Andrew: So far during our 7 Days of 007
week, Sarah and I have been able to watch and review a James Bond movie every
night, but tonight Sarah had to work late, so we’re not going to be able to
review one tonight. Instead, I felt like this would be a good chance to share
exactly why I love this series so much. I thought about it all day, and these
are the Five Reasons Why I love the James Bond Series.
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| When I was a kid I almost felt like Desmond Llewelyn's Q was another grandfather to me. That's how often I watched thesefilms. |
1.) The Gadgets – Let’s be
honest, there isn’t a single guy out there who has seen any of the Bond movies
who WASN’T jealous of all the cool gadgets MI6’s Q Branch creates. Off the top
of my head I can think of a watch with a laser cutter (GoldenEye), a jetpack (Thunderball),
a briefcase with hidden guns and knife (From Russia With Love), the Aston
Martin DB5 (Goldfinger), a magnetic
watch (Live and Let Die) and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Bond
used Q’s gadgets to get out of jams, to gain information…pretty much anything
you can think of (yes, including undressing women!) Q Branch was absent from
Daniel Craig’s first two Bond films, but Skyfall sees the character resurrected
by Ben Whishaw in a nice modern take on Major Boothroyd. I’m excited to see
what inventions he comes up with for 007 in future installments.
2.) The Girls – Oh c’mon, of
course I couldn't leave out the Bond girls. I am a red-blooded male after all. But it’s not just the
attractiveness of the Bond girls, it is how they increasingly became stronger
female characters as the series progressed. The series has come a long way
since Honey Rider’s famous introduction; from Bond girls like Honey and Tatiana
from From
Russia With Love who were almost nothing more than pretty faces, to
Grace Jones’ May Day, Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp and Halle Berry’s Jinx
being strong soldiers/spies on par with 007. Craig’s films have been a mixed
bag in this regard with Vesper Lynd being a great one, Quantum of Solace’s being
absolutely forgettable, and Skyfall has one hit (Naomie Harris’
Eve) and one miss (Berenice Marloh’s Severine).
