Artistic Vandalism

  

I'm sorry but, no amount of acting skill will save you if you simply do not look right for the role.
 
I personally like Daniel Craig's skills, but he does not look the part. A better choice for Bond would have been Christian Bale. He's tall, he's dark, he's handsome, and he's British.
 
Whatever the case, I am really worried for the franchise because casting Craig as Bond will kill it.
 
They're already making plans to make a second movie, but I seriously doubt anyone will go watch. I personally want to give the man a chance for a few reasons;
 
1)  He's 38 years old and this is his first, and probably only, big break.
 
2)  I'm in my mid 20's, just graduated college, so I can totally relate to his situation.
 
In other words, it would be largely a "pity viewing."  Now think for a second; a "pity viewing" From an unemployed joe like me!  How humiliating is that!
 
You want to know why Daniel Craig was cast? If you haven't done so, watch a trailer for "Casino Royale." Ignoring Craig's presence, the movie looks highly stylish, the action sequences are superior to "The Transporter" and on top of that, it has French hottie Eva Green.  The movie looks damned expensive.  More expensive than any Bond movie, even adjusting for inflation. I personally think the reason they hired Craig is because he is cheap. He does not exactly posses looks that would stir me to envy, but hell, the man can act. Of course, acting skill does not make him worthy of the role of Bond, nor does it make him worthy to have an onscreen siren like Eva Green act along side him.
 
Eva Green is a Bond girl throught and through and she would look fantastic acting alongside Christian Bale. In fact, I can not imagine two actors having more onscreen sexual chemistry than Bale and Green. As Bond and his girl, they would set the screen on fire. I think Bale was approached for the role, but he turned it down. Maybe he might change his mind, and we might see Bale playing both Batman AND Bond.
 
Of course, it is not going to happen because - well - Craig will kill Bond. An ugly actor will do what no megalomaniacal villain with an I.Q. of 245 and or superhuman strength managed to do: to kill James Bond.
 
James Bond has become for the British people, I feel, a sort of "uncle Sam" cartoon. In the same way in America we have a cartoon rendition of an old man in a red, white, and blue suit named "Uncle Sam," James Bond has, I think for all intents and purposes, replaced John Bull.
 
John Bull does not represent the British; James Bond does. Eerie how they have the same initials.....
 
Whatever the case, how is James Bond in effect, an embodiment of the British people? Well, for one, his courage. The British take great pride in the legendary courage which destroyed the first Roman legions which invaded Britain, the same courage which led Britain to become a world spanning Empire. James Bond is often in situations in which "British courage" is his only weapon. Another thing the British take pride on is the ability to use brains, not brawn, to overcome ridiculous odds.  Americans will land in a country, and destroy everything. Land, shoot everything, and then when the smoke clears, declare victory. That is the American way of doing war. The way the British did it was through strategy, insidious cunning, and in some cases, cold-blooded cruelty. Just like James Bond.
 
James Bond has had to do a lot of things to achieve his objectives. Same with the British throughout history. James Bond has found himself in hopeless situations. Not seemingly hopeless; hopeless. And yet, inexplicably he wins.
 
Another aspect of Bond that represents the British is his sophistication. The British are stereotyped in America as having "class" and "sophistication," obviously throwbacks to another era. In many respects, the most important one actually, James Bond represents the ideal British gentleman.
 
His "amoral" and philandering behavior with women often has more to do with fulfilling his objective than genuine desire. In fact, 99% of the female spies Bond has bedded he wasn't even attracted to. He said it himself in "You Only Live Twice." That is just the nature of what he is.
 
For all intents and purposes, though he exists in entertainment, James Bond is a caricature of the British people much in the same way Uncle Sam is a caricature of the American people.
 
No conservative in America would radically alter Uncle Sam's appearance because it would be considered artistic vandalism.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you will try to petition to remove Daniel Craig as James Bond, do it for Britain because, over the years, James Bond has BECOME symbolic of the British.
 
Even though he is fictional, even though his purpose is at times comedic, he has come to represent Britain far more than John Bull and is therefore almost a sacred icon. An icon that should be represented by an actor, not necessarily British, but, who nevertheless looks that part and can come across as being James Bond.
 
That actor is not Daniel Craig.

by Daniel Cervoni

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