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A quantum of solace
Nov. 15th, 2012 10:42 amI went to see the new Bond film - Skyfall - last night. I'm not going to write a review except to say that's it's pretty good but not great; perhaps the glowing adulation in the reviews set me up with high expectations so a mild disappointment was inevitable. It's better than Quantum of Solace was, but Casino Royale set the bar high and it's certainly not that good.
Anyway, as I watched I got to wondering: what are the rules of Bond? And more specifically, who is he? The films is deliberately vague on the point, Yes, we know the backstory - Commander James Bond, RN, etc - but it's been acknowledged for years with a nod and a wink that this is just a cover identity which has been adopted by a number of different agents over the years, but on the other hand, especially in Skyfall, it's made pretty clear that the charcater Daniel Craig is playing is James Bond complete with Ian Fleming's backstory and all.
It doesn't hold together. On the one hand the Casino Royale reboot made it clear that Craig issn't the Connery/Moore/Dalton/Brosnan Bond (not the exploding pen guy), but on the other hand Skyfall makes it clear that he is, short of the possible explanation of MI6 brainwashing orphans to think the Fleming background is theirs and handing out tricked-out Aston Martins whenever a new Bond takes over the role. He's both Bond and not Bond at the same time, and as I watch the film I got to wondering how that might be possible.*
The true history of James Bond
In the early 1960s a young British agent, James Bond, travelled to the Caribbean on his first assignment to investigate a rogue nuclear scientist, Doctor No. presented in the briefing as of Asian origin, No was actually a naturalised United States citizen who had worked first on the Manhattan Project and then at the Gila Flats particle test facilty. After the facilty was closed, No stole a number of experimental devices which he installed on his island, including an intrinsic field subtrator.
During the course of his investigation, Bond was trapped in the machine and had his intrinsic field subtracted - an event of which he has no memory, although thanks to his high levels of training he was able to put himself back together and complete the mission. Ever since then, he has existed in a quantum state in which he is both Bond and Not Bond depending on what the circumstances demand. He exists in a form which potentially is an orphan with a Scottish background and fifty years of backstory and gadgets, and also is potentially a new recruit who has adopted this identity after the previous incumbent grew too old. The only way to know which form he exists in at any given time is to look at him - and that costs about a tenner, plus popcorn.
*You can tell I'm not completely engrossed in a film when I start wondering about stuff like this.
Anyway, as I watched I got to wondering: what are the rules of Bond? And more specifically, who is he? The films is deliberately vague on the point, Yes, we know the backstory - Commander James Bond, RN, etc - but it's been acknowledged for years with a nod and a wink that this is just a cover identity which has been adopted by a number of different agents over the years, but on the other hand, especially in Skyfall, it's made pretty clear that the charcater Daniel Craig is playing is James Bond complete with Ian Fleming's backstory and all.
It doesn't hold together. On the one hand the Casino Royale reboot made it clear that Craig issn't the Connery/Moore/Dalton/Brosnan Bond (not the exploding pen guy), but on the other hand Skyfall makes it clear that he is, short of the possible explanation of MI6 brainwashing orphans to think the Fleming background is theirs and handing out tricked-out Aston Martins whenever a new Bond takes over the role. He's both Bond and not Bond at the same time, and as I watch the film I got to wondering how that might be possible.*
The true history of James Bond
In the early 1960s a young British agent, James Bond, travelled to the Caribbean on his first assignment to investigate a rogue nuclear scientist, Doctor No. presented in the briefing as of Asian origin, No was actually a naturalised United States citizen who had worked first on the Manhattan Project and then at the Gila Flats particle test facilty. After the facilty was closed, No stole a number of experimental devices which he installed on his island, including an intrinsic field subtrator.
During the course of his investigation, Bond was trapped in the machine and had his intrinsic field subtracted - an event of which he has no memory, although thanks to his high levels of training he was able to put himself back together and complete the mission. Ever since then, he has existed in a quantum state in which he is both Bond and Not Bond depending on what the circumstances demand. He exists in a form which potentially is an orphan with a Scottish background and fifty years of backstory and gadgets, and also is potentially a new recruit who has adopted this identity after the previous incumbent grew too old. The only way to know which form he exists in at any given time is to look at him - and that costs about a tenner, plus popcorn.
*You can tell I'm not completely engrossed in a film when I start wondering about stuff like this.
