207 replies to this topic

[The Shark]

But with Craig, we've had no contrast.

[jaguar007]

But with Craig, we've had no contrast.

Physically, yes we have. In CR he was bigger and slightly bulkier. In QoS he was leaner and more ripped.

Plus so far we have only had 2 movies to compare him in as opposed to Moore and Connery's 7 films and Brosnan's 4.

However I think Craig will remain fit in every Bond film he does. You and a few other fanboys may want him to look a little more out of shape, but I think the movie going public as a whole want a more physical Bond.

[Loomis]

However I think Craig will remain fit in every Bond film he does. You and a few other fanboys may want him to look a little more out of shape, but I think the movie going public as a whole want a more physical Bond.

Look at Connery in his first three or four films, and then look at him in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. In his first few outings, his phsyique is lean and hard, and to me he looks much more like my mental picture of Fleming's Bond than he does in DAF, where he's "a little more out of shape" (to put it mildly).

I grant that Fleming's Bond never goes to a gym. I concede that his idea of exercise is touching his toes a few times. I appreciate that he's probably never heard of creatine. Then again, does Fleming ever mention that Bond has a paunch or that his muscles have gone to pot? True, he does speak every so often of "the blubbery arms of the soft life", but at the same time does he ever give the impression that Bond is not a tough customer in terrific shape compared to the average Joe?

The point I'm trying to make is that I don't believe Fleming's Bond = someone whose body is running to seed.

[David Schofield]

In think Jag is correct; Craig will stay is shape through his Bond career.

He obviously enjoys going to the gym, and the end product benefits of looking good that it brings, in a way none of his predecessors ever did (Connery's youthful Mr Universe efforts notwithstanding).

It will not necessarily give the contrast between light and shade of the Fleming original Loomis (and I) would hope for, but I trust Craig acting ability might enable him to show those different sides in other ways. If he is given the necessary material to work with, of course.

[Dustin]

He loses considerable weight at Scrublands, indicating it was superfluous in the first place. But I should think Bond's tall frame can cover a lot of fat before he comes across as flabby. Also Bond's frequent stay a clinics (with crushed testicles, cut skin, burnt hide, poisoned, brainwashed or simply shot) always provides an opportunity for a little diet. Bond has the great inclination to lose weight whenever he's ill. And Bond is ill a lot.

[The Shark]

But with Craig, we've had no contrast.

Physically, yes we have. In CR he was bigger and slightly bulkier. In QoS he was leaner and more ripped.

But he's never been anything but physically fit. Ridiculously so.

I'd rather have Craig develop a physique more similar to Connery and Lazenby. Lean and not ripped or bulky.

[Dustin]

A metrosexual by definition cares mostly about himself, his body, his cloths, and his diet.

That's a good description of Bond's character. He may have been the prototype and first metrosexual before the word was even invented and used ad nauseam by the media to push The-Next-Big-Thing into our minds.

Eating rich meals would put on flab, and compromise his BMI. Chasing tail would require showing interest in someone other than himself.

No, rich meals won't spoil your figure, provided you balance them with plenty of sports and refuse that disgusting gavage habit that's become so popular with "all you can eat" diners and "happy meals". I know a few restaurant critics myself and half of them are really quite slim, despite decades of eating well and regularly consuming wines and spirits. And those getting heavier often only did so with age, not by way of their profession. You would not need to become an ascetic to stay within certain limits when enjoying quality foods in style.

As for the chasing tail, Bond never had to do much chasing. And would not have been too eager to do so either, I should think. Fleming somewhere wrote he preferred the open and quick advancement, leaving out most of the romantic ornament of a seduction and he indeed wrote Bond's sexlife not so much different. Bond may have been constantly aware and open for opportunities. But a difficult seduction wasn't his cup of tea IMO.

Another words, Craig's Bond is designed to appeal to educated women and homosexual men.

Nothing wrong with that, surely? I mean, why should Bond not also appeal to these groups? He's still appealing to most heterosexuals and uneducated women and men as well.

Edited by Dustin, 22 April 2011 - 02:30 PM.

