“Oooh, that would’ve been good !”
Indeed. We can dream about the possibility from this fan trailer
Timothy Dalton in “Casino Royale”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB_I_aNbYdE&feature=channel_page
“All the Pirs Bonbons Bonds were poor.”
They were among the more mediocre entries in the series. However, I found “Quantum of Solace” more disappointing than any of the Brosnans since my expectations had gotten so much higher post-”Casino Royale.”
Not bad. It's too bad the problems the producers had after "Licence to Kill" that delayed filming any new ones for 6 years. I'd have liked to have seen Dalton continue in the roll for a longer period.
"They were among the more mediocre entries in the series. However, I found “Quantum of Solace” more disappointing than any of the Brosnans since my expectations had gotten so much higher post-”Casino Royale.”"
One concern I had when I saw PB in the role was that they were taking a swing back towards the worst of Roger Moore's entries (right down to the smug winking at the camera behavior, a la the adjusting his tie when the boat went under water, just head-shakingly bad). Part of it was also the series just lost its magic. I was a big fan of John Barry and losing him was bad enough, but the '90s Bonds didn't even FEEL like Bond films, just something else entirely. You felt the continuity clear up from "Dr. No" to "The Living Daylights" and a slip-off in LTK (which seemed more like an expensive "Miami Vice" episode, although I loved MV so I could give it a pass), but after LTK, it seemed to just vanish. Sure, Desmond Llewellyn was still there, but that was the last remaining link, and he was well past too old.
I didn't want to pass judgment on Daniel Craig until seeing him play it at least twice, but my initial problems with him (nevermind his being a Blonde Bond), was that the producers went "extreme." Before, they have insufferably smug and too comedic (Moore/PB) and now they had a guy who was a walking ice cube and more like a villain himself (Robert Shaw's Red Grant without the panache). They failed to strike the right balance (as they did with Connery and Dalton, and even George Lazenby, who acquitted himself well in trying to succeed Connery). I was thinking Clive Owen seemed to "look" the role more (he looks like an amalgamation of Connery, Lazenby & Dalton), and I was rather sorry he didn't get it.
I haven't seen "Quantum", yet. The theaters play films so loud I can't tolerate it, but given the opinions of a lot of JB fans, it sounds like it was a big letdown. I presume Craig will do one more before hanging it up, although they don't appear to even have a new JB in pre-production on his IMDb credits despite his being credited for a 2011 film.