Why Bond has always been a big deal

James Bond, the spy with a license to kill and thrill was always something special in my home when growing up. Not only would we gather about the TV to watch the latest offering but there have been many Christmas memories made full of love and laughter as we would settle down to view the inevitable Bond movie after Christmas dinner.

It was my brother who took me to see my first Bond film at the local cinema, and that was ‘Live and Let Die‘ with the late, great Sir Roger Moore playing 007, and boy I was hooked from that time onwards.

Saying that, there have certainly been some Bond movies produced that have appealed to me more than others, and this makes sense as 007 means different things to different people. Take 1967’s  Casino Royale as a fine example of a Bond film that has had 007 played by a string of actors which include Peter Sellers, Woody Allen and David Niven.

Casino Royale in some quarters is viewed as a spoof movie of the James Bond franchise with no real adaptation of Ian Fleming’s character. Some people enjoy the campy 007 movies whilst others prefer the more brutal and dangerous versions. There are those that prefer the stunts of the storyline or maybe the villains tick the boxes over the gadgets, it’s all a personal taste and that is the beauty of having so many to choose from.

If we go back to ‘Live and Let Die’ there are some that say that this film was one of the worst James Bond movies, well I would dispute that as it was the film that introduced me to 007 and began my long love affair with the movies.

For me, running on alligators and fighting Voodoo priests armed with poisonous snakes is what Bond was all about when I was a child, and besides that title song from Paul McCartney is a killer. As a young teenager full of hormones and a need for escapism ‘Live and Let Die’ ticked all the boxes for me and I will stick with the statement that this is one of the best James Bond movies of all time (and yes, I know I am totally biased.)

2019 will see the 25^th instalment of the Bond franchise arriving to the big screen and will star Daniel Craig, although he swore he would never play the role again! Leaks have told us that the film could be very similar in storyline to ‘The Spy who Loved me’ but of course, leaks can never be trusted, and there is sure to be a lot of hype and speculation about the new addition as its all great publicity.

The popularity of the Bond movies shines through in the figures that will take time out to visit the cinema to view and this just proves how popular the glitz and glamour of the beautiful people plus the action scenes pull us in much the same way as say, online casinos do. These online sites also offer action and excitement and there are some pretty amazing games to enjoy.  As an example, if you play Rainbow Riches you are one of the many that enjoy one of the most popular slots games online today and would be hard-pressed to find a better game that can be enjoyed on all your devices including your smartphone.

But if we had to pick the very best Bond movie perhaps the all-time greatest 007 has to be 1964’s ‘Goldfinger’ (even if JB says he doesn’t like the Beatles) This movie is where James Bond really comes into his own. Auric Goldfinger is evenly matched with 007, but like all villains who have an ambition of screwing the world in order to make himself even more rich than he is the movie is a delight as we watch ‘our James’ toy with him. Sean Connery is the favoured Bond for many people and you can understand why when you watch this all-time classic.