James Bond and Indiana Jones Don't Have Character Arcs by Michael Hauge

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MICHAEL HAUGE is a script consultant, story expert, author and lecturer who works with writers, filmmakers, marketers, business leaders, attorneys and public speakers, both in Hollywood and around the world. He has consulted on projects starring Morgan Freeman, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise and Reese Witherspoon, and for Overbrook Entertainment, where he consulted on the scripts for (among many others) I AM LEGEND, HANCOCK, THE KARATE KID, SUICIDE SQUAD and BRIGHT, which is currently in production.
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#JamesBond #IndianaJones #screenwriting

[@Bjornlassen96]

Guess they should have named it Raiders of the Lost Character Arc

[@guyonyoutube1803]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oITVhmCjopiKr80

[@oneminutescares]

Forrest Gump and Marty McFly don't really have arcs, but they do affect change in others around them.

[@BigMac8000]

I dunno Marty between 2-3 is very clearly getting over that "Chicken" thing. The doc does, as he lets up on scientific integrity. Marty and Doc kinda share the "main character" thing, and Marty goes from "I destroy your speakers" to "I manipulate time to save my mentor's life". He rehabilitates his father which really says just as much about him as George. I think there's a good point in here somewhere about how supporting character's arc's are just as important - take Good Will Hunting for example. Doesn't seem like there are several arc's there, but there's a lot of em.

[@andrezpalencia3033]

Steven Aguilera at least in the first one marty goes from "i wont let you call me a coward" to "ok call me like that it isnt what really matters"

[@100footsie]

Lets not forget Ferris Buller, although his best friend , his principle, and sister did. And because of Ferris each of them went through serious changes throughout the course of the movie.

[@rsacchi100]

@@100footsie A flat character is aleady developed. A Marine Drill Instructor, fully developed, no reason for the character to change. The company of recruits the DI has to instruct, they have to change.

[@dragonsmith9012]

Marty's 1st task was changing his father. I forget the other two films. I'll have to watch them again. But his arc is flat. Which means he's the lever and fulcrum that shifts the world. He's not a Mary Sue because the entire world is arrayed against him such that he's tempted to give in to doubt.

[@loganstastny4320]

Indiana Jones does in fact have a character arc, however it is done across the three movies instead of just in Raiders. If you watch Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade (bearing in mind that Temple is before Raiders chronologically) you will see him complete an arc that takes him full circle from the prelude scene in Last Crusade to the final scene in Last Crusade. Luckily, these movies can of course be enjoyed without this arc, but if you watch Temple of Doom and/or Last Crusade, it’s hard to not see how the character changes.

[@robschneider8310]

I believe there is a misconception that character development or depth is distinct and isolated from a well structured story. The more I learn about the craft, the more I realize that you express the depth of your character(s) through structure itself.

[@heinrick25]

A A Plot comes from character exactly!

[@Haannibal777]

Heinrich Joubert It can be but as the video has shown, some stories are purely plot driven e.g. James Bond films. Ultimately the question to ask is can you keep audience engage? All the rest are tools for you to do that.

[@deckrect]

At first glance it doesn't sound fair, actually. I cannot remember all Indiana Jones and James Bond movies but, as far as I can remember, at Raiders of Lost Arc, doctor Jones begins the journey portraied as someone who cares about treasures, not people. There is a couple of helpers who dies in the very beginning and he doesn't care. Through the movie, he learns to bound to people. At Last Crusade, the arc is the relationship with the father. At Cassino Royale we have a character who does not connect to women, falls in love, is betrayed and then end the story actually thinking he cannot create attachments. There are arcs, as I see.

[@samwallaceart288]

I remember a story about the actors working on "The Sting" that apparently whilst filming they had a crisis that the characters don't have much of an arc to speak of; "mob boss kills their friend, they get revenge, the end"; but upon looking at the script the actors figured that the movie was still a well-written movie that would be entertaining for the audience even if philosophically shallow.

[@Fyrtenheimer]

That's interesting. It has good ratings, too. And apparently won some Oscars. Now I gotta watch.

[@FrancisXLord]

I'm late to this video so this comment will probably never be read. I agree that James Bond has no character arc but he is entirely mistaken with Indiana Jones (at least he is with the first three films). His arc in Raiders was that, at the start, he didn't 'believe in magic, a lot of superstitious hocus pocus' but by the end told Marion to close her eyes. Growing faith in the supernatural is not a small character arc. Granted it was the same character arc for Temple of Doom (a prequel) so he should have been a believer by the time of Raiders but the Last Crusade, I mean you don't get much more character development than we saw in that film as he reconnected with his father, whom he's never gotten along with, so that they can find the Holy Grail together. That's a character arc. I'm not giving any mention to Crystal Skull because I don't know the film as well as the others.

