169 replies to this topic

[Daylights]

The hell? Is this the Bash Craig for No Damned Reason thread?!

No, the question was whether Dalton still ranks high on the Fleming purity scale, which he definitely does. Neuman isn't a Fleming purist. Simple as that. His movies happen to be named after Fleming material, but it stops there. It's just not Bond. Unofficial pieces of work in my book. The last Bond film came in 2002.

Edited by Daylights, 29 December 2008 - 12:33 AM.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Although I was pulling for Clive Owen in the part, he's said in interviews that the part was never offered. But as soon as I saw that picture of Craig with gun raised that came from the movie, was it Casino (?) I immediately saw potential. The cast of his head and face seemed to have that Hoagy Carmichael quality. But I don't care for the choppy looking hairstyle, muscle flexing, commando way of playing the part. I want James Bond, not Sgt Rock or Sgt Fury et al. If he grew his hair a little longer, it might hold the dye necessary to darken it. It doesn't even have to be a hard black. And they need to stop making changes for changes sake, although it was funny when a waiter asked him if he wanted his vodka martini shaken or stirred, and he says, "Does it look like I care?" but it was out of character. I've heard they even want to drop the line, "I'm Bond, James Bond." For the life of me I can't remember Timothy Dalton even saying it in Licensed to Kill. Although in Living Daylights, he takes a French bikini babe's phone, tells her caller she'll call him back. Then he reports to the office, and she asks him who he is, and he sounds annoyed when he says, "Bond, James Bond," as if he was saying, "Hey, can't you see I'm on the phone?" Then he tells HQ he'll report in an hour, she offers him a martini, and he smiles and says, "Better make that two hours."

Frankly, I was beginning to wonder if Moore and Brosnan ever got out of a tux. Even Dalton always seemed to be suited, although wearing colors and fabrics more in line with where he is. But Bond also shouldn't wear muscle shirts or Hawaiian shirts either.

So right now, all Craig is showing is potential, but it hasn't gelled yet. And the producers of the movie will go where the money is, even if it's turning Bond into a Schwarzenneger/Stallone type character. Of course Dalton faced that very same problem with some people comparing the desert scene in TLD to Indiana Jones, and the whole South American Drug plot to Miami Vice. Of course that would be like comparing Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes to Ozzy Osbourne simply because they both have English accents.

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 29 December 2008 - 12:59 AM.

[Professor Pi]

The hell? Is this the Bash Craig for No Damned Reason thread?!

No, the question was whether Dalton still ranks high on the Fleming purity scale, which he definitely does. Neuman isn't a Fleming purist. Simple as that. His movies happen to be named after Fleming material, but it stops there. It's just not Bond. Unofficial pieces of work in my book. The last Bond film came in 2002.

Um ... you appear to be new to this site (and welcome!), but you'll discover two unwritten rules if you read most of the threads on CommanderBond.net:

#1 - Most of the members like Daniel Craig.
#2 - Most of the members hate Die Another Day (2002).

Oh yeah, and read Casino Royale.

[Stephen Spotswood]

I also think the part of James Bond has reached classic status, like Shakespeare, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and others, and changes shouldn't just arbitrarily be patched in.

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 29 December 2008 - 01:24 AM.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Pesonally I'm glad I never saw DAD. Bond smoked 70 Morland Cigarettes, triple banded a day, and wouldn't have a sign in his car, please don't smoke.

He also hated gadgets, and in Diamonds Are Forever we learn he even hated air-condtioning, automatic transmissions and radios in cars. He wanted to feel like he was driving the car, not the other way around. So he'd never get caught in Sean Connery's Aston Martin, or PB's car that was all gadgetry.

[Superhobo]

Although I was pulling for Clive Owen in the part, he's said in interviews that the part was never offered. But as soon as I saw that picture of Craig with gun raised that came from the movie, was it Casino (?) I immediately saw potential. The cast of his head and face seemed to have that Hoagy Carmichael quality. But I don't care for the choppy looking hairstyle, muscle flexing, commando way of playing the part. I want James Bond, not Sgt Rock or Sgt Fury et al.

