STACK Nov #133

26 / 126

visit interview CINEMA
026 NOVEMBER 2015
(rumoured to be Christoph
Waltz’s character), who due
to recently settled copyright
issues was last officially seen in
1971’s Diamonds are Forever,
and notorious crime syndicate
SPECTRE, all hinting at a return
to more traditional form.
Another twist is the casting
of Italian actress Monica
Bellucci, who at 51 is the oldest Bond girl to
date – four years older than Craig. There is no
concern that this will dampen Bond’s ardour,
however, as Bellucci is still one of the most
breathtakingly beautiful women on earth – in
one particularly sexually charged scene, Craig is
seen slowly unzipping her floor-length gown as
she whispers,“If you go there, you are crossing
into a place where there is no mercy.” A serious
warning for most, but probably not enough to
deter 007
That said, Craig is hoping that the days of a
misogynistic Bond are coming to a close. “He’s
very f–ing lonely. There’s a great sadness. He’s
f–ing these beautiful women but then they leave
and it’s…sad.”
At 47, Craig is still unbelievably
suave, cool and of course, handsome.
He has that rugged, Steve McQueen
swagger down to a T, but the
question remains whether there is
an age limit on 007.
“As long as I’m physically able.
Which isn’t that long!” laughs
Craig. “I’m contracted for one more,
which seems to be a fair number, but
I’m not going to make predictions.”
The Brit actor also has an interesting
theory for the franchise’s inimitable
success. “You simply stick to the
old adage that a good story
goes a long way. And blow
shit up every half an hour,”
he laughs heartily. “That’s
how it’s done.”
“It’s an honour to play Bond, I get such
a big kick out of doing it. I had an
opportunity with Casino Royale to
wipe the slate clean; this was us beginning
again,” says Daniel Craig, the man responsible
for bringing the grit back to 007. Three films in,
and with the release of Spectre imminent, it is
now hard to imagine anyone else playing James
Bond. He is a different animal to the charming,
sophisticated man Sean Connery created in the
original films, and since the very first scene in
Casino Royale, in which Craig’s incarnation was
first unleashed, it was clear the reboot would be
a more violent and visceral experience. Craig’s
Bond is darker, tougher and utterly untameable.
It could have gone horribly wrong, but instead it
took over 500 million dollars and became, until
Skyfall, the highest grossing Bond film of all
time.
Spectre promises to be the darkest
instalment yet. Our hero (or anti-hero, as Craig
has always insisted was his approach to the
character) is still mourning the death of Judi
Dench’s M when he receives a message from
his past. The film is shrouded in typical MI5
mystery, but almost certainly marks a return
for Bond supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld
You simply stick
to the old adage
that a good story
goes a long way. And
blow shit up every
half an hour
Layer Cake
The Girl with the
Dragon Tattoo
Road to Perdition
• Spectre
is in cinemas
on Nov 12 and
reviewed next
issue
Spectre Casino Royale