[@filmcourage]

Many of our videos have a long lifespan. Your comment has been read and received. Great comment, thanks for sharing.

[@knifedreamer]

Craig’s Bond had a great character arc. Especially in Casino Royale. It tells the back story of why Bond lets no woman get close to him.

[@brucesnow7125]

I would say that Daniel Craig one has the arc and it's pretty good at times.

[@eyramdrah]

Rabbi Avner Echoberg-Shekelstein You just took that and ran with it holy shit 😂😂

[@KreativeKill]

but wasnt that according to the first book in the james bond series? i thought alot of it was accurate

[@spacetitanium6180]

Rabbi Avner Echoberg-Shekelstein Original statement! +10 speech! Bond's arc is incredibly complex in Casino Royale. He goes from being a stone-cold, repressed killer to an emotive, caring person by the time he develops his relationship with Vesper Lynd. However, by the time the movie's over and he's lost her, he's fueled by revenge and realises the fault in him letting his guard down ("The bitch is dead"). He then develops into the Bond we know and respect today. Ian Fleming did the same thing in the book.

[@user-fr7ro1xd5o]

I don't see any character arc in The Dude from Big Lebowski

[@CodestarProductions]

Isn't Indie's arc in raiders that he learns to believe and have faith?

[@Dock76]

His arc is basically the point of the movie. The journey. Indy comes so close to winning so many times and loses. At the end he realizes that's not the only thing that matters.

[@TheDreadlockDogMan]

Thank you... I so needed to hear this. Elicit emotion - that's the important thing - anyway you can.

[@krisinsaigon]

Indiana Jones did have a character arc. But he lost it

[@bigisland48]

James bonds lack of a character arc is what makes him timeless imo

[@raymonddillon3016]

Rocky Balboa, Jason Bourne, John Wick, John Rambo to name but a few also don't have character arc...NOW. However, when all broken into first screen appearance they did have character arcs. Anyone agreed and disagree? I would love to hear from you. I learn from guys and look forward to your comments. Cheers one and all.

[@RanDOOMP]

Indiana Jones had an arc. In the beginning he didn't believe in the supernatural but at the end the movie he closed his eyes believing he would be saved from the arcs wrath

[@CXStories]

I see your point. And that is an arc indeed. But however the character does not evolve that much, it's just his beliefs around the supernatural. He is not forced to overcome a great fear or go through a change in order to achieve his goal.

[@matman000000]

He actually has a subtle arc over the four movies. In Raiders he refuses to destroy the ark and eventually gets the artifact, but warns the government agents about its power. In Temple he gives up the artifacts to stop Mola Ram and returns the last one to the village. In Crusade he recognizes that his life and relationship with his father is more important than the artifact and lets it go. And in Skull he returns the artifact to its intended place. The series is about Indy letting go of his obsession with the "it belongs in a museum" idea and recognizing the bigger picture.

[@th3ninj4k54]

CedriXJournal He said it wrong. At the beginning of the film he was a cynical archeologist who would do anything to find relics to gain fame, not for the sacred value of the relics.. By the end of the film, he refuses to look inside of the arc, being respectful with it, to save Marion. Look at the Rant and Bollox video on why Superman is a terrible character, where they put Indy as an example of a good character

[@stantoniification]

But Temple of Doom is technically a prequel - it takes place the year before Raiders

[@bizzarrogeorge]

Th3Ninj4k spot on, also he faced up to how bad he treated Marion in the past, basically love and leave, not concerned for the feelings of this woman, and then realised what a great woman she is, and fell in love.

[@androssteague]

In Casino Royale, James Bond is definitely changed by the end of the film. Vesper is the reason why he keeps himself guarded from anyone, he almost left Mi6. In Quantum of Solace, he's hell bent on revenge looking for Vesper's treacherous boyfriend. As much as James loved her, he hated her for betraying him. In the end he spared the man's life and in doing so he is able to forgive Vesper and let her go. Can't really find much arc in Skyfall or Spectre. Not that there isn't, I just can't see it.

