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| Picture from here. |
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr. No and the start of a cinematic dynasty.
James Bond movies are so formulaic, and it's part of their appeal. They smack of "guilty pleasure" (or they would if I did guilty pleasures... I instead shamelessly enjoy things) because you can sit back for 2 hours, grab a bowl of popcorn, and watch a suave British spy predictively outshoot all the bad guys, charm the pants off all the ladies he meets, and continuously twart the world domination plans of Blofeld, SPECTRE, SMERSH and who knows what other megalomaniacs.
(To be honest, the only un-predictable Bond movie was On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I really didn't see that coming. Any of it. An allergy clinic would be the best cover story.)
I enjoy watching old Bond movies... it's almost worth it just to see the hilariously out-of-date technology. (Pretty much the only thing Bond gets to play with in Dr. No besides his new PPK is a Geiger counter the size of a bread box. Not very subtle.) My personal favorite comes in From Russia With Love, when we witness some Soviet spies sitting in a surveillance bush with a "cellular walkie talkie", trying to be covert except for the 2 foot antenna sticking out of the top.
It's also interesting to watch how the nationality of the Bond villians has changed over time. The majority of the early villians are Soviets and Eastern Europe (although SPECTRE is not very discerning in who it hires), and gradually the focus changes to Asia (China, Korea). Sound like any other countries we know?
It's also interesting to watch how the nationality of the Bond villians has changed over time. The majority of the early villians are Soviets and Eastern Europe (although SPECTRE is not very discerning in who it hires), and gradually the focus changes to Asia (China, Korea). Sound like any other countries we know?
Some Bond movies are better than others (personally I found Die Another Day to be painfully bad...) but my favorites are those that aren't afraid to be funny. Initially, all the sex and violence was considered too scandalous for the censors, so they would include the funny one-liners and campy moments (I don't know how this helps get by censors, but hey?) that have become part of the genre.
Favorite moment in Dr. No? The scene where Bond and Honey Ryder need to be "decontaminated" of radioactivity. The henchmen are told to "scrub them down", which involves spraying them with some soap, and being rubbed once with a broom. Surprise, surprise - it doesn't work!
Oh, henchmen... There's a reason you take orders from someone who is criminally insane.
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