A Homage To 007. Of Sorts.

As the clock struck 0.07 hours on Friday 6^th Oct 2012,, the new Bond theme was released to mixed reviews. It was called a lot of things from a poor man's Shirley Bassey to a poor imitation of Sheryl Crow to a modern day masterpiece. On a personal note, it is what it is cause of that immensely talented phenomenon we all know as Adele. What no one noticed that the world's favorite secret agent celebrated a rather mellow 50th birthday.

Penned by Ian Fleming in the late fifties and adapted to the screen in 1962, Bond has been one of the few things that link the generation of today with that of yesterdays. To pay homage to 007 is no small task. A film career spanning 23 movies, 6 different Bonds(one would like to forget Lazenby, but that cannot be the case. Personally, I thought Moore was worse.), girls, themes, villains, and many more, James Bond has slowly become an integral part of our movie going experience.

My first run-in with Messers Bond was when I was seven having just watched Goldeneye(Rest assured, my mum had my eyes covered whenever Xenia Onatopp showed up on screen) and I was transfixed. This was the guy every kid has ever wanted to be. Be it his gadgets, his women or even his suave, James Bond has been the perfect example of the Alpha Male of today.

And so began my Bond adventure. Tomorrow Never Dies followed. Soon after that was The World Is Not Enough. And so on. During the phase, I went back to the Bonds of old, the ones that had left an everlasting impression on our parents.

From the suave and swagger of Sean Connery to the physicality of Daniel Craig, Bond has evolved since his induction into our world five decades ago. From destroying the villain and saving the world (girl in tow) without breaking into a sweat to being what one would call almost thuggish, brooding and impulsive, Bond has done a Benjamin Button in terms of his mannerisms, something that the majority of audience around the world have come to appreciate.

But we mustn’t forget about the others who’ve contributed siginificantly to his part. George Lazenby, the only other actor not from the British Isles to play 007, was critically applauded for his performance. However, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service tanked severely at the box office, he had a run-in with the producers and promptly stated that he wouldn’t return to play the character ever again, which sent his career spiraling. Connery was brought back a second time before quitting for good and passing on the mantle to his successor, Roger Moore. Under Moore, the series saw a good share of its ups and downs. By the time, ‘A View To A Kill’ was released, Moore was pushing sixty plus and was literally quite pushing it. His movements were lazy, his delivery had gotten pathetic and the man who’d turned Bond into an almost comical character was now making a mockery of the role. The Studio Bosses intervened, Moore was sacked and Timothy Dalton was brought in for what would be the final two feature films for more than a decade, before quitting despite having signed a six film contract with EON. The series later resumed with Pierce Brosnan taking over the role and receiving a lot of acclaim for his portrayal. Brosnan was both enigmatic and thuggish and under him the series went through its most successful phase starting with Goldeneye all the way up to the critically panned Die Another Day. Bond went on a hiatus again for four years returning with Casino Royale with a different James Bond in Daniel Craig, much to the intial annoyance of Brosnan who later went onto declare that he (Craig) was the best Bond in the history of the franchise. Casino Royale was a commercial and a critical success that brought fame and glory to Craig. He also happened to be the only Bond since Connery to not have his career stall whilst playing the famed Mi6 agent, landing films like ‘The Adventures Of Tintin’, ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’ and so on and so forth. He returned for the mildly entertaining ‘Quantum Of Solace’ and is set once again to reprise his role in ’Skyfall’ which is out this November.

It isn’t always the actor that defines a James Bond movie. There is a lot more to it than just that. The themes , for instance. Ever since ‘Goldfinger’(1964), every Bond movie barring ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ has had an opening theme song played to the backdrop of silouhettes of naked girls and guns, a  tradition that has been carried on till today. From Shirley Bassey to Nancy Sinatra, From Duran Duran to A-ha, from Sheryl Crow to various contempary artistes such as Madonna(touted to be the worst opening theme song in the history of the franchise), Chris Cornell, Alicia Keys & Jack White to Adele, the series boasts of a number of talented performers lending their voices to the opening sequences, each having their own separate fanbase. This is one tradition that seems highly unlikely to be broken any time soon.

Which brings us to the women. Many will say that their only purpose in the movie is to serve as eye candy. However characters such as Pussy Galore (Goldfinger), Elektra King( The World Is Not Enough) to Vesper Lynd(Casino Royale) have all shown that they aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. All these characters have created their own little niche in history, one that will not be overlooked or forgotten anytime soon. Not to forget Judi Dench   who some feel, was a better ‘M’as Bernard Lee ever was. However I must sing to the tune of the crowd and admit that Denise Richards is perhaps the worst of the lot. Those who have watched the World Is Not Enough will understand what I mean.

Sadly enough, one always forgets poor Mrs. Moneypenny.

The villains form a very integral part of Bond. They’ve been portrayed by a number of talented actors each delivering memorable performances.  Gert Frobe(Goldfinger), Christopher Lee(The Man With The Golden Gun),  Charles Grey(Diamonds Are Forever), etc have all left indelible marks on their respective works with their performances. In a recent poll, Frobe was adjudged as the Best Bond villain of all time for his portrayal  of Auric Goldfinger. There have also been a couple of highly erratic performances namely Toby Stephens as Gustav Graves from Die Another Day.

What would Bond be without his gadgets? Every Bond film has had its fair share of gadgets ranging from exploding pens to highly customized Aston Martins each designed by the ingenious Q,( portrayed by Desmond Llewelyn for the better half of four decades, John Cleese and more recently Ben Whishaw). These gadgets have always had a significant part to play in any of the films. They took a bit of a sabbatical in the Craig era, but judging by the promos of the latest film they seem to be making a comeback of sorts.

Be it financial crises or destroyed sets (Pinewood Studios), James Bond has seen it all and has somehow managed to stand his ground. He may not be around forever,  but as long as the world needs him, Britain’s top agent will always be there sitting at a Baccarat table, sipping on his Vodka Martini planning and waiting for his next adventure.