If the Sky Should Fall

28 Nov 2012

"The name's Bond, James Bond". These words, though iconic and catchy, have never mattered much to me. I like James Bond, but not to the degree that I care whether he takes his martini shaken or stirred. As Daniel Craig's Bond says in Casino Royale (2006) when asked whether he wants his martini shaken or stirred: "Do I look like I give a damn?" Bond's just a guy who kicks ass, has cool toys and gets laid more often than not. Tony Stark does that and does it better. Also, I grew up with Pierce Brosnan's Bond, whose whole suave thing I could not really buy into. I liked Die Another Day (2002), but that might have something to do with Halle Berry in a bikini and the scenes in which Bond's imprisoned by the North Korean military and oozes coolness regardless. I've also been too lazy to put effort into going back and watching the last 50 years' worth of 007 movies. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton have all passed me by for the most part. I vaguely remember liking Live And Let Die (1973) after seeing it on eTV's Friday Action Night time slot some years back. My opinion on anything 007 doesn't matter then, but bear with me.

You know what I can do with my little finger

Enter Daniel Craig rebooting the series in Casino Royale and I liked 007. I liked him a lot. Daniel Craig's Bond is a scary man! He is rough around the edges, he is messy and brutal in the manner in which he takes down the baddies. In the opening scene of Casino Royale he makes his first kill (earning his 00 status) and it's very physical and later he's chasing a minor villain through crowds and a construction site in Madagascar and it looks rough: he's big and blunt, but he's cunning and intelligent about how he uses his physique to his advantage. Bane's bone-crunching style in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) is similar. Daniel Craig's Bond will shoot you in the head without much of a second thought. Then he dons a suit, turns up the ol' charm and gets the girls and you love it - you're not even jealous if you're a guy. His banter is of the witty variety and his fists of the iron sort. The guy gets away with lines like: "That's because you know what I can do with my little finger." When Vesper Lynd tells him: "James, I want you to know that if all that was left of you were your smile and your little finger, you'd still be more of a man than any I've known." I can't imagine Pierce Brosnan pulling that off.

Daniel Craig was badass

Quantum Of Solace (2008) wasn't as good as Casino Royale, but it was solid and Daniel Craig was badass in it, and the fact that he's on a quest for revenge adds weight to his badassery. Other than that it was a movie to kill some time. The oh-so-beautiful Olga Kurylenko (Hitman) as Camille Montes is pretty kick ass too. She's hot, but you know she will kick you in the head.

Needless to say that from the trailers I've seen, the poking I've done around Internetland and my interrogation of people who attended the Heineken premiere (also attended by Bond Girl, Bérénice Marlohe) in Rosebank last week, I'm looking forward to Skyfall, officially releasing on our screens on Friday, 31 November. I'm especially looking forward to Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) as villain, Silva and Ben Wishaw (Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer) as Q in his first appearance in the rebooted series. I can't go leaving Naomie Harris (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) out as Eve Moneypenny. It's all very exciting and I'll catch you guys at the movies on Friday and we'll make merry with Mr Bond.