How Would You Change Bond?

[brookystreet]

If you could go back in time and change the history of bond what would you do?


Sean Connery
1962: Dr No - No Q or reference to Bond's Beretta
1963: From Russia With Love - Same
1964: Goldfinger - Same
1965: Thunderball - Same

George Lazenby
1967: On Her Majesty's Secret Service - No refrence to previous Bond films
1969: You Only Live Twice - Revenge thriller, once again starring 'Telly Savalas' as Blofeld

Roger Moore
1971: Diamonds Are Forever - Less camp
1973: Live and Let Die - Kananga gets proper send-off (Eaten by sharks), Q gives Bond watch which isn't magnetic
1975: The Man with the Golden Gun - Sherriff JW Pepper doesn't return.
1978: The Spy Who Loved Me - Same

Timothy Dalton
1980: Moonraker - Less camp. Jaws doesn't return. Bond doesn't go to space. M's funeral also features. Bond is asked to take over as head but declines. Moneypenny leaves (Permanently)
1982: For Your Eyes Only - New M (Edward Fox), Cut out Blofeld pre-creds & replace with boat blowing up.
1984: Octopussy - Trimmed down. Less camp.
1986: The Living Daylights - Same
1988: Colonel Sun - Close to novel. M is killed.

Pierce Brosnan
1994: Goldeneye - New M (Judi Dench)
1996: Tomorrow Never Dies - Same
1998: Licence To Kill - Same
2000: The World Is Not Enough - No pre-creds boat chase. Bond returns to MI6 after bank job.

Daniel Craig
2002: Casino Royale - Same
2004: The Property of a Lady - Same as QOS. Better title song
2006: Quantum of Solace - Bond finally kills Mr White.

[poirot]

1967 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The ideal film for Connery's swansong. However, in terms of the series' longevity, YOLT was probably much more important film. If they didn't have Connery in a hollowed-out volcano...or even Connery camping it up in Las Vegas a few years later...I'm not sure they could've moved away from Fleming's stories as easily.

1985 - A View To A Kill
Moore would be allowed to play Bond as an older 007, surviving on his wits. He already does this to an extent (ie. using the tire to breathe underwater). But the rest of the film would not force him to hide his age using obvious stuntmen.

1991/1992 - The Property Of A Lady
Dalton's third movie. I don't care if it features a crazy plot involving robots. The important thing here is that it would be Dalton's third movie.

2005: Casino Royale
Brosnan's swansong, the tenth anniversary of GE, and the first actor/director reunion since LTK. The plot would acknowledge the strained relationship we saw in DAD: Bond feels the mission isn't worthy of a 00's talents, while M simply wants him out of the way. (The relationships in Fleming's YOLT and TMWTGG would serve as inspiration here.) Once at the casino, the Bond on display would not be a brash rookie who has just finished running through walls. Instead, he would be far more disillusioned and already contemplating retirement when he meets Vesper. (Much like if Connery had made OHMSS.)

[James]

My changes would be:

Roger Moore makes his debut in 1971 and stands down in 1979 after Moonraker.

Dalton takes over in 1981 and is the eighties Bond, standing down in 1989.

Eon make five films with Pierce Brosnan and then reboot the series with a young Bond. That means Cavill, Worthington, O'Lachlan, Friend etc. Not DC.

[adam]

Moore could have taken over for OHMSS. That film had some humour in. Not sure if it would have worked having Moore's Bond fall in love to the strains of Louis Armstrong. DAF would have suited Moore and he could have retired after M. Dalton could have been an 80's Bond before Brosnan takes over for G and retires in 2008 after 6 films.

[harrypalmer]

It would have been fun to see George make another.

I'd have loved to have seen Lewis Collins make two or three Bonds in the early eighties......

[alex]

I think it's a shame we didn't get a couple of Clive Owen films.

[Robert Sterling]

1970 - No civil war in Cambodia and consequently Roger Moore's debut as Bond in TMWTGG.
1972 - LALD
1974 - DAF, more faithfull to the book, no Blofeld, no space.
1977 - TSWLM
1979 - MR
1981 - FEYO, Bond less flippant and showing more emotions in PTS
1983 - OP, no Tarzan yell and Octopussy's girls assault on Khamal's palace
1985 - TLD starring Sir Roger, acknowledgment of Bond's age, flying carpet scene included

1987 - Dalton's debut in AVTAK

2004 - CR with Brosnan and in the spirit Poirot suggested

[Stockslivevan]

Just to let you know guys, EON never planned a Bond film to be released in 2004. Ever. It's a wide misconception. The original plan was to have a new Bond flick in Nov. 2005, whether Brosnan was returning or not. Because of obvious problems with negotiations with Brosnan and EON decided to take a new direction, it was naturally pushed back a year after much of the wrangling.

