Millennials don’t think the way Gen-X does. This is the most cliché statement. But when you look at the way the 007 Franchise has evolved from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig you can see the point. Each new Bond movie generates equal interest right from’ Dr. No’ till the latest ‘No Time to Die’ which is released this week. The anticipation of top-notch action, a global storyline with wonderful imagery, effects, gadgets, the legend of M & Q, Money Penney , the all-conquering villains, and the intoxicating bond girls it all makes it a great movie experience. The storylines sometimes beat the normal sense and there are predicted outcomes but yet generation after generation is enticed. Scotland has been origin of many legends like this imaginary character of James Bond.
I have heard stories from earlier generations is how enamored were they with Bond’s personality. Those were the days of moral correctness and bond films provided that outlet to see how life can go diametrically opposed based on the consumption of vices. And then there is always age in the youth of each generation where the voyeuristic appeal in the array of bond girls displayed over the generations.
Anyone hardly argues that Sean Connery is the best actor to have played Bond, but the latest Bond actor Daniel Craig who appears in his last bond film has rendered a new legacy to 007. His bond comes with emotional baggage, midlife crisis, and humane touch as compared to the super humane and care-a-damn attitude of earlier Bonds. But Daniel Craig’s Bond in this millennium is different from earlier Bonds.
Earlier Bond was a borderline addict and sadist who was drinking to excess, discarding women and smoking constantly — felt increasingly out of time as the 20th century turned into the 21st. Bond is now treated more as a person along with his abilities to solve global problems.
Sean Connery Bond in the 60s had more similarities with Craig’s Bond. He was classy and had more empathy than 70’s bond Roger Moore’s. Sean Connery’s biggest achievement as 007 was turning a killer with more than a few quirks and flaws into the ultimate admirable hero. Bond was written for the movies as an all-knowing connoisseur, aware of the precise temperature above which Dom Perignon should never be consumed just the same as the precise number of years gold would remain radioactive if a dirty bomb were to explode beside it. The character of Bond as portrayed by Sean Connery was also a bit of a sly cunning opportunist if a lovable one at that. His Bond cheats at golf and backgammon (true, usually in response to a villain’s own deceptions). He commits some pretty dubious actions like spanking away dumb blondes so that “men talk” may take place. He makes sure to include a dalliance with the villains’ henchwomen before he forces them to face the music. His Bond even went as far as blackmailing a naïve masseuse into surrendering herself to him at the risk of losing her job in Thunderball. It was easy to forgive these indiscretions not just because his Bond came from a far less politically correct time but mostly thanks to Connery’s charisma. Maybe the swinging 60s were different from the ’70s and 80;s Bond during the height of the Cold war and amidst Reaganomics. All we saw was awkwardly dropping Roger Moore across the globe. Moonraker sent Bond into space at the height of the post-Star Wars science fiction boom. Some people detest Roger Moore’s interpretation, but when given the right material in the right doses as in “The Spy Who Loved Me,” he came up with one of the best films of the series.
Even though Timothy Dalton clearly had the presence required for the role, and was great in the action scenes, his character was often written as too decent and caring, a far cry from Connery’s lovable weasel.
Pierce Brosnan handled the nastier part of Bond’s equation rather well, but his interpretation became more politically correct with each entry. Bond’s predicaments became less black and white under his watch, but he often came off a bit too heavy-handed and clichéd
But then Craig’s Bond is complex. His technology has changed, work ethics as well as happens with the change of times. In this millennium even the superheroes like batman changed to have complex psychological issues. Nothing is plain vanilla super-heroism of saving the damsels in distresses apart from saving the planet earth. Everyone has a history; everything is to be taken with a pinch of mental health. Casino Royale contained flashbacks to his first kill. Craig’s Bond has a sense of vulnerability. Earlier storylines had independent treatment but Craig’s Bond in Quantum of Solace carries from Casino Royale. New films gave more space to Judy Dench M. James Bond films have always featured an abundance of beauty: beautiful locations, beautiful people, beautiful clothes, beautiful cars, and so on. Skyfall had beautiful imagery photographed in Scotland and Macau. That part along with music makes Bond movies always enjoyable. Craig’s Bond would never become a great romantic, but he’s the first Bond to seem like he has a deep attachment to his friends. A tale of betrayal and revenge played out on a global scale with a John LeCarré-like understanding of the moral murkiness inherent to the spy game, is compelling too in movies in the Craig era. Seems like No time to Die takes on where Spectre had left. Villians also have changed from time to time according to the flavor of the day: Communists, drug lords, media barons, terrorists, and so on.
One more point to ponder is whether we are too politically correct these days or our earlier generations were too uncomplicated to allow Bond to do blunders or if one would say career suicides. But you don’t really want Cinema to be so realistic that superheroes are not needed to be humane. Somehow as a Gen Xer, I don’t agree with Millennials.
No comments:
Post a Comment