THE BEST OF BONDS

When I first heard that Daniel Craig was going to play James Bond I, like a lot of people, didn’t believe he could pull it off. Too blond, I thought, too actor-y, and let’s be honest, too craggy-faced to be the suave, sophisticated British spy. Daniel just wasn’t handsome enough to be a convincing 007. I imagined on screen he would look like Gordon Ramsay in a suit with a gun.

Then came Casino Royale with that scene of him emerging fromthe sea, putting to bed all doubts that he wasn’t the celluloid embodiment of Ian Fleming’s Bond – raw, ubermasculine and just a little bit menacing. Gone were the glib, fashion-conscious imitators of the past–Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Bros nan, and even Timothy Dalton all seemed too flippant compared to Daniel’s rugged, slightly thuggish Bond. Here, at last, was a suited and booted spy who could convincingly take on a super villa in without worrying about getting his hair mucked up.

As Daniel himself says in our interview with him on page 38, he wanted Bond to be real, a little brittle. Fragile even. He based his bond on Indiana Jones. ‘Whatwas brilliant was that he was fallible, he bled,’ he says.

He let Bond’s emotional side show in Skyfall, themost successful Bond film ever and now I can’t imagine anyone but Daniel in the role. He says Spectre, out on November 6, will be his last outing as the quintessential English gentleman, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed he’ll change his mind. Let me knowwhat you think of the film, alongwith our feature, and have a happy Diwali.

Until next week,

Karen Pasquali Jones, Editor kpasqualijones@gulfnews.com 38

The Bonds of the past all seemed too FLIP PANT compared to Daniel’ s THUGGISH Bond. Here, AT LAST, was a suited and booted spy who could TAKE ON a super villa in without getting his hair MUCKED UP