'll see Brosnan back a'la Sean Connery in "Diamonds Are Forever."

To paraphrase Quint from "Jaws," this film simply can't survive what I see emerging as THREE FATAL FLAWS: 1/ New, if not inadequate, lead; 2/ Director who's known for the worst Bond film of the last six installments; and 3/ passe retro-content (not to mention Fleming's self-indulgent "carpet beater" type scenes that I'd thought we'd finally culled out to be left w/ what was truly good).

Ms. Broccoli is apparently close to Mr. Craig and campaigned strongly for him as Bond. But now we're all gonna find out how such personal choices affect her pocket book....