The Ongoing Bond Battle

From IMdb, Pierce Brosnan appears to be taking a stand for greater depth in the Bond films, accusing the Broccoli family of wanting to top themselves in terms of spectacle with each film:

Brosnan Blasts Bond Bosses

Pierce Brosnan has hit out at the makers of James Bond following the uncertainty over his future in the 007 spy film series - accusing them of being "scared". Brosnan has been willing to appear in a fifth Bond movie, which is scheduled to begin filming this autumn - but plans have been thrown into doubt because scriptwriters are apparently struggling to come up with a plot. However, with the 50-year-old's four-movie contract at an end, Brosnan has hit out at legendary producers the Broccoli family for wanting to make the massively popular film series less about plot, and more about action. He rallies, "They're too scared. They feel they have to top themselves in a genre which is just spectacle and a huge bang for your buck. But I think you can have your cake and eat it. You can have real character work, a character storyline and a thriller aspect and all kinds of quips, asides, the explosions and the women. We're just saturated with too many overblown action films with no plot." Brosnan is particularly angry that the producers want to use the title of Ian Fleming's first Bond book, Casino Royale, but not the storyline. He rants, "That's ludicrous. It's so damn crazy! That's absolutely sheer lunacy because Casino Royale is the blueprint of the Bond character. You find out more about James Bond in that book than in any of the other books." The Irishman is now philosophical about whether he will ever portray the suave British spy again, saying, "I would love to do a fifth Bond and then bow out, but if this last one is to be my last, then so be it. My contract is up. They can do it or not."

I'm all for character and plot, but on balance they've been missing from Bond movies for a long time. Even in the Connery days, it was Connery who brought on most concern for the character. I think scriptwriters are struggling because Fleming isn't around anymore. Latest Bond author Raymond Benson's books have all the bells, whistles, and bits of trivia, but no soul. Somewhere along the line Bond became a product people thought they could mix and match--Wild Cherry Bond, White Chocolate Bond--and reproduce with a formula. I think not.