Rakesh's movie talk
James Bond: 15 years of madness













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Wait, says some reader, James Bond is celebrating 40 years in the cinema. The first movie came in 1962 and all, so what the hell is this dim-witted writer doing putting a title like 15 years of madness". Well, my dear readers (hallo! Hallo! Anyone there? Dang), the 15 years actually refers to me, a Bond fan who once verged into becoming a fanatic, only survived into sanity, thanks to Brosnan's Bond films which interested me like the next teen horror flick. Sorry, that was an exaggeration, but you will get the idea.

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Mirror! Mirror!

Officially I became a James Bond fan back in 1987 when I stood in front of the mirror and uttered the immortal words, "Go back to your books!". Oh no, that was mom. But really, the immortal words, rang out of my whiny voice creeping into manhood (okay, I was 14) was "Bond, James Bond." And I raised an eyebrow, held an imaginary gun slightly below my shoulders, close to the chest. I gave the mean "I'm gonna kill ya sucka!" look. In my own fantasy world, I was Bond, James Bond. Okay, I was shorter, dark skinned and skinny (at that time), but hey, to me I was Bond.

1987 was an important year for Bond fans. It was the year the Bond movies were approaching a new epoch. That's right folks, James Bond has a new face. It was a long, dragging twelve year when the public saw James Bond in form of Roger Moore, who instead of developing talent, developed more wrinkles which also extended to his lips - as he is seen smirking all the goddam times. By 1985,in A View To A Kill, Moore looked like he could more or less talk to the bad guys over the conference room with some wine and food and take over the evil empire. In no way did his Bond looked convincing running up the Eiffel Tower, hanging onto a fire truck, bedding Tanya Roberts and...and...Grace Jones. Oh, my stomach. Of course it was the stunt double doing most of it except the love-making part. Moore was fine, funny as hell and fun to watch, but fans were getting restless.

The media was excited of the choice for new Bond. Various names were tossed around, especially Pierce Brosnan's who was wooing the audience with his TV role, Remington Steele. Brosnan was the natural choice to replace Moore, because not only he was very good looking, he had a knack for comedy. Brosnan's performance in the TV series was so good, that he never fails to make us laugh. So, it was decided by some yo-yo that he should be the one to make us laugh onscreen - fitting Moores standup persona. The television viewers went ga-ga with this choice and it actually helped with the rating of Remington Steele TV show, which looks like it could use some tonic and better scripts. The series producer quickly extended Brosnan's contract, and because of the extension, the actor, who even did some screen tests, could not be available for the movie. Enter Albert R. Broccoli, the producer, who always had an eye for another actor, a Royal Shakespearean Company thespian, who was more known for TV mini-series and a couple of movies.

The New Face

"He reminded me of the young Sean Connery," says Barbara Broccoli, Alberts wife. The actor, Timothy Dalton, had a long history with Bond. Back in 1969, when Connery had left the series temporarily, he was approached by Broccoli. Dalton was 25 at that time, so he felt that he was too young. "Besides, one must be crazy to step into Connery's shoes," he said once. George Lazenby stepped in, not only made a fool of himself, but dragged the movie down. The movie, On Her Majesties Secret Service was in fact very good, thanks to Peter Hunt's superb direction and Diana Riggs' impeccable performance as Mrs. Tracy Bond. Yes, Bond gets to be married and will have to be in an emotional state towards the end, and the producers got an inexperienced Australian model to do the role. What a shame!

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That's right. This is George Lazenby in case you don't know.

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Roger Moore. Perhaps the most good looking of the lot.
















So, in came Roger Moore in 1973 and by 1979 Moore said that he is going to quit. Broccoli approached Dalton again. The actor refused again. This time, the reason being he didn't like how the series was going - in his description -filled with too many gadgets, out-of-the-world stunts and campy humour. To think that Dalton starred in Flash Gordon beguiles me. Anyway, it was 1987, Brosnan couldn't come on board. Broccoli was not satisfied with other screen tests (among them was Sam Neill) and he talked to Dalton again. Dalton agreed, this time insisting that Bond must return to his Ian Fleming root. I trust the readers have fairly good knowledge of who's who so I will not waste time revealing all the details. Interested party can contact me via email and state your bank account number. Kidding.

Finally, the daylights

The Living Daylights was to be released in 1987, and I was following the media frenzy. Yes, I blame the media for making me a Bond fan(atic). It was on paper almost every other day, making me curious as a dog. I said dog to be on the safe side, because cats are usually killed by curiosity.

I went to library and read the Ian Fleming books. There were a few abridged versions available and I borrowed them again and again - relishing every moment in the book. Here, I would like to stake claim that I was Ian Fleming fan first. I would also like to claim my stake, hence getting greedy and I actually stole them. Yes! I still have them today. Sekolah Menengah Bandar Mas may want to talk to me about it. Hah! How do you know I was the one who stole the books, hahahaha! Oh-oh...