[Loomis]

A metrosexual by definition cares mostly about himself, his body, his cloths, and his diet.

That's a good description of Bond's character. He may have been the prototype and first metrosexual before the word was even invented and used ad nauseam by the media to push The-Next-Big-Thing into our minds.

Quite. What's that line in Fleming's CASINO ROYALE? Bond says something along the lines of: "I know it's old maidish of me, but I take a ridiculous amount of pleasure in what I eat and drink."

And isn't there also a shampoo he's very particular about using? Fleurs de whatever?

[Dustin]

I think it was Pinaud Elixir (looked it up in Kingsley Amis' book, who also noted how often Bond's cold shower routine is mentioned and how this reminds him of an element of self-adoration and worship).

Frankly, that whole fussy-about-things-Bond routine is a most "metrosexual" streak in itself. It just wasn't called that back in Fleming's day. Therefore I think these accusations are just as ridiculous as those of pørnography, sadism or masochism. They are labels that get thrown at Bond (film as well as book) but hardly ever are spot on. They either misread Fleming completely or ignore him, depending on the aim of the respective attack.

[The Shark]

I agree. Finding metrosexuality in Fleming is a lost cause.

In fact, this thread is a lost cause.

A metrosexual by definition cares mostly about himself, his body, his cloths, and his diet.

That's a good description of Bond's character. He may have been the prototype and first metrosexual before the word was even invented and used ad nauseam by the media to push The-Next-Big-Thing into our minds.

Quite. What's that line in Fleming's CASINO ROYALE? Bond says something along the lines of: "I know it's old maidish of me, but I take a ridiculous amount of pleasure in what I eat and drink."

But not "how I look."

That's a crucial difference.

[jaguar007]

Eating rich meals would put on flab, and compromise his BMI. Chasing tail would require showing interest in someone other than himself.

In the books, Bond never "chased tail" like he did in the movies. You seem to be talking a wee bit of contradiction here Shark. In one aspect you criticize Craig for not being enough like Bond in the books as far as fitness and not using Benzedrine, on the other hand you criticize Craig for not being like the movie Bond by not banging 3 women in one film.

We get that you don't like Craig, fine. But all the other actors have differences from the book Bonds as well as the other film incarnations. It is one of the things that keep the Bond films interesting. They can only remake GF so many times.

[Dustin]

I agree. Finding metrosexuality in Fleming is a lost cause.

In fact, this thread is a lost cause.

A metrosexual by definition cares mostly about himself, his body, his cloths, and his diet.

That's a good description of Bond's character. He may have been the prototype and first metrosexual before the word was even invented and used ad nauseam by the media to push The-Next-Big-Thing into our minds.

Quite. What's that line in Fleming's CASINO ROYALE? Bond says something along the lines of: "I know it's old maidish of me, but I take a ridiculous amount of pleasure in what I eat and drink."

But not "how I look."

That's a crucial difference.

Erm, from MR:

In the glass, the grey-blue eyes looked back at him with the extra light they held when his mind was focused on a problem that interested him. The lean, hard face had a hungry, competitive edge to it. There was something swift and intent in the way he ran his fingers along his jaw and in the impatient stroke of the hairbrush to put back the comma of black hair that fell down an inch above his right eyebrow. It crossed his mind that, with the fading of his sunburn, the scar down the right cheek that has shown so white was beginning to be less prominent, and automatically he glanced down his naked body and registered that the almost indecent white area left by his bathing trunks was less sharply defined. He smiled at some memory and went through into the bedroom.

How I look, indeed.

I suggest we either stop throwing around "metrosexuality" accusations or start defining good metrosexuality (Fleming, of course!) and bad one (Eon, Haggis, "And most off (sic!) all that damned Craig fella'!!!").

Edited by Dustin, 22 April 2011 - 04:59 PM.

[Jump James]

Smokings not cool anymore, unless your idea of smelling like a smoked kipper is cool. So leave it out.

[TheREAL008]

Smokings not cool anymore, unless your idea of smelling like a smoked kipper is cool. So leave it out.

