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Another Perspective
A Beer for Mister Bond
You won’t hear Daniel Craig saying “vodka martini, shaken not stirred.”
As recently reported by the British press, in the next James Bond film to be released in October, Skyfall, the suave secret agent to be played by Daniel Craig will not be sipping vodka martinis — he will be drinking beer, and one may also conclude he will not be all that suave. We do not yet know how Craig will ask for it, but given the dumbing down of the James Bond persona, it is not hard to imagine the words, “ice cold bottle of beer here” spoken at the gaming tables of Monte Carlo. The admirers of Bond are said to be outraged.
For decades we have heard the words, “vodka martini, shaken not stirred,” spoken by the world’s urbane super spy, known almost everywhere as Bond, James Bond — as he is wont to introduce himself in a slightly menacing, condescending way.
At home in the paneled offices of London’s intelligence service or MI6, the dignified casinos of the Riviera, the Space Shuttle, and on board the Orient Express streaking from Istanbul across Europe, Bond has been an icon for those with discriminating taste and for those who would like to have it.
Whether it was Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, or Pierce Brosnan, the character Bond knew his fine wines and foie gras and how to conduct himself elegantly, whether in a bush suit or black tie. He could lecture the Bank of England on the deficiencies of their brandy, and advise M, the chief of MI6 on obscure flora found in the Amazon — in a patronizing manner. In the early Bond movies with Connery and Moore in particular, there was focus on the spy’s character and wry sense of humor, before the onslaught and distraction of high speed cameras and gadgetry. Later actors, especially Dalton, projected a more sensitive Bond — a Bond with listening skills — and Brosnan continued to enhance the image of all things dapper, the stiff upper lip, and good taste.
But no more. Craig is a different kind of Bond — however still with much public appeal. His surliness and sometimes glowering manner speak to those in need of anger management. His musculature is suggestive of many hours spent in the gym, bench pressing several multiples of his body weight. His slightly spiked hair is suggestive of the coolness of a new generation, a new order of things. The grime and dried blood on his face convey a hands-on 007, a hard-charging executive of espionage — one who prefers substance over form and just wants to get the job done.
The new Bond now played by Craig does not mind looking grungy and casual, and in this respect he is a certainly a man of the times. And while the earlier Bonds seemed to do their work for King and country, with pluck that was decidedly British, it is not yet clear exactly what motivates Craig in his role, other than the desire for a good dustup and a cold beer.
It is possible that the commercial sponsors of Bond are shrewdly cognizant of globalization and its potential for profit. Imagine the rising demand for beer in Brazil, Russia, India and China, the so-called BRIC countries, as hundreds of millions of young men and women aspire to become secret agents, swigging down a well-chilled beer after completing a clandestine operation.
Not surprisingly Heineken, the Dutch brewing company in collaboration with film sponsors, has weighed in, reportedly stating, “Bond is a perfect fit for us. He is the epitome of the man of the world.”
Bond traditionalists may not be happy about the dilution of their brand, perhaps conceding that Daniel Craig still epitomizes something — but it is not worldliness. After all, a super sleuth with dirt and his own dried blood on his face cannot be doing everything right.
But drinking beer need not be inconsistent with savoir-faire, as Jonathan Goldsmith, the Dos Equis man, shows us. Were Goldsmith cast as the next James Bond, we might hear him say, “Stay covert, my friends.”
About the Author
Frank Schell is a business consultant and former international banking executive. He serves on the Dean’s International Council of the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, where he is a lecturer, and on the editorial board of the Chicago-based National Strategy Forum, which focuses on national security issues.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (72) | Leave a comment
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Midnight| 4.24.12 @ 7:30AM
Fun piece, well done.
Stilton A. Cheese| 4.24.12 @ 9:16AM
I'm pretty sure Bond drinks a beer in an early scene in Dr. No (shanty bar on the beach?).
John Daniel| 4.24.12 @ 9:17AM
Didn't Ian Fleming have Bond drinking Sapphire Salutes, and the movie producers changed to martinis?