So, that was when I got embroiled with the Bond-mania. Biggest credit (or blame) will go to prolific journalist Daniel Chan who used to write the comic section and the video review section in New Strait Times. I met him recently - he's currently the deputy editor of The Malay Mail - and found that seniority in journalism has done nothing to his love for comic, movies and especially 007. I followed his reviews of older Bond movies religiously and was puzzled as to why Connery was so revered by Mr. Chan. Later, I found that many critics loved Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond. It was not long that I became one of the worshippers.

As a result of being a new Bond fan, my first instinct was to proclaim my fanaticism to my classmates. The constant victim of my torture was a good pal of mine, Susruthan, who is also known as Susruth and also Sus. He is also known with varieties of other name, and I shall not discuss them here, fearing it might influence 3 year olds who might be reading this. Simple stuff like quoting from a movie became his worst nightmare. I would say, "And then Bond would say 'She should kept her mouth shut' hahahaha." He would give me a vacant stare. I would then go on and say, "From Russia With Love, 1963, directed by Terence Young." The whole bunches of useless information. He used to say, "if only you can use that memory power for your studies," See, can you see how he had to endure my madness. I was not in touch with Sus for a good five years (Good, meaning absence of Bond talk for five years for Sus). Then, we met again. We reminiscence the good ol' time. Just when he thought that I was all grown up, I went on with my Bond talk. Argh! The nightmare was back. Sus now lives in hiding somewhere in Russia. Okay, I was kidding. He is still around, now a partner in my business, and enduring more tortures. I hope god will give him peace one day.

1987 was a good year for me. The Living Daylights arrived and it was greeted with enthusiasm by critics who liked Dalton's portrayal of hard-boiled, edgy and a dangerous secret agent. Audiences' reaction to the new Bond was mixed, but nevertheless they liked the movie. The movie, consistent with Dalton's performance, was more of an espionage thriller rather than an action comedy flick ala the 70s Bond film. Audiences' welcomed the change and they eagerly waited for the next installment. Busy audiences. They were also eagerly waiting for the next installment Lethal Weapon, Indiana Jones, Rambo, Terminator and rumoured prequel to Star Wars. What a busy year!

Franchise almost killed

1989 came and Broccoli's team released License To Kill. The publicity machine were working well, but more than often, they played up Dalton's image as a dangerous spy, rather than fun Bond outing. The tagline "His bad side is a dangerous place to be" accompanied the grim, scary looking Dalton with dishevelled hair and unbuttoned shirt with loosened bow tie. It is Bond out for personal revenge. Dalton did well, but the audience did not. Hark! What went wrong? They couldn't identify with this Bond. 007 is angry. He resigned from the Secret Service, overruled M's orders and not only killed but was responsible for mutilated and burnt bodies. As Joan Lau - who wrote the review in New Strait Times at that time- said, "Bond can be a bastard". She welcomed the new ugly violence, earmarking a new era in Bond films. There were not many gadgets to play with and the main Bond girl was handy with a shotgun. Amazing! And the audience stayed away in droves.

Majority of the blame goes to the timing. The film was released together with heavyweights like the new Lethal Weapon, Batman, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But still, the argument would be, if the film is good enough, it should beat its competitors and come out a champion. Verdict? The audience didn't like it.

Me? I loved it. In fact, the Bond here is very, very close to the James Bond I read in Ian Fleming's book, especially the very good read You Only Live Twice (the screen version is a disgrace, writing-wise). I was overjoyed. I loved Dalton's Bond and I found him to be the true successor to Connery. Speaking of Connery's performance. Wait, I need another article to write about Connery. We are talking about fifteen years of madness and it shall stay so.

Then, came 1991. Of course, 1991 can never come before 1989. When I say madness, I mean it. It was supposed to be the year the new Bond installment was to appear. But it did not. What the...! It was not soon that 1992 appeared. Then, followed by 1993 and 1994. It was a natural progression of years, I was getting fatter, older, losing hair, developing a paunch and getting more and more restless. The shocking news is Dalton is out! He gave an interview saying that the Bond franchise is in trouble with courts and he can't wait. He wanted to go on. He said that he never regretted playing Bond, and it was a big honour for him to be one of the guys who played Bond. Bravo Dalton. We salute you for doing what you did for Bond. You brought him closer to the man we recognised in the books, and more down to earth. But what is happening to the franchise? Is it over?

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Timothy Dalton. He brought Bond back down to earth.

A fresh breath of air...or is it?

(In the early nineties, there were legal problem concerning the 007 property amongst studios. I will not detail them fearing any misquoting may anger MGM and result in me being in court myself. Sigh)

1994, news came out blaring. All the excitement of 1987 was there - the new Bond. Pierce Brosnan got the job for sure this time. He went home and told his kids, "I got Bond in the bag. Lets rock & roll." I should have known that the description would fit the movies that came along after that. I never approved of Brosnan. I felt he lacked the 'tough' elements of Connery and Dalton. They played hard man, experienced and deadly. I felt that Brosnan would merely reprise his Remington Steele role. Nothing more.