It's funny, y'see, because there's very little muscle flexing in these two latter films - the most being seeing Craig without a shirt; and, on a side note, Fleming, or his publicist, repeatedly described Bond as a commando, when the books were released.

I also think the part of James Bond has reached classic status, like Shakespeare, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and others, and changes shouldn't just arbitrarily be patched in.

Except most of these changes you're talking about are - trivial, at best. Why does his hair color matter? Give me a legitimate reason that Craig's hair color is a black mark - so to speak - against his performances.

The line, "do I look like I give a damn?" Trivial stuff, friend. Especially in light of the fact that they had the recitation of the entire recipe of his drink in the film, line by line.

As far as the lack of "Bond, James Bond" in the film, and the theme, there was a thematic reason for their absences - and, story does come first. Or, it should.


Also, it is of note that the first paperback edition of Casino Royale shows a, well, blond Bond. James Blond, if you like. That, and Roger Moore's hair color was the same tint, if not lighter.

Edited by Superhobo, 29 December 2008 - 02:03 AM.

[FLEMINGFAN]

Was not a big fan of Dalton at the time, but after Craig stinking up the scene for two films, he has certainly shot up the charts a bit for me.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Was not a big fan of Dalton at the time, but after Craig stinking up the scene for two films, he has certainly shot up the charts a bit for me.

You're no FLEMINGFAN, then.

[FLEMINGFAN]

Was not a big fan of Dalton at the time, but after Craig stinking up the scene for two films, he has certainly shot up the charts a bit for me.

You're no FLEMINGFAN, then.

Strange reply.

[Major Tallon]

The hell? Is this the Bash Craig for No Damned Reason thread?!

No, the question was whether Dalton still ranks high on the Fleming purity scale, which he definitely does. Neuman isn't a Fleming purist. Simple as that. His movies happen to be named after Fleming material, but it stops there. It's just not Bond. Unofficial pieces of work in my book. The last Bond film came in 2002.

This post almost defies response. To begin with, though, I don't think name-calling reflects well on your powers of analysis. Further, rather than just declare things to be true, why don't you state why you find the Craig films "just not Bond"?

If it's the traditional characters, you do realize, I hope, that Ian Fleming never wrote a character named "Q" and that Miss Moneypenny was at best a character of marginal importance in the books. In fact, Fleming even got her name wrong in the original manuscript of Moonraker, located at the Lilly Library, calling her "Miss Pennyfeather" before he caught his mistake. Is it the martini, only one of very many different drinks that Fleming's Bond consumed, and hardly defining the Bond character? The "Bond, James Bond"? Do those three words really, in your view, make the difference between a Bond film and one that isn't?

Surely, it can't be hair color after all this time. Why not eye color, which seems to me to be more characteristic of Fleming's Bond than hair color? You do realize, don't you, that Connery's eyes were famously brown. Craig, on the other hand, unmistakably has the eyes of Fleming's Bond. Why not the scar, Bond's most distinctive feature? Do you dismiss an actor for being blonde, when none of them have the scar?

Finally, do you really find Fleming's Bond in Die Another Day? Surely, you can't be serious. Apart from the numerous story problems, which I and others have discussed at length, there's the problem of Pierce Brosnan. I don't think he's as bad as some fans let on, and I recall that he was very popular in his time, but some of his line readings and mugging facial expressions were really pretty dire. If you find in Die Another Day something seriously reflecting the themes or narrative elements of Ian Fleming's writing, I'd like you to inform us what it is.

As I've said above, I rate Timothy Dalton very highly, my favorite Bond. But if you want any of us to question Daniel Craig's place as the James Bond actor of our generation, you know what you'll have to do.

Better. Much better.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Although I was pulling for Clive Owen in the part, he's said in interviews that the part was never offered. But as soon as I saw that picture of Craig with gun raised that came from the movie, was it Casino (?) I immediately saw potential. The cast of his head and face seemed to have that Hoagy Carmichael quality. But I don't care for the choppy looking hairstyle, muscle flexing, commando way of playing the part. I want James Bond, not Sgt Rock or Sgt Fury et al.