Anyway, my changes is soon to be listed...

[Stockslivevan]

Bond Series: Altered - Most of them would be faithfully adapted from the books with the short stories being expanded for cinematic purposes ala TLD. GoldenEye would be adapted from the original Michael France script, not the rewritten version by Jeffrey Caine and Bruce Feirstein. TND, TWINE and DAD would have their original premises intact albeit better written and executed. TND would instead be Tomorrow Never Lies. TWINE's changes would have certain scenes eliminated (buzzsaw helicopters) and no gadgets. Die Another Day would stick to its original premise of Bond being assigned off the record to search for the MI6 mole.

Sean Connery
1962 - Casino Royale
1963 - Live and Let Die
1964 - Moonraker
1965 - Diamonds Are Forever
1967 - From Russia with Love
1969 - Dr. No

George Lazenby
1971 - Goldfinger
1973 - Quantum of Solace
1974 - The Hildebrand Rarity
1977 - From a View to a Kill
1979 - For Your Eyes Only

Timothy Dalton
1981 - Risico
1983 - Thunderball
1985 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1987 - You Only Live Twice
1989 - The Man with the Golden Gun

Clive Owen
1995 - The Living Daylights
1997 - The Property of the Lady
1999 - 007 in New York
2002 - Octopussy

Daniel Craig
2005 - GoldenEye
2007 - Tomorrow Never Lies
2009 - The World is Not Enough
2011 - Die Another Day

[adam]

I notice most of the Bonds would have been in their early 30's when they got the part. So no chance of them looking too old during their tenures. However they may have looked too young to play an experienced superspy.

They would have all been virtual unknowns before becoming Bond. Unlike Brosnan and Moore who were famous beforehand.

Not sure if Dalton and Lazenby had the fan and critical support to make five films. However there is no right or wrong in this, just peoples ideal how the seris should have been over the last 46 years.

[Stockslivevan]

I kept Lazenby in my timeline because I would have been more interested in how he grew into the role throughout the 70s than Roger Moore's light hearted characterization. I have Dalton right at the beginning of the 80s because I believe that's when he truly should have gotten the role in the first place. EON was taking a more serious direction, it was the beginning of the new decade, new blood was needed, Dalton was needed. I understand why Cubby kept Moore, he was his only successful Bond actor other than Connery and didn't want to go through the risk of tailoring a new actor hoping the public would accept. Moore was easy money. I know a lot of fans would like to call him a genius, but to me he was just another producer who had hits and misses. He didn't always get things right. His kids seem to be no different.

So I also had Owen instead of Brosnan because I think he has the right look and talent. Bond needs to look like a guy who could handle his own. Connery looked like a tough guy. Lazenby, despite being a male model, looked like a man. Same with Dalton. Brosnan just looks like Calvin Klein underwear model. I think critic Gene Siskel was on the mark that Brosnan looked more suitable to be Bond's valet parking guy.

[harrypalmer]

Stocksilvian's timeline is quite good fun, although I would choose A.N. Other as Owen's successor. And a bit of campness now and then adds to the series diversity and stops it from becoming stale.

[poirot]

Nov 30, 2008 18:03:23 GMT -5 Robert Sterling said:

1985 - TLD starring Sir Roger, acknowledgment of Bond's age, flying carpet scene included

1987 - Dalton's debut in AVTAK

Interesting switch. Any particular reason?

[adam]

I think there is more to Brosnan than looking like a Calvin Klein underwear model. He was very handsome, but could play it tough. He was over 6 feet, big and very fit looking. I would'nt like to come across him in a dark alley. There were moments of toughness in all his films such as throwing his weight around with bouncers in TWINE or beating up bodyguards in TND.

[FormerBondFan]

Dec 6, 2008 9:20:51 GMT -5 adam said:

There were moments of toughness in all his films such as throwing his weight around with bouncers in TWINE or beating up bodyguards in TND.

Don't forget about Elektra getting shot in cold blood.