Reinventing the Reel: What Was So Wrong With the Old Bond?

How does the saying go? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

In Hollywood, apparently, the saying is, "If it ain't broke, monkey around with it anyway."

Casino Royale is the latest example. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie and I think Daniel Craig does a good job. But make no mistake, this isn't your grandma's 007. Britain's super spy is a lot more serious, unfeeling and downright brutal. He doesn't crack many jokes, and relies on his fists or a gun to get him out of a jam instead of a gadget from "Q."

The villain isn't some super-wealthy maniac out for world domination or trying to start WWIII. He's just a criminal who associates with terrorists and prefers poison and straightforward torture over pools of piranas, buzz saws dangling from helicopters, or other elaborately conceived deaths.

On top of that, the movie begins with Bond earning his double-0 status. I'm supposed to believe that Craig is playing the first James Bond. Yet "M" is played by Judy Dench, who has held the role for the last four Bond flicks, an inconsistency that Bondomaniacs seem willing to overlook.

What's the deal with all these "reinventions?" First Batman Begins, now Bond. I've heard the arguments. Batman Begins is truer to the original Batman. The new Bond in Casino Royale is truer to the character in Ian Fleming's novels.

But if you ask me, I think some of the charm is lost. The wisecracks, the over-the-top bad guys and the goofy gadgets are all part of what make a James Bond movie a James Bond movie. It's what distinguishes a 007 film from, say, The Bourne Identity or some other grittier spy thriller.

It's not like they haven't tried to "reinvent" Bond before, either. When Timothy Dalton took over as James Bond in The Living Daylights, he was supposed to be a tougher, no-nonsense Bond who used fewer gadgets too. But not only did they return to a more caricature Bond for the next movie, License To Kill, they dumped Dalton completely for a much wittier Pierce Brosnan as fast as they could.

So the question now is, will we get a slightly cheesier but equally daring and debonair Bond in the next film, or are we stuck with a more thuggish, sociopathic 007 for the duration of Daniel Craig's career as JB?

I guess only box office returns will tell.

Ethan Morris: "Not always right, but never in doubt." Go ahead and write me.

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