Daniel Craig brings Bond, grimmer now, out of the 20th century

Nov 14, 2008 (The Lexington Herald-Leader - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ROAL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Putting together a set of James Bond polls for my blog last week (see results, above) in anticipation of Friday's opening of the spy's latest adventure, Quantum of Solace, it occurred to me that I was assembling questions about the 20th-century 007.

The first inkling was the henchmen question. In the first 20 or so Bond films, most of the villains came with colorful henchmen -- Oddjob, the brick wall of an Asian man who could throw his steel-rimmed bowler with laser precision in Goldfinger (1963); or Jaws, the steel-toothed terror of two late-'70s Bonds. Then there were gadgets: the watches with lasers and circular saws, or the cars that dropped oil slicks and converted into submarines.

Even the women, suggestively named Bond babes such as Pussy Galore and Agent XXX, were more a product of male fantasy, unlike businesslike Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale in 2006.

Indeed, Casino Royale signaled an end to a certain part of the fantasy of Bond.

It was a fantasy that started in the 1960s with Sean Connery but was really cemented by Roger Moore in the '70s and early '80s. Moore blithely tripped through seven Bond adventures with a quip for every occasion but nary a scratch. What guy wouldn't want to be James Bond? You could go to the best places, eat the best food, have the best vodka shaken, not stirred, in your martinis and have the most beautiful women in the world fall at your feet. And you could do all this without really being in any danger.

Moore recently told England's Guardian newspaper that his Bond was "a lover," while new Bond Daniel Craig is "a killer."

Certainly, Craig's Bond ended up in more unenviable positions in one movie than Moore had in seven. That grisly torture scene probably would persuade a lot of us to pass on a license to kill.

But that is probably more realistic. I cannot speak from any first-hand knowledge of what life as an international spy is like, but I have read numerous accounts that say it is not nearly as glamorous a life as the Bond movies make it out to be and that it is a life that can leave a soul dark and cold.

The new Bond seems to have a soul, which can be seen in the plot for Quantum of Solace, a sequel to Casino Royale.

The new movie's title is taken from a Bond short story by Ian Fleming, although that story bears no resemblance to the plot outline for the movie.

The relationship between the two might be in Bond's soul.

The short story is about a late-night conversation between Bond and the governor of Nassau. The politician tells the story of a man whose wife flagrantly cheated on him, and the phrase "quantum of solace" refers to a trace of compassion or affection someone feels for someone else even after being grossly betrayed.

Certainly, Bond ended Royale feeling grossly betrayed by Vesper, with whom he had fallen in love. It turned out that she had sent the money he won at Casino Royale, in an effort to foil an international terrorist financier, to other bad guys who were blackmailing her.

Despite the betrayal, Bond enters Quantum of Solace bent on avenging Vesper's death. Early reviews characterize this as an angry Bond with little sense of fun -- no gadgets, no quips, and apparently a fairly platonic relationship with the requisite Bond babe.

Bond certainly has had to change with the times. The feminist movement of the 1970s made the sexism of early Bonds seem Neanderthal. In the 1990s, his promiscuity seemed as foolish as jumping into a lake of alligators as the realities of the AIDS epidemic came to light.

A classic line in Bond-dom came from Judi Dench in her first scene as M, in 1995's GoldenEye. Meeting with Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, she told him, "I think you're a sexist, misogynist dinosaur."

In the new Bonds, Dench's M still has misgivings about 007, but the relationship is almost maternal, with a lot of talk about Bond's emotions.

Two of the most striking poll questions were on the best Bond and best Bond movie. Sean Connery and Goldfinger were the big winners as best Bond and best Bond movie They are in many surveys, and respondents revealed a taste for classic Bond. But Craig and Casino Royale each placed a strong second, reflecting the enthusiastic reception for the rebooted series in its first outing.

We are being reintroduced to Bond. In Casino Royale, he didn't care how his martini was made, and apparently Quantum offers a moment when he learns the art of the drink. We also see how his soul is being shaped by harrowing, shattering early adventures.

In these new movies, James Bond is being rebuilt, but as a more realistic, human character. He's being rebuilt for the 21st century.

Reach Rich Copley at (859) 231-3217 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 3217.

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