Bond

[Mister Six]

Mrs Six hadn't seen a Bond film or a Daniel Craig film until last night, when we realised Casino Royale was on HBO and took it for a spin. I'd forgotten how refreshingly un-Bond it is, with those absurd camera angles in the B&W bit at the start, and Bond having to hide bodies until they can be disposed of rather than just pissing about dropping corpses left, right and centre.

Yeah, it sags after Le Chiffre gets popped, and Bond and Eva Green falling in wuv after about three days and a weepy shower is daft. But mostly it hangs together really well - you could even take out the bigger setpieces and still have a solid spy thriller, which I don't think you can say about any other Bond film.

Mrs Six loved it, and appreciated Craig's beefy chest, but has zero interest in watching any more Bond. Probably for the best.

[thecuriousorange]

The debut movie of every Bond actor is decent.

[Thomas]

Yeah, it sags after Le Chiffre gets popped, and Bond and Eva Green falling in wuv after about three days and a weepy shower is daft.

A good thing about the weepy shower is that Eva Green had some say over it - Vesper was originally supposed to sobbing in her underwear, but Green reasoned that she wouldn't bother taking off half her clothes for a post-shock weep-shower. Would have dated badly if they'd gone ahead with titillating knicker-and-bra crying.

I think that controversial scene in Skyfall was designed to delete any feminism-in-the-shower points earned by Casino Royale.

[Mister Six]

Aye, that's a good bit.

I liked all the moments Bond was temporarily outwitted and had to come up with a clever way of finding his man in a crowd or whatever. Always find that more tense than a load of baddies firing at Bond but missing because they're all inexplicably shit.

[Butchers Blind]

Billy's Bond tune 'drops' tonight.

[Bad Ambassador]

Why you gotta play that song so loud?
Because I'm James Bond! Because I'm James Bond!
Why you always run around in crowds?
Because I'm James Bond! Because I'm James Bond!
Why d'you always have to dance all night?
Because I'm James Bond! Because I'm James Bond!
Why d'you always say what's on your mind?
Because I'm James Bond! Because I'm James Bond!

[thecuriousorange]

A predict a song in her usual style, ASMR vocals and all, but with horn stabs to make it a Bond song.

[Non Stop Dancer]

If they still want a black Bond have they considered Jazzie B? He could do the theme tune as well so they'd save themselves some money.

[thecuriousorange]

Will Smith might be up for it and he used to always sing his movie theme songs.

[Captain Z]

James Bond is a secret agent
do doo doo doodoo
He's got a licence to kill and he likes Martini
do doo doo doodoo
I've got a good idea,
Just you keep me near
I'd be so good for 007...

[Captain Z]

https://youtu.be/GB_S2qFh5lU

Dull. Billie Eilish seems like a decent person but this is just a Skyfall/Writing's On The Wall clone.

[Butchers Blind]

It builds to nothing.  It does seem they listened to the last two Bond themes and went with that.

[thecuriousorange]

Agree with the Sam Smith comparisons. I wanted something with a bit more oomph. Sad! All these crap modern Bond themes are really starting to water down the 007 musical ouvre.

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

I think it's great. Best bond theme in ages (since Goldeneye?) Way better than the overly bombastic Skyfall theme.

It would be out of place if this was a movie reintroducing the Bond character, but its melancholiness perfectly fits this being the Daniel Craig sendoff. His back is against the wall.

[amoral]

It's fine. Imagine being 18 years old and tasked with such a thing. What was the last great Bond theme? Just curious what people think.

[bgmnts]

Has she just gone through twenty Lambert and Butler? Utter gash.

Obviously all these new stars fly past me but if she's 18 now and already doing a Bond song I hope she doesnt skyrocket and end up as this decade's Britney Spears.

Bond songs used to have something about them but that doesn't seem to be there anymore, it's all shit brooding.

[thecuriousorange]

What was the first crap Bond theme?

[machotrouts]

What was the first crap Bond theme?

Kingston Calypso?

[Jerzy Bondov]

I like it way better than Writing on the Wall. Pretty good. Then again I really like Another Way to Die so I should be ignored.

[Norton Canes]

It's no 'All Time High'.

[lipsink]

It's fine. Imagine being 18 years old and tasked with such a thing. What was the last great Bond theme? Just curious what people think.

I'd say 'Skyfall'. I think it's great. Quite like Chris Cornell's one but I wouldn't say it was as iconic.

[Captain Z]

I had to look up the Casino Royle theme song - and now having heard it I still don't really remember it - but it now strikes me as being pretty good. It seems right for the era (2006) yet not totally obvious in style.

One of the top search results is an Esquire article that ranks it as the worst Bond theme ever, that seems very unjustified.

[SavageHedgehog]

They don't really seem to be letting (or at least having) people do these in their own style anymore (well, Adele was I guess but "Bond theme-style" wasn't much of a stretch for her anyway). Bit of a shame it worked OK, at least in terms of reception, for Duran Duran, A-ha and Chris Cornell. I like this OK though.

[Bad Ambassador]

I'd say it might be an issue of the music industry becoming blander and flatter. NTtD sounds like a Billie Eilish song, guitar lick at the end notwithstanding. The others all sound akin to the artist's regular work, but there's usually a need for their to be a strong melodic riff that gets picked up in the score - not that this mattered for QoS or Spectre. With the latter, they'd clearly have been better off with the Radiohead song.

[lipsink]

Yeah it was quite refreshing when the Casino Royale theme tune came out as it didn't sound like your typical Bond song. I thought Adele's one was great but I'm getting a bit bored of the big Shirly Bassey sweeping strings they've done the last few times. Perhaps it was a reaction to how badly the Jack Whitehall/Alicia Keys theme was received (I didn't actually mind it).

The worst Bond theme song is either 'Die Another Day' or 'All Time High'.

[Bad Ambassador]

Yeah it was quite refreshing when the Casino Royale theme tune came out as it didn't sound like your typical Bond song. I thought Adele's one was great but I'm getting a bit bored of the big Shirly Bassey sweeping strings they've done the last few times. Perhaps it was a reaction to how badly the Jack Whitehall/Alicia Keys theme was received (I didn't actually mind it).

The worst Bond theme song is either 'Die Another Day' or 'All Time High'.

DAD is a horrendously overproduced mess with gibberish lyrics, but a stripped down instrumental might be good. ATH is a pleasant but unexceptional ballad of the kind Jimmy Young would play in the early 90s.

AWtD felt like it was trying too hard to be different, and the result was a bit like that episode of the Goon Show where a foreign country's national anthem is played, with a different instrument for each line.

[Glyn]

With the latter, they'd clearly have been better off with the Radiohead song.

Yep, highlighted by radiohead.com recently linking to this video https://youtu.be/o4mIWoLg69Y

[popcorn]

Yep, highlighted by radiohead.com recently linking to this video https://youtu.be/o4mIWoLg69Y

When/where did they do that?

[Bad Ambassador]

They submitted for the film after sending in Man of War, which was rejected for not being original. Their new song was supposedly "too melancholy".

[popcorn]

Yes, but when did Radiohead link to a fan edit? Would be interested to see if they "endorsed" something like that.