Come 2002, James Bond will be celebrating his cinematic 40th anniversary, and if Pierce Brosnan has his way, it might be an altogether bloody one. With that New Zealand born Lee Tamohori ("Along Came a Spider") might be helming the 20th Bond - possibly Brosnan’s last - the chance for a more dramatic, violent film may be seized upon. In classic Bond style, of course, the odds will be formidable.
To his credit, Brosnan’s tenure in the tux has been a staggeringly successful one, not only for his films $350 million average haul. Now easily matching the hi-octane blockbusters that once threatened the franchise’s longevity, Brosnan ("Best Bond Since Connery") has emerged as a Bond of substance, maintaining the difficult Bondian mix of menace, charm, humour, sexiness, and vulnerability.
His films have already successfully flirted with the harder edge, with Bond dispatching villains in a merciless fashion, such "The World Is Not Enough". Brosnan carries it off with steely aplomb, but not before the formula’s rigid needs of action have been satiated.
Brosnan has already succeeded in imbuing the death-proof superspy with depth and human frailty: why be more gratuitously violent? More blood does not make a more enjoyable film (unless you’re George Romero) and, frankly, that kind of box-office will not appear if you cut off the hallowed teen market. The last time the franchise embraced a more brutal tone with 1989’s "Licence To Kill", the result was a comparatively poor box office despite being what many see as a ‘purer’ Bond.
Bond's evergreen and beloved formula distinguishes itself with style and knowing it’s audience - excitement and thrills over gratuity. The Walther PPK clearly ain’t broke!
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