BOND BIRTHDAYS!!!
John Glen directed five Bond films. He is now 90! I hosted John and his lovely wife, Janine, for Dinner, back at New College, Oxford a few years back. Adorable couple. I think Glen is one of the greatest action choreographers and editors of all time. His unique spin on Bond is vital to the franchise lore, too. It was John’s template of a serious thriller yet still in the 007 mould of fun that arguably reaches fruition in the Daniel Craig era. Glen’s five films laid the foundations, especially via his two Dalton entries, for what we now think of as the tone of Bond films from say 2006-21.
Pierce Brosnan is a hard working, talented, charming actor and movie star. Yes, his Bond movies were a kind of New Labour, Cool Britannia era, corporate pastiche advert for Bond, rather than fully fleshed out stories? But without the Pierce era, there would be NO BOND MOVIES AT ALL! He was THE right man for THAT time, thereby showing one can indeed have Bond films in ANY time! Pierce was as confident as Sean, as physical as Lazenby, funny/smooth/suave as Rog’ and as brooding/ pro as Tim. He just mixed those, together but so paved the way for the blunt brutal bruising of Daniel Craig’s take. Indeed, I do not rule out a Pierce return as Bond. Seriously. As a coda to a 90s set-piece, with Cavill as Bond prime, maybe? Just a thought. Other Brosnan masterpieces include: THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1999); DANTE’S PEAK (1997); MAMA MIA! (2008); TAILOR OF PANAMA (2000); 4TH PROTOCOL (1987).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN AND PIERCE! X
