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).
3.) The Villains – When I was a
kid I thought Richard Kiels’ Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me was the COOLEST
villain because of his steel teeth and brute strength. I don’t know anyone who
didn’t. But I’ve always been a fan of Oddjob, Emilio Largo, Baron Samedi,
Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun!), Max Zorin (The Walken!) and Alec
Trevelyn/006. Much like the series as a whole there have been hits and misses
with the strength of the villains (How terrible was Dominic Green? Do you even
remember what film he’s from?) but for the most part the series is chock full
of memorable baddies. Skyfall might have one of the series’
best with Javier Bardem’s Silva, but he certainly has a lot of competition.
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| Is there any question as to why Richard Kiel's villainous Jaws is a fan favorite? The dude has METAL TEETH. The only thing wrong with him is that he's too tall to play as in GoldenEye 64. |
4.) The Bonds – The character of
James Bond is, in and of himself, kick-ass. But it’s very possible that the
series never would’ve taken off if not for the sheer awesomeness of Sean
Connery’s original 007. While Connery will always BE James Bond, his successors
have all put their imprint on the series and I’ve always appreciated them for
their own portrayals. Roger Moore’s cheekiness made the cheesiness and
absurdity of his films more bearable. I love the darkness of Timothy Dalton’s
Bond, particularly when avenging the death of Felix Leiter’s wife in License
to Kill. I will always believe the Pierce Brosnan was the perfect combination
of all his predecessors. Craig’s version has begun to give Connery a run for
his money in the “Best Bond of All-Time” debate, but while Craig might be the
best to play Bond, Connery will always BE Bond.
5.) The Intangibles – There are
so many aspects of the James Bond franchise that I love, but I honestly wouldn’t
have delved so far into the movies as I eventually did if it weren’t for two
particular things – the first is the classic Nintendo 64 videogame GoldenEye
64. I don’t think I need to go too in-depth as to why that game had
such an imprint on me, because I’m pretty sure 98% of guys my age feel the
same.
The second thing was the first
time I ever saw a Bond film in theatres, when my cousin T.J. and I snuck in to
see Tomorrow
Never Dies in 1997. T.J. was 12 and I was only 10, so we had to buy
tickets to some other movie and sneak in, but we ended up being the only people
in the theatre and we had a blast. I’ll never forget being amazed at Michelle
Yeoh’s walking down the side of a building, or Brosnan driving a motorcycle
while Yeoh was sitting turned around in front of him because they were
handcuffed to each other, or the way Jonathan Pryce’s Elliot Carver was killed
by 007. It’s not the best Bond film in the series but it’s one I’ll never
forget seeing on the big-screen and it made me want to watch all the others
that lead up to it.
I could go on and on and on about
why I love this series, but those are the five most basic points I could come
up with! We’d love to hear the reasons why you, dear readers, might love the
Bond series!
Photo Courtesies: jamesbond.wikia.com, Filmophilia
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