James Bond‘s globetrotting has taken him to many countries, but there’s a good reason for Bond 26 to bring him back to a place he’s been away from for too long. James Bond has changed a lot since the character’s first official movie appearance in 1962’s Dr. No. However, as different as the individual movies might be, a handful of recurring motifs have cropped up throughout many of 007’s screen adventures.
Early James Bond movies often saw the stoic super-spy face off against campy, over-the-top villains who contrasted with his unflappable demeanor. During Roger Moore’s lengthy tenure in the role, James Bond was betrayed by his love interests in almost every cinematic outing (sometimes more than once). Meanwhile, Q’s gadgets appeared in almost every James Bond adventure, with even Daniel Craig’s grounded, comparatively realistic version of the character eventually bringing back this goofy trope.
However, one recurring story element that hasn’t been seen in a James Bond movie for years is the English spy’s propensity for adventures set in the US. While 007 might be one of the most quintessentially English characters in cinema history (despite being played by an Irishman, a Welshman, an Australian, and a Scot over the decades), numerous classic Bond movies are set in the United States and the contrast between Bond’s slick modus operandi and the chaos of local law enforcement has often been a source of comic relief. However, James Bond hasn’t been to America in years, meaning there’s good reason for 007 to return in Bond 26. While Daniel Craig’s divisive James Bond brought new gravitas to the role, Bond 26 needs to inject some fun back into the franchise, and sending 007 to the US has always been a reliable way to guarantee this.
James Bond’s Time In America
Several classic Bond movies are set in America, which is no surprise considering the close relationship that America and the UK’s real-life intelligence agencies have shared throughout the last century. In these outings, the secret agent is often tasked with saving the country from nefarious villains by working hand in hand with the CIA. For example, Goldfinger’s plot centers around a convoluted plan to steal the gold from Fort Knox, while Connery’s later outing Diamonds Are Forever is set largely in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the goofy Roger Moore outing Live and Let Die transported Bond to the southern States, and his final movie, 1985’s A View to a Kill, focused on an absurd plan to destroy Silicon Valley via artificial earthquakes. Finally, License to Kill was the first James Bond story to take place entirely in the country, with Timothy Dalton’s dark 007 movie.
What Bond’s American Adventures Have In Common
While License to Kill is something of a franchise outlier (as is Dalton’s darker take on Bond in general), most of Bond’s American adventures have one thing in common. All of 007’s earlier American movies share a sense of silly, over-the-top fun, as Goldfinger abandoned the Cold War paranoia and comparatively grounded tone of Dr. No and From Russia With Love in favor of the cartooniness that You Only Live Twice‘s loose adaptation expanded upon. Similarly, Diamonds Are Forever intensified the comic relief henchmen and absurd antics that would soon reign supreme during Moore’s tenure as 007, while Live and Let Die’s larger-than-life goofiness was matched only by the space-set Moonraker. With a wild local sheriff, Dukes of Hazzard-style car chases, and an out-of-place Blaxploitation influence, Live and Let Die saw the 007 franchise come as close to outright comedy as the series ever ventured and this is something that Bond 26 must bring back as the movies have since slid into self-serious tragedy.
Why Bond 26 Should Return To America
While Daniel Craig’s gritty, brutal Bond debut Casino Royale was a welcome surprise after the self-aware campiness of Brosnan’s later releases in the role, the pendulum eventually swung the other way. No Time To Die and Spectre succeeded in bringing back some of Bond’s campy, fun side, but the latter bounced awkwardly between comedy and tragedy and the latter featured Bond’s first canon death, so it was far from a fun ride. As such, Craig’s Bond never truly made the character fully fun again even though Casino Royale’s bruising post-Bourne 007 reintroduction succeeded in making viewers care about the spy’s humanity again. Now that Craig has proven that Bond can be taken seriously, Bond 26 needs to show that 007 doesn’t have to be a guilt-wracked wreck, and an American adventure would be the perfect way to prove this.
There is no doubt that Bond 26 needs to make 007 fun again now that Craig’s grounded, self-serious iteration of James Bond has run its course. The best way for the series to signal this tonal shift is by bringing Bond back to the setting of his silliest, most larger-than-life earlier outings. The early Bond adventures outlined above feature the sort of goofy, self-consciously silly blockbuster plots that the series was once known for, with Bond villains who want to engineer earthquakes and a version of 007 who can hop across the heads of numerous crocodiles during a chase scene without breaking a sweat. Whether the next adventure in the franchise introduces a new, young James Bond as rumors have promised, Bond 26 needs to prioritize the franchise’s sense of humor and location is key to this achievement.
Why Bond’s Location Matters
When James Bond movies are set in the locations of real-life conflicts, viewers are made uncomfortably aware of geopolitical realities and the escapist appeal of the series is lost. There is a reason that 007 didn’t visit Vietnam in the 60s or Iraq in the 00s since avoiding leaning too far into real-life politics allows the James Bond franchise to retain its fantastical appeal. Thus, America and England are the locations that make sense for Bond’s adventures, with the character’s exploits in his home country often carrying more weight while his overseas adventures are goofier, broader holiday episodes. Much like Top Gun: Maverick deftly avoided mentioning any actual wars despite its ostensible status as a military drama, the timeless James Bond movies that viewers revisit most often are the ones that don’t bring to mind international conflicts that take place in the real world. Instead, they are heightened James Bond adventures like Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Live and Let Die, all of which prove that Bond 26‘s story should take place in the United States.
