20 replies to this topic

[brendan007]

I'm starting to get sick of Bond girls just being female agents. I feel its just lazy and unoriginal, like the writers think "okay we need a female costar, im stuck for ideas, just make her a female agent".
I feel the bond women are better when their real people. Some of my faviorites are Tracy, Melina, Kara, Natalya & Elektra. These women arent professionals, they are just fairly ordinary women who have been drawn into Bond's world, and as a result they are far more interesting, and fit better into the movie.
Sure every now and then a female agent is fun to see, but lately there has just been an overload of them, its like the writers have given up on trying to fit the women into the story.

[freemo]

I agree. The best Bond girls are the ones who kind of have their own agenda in the story, and are very talented in their field of expertise, but aren't neccessary as good at all the spy stuff as Bond is. And why should they be ? Isn't Bond supposed to the best, better than any other spy of either sex ? I'd be quite happy not to see the lead as a female agent for a while.

[Melancholy Productions]

I also agree.

Coincidentally, I was just comtemplating this the other day. I really feel they need to go back to their roots in terms of women, as a lot of the "classic" women are remembered easily by anybody (such as Jill Masterson, Honey Ryder, Pussy Galore, May Day etc.). Perhaps it is the names, (although I felt Miranda Frost was quite a good name, as was Jinx and even Christmas Jones), that also help people to remember the Bond girls, for example, someone like Wai Lin isn't incredibly memorable, because of the rather plain name.

But back to the topic on hand, I do think they need a lot more "average everyday women types", such as Kara, the Cello player or Honey Ryder, the shell collector.

Cheerio,
Chris.

[JimmyBond]

I wouldnt say we've had an overload of them. Wai Lin was two films ago. Now its Jinx and Frost. That's not too bad, I doubt the next Bond girl will be a agent, unless of course theyre adapting Casino Royale.

[iceberg]

I agree. I originally thought that Jinx was a mercenary or something, and knew that Miranda was an MI-6 agent. I was happy with that because at least it gave us some variety as far as their professions. However, I (and everyone else) soon found out that Jinx was actually a Female Bond, an NSA agent. I was a little disappointed.

I think the next Bond heroine should be the "innocent-bystander" who is sucked into the action without wanting to be. I'm thinking characters like Natalya Simonova, Christmas Jones, and Kara Millovy. These were all strong, intelligent women who were busy living their lives and doing their jobs when Bond and the bad guys turned their worlds upside down.

On that note, I vote for Natasha Henstridge to play the role in Bond 21. Or Patricia Velasquez.

[gkgyver]

I also thought about posting a threat like this one here. I'm also sick of all the "she's-equal-to-Bond" stuff. It simply doesn't work.
Nobody can be equal to Bond in a Bond movie, except the main villain.
Bond movies have always been the "Fortress of Sexism" and that's what they should be. Emancipated women just don't fit Bond.

[Mister Asterix]

Having read all of the Gardner and Benson novels, I've been sick of this trend for some time. The films look like they are beginning to match Benson's girl agent in every other story. Generally I find the female agents are the least interesting of the Bond women. But that said Jinx and Frost were two of the more interesting agents, but give me a beautiful, notrmal women who just happened to get herself tangled in the villain's web anyday.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

I agree. I'm getting sick of having the next actress always say that her character "is Bond's equal in every way." Well, that's fine, but we don't need it it in every flippin' film. That's why I was skeptical at first with not one, but two Bond girls as agents. Give it a rest. I would have really liked it if Berry or Pike were just everyday women. It could have been really good if Frost wasn't an agent, but perhaps someone like M's assistant, or if she just held a desk job or something at MI6. Then she could have remained the traitor to some aspect, but still not be an agent. That would have been satisfying. Bring back the women like Honey, the Masterson sisters, Solitaire, or Natalya. The idea was interesting in TSWLM, and perhaps FRWL, but let it go.

[tiffany1uk]

hey[im new] i agree. i think the agent idea is a cheap trick. looking at people like natalya-intelligent and independant-the one who causes the sattelite to burn up over the sea-didnt need to be spy-she was successful in her own right. elektra king also-she was simply a powerful woman and it was her as a unique character that made such an impact. i think the bond films are kind of going down the drain slowly...but that i guess is another topic.
tiffany

[Felix's lighter]

Why does a woman have to be Bond's equal anyway? Honstly, can't we have at least ONE piece of good old misogynistic entertainment in this day and age? Do we have to have Bond consistently emoting over his girly-girls (I really like the fact there was none of that in DAD) and being "sensitive"? Are they nursing Alan Alda to be the next Bond or something?

Sometimes, I wish Ian Fleming would come back from the dead, get really drunk, team up maybe with Sean Connery and kick EON's ***.

[mi6spy005]

I think that many of the Bond girls are stronger and more independent than are given credit for. Bond is the hero of the story and therefore should be the strongest character. I'm not opposed to the female agents, but the producers are starting to steal Bond's thunder, which is a very poor idea.

