John Cleese bemoans lack of humour in recent Bond movies

British comedy legend John Cleese spoke recently to the Radio Times to explain why he only appeared in two James Bond adventures, and blames the series' shift towards a grittier style (although he did not directly say what the magazine's headline claims).

"I did two James Bond movies [1999’s The World Is Not Enough, and 2002’s Die Another Day, playing Q], and then I believe that they decided that the tone they needed was that of the Bourne action movies, which are very gritty and humourless."

"Also the big money was coming from Asia, from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, where the audiences go to watch the action sequences, and that’s why in my opinion the action sequences go on for too long, and it’s a fundamental flaw. The audiences in Asia are not going for the subtle British humour or the class jokes."

Discuss this news here...