Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Adventures with MI6!

So, Bond 25 comes out November 8 next year.  It dawned on me that movie friends’ve been making a big deal over them and I really hadn’t seen a one.  Now, I know there’s been several actors that’ve taken on 007 since his ’62 debut with various interpretations beginning with Sean Connery setting the bar to the current Bond in Daniel Craig. So, I got a wild hair to check this franchise out.

My first thought was that the themes were tediously one-note until I realized they were social commentary for the eras.

The 60s-70s, it was the Cold War with the Russians and the Japanese splitting the heavy role during this first decade.  Of course, Bond always had a Bond Girl in tow or as the red herring…even marrying one only to have her offed to make him forever be alone.  Connery was Bond with a break in one movie that had George Lazenby before the late Roger Moore took over the role.  Each had their own take on 007, from Connery’s suave take to Lazenby’s suave with a little comedic bent to Moore’s hammy Bond.

The 80s and some of the 90s, it was nukes with the Russians still being the heavies.  Timothy Dalton and Pearce Brosnan carried this era of Bond with a no-nonsense bent moreso than Connery’s even as audiences matured.

The 00s saw Bond transition from Brosnan to Craig, who carried on the nuke theme into the tech/internet age.  Craig takes the character to the hardcore level while showing his heart during his tenure all with the same scowl on his face like it’s stuck.  Personally, I think he’s the ugliest Bond.  I understand chiseled, but honestly.

Something that surprised me was how many big name stars’d taken part in the series like Donald Pleasence from ‘78’s Halloween to Christopher Lee from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I can honestly scratch the Bond movies off my movie watching bucket list.  I’ll be interested to see where they take 25 after 56 years.

Be good to each other.


-J-

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