16 years, five works, more than $3.2 billion in box office revenue. British actor Daniel Craig will play Super Agent James Bond for the last time in 007: No Time to Die, released on October 29. When he first appeared as a new Bond in 2005, Craig was questioned for his lack of resume and appearance, and he eventually won word of mouth with his meticulous and complex interpretation of Bond. "No Time to Die" is the 25th "007" series. In 2021, which is full of superheroes and has a completely different social context, do we still need a super agent who shuttles through sports cars, women, guns and bullets?
Daniel Craig debuted
No one likes Daniel Craig. When he first appeared at a press conference in 2005 as the new James Bond, Craig was assigned to travel to the scene in a Royal Marine Speedboat. The weather in London was somewhat gloomy, and he wore a life jacket in a blazer. The media in the audience afterwards laughed: How can the coolest spy on the screen wear a life jacket?
"He was wearing a life jacket, looked clumsy, and his face was blue." Britain's Daily Mail commented unceremoniously. Commentators at the BBC news network said the atmosphere at that press conference was "very awkward" and that Craig was greeted by journalists "Will you give up your blond hair?" "Have you been secretly practicing your signature lines at home?" There are some malicious questions like this. "His name is Bland, James Bland." The London Daily Mirror laughed at the harmonic terrier and found an audience member whose real name was James Brand. "I can act better than Craig." This audience member said without mercy. "He's definitely the boring Bond in history." Viewers who opposed him signed up for the site, calling "Bond is not blonde" and "Daniel Craig is not Bond, respectively."
"I want to make my mark on this character." Craig said at a 2005 news conference. Under his interpretation, Bond is more flesh and blood, more emotional and more modern, in the latest 007 series of works "No Time to Die", the "007" sign on the head is not even Bond, but the Female Agent played by African-American actress Rushna Lynch. 16 years later, Craig has become the longest-running actor in history to play Bond. At the global premiere of "No Time to Die", he was no longer greeted by the media that was staring at the tiger. When he appeared in a pink blazer, fans and photographers shouted loudly from the other side. "Daniel! Look over here! "Daniel! We love you! ”
▲ The world premiere of "007: No Time to Die".
Four 007 titles that grossed $3.2 billion worldwide. Craig is now described by the media as "the most successful 007 in history," and no one remembers the awkward press conference in 2005. On October 29, "007: No Time to Die" was released in China. On the film review website Rotten Tomatoes, "No Time to Die" maintained a professional praise rate of 84%, and the entertainment media called it "the most perfect ending of the Craig era". "In Craig's fifth Bond work, we know very well who is the best 007." Boston Globe review. "His name is Craig, Daniel Craig."
"Worst 007" turnaround note
"From the moment he was selected to succeed Pierce Brosnan for 007, Craig was considered by no means a good candidate for the role." The New York Times wrote. "People thought he was too rough-looking, his film resume too thin, his hair too light." Craig recalled that he once thought he was invited to audition for a "cannon fodder" in Casino Royale who would be killed by 007 soon after his appearance. When he received a confirmation call to star, the first thing he did was "sit down and have a drink slowly." It was 2004, and the "007" series producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Berkeley spent two years looking for a more authentic and human Bond, hoping to bring the highest-grossing film series of all time into a new social context. Under their vision, the new 007 is no longer a character who can get away from various fight scenes, the suit is always clean, and the smile is always smiling.
Craig thus stood out among more than 200 male actors. In the producer's view, what he can bring to 007 is a rough texture that is different from previous actors. The Washington Post described Craig as looking more like "a fighter in an iron cage than a gentleman in a tuxedo and driving Aston Martin."
▲ Irish actor Pierce Brosnan, who played 007.
Prior to starring in Casino Royale, Craig had only acted in a few independent films and was not very famous. He is from Cheshire, England, where his father runs a pub in the town and his mother and sister are theatre lovers. When he was young, he often accompanied them to the theater to see performances. Craig's childhood was not very happy. After their parents divorced, he and his sister followed their mother to live in an area with poor security and low rent. He often failed exams, was bullied by his classmates, and had a very unhappy life. Because of his contact with his mother's actor friends, Craig has had a dream of acting since he was a child. As an adult, he left everything behind and moved to London in search of acting opportunities. People in Cheshire describe Craig as down-to-earth, "not thinking of himself as a big star", and after becoming famous, he did not forget to go home to his father's bar to socialize, everyone could chat with him at the bar, and sometimes he would participate in the quiz contest organized by the bar. "He drinks a Guinness specialty every time and never orders martini ." A regular at the bar said to the local newspaper.
There was no fame when he took on Casino Royale, and Craig was still extremely serious about acting. For the best visuals "eight days a week training". During playing 007, he broke one leg and seriously injured the ankle of the other foot. Before taking over "Casino Royale", there was still a fear of heights, but "after the start of filming, I can no longer fear heights." He said it was not the fame of the series that ultimately impressed him to play Bond, but the script for Casino Royale. In this work, the producers attempted to recreate "what Bond was before he became Bond" through Ian Fleming's first Bond series of novels, Casino Royale. What did Bond go through before navigating women, sports cars and high-tech gear?
