Much has been made about Netflix’s Heart of Stone planning to take on the espionage genre’s heavy hitters at their own game, but the reviews have already made it look as though any potential sequels will be driven by engagement rather than acclaim.
Gal Gadot certainly knows her way around an action blockbuster or two, and with the creative team stating in no uncertain terms they were seeking to emulate the James Bonds, Jason Bournes, and Ethan Hunts of the world, it’s more than a little surprising to hear cinematographer George Steel name-drop one of 007’s most dated and overtly sexist outings as a major inspiration in an interview with IndieWire.
“I love Octopussy, and I would joke with [director] Tom [Harper], ‘I want this film to look like ‘Octupussy.’ He would always look at me slightly terrified, but when Roger Moore comes out of the jungle in that great jacket, I think it’s so beautiful. We didn’t want her to be a glossy ‘Wonder Woman.’ The idea was that it would be interesting to take someone as beautiful as Gal and put her in a slightly rougher aesthetic.”
Hardly a blatant facsimile, then, but still notable when you consider Octopussy is just one of the many Bond movies to have aged rather terrible over the years. From the title character’s mere name to its offensive depictions and references to the entire country of India via the casual sexism and misogyny dotted throughout, a brand new actioner that’s been celebrating itself for putting a female lead front-and-center didn’t give off the impression it wanted to draw from a back catalogue of globetrotting adventures that don’t exactly play too well through a modern lens.