It's funny, y'see, because there's very little muscle flexing in these two latter films - the most being seeing Craig without a shirt; and, on a side note, Fleming, or his publicist, repeatedly described Bond as a commando, when the books were released.

I also think the part of James Bond has reached classic status, like Shakespeare, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, and others, and changes shouldn't just arbitrarily be patched in.

Except most of these changes you're talking about are - trivial, at best. Why does his hair color matter? Give me a legitimate reason that Craig's hair color is a black mark - so to speak - against his performances.

The line, "do I look like I give a damn?" Trivial stuff, friend. Especially in light of the fact that they had the recitation of the entire recipe of his drink in the film, line by line.

As far as the lack of "Bond, James Bond" in the film, and the theme, there was a thematic reason for their absences - and, story does come first. Or, it should.


Also, it is of note that the first paperback edition of Casino Royale shows a, well, blond Bond. James Blond, if you like. That, and Roger Moore's hair color was the same tint, if not lighter.

There's more to it, if you've read my other comments, Bond was everyman not some muscle bound type that goes into these chase scenes like at the embassy and later in Casino Royale that depended more on luck, than skill. You got the sense of strain and suffering, not imperviousness. You had an agent who would call in support, so British commandoes would come in to clear up the situation while Bond usually took care of the main bad guy, not someone who did it all. You had an agent who rarely killed on first sight as ordered to, but would seek to justify the kill by investigating his target, usually breaking up a much larger conspiracy in the process. Strangely enough, at the end of Moonraker, you even had someone who didn't always get the girl. But then that book was an odd-ball. Bond was undercover as a security director of the Moonraker launch-site, interviewing witnesses, taking fingerprints and acting like a real detective in a houndstooth sports coat.

I don't want a return to Connery or even Dalton, but to the books. And as for things like hair color and traditional lines that's more to bring Craig into the part than he's been so far. The vodka martini reference was short-hand for Bond's overall epicurean tastes in the books. Although in the first book I seemed to recall him drinking Jim Beam, and inventing a drink he named after Vesper.

Craig is playing a more violent, but still comic book Bond in the tradition of Moore/Brosnan. Whereas Timothy Dalton actually read the books and drew from there.

As for Moore's lighter hair color, I couldn't care less, since I never liked Moore in the part. He definitely turned Bond into a comic-strip character, which reached its nadir with the introduction of Jaws, and turning an excellent book Moonraker into a Star Wars rip-off. And in Casino Royale, which page did they describe Bond's hair as being blond? And illustrators, if that's what you're vaguely refering to, often get the look of their characters wrong, because they often don't read the material first. I recall the text saying Bond's hair was black, and he had blue grey eyes, which it should be noted Dalton also had. We even have the comic strip Bond that Fleming envisioned and hired his own artist to render, although that image was rejected for a tougher looking Bond that look strangely a lot like Sean Connery, six years before he started playing the part.

http://api.ning.com/...7impression.jpg

Although he ended up looking like this in the comic strip:

http://www.comicsrep...lusky_thumb.jpg

Should Sherlock Holmes have a gleaming bald head?

Even in the book Casino Royale, Bond was presented as an agent wearing out, and you had his whole Red Indian speech that Mathis passed on to M. He seemed willing to quit the service to stay with Vesper. In the book, Le Chiffre's whipping of Bond's gonads were nerve wracking, in the movie merely an opportunity to show more muscle and a mildly naughty joke from Bond.

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 29 December 2008 - 05:36 AM.

[Superhobo]

I don't want a return to Connery or even Dalton, but to the books. And as for things like hair color and traditional lines that's more to bring Craig into the part than he's been so far. The vodka martini reference was short-hand for Bond's overall epicurean tastes in the books. Although in the first book I seemed to recall him drinking Jim Beam, and inventing a drink he named after Vesper.

The point, where is it?

Craig is playing a more violent, but still comic book Bond in the tradition of Moore/Brosnan. Whereas Timothy Dalton actually read the books and drew from there.

