Never has a series of movies had such an affect on the global film audience than James Bond 007. If one was to ask our parents and grandparents their favorite movie, James Bond 007 would probably feature somewhere in the top 10, if not are number one.
Other movies have come and gone, but this series of action/drama movies are legendary and will live on forever, as long as film exists. Just ask a man who would they like to be, and the answer could well come back as James Bond 007. But it was the actors and actresses who made up the films that made it all the more appealing and memorable, such as Sean Connery and Roger Moore and Money Penny. There would definitely be arguments over which era of James Bond 007 movies was the best, the Sean Connery-Roger Moore era or from Pierce Brosnan onwards. Most older generations prefer the previous era while the younger generations like the latter eras. However, the previous eras have had the most affect on viewers and fans.
Current movie makers of the contemporary Bond era have tried to reproduce the magic of Bonds from yesteryear. Something was salvaged, in the sense of the action, but older generations can see the difference with the story, dialogue, style and suave all needing some help. Then again, some prefer the older Bonds and that’s it. They were so used to the previous Bonds that nothing, no matter who they are, compares. But this could possibly change with the modern James Bonds gradually getting better.
Another quality of the James Bond 007 movies was the original creator, author, producer and director Ian Fleming. Fleming had a way about him and he put this into the James Bond 007 collection. Some, if not most, would say he was the original and the best, so let’s see who can match it with Fleming, such as Jeremy Dunns, Barry Eisler, Gayle Lunds and Brett Battles (Los Angeles Times (November 10, 2012)).
The Movie
Never has a movie been watched so often as in James Bond (Box Office Mojo ). People can watch the series of films over and over, from television to DVD, and still enjoy them. This movie has it all, with action, drama, style and fashion, technology, love and passion, cinematography, music, good and evil, dialogue, occasional humor and a strong story theme. The movies earned a considerable amount of revenue when they were at the box office. However, the recent installment in the modern era has seen Skyfall with Daniel Craig surpass Thunderball at the box office and become one of the all-time successful movies worldwide.
According to Box Office Mojo, all of Daniel Craig’s films have had the most successful response at the box office. Pierce Brosnan’s films were popular, following Daniel Craig, and then came the previous James Bond era with Golden Eye and Moonraker. Perhaps people were not used to or had heard of James Bond 007 back then compared to now. People are more used to James Bond these days and want to see a different or unique approach with the new movies. In stating this, the old James Bonds are legendary and will live on forever and have a similar affect today like when they were first viewed all those years back.
Arnold Schwarzenegger movies have been another successful action film franchise in contemporary society with movies like Terminator 1 & 2, Total Recall and Predator. A number of popular and successful action stars have surfaced since the old James Bond films, like Schwarzenegger, and others like Sylvestor Stallone and Bruce Willis. But James Bond would have definitely influenced these actors and actresses to become action stars. Additionally, similar Bond-like films have been made with The Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon and popular comedies with Mike Myers’ Austin Powers.
As stated before, the Bond films have a good mix of themes that make it so unique. Somehow Ian Fleming and current Bond movie makers seem to make it flow together well, although the old Bond films would have to win. It is difficult to mention what exactly makes the Bond movies so good as all the themes and elements work off each other. To narrow it down, the cinematography was most probably a central feature, as was the style and suave and dialogue. There could have been other actors selected to pick James Bond, but these actors were chosen, such as George Lazenby, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Of course, these Bond figures did a fantastic job, as shown by the quality, success and popularity of the films. Sean Connery would probably have to be the most popular James Bond. Connery was a normal person like everybody else, aiming to make it big in acting. When Connery was chosen and acted as James Bond, it was obvious to see, with the help of genius movie maker Ian Fleming, this actor had something to offer .
The Sean Connery-Roger Moore eras were around the time when color had first been introduced to film. The color looked unbelievable, but this was not enough. The cinematography in Bond was exceptional, thanks to the movie makers and the actors and actresses. Some movies in contemporary society are disjointed, too fast, too slow or all over the place, but James Bond 007 just flowed. The movie clips and cinematography had crispness and clarity, and were clean and good. Bond was one of the first movies of its kind, so it was important to make the effort to make it good. The settings and locations were also a feature and important, creating the perfect stage for the films. They showed Bond, as he would do as a secret agent, traveling around the world, and there were some great footage of the different settings and locations, from France to Italy to Africa. All the actors and actresses, as well as extras in the movie, all worked together perfectly to create the Bond scenes.
