Bond…James Bond

Robert B. Brock

That is undoubtedly one of the most famous phrases in cinematic history. Since the first film in 1963, there have been eighteen Bond movies, and the nineteenth was released on Friday, Nov. 19. Coincidence? I’ll let you decide. But the fact remains that there have been more movies in the James Bond series than in any other sequence of fictional movies ever.

Five different actors have starred as the suave British agent, and he has had well over thirty leading ladies. An interesting fact, though, is that there has always been the same Q, the agent that runs Q Division of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This division is in charge of inventing and manufacturing all of the various gadgets the Bond films are famous for. It does seem, however, that the actor, Desmond Llewelyn, is soon to retire. In the newest film of the series, "The World is Not Enough," a new agent is introduced: R. He is Q’s assistant, played by former Monty Python member John Cleese, and it seems logical that he will be taking over soon. But enough about the cast; on to the meaty issue at the heart of this article.

It is my contention that the newest Bond movies, specifically those starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond ("Goldeneye" (1995) and "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997)) are better films than the older movies. There are several factors that contribute to my conclusion, including the aspects of the various actors that have played Bond and the plotlines of the films.

First, lets talk about the different actors that played James Bond. Everyone agrees that Sean Connery does the best job of portraying Bond. He simply defines everything James Bond is supposed to be. While part of this may be that he was the first actor to ever play Bond, it is generally agreed that he does the best job of combining all the elements that make up James Bond’s character into a cohesive, believable portrayal. Some of these characteristics are Bond’s quick wit, smooth style, debonair demeanor, and suave attitude. Sean Connery truly is an excellent actor, and he does a great job with James Bond. This is only reinforced when you consider the fact that he was asked to return to the films twice after he quit playing Bond.

The first time was when he returned for the seventh film, "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), after George Lazenby had played Bond in a single film, "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service" (1969), after Connery’s at-the-time last film. Beginning with the eighth, "Live & Let Die" (1973), Roger Moore played James Bond for 7 films, and then Connery returned for another escapade as our hero in the unofficial Bond film "Never Say Never Again" (1983). The title is an inside joke referring to Connery’s refusal to portray Bond anymore. After that Bond was played by Timothy Dalton for only two films, "The Living Daylights" (1987) and "License to Kill" (1989).

While Connery did the best job of combining all the character elements of James Bond into a believable whole, the films he starred in simply don’t keep the audience’s interest as much as the newest movies do. The newer movies gradually become more fun to watch, as more action is introduced to augment the traditional spy elements. The problem with these films, then, is not the plots but the actors portraying Bond. George Lazenby immediately followed Connery as Bond, but played the part in a totally different manner, which audiences didn’t seem to like as much. After Lazenby, Roger Moore took over, and did a decent job in his first few films, but by the time he retired was getting a little too aged to play a part that is so associated with youth and style. After Roger Moore, the torch was passed to Timothy Dalton, who did a fairly poor job. While he seems to have the various aspects of Bond’s character, he just doesn’t make it all click. The expected witty remarks are all there, and the situations in which Bond usually excels, but Dalton just can’t pull off the style needed for the part. He can’t do the slick delivery of lines or the suave attitude as well as any of the other actors that have played Bond. After a 6 year hiatus, Pierce Brosnan was cast in the part. It turns out that he does a very good job, second only to Connery. He nails the quick, smooth remarks and the debonair style with which Bond behaves for a very believable and fun Bond. Not only that, but the movies he stars in are much more interesting to watch that the classic Bond films. There are more gadgets, more special effects, more stunts, more fights, etc. This makes for very fun viewing.

Of all these different actors, 99 percent of fans and critics alike rate Sean Connery as the best Bond, followed by Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and George Lazenby. Now, honestly, George Lazenby didn’t do that bad of a job, and several modern critics prefer him over Timothy Dalton. It is hypothesized that the biggest reason Lazenby only portrayed Bond in one film is because he immediately followed Connery who, as it turns out, no one has been able to measure up to. He also played the part somewhat differently than his predecessor, showing Bond as someone who could fall in love with a woman, not just have a fling with her. Another difference in the style used to portray Bond in this film is that Lazenby played Bond as someone who could become obsessed with a villain, instead of maintaining the cold objectivity he does in all the other films. At that time the public simply didn’t think he did a good enough job, so someone else was found, and the Roger Moore era began.

Pierce Brosnan first began playing James Bond in the seventeenth movie, "Goldeneye," in 1995. The critical reviews of the film stated that it was the most enjoyable Bond movie yet, and Brosnan played Bond better than anyone has since Sean Connery. In the second movie starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond, "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), the reviews only got better. While the movies starring Connery were better acted, and the movies starring Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton had lots of action, the Brosnan films make the best combination of the two, and the result is definitely impressive.

The second thing that the movies’ "fun factor" hinges on is the plotline. In the older Bond movies, there was more build-up and dramatic elements for about the first hour or seventy minutes that explained the basis for the action that occurred later in the movie. The first Bond movie, "Dr. No" (1963), was definitely more serious than the others, with a James Bond who placed a hair over his closet door and powder on his briefcase to detect intruders. This movie also had no spy gadgets, which have become a large part of all the other movies.

The movies following became gradually more light-hearted in several elements, including the use of advanced gadgets like homing devices, weapon-hiding briefcases, and all the refinements to Bond’s cars: machine guns, oil slicks, smoke screen, bulletproof everything, and more recently radar, missiles, re-inflatable tires, and remote controlled driving capabilities.

There is also a particular style to much of the dialogue in Bond films. James Bond is incredibly good at delivering slick one-liners on anything from the flip to the sexual. The more recent movies have become increasingly action-oriented, while retaining the interesting plots Bond movies have always had. The movies usually explain the plot for the first forty-five to sixty minutes, with lots of action sequences involved there, too. This tends to keep the audience’s interest much more effectively than the older films, especially when aired on television where commercials cut the film to shreds.

The most recent Bond movies, those starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, have been reviewed as being the best movies yet action-wise, with the newer of the two getting the best review yet for a Bond movie. These modern Bond films contain more action, stunts, car chases, explosions, gunfights, gadgets, and girls, all of which make for an excellent Bond experience.

Another feature that exists in most, if not all, Bond films is a high-speed car chase. Anyone who watches a lot of Bond films can tell you that he would make an awesome demolition derby driver. He’s hell on wheels. James Bond always drives fast, stylish cars, including anything from a Bentley to an Aston Martin to a BMW. His cars are always loaded with gadgets that are eventually used to do everything froming foil the bad guys to impressing the ladies. These, too, have become more and more involved in the plots as time goes on. Bond’s first cars were simply stock Bentleys, but his newest are self-contained war machines. All these toys are one of the reasons people love to watch Bond movies, and they, too, are getting better with time.

As far as the James Bond movie franchise is going, one can only say it is getting better. There is more action packed into each film, and the newest actor portraying Bond is doing an awesome job. The critics in the media and fans of Bond films agree: now more than ever, no one can match Bond…James Bond.