R Martin| 4.24.12 @ 9:18AM
The Bond film franchise has been devalued by its own casting choices. Craig is much too thuggish, and it is difficult to imagine women swooning over him. Suave? Not close. While Judy Dench is an actress of considerable skill, she is not believable as M, and the big shoes of Desmond Llewelyn have proven hard to fill. Even the villians can't stack-up to Gert Frobe's Goldfinger. Don't even get me started on the cars.
KyMouse| 4.24.12 @ 11:23AM
I've never been a fan of the Bond franchise, but I can see Daniel Craig as a good actor for the role. If a spy's only job is to get the girl, then the previous, handsome Bonds were good choices; but I've always thought that their looks would have attracted too much attention to them. Shouldn't spies be unnoticed?
The late, always-watchable Patrick McGoohan ("Danger Man/Secret Agent," "The Prisoner") was offered the role of Bond before the franchise began, if I remember correctly, but he turned it down because (as a devout Catholic) he disapproved of its high fornication content. Good man.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.24.12 @ 12:02PM
How can you NOT like the new Aston Martins?!
R Martin| 4.24.12 @ 3:17PM
Actually, I do like the new Astons...a lot. It's just that I've had two of the David Brown series cars, and I think they're more classic, timeless and a better fit with the movie genre. I was thinking particularly of the BMW films when I made the previous comment.
When I had that Mega ticket in my hand prior to the recent zillion dollar draw I was having some difficulty deciding if my first purchase was going to be a DBS Volante or a McLaren mp4-12c. As it turned out, the dilemma did not present itself in reality.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.24.12 @ 6:31PM
Right there with ya on the hopes for the Mega Millions. I had my Aston Martin & Breitling watch (to go with the car, of course) already picked out. Along with a villa in Monaco.
Oh well...
Stuart Koehl| 4.24.12 @ 1:20PM
The woman who actually was in charge of MI6 (and who later went on tour to push her book about her years in the service!) wasn't believable as M, either.
But then, when I was a Georgetown, George Tenet lived right across the hall from me. He wasn't very believable as Director of Central Intelligence, especially for those of us who knew him when.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:16PM
He wasn't believable because he really wasn't believable. He was a careerist in an agency that had long ago lost its way.
Bond is a killer.
He kills, sometimes it's just part of the job, sometimes it's distasteful, {such as when he had to kill Sophie Marceau in The World is Not Enough}, but no one can mistake that sometimes, Bond thoroughly enjoys killing those he kills.
Towards that Craig is perfect.
Connery had the killer about him too, as much as the current Bond has. But Dalton, Brosnan and sometimes Moore didn't really project that intensity of violence.
Moore sometimes affected that immediate and visceral response after emerging victorious when his enemy had him on the ropes. Kind of like a fighter pilot emitting some sound from his gut when his bullets finally find their mark.
But Craig projects violence and vigor more so than any since Connery.
SF_Exile| 4.25.12 @ 12:30PM
Agreed. Connery brought the killer closer to the surface than Moore. Dalton had it too, but in terms of looks missed the mark.
Case in point: Connery's Bond lying in wait for Strangways in the bungalow in "Dr. No". Bond knows he'll ultimately have to kill Strangways, but the man's pathetic mewling annoys Bond and it almost seems as if he dispatches Strangways just so he doesn't have to listen to him.
Stuart Koehl| 4.25.12 @ 7:00PM
Just for the record, George Tenet was not an employee of the CIA prior to becoming DCI; his career, such as it was, was on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee staff. He was an "outsider", not a "professional".
DRA2010| 4.24.12 @ 6:10PM
Too thuggish?
Sean Connery, the ultimate James Bond, started out as a lorry driver and general labourer (and the son of a lorry driver & a drab) from the mean streets of Edinburgh. If he can portray a sauve & sophisticated spy, ANY decent actor should be capable of doing so!
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:20PM
Some here overlook that the sophistication and the suaveness are but portions of Bond's overall character.
