Bond, James Bond
So very British! Indeed. Indeed.
Simple, straightforward and maybe even considered a little sarcastic and stuffy for that matter. Just like the division that James Bond served under, MI6, which is short for Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 6.
After no less than 22 “official” films, James Bond has been played by 6 different actors and grossed somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 billion at the box office. Considering the budget was just over $1 billion that is a tidy profit indeed. The actors that have portrayed Bond, perhaps the most famous member of MI6, include Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. Both Burt Reynolds and Adam West declined the role because they felt the actor must be British.
For many viewers, it is hard to pick just one actor as the definitive Bond. Even Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London has wax creations of both Connery and Brosnan depicting Bond.
Virtually all of the movies depicted locations all around the world but with limited exposure to places in the United States. Perhaps Honolulu, HI appeared because it would have been exotic enough, but places like Monte Carlo and many other European cities would be more likely to be places where Bond would be found.
For many the more memorable moments in the movies are the gadgets, theme songs, adversaries and the obligatory love interests for our hero. One of the most famous items was the Aston Martin DB5 that was used in many movies. One actually sold in an Arizona auction for over $2 million US. For others it was the love interests’ unique names.
The question yet to be answered is who will play the next 007 because you can be sure there will be one. It is hard to imagine the phrase “shaken not stirred” coming from anyone other that Bond himself. And is Sean Connery saying MI-six or MI-sex?
