Daniel Craig ‘offered $150 million to return as James Bond’

The Telegraph ^ | September 5th, 2016 | Rebecca Hawkes

[Mariner]

Many men – and women too, for that matter – would love to play James Bond. Most of us would also love $150 million.

But Hollywood superstar Daniel Craig is not most people.

The 007 actor, who has played the spy since 2005, has reportedly been offered the hefty sum listed above to return to the franchise for two more films. But Craig has made no secret of his reluctance to step back into the famous tuxedo.

“The studio is desperate to secure the actor’s services while they phase in a younger long-term successor,” a source told the celebrity news website Radar.

The source also suggested that by playing coy – remember when he told an interviewer he’d rather “slash his wrists” than immediately return to Bond? – Craig has only upped his perceived value.

[pepsionice]

The first three with Connery were the best (Dr No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger). Never Say Never was a big loser, even with Connery.

Skyfall, I thought....from the bad guy prospective....was a five-star movie.

[Tonytitan]

Have not seen any of his Bond movies

Watch Casino Royal, his first and for me, his best. It's as good as any of the Connery Bond movies.

[MinorityRepublican]

I’m going to be blunt with you. I fell asleep watching Spectre in the movie theater. It was that boring.

[RansomOttawa]

The worst Bond actually. Too short, wrong hair color, not nearly handsome enough, with little of the British sophistication that made Bond, well, Bond. He seems more like a middle class ex-SAS trooper than an Eaton educated Royal Navy commander.

Bond as portrayed in the novels isn't described as particularly handsome. His eyes are cruel and his face is scarred. And while he is portrayed as sophisticated in his tastes, he overindulges in cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, and women because they keep him from being bored when he's not in action. Bond is actually a bit of a nihilist, and Craig seems to have that aspect of his character down pat.

[NohSpinZone]

Yeah I can’t even recall the plot, to tell you the truth. I know it opened up in Mexico City during a festival. After that, it’s a blur. The villain in Skyfall made that movie worth watching.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

When are they going to have an African-American or Hispanic Bond?

(Runs and hides)

[Henchster]

I’m putting on my asbestos undies before I say this:

Roger Moore was the perfect Bond. Unfortunately, he was cast during the 70’s and early 80’s when Hollywierd decided Bond movies needed to be cheesy comedy parodies of real secret agent movies. The stories and one liners were ludicrous. Then they kept him around too long - he was 58 in his final Bond flick A View to A Kill.

[Maine Mariner]

I agree! I saw him in “The Tourist;” he is an excellent actor.

[shotgun]

They need to bring back Connery as “M”

[AC86UT89]

Having recently watched all the “official” Bond movies as well as the unofficial Connery one “Never Say Never Again” - as one of my summer “fun goals” - let me list the Bond actors in order of my best to worst:

1 Connery
2 Craig
3 Lazenby
4 Dalton
5 Moore
6 Brosnan

However, it’s difficult to separate the quality of the actor from the overall movie, and the overall movies vary so much in terms of their production quality, special effects, storylines, as well as the actual time period in which they were produced. For example, Moore’s version of Bond was campy and corny, but this is true of a lot of the action films produced in the 1970s. The special effects of the 1960s Connery films are laughable compared to what producers could deliver in the Brosnan and Craig eras.

Storylines still matter too - the two Dalton Bond films were hurt by the anachronistic 1980s plot lines - Colombian drug runners and Afghan “freedom fighters”? Ugh!

Similarly, Connery’s Japanese impersonations in You Only Live Twice feels really over the top and frankly pretty racist by today’s standards.

Brosnan’s four Bond films were pretty slick in terms of production values, but they were all sort of the same and undifferentiated and therefore for the most part forgettable. Still, there were some great moments, which is true of most Bond movies. When he dove off the cliff without a parachute and caught up with the falling plane at the beginning of Goldeneye was as exciting a moment as any Bond film ever had.

One thing I noticed about all of the Bonds as I watched them in chronological order was that each actor’s films became more reliant on special effects, corny jokes, campy villains, and sexy “Bond girls” - and then the new Bond actor would come in and the series would “reset” with a different tone and more focus on the Bond character which would set the process off again (except for Lazenby who only made one Bond movie). This has certainly been the case with Craig’s films. HIs latest, Spectre, was a forgettable mess compared to his more low key debut Casino Royale which was excellent. Hopefully the producers can restrain themselves enough that the Craig films don’t devolve into self-parody the way Moore’s did.

Also, I would hate to see the franchise wander off into SJW land or destroy the essence of the original character - which is grounded in the hard-boiled film noire and pulp fiction male archetype of the 1940s and 50s. Frankly, the “green” themes introduced in the recent Quantum of Solace were pretty eye rolling.

Still, I am impressed with how long they have been able to drive this franchise. I think they have made 24 official Bond movies over more than 50 years! And they continue to do well at the box office. Most of the films contain the same theme music, the same plot structures, the same tropes, mostly the same character. There is really no other film franchise that has been able to do anything like this. Pretty amazing.

[oh8eleven]

LOL...Nobody Does It Better...from the Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me.
Barbara Bach, Jaws, a submersible Lotus Esprit and the Pyramids. What's better than that?

[stylecouncilor]

Idris Elba (Luther) is apparently on the short list. He is a very good actor.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

I guess you’ve never heard of Sean Connery
;-)

[Mariner]

"He seems more like a middle class ex-SAS trooper than an Eaton educated Royal Navy commander."

Just like a real secret agent.

[Wright Wing]

Connery was the original but not sure if the best. Craig is by far my favorite in character and films with QoS being the only dog. Moore had a few good outings before the movies went to crap.

[Crolis]

I liked both of his Bond Films. I consider “The Living Daylights” to be one of the better Bond films. “License to Kill” I think would have been better received a dalecade or two later. It was too violent for audiences in the late 80s.

While I like Craig in “Casino Royale”, he has been wearing thin on me. He has the thug and hardcore aspects of Bond down, but lacks the charm of Connery or Dalton.

[Mariner]

Craig in Casino Royale was the pinnacle of the franchise.

[Huskrrrr]

Yes. I was ready to hate the blonde-haired Craig as the new Bond. Then I saw Casino Royale. One of the best Bond movies.

[Crolis]

Roger Moore’s best Bond was “For Your Eyes Only”. Light on gadgets and more of a cold war tale fought by proxies (Greek rivals) it had great locations and villains. Sure the blonde ice skater and a few scenes were a bit cheesy but overall it was a fun, entertaining ride.

Bill Conti’s score was good too. A mixture of classic themes with 80s synthesizer. I think the gun barrel music in FYEO is one of the best.

[DHerion]

The Bond movies with Craig have been too influenced by the Bourne movies...overboard camera shake and humorless...Connery still manages the right balance of cool, menace, the right amount of droll humor to not take any of the nonsense too seriously.