[General Koskov]

Berry and Pike's characters would have worked if there was a Gardnerian-style traitor who the audience couldn't tell until the end. But as it is we have two other Holly Goodheads.

I think that female agents show the laziness of the writer: he can't come up with a good way to introduce the girl (witness the 'ornothologist is a mouthful' bit) so he makes her an agent who is stuck with Bond. And now Bond doesn't even complain.

Why don't they stick Roger Moore as Bond's gay co-agent in Bond21? That would be creative.

[mi6spy005]

Speaking of Roger Moore playing a gay man, has anybody heard anything about when BOAT TRIP is coming out?

[Felix's lighter]

Guess I'm not done with this topic - excuse me, it's been a bad day and I need to vent a little. My main problem with DAD is that Jinx did TOO MUCH. It should have been Bond who got his revenge on Miranda Frost, for one. Someone here mentioned that there's an unspoken rule in Bond movies: the person who has been wronged is the one who gets revenge. At least this time (unlike in TWINE, where he supposedly "loved" Elektra), he could have offed her in a less emotional, more professional manner.

[gkgyver]

Yes, I also miss the Bond who kills without any psychological tortures afterwards. It's not bad enough that Bond doesn't care about Miranda himself: when he sees her laying on the floor, he even makes a sad face.
Maybe Miranda could've killed Jinx in the final fight and then Bond himself gets rid of Frost. Both girls killed. In this case, it would've been satisfying
No, seriously, four main charakters are too difficult to handle in a Bond movie.

[Robinson]

Originally posted by Felix's lighter
Why does a woman have to be Bond's equal anyway? Honstly, can't we have at least ONE piece of good old misogynistic entertainment in this day and age? Do we have to have Bond consistently emoting over his girly-girls (I really like the fact there was none of that in DAD) and being "sensitive"? Are they nursing Alan Alda to be the next Bond or something?

C'mon now, do you really want to go back to the days of Kara Milovy. The whole audience was as frustrated as Dalton was when Bond tried directing Kara to drive the jeep into the rear of the aircraft. That kinda reminded me of that 'Simpspons" episode when Bart explaining to Homer that Sideshow Bob was trying to kill Selma. Poor Bart was reduced to using diagrams & hand puppets!

I guess what y'all want are the Natalia Simnonova types. The typical "bird with a wing down" that rises to the occasion by the film's climax. I just want EON's producers to ditch the twenty-something toothpicks for more Rene Russo/Angela Bassett types.

If you want mysogyny, go rent one of Michael Douglas' many efforts from the mid-90s.

[RayBros007]

Originally posted by Robinson
I just want EON's producers to ditch the twenty-something toothpicks for more Rene Russo/Angela Bassett types.

That's exactly what I want as well, Robinson. Besides, isn't time that Bond get with someone just a little bit more his age??? There are some very, very beautiful older women out there. EON just automactically assumes that all we want to see are big-chested bimbos with no character and no acting ability:rolleyes:

[Felix's lighter]

I don't think Bond was being sad over Frost's death - he was searching his mind for a one-liner, which Jinx (AGAIN doing too much) delivered with "I broke her heart." The joke fell flat, as far as I'm concerned.

[brendan007]

Originally posted by Robinson


C'mon now, do you really want to go back to the days of Kara Milovy. The whole audience was as frustrated as Dalton was when Bond tried directing Kara to drive the jeep into the rear of the aircraft.

That's exactly what I want. Not every one would know what to do in that situation, and Kara's reaction was extremely realistic. It made her a much more interesting character because she was a real person.

[iceberg]

I think the next Bond film should have two good Bond girls, one of whom that dies, a la TND. No "good" Bond girl, and no "bad" bond girl.

My favorite "non-agent/innocents in over their heads" Bond girls:

1. Traci Di Vicenzo--An not-so-innocent innocent who captured Bond's (and our) hearts.
2. Natalya Simonova--smart, compelling, pro-active, vulnerable
3. Christmas Jones--once you just accept it's Denise Richards, she's smart and sassy and competent. Should've been fleshed out more.
4. Melina Havelock--Dark and smolderingly sexy. Love her.
5. Kara Millovy--the classic wide-eyed innocent, probably the most delicate of the bunch.
6. Honey Ryder--A little overrated and passive, but maybe that's just me.

[Agent Lee]

If we really wanted a female lead, who was not a spy, then maybe we should consider a superstar who excels in performing other types of roles. We should get Julia Roberts, doing what she does best - romantic comedies. Having Julia co-star who certainly bring in a lot of her fans, who might never otherwise attend 007's films.

In fact, we could capitalize on it, by naming the next 007 film something like

Pretty Agent,
Never Say Brockovich Again,
Sleeping With The Shatterhand,
My Best Friend's Wedding is not Enough,
The Ocean's Eleven Who Loved Me

Seriously, though, she did do Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson, and in that film, she actually fired a gun...