Agreed, times have changed. It could either be a drawback or deterrent for Bond and people might view him with less popularity.

[Jump James]

Lastly, have you ever known someone for a while and not known they smoke? Then one day you see that person smoking and nine times out of ten it just doesnt suit them. That's what it would be like if Craig's Bond now sparked up. Wouldnt suit him. Although it will never happen anyway.

[jaguar007]

Lastly, have you ever known someone for a while and not known they smoke? Then one day you see that person smoking and nine times out of ten it just doesnt suit them. That's what it would be like if Craig's Bond now sparked up. Wouldnt suit him. Although it will never happen anyway.

Apparently Craig smoked in real life but quit when he was getting in shape for CR.

[00 Brosnan]

Lastly, have you ever known someone for a while and not known they smoke? Then one day you see that person smoking and nine times out of ten it just doesnt suit them. That's what it would be like if Craig's Bond now sparked up. Wouldnt suit him. Although it will never happen anyway.

I actually know someone who for the longest time I thought did smoke and then after a couple years I found out he didn't. Weird, but I'd have to go into more detail.

As for Craig, I really don't think it's out of his Bond's character to smoke. Brooding people or people w/ several heavy emotional issues weighing them down are the ones who tend to smoke and Craig's Bond is the most brooding of them all.

[jamie00007]

Now Craig doesnt have enough flab? The things you people worry about...

Two movies ago we had a CGI Bond surfing around on tsunamis and driving invisible cars. But now the movies are too far removed from Fleming because Craig has a body thats too fit for the food Fleming's Bond ate. Ok. And this must be the first time in the history of the internet the words "Daniel Craig" and "metrosexual" have been in the same sentence.

[Jump James]

Lastly, have you ever known someone for a while and not known they smoke? Then one day you see that person smoking and nine times out of ten it just doesnt suit them. That's what it would be like if Craig's Bond now sparked up. Wouldnt suit him. Although it will never happen anyway.

Apparently Craig smoked in real life but quit when he was getting in shape for CR.

Yes I'd heard he used to smoke. Never seen him spark up in any media though.

Lastly, have you ever known someone for a while and not known they smoke? Then one day you see that person smoking and nine times out of ten it just doesnt suit them. That's what it would be like if Craig's Bond now sparked up. Wouldnt suit him. Although it will never happen anyway.

I actually know someone who for the longest time I thought did smoke and then after a couple years I found out he didn't. Weird, but I'd have to go into more detail.

When you found out they didn't smoke, did it suit them?

[00 Brosnan]

Lastly, have you ever known someone for a while and not known they smoke? Then one day you see that person smoking and nine times out of ten it just doesnt suit them. That's what it would be like if Craig's Bond now sparked up. Wouldnt suit him. Although it will never happen anyway.

I actually know someone who for the longest time I thought did smoke and then after a couple years I found out he didn't. Weird, but I'd have to go into more detail.

When you found out they didn't smoke, did it suit them?

Did not smoking suit him? Well, I would say it didn't (w/o going too deep). I thought for like 3 or 4 years he smoked and he actually wasn't. Maybe it was just b/c I smoke other...more green-ish stuff w/ him all the time and just about everyone I know who does that smokes cigarettes as well. It's just an odd story...

Edited by 00 Brosnan, 29 April 2011 - 01:03 AM.

[Miles Miservy]

James Bond is meant to be an Operator for MI6 so why would he never use any automatic weapons. He has to because Bond cannot live in the past. For the films to survive they have to update.

So he has to lose his identity in the process, and become a pale copy of John Rambo?

Half monk; half hitman...

I agree. Finding metrosexuality in Fleming is a lost cause.

In fact, this thread is a lost cause.

A metrosexual by definition cares mostly about himself, his body, his cloths, and his diet.

That's a good description of Bond's character. He may have been the prototype and first metrosexual before the word was even invented and used ad nauseam by the media to push The-Next-Big-Thing into our minds.

