LogFAQs > #930059421

Darmik posted...

Bond movies always rise and dip depending on who's working on them. You're talking about a 'they' in a way that's total nonsense. Quantum of Solace exists because Bourne movies were seen as the spy movie standard back then.

The two constants have been screenwriter Neal Purvis and producer Barbara Brocoli; daughter of Albert R. Broccoli.

Neal has been the chief series writer since The World is Not Enough. It's clear that he doesn't care for the playboy antics, globetrotting, and cartoon-show-for-grown-ups approach. He'd rather have edgy dialogue and explore themes of black and gray morality.

A screenwriter doesn't get the last say in tone or content, but it's clear that his writing was more inspired when Bond was allowed to be darker and edgier. I think he'd get more enjoyment out of seeing Bond casually justify leaving a friend in a ditch than he would writing a ski chase through the French alps.

I think there's a sort of mutual understanding between studio and writer. Directors have their marching orders too. It's just the fans who don't always understand that Bond is meant to be The Wire, Heat, or The Bourne Identity. Some still think he should be Goldfinger, GoldenEye, or The Spy Who Loved Me.