NOW PLAYING: Bond. James Bond.

17 December, 1997
After being out nearly all of last week, I'm better -- at least, I'm able to function. Still coughing, and probably will for a while still. Anitta's got it now, a mild flu. I guess I should be thankful that it doesn't come with the usual "throwing-up" phase and merely seems like a really hideous cold, but thinking about how much worse it could be isn't going to make you feel any better while you're sick.

James Bond has been on my mind recently, what with TBS running two Bond movies a night for 13 days, and all the hype and advertising tie-ins playing all the time for the new movie. We got a pass and saw a preview screening of "Tomorrow Never Dies" the other day, which I guess means I can go see "Titanic" this weekend instead. I admit to being a Bond fan -- I've read & re-read all of Fleming's novels several times. I'm facinated by his adventures of the '50s & '60s, and although they don't come close to being great, thought-provoking literature, they are an exciting read and a fun way to escape for a while. I've got the "sequels" too, if you want to call them that -- the books that John Gardner wrote with the "new" Bond. I enjoyed them, and Gardner's certainly kept the flavor of Bond, but like most things, the originals are still the best.

The Bond movies, of course, are generally nothing like the books. They have the same titles, the names of the main characters are often the same, and (especially in the early Bond movies with Sean Connery) occasionally the plots contain a few of the same elements. Though I enjoy the books much more, the films are still a lot of fun. They have a lightness and humor about them that never appears in Fleming's stories -- the one-liners are clever, the action is fast & furious, and even though I know that Bond saves the world in the end, it doesn't diminish my fun.

"Tomorrow Never Dies" is good, as Bond movies go. I'm not a movie reviewer, and I don't want to spoil a film for someone who hasn't seen it, so I'm not going to tell you about it. Go see it. When it comes to being Bond, Sean still takes first place, but I'd have to give Pierce Brosnan second. For some reason, when I read I don't associate any of the actors with the Bond in the books. Fleming describes his character in enough detail, and I suppose if I thought about it, Pierce Brosnan probably fits the description pretty well, but I've got my own mental image of the literary Bond.

I'm very aware of the fact that Bond is not Politically Correct. Thankfully, P.C. was unheard of in Fleming's day. I'm sure a good parody could be written about a P.C. Bond (I've got an old Lampoon Bond parody book called "Alligator" which is hilarious), but James Bond wouldn't be James Bond if he wasn't an arrogant, violent, sexist pig. I've got a couple other books from the '60s that "analyze" Bond. They make interesting reading, but don't tell me much that I didn't pick up from reading the books as much as I have.

Anyway, if you have even the slightest interest in Bond, go see the movie. It's a good way to escape for a couple hours.

For Bond on the web, a good starting point (and a site with a very groovy name) is Mr. Kiss-Kiss Bang-Bang. Check it out.

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