"Bond, James Bond." Not for nothing are those lines embedded in the popular consciousness: they're the first words that leave Sean Connery's cigarette-grasping lips in his very first shot in 'Doctor No.' Immediately that blend of sophistication, mystery and danger is at the forefront; little wonder it remains one of the most iconic character introductions in cinema. It has also left subsequent directors and actors with quite the challenge as to how to introduce their new take on the character. Given Bond is not prone to character development, those vital first glimpses tell the audience virtually all they need to know; so to do the first scenes of each Bond actor provide some insight into their run in the role.
Never was the pressure on more than when Connery relinquished the role, so it's not hard to see why 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' goes to such lengths to give George Lazenby an eye-catching introduction. Revealed gradually behind the wheel of a speeding Aston Martin whilst Monty Norman's celebrated theme music blares, within moments he's chasing after Diana Rigg and battling baddies on the beach. It's all very dramatic, but trying a bit hard, and not helped by Lazenby's cringe-inducing line, "this never happened to the other fellow" - with a glance to the camera - as Rigg drives away. Acknowledging the weight of expectation on Lazenby was one thing, but breaking the fourth wall in such a way overstepped the mark; and of course, it all feels a bit futile given Lazenby did not return.
The contrast could not be much starker with Roger Moore's introduction in 'Live and Let Die.' Rather than make a big fuss about it, they simply act as if he's always been Bond and just get on with it, his first appearance being Bond's most unassuming ever: at home, in bed, asleep - though in the arms of a beautiful woman, naturally, in this case Madeline Smith. Bond's main objective in the scene is neither seduction nor heroism, but rather to keep his unexpected visitor M from discovering Smith's AWOL Italian spy in his bedchambers. It plays out more like a slamming-door farce than a spy thriller, which might predict the sillier, bawdier tone the series would take under Moore.
For Timothy Dalton in 'The Living Daylights,' comedy was largely out. Moore having stayed in the role too long, the key was to demonstrate this to immediately assert this new 007's youth and virility, via a sky-dive, giving way to a brawl through the roof of a speeding jeep, and ultimately a paraglide onto the luxury yacht of the obligatory bikini-clad woman. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dalton seems more at ease with the action than the innuendo.
Pierce Brosnan came to 007 following the largest gap between films in series history, over which time some had questioned whether James Bond would, or even should return. 'Goldeneye' wasted no time re-asserting the character as grandly as possible, with a record-breaking bungee-jump that remains breath-taking to behold. That they chose to reveal Brosnan's face whilst hanging upside down in a toilet stall demonstrates the greater ease this 007 would have with the comedic aspects.
Which brings us to Daniel Craig and 'Casino Royale:' perhaps the most atypical Bond intro, given that - for the first time since 'Doctor No' - the obligatory gun barrel intro shot is omitted. Quiet, brooding, shot in black and white, dominated by dialogue, cutting to flashbacks of a brutal fight, culminating in a cold-blooded kill with a dash of jet-black humour: immediately the tone was set for the darker, more character-based direction of the films ahead.
