Alright, maybe Damon didn't say that exactly, but he might as well have:
Hollywood star Matt Damon has dismissed James Bond as being stuck in the past.
The actor, who appears in the Bourne thrillers, said: "The Bond character will always be anchored in the 1960s and in the values of the 1960s."
The suave spy was "so anachronistic when you put it in the world we live in today", he said, but added that Bourne was no better or worse than Bond.
Damon was speaking in London, where The Bourne Ultimatum, the third film in the franchise, is having its UK premiere.
"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes," he told reporters.
"Bourne is a serial monogamist whose girlfriend is dead and he does nothing but think about her."
Bourne mooning over his dead girlfriend is something we should be excited to see? Give me a break. At least Bond lives in a world where it is killed or be killed. I'm supposed to think Bond is anachronistic because he'd rather see the other guy dead? Please.
[Bourne director Paul] Greengrass said: "The Bourne franchise is not about wearing Prada suits and looking at women coming out of the sea with bikinis on. It's about essence and truth, not frippery and surface."
So, I'm supposed to enjoy the sexless wonder of this:
Instead of enjoying the strength, beauty and sensuality of these women:
Once again, please.
I'm sorry, but when I go see a super spy on the big screen I want James Bond, not Dr. Phil.
5 comments:
I'm definitely in the Bond camp, though I'd hit "sexless wonder" Julia Styles in a New York Minute if she was wearing a potato sack.
Of course I have an overly active sexual imagination. While most of the world sees Jesus or the Virgin Mary on a two month old grilled cheese sandwich, I usually spot Salma Hayek's tits or Sharon Stone's cooch.
Like much of Hollywood, they seem to be too wrapped up in the idea of making everything "relevent". It all started with Theo spending the night in jail for "driving while black". At least the Cos seems to have gotten away from such foolishness. I don't see him wearing African sashes anymore.
I guess I shouldn't pick on Ms. Styles (Stiles?), but my God the only way she could have more clothes on would be if they put her in a burka.
And maybe I'm part of a lost generation that views movie going as a bit of escapism, but I don't want relevance from my action/spy movies. Like when they had Bond be pseudo-monagamous because of AIDS. I was like, "Oh c'mon! Let the fictional characters have sex! They are the only ones who can these days!"
And Southlandish...what do you think of when you smoke a cigar?
Wait...I don't want to know.
I really liked the first Bourne film- though the second two suffered from jumpy editing. And until Casino Royale, some of the more recent Bond films were a little too cartoonish (but great escapist fun, nonetheless) But the self-serious comments from Damon and Greengrass just killed me:
"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes," he told reporters.
"Bourne is a serial monogamist whose girlfriend is dead and he does nothing but think about her."
Hmmm, Bond's a cold killer who laughs about it. Wait, isn't he a spy trying to protect the world, albeit in a trenchant way? And Bond doesn't normally kill anybody but the bad guys. Wasn't Bourne simply a hitman? It's not like he's doing nothing but thinking about her- he's just maiming and killing anybody who gets in his way, including law enforcement officers who are simply doing their jobs.
[Bourne director Paul] Greengrass said: "The Bourne franchise is not about wearing Prada suits and looking at women coming out of the sea with bikinis on. It's about essence and truth, not frippery and surface."
He may have different understanding of essence and truth than I do, but all I know is that I've seen a lot more people in Prada suits, and lot more beautiful women coming out of the sea with bikinis on than I've ever seen amnesic former government hitmen racing through the streets and sidewalks of Europe and New York in Mini Coopers, motorcycles and stolen police cars.
Because Christ, Paul, it's FICTION you're making. Bourne is no more real than Bond is. (Indeed the Bond books are certainly more real than the Ludlum books). So please, don't lecture me about truth and essence when you're making a movie about a fictional character who's just as much fantasy as orcs, hobbits, and Billy Bob Thornton doing it with Halle Berry.
Walt
I'm with you Walt..and yes I liked both of the first two Bourne films too.
And you are also right that the Bond films can be wildly uneven, but what 40 year old movies series wouldn't be?
You are also dead on about the Fleming novels. I've always thought they would make great TV movie fodder, if you had a nice BBC production doing them as period (1949-1960) pieces.
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