As I was showering this morning I had my phone on shuffle, and it randomly played Helicopter Ride from Tomorrow Never Dies. As so often happens I heard the dialogue in my head as it played.
Another Carver building. If I didn't know better I'd say he'd developed an edifice complex.
It's a stupid, throwaway little joke. Just a single line for a quick gag. But as I towelled off, it occurred to me: that doesn't happen any more. Jokes in the Daniel Craig era - when they occur - are placed very deliberately within the film. There's a kind of "here's the funny bit!" deliberateness; it's Q, so it'll be funny. It's this one car chase through Rome, so there will be funny bits. Much as Cubby used to refer to the action sequences as "bumps", the set-pieces that the film is aiming towards, you get the feeling that the funny parts are marked out on a white board somewhere.
I like Bond films that are funny all the way through. Not all out comedy but a mix. Action, comedy, sex, that's what I want from a Bond movie, and it feels lost. 007 should be quipping and laughing and being flippant. I want that back.
