I don't care if Ben Whishaw is considered one of
the best young English actors of his generation; he is all wrong for the part
of Q precisely because he is too young and handsome. I'm not expecting a clone
of Desmond Llewelyn or John Cleese or Alec McCowen to reprise the role of
Bond's sarcastic old gadget provider in Skyfall, but Whishaw's delicate
features and tousled hair are more suited to decadent poets and rock and roll
stars (you may remember his young Keith Richards in STONED/2005). Whishaw would
also make an excellent Dr. Who. (I think 70-year-old Jon Finch – once
considered to play James Bond – would have been an interesting choice for Q.) I
have a bad feeling about Whishaw's taking on the role. Back in 1999, the luscious
28-year-old model Denise Richards was cast as a nuclear scientist in THE WORLD
IS NOT ENOUGH, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Sex bomb Richards (fresh from
her success in STARSHIP TROOPERS) was so miscast as "Dr. Christmas
Jones" that her scenes elicited laughter... The part of Q requires a
certain amount of gravitas that 31-year-old Whishaw at
present is rather lacking in.
- Harvey Chartrand
Retro responds: Judging by the general reaction across the board among Bond fans, most seem to be siding with your point-of-view. To your point, I think it would be a mistake to present the character of Q as a loveable eccentric. That vision of the role is indelibly the domain of the beloved Desmond Llewelyn. Although I have my concerns, history has taught us not to jump to conclusions about casting decisions in Bond movies. The notion of Denise Richards playing a scientist and Tanya Roberts playing a geologist seemed to be laughable on the surface-- and those fears proved to be well-founded. On the other hand, right up to the night of the royal premiere of Casino Royale you would be hard-pressed to find anyone enthused about the chances of Daniel Craig making a good James Bond. There were even web sites entirely dedicated to predicting disaster due to his casting. Not many people are making that argument today. As for Whishaw, one must remember that Eon are continuing to reinvent the franchise from the ground up. Thus, any preconceived notion of the character of Q has to be relegated to history. There are some serious and enormously talented people working on Skyfall - and those in the know who have seen the script say its sensational. So let's reserve judgment until we see how creatively Whishaw's talents are utilized. - Lee Pfeiffer
