If James Bond has gone woke, he might as well be cancelled
Another day, another bout of actorly virtue-signalling. In an interview, Daniel Craig has shed light on his final outing as Bond, No Time to Die, now postponed due to coronavirus. Unable to resist the luvvie-ish proclamations that have made his profession so insufferable, Craig describes “struggles” to keep politics out of the film (“But of course it is there. It’s always there, whether it’s Trump, or Brexit, or Russian influence on elections.”) Amusingly, he imagines Bond – bingedrinker, destroyer of gadgets, seducer of women – as a selfless public servant. “There’s something I feel that Bond represents, someone who’s there, trying to do the job and doesn’t want any f------ publicity”.
As a lifelong Bond fan, I’m beginning to think Eon Productions shouldn’t just delay NTTD, but cancel it outright. The series has deteriorated since Craig’s triumphant first outing in Casino Royale. Quantum of Solace and Spectre were abysmal failures, and news from the set of NTTD has hardly inspired confidence (we recently heard that Bond is to navigate “the world of Metoo” alongside a female 007). Yet fans don’t want to be reminded of the perils of toxic masculinity or the merits of EU integration. We want escapism.
True, the sober direction of the Craig films was an (understandable) reaction to the excesses of the Pierce Brosnan era, especially his swansong, Die Another Day. But the pendulum has swung too far in the Jason Bourne direction, and there are correspondingly few laughs amid the disorientating car chases and hair-raising stunts. Though Craig brought a new vulnerability to the role, audiences rarely leave the cinema in stitches. Tellingly, Craig’s one old-school Bond moment occurred offscreen, in his cameo with the Queen in the London Olympics opening ceremony.
Craig fans scoff at the antics of Brosnan and Roger Moore. Yet their films, though often ridiculous, entertain in ways recent releases rarely manage. Who would go back for round two of Quantum of Solace? At its best, Bond can be simultaneously funny, thrilling, naughty and stylish (consider From Russia With Love), yet I’d take the Carry On humour of the Moore era, replete with Tarzan yells and double-taking pigeons, over a dour offering any day.
The direction of Star Wars under Disney, and particularly The Last Jedi, which sacrificed plot consistency for feminist propaganda, should remind us of the risks of appealing to the right-on over fans. For the latest instalment, Solo, millions stayed at home. Other woke remakes – including the all-female Ghostbusters – have similarly tanked at the box office.
Could things change under a new Bond? Rumours abound about possibilities for the lead role, from Tom Hardy to Benedict Cumberbatch. Based on Bond’s current trajectory, I predict a rather worthier line-up: Olivia Colman as Jane Bond, with Ken Loach directing, and George Clooney as Bond’s ally Felix Vaper (“Leiter” could be seen as endorsing smoking). And Q? Perhaps George Monbiot could be enticed away from the Guardian and onto the silver screen, to dole out electric cars and help defeat the shady oil corporations, airline executives and other foils of the woke Bond era. Okay, I’m exaggerating. But how depressing that this outcome seems more likely than a return to Fleming’s source material, and the style and humour that once made Bond so irresistible.