Double OH – The King is Dead, Long Live the King

We went to see the new James Bond movie last night. Gotta say – it’s money well spent. Damn, what an amazing foot chase in the beginning – matches the energy and excitement of a great William Friedkin car chase.

Afterwards, Marianne, who is not a Bond fan, and I, who am, had the inevitable, “Who’s the best Bond?” conversation.

A quick google search, or an IMDB search reveals countless amounts of bandwidth wasted upon the same question.

'Bond favorite' is initially a matter of imprinting. Like ducklings, we tend to like the one we saw first, best. I am amazed by how many (youngsters obviously) people on IMDB.com like Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan; almost as many as loath Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan. Once one comes to know their Bond pictures, Sean Connery always goes to the top spot. With reason too -- he was Bond. Plain and Simple. He was the best. He could not be beaten, walking into a room wearing a tuxedo, saying those words.

That was then.

I’m glad those movies were made. Bond, the fun adolescent-lecher-spy-killer-skier-etc. Nailing everything in sight with gun, spear, or whatever other object was nearby to, um, nail with.

In today’s world though, it was time for the update.

So, in the year 2006, I am going to boldly say, though he’s only one movie in…

I think we have a new “best Bond ever” even better than Sean Connery. Yikes.

While all those teenage Bonds were great, In Casino Royale (2006), Bond has grown up. Today, James Bond, you are a man. And your name is Daniel Craig.

Which Bond is your favorite?

Barry Nelson

Sean Connery

Roger Moore

David Niven

Woody Allen

George Lazenby

Roger Moore

Timothy Dalton

Pierce Brosnan

Daniel Craig

And a last bit of trivia – Ian Fleming got the name “James Bond” from the name of an ornithologist who wrote a book called Birds of the West Indies.