IN October 1962, ‘Dr No’ leapt onto cinema screens, with bodybuilder-turned-actor Sean Connery embodying the suave yet brutal enforcer of British resolve. This weekend (November 25 in Malaysia, ugh), Daniel Craig smoulders as a hesitant superspy, past his prime, but ready to do one final mission for Queen and country.
In the years in between, James Bond has been played by Connery (six times), George Lazenby (the once), Roger Moore (seven times), Timothy Dalton (twice), Pierce Brosnan (four times) and Craig (five times).
Who’s your Bond?
Now the question that everyone asks, almost automatically, is “who is the best Bond?”
For many, this depends on what generation they’re from. If they’ve been around since the beginning, then no one can top Connery. If they came of age in the 90s, then Brosnan holds a sentimental place in their hearts. And if they are a millennial, then Craig embodies the weariness of the modern era.
These movies are not high art and are often cheesy and cartoonish – sometimes on purpose. Roger Moore’s run as the character was definitely more tongue-in-cheek than Connery’s, often relying on charm and wit instead of menace. Until Craig, he had the longest run as 007, with 12 years in the role, though his record of seven films is still unbeaten.
Brosnan started in 1995’s ‘Goldeneye’ as a grounded (for the time) post-Cold War reinvention but the plots grew more ludicrous over time. In ‘Die Another Day’ (2002), Bond went up against a rogue North Korean colonel who has altered his appearance to look like a white man to advance his plan of starting another Korean War.
In terms of box office, ‘Die Another Day’ was the most successful Bond movie at that point – raking in US$432 million – but, the producers who run the Bond franchise, the Broccoli family, realised the series needed a fresh start.
This was also during the rise of the rival Bourne series, starring Matt Damon as an amnesiac assassin. As opposed to Bond’s increasingly ridiculous gadgets, plots and villains, the Bourne trilogy was more grounded in reality, its hero relying on his wits instead of futuristic tech, and its story commented on the ongoing War on Terror.
Coming in the wake of Bourne and ‘Batman Begins’ – which codified what a gritty franchise reboot would look like – ‘Casino Royale’ (2006) was the shot in the arm 007 needed. Gone were the corny one-liners and the cartoony bad guys, and in their place was a more physical, brutish, and world-weary Bond.
It helps that the movie kicks off with one of the best action scenes in all of Bond and modern action cinema.
Yet, if there’s one glaring criticism of the Craig movies it’s they take themselves too seriously, with Bond being morose and grim. The series has maybe gone too far from its fanciful roots and has wrapped itself too tightly in the patina of prestige.
In between past and present
However much the times have changed around him, many things about Commander Bond (his official rank in the Royal Navy) have stayed the same. Despite receiving more modern guns, he still brandishes the iconic Walther PPK pistol. Even though every movie hands Bond the keys to a new sports car, he still has a gleam in his eye for the Aston Martin DB5 (which first appeared in 1964’s ‘Goldfinger’).
This reverence for the past is part of the appeal of Bond; in an age where his skills might be replaceable by technology, 007 is a relic that holds strong against the currents of history and has to continually prove his worth.
That’s a big part of the plots for both ‘Skyfall’ (2012) and ‘Spectre’ (2015).
In many ways, this commitment to days gone by might explain some of Bond’s special appeal in the UK. While the movies are popular around the world, they are especially successful in the series’ native country, with the newer movies breaking all sorts of box office records (‘Skyfall’ was the first to make more than US$1 billion).
As Britain shrank from its role as the world's preeminent empire, besieged by problems of its own making, it’s not hard to see the appeal of a resolute Brit, dressed in the finest clothes and highly skilled in the art of combat, travelling the globe to dish out justice in the name of Old Blighty.
The sexual politics of Bond have also been dragged fitfully into the 21st century, with ‘No Time to Die’ being talked about as the first movie from the series to come out in a post #MeToo world. That being said, the Craig movies have not necessarily been progressive on that front.
Bond girls
Gone are the days of damsels in distress and femme fatales having extremely sexualised names (Honey Ryder, Pussy Galore, Holly Goodhead) – though the silliness of those names is just comedy gold – but Bond still finds plenty of women to have his way with.
In ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Skyfall’, among others, Bond sleeps with a woman, she ends up murdered a couple of scenes later, and the best he can summon is a shrug.
A major deviation from these casual encounters is his relationship with Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) in ‘Casino Royale’ – probably the best love interest in the whole series. There’s actual chemistry between the actors and it’s genuinely surprising to see Bond be openly emotional.
But we know it’s not meant to be, as the movie is about Bond’s first assignment as a Double-O agent, which means he hasn’t yet hardened into a cold-blooded killer. Her betrayal during the movie’s conclusion gives him a lesson that he will take to heart.
A close second is featured in George Lazenby’s solo adventure ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’, in which he falls in love with Teresa di Vincenzo (Diana Rigg), only to have her snatched away at the very end in a shooting by Blofeld. That downbeat ending stands alone amongst Bond’s typically triumphant finales.
Perhaps the most important Bond girl of all is Judi Dench’s M. Yes, she’s no love interest, but it was a big deal when she was introduced as Brosnan’s boss in Goldeneye.
No longer was the spy game an old boys network that bent over backwards to accommodate its star agent, as M pushed back and called out 007. Judi Dench was so good in the role that even though ‘Casino Royale’ served as a franchise reboot, she stayed on in her role.
While there were maternal overtones before, that aspect really only came to the forefront in her performance in ‘Skyfall’. She becomes a target of one of her former agents, Silva (Javier Bardem), who succeeds in killing her, but not before she expresses her feelings towards Bond.
Where to now?
In the wake of the pandemic and the rapid rise of streaming platforms as people’s choice of entertainment delivery, the movie industry as a whole is at a crossroads. James Bond can be counted as one of the last remaining name-brand franchises that people flock to.
And unlike those other series – such as Star Wars or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, among the most prominent – Bond is about one man with a well-defined personality and has an established list of qualities.
There’s an action scene, followed by a song (typically a ballad) by an of-the-moment popular artist (‘No Time to Die’ features a song by Billie Eilish), a briefing by M, receiving new gadgets from Q, a bunch of globetrotting in expensive clothes and cars, a villain with a weird trait (Rami Malek has burn marks on his face) and a couple of Bond Girls for Bond to sleep with – one usually ends up dead.
Very rarely have there been variations to this formula over the decades, and audiences probably find that comforting. These are after all blockbusters meant to entertain, and if it isn’t broke why fix it.
Bond is defined by the actor who plays him, and according to the Broccoli’s the search for Craig’s replacement won’t begin in earnest until next year. Even so, there must be a shortlist out there. It’s also become a bit of a joke that whenever a young British actor emerges on the scene he is immediately raised as a possible 007.
There will be calls for a woman Bond – and counters to those calls (including from Craig himself). There’s also been a long-running campaign to name perennially cool Idris Elba as the first black Bond. However, at 49 years old he is only four years younger than Craig, so that will be unlikely.
Apparently, according to bookmakers in the UK, the favourites right now are Regé-Jean Page, one of the stars of Netflix’s ‘Bridgerton’, who is a relative newcomer, and Tom Hardy, who is much more established and has starred in plenty of blockbuster movies, such as ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, ‘Inception’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’.
Maybe it will fall to someone more obscure and will make them a movie star. Either way, ‘No Time to Die’ is likely to be a big hit and James Bond will be with us for as long as movies are made. – The Vibes, October 2, 2021
