Some musings on "Bond 25"

I'll always have a soft spot for the James Bond franchise. Along with Star Wars, it's one of the big film series I grew up with and watched constantly. And while it's become popular to put the Mission: Impossible franchise above it, I'm honestly more excited for Bond 25- which announced its cast and plot, but no title last Thursday- than I am the next two M:I films. I think this is due to Bond being M.I.A for a while. The last Bond film, Spectre, came out in November 2015. It's the only Bond film I've only seen once and I do want to revisit it to clarify my feelings. I thought it had a good build-up but it made the mistake of making Christoph Waltz's version of Ernst Stavro Blofeld intimately connected to Bond. Instead of just being the head of Spectre, he was Bond's Foster brother and  being responsible for the tragedies which had bad befallen Bond. I had no problem with Spectre being behind the events of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace but giving Blofeld a vendetta against Bond didn't feel like a natural continuation of those films, especially when Javier Bardem's character, Raoul Silva, from Skyfall was revealed to be part of Spectre as well. And like Star Trek Into Darkness, Spectre relied too much on Blofeld's identity being a twist solely for the audience and not Bond. Just as the name "Khan" wouldn't mean anything to Kirk and Spock, the name Blofeld means nothing to Bond.

If Spectre was Star Trek Into Darkness then maybe Bond 25 will be Star Trek Beyond. a more streamlined and simple film that lets Bond be Bond. Without a trailer and just some basic plot details, it's hard to know. We do know Jeffrey Wright will be back as Bond's C.I.A ally Felix Leiter, who will be getting Bond out of retirement for a mission involving a kidnapped scientist.. It's nice that Felix is returning to the franchise. He was gone completely from Pierce Brosnan's tenure and was absent from Spectre and Skyfall. I'd like to see a Bond/Felix team-up film.Felix helped out Bond frequently in the pre-Craig films but he actor playing Felix always changed and was mostly a supporting character. Wright and Craig already have a pre-established relationship as the characters so putting them together with Felix being more at the forefront would be a good pay-off to Craig's run. 

Lea Seydoux is also set to return as Dr. Madeline Swann from Spectre. Madeline would be the first main Bond woman to return. The late Eunice Gayson played the supporting Bond woman Sylvia Trench in Dr. No and From Russia With Love. Maude Adams played Francisco Scaramanga's (Christopher Lee) lover in The Man With the Golden Gun and then main Bond woman Octopussy nearly a decade later. We know that Bond drove off with her at the end of Spectre but it's not confirmed if they're going to be together in Bond 25. I hope she's not killed off early to leave room for him to shack up with Ana De Armas' character. This Bond has already dealt with the death of Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and Judi Dench's M. I think it's time for Craig's Bond to have a little bit more fun. 

Rami Malek will be the third Oscar-winning actor in a row to play a Bond villain, and the first to win Best Actor (Bardem and Waltz, along with A View to a Kill's Christopher Walken, all won Best Supporting Actor.) I think Malek has the right look (those eyes) and vibe to make a good Bond villain. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw are all set to reprise their roles as M, Moneypenny and Q, respectively. Skyfall and Spectre gave Moneypenny a bigger part to play in the plot than previous Bond films and may be the case here. I do love Whishaw's take on the Q character though no one will ever replace Desmond Llewelyn. And I do miss  Dench as M.

Danny Boyle was set to direct but bowed out due to the oft cited creative differences. While I was disappointed Boyle left the project I feel Cary Joji Fukunga is an exciting choice for director. Fukunga  directed the first season of True Detective and the recent mini-series Maniac starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, along with the films Jane Eyre and Beasts of No Nation. He's adaptable to different genres. and also a skilled technical director so I think the franchise is in good hands. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren, who won the Oscar for La La Land, will be photographing the film. The Craig Bond films have been  beautiful looking films, and that tradition will no doubt continue.

As the world changes, so must Bond's place in it and the way in which the character is approached. Producer Barbara Broccoli has already stated the #MeToo movement will have an influence on the film. I also wonder if there'll be any parallels to Brexit given its controversy and topicality; plus, the Craig Bond films have addressed political themes before.

So, what are your thoughts on Bond 25? What do you think the title will be and in which direction do you think it'll take the franchise. Comment below and let me know.