I have to confess to being a fan of the “James Bond” films. It is one of my escapist pleasures. The Wife was not really a fan, that is not until Daniel Craig took on the role. Now she is anxiously awaiting the U.S. release of the new film, “Quantum of Solace”, so we can go see it on the big screen. She gave me the (in)complete set of the movies on DVD as a gift a couple of years ago, and was not really into them until she saw Daniel Craig as Bond in ‘Casino Royale’. And then she became more interested for some unknown reason. My own interest has multiple origins, but one of them is I met James Bond, the real James Bond. The Bond, whose name was purloined by Ian Fleming, worked as an ornithologist for the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia (ANSP). One of my graduate school colleagues went to ANSP as a research scientist; a visit to a former colleague and I met *the* James Bond.
- Best Bond girl: it is hard to choose these days. When I was younger it was Carol Bouquet in ‘For Your Eyes Only’. But now there are too many that are at least as good.
- Worst Bond girl: Denise Richards in ‘The World is Not Enough”. It is not about the looks/sexuality; her acting sucks! Totally unbelievable as a nuclear scientist, and she reads the lines as if she is seeing them for the first time on a prompter.
- Best Bond villian: Another tough choice, but I will go with Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan (janus) in ‘Goldeneye’. A friend turned ruthless arch-enemy breaks the tie.
- Best Bond song: ‘For Your Eyes Only’. Always a fan of Sheena Easton, and it was recorded at AIR Studios on Montserrat about the same time I was working on the island.
- Best Bond tongue-in-cheek moment: In ‘Die Another Day’, when in Havana, Bond picks up a copy of ‘Birds of the West Indies’ by James Bond, the real James Bond. Later, he introduces himself to Jinx (Halle Berry) as an ornithologist. The joke started by Ian Fleming, naming Bond after the ornithologist, comes full circle. By the way, I do have a copy of the book in my bookshelf (handy when I worked in the Caribbean).
- Best Bond tear-jerker moment: When his wife, Tracy Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), dies in his arm shortly after the wedding in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.
- Worst Bond plot line: Take your choice: either the plot to create a microchip scarcity in ‘A View to a Kill’ or the Rupert Murdoch clone trying to instigate war to sell more newspapers in ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’.
- Worst Bond: With no hesitation, Roger Moore.
- Best Bond: Anyone other than Roger Moore.
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I’ll admit it too, I’m a huge Bond fan. Craig’s version of bond, along with the writing, is a pleasant change and I find the darker side of Bond to be more interesting than some of the past storylines. That said, you won’t find me switching the channel away from a Bond movie. It’s one of the first things that my father and I bonded (ha, pun not intended) when I was going up.
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Note that Manley Man notes other improvements in the new Bond films beyond Daniel Craig….
I’ve been accused of only liking it more because of the hottie, but I do feel the writing, production value, and maybe as you say “darker” version of Bond is what does it for me. Well, and also Daniel Craig naked in the torture scene didn’t hurt any.
I like watching the older Bond films with Rick, too. I just appreciate the evolution of the films.
Note that Roger Moore came out this week and said the new films are too violent. Oh well, I’ll take them over the Roger Moore era films any day!
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In my opinion the best Bond gal was Maud Adams – both times. The best bond villian was Goldfinger or possibly Jaws from Moonraker.
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Manley – the first step is admission. Welcome to the club.
Ms Chatterbox – I bet that naked torture scene was a big reason you got into the Daniel Craig portrayal of Bond
And we will have to free some time on your schedule to go see Quantum of Solace 
Chris – Maud Adams was a fine Bond girl (actually appeared in 3 – she is briefly in a crowd scene in A View to A Kill). As for Jaws, given his change of demeanor in Moonraker is it fair to call him a villian? I’ll have to stick with the friend-gone-bad Alec Trevelyan, and give second place to Ernst Blofield in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service; killing Bond’s wife on his wedding day gives Blofield a lot of villian points.
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I like the old tongue-in-cheek Bond better than the new one, but thought Craig did a good job with it.
Worst Bond girl was definitely Denise Richards.
Best? Ooooh, that is going to be tough…I have to say I really liked Halle Berry. I like the ones who can keep Bond in line.
I also think Judi Dench is superb as M.
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Panda – I agree on Judi Dench. Halle Berry was good, near the top for me. Still unsure of the rankings overall. I did like their tip to the original with her entrance out of the water paying homage to Ursula Andress’ emergence from the water in Dr. No.
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