You realize that Craig also likely read the books, as well as admittedly watching and studying the past films, right?

There's nothing 'comic book' about him, really - and, violent? I have a copy of "Live and Let Die" I want you to flip through.

As for Moore's lighter hair color, I couldn't care less,

Obviously not.

since I never liked Moore in the part. He definitely turned Bond into a comic-strip character, which reached its nadir with the introduction of Jaws, and turning an excellent book Moonraker into a Star Wars rip-off. And in Casino Royale, which page did they describe Bond's hair as being blond? And illustrators, if that's what you're vaguely refering to, often get the look of their characters wrong, because they often don't read the material first. I recall the text saying Bond's hair was black, and he had blue grey eyes, which it should be noted Dalton also had. We even have the comic strip Bond that Fleming envisioned and hired his own artist to render, although that image was rejected for a tougher looking Bond that look strangely a lot like Sean Connery, six years before he started playing the part.

You seemed to have missed my point. The hair color does not matter, or it shouldn't. It's an insanely trivial matter, and doesn't really affect how the character is portrayed.

Should Sherlock Holmes have a gleaming bald head?

I don't seem to remember Doyle making a large deal about Holmes' hair, nor do I think he'd mind, were he alive, although I don't know how well it'd go over, in context, as I don't know how large of a fashion trend that was, in that time.

But, hair - or, lack of it - doesn't define the character, and this goes for Bond, as well.

Craig resembles Carmichael - he has blue-gray eyes. Physically, he's the closest to Fleming's description we've had, besides the hair.

In the book, Le Chiffre's whipping of Bond's gonads were nerve wracking, in the movie merely an opportunity to show more muscle and a mildly naughty joke from Bond.

Yes, because it wasn't like he wasn't on the verge of breaking down in the film, and was trying to play it off. Jesus, man. You must pay attention.

Edited by Superhobo, 29 December 2008 - 07:12 AM.

[Daylights]

The hell? Is this the Bash Craig for No Damned Reason thread?!

No, the question was whether Dalton still ranks high on the Fleming purity scale, which he definitely does. Neuman isn't a Fleming purist. Simple as that. His movies happen to be named after Fleming material, but it stops there. It's just not Bond. Unofficial pieces of work in my book. The last Bond film came in 2002.

Um ... you appear to be new to this site (and welcome!), but you'll discover two unwritten rules if you read most of the threads on CommanderBond.net:

#1 - Most of the members like Daniel Craig.
#2 - Most of the members hate Die Another Day (2002).

Oh yeah, and read Casino Royale.

I have read the book, as well as any other Fleming novel and short story, and I admit the movie itself is very much like the novel. It is a good movie in many ways. Still, Craig isn't my first choice to play Bond.

Die Another Day started out great, but the second half sucked, with Bond's invisible car etc. I agree there. I don't hate it, though... I don't think I hate any Bond movies, they all have something to like. It's just harder to find that "something" at times, like for instance in CR and QoS.

Why the tone?

[Thunderball302]

Although I was pulling for Clive Owen in the part, he's said in interviews that the part was never offered. But as soon as I saw that picture of Craig with gun raised that came from the movie, was it Casino (?) I immediately saw potential. The cast of his head and face seemed to have that Hoagy Carmichael quality. But I don't care for the choppy looking hairstyle, muscle flexing, commando way of playing the part. I want James Bond, not Sgt Rock or Sgt Fury et al. If he grew his hair a little longer, it might hold the dye necessary to darken it. It doesn't even have to be a hard black. And they need to stop making changes for changes sake, although it was funny when a waiter asked him if he wanted his vodka martini shaken or stirred, and he says, "Does it look like I care?" but it was out of character. I've heard they even want to drop the line, "I'm Bond, James Bond." For the life of me I can't remember Timothy Dalton even saying it in Licensed to Kill. Although in Living Daylights, he takes a French bikini babe's phone, tells her caller she'll call him back. Then he reports to the office, and she asks him who he is, and he sounds annoyed when he says, "Bond, James Bond," as if he was saying, "Hey, can't you see I'm on the phone?" Then he tells HQ he'll report in an hour, she offers him a martini, and he smiles and says, "Better make that two hours."

