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OO?: An Opinion Piece
Loyal Mehnert

Craig. Daniel Craig

A collective sigh of bewilderment could be felt around the world as Daniel Craig was announced in high fashion as the newest actor to take on the role of James Bond. When you're hired to play the world's most famous secret agent, you're also joining the most exclusive club in all of cinema. And I for one am not happy.

Since Casino Royale was announced as the next Bond film, producers seemed dead set on changing the 40+ year old formula. The film will introduce a younger Bond, leaner and meaner than his predecessors. This may have worked with Batman Begins but is a terrible fit for the Bond franchise. Bond's worldly experience is what makes the character who he is. There's talk of downplaying the use of gadgets and outrageous action sequences, a huge mistake. And his innuendoes, double entendres, and one liners may too become a thing of the past. Again, these things make Bond. They are Bond. As much as MI6 depends on 007 to save the day, they're equally annoyed by his antics.

Hiring Martin Campbell to direct Casino Royale is the only good decision made so far. He resurrected the franchise in 1995 with Goldeneye. Campbell was able to modernize and rejuvenate Bond, but without changing his core principles. Campbell's skills however may not save this sinking ship. Hollywood's latest golden boy, scribe Paul Haggis was brought onboard to rewrite the script. I've made no secret of my
dislike for Haggis' last two screenplays, the overdone Crash and the melodramatic Million Dollar Baby. Haggis' involvement, coupled with the general direction of Casino Royale, points to more License To Kill and less The Spy Who Loved Me.

Pierce Brosnan's Bond was a godsend, ultimately falling short of Connery's greatness but still leaps and bounds beyond everyone else. For some reason, producers and execs want to move as far away from Brosnan's Bond as possible. Surely it's not a financial decision since Brosnan's 007 films have consistently outgrossed one another (Die Another Day took in over $431 Million worldwide). I had my problems
with The World Is Not Enough, and the less I say about Die Another Day, the better. But for what it's worth, Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, thanks to Brosnan's charisma and very smart moviemaking, are two of the best Bond films to grace the silver screen.

Which brings us back to Daniel Craig. Craig is not a bad actor, quite the opposite really. Layer Cake worked as well as it did because of Craig. This isn't about one's ability to act, Bond has never been about quality. It's about presence and quite frankly, Craig simply doesn't fit the tux.

I predict Casino Royale will be a hit with critics but will fail to excite audiences. It will fall well below the success level set by Brosnan's four films. I forsee Daniel Craig joining George Lazenby as the man who played Bond only once.

Let us pray that Clive Owen in a few years has a change of heart.