Your James Bond: The Zukovsky or the Trevelyan version?

chrisisall

Is your Bond the charming, sophisticated secret agent, "Shaken, but not disturbed."?
Or the one who's vodka martinis never managed to silence the screams of all the men he's killed... or all those willing women he failed to protect?
?:)
To ME, his job is his cover. He plays at being content, but he's a lit fuse.
For others, he's a super secret agent, living well considering the inherent stress of the job.

Thoughts?

broadshoulder

chrisisall wrote:

For others, he's a super secret agent, living well considering the inherent stress of the job.

Thoughts?

Mine, but I didn't find Zukovskys words interesting anyway - its like he was sending everyone up during GE

AlphaOmegaSin

Well in the Books, Bond lives each Day to the full. Knowing full well that he could be killed on his next Assignment.

Thunderpussy

"Eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die !"

hot crossed bond

Thunderpussy wrote:

"Eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die !"

I love characters with duality. CR shows it best...brutally kill 2 men in a stairwell...clean yourself up, have a stiff drink. take a good long hard stare at yourself in the mirror...then your tux is back on and so is the game!

Thunderpussy

Agreed, as AOS points out Bond lived his life with the knowledge that
This day might be his last. Hence why Bond lives life to the full. I remember
In one of the Books that Bond hopes to die penniless. ) as all his money
Is to be spent enjoying himself.

The Red Kind

I think the deeper moments and incisions into Bond's character and personality always work well on screen and gives the viewer an insight into the mind of the man who has such a cool, calm facade. I think DC has played this part of our hero very well. All three of his films have been pretty deep. Too much for some I've no doubt but I like these moments and perhaps helps us deal with our own demons in some way..

Firemass

chrisisall wrote:

Is your Bond the charming, sophisticated secret agent, "Shaken, but not disturbed."?

Up until now I thought that quote was "shaken, but not stirred."

What does shaken, but not disturbed mean? Either way it's a reference to the way Bond likes his martinis, which somehow every henchman in Russia is aware of. (Judging by their laughter ) That's Goldeneye for ya…really covering the all bases and being overly self-aware of Bond. I would say both Zukovsky and Trevelyan are correct in describing an aspect of Bond's character.

hot crossed bond wrote:

I love characters with duality. CR shows it best...brutally kill 2 men in a stairwell...clean yourself up, have a stiff drink. take a good long hard stare at yourself in the mirror...then your tux is back on and so is the game!

+1

Blackleiter

hot crossed bond wrote:

Thunderpussy wrote:

"Eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die !"

I love characters with duality. CR shows it best...brutally kill 2 men in a stairwell...clean yourself up, have a stiff drink. take a good long hard stare at yourself in the mirror...then your tux is back on and so is the game!

+1 {[]

thegreatgalling

hot crossed bond wrote:

Thunderpussy wrote:

"Eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die !"

I love characters with duality. CR shows it best...brutally kill 2 men in a stairwell...clean yourself up, have a stiff drink. take a good long hard stare at yourself in the mirror...then your tux is back on and so is the game!

Blackleiter wrote:

hot crossed bond wrote:

Thunderpussy wrote:

"Eat, drink and be merry, because tomorrow you die !"

I love characters with duality. CR shows it best...brutally kill 2 men in a stairwell...clean yourself up, have a stiff drink. take a good long hard stare at yourself in the mirror...then your tux is back on and so is the game!

+1 {[]

+1 here as well.

I also think Bond is a number of polar opposites working together, he is a man of virtue with many vices, he is as cold as he is warm, he is as funny as he is serious. He is half monk...half hit man.

I love the quote about the martinis silencing the screams of the men he's killed or the women he's failed to protect. Certainly Bond is a troubled soul, and I think there is certainly a marriage between his use of alcoholic bliss to soothe his inner pain, and also his feasting like their is no tomorrow because there very well might not be one for him.

Spoff

I personally think he is a bit of both.

He is certainly troubled for sure, I also think he has acute sociopathic tendencies to go along with his borderline alcoholism. In the books it says he did not like to kill, but when he did, he did it the best way he knew how and then forgot about it.

Most of his "forgetting" I think is done with his alcohol, women, fast cars etc. These are the diversions he uses to help him unwind and forget, to take his mind off his sometimes unpleasant job.

I don't think someone could do the job Bond does and not have a few "vices" to help them get by.

chrisisall

Spoff wrote:

I don't think someone could do the job Bond does and not have a few "vices" to help them get by.

They could if they were straight up pychos, like Grant.

AlphaOmegaSin

Especially the Novel Version of Grant.

Spoff

chrisisall wrote:

Spoff wrote:

I don't think someone could do the job Bond does and not have a few "vices" to help them get by.

They could if they were straight up pychos, like Grant.

Good point, I guess that is the difference. Bond must have a conscience somewhere or he would probably be a bad guy. In fact, he is almost as bad as a bad guy, but he is on the good side and fights the baddies pretty much on their own terms.

The duality of that is rather interesting, Bond very nearly is Red Grant, in a strange kind of way.

chrisisall

This is what makes Bond interesting IMO. Otherwise he's just an action hero (but I like that too occasionally).

ionlyneedone

He also said to Renard "I hate killing an unarmed man. A cold-blooded killing is a filthy business." So he definitely has his moments where the kill disturbs him. But if it was in a fair fight, each opponent equally armed, he doesn't have as much a problem with it. Like Scaramanga said they are quite alike, and why Bond accepted to duel him in a fair fight.

AlphaOmegaSin

'Ours is the loneliest Profession'

superdaddy

AlphaOmegaSin wrote:

'Ours is the loneliest Profession'

lighthouse keeper is a pretty close second ) )