Frankly, I was beginning to wonder if Moore and Brosnan ever got out of a tux. Even Dalton always seemed to be suited, although wearing colors and fabrics more in line with where he is. But Bond also shouldn't wear muscle shirts or Hawaiian shirts either.

So right now, all Craig is showing is potential, but it hasn't gelled yet. And the producers of the movie will go where the money is, even if it's turning Bond into a Schwarzenneger/Stallone type character. Of course Dalton faced that very same problem with some people comparing the desert scene in TLD to Indiana Jones, and the whole South American Drug plot to Miami Vice. Of course that would be like comparing Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes to Ozzy Osbourne simply because they both have English accents.

Moore wore a suit too much.

when will people get off the blond hair? why does it matter?





sorry - i ment that Brozza wore a suit too often.

Was not a big fan of Dalton at the time, but after Craig stinking up the scene for two films, he has certainly shot up the charts a bit for me.

come on - embrace the new Bond!

[FLEMINGFAN]

Was not a big fan of Dalton at the time, but after Craig stinking up the scene for two films, he has certainly shot up the charts a bit for me.

come on - embrace the new Bond!

It is difficult to embace that ugly low-life thug as the established 50 year-old character called James Bond, and I am referring to actions as much as looks.

Having grown up on Bond, this new character is just too hard to take seriously. The Bourne people have Bourne and the Bond people had Bond. Why did they have to scrap the one to appease the other camp?

Even though I think they will now move away from the current character and film to the lighter one that has existed since DOCTOR NO, it will be just too much of a conflict with that one-note actor playing him. He may not have the range to pull that off. The has been no role that he has played that ever came close to the existing cinematic James Bond. Good or bad, that does take a unique actor to play.

Dalton had the same issue.

[Professor Pi]

The hell? Is this the Bash Craig for No Damned Reason thread?!

No, the question was whether Dalton still ranks high on the Fleming purity scale, which he definitely does. Neuman isn't a Fleming purist. Simple as that. His movies happen to be named after Fleming material, but it stops there. It's just not Bond. Unofficial pieces of work in my book. The last Bond film came in 2002.

Um ... you appear to be new to this site (and welcome!), but you'll discover two unwritten rules if you read most of the threads on CommanderBond.net:

#1 - Most of the members like Daniel Craig.
#2 - Most of the members hate Die Another Day (2002).

Oh yeah, and read Casino Royale.

I have read the book, as well as any other Fleming novel and short story, and I admit the movie itself is very much like the novel. It is a good movie in many ways. Still, Craig isn't my first choice to play Bond.

Die Another Day started out great, but the second half sucked, with Bond's invisible car etc. I agree there. I don't hate it, though... I don't think I hate any Bond movies, they all have something to like. It's just harder to find that "something" at times, like for instance in CR and QoS.

Why the tone?

Sorry. I just thought you hadn't read Casino Royale since you said Craig's movies "happen to be named after Fleming material," which in the case of CR there's clearly much more literary faithfulness than just the title. I'll grant you that on QoS, though.

But what's the point in calling Daniel "Alfred E. Neuman?" I'm not going to fault an actor for being blonde, too short, having ears like Lazenby, or any other physical trait he can't help. And I was totally against his casting for those reasons until I saw what the man did in CR. However, like Dalton, he's clearly read the books (even said so in an interview), unlike Moore and Connery. Brosnan said he watched the Connery movies to prepare for the role.

However, I agree with you in that the Craig Bond films don't feel like traditional 007 movies. But that's because they're too good. I expect a certain amount of cheese with Bond, which is why I don't hate DAD all that much. In fact, I quite liked it until this site pointed out its many faults. Same goes for TWINE. I still stand by rules #1 and #2 though. CBn is not CraignotBond.com.

[Mr_Wint]

Was not a big fan of Dalton at the time, but after Craig stinking up the scene for two films, he has certainly shot up the charts a bit for me.

come on - embrace the new Bond!

