James Bond is unquestioningly the most famous spy in the world. He’s the spy all others are compared to. However, when we really examine his history and methods, we have to wonder if he’s really as great as everyone thinks he is.
No Time To Die will be No. 25 in the franchise, so we have plenty of backstories to explore as we examine Bond’s work in detail. Everyone gets performance evaluations from their job, and it’s time for 007’s. With that in mind, these are five reasons James Bond is terrible at his job and five reasons he’s great.
10 GREAT: SELFLESSNESS
Commander Bond may not have superpowers, but he shares similar qualities with many of the best superheroes. When push comes to shove, he will always put the fate of the world above himself. At the start Skyfall, a botched mission led to his presumed death. He survived and ended up living a normal life on an island.
Of course, the minute M needed him, he didn’t hesitate to come back. That’s Bond in a nutshell. Anytime he has to choose between himself or the mission, he always chooses the mission. It’s the reason his bosses give him so much freedom. They know he’ll make the right call when necessary.
9 TERRIBLE: GETS CAUGHT A LOT
We understand that if the bad guys didn’t occasionally catch the good guys there wouldn’t be very many interesting action movies. However, Bond follows a very specific formula that inevitably culminates with the spy tied up while listening to a villain to reveal the details of their evil plan.
Since he’s the best in the world, we think he could save the day without constantly falling into the trap we can all see coming. Although, if he didn’t get captured, we also wouldn’t get to see his brilliant escapes.
8 GREAT: NETWORK OF OTHER SPIES
Over the course of 24 films across 58 years, we’ve seen 007 make new friends and enemies around the world. Though most of his adversaries don’t survive their encounters with the superspy, some do and become reluctant allies. It’s always fun to see characters like Zukovsky, Rene Mathis, and Felix Leiter.
Bond’s friends have provided him with intel, safe houses, and resources he couldn’t get from MI6. His ability to tap into this vast network has proven invaluable in Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough and Quantum of Solace.
7 TERRIBLE: LONE WOLF ATTITUDE
Despite being backed by one of the most powerful and advanced intelligence agencies in the world, James Bond often feels like he knows better than everyone else. When M gives understandable reasons why he shouldn’t take a certain course of action, he almost always does his own thing.
Sometimes he’s right, but when he’s wrong, it goes horribly bad. As good as he is, 007 needs to realize saving the world is a team sport. He’s obviously LeBron, but even he needs other guys on the court to support him.
6 GREAT: FEARLESS NATURE
Throughout the franchise, we’ve seen our hero go up against some truly awful people. Seriously, what kind of person covers an innocent girl in gold after getting rid of her? It takes someone with a special ability to harness their own fear to go after the worst people in the world.
One of the reasons we’re ok with all of Bond’s quirks is that we know we couldn’t possibly handle the mental rigors of his job as well as he does. Endless henchmen shooting at him, no problem. Bomb about to explode, sure why not. Fearlessness is why we love him.
5 TERRIBLE: RELIES ON GADGETS
Perhaps the only thing the movies have made more famous than Bond is his gadgets. The crazy thing is, when Dr. No came out in 1962, they all seemed so futuristic and impossible. Of course, now, GPS tracking, commlinks, and minuscule surveillance equipment are everyday items.
As spectacular as Bond’s gadgets are, he hit a patch in the ‘80s and ‘90s where he leaned on them too hard. We didn’t get to see his spycraft in action, because he was busy using exploding pens and remote control cars. Thankfully, the recent films have gotten back to more practical tech.
4 GREAT: LOYAL TO QUEEN AND COUNTRY
Though his origin has changed over the years, at his core Bond is a soldier who has devoted his life to protecting Queen and country. Every time he tries to get away and have a regular life in films like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Casino Royale, something pulls him back in.
For Commander Bond, there’s no other path. He made his choices and sacrifices a long time ago, and they haven’t changed, no matter how many hollowed-out volcanoes he finds himself in. His commitment to his country also gives him a rock-solid moral compass, which means he’s never tempted to switch sides.
3 TERRIBLE: ROMANTIC ENTANGLEMENTS
It’s no secret that 007’s biggest weakness is women. If she happens to be a damsel in distress, that makes him even more vulnerable. Unfortunately, it’s these women who often get him into the worst kind of trouble. They tend to be connected to the bad guy and are the bait in the trap.
Sadly, for the women who fall for Bond, it doesn’t often end well. We could fill an entire list with Bond girls who didn’t make it through the first act. Though it’s been heartbreaking to see him haunted by Vesper Lynd’s betrayal, it’s been nice to see Daniel Craig’s Bond not jump from woman to woman.
2 GREAT: ALWAYS SAVES THE DAY
Yes, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about his flaws, but the fact of the matter is, James Bond always gets the job done. It’s usually messy, and definitely not by the book, however, he always stops the mastermind’s evil plan.
Except for where women are concerned, he usually learns from his mistakes. Despite the many problems he causes for his superiors, they know if the world is on the line, the only person they’re calling is Bond. He does whatever it takes to save everyone, every time.
1 TERRIBLE: BOND, JAMES BOND
Every mission Bond goes on, the first thing he does is introduce himself. If the idea is to covertly discover the villain’s plan, he consistently fails. He walks into a bar, orders his specific signature drink, then announces his presence to the world. Now all the bad guys in the place know he’s on to them.
If he were sneakier, he might not end up tied to a chair, awaiting some overly elaborate demise so often. Just once we’d like to see him go in as the janitor, secretly get the intel, then get out of dodge. Of course, that would be a really short, boring movie.
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