Coolest Bond 22 News Yet

Posted by Mister Hand (misterhand@filmschoolrejects.com) on September 13, 2007

Actor Jesper Christensen (aka Mr. White), is set to reprise his Casino Royale role for the latest entry in the Bond franchise, according to Cinematical. But that’s not the coolest part. Not by a long shot.

I’m a big huge Bond geek. In fact, I suppose I have a general affinity for action films featuring spies. (I also really love the Bourne movies.) I can only conclude that, having a fondness for comic books, I like movie spies because they’re sort of like superheroes with an extra touch of reality. That’s not to say that Jason Bourne and James Bond are by any means realistic characters. But they do have superpowers–impossibly fast reflexes, the ability to fall great distances without being mortally wounded, a mastery of a vast array of weaponry, near-photographic memories, and a way with the ladies. But spies actually exist in real life, as opposed to people wearing capes and doling out vigilante justice. And thus the added mystique.

The Bond films hobbled along for quite some time, teetering on the brink of eternal suckage, before being briefly rescued by Pierce Brosnan’s stint as the British superspy. Nonetheless, by the time we got around to seeing the last Brosnan film, Die Another Day, things were looking pretty grim over at MI:6.

But I think the franchise is officially set to reclaim the hearts and imaginations of Bond fans everywhere going forward for a long time.

First of all, I’m really excited about the directors “The Broccoli’s: The Next Generation” have been assembling for the new Bond franchise. For years, it seemed the goal of the Bond producers was to hire the least distinctive directors in the business.

That all changed with Goldeneye. While many may not agree that Brosnan’s debut outing as Ian Fleming’s uber-spy is a great Bond film, I personally love it, and believe it is if nothing else one of the most well-directed Bond films. Martin Campbell is an excellent action director, on par with Walter Hill and Sam Peckinpah when it comes to ensuring that you always feel like you’re in the middle of the action. His style is considerably different (far less rough-hewn), but like the aforementioned masters of action cinema, Campbell knows how to give you a sense of space. So when you’re watching a Campbell film, whether it’s Goldeneye, or The Mask of Zorro, you never find yourself scratching your head in the middle of a chaotic action scene wondering, “What the hell’s going on?”

One of the most well-written Bond films is probably The World is Not Enough. But, in my opinion, the film suffers from pedestrian direction (by Micheal Apted, whose directorial style is as bland as his filmography). There are too many close ups, too much cutting, and too much bullshit. Therefore, if given the choice, I’ll take Goldeneye over World any day. (It doesn’t hurt that the Goldeneye film spawned my favorite videogame ever, only deepening my affection for it.)

My assertion that Campbell is one of the finest directors to work within the Bond universe was resoundingly affirmed with the release of Casino Royale. Directed by Campbell, featuring one of the finest scripts ever for a Bond movie, and debuting Daniel Craig as the best Bond since Sean Connery (and possibly better), Royale took the Bond franchise and injected it with nitrous. The film was a darling of the critics and scored with some pretty badass box office.

Needless to say, I have been salivating for the follow up. And here is the piece of news, from writer Paul Haggis, as reported by Cinematical, that has me making gurgling noises with my head flopping backward a la Homer Simpson:

“[Bond 22] starts right after the last one, two minutes after Casino Royale this movie starts.”

In case you haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil the ending of Casino Royale here (there is a spoiler in the Cinematical article), but trust me when I say it was twenty-four karat awesome.

Since Bond 22 literally picks up where the last movie left off, that makes it a no-brainer that Mr. White has to return. I think this is a really good idea. If it works, I hope the Bond producers will make a staple of it for future Bond films. I would love to see the next twenty-something Bond films shot in a serial fashion. We follow Bond from his early days at MI:6 to his final battle with a snarling supervillain–where he has to save the world while trying to protect his colostomy bag from a fatal rupture.

The wildcard for Bond 22 is the director. Marc Forster has made some interesting films, but none could be considered “action movies.” Poor direction could hurt the film very badly, but Bond 22 (it really sucks it doesn’t have a title yet) already has more going for it than the last few Roger Moore films, and either of the Timothy Dalton (shudder) outings. And at least, unlike many other Bond directors, Forster has (as I mentioned) made some interesting films.

On the Side: This is the second time Paul Haggis, writer/director of the overrated Crash, has collaborated on a Bond script, having done a bang up job with Casino Royale.

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