Marc Forster directing Bond 22

Sad Professor

He's the guy who did Monster's Ball, Stay, Finding Neverland among others, see here.

An interesting choice. He's certainly a good director but will he be able to handle the action scenes?

Source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117967226.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

qwertplaywert

the question is:is it possible for this to be worse than casino royale?
i highly doubt it

Dont be at yourself

I thought Casino Royale was excellent myself. Better than some of those Brosnan ones anyway - no invisible cars this time around!

I thought Casino Royale was a great film, easily up there with the Timothy Dalton ones. In fact it's the only Bond film I own.

Karl Hungus

Deleted User wrote:

I thought Casino Royale was a great film, easily up there with the Timothy Dalton ones. In fact it's the only Bond film I own.

Same here. It's a fantastic film, and one well needed, seeing as Bond films lately have been up their own arse for a long time with gadgets, it's brilliant to strip away the sillyness and tell a cracking good spy tale.

As for Marc Forster being able to handle the action scenes... It doesn't matter, action scenes are more the work of the choreographers than the director.

Basq

Have to agree with all (except qwertplaywert) - Casino Royale was fantastic!

The first Bond film to give the series a good kick up the arse. Daniel Craig was fantastic.

Saw a lot of Marc Forster's films... some were good (Monster's Ball, Stranger Than Fiction) and others were not (Stay, Finding Neverland).

Could be 50% / 50% but couldn't hurt again with Daniel Craig as Bond.

Karl Hungus

Karl Hungus wrote:

Same here. It's a fantastic film, and one well needed, seeing as Bond films lately have been up their own arse for a long time with gadgets, it's brilliant to strip away the sillyness and tell a cracking good spy tale.

The last Brosnan Bond, Die Another Day was abysmal. How the script wasn't laughed out of the room during the first read through I'll never know. Casino was a back to basics spy thriller which was intelligent, well written and above all good fun.

Sad Professor

The Bond movies kinda exist in a universe of their own where they are only ever compared to each other cause otherwise none of them really measure up. Casino Royale was a brilliant Bond movie but really an average film otherwise. It's a further reflection of how silly the previous films are that it's considered "gritty" and "realistic" even though it's opening sequence features Bond bouncing on and off buildings

Karl Hungus wrote:

As for Marc Forster being able to handle the action scenes... It doesn't matter, action scenes are more the work of the choreographers than the director.

I know but that's what everyone thought about Michael Apted and TWINE was crap. So I still think the director needs some solid understanding and experience of how to shoot an action scene. Most of the better Bond helmers seem to have been 2nd-unit action directors who worked their way up. It's not like Forster is going to have creative control over the film so I think he may be a bit over-qualified over Bond.

Karl Hungus

Sad Professor wrote:

The Bond movies kinda exist in a universe of their own where they are only ever compared to each other cause otherwise none of them really measure up. Casino Royale was a brilliant Bond movie but really an average film otherwise. It's a further reflection of how silly the previous films are that it's considered "gritty" and "realistic" even though it's opening sequence features Bond bouncing on and off buildings

Yeah, I agree with you completely there. Casino Royale is something that really has to be taken in context, as it were.

Sad Professor wrote:

I know but that's what everyone thought about Michael Apted and TWINE was crap. So I still think the director needs some solid understanding and experience of how to shoot an action scene. Most of the better Bond helmers seem to have been 2nd-unit action directors who worked their way up. It's not like Forster is going to have creative control over the film so I think he may be a bit over-qualified over Bond.

I didn't think the action scenes were much worse than any other Bond films, but at the end of the day, even if they had hired Yuen Woo Ping to direct the action, it would've still been a crummy film. I don't think Apted's lack of experience with action was the film's downfall.

Sad Professor

Yeah, Karl, you're right it was a bad comparison.

I think Apted's problem was that in spite of his experience he's mostly a tv director with no visual eye for cinema, his direction was just bland and boring. Forster's much stronger in this regard. But we'll have to wait and see I guess.

cooperguy

Sad Professor wrote:

The Bond movies kinda exist in a universe of their own where they are only ever compared to each other cause otherwise none of them really measure up. Casino Royale was a brilliant Bond movie but really an average film otherwise. It's a further reflection of how silly the previous films are that it's considered "gritty" and "realistic" even though it's opening sequence features Bond bouncing on and off buildings

Its an actual sport called free running and the guy bond was chasing is a world champion free runner. Most of that was shot live because he was actually able to do it. He wasnt wired up and pulled from one building to another! So technically it wasnt that unrealistic after all bond was the clumsy guy falling all over the place trying to keep up!!

BopNiblets

I think it was a statement on the way Bond does things, like when he slided under something, Bond just smashed throug hit like the Hulk, heh.

Also, it's Parkour, invented in France by David Belle, who was in District 13, which is full of it!

BopNiblets

Did I read somewhere that Amy Winehouse is going to be one of the next Bond girls? Can't really see it working, unless Bond starts picking up girls at the local crack house.

BopNiblets wrote:

I think it was a statement on the way Bond does things, like when he slided under something, Bond just smashed throug hit like the Hulk, heh.

Also, it's Parkour, invented in France by David Belle, who was in District 13, which is full of it!

District 13, now that's a film which demands a sequel. Up there alongside Crank for the title of most enjoyable action film ever made.

Basq

Deleted User wrote:

Did I read somewhere that Amy Winehouse is going to be one of the next Bond girls?

** threw up a little in my mouth **

johnny_ultimate

I cannot get excited by a Bond film anymore after the massive disapointment the last few have been. Die Another Die is - admittedly widely accepted - as dire, and I personally found Casino Royale to be an excruicating 2 hours, with only the poker scenes providing entertainment. Otherwise, all the Bond problems remained - appallingly one dimensional love interests, dodgy action and the like. Different it was to the other films, perhaps, but it compares unfavourably with even recent films like the Bourne Idenity / Supremacy, films I felt were spy films done the right way.

That said, Forester did an okay job on Stranger Than Fiction (admittedly the script was the strong point), so we shall see. But Bond is certainly a franchise I have pretty much given up caring about.