As “No Time to Die” was broadcast worldwide, the Daniel Craig period of the “Bond Series” came to an end.
Since 2006, he has filmed 5 movies for this role. It was 15 years after filming the first Bond film that Daniel Craig left his most familiar role. For a long time, the “Bond Series” movies have been criticized as objectifying women and advocating “toxic” male chauvinism. In the past 15 years, Bond played by Craig has tried to get rid of this male chauvinistic perspective, thereby injecting new style into the “Bond Series”. In this prestigious film series, Craig left his own unique legacy.
Blond man who is not favored
In 2006, when the “Bond Series” crew announced the new ace spy actor, Daniel Craig was not a Hollywood star. In the past, the actors who played the role of Bond were all black-haired and white-haired, and Craig, with blond hair, could be said to be the first “blonde Bond” in the series.
This British actor, who has never played the protagonist of a blockbuster before, is not favored when he makes his appearance. Craig, who is not tall, has been widely questioned by the outside world as to whether he is competent for this role. British film critics ridiculed Craig, saying that he had no friendly interaction with reporters at the press conference, and that he had to wear a life jacket when he was in a kayak on the Thames to show his “heroic posture”.
”Bond in a life jacket? Is there anything wrong?”
In addition, some people think that his features are not handsome and his face is full of wrinkles. The dull expression and stiff movements seem to lack the unique temperament that Connery has injected into the 007 character. In Craig’s hands, can the “Bond Series” continue to have box office appeal in the 21st century?
Judging from the first 007 movie “Casino Royale” starring Craig in 2006, its box office results are impressive. The box office revenue of $616.5 million that year gave the producer hope for Craig. From then on, Craig’s Bond star journey went low and high, and now it has become the best face of Bond’s image in the early 21st century.
Bond is so good?
In the 21st century, people are tired of the old-school Bond role. In the eyes of critics, Bond is a rough male chauvinist. As a spy, the old-school Bond doesn’t have any real feelings of flesh and blood. He seems to be just a killing machine. It is difficult for him to arouse empathy, except because he will not die in all fights, he has no emotional bond with a woman other than the body.
The disgust of audiences and film critics towards the “Bond series” reached its climax around 2000, because at that time, the routine of the “Bond series” became more and more obvious: Bond must like to drink cocktails, and he must be invincible. , His male hormones must be able to conquer all the women he has seen.
The role of 007 was finally handed over to Craig in 2006, so how can he avoid falling into stereotypes? One strategy is that he and the production team behind them began to guide people to shift their eyes from the “Bond Girl” to Bond himself.
He and the production team behind them began to guide people, shifting their eyes from the “Bond girl” to Bond himself.
Stills of the 007 movie “Dr. No” starring Connery
Stills of the first 007 movie “Casino Royale” starring Craig
Daniel Craig
During the filming of “Casino Royale”, there was a scene taken by the paparazzi: Daniel Craig was naked, wearing swimming trunks by the beach, rising from the blue sea under the sun, as if in ancient Greek mythology. Poseidon.
In the past, the old-school Bond was upright and handsome in a suit, but he was shocked when he took off his clothes. Except for a handful of bushy chest hair that highlights male hormones, Bond’s bare upper body is mostly loose flesh. Is this figure really invincible? Can such a figure really appeal to women?
Through Craig’s muscular physique, people felt a new bond appeared. Bond in a suit is handsome, but after taking off his clothes, he is still very attractive.
”The best Bond in history” has since become Craig’s nickname.
A hardened body
In order to attract the audience’s attention to Bond, the crew specially invited the fitness coach Simon Watson. In 15 years, Watson has turned Craig into a handsome, undressing “new bond”.
Watson’s appearance is a bit similar to Craig, the height and head shape of the two are almost the same, even the hairstyle is similar. Watson and Craig are not so much a relationship between a coach and a student, as they are two fitness partners. During the training, the two of them often beat the iron together. Watson developed a unique fitness plan for Craig.
Built by Watson, the Bond character must have good-looking muscles, but it also needs to have good combat functions. As a spy, he must be capable of climbing, jumping, and fighting. Even the speed at which Bond turned and drew his gun to shoot was specially designed by Watson for Craig. Craig, who was not tall, did not feel depressed, but was turned into a capable agent who could fight at any time.
”Killing people in the last second, repairing the washing machine at home in the next second” is the British “Guardian” evaluation of the image of Bond played by Craig.
Watson explained to a CNN reporter the fitness plan he made for Craig: “The training course is dumbbell weight lifting and a lot of compound exercises. This allows you to use heavy objects for extremely hard training, and because of the high intensity, your The heart rate will also increase. Therefore, it not only exercises muscles, but also trains the cardiovascular system and reduces body fat.”
Craig, who uses less of a stand-in, has injuries both in and out of the scene. During the filming of “The Ghost Party,” Craig sprained his knee ligament. In his last Bond film, “No Time To Die,” he injured his ankle and had to undergo surgery.
In the “Bond Series”, people saw the fragile side of Bond’s body. The storyline reveals that Bond was already scarred. As a spy agent born to death, the torture and suffering experienced by the new school Bond began to have an impact on his career, instead of having an incorruptible body like the old school Bond. .
Like normal people, Bond played by Craig screams when he is tortured. For male audiences, perhaps the most empathetic scene is the heart-piercing howl when Bond’s lower body is tortured by the villain. This also demonstrates the fragility of the male body: even though it looks strong, in fact, as long as it is hit, it will still be painful.
In order to make several films more coherent, in these Bond films played by Craig, the injuries he suffered in one film will be imprinted in the next film. In the end, the “Bond Series” of Craig’s period broke the structure of each of the isolated narratives and paved a narrative clue.
Bond and women
In Craig’s time, the role of Bond is no longer a playboy who can only play with women, but a person who respects women’s emotions. In addition, Bond has also experienced emotional setbacks such as loss of love. Craig’s blue eyes often give people a soothing and caring feeling when staring at women.
The image of Bond in the Connery period has been criticized by some women in the 21st century. They believe that the “Bond girls” of the Connery era were the objects of men’s play. In “Gold Finger”, a detail that attracted the attention of contemporary audiences is that the “Bond Girl” constantly rejected Bond, but Bond played by Connery still forcibly had a relationship with her. Cary Fukuyong, director of “No Time to Die,” pointed out that according to contemporary standards, this is a rape.
As the Craig era came to an end, people began to guess who would be the next 007 agent. Maybe we will see a female 007?
