The Man..........007

so here we are again. there's been so much talk about how Daniel Craig doesnt look like James Bond at all. Who on earth knows how James Bond looks like? how can anyone possibly say James Bond looks like this or that? there've been five different actors who've played James bond so far, and i can safely say that no two actors bear even a remote resemblance to each other. When he first created James Bond, Ian Fleming paid an artist to sketch James Bond as he saw it. If u notice closely, with a similar haircut, Daniel Craig will look exactly like this. So for all u Anti-Craig ppl out there, here's BALLS TO YOU!!!!!


thats enough passion for one day. let me now get down to the cold impersonal job of talking about the various avtars of the master spy.


Ian Fleming first introduced James Bond to the world when he released his first novel, 'Casino Royale'. he's written 13 books since, all of whom share their titles with various James Bond movies. basically, James Bond is an intense, brooding soul. he is a killer to the core. but he's a killer with a difference. he doesnt like killing in cold blood, that is, he hesitates killing an unarmed opponent. but he would if he was required to in the line of duty. he does after all carry the "License to Kill". now let me elaborate a little on that point. people generally mistake his number to be "Zero zero Seven". infact, it is "Double O Seven". the "Double Oh" prefix indicates the Licence to kill. to earn his double O stripes, an agent has tokill two specified targets in cold blood. each of the two O's on double O stands for one killing. thats how u earn ur elite double O status. So, in essence, James Bond was a spy. a natural killer.

James Bond had a tragic love life. The first ever girl he falls in love with, Vesper Lynd (Casino Royale) already has a lover. moreover, she turns out to be a traitor and ends up by taking her own life. the second time our 007 falls in love with is Teresa 'Tracy' Vincenzo, the daughter of the head of the notorious 'Unione Corsa', an organization similar to the Equally Notorious 'La Cosa Nostra' or the Mafia. he was called Marc Ange Draco. so Bond gets married to Tracy, but tragically, an hour after the wedding, she gets killed by James Bond's Sworn enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. there were defintely other women, but none with whom 007 was so emotionally involved. James Bond Became so popular with the readers the world over that two gentlemen, by the names Albert R. Broccoli and Henry Saltzman decided to make this into a series. so they started out with Dr.No, starring Sean Connery as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007.



The character has since been reprised by four other actors after Sean Connery. each actor has brought his own "x factor" to the role.

Sean Connery

Sean Connery was the first ever actor to play the famed spy on the screen. infact, many people still call him the best ever James Bond, though i suspect thats only so because he is the first. Connery's James Bond is awesome. he's got a pompous style. he's got the charisma, the masculinity. but he does come across at times as a little crude, which is not surprising, considering the fact that Dr.No was his first ever major acting assignment. so for the fact that Sean's the first ever James Bond, and also that he's really good at it, i would give him a 4 out of 5. Sean Connery has acted as James Bond in six James Bond movies, Dr.No(1962), From Russia With Love(1963), Goldfinger(1964), Thunderball(1965), You Only Live Twice(1967) and Diamonds are forever(1971). For the first five movies, he was the automatic choice as James Bond.but after You only Live twice, he had a disagreement with the producers, he quit the role. But he was soon persuaded to reprise the role for one disastrous last time in Diamonds Are Forever, which stands right up there as one of the worst James Bond movies ever. He also reprised the role in the 1983 unofficial James Bond movie, Never Say Never Again, produced by Kevin MClory.


George Lazenby

When Sean Connery had a disagreement with the producers, he quit the role, which was handed over to little known Australian Model, George Lazenby. this was done resulting in huge public outcry. George Lazenby was James Bond in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. while the movie is well liked and respected as one of the best James Bond movies ever, George Lazenby could never really make a mark as 007. there are several reasons attributed to his failure as James Bond. firstly, George Lazenby's bond was extremely wooden, as Lazenby was not one gifted with a wide range of acting ability. he was also expressionless for most of the time. Secondly, George Lazenby took over the role to major public outcry, as Sean Connery was indeed very popular as 007 and the public could never really adjust to the fact that anyone else could be James Bond. Thirdly, George Lazenby was termed as being very "difficult" on the sets. all these eventually led to him being sacked as 007. On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as a James Bond movie is widely respected as being one of the best 007 movies ever. it is also famous as being the only James Bond movie in which James Bond gets married. all in all, i would rate George Lazenby a 2.5 out of 5. George Lazenby was James Bond in the one movie, On Her Majesty's Secret Service(1969).


Roger Moore


Roger Moore Took over the role from Sean Connery after the disaster that was Diamonds Are Forever. The series reached an all time low during the Moore Era. James Bond steadily went from bad to worse. Roger Moore's James Bond was anything but serious. he was cheesy, tongue in cheek,. there was the positive side to it as well, that being his undeniable charm, and wit. but thats it. Roger Moore's James Bond was self parodying. it was almost like Moore hated the character and was taking out his frustrations thus. Roger Moore holds the record for playing James Bond in the most number of movies, 7. but this becomes meaningless when one looks at the quality of the movies. they were,to put it mildly, works of extreme crass. they were immature. Roger Moore's James Bond never had that hard edge to him. he could never be taken seriously. like i meantioned earlier, it was like a James Bond spoof rather than James Bond himself. Roger Moore can be credited with having almost made the James Bond Series extinct. for this, i would rate Roger Moore a miserable 2 out of 5. Roger Moore played James Bond in seven movies, all save one qualifying for varying degrees of idiocy. Live and Let die(1973), The Man With the Golden Gun(1974), The Spy Who Loved Me(1977), Moonraker(1979), For You Eyes Only(1981), Octopussy(1983) and A View To A Kill(1985) . i will always hold a special place for The Spy Who Loved Me as it was my first ever 007 movie. i remember watching that movie at the age of 7 and falling in love with the character instantly. it is also the best Roger Moore 007 movie b a long distance. there's no saying which one is the worst roger Moore 007 movie as all the rest are equally bad. but Octopussy has to take the cake . if ever u wanna watch a James Bond parody, watch Octopussy instead of an Austin Powers movie. Austin Powers would seem like a thoughtful, intelligent movie next to this one.


Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton is widely respected as being the man that rescued the character from the gloomy depths os the Roger Moore era. Timothy Dalton breathed fresh air into the series. Timothy Dalton's James Bond is often referred to as the "most dangerous bond". his characterisation is the closest to Ian Fleming's James Bond. indeed, his character in Licence to kill was so dark that it was thought to be too violent for a James Bond movie. but the fact still stands, he played a James Bond that was closest in resemblance to the character originally envisioned by Ian Fleming. Timothy Dalton brought a ruthlessness to the role. he finally made James Bond look like he could kill. also, unlike the earlier James Bond movies, his movies didnt get their plots marred by girls. in the earlier movies, well...most of them anyway, girls were introduced only to remind people of the fact that women find James Bond irresistable. but in Dalton's movies, the bond girls are only there because they are absoultely necessary to the movie. infact, people got so used to the earlier portrayals of 007 that they were unable to digest this particular portrayal. they wanted to see the witty, charming, womanising spy, who seemed to do everything under the sun but spy. this is not to say that Dalton's bond wasnt charming or witty. Timothy Dalton was very charming, and witty at times. but there also was a visible dangerous edge to him. for all this and the rescue act, i would rate dalton a very commendable 4 out of 5. Timothy Dalton Played James Bond in only two movies, The Living Daylights(1987) and Licence To Kill(1989). unfortunately, after 1989, the producers were caught up in a long court battle, that put 007 production on halt for six years. by that time Timothy Dalton decided sensibly that he was too old for the role and retired. who knows, given the time, he could've made another 3 movies and made the role his own, giving it his own signature. but he certainly did a fine job in the two movies he made.




Pierce Brosnan


Pierce Brosnan can easily be called the best actor to play James Bond so far. he had the style, elegance of Sean Connery, the charm and wit of Roger Moore and the ruthlessness of Timothy Dalton. thank goodness he didnt get the woodenness of Lazenby. he was actually slated to take the role upp in 1986. but he had to back out due to contractual obligations to the then popular TV Show, Remington Steele. infact it was this very show that made Brosnan very popular and put him in running for the role. so then the role was offered to Timothy Dalton. finally when Dalton retired in 1994, the obvious, automatic and popular choice, Pierce Brosnan took over. the Brosnan Era has been the most successful era financially, though a couple of his movies left a lot to be desired. Goldeneye was easily one of the best James Bond movies of all time. if there is something that the Brosnan era has to be blamed for, it is for the fact that the movies made a dramatic departure from the true essence of James Bond. but that is not faulting Brosnan's performance. he shone through the abysmal scripts he was given. his movies though relied a lot on special effects, gadgets and CGI. The World is Not Enough was a slightly better movie than its predecessor. Die Another Day, though commercially the most successful bond film ever made, seemed more like a Sci Fi movie than a 007 movie. it was a piece of trash. and Brosnan was beginning to show signs of being on the wrong side of 50. though Pierce Brosnan was so popular as James Bond, the way he was shown the door has left a sour taste in the mouth. he definitely deserved more respect and honour. Pierce Brosnan will always be remembered as one of the Best James Bond actors ever. for this i rate him a 4.2 out of 5. he played James Bond in four movies, Goldeneye(1995), Tomorrow Never Dies(1997), The World Is Not Enough(1999) and Die Another Day(2002). his reign as James BOnd only came to an end when the producers decided enough was enough and decided to reboot the series and cast a younger actor, who turned out to be Daniel Craig.



Daniel Craig

Pierce Brosnan's rule at the helm came to an abrupt end when the producers wanted 007 to be darker, grittier and more realistic. not that Brosnan couldnt have been all of those things, but they also wanted a younger actor. so to huge public outcry to match the one when sean cionnery quit, he was replaced by Daniel Craig, one of Britain's finest actors. The thing with all of the previous actors succeeding Sean Connery was, while Connery set the tempo for James Bond on screen, the other actors have, in one way or the other, tried to emulate Connery. The haven't really brought their own signature to the role. Timothy Dalton was perhaps the first actor to be different, but even he fell into the trap as the movie wore on.Daniel Craig is different. In fact, he took a huge gamble, and it paid off beautifully. Craig is a perfect mix of the best qualities of two of the best Bond actors. He's got the confidence, the arrogant swagger, the masculinity of Sean Connery, the intensity, the ruthlessness of Timothy Dalton. He's the perfect James Bond, just as Ian Fleming envisioned him. and man...Craig has done a brilliant job. we can literally feel Craig changing from an inexperienced, raw agent to a semblence of the smooth, confident James Bond we've become accustomed to seeing. There's a scene, where, after Vesper Lynd dies, we can see the expression slowly changing on Craig's face. he's finally shutting down all emotions. my personal favorite is the scene towards the end, we see THE James Bond, uttering the iconic, "The name's Bond...James Bond." I'll say this, James Bond was created solely for Daniel Craig. Truly masterful performance. For this, I'd rate him a 5.0 on 5






thats all for now. i know this has been a little long. so i promise u my next post wont be this long. until next time, Ciao