So the Brits are pretty impressed with Danny Boy. In fact they are so impressed that they wouldn't mind the visionary director of the second most talked about movie of 2008, taking charge of what's probably Britain's major contribution to commercial Hollywood - James Bond. But after seeing the debacle of Quantum of Solace at the hands of Marc Forster I really don't think it's a wise option to leave the reins to Danny Boyle.
Slumdog Millionaire was a fine movie. No intentions of taking away the honour for that, though I have my own reservations on it being the Best Picture at the Oscars. But being a British director and an Academy Award winner isn't reason enough to pick Danny boyle as the right choice for being in charge of 007. The producers would now admit that the Marc Forster's direction was one of the reasons for the lacklustre performance of the 22nd movie in the spy franchise. With a trail of critically acclaimed movies including The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball in his arsenal, Forster was supposed to catapault the rebooted franchise to astronaumical heights. A follow-up which would be bigger and better than its predecessor, Casino Royale. On the contrary we witnessed a lifeless movie which had neither the soul nor the grip of the Casino Royale, a mix and match storyline, a passive leading lady and trust me, Olga Kurylenko's heavily accented dialogue delivery isn't as sexy as she thinks it is. The action sequences did't disappoint. But the lack of an engaging screenplay made all that effort go waste. Though the $200 million budgeted movie made close to $575 million at the box-office, that was a disappointing figure when compared to Casino Royale's $590+ million rake. Royale's budget was a digestable $150 million
So how does all this make Danny Boyle not the right candidate for the hot job? His resume isn't impressive enough for the position. The Beach, Sunshine and 28 days later were his major releases till Slumdog came along. The rest comprises of his experience in TV movies and TV series. Though Danny's preference for realism is in compliance with the current trend, that doesn't make him the best guy to revive Bond from the minor heart attack that Quantum of Solace gave the spy. A limited stint in big budget action thriller scenario is a major drawback. We have seen today's noted directors like Christopher Nolan and Gore Verbinski treading similar paths to acheive triumphs like Batman Begins and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Let us be reminded of the fact that those were either complete reboots or a brand new franchise. This lends the director a lot of creative liberty.
Danny Boyle is a remarkably talented director. Some day he must direct a Bond movie as well. But he isn't just what the doctor prescribes right now. The doctor prescibes and the patient needs Martin Campbell, the same person who gave us Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Give him the chair and say "work your magic".
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