Bond vs. Bourne, Continued

Via Dark Horizons, two bits of spy flick news.

1) Daniel Craig says the next 007 film won’t be a direct sequel like Quantum of Solace was to Casino Royale, but the Quantum organization’s presence may still be felt.  More importantly, he’s up for adding Q and Moneypenny.  Maybe I was right:

The filmmakers used the gun barrel at the end of the film as a punctuation mark, as if to say “Bond is now Bond.”

And Felix is Felix, and M is M.  Bring on the whole gang.

2) Uber-producer Frank Marshall discusses the future of the Bourne saga.  Universal basically has the rights to Robert Ludlum’s non-Bourne books, and apparently Marshall and company are considering using The Parsifal Mosaic as the backbone of the next Bourne film.  I haven’t read that one, but I’m a big fan of many of Ludlum’s books (it still suprises me how long it took for Hollywood to discover their potential as films).  But: I’d rather see them incorporate the Carlos storyline from the Bourne books.

Give Bond his friends, and give Bourne his nemesis!

007 and Tradition

As is my tradition, I went to see the new Bond film on opening night.  There’s always something exhilarating about seeing a new movie with a packed house, but I’ve always found it to be especially so with Bond films.

And the reason is that the audience is different.  Sure, you get your typical date night couples, the people who go every Friday night to see the latest, well, anything.  But with a Bond film, as with any genre film, you get your rabid fans as well.  And the 007 fan base is particularly remarkable in its ability to transcend generational lines.

I have seen the last four Bond films on opening night.  And though it is a fairly young tradition for me, compared to the well-dressed elderly couple I saw on Friday night who have probably been doing this for the last four decades, I feel very much a part of something special.

Complicating matters is the way the Daniel Craig reboot has toyed with tradition.  Craig’s Bond is emotional and impulsive.  He’s far more comfortable using deadly force.  Moneypenny and Q are nowhere to be found.  And as Roger Ebert complains, 007 drinks beer.