Bond is Back

We're all going Bond-crazy as the newest addition to the 007 collection hits cinemas up and down the country!  I for one am seriously excited about the latest film, which has reviewed fantastically well and has what must be the most "Bondy" theme song for many years.  No I haven't seen Skyfall yet, but I'm already envisioning a powerful and explosive introduction, melting into the atmospheric piano tones of Adele's new hit.  It sounds straight out of the Bond tradition.  Check out this Skyfall review, it will really whet your appetite.

It has always been said that a person's favourite James Bond is usually the one he or she grew up with.  My first Bond experience came at the Alexandra cinema in Newton Abbot, the beautiful gem of a building below.  I was 11 or 12 and off with a friend to watch Tomorrow Never Dies, the second of the Peirce Brosnan series in which an out-of-control media mogul tries to create an enormous war in order to boost his news sales.  Cue a British secret agent...

Newton Abbot's Alexandra cinema

I was hooked.  I wanted to see more Bond films, and a few weeks later Dr. No screened on the television.  I remember remarking that  "some old guy" was playing 007 when I watched it - I didn't realsie at the time that this old guy was, of course, Sean Connery.  Film after film them flooded into my life (aided by the generous time ITV dedicated to Bond Season), and before I knew it I had collected every movie on video.  The spines of their cases formed a picture and sat proudly on my shelf until the invention of the DVD player.  Now, perhaps it's time to invest in a new collection, and revisit these classics.
 
There hasn't been a bad Bond in my opinion.  Each actor has broguht something new and different to the franchise, and each is very much a product of his time.  Sophisticated 1960s Connery and Lazenby, 70s joker-Bond Roger Moore, powerful 80s agent Dalton, slick and suave 90s man Brosnan, gritty Daniel Craig, perfect for our current age.  So do I have a favourite?  It's impossible to pick one Bond, but here are the five films that most stick in my mind when I think of 007.  The original British movie posters are just terrific, don't you think?

 

I hope that Skyfall lives up to these classics, and I'm sure it will.  I just can't wait to get in front of the big screen for it, to welcome the secret agent back into my life once again!