Originally posted by Number six
View Post
However, if you made a "female 00 agent", and gave her her own backstory, motivation and plot, that stands a better chance of working. Audiences in general have no difficulty with solid female protagonists- Ripley from Aliens, Trinity from The Matrix, Salt, etc.- but audiences DO, and has been well-proven by now, have an issue with a traditionally-male role being simply genderswapped. The aforementioned Thor crashed and burned, as did the Ghostbusters and a few other examples.
And it has nothing at all to do with sexism- it's the character. The latest Superman versions didn't sit well because those Supermen weren't the traditional character. Supes isn't supposed to be a dark and gritty, emo manboy, he's supposed to be an upstanding superhero. You don't hire Danny DeVito to play Superman, or Macaulay Culkin to play Thor- they don't fit the character.
It's the same game here. 007 has been a male role since what, 1964. That's what audiences want. The Bond franchise has been wildly successful because of it.
Why NOT make a female 005 or 006 or 008 or 003? You can keep the exact same premise, the same MI6/Q-Division/M schtick, hell, give her a restored DB5 to drive! But now she's her own character, the audience has fewer preconceptions and the movie has a better chance. (Assuming all-else-being-equal cinematography. Naturally nothing can save a movie that's just bad to start with.)
Doc.
Comment