WTF is a metrosexual???
Quite. What's that line in Fleming's CASINO ROYALE? Bond says something along the lines of: "I know it's old maidish of me, but I take a ridiculous amount of pleasure in what I eat and drink."

But not "how I look."

That's a crucial difference.

Erm, from MR:

In the glass, the grey-blue eyes looked back at him with the extra light they held when his mind was focused on a problem that interested him. The lean, hard face had a hungry, competitive edge to it. There was something swift and intent in the way he ran his fingers along his jaw and in the impatient stroke of the hairbrush to put back the comma of black hair that fell down an inch above his right eyebrow. It crossed his mind that, with the fading of his sunburn, the scar down the right cheek that has shown so white was beginning to be less prominent, and automatically he glanced down his naked body and registered that the almost indecent white area left by his bathing trunks was less sharply defined. He smiled at some memory and went through into the bedroom.

How I look, indeed.

I suggest we either stop throwing around "metrosexuality" accusations or start defining good metrosexuality (Fleming, of course!) and bad one (Eon, Haggis, "And most off (sic!) all that damned Craig fella'!!!").

I agree. Finding metrosexuality in Fleming is a lost cause.

In fact, this thread is a lost cause.

A metrosexual by definition cares mostly about himself, his body, his cloths, and his diet.

That's a good description of Bond's character. He may have been the prototype and first metrosexual before the word was even invented and used ad nauseam by the media to push The-Next-Big-Thing into our minds.

WTF is a metrosexual???
Quite. What's that line in Fleming's CASINO ROYALE? Bond says something along the lines of: "I know it's old maidish of me, but I take a ridiculous amount of pleasure in what I eat and drink."

But not "how I look."

That's a crucial difference.

Erm, from MR:

In the glass, the grey-blue eyes looked back at him with the extra light they held when his mind was focused on a problem that interested him. The lean, hard face had a hungry, competitive edge to it. There was something swift and intent in the way he ran his fingers along his jaw and in the impatient stroke of the hairbrush to put back the comma of black hair that fell down an inch above his right eyebrow. It crossed his mind that, with the fading of his sunburn, the scar down the right cheek that has shown so white was beginning to be less prominent, and automatically he glanced down his naked body and registered that the almost indecent white area left by his bathing trunks was less sharply defined. He smiled at some memory and went through into the bedroom.

How I look, indeed.

I suggest we either stop throwing around "metrosexuality" accusations or start defining good metrosexuality (Fleming, of course!) and bad one (Eon, Haggis, "And most off (sic!) all that damned Craig fella'!!!").

[DR76]

Why is it so important to see Craig's Bond smoking a cigar or cigarette? Because it makes him look cool? That's it? I realize that some people tend to approach the Bond character in a shallow way, but this is ridiculous.

And why is it that all of a sudden, everyone wants the cinematic Bond to resemble the literary Bond . . . exactly? Not one actor who has portrayed Bond on film, has been exactly like Fleming's Bond. And quite frankly, this doesn't bother me one bit.

[Royal Dalton]

I was watching an interview with Jeffrey Deaver earlier, and he said that some secret intelligence-type told him that modern day spies don't smoke because it draws attention to them.

So, that might be a good excuse for the film Bond not smelling like an ashtray these days.

[The Shark]

I was watching an interview with Jeffrey Deaver earlier, and he said that some secret intelligence-type told him that modern day spies don't smoke because it draws attention to them.

Might as well ditch the Aston and the 'Bond, James Bond' catchphrase...

After all, James Bond has always been highly inconspicuous.

[Messervy]

I was watching an interview with Jeffrey Deaver earlier, and he said that some secret intelligence-type told him that modern day spies don't smoke because it draws attention to them.

Might as well ditch the Aston and the 'Bond, James Bond' catchphrase...

After all, James Bond has always been highly inconspicuous.

Very true!
If one says that Bond has to blend in, then I suggest we get rid of the Aston, the Bollinger, the pretty girls, the exotic locations, the nice suits, etc. In fact, we might as well get rid of Bond!...

