James Bond Deconstructed

Let me first state that ‘Devil May Care’ is a great read and harks back to the good old days of the MI6’s finest. Faulkes’ novel evokes the spirit of the old James Bond and one can practically visualise Connery in the main role.

Sebastian Faulkes writing as Ian Fleming is a nice touch and the book carries on from where Fleming left Bond after ‘TMWTGG’. The story reads like a hybrid between a vintage Connery movie and a Fleming adventure.

The Fleming obsession with food is present, with Bond’s every meal described and pored over in great detail. Also prevalent is Bond taking a real beating, whether it be at the hands of the villain or just generally getting bruised and battered in the field. 007 always gets a much rougher ride in Fleming’s novelised accounts than he ever did in the movies.

Although the book is thoroughly enjoyable, it does suffer from over familiarity with some previous occurrences in Bond folklore with perhaps over reliance on one particular movie.

While some of these, shall we say ‘similarities’ are a bit too close for comfort, it’s more than welcome to be reminded of the great 007 adventures of the past. Especially now when the current films are trying to be more like the Bourne than Bond.

Please note the list below contains spoilers.

The similarities are listed below;

Bond plays Gorner at tennis > Bond plays Goldfinger at Golf
Villain cheats at game, but is foiled with the help of Bond’s accomplice > Goldfinger
Bond meets two sisters who have crossed the villains path previously – Poppy and Scarlett > Tilly and Soames in Goldfinger
Bond seduces Scarlett by pointing to lips > Indiana Jones
Locals suspect Gorner’s water-plane is sea-monster > Locals suspect Dr No’s tank is fire-breathing dragon (Dr No).
Bond wedges himself above door frame then drops onto guard > Goldfinger
Villain has oriental henchman with distinctive headwear > Goldfinger
Chagrin does not feel pain due to previous injury > The World is Not Enough
Out of control and de-pressurised plane plummeting to earth > Goldfinger
Villain sucked out of plane window when cabin is depressurised > Goldfinger