Sunday, November 19, 2006

A Look Back at the Bonds

How The Bonds Measure Up, What Makes A Good Agent 007? Every Actor Offered Something Different - The ShowBuzz: "As Daniel Craig prepares to enter movie history as the sixth cinematic James Bond, he faces the daunting task of fulfilling the expectations of millions of fans of the British secret agent.

But his mission in 'Casino Royale' is no different from that of the five actors who preceded him, each of whom brought their own strengths and weaknesses to the role. Many aspects of the screen Bond — different from the cold, brooding killing machine of Ian Fleming's books — have evolved over the years, usually to suit the tone of the films.

Early reports suggest that Craig has gone back to the basics, playing a Bond who kills with indifference, keeps the wisecracks to a minimum and hasn’t yet decided how he likes his martini. Will this work for audiences used to Sean Connery’s raw sexuality, Roger Moore’s debonair wit or Pierce Brosnan's smooth sophistication?

Here’s a look back at the previous Bonds and their best and worst outings."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The adjective "cinematic" appears in that article because no one involved with the James Bond franchise has any love for Barry Sullivan's televised portrayal of Bond in "Casino Royale," with a weary Peter Lorre as Le Chiffre.

Anonymous said...

Sadly, I've never had the pleasure of seeing the non-franchised Casino Royale, although I've always wanted to catch a glimpse. I've always been ambivilant about the Lazenby outting: the story's great, the choice may even be a good one, but his performance always strikes me as stiff.

Also, there's no mention of Peter Sellers' portrayal of 007. Granted it's not part of the franchise and it is more spoof than spy, but it was Casino Royale.

Unknown said...

I think even Woody Allen played Bond in that one.

Anonymous said...

Actually, in the '60s CASINO ROYALE film, Allen plays "Jimmy" Bond, the frustrated son, iirc, of Bond (David Niven), who has any number of stand-ins (a la Saddam Hussein). A staple of the film packages of the independent tv stations of my youth.

Unknown said...

Ah, Jimmy Bond. Well, I was close.

Anonymous said...

Peter Sellers . . . David Niven? Whose counting? Oh, right Sellers is Clouseau.