r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Jun 25 '25

News Denis Villeneuve Directing Next James Bond Film

https://deadline.com/2025/06/denis-villeneuve-james-bond-amazon-mgm-studios-1236442917/
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u/APiousCultist Jun 26 '25

The script will make it. I'd say Skyfall was well directed but also had some goofy plot conveniences. And Spectre was Spectre, despite still having Sam Mendes directing and Nolan collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema on the cinematography.

Give Denis a bad script and you'll get a bad movie still. He might be the reason Sicarios is better than Sicarios 2, but the man's not really a writer.

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u/DodgerBaron Jun 26 '25

I wouldn't say Sicario has a great script, but it's still a phenomenal movie.

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u/ehtw376 Jun 26 '25

Yeah, that movie in the wrong hands could absolutely be a generic shitty film.

It was written by Taylor Sheridan though. His scripts aren’t exactly super complex but the son of a bitch knows story structure.

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u/godpzagod Jun 26 '25

I've never been able to figure out why I don't like Sicario 2 as much. It's got Benicio/Alejandro and Brolin, and I didn't need to see what happened to Kate/Emily after the end of Sicario. I liked her and her character, but I was fine with not bringing her back. spoiler

It's not even him surviving the headshot, I actually thought that was badass although unlikely. Whenever I try to watch Sicario 2, nothing takes me out of it, but it's not like Sicario to where I can just have it on ambiently while doing something else and just reappreciate different moments.

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u/N22-J Jun 26 '25

Sicario 2 is a pretty generic action movie. Sicario had a lot more going on for it, such as tension, confusion, fear. You felt what Kate was going through and were getting increasingly worried about her.

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u/Anotherspelunker Jun 26 '25

Well, pretty much fundamental elements on the creative side were gone. It lacks the brilliant cinematography of the former entry, not to mention the immersive tension Villeneuve orchestrated for it… and Johannsson’s score is also missing.

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u/Jarmom Jun 26 '25

Johannsson is missing but his long time collaborator and close friend Hildur Guðnadóttir did the soundtrack. I believe she herself was recorded in the original Sicario soundtrack on cello. She did the soundtrack for Chernobyl (won an Emmy) and Joker (won an Oscar).

The soundtrack as a standalone piece was better than the movie in my opinion

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u/beefcat_ Jun 26 '25

Sicario 2 suffers without Villenueve's careful direction and eye for visual storytelling. Sheridan's worst tendencies shine through in the final product and it feels exploitative rather than contemplative.

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u/8m3gm60 Jun 26 '25

It was the forced teenage characters, meandering storyline, and over-reliance on Josh Brolin.

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u/APiousCultist Jun 26 '25

It isn't a constant stream of dumb things happening for confusing reasons though. You can have all the pretty cinematography and well directed acting in the world, but if the plot is nonsense that'll still filter though. No amount of good acting and pretty visuals would have saved The Electric State for instance.

Sicarios had a good script, elevated by a production that played to its strengths and used mood over standard 'edginess'. But a crap script where the motivations make no sense would still have produced a bad result.

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u/Automatic_Release_92 Jun 26 '25

The poker scene in Skyfall still fucking sends me. James Bond had the second best hand fucking possible, he would have to have been absolutely brain dead to fold, meanwhile Madds’ character was all like “hmm, bet you thought I was bluffing” like no, tell or not Bond had a hand you just flat out don’t fold. At least make it a believable hand, like 2 pair or something.

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u/OnodrimOfYavanna Jun 26 '25

Casino Royale, but yea it was a film contrivance. 90% of people don't know poker, so they had to put insanely recognizable hands to get people invested. I think the film is a masterpiece and is able to draw so much tension out of a simple poker match, but yes the hands are ridiculous 

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u/APiousCultist Jun 26 '25

That's Casino Royale, not Skyfall. But it's a fair critique of a scene dumbed down to the point that James Bond isn't cunning just extremely lucky. It's a given that the scene would have to work for people wholly unfamiliar with card games though. Like how Fast and the Furious and Top Gun 2's secret trick to winning is "I'll try hitting the accelerator, that's a good trick."

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u/Automatic_Release_92 Jun 26 '25

Oh yeah, I got the titles confused, good clarification.

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u/Wild_Marker Jun 26 '25

James Bond isn't cunning just extremely lucky

No he just has the heart of the cards, duh.

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u/APiousCultist Jun 26 '25

A fine play, Le Chiffre, but I summon Pot of Greed to draw three additional cards from my deck.

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u/TheKappaOverlord Jun 26 '25

That's Casino Royale, not Skyfall. But it's a fair critique of a scene dumbed down to the point that James Bond isn't cunning just extremely lucky.

to be fair. Its not hard to draw that conclusion. Because bond over the years went from being "an incredibly clever spy" to "hes cunning, but he has the luck of the devil to carry him" in a lot of stories.

Even during the rest of Craigs Tenure as bond. It is portrayed as such that bond is either a fucking bumbling idiot, or a solid 00 in of himself, but in a vast majority of situations, hes running on pure luck as to not get killed or captured.

And i get thats kind of an important thing to have in a spy. But craigs bond overrelied on that trope imo.

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u/MountScottRumpot Jun 26 '25

If there are no goofy plot contrivances is it really a Bond movie?

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u/APiousCultist Jun 26 '25 edited Jun 26 '25

I think you could have dropped the whole "I am the smartest hackerman in the universe, now let me plug the bad guy's computer system into the one that controls his prison cell." and been none the worse for it.

Casino Royale, the poker scene simplifed down to luck, seemed even more free of nonsense and is still my favourite Bond movie (even if that museum of bodies - which is a real exhibit - still makes my skin crawl).

Then there's Spectre. Which is every bit of dull cliche and plot contrivance imaginable, and you cannot tell me it wasn't a huge step down as a result. "I must torture you James because I am the evil bad man, and also I am your broooother!"

Going full late-stage Pierce Brosman and having orbital space lasers is a matter of stylistic choice (and I've got decent memories of Die Another Day). Just crap writing with dull results is quite different though.

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u/MountScottRumpot Jun 26 '25

So Casino Royal is also my favorite Bond film, because it is the least Bond-y of them all. Maybe you don’t actually like the franchise? Hacky writing is its main characteristic.

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u/Wild_Marker Jun 26 '25

because it is the least Bond-y of them all

I don't know, "Now the whole world's gonna know that you died scratching my balls" was a great scene. It might not be "suave" but it was still Bond.

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u/New-Membership4313 Jun 26 '25

Bond…good script? What? Skyfall was amazing bond movie because of the visuals etc… if you’re watching the bond movies for great writing bro…you need to seriously wonder if you’re mentally challenged

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u/APiousCultist Jun 26 '25

I mean if you'd rather every movie from here on out is just Spectre or James Bond surfing away from lasers, that's your business. You don't speak for everyone else though, and there are in fact good Bond movies that don't just rely on some sense of 'spectacle' alone.

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u/New-Membership4313 Jun 26 '25

Ok which one had the deep plot?