Friday, November 21, 2008

The name is Bond, James Bond


Ok, so I am a big James Bond fan. I grew up watching all the Bond movies at the local cinema. I remember that my Mom knew the lady who worked in the ticket office, so Monya and I would get free tickets to the 10am show every Saturday morning. That meant that the R 1, 00 could be used to buy popcorn, a coke and a chocolate! Those were cool days.
Unfortunately being a small town in Old Sould Africa, we were how can I say, ummm, not spoiled for choice with regards the movies we could see.


I saw Moonraker (with Roger Moore) 13 times over a period of 3 years at the local cinema. That`s right 13 times at the cinema. It seems that every time they didn`t get anything decent, they`d show Moonraker. I watched as Jaws (one of the villains in the movie played by Richard Kiel) chew through metal wire 13 times. Incredible that I never tried that at home cos it sure looked pretty easy. Another favourite was For your eyes only with the amphibious car, a Lotus if I remember correctly. That was waaayyy cool!



Oh yes, as an aside, the whole audience stood up and applauded at the end of Star Wars Return of the Jedi. Don`t ask me why, I do not have any answers. It was a small town with not a lot going on. We were obviously not exposed to the big world in any way, shape or form... I suppose the excitement just got to the Sasolburgers on that occasion.

I digress back to James Bond. Sean Connery was my first Bond and I loved him. He was followed by Roger Moore and he was pretty cool too. Timothy Dalton I didn`t like very much and that`s where I started to lose a bit of interest. Then Pierce Brosnan took over the Dry Martini and I was a fan again. I like old Pierce. He certainly has a bit of charisma to him. When he left and was replaced by Daniel Craig, I wasn`t happy. Daniel Craig didn`t fit the idea of what a James Bond should be.

But then I watched Casino Royale and I loved it. He brought an edge to Bond that no other actor had done before. I loved the fact that 007 had a bit of a dark side to him. That made the character a lot more interesting.

Ok, I don`t like everything about Daniel Craig. I mean who on this earth walks out of the ocean like he does? It`s not a walk, nor a swagger it`s more of a, ummm, ok there`s not even a name for it. The other thing is the way he always has a pout. I mean he even runs with a pout on his face!

But all in all, I think he`s a cool Bond and I`m looking forward to watching Quantum of Solace. I also like the fact that it follows up on Casino Royale as there were a few loose ends. The fact that he suffered personal loss in Casino Royale I reckon will make him even more of a loose cannon and that I`m looking forward to.


The other thing I love about Bond is that he mostly drives Aston Martins. I absolutely ADORE Aston Martins and as far as I`m concerned they are the coolest cars on this planet. Apparently they wrote off a few of these awesome cars during production. I shed a tear when I read about that.

So, are there any other Bond fans out there? I`d like to know your thoughts. Please share. Now.

9 comments:

David Richardson said...

I dig Bond. Roger Moore was my favorite. Looking forward to seeing the newest Bond film, for sure!

Ordinarylife said...

Also a fan!

And like Daniel Craig, but think he runs funny. I am not objecting about the sea scene though, he could do that in every movie and I would be happy.

The Running Golfer said...

Hey David, I remember you mentioning Bond in one of your posts. looking forward on your thoughts around the new one soon.

Ordinarylife, he does run funny hey? You sound like my wife when it comes the sea scene...

Heather Nicole said...

Hey Faf, I love bond. First off, I have always had a crush on Sean Connery. I didnt think it could get any better than that until Daniel Craig...woah! Casino Royal was great! I am so looking forward to seeing QOS. I think its out in theatre already, but I havent had the chance (or money) to go.

Freddae' said...

I love Sean Connery. There is just something about him. I also really liked Pierce. I haven't seen any of the new ones because I can't wrap my head around Daniel Craig...but if my husband has his way, I'll be seeing the new one soon.

Kevin said...

I know a lot of purists don't like the new 'cause he is more Jason Borne like - but I loved it.

Anonymous said...

hey, francois
learning more about you growing up is fun.
with me being so old, sean connery will always be the only james bond; all others merely actors.
but daniel craig did a great job introducing the raw recruit james bond, before he became suave and had all the gadgets.
unfortunately i haven't seen QOS (awkward name) and the reviews here are HORRIBLE. but they won't keep me from seeing it eventually.
as far as the ocean scene, i read he knew what they were after and it made him laugh. he said if they think he looks good, he'll comply for as long as they think he looks good :)
so who's your favorite bond girl, since you saw so many? and be sure to review QOS for us when you do get to the cinema.

Miller said...

The bond flicks are cool. Roger Moore was cool. I haven't watched too many of the recent ones admittedly, but I will catch up oneday

The cars are always cool. The car chases and stunts. That car was a Lotus. I think it was a Lotus Esprit. They were pretty radical cars for their time. However, there is some sort of heir around an Aston Martin that not many cars can carry.

We have Casino Royale on Dvd, so I guess I'd better catch up and watch it before I watch Quantum of Solace. Enjoy Bru.

P.s The Jaws dude was a bit freeky!

The Running Golfer said...

Hey guys! Thanks for all the comments. It is obvious that most of us are huge Bond fans.

I saw a Tonight Show with Daniel Craig as the guest last night. I am now a fan. He is very cool and I love the fact that he doesn`t take himself too seriously. Something which I wasn`t so sure of previously.

It does look like all the ladies are Sean Connery fans. I must say I also think he`s awesome.

I have also heard a few bad things from reviewers but I`m gonna make up my own mind. This is one movie I really wanna see in the cinema.

Lisa, I`m gonna have to go with Eva Green (Casino Royale). I thought she was really cool.