Viewers are calling No Time to Die 'disappointing' and 'lazy' for this reason
The latest Bond film No Time To Die premiered at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday night with the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and US Open champion Emma Raducanu in attendance and has received rave reviews among critics.
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However, not all viewers are happy, with some branding the latest outing "lazy" and "disappointing" for featuring a villain with facial scars.
WATCH: See the trailer for new Bond film No Time to Die starring Daniel Craig
In the movie, Rami Malek stars as a mysterious assassin named Safin who hides his disfigured face under a mask and Christoph Waltz portrays Ernst Stavro Blofeld who has a large scar across the right side of his face.
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Writing on Twitter, disability advocate Jen Campbell said: "Every time a new James Bond film is made, the producers are asked to reconsider their representation of disfigurement. Every time, they say they don't care. The new film, out this week, is no exception. This time, two villains with facial disfigurements. Lucky us."
THREAD
Every time a new James Bond film is made, the producers are asked to reconsider their representation of disfigurement. Every time, they say they don't care. The new film, out this week, is no exception. This time, two villains with facial disfigurements. Lucky us. pic.twitter.com/94KhvZLdJw— Jen Campbell (is mostly elsewhere) (@jenvcampbell) September 28, 2021
Someone else added: "Extremely lazy on the part of the filmmakers," and a third viewer said: "So disappointing for new Bond to carry on the tired trope of disfigurement = the bad guy."
The Bond franchise has been using disfigurements and disability as a trope for villainy ever since it was rebooted with Daniel Craig in the lead role. In 2006's Casino Royale, Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre suffered from haemolacria, which caused him to weep blood out of his left eye, while 2012's Skyfall featured Javier Bardem playing a character with a drooping eye and collapsed cheek.
Previous Bond films have also featured characters with facial disfigurements
In an interview with Total Film, Rami has defended his character's appearance, stating that his disfigurement was "important to have".
He said: "We didn't pick a mask off a wall willy-nilly. We had to think extremely specifically as to what would make the most sense. If it doesn't make sense to the story and to the character, then arguably it loses impact."
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Last year, the remake of Roald Dahl's The Witches received similar backlash after depicting the eponymous characters as having a limb abnormality known as ectrodactyly, or "split hands". Many felt the visual portrayal was insensitive towards disabled people, and the hashtag #NotAWitch began trending on social media shortly after the film's release.
Responding to the criticism Warner Bros said it was "deeply saddened" by the reaction to the movie, while lead actress Anne Hathaway said she had never connected limb difference with the stylistic decision.
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