STACK #133 Nov 2016

CINEMA

interview

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• Spectre is in cinemas on Nov 12 and reviewed next issue

Casino Royale

Spectre

Road to Perdition

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

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Layer Cake

“I t’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

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

(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

goes a long way. And blow shit up every half an hour,” he laughs heartily. “That’s how it’s done.”

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