007: First Light

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

 

Now that James Bond on-screen is... paused, Amazon MGM's first full release is a video game.

(And given how many of us fondly remember GoldenEye - hell, even NightFire wasn't bad - that's a lot to live up to.)

 

Dev crew are IO Interactive of Hitman fame - which bodes well if they let James get creative about completing missions. And the storyline gives us a young, inexperienced Bond, but in a modern setting. (I get the feeling we'll play through some of Bond's formative experiences, similar to the Young Lara levels in Tomb Raider.)

 

It's hard to judge from a trailer, but all the right ingredients seem to be there - world travel, guns, girls, explosions, toys, and of course, product placement (a Moore-era Omega with some handy extra complications, and an old-school Aston).

 

The humour and delivery feels like a young Brosnan with a side order of Tom Holland. All the familiar MI6 support cast like M, Moneypenny and Q are there, though coming over a little anodyne in this short watch. The only potential villain mentioned is 009, though he could also be a rival/even-more-rogue agent involved in an op.

 

The only new addition is long-suffering mentor John Greenaway, aka journeyman Brit actor Lennie James (Walking Dead, Snatch, Save Me, and Darkwing in Invincible). Should be a good foil for an impetuous boy. And I'll be ANNOYED if they fridge or face/heel him, which are both cheap shots. 

 

What do we think, agents?

 

Edited June 5 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Techwright]

Oh, man!  I came to the forums thinking I had the scoop on this.   Hats off to you for beating me to the punch. 😎   I see your find reflects the Playstation.  I spotted it over on Steam.

 

I like the trailer.  Obviously, this is another reboot and origin story, and I'm fine with that.   I like the more global look to the government types.  I've never set foot in merry old England, sadly, but to this outsider, this choice feels like a strong reflection of the effects of the Commonwealth.   

 

It sounds like the chief villain is another rogue 00, which might be why nascent Bond is recruited: someone who a rogue 00 has not trained with, and therefore is less likely to anticipate.  I actually like this.  I've said elsewhere before that I'd love the spotlight to be shown more on the other eight 00's.  For those who remain heroes, it gives us a chance to worry: will they survive the mission?  We don't get that with Bond.  We know he'll survive.  The only questions are who around him will not, and how that will affect him.  For those who turn villain, it highlights that the 00 program is a razor's edge:  the government needs the most dangerous predators on its payroll, but the challenge is to keep them on a tight leash lest they give in to their darker impulses and become the new Big Bad threatening the nation or the world.

 

I'm puzzled by the facial scar.  Does Bond really need that?  While we live in the era of rapid facial identification regardless of physical markings, I do think carrying a huge scar on the right cheek would be a dead giveaway to the bad guys as to who you are.  No facial-recognition A.I. needed.  Unless at the end when he's given his 00 license, it comes with a free plastic surgery facelift?

 

GVFR 637J is the UK license plate on that gold car.  Is that a reference to something or just a random alpha-numeric?

 

Wondering who the girl is that Bond is following around.  Could this be Moneypenny, and the start of their platonic flirting?

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

On 6/7/2025 at 11:44 AM, Techwright said:

GVFR 637J is the UK license plate on that gold car.  Is that a reference to something or just a random alpha-numeric?

It could just be a mistake, but it's probably a clue or a joke of some kind. Since it's got one extra letter over a real (and very, very old - 1970) UK-style plate.

eg: the OG Aston from Goldfinger is BMT 216A.

 

On 6/7/2025 at 11:44 AM, Techwright said:

I do think carrying a huge scar on the right cheek would be a dead giveaway to the bad guys as to who you are.

Whether or not it's good spycraft, bad guys (well, the top bad guys) knowing who Bond is... is kind of a story point.

A slightly more civilised Baba Yaga. A name that spreads holy terror into those who would plot against His Majesty's Government.

You don't play nice... the Big Bad Bond comes for you. His very presence forces action - and mistakes.

 

And yes, the real River House (and SRR) recruit anybody who can make their very exacting grades. 

Edited June 9 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Octogoat]

You had me at Lennie James.

[Skyhawke]

I usually turn my nose up at the "Hey, here's a really cool and established character, but young and just starting out. Enjoy!" trope. However, this intrigues me. 

[Techwright]

On 6/13/2025 at 2:01 PM, Skyhawke said:

I usually turn my nose up at the "Hey, here's a really cool and established character, but young and just starting out. Enjoy!" trope. However, this intrigues me. 

 

*Quietly slips the "Starhawke: Year One" game concept overview back in the drawer*

 

Yes.  Yes, it is intriguing.

[El D]

On 6/13/2025 at 2:01 PM, Skyhawke said:

I usually turn my nose up at the "Hey, here's a really cool and established character, but young and just starting out. Enjoy!" trope. However, this intrigues me. 

 

Helps that this take seems to be 'Bond doing Bond Things, he's just younger' rather than 'bumbling amateur agent who becomes James Bond in the final ten minutes' like so many other uses of that trope. It's got the classic superspy feel of the older films but in a contemporary setting, which helps sell 'young Bond' too. If they were going with period setting folks would probably expect an older Bond. 20-something Bond in the 2020s? Okay. 20-something Bond in the 1960s? Weird.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

FYI: while First Light is the first official, post-Broccoli 007 product from MGM / Amazon, IO Interactive have said it's a standalone story - or series if it does well. It doesn't reflect their plans for a new film or TV series.

 

That said. If it does really well... do you think a reboot with a younger Bond would do?

(Or someone taking up Bond's "legend", as I've often suggested...)

[Techwright]

3 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

That said. If it does really well... do you think a reboot with a younger Bond would do?

(Or someone taking up Bond's "legend", as I've often suggested...)

 

"Reboot" is a bit of a weird term when it comes to Bond stories.  The only true reboot we got was with the start of the Daniel Craig era.   In essence, all previous actors represented the same character lifetime.  But of course, that gets weird as it puts the character as active for 40 years yet looking as then 49-year old Pierce Brosnan.   So what is accepted is a series of "soft" or partial reboots that update the character into the era the actor inhabits.

 

I do think with the changing of the guard, that a full reboot is in order, and that should be a young Bond, or young enough that it is clear he has experience and at least a Lt. Commander rank in the Royal Navy.  This gives the potential for a long run of an actor in the role, or a series of actors covering the same version of Bond without the need for a soft reboot to deal with the times and tech.  You just see Bond aging over the next 25 to 30 years.

 

 Despite having a close friend who endorses this, I've never been down for "Bond" as a mantle worn by multiple agents.   That is what the "00" title is for.   Reducing the name also to a mantle does not explain how the individual characteristics...all of them...repeatedly appear in the character.   This is why I lobby for a parallel movie or TV arc focused on the other "00" agents.   They can be named, killed, and the number refilled.