His names Bond, James Bond, and for several decades he's shouldered one of the biggest franchises in cinema. Audiences show up for the suave British agent, and because the character is so ingrained into pop culture, we don't ever really stop to think about how weird he and the world he's in actually is.
James Bond movies are about thrills, luxury, violence and lust. They're also pretty damn weird when you spend too much time thinking about them, which is exactly what's happened to me There are several weird things about the Bond franchise we just accept, though the following are certainly more egregious than others.
James Bond Routinely Reveals His Name To His Enemies Like It's No Big Deal
Whether James Bond is a real name or a designated name assigned to 007, it never seemed like the best idea for James to name drop when he's on the scene of a dangerous mission. Sure, it's given that that "The name's Bond, James Bond" is one of the most popular lines of our time, but from a plot perspective, what value is there in Bond revealing his identity to any and all who will listen.
For an agent who has brought down numerous criminal masterminds, many of which are part of the same criminal organization, it seems like an incredibly stupid move. Almost immediately, he's blown his cover and ruined any and all chances of ending the mission with a minimal loss of life and general bloodshed of otherwise innocent people. I guess if nothing else, Bond is consistent about making his presence known, despite that being the opposite of what a secret agent should do.
Despite Bond's Frequent High Profile Missions, Few, If Any, Villains Recognize Him
I can't really fault James Bond for his frequent name drops, because it seems like he never leaves a lasting impression with his enemies anyway. One would think that after one disastrous attempt to take over the world, the next guy to do so would at the very least put up a picture of the agent at their compound and tell their minions to shoot him on sight!
In their defense, Bond does look like a completely different person as the decades pass, though that has never been officially broached by canon. It would be an interesting way to explain away why Bond is able to remain incognito despite his various exploits around the world, though the whole giving his name out to everyone would still be a problem.
James Bond Has Killed Many Villains In Rather Sadistic Ways
For all the evil James Bond has faced, it's worth noting that he has a mean streak himself. 007 has dispatched some villains in rather gruesome and sadistic ways, when all it would ever really take was a couple bullets to the chest. For example, think about Thunderball when he impaled a henchman with a spear gun and immediately shot off a clever pun.
That isn't even the first time James Bond has said something wild after killing someone in a brutal manner either. He joked about Dr. Kananga having an "inflated opinion" of himself just moments after he literally blew him up with a gas pellet. The Bond girls just laugh, but you have to wonder on the inside whether they're just playing along until they get an opportunity to get as far away from him as humanly possible.
James Bond Is Only Assigned Missions That Require Lavish Expenses
If there's a mission that requires James Bond to spend a month and a half living in squalor and keeping a low profile, we haven't seen it. Bond is almost always being sent on missions to go toe to toe with the most white collar criminal masterminds who just so happen to run amongst the wealthiest of individuals in the world. Bond is probably doing alright with his prominent status within MI6, but is he doing enough to keep a healthy collection of Tom Ford suits?
What about the jewelry and fancy cars? I get looking the part, but again, we never see the missions where Bond is necessarily slumming it. Part of that is due to the franchise tradition of product placement, which has been around since the very beginning. Basically, dropping Bond in the middle of a desert or even middle America for an entire story would make all the high priced products he has to tout look out of place, which is why he's always in the lap of luxury.
James Bond Will Literally Kick Anyone's Ass
This is an element of Bond films that has changed in more recent years, but there was once a time where there wasn't an ass James Bond was hesitant about kicking; men, women and even unarmed people who didn't do anything to provoke him. James Bond once choked a woman with her own bikini top, and they weren't even necessarily going to fight.
This goes back to my earlier point that James Bond is a psychopath. He's strangely sophisticated in many ways, and yet he's unafraid to commit cultural taboos to the point it can look like second nature to him. He's such a bizarre mix of charm and chaos that it makes me wonder exactly what a movie would explore if it jumped into the man Bond was before he joined MI6.
The Only Way The Continuity Makes Sense Is If Each Bond Is A Different Bond
Some people make the mistake of assuming the Bond films have some hidden continuity all the way through. The reality is that the most cohesive arcs exist mainly through Sean Connery's run of the character with his feud with Blofeld and Spectre, and Daniel Craig's movies reference the events of his past adventures.
Beyond that, all the other Bond movies are essentially self-contained adventure with next to nothing to do with the movie that preceded it. It's almost like a graphic novel of a popular comic book character, in which the character is the same, but there's a reason this story exists out of the canon fans have been following. When looked at that way, it's actually quite simple to understand, though still weird that some Bonds, like Pierce Brosnan, never had any callbacks to previous movies even when they were with the franchise for a while.
What else about the James Bond franchise is weird? List all suggestions down in the comments, and stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest news happening in movies and television.