Besides, this "intelligence guys don't smoke" is rubbish. If you want to blend in, you have to look average. Some guys smoke, others don't. That's not even an issue. I wonder why Deaver came up with such a ludicrous idea. Smoking draws attention?

[Dustin]

I was watching an interview with Jeffrey Deaver earlier, and he said that some secret intelligence-type told him that modern day spies don't smoke because it draws attention to them.

Might as well ditch the Aston and the 'Bond, James Bond' catchphrase...

After all, James Bond has always been highly inconspicuous.

Very true!
If one says that Bond has to blend in, then I suggest we get rid of the Aston, the Bollinger, the pretty girls, the exotic locations, the nice suits, etc. In fact, we might as well get rid of Bond!...

Besides, this "intelligence guys don't smoke" is rubbish. If you want to blend in, you have to look average. Some guys smoke, others don't. That's not even an issue. I wonder why Deaver came up with such a ludicrous idea. Smoking draws attention?

Hm, difficult to judge. I'm not at all sure it's quite as silly as it may seem to some initially. Fact is, it does not seem like a terribly bright idea to have a chap in intelligence who can be set under pressure by simply taking away his Marlboros. Smoking is an addiction, and like any addiction it's a weakness that's apt to be exploited by the other side.

On the other hand the customs and rituals of smoking are a good cover for meeting a contact or even the initiation of a potential contact or target, the daily bread of intelligence work and the surpeme discipline of the trade. It's a potentially useful device for breaking the ice under a given set of circumstances.

Now there is the question of blending in. Well, when an intelligence officer, hereafter called spook, is in need of blending in with a set of party-goers crowding the entrance to a club it might be natural to share the odd fag. Should said spook find himself in need of blending in with top level CEOs on the other hand, then it might be wise not to. I believe on average Bond has more use for CEO-blending than for the first variety.

Perhaps we can agree that under certain conditions it can be a useful device for a spook to give the impression he/she smokes and is addicted to the habit?

Apart from that I find it's not really that character defining. Character doesn't come from a pack of cigarettes, regardless if they are called Camel or Morlands or Chesterfield, which I believe was the brand most often mentioned by Fleming.

Edited by Dustin, 30 May 2011 - 11:49 AM.

[Messervy]

I was watching an interview with Jeffrey Deaver earlier, and he said that some secret intelligence-type told him that modern day spies don't smoke because it draws attention to them.

Might as well ditch the Aston and the 'Bond, James Bond' catchphrase...

After all, James Bond has always been highly inconspicuous.

Very true!
If one says that Bond has to blend in, then I suggest we get rid of the Aston, the Bollinger, the pretty girls, the exotic locations, the nice suits, etc. In fact, we might as well get rid of Bond!...

Besides, this "intelligence guys don't smoke" is rubbish. If you want to blend in, you have to look average. Some guys smoke, others don't. That's not even an issue. I wonder why Deaver came up with such a ludicrous idea. Smoking draws attention?

Hm, difficult to judge. I'm not at all sure it's quite as silly as it may seem to some initially. Fact is, it does not seem like a terribly bright idea to have a chap in intelligence who can be set under pressure by simply taking away his Marlboros. Smoking is an addiction, and like any addiction it's a weakness that's apt to be exploited by the other side.

On the other hand the customs and rituals of smoking are a good cover for meeting a contact or even the initiation of a potential contact or target, the daily bread of intelligence work and the surpeme discipline of the trade. It's a potentially useful device for breaking the ice under a given set of circumstances.

Now there is the question of blending in. Well, when an intelligence officer, hereafter called spook, is in need of blending in with a set of party-goers crowding the entrance to a club it might be natural to share the odd fag. Should said spook find himself in need of blending in with top level CEOs on the other hand, then it might be wise not to. I believe on average Bond has more use for CEO-blending than for the first variety.

Perhaps we can agree that under certain conditions it can be a useful device for a spook to give the impression he/she smokes and is addicted to the habit?

Apart from that I find it's not really that character defining. Character doesn't come from a pack of cigarettes, regardless if they are called Camel or Morlands or Chesterfield, which I believe was the brand most often mentioned by Fleming.

