Quote:
Originally Posted by stomachmonkey
I liked it
Great villain
But I don't like the tortured/flawed Bond
007 does not have baggage
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The Bond as written by Ian Fleming was tormented by demons of the past. In the books, especially early on, he was much crueler, though equally open to great mercies and romantic flourishes. In fact, one of his lingering grievances with MI6 and M was that he was originally considered little more than an assassin, a killer, an expendable thug that the Service didn't care too much whether he lived or died, no matter the quality of the service he provided. The original Double Os were a response to Soviet spies operating in the West that couldn not be arrested and brought to justice the usual way. They were to be identified and killed - hense the need for Double Os. Bond did something in the War that got him selected to be one of the first Double Os. This was a mixed blessing and a mixed compliment to him.
He's had problems his whole life, from watching his parents die to his unexplained but traumatic war experience, to losing Tracy to his ongoing concern that he is stuck in a job he'll do until he dies, in which he is not fully appreciated, and for which his total loyalty is required to people who will not give any loyalty in return (sound familiar, anyone?).
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is probably the best example of the original Bond as written by Fleming, although George Lazenby was clearly the weakest actor ever to play Bond, even considering Timothy Dalton. Bond is dark and brooding and smart and cunning and is the match for all the nefarious enemies, foreign and domestic that he has to encounter. But he is never common or uncouth: He is Bond.