WE WANT SOME M(O)ORE...ROGER THAT! [A WALK DOWN THE 'JAMES BOND' LANE!!]

Hi Friends,

What's up? Hope you enjoyed reading last month's post as much I as I enjoyed writing it here exclusively for you on Sonyaa's Random Musings! :)

Lately,I have been keeping the 'Spectre' of the good old Bond movies alive in my watch-list as we head to the countdown of the next franchise that releases sometime in the first week of this month.Among the 007 agents so far,I had always loved Pierce Brosnan...but I had to do a rethink when I recently watched some of the old Bond classics like Live And Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun and The Spy Who Loved Me...and that's when I fell in love with the charming British actor whom the world knows as - Sir Roger Moore! 

Roger Moore was a suave Bond no doubt who had just one word written all over him - Charm, Charm and oodles of it! And to compliment his dashing personality,the writers had all the witty lines reserved for him which further brought in a good dose of humor to an otherwise out and out action film!

O and by the way,here's a candid confession that I have to make.While Roger Moore is among the recent celebrity to be added to my list of favorites...but in my family,my mother had fallen to his charms way back in the 50's and to this day remains a huge fan of his.In fact in her youth, sometime back in the 60's when was a teenager,she had watched his film,The Miracle and then went on to write to the actor himself and even sent him her photograph with a note wishing him success!And with a glint in her eye she fondly remembers receiving a reply to her letter with an autographed picture of the charismatic actor signing off his name as "Parish".Moments later,her face turns sad at the thought of her much cherished photograph which was misplaced over the decades. Even today my mother lights up each time Roger Moore is mentioned in a conversation or is written/spoke about in the local medias.To this date,she secretly harbors a desire to meet the actor some day. :)

[Sir Roger Moore,if you are reading this post,I would be grateful if you'd oblige!For starters,an autographed picture of yours would definitely cheer her up! And of course meeting you in person would make her lifetime dream come true!] :) 

Anyway now coming back to the Bond films of the past,the villains were equally stylized too if not eccentric, menacing and megalomaniacs-be it Kananga, Francisco Scaramanga, Karl Stromberg etc. They harbored unique ambitions when it came to pursuing their interests related to their profession and each of them had sprawling empires of their own which they had amassed to gain world dominance be it in the field of drugs (poppies), solar power, underwater tracking system etc. 

However even more distinctly characterized were their henchmen and their unforgettably amusing names, they were- Tee Hee - Kananga's man Friday who had a pincer for a hand,Nick Nack - the swift and efficient midget, Jaws - the giant and indestructible juggernaut equipped with metal teeth etc. 

Back then,I somehow loved the landscape and treatment of the Bond films...there was color, comedy, romance and action. These days the Bond films are dark, serious and grim from the start to finish and with a brooding 007 agent there's really not much scope for comedy or romance either! And the villains of today are not those whom you can offhand differentiate from the other.Some how it is the actor who plays the antagonist is what you at best remember and not the essence of the character portrayed,is something what I personally feel.

All in all,the 007 films of Roger Moore showed us a James Bond who could tickle your funny bone in any given situation, shared a short-lived yet passionate romantic chemistry with the diva like Bond girls which also became a talking point in most films and so was his tongue-in-cheek one-liners that was spot on,quick-witted and hilarious!

And I for once truly miss the Bond films of the past... it had a perfect blend of action,romance and entertainment! I do hope that the filmmakers of today incorporate some of those elements in the Bond films to come and let the audiences soak themselves in the memories of an era of Bond films gone by! And how cool would it be if Roger Moore was brought on board to make a guest appearance in the next Bond franchise to dish out some friendly spy tips to the next 007 agent who takes over from Daniel Craig!

(Psst...I think Roger Moore would have made a fantastic Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind too...ladies what say?)

Love,

Sonyaa