It is difficult to embace that ugly low-life thug as the established 50 year-old character called James Bond, and I am referring to actions as much as looks.

Having grown up on Bond, this new character is just too hard to take seriously. The Bourne people have Bourne and the Bond people had Bond. Why did they have to scrap the one to appease the other camp?

Even though I think they will now move away from the current character and film to the lighter one that has existed since DOCTOR NO, it will be just too much of a conflict with that one-note actor playing him. He may not have the range to pull that off. The has been no role that he has played that ever came close to the existing cinematic James Bond. Good or bad, that does take a unique actor to play.

Dalton had the same issue.

Amen With one reservation: I think Craig could be a great Bond if he was given the right material.

[Revelator]

I don't seem to remember Doyle making a large deal about Holmes' hair, nor do I think he'd mind, were he alive, although I don't know how well it'd go over, in context, as I don't know how large of a fashion trend that was, in that time.

I can answer this one. Doyle doesn't even say what color Holmes' hair is. Much of our image of Holmes comes from the original illustrations of Sidney Paget, who made him an aquiline gentleman with a high black hairline. When questioned about Paget's work, Doyle said that he actually envisioned Holmes as being considerably more ugly, with a more hawk-like nose and smaller eyes. But, Doyle said, Paget's illustrations had endeared the character to thousands of female readers, and Doyle had absolutely no complaints. The situation is somewhat similar to Fleming accepting Connery after a female relative or friend said he was tops.

Craig resembles Carmichael - he has blue-gray eyes. Physically, he's the closest to Fleming's description we've had, besides the hair.

Connery seems to resemble Craig more to me, but I agree that the resemblance certainly isn't vital. Neither Lazenby, Moore, Dalton or Brosnan looked like Carmichael.

In the book, Le Chiffre's whipping of Bond's gonads were nerve wracking, in the movie merely an opportunity to show more muscle and a mildly naughty joke from Bond.

Yes, because it wasn't like he wasn't on the verge of breaking down in the film, and was trying to play it off. Jesus, man. You must pay attention.

Both parties are correct. Bond was quite distraught, yet his joke lessens the tension of the scene. I prefer the novel's version, where Bond is too ravaged to even speak properly.

Edited by Revelator, 30 December 2008 - 01:15 AM.

[Stephen Spotswood]

I think this thread is actually asking two questions of Dalton and Craig, who's the more Flemingesque, and I would say the answer is Dalton. The second question would be is the "gentleman spy" of Fleming's era (pre and post WWII) more likely to be the most effectual in today's world? That question is open.

Besides Sidney Paget illustrations, William Gillette was one of the first stage actors to essay the part of Holmes. He was of a matinee idol type who standardized the pipe as a meerschaum as we know it (Doyle's smoked simple long stemmed clay pipe) and the deer-stalker cap. In the sound period of movies, the image would be taken up by Basil Rathbone. Since then I've become fans of Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett's more neurotic version.

I seem to recall at least one version that starred Roger Moore as Holmes.

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 30 December 2008 - 01:20 AM.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Didn't Sean Connery appear in one of the Holmes films in the late '70s, or am I just mixed up?

[Major Tallon]

Didn't Sean Connery appear in one of the Holmes films in the late '70s, or am I just mixed up?

Not Connery. Roger Moore did a TV film called "Sherlock Holmes in New York," with Patrick Macnee as Watson.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Funny thing is in both Dr No, and TLD I saw actors who looked more like my idea of Bond. In the former, it was a radio operator trying to raise Strangways and then consults a bespectacled supervisor. In the latter, it was the agent who was killed while climbing Gibraltar and his rope was cut by the bad guy.

The problem seems to be the desire for a name actor in the part. Connery was a known TV actor at the time in England. Moore was probably even better known for TV work at the time. Lazenby was the most successful male model at the time. Dalton has had a very eclectic history, some would know him for Jane Austen movies, others like me Flash Gordon and Sextette. Brosan was of course Remington Steele. Craig is essentially another art house actor like Dalton, so it is strange comparing them off of each other.

