COMMENTARY -- The '007 First Light' Announcement Trailer just dropped, and I've got one major observation!
"His parents cut their own rope to save him. He watched them fall, then found his way off that mountain. He was 11 years old."
"He then started a grand tour of every major boarding school in Britain."
"Always at the top of his class..."
"...always at odds with authority. Same thing in the Navy."
"His superiors all praise his instincts."
"And they're all in need of early retirement. Nobody knows what to do with him, Mom."
"No, and I suspect he feels the same way. But what he did in Iceland..."
"What he did in Iceland was insubordination. It was ill-disciplined, utterly reckless. He only survived thanks to blind luck. Give me one good reason to put him in the program, Mom."
"I think you just covered them all, Greenway. It's really quite simple. Bond is a bullet without a target. Let's give him one."
The trailer for 007: First Light just dropped, and I absolutely had to say a couple things. A few observations. Well – really, let’s just call it one big one.
The bottom line is, I watched it and thought, this looks like every other spy franchise – except James Bond. I mean, it starts off in M’s office—with a very different-looking M, and a very different-looking Chief of Staff, or whoever that’s supposed to be. And honestly? I’m watching this and I’m seeing Mission: Impossible. Jason Bourne. A big ol’ hunk of John Wick.
It was weird—it just looked like all the other franchises, and nothing that actually felt like James Bond. Unless you count the nod to Omega when Bond gets his watch. But seriously, I was even getting hints of Reacher. It’s crazy how this just didn’t feel anything like Bond—but looked a lot like everything else.
Now look, I don’t want to rain on it too hard—yet. That wouldn’t be fair. I want to see how it plays out, because I do think the gameplay looks interesting.
And keep in mind—you’re talking to a guy who hasn’t bought a video game in maybe a decade. I used to be there for every new Bond game. I bought them all, played them all. But we all know that era fizzled out. So yeah, it’s been a while since I touched a controller.
Still, this looks like a good game. But honestly? I’m not getting any Bond from it. It’s really kind of wild.
So I don’t know—I guess that’s my takeaway. Not a whole lot more to say than that. There was a ton of hype leading up to this trailer, and now that it’s here, I’m just not seeing any kind of Bond identity in it at all. But who knows—maybe?
Okay, now, if you ask my wife, she’ll tell you: I can put lipstick on any pig you hand me. I'm Mr. Silver Lining. So maybe – maybe – here’s a glimmer: Maybe they’re redefining Bond here. Maybe they’re presenting him as the guy who inspired all those other franchises. And that’s why this game looks like a little bit of everything. Maybe that’s the vibe they’re going for.
Is that the silver lining?
