Speaking of Skyfall, do you like the Bourne 007 flavor better?

I'm relatively new to the 007 movies. I think I started watching from Pierce Brosnan movies. From what I can tell, 007 movies used to be about Cold War, beautiful women, and gadgets given by Q (exploding pens and what not). I never really enjoyed the gadget part once it became so ridiculously implausible (I think it was when Pierce Brosnan was driving his BMW with a handheld device and shooting rockets).

Then Bourne Identity happened. A little heightened senses for spies, but otherwise very believable fighting with rolled up magazines and pens. A lot of action movies followed the suit, Casino Royal, Taken, etc. Even the Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol gadgets are more plausible (and they happen to fail after some use).

So do you like the new Bourne Daniel Craig 007 version better than the old 007s?

Actually, this is an excelent point comparing Bond/Bourne. Each has its own strengths where the other has weakness or does not have it. I like the intesity of the Bourne movies with over-the-top stunts. Bond has all the cool toys, Watch, car, pens and whatnot. So it does boil down to character / plotline. I thought the first 3 Bourne movies were excellent spy-thrillers of that genere. But I have to skip around time-wise for the Bond movies.

OT: I thought John Cleese as "Q" was absolute genius given background. But since we have reboot, this excelence will pass. /OT

I like the Sean Connery Bond films the best. Partially about the Russians but the real villain was spectre. A sort of evil trilateral commission. No allegiance to anyone or anything but themselves. And no excuse for drinking, gambling, smoking, or womanizing by bond. The new ones are too over the top for my tastes.

Quote: debitncredit

007 movies used to be about ... gadgets given by Q (exploding pens and what not). I never really enjoyed the gadget part once it became so ridiculously implausible (I think it was when Pierce Brosnan was driving his BMW with a handheld device and shooting rockets).

In the very first movie, Q was more like his character in the books, a firearms expert. His name was Major Boothroyd , and the department he worked in was "Q department".

Desmond Llewelyn played the character in 17 movies, and the gadgets became more and more elaborate. When Llewelyn died, John Cleese played him for the remaining two movies with Pierce Brosnan, but he became more comic relief.

The last Pierce Brosnan movie made twice as much money as the first Bourne Identity movie (2002), so I don't think the producers were conscious of a competition. It was only by the 3rd movie in 2007 that the Bourne movies were earning on the same level as Bond movies.

With the reboot with Daniel Craig the Q character was dropped completely, presumably because he felt dated. It was pretty clear that Bond movies were partly being redone with the goal of getting more female viewers. Women are much more interested in a guy using a fancy gadget to get out of a situtation.

They reintroduced him in Skyfall as a 31 year old computer security nerd, but without the gadgets.

Quote: Pacomartin

Desmond Llewelyn played the character in 17 movies, and the gadgets became more and more elaborate.

They reintroduced him in Skyfall as a 31 year old computer security nerd, but without the gadgets.

Gadgets don't hold the fascination they did 40 years ago when we all carry even more amazing devices in our pockets every day now.