Slippery slope... upwards?

[ursangnome]

So, I've noted that I'm not much a fan of Daniel Craig's Bond movies. I've always favored the older flicks - and here we may see why. And article in JAMA notes that Bond flicks have been getting notably more violent as the years pass.

Comments

[jadasc.livejournal.com]

So the least violent Bond film was Moore's "Live And Let Die" and the most were Brosnan's "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "Die Another Day." Interesting.

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

Oh good, someone else who doesn't like Craig's Bond films. I was afraid to admit it.

[umbran.livejournal.com]

You are not alone in the Universe!

I never got the geek habit for giving people grief for not liking the same media. If everyone liked the same things, the world would quickly become monotonous, and we'd have a major haggis shortage.

[the-smith-e.livejournal.com]

The Craig is great! Loved Casino Royale and Skyfall. Other one was weaker.

[umbran.livejournal.com]

I saw Quantum of Solace, and it had little or no relation to the Bond of (and before) my youth. No style, no panache. Just this rather brutal killing machine. For me, this is uninteresting.

I mean, everyone gets to have their own favorites, of course - there's enough movies to go around.

[the-smith-e.livejournal.com]

Quantum of Solace is widely viewed as the weakest of Craig's.

[aries-walker.livejournal.com]

It was a victim of the writer's strike. They had to hodgepodge the plot together, and it shows.

[the-smith-e.livejournal.com]

Oh, I did not know that. That is very interesting. Thank you.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Agreed, I haven't seen any of the Bond movies since the latest actor switch.

[aries-walker.livejournal.com]

What that chart shows me is that the Brosnan era was the violent times, especially Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day. This does not surprise me, as they were both attempts to emulate more violent trends at the time (the 2000's-era Hong Kong martial arts infusion, and the move toward extensive CGI, respectively), and they both did so at the expense of the actual story; those two were the weakest of Brosnan's Bonds, if not the whole series. Take those two out, and the numbers are about the same as they have been since the 70's.

I also have to question the subjectivity of "number of violent acts". Dr. No shows Bond calmly assassinating a defenseless man, including extra shots on the ground and a twitching body. Does that count the same, or more, or less, than fighting off the guy with the switchblade in Casino Royale who was coming after him?

It would be interesting to see where Skyfall fits.