It was bound to happen: After nearly two dozen escapist screen adventures, the producers of the series have decided to “get serious” about their pulp hero.
A half-hearted attempt was made with the George Lazenby one-off On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but neither Lazenby nor the story was ever very believable.
The next Bond adventure, currently titled Skyfall, will have Daniel Craig again; his acting abilities might be able to convince us of 007’s angst, but such depth of characterization could be out of place here.
Will the next film fully realize the character created by Ian Fleming, or will it be trying too hard for “significance”? You decide:
The next James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” promises the usual action, exotic locations, scheming villains and beautiful women. For fans of the original novels by Ian Fleming, there’s more: a journey into the troubled psyche of the iconic spy.
After all, the director of the 23rd film in the franchise, which spans half a century, is Sam Mendes, whose cinematic studies of personalities in emotional turmoil and even meltdown include “American Beauty” and “Revolutionary Road.”
“You always go back to the Fleming because the character Fleming created over a number of novels was incredibly complex,” Mendes said Sunday at a news conference in Istanbul, where the crew of “Skyfall” has filmed.
“Some people sometimes forget in the cliche of Bond, which is the international playboy, and someone who’s always untroubled, and almost never breaks a sweat, that actually what (Fleming) created was a very conflicted character,” said Mendes, who was joined by cast members, including Bond actor Daniel Craig.
