Paul Verhoeven criticises Daniel Craig’s Bond movies for being sexless: ‘There was always sex in Bond!’

‘Sex is the essence of existence!’ the Basic Instinct director said

Director Paul Verhoeven has said there’s not enough sex in film anymore, specifically calling out the latest in the James Bond franchise.

The director pointed to Daniel Craig’s era as 007, which he argues focuses more on high-budget stunts than sexuality.

“It’s about crashing and blowing up,” he commented. “Sometimes these movies are fun, but the narrative tells you nothing about us now. I don’t see any other thought in Marvel or Bond movies.”

He told The Sunday Times: “There was always sex in Bond! They did not show a breast, or whatever. But they had some sex.”

Asked how he would change the franchise, Verhoeven said: “I’d go back to reality. Cars that don’t leap up into the sky.”

The Basic Instinct director’s provocative new lesbian nun drama Benedetta is out in the UK on Friday (15 April) and contains plenty of sex. The film drew protests from catholic crowds who called the film “blasphemous” for scenes including a Virgin Mary statue being used as a sex toy.

“Sex is the essence of existence!” Verhoeven told The Times. “Without it, there are no species any more. So why is that a big secret? There is a new purity.”

Virginie Efira and Daphne Patakia (standing in background) in a scene from ‘Benedetta’ (Guy Ferrandis / SBS Productions)

Verhoeven’s erotic thriller Basic Instinct has faced scrutiny in recent years as its star Sharon Stone claimed in her memoir that Verhoeven lied about including a shot of her bare crotch and that she “slapped” him when she saw it was included.

Verhoeven told The Times that he and Stone still have a good relationship. “We had no idea that shot, showing a little bit of vagina — not more than a stripe — would be a problem,” he said.