MovieChat Forums > James Bond > How Fast & Furious Became the New James ...

How Fast & Furious Became the New James Bond

posted 8 years ago by TMC-4
9 replies | jump to latest

http://screenrant.com/fast-furious-james-bond-similarities/

The Fast & The Furious film series has evolved significantly since its debut in 2001. April 2017 will see the release of the eighth film in the saga, The Fate of the Furious, which aims to be the most outlandish entry yet. Looking back on it now, it can seem hard to fathom just how Fast & Furious transitioned from a fairly self-serious movie about street racing criminals to a madcap action extravaganza over the course of just a few sequels. However it happened, it has functioned as a perfect counterpoint to the recent change in direction for the James Bond film series.

From his debut in 1962’s Dr. No, James Bond had always been the premier destination for high-flying action/adventure spectacle. Over the course of twenty-plus films, 007 consistently set the bar in terms of globetrotting cinematic tourism and massive action sequences anchored by real-life stuntwork. Conversely, at its inception Fast & Furious was pretty much just a thinly-veiled remake of Point Break with little ambition beyond launching the careers of stars like Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and Michelle Rodriguez.

Yet somehow, over the past fifteen years, Fast & Furious has taken James Bond’s place as the dominant globetrotting action series, while England’s favorite super spy has found himself in something of a minor rut. So how exactly did this happen? Join us as we examine the circumstances and reasons behind this unprecedented reversal of fortune.

[–] RichardTheBruce 8 years ago

A minor $880 million to $1.1 BILLION rut for Bond? April 2017 will see the release of the eighth film in the saga, The Fate of the Furious, which aims to be the most outlandish entry yet. DIE ANOTHER DAY outlandish? Or BATMAN AND ROBIN outlandish? But I get their point.

I'm motivated by my Duty.

[–] CountJohn 8 years ago



For the record, both CR and QoS grossed more than Tokyo Drift and Fast and Furious, release around the same time, and Skyfall grossed more than any F & F film, and that's not accounting for longevity.

[–] tomsco_au 8 years ago

Skyfall grossed more than any F & F film, and that's not accounting for longevity.

Just out of interest I checked that at Box Office Mojo which seems to indicate Furious 7 out performed Skyfall both Domestic and Worldwide.

[–] RichardTheBruce 8 years ago

I like the competition, but conversely there's the idea of a franchise going full McDonald's on ya. Not that FF is automatically doing so, I haven't seen the last couple.

But like my friend Pete Townsend observed regarding the excess of success, folks can be "sadly ecstatic that their heroes...are news."

JB and FF seem to be doing fine, I'm good with that.

I'm motivated by my Duty.

[–] TheSharkFromJaws 8 years ago

I don't understand how the two most successful entries in the series since the 1960s constitues as a "minor rut".

Compared to F and F, which only just had its first massive hit. Yes, 5 and 6 were extremely successful but 7 was the first phenomenon, something Bond has already seen a few times. The last of which was 4 years ago.

[–] TrevorAclea 8 years ago

It's the same mindset as those threads/articles about Bond being in 'serious trouble' because SPECTRE was only the second highest grossing Bond film instead of massively outgrossing Skyfall and because they were holding one of their occasional distribution rights auctions where they hold the major studios to ransom. There's a mentality that thinks every race has to be a 100 metres sprint that sets a new world record and the winners in the other events are all just also-rans.

"Security - release the badgers."

[–] something_toomany 8 years ago

Does the article mention how an actor had to die for the F&F films to get so big?

"You'll have to speak up I'm wearing a towel"

[–] j_w_pepper 8 years ago

Why would F&F play any role for the Bond franchise? I doubt very many Bond fans are particularly interested in the former and certainly won't stop watching Bond films just because they may like F&F as well.

I'm among those who haven't seen a single F&F movie, simply because I'm not interested in street racing (and when I saw in 2001 that they were even using those souped-up rice bowls, even less). I'd rather watch the likes of VANISHING POINT or TWO-LANE BLACKTOP a few more times. I know the series has changed, but I can still live without it. As is the case with almost every other hyped-up "franchise".

--
Ceterum censeo OCTOPUSSY esse delendam.