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

Name a great movie where there is no inner journey: Alien. Sigourney Weaver does an amazing job as Ellen Ripley. This is an action movie, so she shows off her intelligence and skill as an officer and as someone who can stay alive. However we don't learn much about her as a person, and her character flaws are not well explored.

[@JenJan36]

Just what I needed... I have a high concept action horror, struggling w MC not feeling arc-y enough... Phew.

[@miker665]

How has no one made a "lost arc" comment yet?

[@user-fr7ro1xd5o]

And also Captain America in every marvel movie

[@Dock76]

Indy's arc is basically the point of the film. The journey. He's always so close to winning so many times, only to come up short. At the end he's frustrated but realizes that isn't the only thing that matters.

[@davejacob5208]

i think there are MANY story that have no character arcs. and while i see how character arcs may make a story better if they are very interesting/emotional, i am actually not even convinced any story NEEDS a character arc.

[@Yusuf1187]

I don't think you can say that NO stories require character arcs. That entirely depends on the type of story. In many stories, the character's arc is itself the story and what drives the events., You couldn't take it out. They aren't separate elements of the story in such cases.

[@melindawolfUS]

It depends on the genre, too. Arc isn't needed in a murder mystery. Sherlock Holmes doesn't change and it means you can read his books out of order. Or watch CSI out of order. Court dramas can also be self-contained. I don't think Horror needs an arc... the characters don't have to grow to make us horrified. And sometimes the MC affects the world to change: the arc can happen in the world they influence, rather than in themselves. But I think most films and TV, and even some horror and mystery series like to add in a character arc because it does seem to make a good story into a better one.

[@CXStories]

To start with, almost all of the famous superhero and spy movies. But one specific movie, that has to be The Legend of Tarzan. A great movie but the protagonist, Tarzan does not have an arc. The only progress he makes, as I can see is that he becomes a bit more fond of humans at the end of the movie (referring to Samuel L. Jackssons George Washington Williams). But still, a great movie.

[@filmcourage]

Thanks for adding to the conversation!

[@matman000000]

Wasn't The Legend of Tarzan a critical and financial flop?

[@CXStories]

Was it? I know that it´s on IMDB's top ten of 2016.

[@matman000000]

CedriXJournal Source, please? It's got 6.3 on IMDB and was number 21/22 in box office.

[@CXStories]

My bad, it's on the 100th place on IMDB's list on movies 2016.

[@alanwhiteman1929]

Are there more interviews like this where the subject is about no story arc films ?

[@scrabdusanproductions2104]

I believe that, whether intentional or not, all stories have a hidden character arc. (Spoilers for inception) A good example is Arthur from inception. When we're introduced to Tom Hardy's character he says that Arthur has no imagination throughout the entire film you see Arthur grow arguably more and more imaginative. Especially when there's zero gravity and he has to learn how to drop people without gravity. He uses his imagination but also solid understanding of logic and science to drop them.

[@bobgoran]

Classic Bond didn't have a character arc within a story. That's what made him an ionic hero. He represents something that is unattainable. The more you start digging into his character, the less interesting he will become. In literature there's a thing called "Iconic Heroes". Essentially, an Epic Hero is changed by chaos in the world and thereby restores it. An Iconic Hero restores chaos in the world by being his true self, and that's what Fleming's Bond did.

[@TheGeoDaddy]

Neither do any of Moilier’s characters. Some are just interesting - because they don’t change - as everything around them does...

[@jivenesspie]

Wow this is great!

[@screeneducation4167]

Three Days of The Condor.

[@androssteague]

Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes 1 and 2. Absolutely no character arc.

[@ramarajandft]

Avengers

[@nafismustafa1206]

Pulp fiction

[@dantanikishor2962]

sonic

[@Anubis-xk4ht]

the dark knight

[@melindawolfUS]

Batman does has an arc in Dark Night. He starts off feeling like violence and illegal survalience is the answer to all the crime in the city but ends up believing the citizen's belief in good and encouraging them to make better laws is a better solution: he sacrifices his own reputation to save the city at the end because he finally believes this passionately.

[@alphabetfactoryentertainme6825]

Wow over and over false choices - Jones and Bond are FLAWED characters and they struggle against their flaws. A good story is a test of the character of the character. That means knowing your character's flaws and challenging the character with situations that expose the flaw. Writers need BOTH knowledge of character and structure to maximize drama. Perfect structure does not exist without a character flaw to be challenged. It's a false choice and premise and a bad question that should be corrected by your expert consultant. Sorry but this is a lousy misguided discussion.