In Part One of Bond. James Bond, Cinema Junkie offered a spoiler-free review of the latest 007 outing, "No Time To Die" and began an exploration of both the literary and cinematic worlds of Ian Fleming's MI6 agent with a license to kill.
For Part Two, espionage aficionados and Spybrary Podcast contributors Gary Dexter and Jeff Quest (of spywrite.com) return to finish our mission of exploring the Bond universe.
We left off discussing the formulaic elements that we expect in a 007 movie. One of those things we've come to expect are Bond girls. The franchise has received considerable criticism for its depiction of women, often being called sexist, chauvinistic and even downright misogynistic from our current perspective. Many of the early Bond films do have cringe worthy moments. But to ask those early films from more than a half a century ago to reflect today's attitudes is a bit unfair. And let me put this into a context from the perspective of a four-year-old girl in 1964, "Mary Poppins" and "My Fair Lady" were the top box office draws; Doris Day was being pushed on me as a modern woman role model; and "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Petticoat Junction" were the top-rated TV shows. That's a pretty bleak landscape for images of women. So, yeah, I'm much more comfortable with Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger" or Diana Riggs' Tracy DeVincenzo in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as my '60s era role models.
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But "No Time To Die" takes us to a new realm of Bond women with Lashana Lynch's Nomi and Ana DeArmis' Paloma. And producer Barbara Broccoli may be one of the reasons for the change.
We discuss her role, the evolution of women characters in the Bond films as well as evaluate all six actors in the official canon of Bond films. And our picks for who's the best may surprise you.
Check out the companion Geeky Gourmet to find out how to make cakes with the gun barrel logo and food from three of the key locations in "No Time to Die."
