This article was updated on Feb. 24 at 8:19 p.m.
He’s ski-jumped off entire mountains, been to the moon and swum into the depths of a frozen lake in a three-piece suit. He’s broken as many hearts as he has bones, all in the name of his country. No he’s not the Dos Equis guy, he’s Bond. James Bond.
With the release of “Skyfall,” the iconic Agent 007 celebrated his 50th anniversary on the big screen, a moment that will be celebrated by fans and the academy alike with a tribute to the franchise at the 85th Academy Awards this Sunday.
There aren’t many things my 55-year-old dad and I can agree upon as “cool.” He dismisses my taste in music as “uncultured,” and I feel like bell bottoms are out of style. Watching MI6’s finest agent was one of the few things that helped bridge this huge generational gap between me, my father and even my 80-year-old grandfather.
Bond was cool 50 years ago, and he’s cool today, and it’s interesting to see how this icon has grown and kept up a consistent presence in a culture that has changed so much.
We first saw Bond as a rough, seductive killing machine in the hulking, 6-foot-2-inch figure of Sir Sean Connery. Wiping out enemies and brushing off a quick joke in his signature Scottish accent, Connery’s Bond brought rugged manliness to the role by dealing with thugs and women alike with a calm dispassion, and making full use of his license to kill.
This first Bond was ruthless, emotionless and symbolized masculinity for an entire generation (of today’s grandmas and grandpas). From Jamaica to Turkey, this Bond brought to millions of viewers a sense of thrill, danger and pleasure unlike any other.
To me, Connery’s Bond is best summed up in one interaction between Bond and his foe
Emilio Largo in “Thunderball.”
Bond: “That looks like a woman’s gun.”
Largo: “Do you know about guns, Mr. Bond?”
Bond: “No, but I know a little about women.”
As Connery took leave of MI6, James Bond soon grew a refined, polished charm that changed him from a brute to a gentleman. Portrayed by Sir Roger Moore and briefly by George Lazenby, this Bond was not just a fighter but a lover as well. He disposed of enemies with an unflustered smile and reserved the rest of his energies for his romantic interests. This Bond took his role to new territories as he flew to space, did an airborne parachute stunt never done before in film, and something even more extraordinary: marriage.
Soon, as special effects and technology began to boom, a new Bond arrived. This Bond, played by Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, was neither a brute nor a romantic. He lost his carefree smile for the dangerous look of an international spy with a license to kill. Gadgets were no longer silly comic relief, but rather a large part of this new, modernized spy. The new Bond turned up the intensity as the stakes were higher, the gadgets cooler and the stunts bigger than ever before. This was the Bond that my generation grew up with and idolized. Groundbreaking stunts immortalized this Bond, such as the unforgettable motorcycle jump from a balcony of a building over a hovering helicopter in “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
In 2006, for the first time ever, Bond went blonde as he returned in brand new style. 007, played by Daniel Craig, now had a history, emotions and a background. Keeping current with today’s trend of making heroes more relatable (take the reinvented Batman and Superman films, for example), Craig’s role humanized Bond and brought emotions from 007 that were never seen before, emotions like rage, love and remorse. This Bond was more than an icon, he was one of us.
Craig’s Bond revolutionized the role by breaking decades of Bond tradition. After all, this was the first Bond who aged in the movies, the first Bond with a childhood fully revealed and the first Bond who didn’t care if his vodka martini was “shaken, not stirred.”
As my grandpa and dad sit at the dinner table arguing over who was the best Bond, I realize this debate has been a long one, and will continue as long as Bond lives on. I also realize that for me, none of these men is Bond, but together, their different portrayals make up my image of Agent 007.
With the release of “Skyfall” last year and the upcoming tribute for the franchise this Sunday, it’s exciting to see where this character will go, and what new frontiers await the world’s greatest secret agent.
Great review
awesome!