Let’s first take into account what you already know about James Bond. He is cool, dark, suave, smart, sexy, and lethal and has a penchant for devastating and uproariously funny one-liners. He is a womaniser and uses the evil ones while protecting the good ones. There are two bond girls in a movie. He drives an Aston Martin. He is in a suit and looks dapper in it. And if you have seen the recent movies, you also know that he is a blunt instrument. To top it all, he is nihilistic and hides the fact that he is an orphan. And, heaven knows he is a ruthless killer.
Spectre, which is releasing in India on the 20th November, will have all these Bond trademarks. The picture has already opened in the UK and has the critics raving over it. It has done spectacularly at the UK box office bringing in near 42million pounds in the first seven days. It is expected to garner more than a whopping one billion dollars worldwide. Pundits are keeping their fingers crossed over whether the movie will beat Jurassic World, the highest grosser this year. The Bond movie, as always, also promises a lot of visceral action. The movie has biggest opening ever in the UK and may beat the record of previous films in the franchise.
Why is Bond so much of a hit with audiences across the world? Why despite the wildly successful Mission Impossible and Bourne series, do we flock to the theatres to worship this spy? Why do we forgive his womanising in film after film? Why do we remember every single Bond from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig? Why do we wait for him to say ‘Bond, James Bond’? Why do we clap when he orders a drink (shaken not stirred)? Why are acres of newsprint devoted to studying how each actor interpreted the role of Bond differently? What do people except from Spectre and will the movie gratify them with sex and violence? How do we react to the increasing darkness in the series, so much so Sean Connery would have a tough time identifying with Bond of the modern era?
The Bond formula through 23 films (excluding the spoof Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again) has largely remained the same (Spectre is Bond No 24). The series became darker, but Craig’s Bond does owe something to Connery’s interpretation of the same character. The sense of humour wasn’t there in Ian Fleming’s creation as he wanted interesting things to happen to somebody dull. But the arrival of Dr No (1962) changed all that. The movies simply could not afford to keep Bond dull the way its literary creator had.
Then came the Bond girls. Bond aficionados would remember with a gleam in their eye actress Ursula Andress emerging from the sea wearing a bikini, a dagger and little else. Then the Bond girls quickly became two, with one meeting their end by the villain. In Spectre, the two Bond women are the seductive Monica Bellucci and the brainy yet sexy Lea Seydoux. I have a feeling that Bellucci might be knocked off by the villain, bringing a revenge angle for Bond.
Christopher Waltz plays Blofeld, bringing an overarching storyline to the series ever since Craig became Bond. Fans would remember that Blofeld was Bond’s nemesis in the earlier films with Connery. In the trailer, he is seen boasting that he is the author of all the pain Bond ever experienced.
This movie also goes all out on the gadgets. Bond, finally, gets his car. And we have to stay glued to find out what else he gets from Q, the gadget maker, who is played by Ben Whishaw.
Ralph Fiennes will be M. Noamie Harris will play Moneypenny, probably the sexiest ever to play the role.
Just a couple of weeks, put the movie on your to-do list and feel the blood pump to your heart.
