Rumours are flying that Eric Bana has been selected to be the next James Bond. What kind of crack are the movies’ producers smoking? First off, he’s Australian, not British. By default, I think the role should go to someone from the UK…what else have they got left?
More importantly, two cornerstones of the role are sophistication and a dry wit. This guy’s filmography incldues Black Hawk Down, Hulk and Troy. He was cast as a soldier, an introverted scientist and a mediocre Greek warrior. I don’t recall him cracking a single joke in any of these films. Does this suggest that he’s right for Bond? I think not.
Personally, the new Bond should definitely be Clive Owen. Ever since I saw him in Croupier, he’s seemed a natural fit. And didn’t he look natural as a super-agent in The Bourne Identity? Owen is already 40, but Pierce Brosnan was 42 when he did his first Bond film, so that’s not a problem.
UPDATE: I see that those Tagline lads are on board.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I concur. Plus, Clive is scrumptious. Yowza.
There is, of course, a precedent for an Australian Bond. I think we should learn from that mistake…
Eric Bana can certainly be funny — he’s a well-known comedian in Australia, and it was the original source of his fame there.
Still, Clive Owen is _the_ star candidate for the next Bond. Have you seen him in those BMW short films as “The Hire” (see bmwfilms.com)? He has that “something” that no one since Connery has had, and he’s not even (officially) playing Bond.
The only Bond that’s actually been English was Roger Moore and the less said on him the better. George Lazenby was a far superior Bond to Moore’s campy bad jokes.
Derek: I didn’t know that about Bana. He’s struck me as very serious in all the roles I’ve seen him in (besides, apparently, “Finding Nemo”, but I didn’t really notice him in that film).
Red Wolf: All right, I’ll grant you that Connery was Scottish (kept his accent) and Brosnan Irish (decidedly did not), but they’re a far sight closer, culturally and geographically, than Australia.
Don’t forget that Dalton is Welsh.
As for Bana, while his film career has been surprisingly good, I still remember him from some really crap local television shows and have trouble taking him seriously.
My vote’s for Owen. I can’t believe Orlando Bloom and Ewan McGregor even made it into the rumour mill…
Mel: How is Bloom even on the Bond radar? He’s ponciest poncer in Poncetown. There’s a reason he keeps getting cast in the fey roles. It’s because he’s fey. Bond is not fey.
George Lazenby was Australian, so there’s your precident. And personally I always thought that his Bond was unfairly underrated.
Considering Bond is supposed to be English we’ve had what? A Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welsh, an Australian… I think it’s a fair game position.
I think it may be time to let Bond rest a while. Just like a divorce, it’s best not to rush into things too quickly.