GoldenEye came out in 1995 and it was a big success. I liked it because it was a Bond movie. I didn't like Brosnan's performance, hated the new M (Judi Dench) who might be do better showing up in Oprah's show, hated the BMW and hated, hated the music. I liked the return of Q (Desmond Llewelyn), the cinematography and the Russian location. But it was not the same anymore. Bond, in this movie, is a commando, not a secret agent. He seemed to be panicky in action scenes. He is running all over the place. Zoom! "Who's that?" "Oh, that;s 007, must be late for appointment or something." His lovemaking seemed forced as if he is merely obeying the script. He walks and talks as if he is saying to himself, "I'm Bond. Everyone is watching me. Watch the way you walk. Deliver your lines well. Everyone is watching." Brosnan's delivery of "Bond, James Bond" is probably the most self-conscious moment in the history of Bond films. From Connery the line was merely a reply and he prefers the others to judge by his physique and actions, than name. Moore's introduction seeks friendship and assurance that the bad guys don't kill him too soon. Dalton's utterance has a slight disgust in it. It's as if the name has some dirt and he didn't like it. Brosnan's looks like the utterer is unsure himself.

The second Brosnan outing, "Tomorrow Never Dies," improves a lot on the music department - thanks to David Arnold's adherence to the old John Barry's composition and timing. Brosnan's performance didn't change. Everything was the same except his hair, which was trimmed shorter. This time, Bond suddenly remembered that he can use machine-guns and he aims to out body-count both Rambo and Terminator combined. More explosions and gravity defying stunts. I had a bad feeling that we are going back to the seventies. The media, in the meantime, made hoo-ha about Michelle Yeoh, the butt kicking heroine. She bragged about the toughness of her character who is independent, strong and can stand equally with Bond himself. Yeah, right. She had to be rescued towards the end of the movie. Yawn.

Very typical. Watch the interviews before every Bond movie and you will see the actress saying how much her character is strong, not a bimbo and can take care of herself. All of them have forgotten the most toughest babe of them all is Pussy Galore - still the most politically incorrect name of them all -played with perfection by the still gorgeous Honor Blackman. And this was back in 1963 for Connery's sake.

I felt that I had done injustice to Brosnan and co, and thought that I should be more positive when it came to 1999 outing, The World Is Not Enough. But no! Half and hour into the movie, I was yawning...literally. It dragged on and on. I had no interest in the storyline. The bad guy, played by Robert Carlyle is probably one of the most colourless Bond villain even though they added some weirdo touches into his characteristics. The henchmen are all but forgettable. Remember the time when the bad guys' henchmen were interesting on their own. Remember the hat throwing Oddjob (Goldfinger)? Remember the metal clawed Tee-Hee (Live And Let Die)? Remember the steel jawed Jaws (The Spy Who Loved Me & Moonraker)? What happened to all these henchmen? Did they got job elsewhere? Like with Osama Ben Ladeen? Anyway, I listed The World Is Not Enough as the worst Bond movie, alongside The Man With The Golden Gun.

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Pierce Brosnan. Turned secret agent into a sensitive commando.

Lowering expectation further...and further.

By the time I write this, I still have not seen Die Another Day. I saw a commercial though. By now we are all aware of the high level of product placement in the movies. But this time it is really bad. Q (John Cleese) is in a pub or lounge. He hears a phone ringing. He takes his pen, and listens to it. No, not that phone. Then his comb and some other items, until he discovers that it is his Heineken beer bottle. He then, TALKS to the beer bottle, answering to 007. Then, the another ringing sound. He walks to the bar counter, puts his foot there and talks to his shoe! That's M on the line. He then places the beer bottle next to his shoe so that M can talk to 007. A level of Ludicrousness never witnessed even in the seventies. So, I am going to give Die Another Day the lowest level of expectation, so that I can at least enjoy a moment here and there. I am looking forward to see the reference made to the past movies in the series. They better. They owe those movies that much.

So, my level of madness had somewhat toned down. I developed a taste for other movies and am a die-hard Eastwood fan. I also keep an eye on the other actors, like Dalton who did a good job playing troubled priest in the cheap horror flick, The Evil Within, and Moore who occasionally pop up here and there looking old but as fun as ever. Of course, we shall not discuss Sean Connery's career. I need another article for it, and for now you can check the Film Personality section of this site.

This writing was initially aimed to pay tribute to Bond, but I got carried away with my complaints. 40 years on the screen is not a joke. The series is easily the most successful of any movie franchise. I have grudges against the new movies, but I understand well that these movies helped to gain newer younger audiences. I cannot complain, because these audiences would definitely like to go back and visit the older movies, the ones that I enjoyed. I welcome them with an open mind. After one more movie, Brosnan would step out gracefully and allow a new blood to come in. I am looking forward to that year. All that excitement that hooked me back in 1987 would be back and boy I want to be there. Since I am a self-claimed Bond expert, I would like to give out my analysis as to how this feller would be like and how the movies should go. Interested party can email to me and reveal all their lady friends' phone numbers. Kidding again.

With that, I bid adieu. I will try and update the site dedicated for Bond, but I need time. Just to give you an impression as to how mad I am...I would like to confess that I wrote this article in one go, without referring to any book, article or website. It's all there in my brain. I am not bragging, just stating the fact. How's that for madness? Fifteen years and still at it.

Quick review of the Bond movies