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Out of all the Bond Girls who are "Bond's equals", only Pussy Galore, Octopussy and Wai Lin come close.
Agreed.
In which regard exactly where they his equals?
When it comes to Vesper and Tracy it's easy to see why the connected to Bond. It's not a matter of them being equal, a term with so many broad connotations, but a matter of them understanding what kind of man he was and accepting him for his flaws and all the beautiful things about him too.
Intellect,being able to handle him in a subtle way,genuinely falling in love with him,willing to sacrifice themselves (Vesper in the lift), or place themselves in REAL danger to save him.
(Tracy at the ice-rink).
The banter between them and Bond shows the natural connection they have,something you can see Bond admires and is pleasantly surprised.
The other women never got to see the man behind the mask,the true James Bond.
These 2 did.
We can't really put an absolute on to it. A lot of people will base it on physical strength alone and that's fine but for me someone's equal is not just someone who can throw a kick or a punch.
The same for me. I just don't know what kind of equality we're talking about here. I don't think Tracy and Vesper knew Bond's life, but they were able to accept it. In many ways it's what makes them different and not equal (in some respects) that is the most interesting, where Bond learns to love for real and with real commitment because of them, and Vesper and Tracy find support and love at a time when they don't feel looked out for or when they're faced with his rough world.
It's just hard to use the word "equal" in these cases when we're talking about two humans interacting, as it can carry so many different meanings or contexts. One way a person may find Bond and a girl equal may be one where another finds them different, etc. Like most things regarding humans, a lot of this isn't easy to classify, though interesting to think about.
Regarding the movies you might be very well all right. I had thought you were referring to the novels in which case I would have to seriously disagree. Sorry, my mistake.
No problems matey,easily done.
I think the only one written with an emphasis on looks was Christmas. But I don't think the Brosnan era has a noticeably worse batch than any other era. I'd say Elektra, Xeina and Natalya are great. Paris (could have been great with a better actress) and Miranda are good. Wai Lin, Christmas (although as I said I like her) and Jinx are bad.
All in all not too bad as every era has weak Bond girls, except maybe Dalton (and even then there's plenty of fans who can't stand Lupe). Connery had Kissy and Tiffany (I'm not a huge fan of Domino either, she's very unmemorable compared to most of the other Connery girls imo), and even Craig had Fields and Lucia (not particuarly bad, just very forgettable non characters, waste of the actresses* and in Fields case very shoehorned in). You could maybe argue that Brosnan had more weak ones than any other actor but I think Moore would take that (Goodnight, Bibi and Stacey are all awful imo, and both the MR girls are very one dimensional and forgettable).
Elektra has a ton of great moments. There's the scene in bed with Renard for example where she's sadistically teasing him. The torture scene with Bond is another good one if you ignore the pain face and focus on her. How I feel about TWINE is how you feel about SP. I think there's a lot of depth and great stuff to enjoy there if people would only look for it.
*I really wish Belluci had been cast as Paris like Brosnan wanted. She would have actually got a character to play rather than the glorified cameo she had in SP, and we wouldn't have had to suffer through Teri Hatcher's acting.
If it's the former then I agree with those who say there's no physical equal to Bond. OO7 is the hero after all so the plots are written in a manner to make him come out on top, even if ever so subtly.
If it's the latter, then the same applies. Tracy succumbed to Bond's charms eventually and so did Vesper. They're both dead too while Bond goes on.
Ultimately this is the James Bond show after all.
Personally, I've liked all types of Bond girls. I like Anya, Holly, Camille, Vesper, Tracy, Mary, Solitaire etc. etc. Variety is the spice of life and what keeps the series interesting.
I just have problems with some of the actresses who play specific roles, and how they come across as the character. For example, I'm not a fan of Kara not because of the way she was written but rather because of how D'abo played her. Same goes for Swann as Madeleine. With a different actress, I could have liked both these characters far more.
No, in my case it's because I find D'abo's interpretation too whiney. I don't like moaners generally. That's why I didn't like Smith's song, why I don't like Lowell's Pam and also why I wasn't impressed with Brosnan's antics at Baku. Even with her penchant for complaining if the delivery was a bit different, perhaps I could have liked it more.
As for Natalya - she's ok I guess, nothing extraordinary. Pretty much akin to Kara.
I didn't like the way she went on about Georgi or the infamous "take me on the wheel" either. Once again, it's a matter of delivery rather than look or script.
Well, she was very insistent on bringing that cello, I'll admit to that. Wouldn't call it whiny imo.
I like her delivery, especially when she first spoke of Georgi to Bond. The way her face lit up and her sudden enthusiasm to talk. The more I think about her acting, the more I like it. *shrugs*
Different strokes. It's not a big deal for me ultimately, and she suited Dalton's interpretation
With all due respect I don't think D'Abo is the strongest of actresses. She's ok and better than a lot that have appeared in a Bond film (she has a more convincing level of vulnerability) but she seems to have this puppy eyed look throughout TLD. There's a slightly "gooey" quality to her.
Isabella is easily a more convincing actress.
I love that too. Vulnerability and charm.
I also really like the shot of her standing amongst her dead colleagues just before the EMP goes off. Great acting.
Agreed. Since then I've only really liked Vesper and Severine, and interestingly these are my favourite films since GE. I suppose the Bond girl is more critical to my enjoyment of a film than I previously realized.
Campbell talks about how difficult it is to make such a scene convincing in the dvd audio commentary incidentally.
Still, I think Isabella fares better than an awful lot of Bond girls would in such a scene.
Natalya is probably my second favourite, I also really like Tracy, Kara, Pam and Octopussy. Elektra would be up there too, but I always think of her as a villain rather than a Bond girl (although I guess she's both).
I'll step in and spoil the love fest here and agree. Never liked Natalya during the first screening of GE and still think of her complaining and criticizing Bond rather than much of anything else. She may be more innocent and caught in the middle than the Bond equals, but why is so much of her dialogue devoted to being pissy?
At least Onatopp was colorful and fun to have around while she lasted.
To be fair, all of her friends were murdered in front of her.