I don't agree with you.
Some say that smoking is not what defines a character. As I've said here before, I precisely think that it is. Bond smokes, drinks, drives fast, womanizes, etc. He's someone living life to the fullest extent possible, enjoying every bit of it because he knows it can stop any minute (him getting killed in the line of duty). So, in that particular case, yes, smoking is an integral part of the characterization. It's not about the smoking as such, it's about what smoking implies: not really taking care, burning the candle. In that sense, I kind of like one of Brosnan's lines in DAD: "They feast, like there's no tomorrow". Says it all, really. Bond is not about taking good care of yourself, eating vegetables and drinking carrot juice. Just read Thunderball to see what I mean...

Obviously, you can get a non-smoking Bond and it will still be Bond. But the fact is, it will be an incomplete characterization of Bond.

Besides, "smoking is an addiction" doesn't work. It's not. It is an addiction only if you let it be. I know there's a lot of politically correctness about it, but the fact is that you can be a light smoker, enjoying it for what it is and nothing more. Currently, I smoke cigars. Yet it's not an addiction. I did smoke before and stopped for years, only to resume because I found the time and opportunity (with friends), and just felt like spending a nice moment.
In that sense, one can't say that an intelligence officer will be put under pressure because he won't be in a position to smoke. You have various ways to pressurize someone; the famous "MICE" (money, ideology, compromission, ego). Smoking clearly is irrelevant. Can you really envisage an intelligence officer's smoking habit turned into an exploitation scheme? What that would mean is that this guy would be so ill that it'd be a shame to even keep him in the Service anyhow.

I perfectly understand the people who don't like smoking, and who don't want Bond smoking. We all have different tastes and various things we like or not. But what, to me, is plain wrong is people saying "it's bad" per se.

As for smoking vs Intelligence Service. Well, I'd say that it's just not an issue. You get people who smoke, and people who don't. Same thing with Intelligence officers: some smoke, others don't. Trying to find some explanation as Deaver did on "I want to blend in so I don't smoke, but probably in other arenas I'll have to smoke because people there smoke" is nonesensical. Even if you don't smoke and want to enter a crowd where people smoke, the fact that you don't smoke is irrelevant. So I really don't get his point.

But, in the end, I'm sure we'll get a non-smoking Bond, because in those times of politically correctness that's what the majority seems to prefer. Oh, well, so be it.
There's no trouble with Bond killing people, destroying government property and wasting truckloads of material, as long as he doesn't smoke... strange times we're living in!

[Dustin]

I don't agree with you.
Some say that smoking is not what defines a character. As I've said here before, I precisely think that it is. Bond smokes, drinks, drives fast, womanizes, etc. He's someone living life to the fullest extent possible, enjoying every bit of it because he knows it can stop any minute (him getting killed in the line of duty). So, in that particular case, yes, smoking is an integral part of the characterization.

It's not about the smoking as such, it's about what smoking implies:

Now, is it or isn't it about smoking? Really have to make our minds up about it, don't we.

not really taking care, burning the candle. In that sense, I kind of like one of Brosnan's lines in DAD: "They feast, like there's no tomorrow". Says it all, really. Bond is not about taking good care of yourself, eating vegetables and drinking carrot juice. Just read Thunderball to see what I mean...

I have read it a few times, but I think that's a bit beside the point here. Not smoking doesn't necessarily imply a tendency to vegetables and carrot juice. Likewise, a taste for such vegetarian delights surely doesn't exclude one from "feasting, like there's no tomorrow." Quite the contrary in my experience, but that's just me, each to their own and all that.

Obviously, you can get a non-smoking Bond and it will still be Bond. But the fact is, it will be an incomplete characterization of Bond.

It's surely a different characterisation. But given the fact that we've never really had a complete one to start with it doesn't bother me much. If it's still Bond it's good enough for me and several billion people around the globe.

