007 is a fantasy hero but they’re turning him into a bore, says Young Bond author

THE author behind the bestselling Young Bond book series has criticised the most recent 007 film for portraying the spy as a committed family man.

Charlie Higson said the opening scenes of No Time To Die – a car chase through the Italian town of Matera – are ‘great’ at first, but accused script-writers of undermining Bond’s character by showing him arguing with his girlfriend as he drives.

The author joked that 007 should have triggered her ejector seat and resumed his adventure.

‘Bond is a fantasy, he’s got no wife, no kids, you rarely see him at home, he lives in hotels, eats in restaurants, sleeps with as many women as he wants and gets to kill people,’ Higson told the Chalke Valley History Festival, which is sponsored by the Daily Mail.

‘It’s the best job in the world.

You never see him mowing his lawn, washing his car or asking his bank manager for a loan. He’s one guy on a mission.

‘You don’t have to worry about a back story or any boring discussions with his girlfriend. Which is why I absolutely hate No Time To Die. They put in all the boring stuff you don’t want.

‘The start of the film is great – he’s in a really flash car, having a car chase around Matera. But he’s got his girlfriend with him and they’re having a row. What kind of fantasy is that? Find the ejector seat button, get rid of her and have an adventure.’

His comments are likely to raise eyebrows with fans and the film’s producers. No Time To Die was the fourth most successful film at the international box office last year and the third most successful film ever released in the UK.

Higson’s five Young Bond novels portray Ian Fleming’s creation as a teenager attending Eton College during the 1930s. The series has notched up over a million sales in the

UK. The 63-year-old said his favourite Fleming adventure was From Russia With Love because it was the best written and most exhaustively researched – although he conceded that some scenes would have seen the author ‘cancelled’ today.

Although he didn’t specify which sequences may be seen as problematic, one of the most controversial plotlines has Bond back-handing a female double-agent across the face.

‘There are unfortunately some quite dodgy sequences about women which in today’s age would have got him instantly cancelled,’ said Higson. ‘But as a piece of writing, as a well-written, punchy story, it’s really good.’