And the most successful actors also tend to be the more classically featured.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Craig is essentially another art house actor like Dalton

I wouldn't say that; before Casino Royale, he'd also starred in the top notch thriller Layer Cake, which was directed by the producer behind Guy Ritchie's two best films.

[Willowhugger]

Oddly, I have one problem with Timothy Dalton's Bond. It's not the fact that I think Timothy is overly theatrical (though I've mentioned that before). It's oddly the fact I could never entirely embrace him as Bond because he's the most good-looking 007. I say this as a straight heterosexual male but there's something a little too polished about him.

Daniel Craig and Sean Connery share the quality of looking like they could kick someone's .

Oddly, I think Roger Moore is what Bond is SUPPOSED to look like. I.e. he's not supposed to be a rough and tumble brawler.

[Harmsway]

Oddly, I think Roger Moore is what Bond is SUPPOSED to look like. I.e. he's not supposed to be a rough and tumble brawler.

Not according to Fleming, who has Bond frequently described as tough in appearance. See Fleming's MOONRAKER, where Fleming describes the patrons of Blades reacting to Bond:

And what could the casual observer think of him, 'Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVSR', also 'something at the Ministry of Defence', the rather saturnine young man in his middle thirties sitting opposite the Admiral? Something a bit cold and dangerous in the face. Looks pretty fit. May have been attached to Templer in Malaya. Or Nairobi. Mau Mau work. Tough-looking customer. Doesn't look the sort of chap one usually sees in Blades.

Note the references to Gerald Templer and the Mau Mau rebellion. On appearance alone, Bond's associated with rough military work. Of all the cinematic Bonds, I daresay only Daniel Craig really captures the spirit of this Fleming passage.

[sharpshooter]

Of all the cinematic Bonds, I daresay only Daniel Craig really captures the spirit of this Fleming passage.

Yes, I’m inclined to agree.

[Stephen Spotswood]

However, at the same time, in the books there was something vague Fleming referred to in Bond's eyes. Women seemed attracted by them. It could be merely the color. But in the book Casino Royale, there was a mention of Bond going to sleep and once his eyes were shut, his face became a grim taciturn mask. Connery certainly had such a face, but his eyes were too cold. Dalton on the other hand did a lot of his acting with his eyes. Some scenes were almost silent and his eyes were doing the work. Looking startled by a screaming monkey, casing the place from which he would be looking for a sniper, a sudden glare when he realized he was aiming at a woman who was an amateur with a gun, a coldness when he said if M fired him he would thank him, his eyes seemed downright cutting when Kara asked him if he got a message from Koskov, and he answers, "Yes, I got the message." This was after Saunders was killed, etc etc etc. All of that is cinematic, an audience in a theatre couldn't see what his eyes were doing.

The impression I had of Bond's physique was wiriness, not heavy musculature, he was built for speed, for the fast assasination, for the chase. This comes from both the books, and Fleming's description of appearing like Hoagy Carmichael, and wanting David Nivens in the part, as well as the cartoon illustration Fleming commissioned that was turned down. 007 studied the most efficient ways to fight and kill, not relying on sheer strength. Bond looked like the bored civil servant on his way to work. That's is where everyone, Dalton included, did not match Fleming's description. In a way, James Bond was Fleming's patriotic statement, when times get tough, the average Englishman gets tougher.

This is from 1946:

http://media-2.web.b...04-552EF441.jpg

Edited by Stephen Spotswood, 02 January 2009 - 02:38 PM.

[Willowhugger]

Forgive me if I don't think that "looks pretty fit" translates into much.

[Harmsway]

Forgive me if I don't think that "looks pretty fit" translates into much.

But that's not all that's there. There's the "Tough-looking customer" comment, and also his association with some intense military work based on appearance alone.

[Stephen Spotswood]

Tough looking could refer to everything from the expression on his face, a certain wariness, perhaps casing every room he enters, to even physical posture.

When I read the passage in the book, it seemed to me that they were describing Bond's own slight discomfort, in being in such a civilized setting, although it seemed he had been M's guest at Blades once or twice before as a guest.