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James Bond is arguably one of the most iconic on-screen characters of all time. That’s a bit of an ironic phrase when you consider that he is supposed to be a super spy. Yet despite his affinity for saying his own name, Bond continues to persevere throughout the decades. Whether it is his ability to be suave with the ladies, his gun skills and assortment of gadgetry or simply his Martini drinking skill, Bond continues to be a draw for audiences.
11. You Only Live Twice Has The Most Kills
Bond is known for being not only suave with the ladies, but quick with the gun. While Bond needs to dole out some death in all films, there is no film that features more death than You Only Live Twice. The film came out in 1967 and starred Sean Connery as 007. It was Connery’s 5th opportunity to play James Bond. Connery would go onto portray Bond 2 more times in his career. Despite Bond only pushing for 21 deaths himself, the film ended up seeing the demise of 196 individuals. I’m surprised they didn’t push for the nice round 200!
10. Pierce Brosnan Was The Deadliest Bond
Sure, Bond has been upset before. He’s had people close to him die, been dinged up and once in a while he even suffers a cut. The individuals in GoldenEye must have done something awful because Bond eliminates a record setting 47 different individuals. I suppose when you become a super spy there is no shortage of different ways to dispose of enemies. Plus, if they are shooting at you first, don’t they really deserve it? Perhaps Brosnan just wanted to start with a bang, as GoldenEye was his first appearance as Bond. The film ended up being a critical success earning over $350 million, and led the way for 3 subsequent films by Brosnan.
9. Bond’s First Gun
Everyone remembers their first starter gun. For Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, the decision was made to give James Bond a Beretta 418. However, the gun was claimed to be a girly gun with absolutely no stopping power and not one that was befitting a super spy. As a result, when the first movie Dr. No came out, the gun was switched to a Walther PPK. While the guns that Bond uses may change over time, his pistol will always be part of creating such an iconic look. It is also worth keeping in mind, how strong does a gun really need to be if Bond is going to just sneak up on you and do some super cool spy stuff with gadgets?
8. Bond Is On Average, 13.5 Years Older Than The Bond Girl
Perhaps Bond’s suavity came with his experience, as he often bedded women far younger than himself. The largest age gap occurs in the 1985 film A View To Kill. The film was Roger Moore’s 7th and final iteration as James Bond. It is not shocking to consider that this was Moore’s last film when you consider that the actor was 58 during the filming. This ran in stark contrast to one of his Bond girls, Tanya Roberts, who was only 29 years old. The audience must have realized that there was time for a change, as AVTK went on to score a miserable 34% with critics. The next Bond, played by Timothy Dalton, was 41 years old. No wonder Bond can live forever; he just keeps getting younger!
7. Bond Loves Aston Martins
It is hard to think of James Bond and not picture him driving around in an Aston Martin. The Aston Martin DB5 has appeared in 6 different Bond films. The DB5 has shown up in Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Skyfall and Casino Royale with small touches being added throughout the years. It’s hard to imagine Bond not having an awesome car, something tells me the chase scenes would be a lot less exciting if Bond was coming after them in a Honda Civic. An updated version of the DB5 will also appear in the upcoming film Spectre.
6. The Bond Family Motto
Everyone has their own family motto. Some would say it’s a badge of honor through which your identity can grow, others might not even know what theirs is. With a family that has such a super cool badass as James Bond, it is only natural that they have an awesome sounding “family motto.” As a result, creator Ian Fleming decided that their motto was “The World Is Not Enough.” For those who think that sounds familiar, it is in fact the name of the Pierce Brosnan Bond film that was really only kind of okay. Despite only an okay sounding name, the film went on to earn $361 million.
5. Daniel Craig Is The Most Critically Successful Bond
It is too bad that Spectre is looking like it may be the last James Bond role for Daniel Craig. While he was criticized as a casting choice originally, Craig has gone on to create some iconic James Bond moments. It should be no surprise that his 3 films currently rank him at an overall Rotten Tomatoes score of 84%. Casino Royale and Skyfall both scored well with critics, earning approval rates of 95% and 92% respectively. While Craig faltered with Quantum Of Solace, earning only a 65% approval, Spectre looks to be amazing and should end Craig’s experience on a high. As Bond films continue to do well both with critics and at the box office, it can be expected that the budget for the future films will only grow.
4. Spectre Features the Oldest Bond Girl
Monica Bellucci, at age 51, is set to be the oldest Bond girl, 4 years older then Craig. There is no doubting the beauty of Monica Bellucci but the casting choice did break the trend of Bond films. Prior to Spectre, Bond has been older then every single one of his “Bond girls.” Bellucci is not only the first Bond girl in her 50s, but also the first Bond girl that is older than 39. Something tells me that when Bellucci is on screen and winning over the advances of Craig, there won’t be many people left in the audience thinking that she looks too old or that the scene is unrealistic.
3. Bond Gets A Different Drink Twice
Despite being known for his iconic “shaken, not stirred” martini, there were two different occasions in the Bond universe in which someone dared serve him something wrong. The first outrageous mistake occurs in 1967’s film You Only Live Twice when he was handed a drink that was stirred, not shaken. That was right, wasn’t it?’ NO IT WASN’T RIGHT WAITER, You had ONE job! The second occurrence is more on Bond than on anyone else, when in 2006’s Casino Royale he simply responded “does it look like I give a damn?” when questioned how he preferred his drink to be served.
2. The Man With The Golden Gun Has One Bond Kill
Despite the exuberant number of bodies that Pierce Brosnan carved through, Roger Moore (or y’know, the script writers) decided that only one person needed to die at the hands of James Bond in the 1974 film The Man With The Golden Gun. The film features the least amount of deaths out of any Bond film, with 6 individuals perishing in total. It was Roger Moore’s second stint as Bond, he killed 8 in his debut as Bond in the 1973 film Live and Let Die. Perhaps the 1 kill upset Moore, who goes on to terminate 31 enemies in 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me.
1. Bond’s Name Is Inspired By A Ornithologist
I do not know about you, but when I think James Bond I immediately think of the super badass Ornithologist who inspired the super spy’s name! Because who needs martinis when we have birds to look at. Ian Fleming, creator of Bond, was also super intrigued by bird watching and thus got the name from James Bond, an author whose book Birds Of The West Indies, Fleming was quite fond of. Thankfully Fleming wrote to Bond first before starting his book series featuring his name. There is no word on how often the original James Bond claimed it was his real name, only to be told that he is obviously trying to pull off a practical joke.
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