Besides, "smoking is an addiction" doesn't work. It's not. It is an addiction only if you let it be. I know there's a lot of politically correctness about it, but the fact is that you can be a light smoker, enjoying it for what it is and nothing more. Currently, I smoke cigars. Yet it's not an addiction. I did smoke before and stopped for years, only to resume because I found the time and opportunity (with friends), and just felt like spending a nice moment.

That's all good and fine and it's obviously ok for you. Mainly because it's your business what smoking is to you, how often and where you enjoy it and how you justify it to yourself. Scientific findings and clinical evaluation however do in fact point to another direction (albeit with the limitation of a varying addictive potential with certain subjects and, obviously, the frequency one indulges), and I feel tempted to agree with those. If smoking to you is less addictive you may happen to be one of the lucky few subjects less inclined to fall for an addiction in general; difficult to say either way without testing substances beyond the legal sphere.

At any rate with Bond it's not occassional smoking every once in a while that's supposedly integral to the characterisation. It's the full blown habit, ranging from sixty-a-day in CR down to thirty-a-day in TMWTGG. As such the device does not imply enjoyment and relish but lack of restraint, severe stress and up to a point also gluttony.

In that sense, one can't say that an intelligence officer will be put under pressure because he won't be in a position to smoke. You have various ways to pressurize someone; the famous "MICE" (money, ideology, compromission, ego). Smoking clearly is irrelevant. Can you really envisage an intelligence officer's smoking habit turned into an exploitation scheme? What that would mean is that this guy would be so ill that it'd be a shame to even keep him in the Service anyhow.

Smoking's hardly irrelevant when, after thirty hours of questioning, the interrogators offer a cigarette. A smoker will be grateful for the gesture, no matter how experienced or hard-balls he fancies himself. Which is all that's really needed, a momentary dropping of the mental defences. It's a basic technique and the less target a subject provides the harder it is for the opposition.

I perfectly understand the people who don't like smoking, and who don't want Bond smoking. We all have different tastes and various things we like or not. But what, to me, is plain wrong is people saying "it's bad" per se.

As for smoking vs Intelligence Service. Well, I'd say that it's just not an issue. You get people who smoke, and people who don't. Same thing with Intelligence officers: some smoke, others don't. Trying to find some explanation as Deaver did on "I want to blend in so I don't smoke, but probably in other arenas I'll have to smoke because people there smoke" is nonesensical. Even if you don't smoke and want to enter a crowd where people smoke, the fact that you don't smoke is irrelevant. So I really don't get his point.

But, in the end, I'm sure we'll get a non-smoking Bond, because in those times of politically correctness that's what the majority seems to prefer. Oh, well, so be it.
There's no trouble with Bond killing people, destroying government property and wasting truckloads of material, as long as he doesn't smoke... strange times we're living in!

I don't think it's indeed about political correctness. Or medical or religious or whatever flavour of correctness currently is en vogue. It's simply common sense, nothing else; no use for misplaced lachrymosity here. Our society for the larger part has decided not to continue to poison itself with tobacco and that's it. In lieu, as we are humans and for the most part illogical beings, we poison ourselves and our descendants with junk food, defend our right to blow ourselves and the planet to smithereens and choke our remaining brain cells with mind-numbing so-called entertainment on all channels and throughout the Internet. Such is humanity.

[Captain Tightpants]

I'd prefer it if Bond didn't smoke. He might have done so in the Fleming novels, but smoking is one of the most disgusing habits there is.

[jamie00007]

I dont know what things are like overseas (though from what I've heard European countries are even worse) but here in Australia the anti-smoking lobby has done one hell of a job in completely changing the image of smoking. Smokers now are made to feel like dirty lepers forced to sneak outside to get a fix. Theres nothing remotely glamorous about the image of smoking anymore. I know as I do smoke. Even my local shopping mall has a smoking section outside in the carpark and even then you have to stand in this little glass cage so as not to pollute the carpark. Its insane. The days where James Bond can light up at a baccarat table in a glamorous casino are just gone. It just wouldnt work today. Everything Bond does, lifestyle-wise, is supposed to be the height of cool. And to most of the audience today, that is not smoking.