"I hope that all these years of playing Bond have changed him a lot." Craig recalled in a magazine interview in September. "I try not to criticize him mentally. He has a lot of flaws and his attitude towards the world and towards women is problematic. I think it's interesting. The way we deal with this trait is to try to place strong female characters and let them compete with them. In Casino Royale, the arrogant Bond is reprimanded by the heroine Vespa and refuses to take an elevator with him because "the elevator can't accommodate you and your arrogance" and needs to be saved by Vespa after taking poison. "Shake or stir?" When the bartender throws this iconic question at Bond, Craig's version of Bond replies, "Do you think I care?" ”
"I tried to think of Bond as a normal character," Craig once said, "though it's hard." In the four works that preceded "No Time to Die," Bond fell in love and fell out of love, choking on the screen for the first time. The smile of the merry-goer disappears, he becomes older, he is asked to participate in the physical examination, and even falls into the self-doubt and embarrassment of "can I still do this line of work", he shows the audience a kind of human vulnerability.
▲ Stills from "007: No Time to Die".
"Casino Royale doesn't have all kinds of high-tech gadgets made by Dr. Q, no quips. Craig appears in a Ford sedan at the beginning of the movie and is mistaken for a parker... For the first time, James Bond's figure became an object of appreciation. The British magazine GQ wrote. It was this change that made Casino Royale a hit. Many critics have said that Craig's interpretation is more in line with Fleming's Bond, cold, life is a mess, full of human flaws. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a British screenwriter and actor who wrote the script for "No Time to Die," commented that it was Craig who injected complexity into Bond, "placing a fantasy character in a real situation." This is something we missed in action scenes and exaggerated scenes that we didn't realize in the past."
James Bond in 2021
"I'd rather break this piece of glass with my own hands and let it cut my wrist than play 007 again." After starring in "007: Ghost Party" in 2015, Craig joked about the media. He was once tired of the high-pressure shooting environment and turned to making speculative dramas like "Sharp Blade Out of the Sheath". After Ghost Party, Craig repeatedly hoped to say goodbye to bond's role. In addition to the high salary of $25 million, which finally made him nod his head to star in "No Time to Die", there was also the idea of "letting Bond have a happy ending". Craig described the film as just "a perfect end to the new chapter that opened 16 years ago" at the media launch of "No Time to Die." In this new work, Bond, who has been retired for five years, returns to the mountains on a mission and meets Nomi, a new female agent who inherited the 007 license. In 2020, when MGM announced the new 007 african female agent, it sparked a lot of discussion. "Bond Girl" has long been seen as a flat sex symbol, and fans are increasingly questioning whether Bond is misogynistic. At this time, the choice of women to serve as the new 007 seems to be a change made by the series to keep up with the pace of social changes. In an interview with The New York Times, Craig said he didn't care who was the next Bond, no matter what race or gender, "it has nothing to do with me, I can only send blessings."
▲ Nomi, the new female agent who inherited the 007 license.
"During these 16 years, Britain – something that Bond represents in a way – has also experienced extraordinary upheaval and self-doubt. #Metoo出现了, we can no longer tell who is a good person and who is a bad person. GQ magazine wrote. In 2006, casino royals had a mapping of 9/11. Producer Berkeley recalls that after the terrorist attacks, exaggerated adventure stories like those filmed in 1979's 007: Space City no longer apply. So for the first time, Casino Royale was about financing terrorists and launching attacks. By "No Time to Die," Craig, who openly opposed Brexit and donated money to support Democratic politician Bernie Sanders, admitted without hesitation: "Trump certainly exists in this movie." We tried not to let him appear, but he, Brexit, Russia's political manipulation of other countries, are all in this film. Bond represents a kind of person who works hard today, gets things done, but doesn't need any publicity. ”
"The Bond series of movies is like an infinite loop." Rolling Stone magazine commented, "Every film is only superficially different. Fundamentally the same. "An invincible super agent, again and again completing the mission to save the world. In 2021, when superheroes dominate the big screen, Vox News Network commented that Bond has jumped out of the traditional action movie mode, from the rhythm setting of five movies to the timing of his classic lines, it is becoming more and more like series like "Batman" or "Iron Man".
▲ Scottish actor Sean Connery, who played 007, on the set.
"The 007 series has benefited from the era in which it was born, fighting against evil superpowers, terrorists and environmental catastrophes. But today, does James Bond have any other stories worth telling? He is a product of an era. In this day and age, people imagine that there are spies in the world who keep the highest secrets for the benefit of the government and for all. Today, the web provides enough fodder for conspiracy theorists. In the hearts of many, they themselves are the patriots who defeated the forces of evil. Bond, a superhero in a tuxedo, may no longer be adapted to this era. Vox News wrote. In Craig's final shot of Bond, he does walk alone through the streets of London in a tuxedo, then runs up and disappears into the night. There was fog around him: "As if to say to me, goodbye, I'm leaving." ”
Source: iWeekly Weekend Pictorial
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