Shaken and Stirred

I'd been talking about the future of the James Bond franchise with a couple of friends yesterday and then stumbled across this shot from Casino Royale of Daniel Craig as the new 007 and had to share.

As those who have read me before are aware, I'm a bit of a Bond junkie. We were talking about what needs to change to keep the series fresh, and what should never be touched. You can't touch the theme music, the opening shot through the barrel of the gun, or Bond's nationality. But after that, it's pretty much fair game.

The Bourne series has set the current bar for super spies and the 007 films could use a little of that hard-nosed, can-do, quiet intensity. Die Another Day went some of the distance, showing a Bond that wasn't infallible or unrumpled. I hope they continue, lest the quips and double entendres turn the series into Austin Powers-lite.

And choosing Casino Royale seems to indicate that they are serious. This was Ian Flemmings first Bond novel so it appears the producers are looking at their roots. As part of that, the characters of Q and Moneypenny won't be in the next film as they weren't in the book, according to bondmovies.com.

The film will also deal with "...a lot of 'embryonic stuff' about why Bond prefers his martini 'shaken, not stirred,' and why he favors the Aston Martin sports car." So it looks like they are going the route most recently taken by Batman Begins and reinventing an overly familiar figure. I can't wait.