007-Goldfinger or Skyfall?

Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig it does not matter. The main point is, that it is James Bond what your monitor is screening. Is that so? If I personally could choose, I would always go for Sean Connery or Roger Moore preferably. Or is it rather the direction behind the movie that I would change. Afterall, it is the director that chooses the actor.

James Bond 007 movies are the only movies, next to Marry Poppins, Raeuber Hotzenplotz and Spukschloß im Spessart (by the way: those are 2 fantastic, highly recommended pieces of culture and entertainment) that have accompanied me since I am six years old.

Since they did accompanie me for 20 years, I see myself (possibly wrongly) in the position to critizise. I critizise after comparing and because of love to the "old" James Bonds. And because of hope that they might one day be quite like the old ones again.

It is in these "old" James Bonds that class is still playing a role. The "old" James Bond is a gentlemen an excellent agent, a perfect shooter, a womanizer, but in the elegant way. He does care whether his Martini is "shaken, not stirred" or shaken and stirred. Not like Pierce Bruceman who believes or rather is made to believe by his director, that this little detail is unessesary.

All inventions "Q" comes up with are living of their detailed thought behind it.
It is the small things, at least for me a constant James Bond follower and admirer that make the difference.

Having seen Skyfall I must say that it is a good, exciting piece of script. Very well directed. But how much does it still have of Ian Flemmings James Bond whose soul was so very well presented in the productions by for instance Tarence Young or Guy Hamilton.

Does the new always have to be so very different in order to be a success?

When I was 7 years old and my family, all admirers of James Bond, started to watch James Bond on a sunday evening, I was always only allowed to watch the very beginning, hence I was not only the youngest but also too young. Everytime I tried strongly to find an argument that would make my parents change their decision. Sometimes it worked but most of the times it did not - but that is not the question. The question is whether today being 7 again and having seen the beginning of a James Bond, I would still put such an effort on converting my parents decision.