Themes – Good and Evil
The main theme of each Bond film is the battle between good and evil. It almost seems impossible for one man, in James Bond 007, to take on such a juggernaut of evil power by himself, as shown in the Bond films. But somehow, this Superman-like figure seems to pull it off. The evil side have all the money, all the technology, all the power. But Bond working as a secret agent for the British government, would have made him powerful and very intimidating to the evil powers that be, especially because he works on the side of the law and justice. It is amazing to see a lone figure in Bond make his way into the mere center of the evil side’s headquarters and wreak havoc. Perhaps evil wants to keep on the good side of the law and let Bond in, for they know that if they kill someone from the law and British government, they would eventually get caught and be in trouble. But the evil side’s power, in their minds, would give them permission to surpass or override this.
Themes – Style, Suave and Power
There is even a website dedicated to Bond in a Google search under James Bond 007 called Bond Lifestyle and has all the style and suave that was Bond (Bond Lifestyle). This is a big area for the influence of James Bond on the public. People were mimicking what Bond and the Bond cast would wear, their hair, cologne, their drink and food (Martini, shaken not stirred), the cars and their gadgets, like watches. Bond always looked well-groomed and yet somehow managed to not even raise a hair when taking on the bad guys. The technology was not mentioned on the Bond Lifestyle website as this was too high-tech for the general public, especially Bond’s toys of weaponry for his enemies. Could you imagine a member of the general public, untrained and uncontrolled, gaining access to this sort of weaponry? Yet, there are places in the world where people can gain access to weapons more easily than normal, for example, America. It would be a disaster. Although, having members of the general population, and of course Bond fans, try out these gadgets or weaponry under supervision would be an option, like renting out a sports car such as a Ferrari. A business or group should start up an initiative called The Bond Experience, almost like The Amazing Race and Survivor, or businesses have Bond-like products and services to cater to Bond fans.
Themes – Love and Passion
The love and passion in James Bond 007 was almost out of a Mills and Boon novel. It was over-the-top and extravagant, but full of life and vitality, similar to a soapie on television like Days of our Lives, Bold and the Beautiful and Young and the Restless. Of course, it is usually the females watching these types of shows, but it is good to include the men in on these shows from time-to-time. You would never see Bond being passive or submissive, begging for some love and affection. Instead, Bond was very much the dominant figure in the situation and scenes, the rescuer and Cupid, and would usually get things started in love scenes. The Bond girls come from a variety of backgrounds, almost like the settings and locations that Bond was filmed in, and, of course, each had a beauty unique to them. It was great to see movie makers respecting the different nationalities in the Bond movies and not just staying with British girls, since Bond was a British agent. But then again, it was like love-on-the-run and was indicative of the life of a secret agent, not real life for the rest of the population, creating a form of escapism and indulgence. This would have been mixed emotions for people who would have liked to have had the love and passion that Bond created in a more normal situation.
Themes – Dialogue and Communication
Another element of James Bond that people admired and liked to copy was the dialogue and communication in the movies. An example of this was the talk between Bond and the Bond girls, including Miss Moneypenny and Bond’s conversations with the bad side. Style and suave came into play here, as mentioned previously, as did charm and grace, with Bond as the dominant male figure, most probably an Alpha and Omega character. There were known and expected lines that came from Bond, taking in some exceptions in line with the movie theme and plot, for example, ‘Bond, James Bond’. Bond was direct, smooth and silky with what he said and how he said it. Some, if not most of the dialogue would have been gained from Ian Fleming and his novels and the initial script for the movie. It would have been interesting if the Bond actors came up with some of their own lines to add to and spice up the script of the movie. Ian Fleming was different and exceptional, his thinking was that of someone who thought outside-the-square, original and creative, and this came through in the dialogue of the Bond films. Fleming would definitely be one of the originators of action and crime novels, which we see a plethora of today. The dialogue, combined with other elements of the Bond movies, made for exciting movie watching.