He knows his wines.
He pursues his women.
And he kills those who threaten the realm, and sometimes that means he gets dirty, which is natural when two grown men are going at it to the death.
Recall Robert Harris in From Russia with Love going at with Bond in the Train compartment. There was no sophistication there, just two men fighting to the death, where there were no medals conferred for coming in second.
It's very easy to make too much of Bond being a man of the world.
Stuart Koehl| 4.25.12 @ 7:04AM
In the movies, those fights always last too long. In the real world, an incapacitating blow is delivered within seconds, and the loser is finished off a few seconds later. Martial arts have rules, but unarmed combat does not.
Salalah| 4.30.12 @ 7:28AM
I'm sure that you will remember that it was Robert Shaw.
Brian Mc| 4.24.12 @ 9:18AM
Craig is the best of the "Me Too's" but the benchmark will always be Sean Connery. When you say, "Bond" I immediately see Mr. Connery at the gaming table. Button-down and a beer? Never.
KyMouse| 4.24.12 @ 11:28AM
Some Scottish friends of mine knew Sean Connery when he was their father's milkman, way back in Edinburgh. They've enjoyed watching his career, but they say that to them, he'll always be "Dad's milkman."
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:23PM
But there's more to life than the gaming table.
With the advent of microbrews, with the advent of exceptionally well crafted beers, and now widely available, --- why SHOULDN'T Bond have a beer?
It makes sense.
Does every single man when he drinks alcohol always and everywhere have a cocktail? Do none of the graduates of Oxbridge ever enjoy a beer? Is it really outlandish for some from the Ascott Crowd preferring the occasional beer instead of a champagne split?
AhiaGuy| 4.25.12 @ 1:58PM
Bond, being an epicurean when he isn't a killer, certainly would know the value of a good beer, but Heineken isn't one. Nasty Euro pale lager. It's simply product placement for a fee.
Doctor Right| 4.24.12 @ 9:26AM
Craig is the best Bond since Connery. In fact, he may be better than Connery, but the two eras are completely different so a real comparison is unfair.
Craig's Bond makes you forget the near fantasy Bond movies of Pierce Brosnan, and the utterly absurd Bond-era of Roger Moore, who made Bond into a sextaugenarian buffoon.
The image of Bond in a tuxedo looking suave and ordering martinis while playing baccarat belongs to another time. That Bond belonged to the early to mid 1960's.
Craig's Bond, who has been described as having humble origins, is a Bond for today.
gearjammer| 4.24.12 @ 10:16AM
" Humble origins ", right. Next Bond will belt his pants at mid thigh, wear a hoodie, and enjoy his heroin, rather than heroine. Hell, forget the babes-make him gay and loving it.
Doctor Right| 4.24.12 @ 12:08PM
Dumb reply.
Stormzeye| 4.24.12 @ 11:00AM
Right again, Doctor. Fleming's Bond was an assassin more than a bon vivant. Craig plays this role beautifully. When he ordered champaign for his room then left the beautiful woman he had just seduced to run off and kill his target I knew we finally had a very serious Bond. Connery, though great in his day, was not Fleming's Bond.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.24.12 @ 11:16AM
RIGHT THERE WITH YA, DOC!!! Craig IS the best Bond since Connery. And the reason why I think this is because the guy is able to pull of the Bond of "another time," as he did in "Casino Royale" in a Brioni tux, Omega watch & gambling (even though it was poker, not baccarat), as well as the hardcore assassin he's supposed to be.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:26PM
Yes, the eras are different. Bond couldn't remain the same without remaining in some alternate time warp or something.
Your dismissal of Moore is too much.
Yes he played Bond way too late. But when he first became Bond, he played him well, and added a distinctiveness to the character.
SF_Exile| 4.25.12 @ 12:38PM
Actually, I think the franchise had the perfect replacement for Pierce Brosnan but screwed the pooch by casting him in a lesser role: Colin Salmon.
Salmon is a better actor than his small part allows for, and I think would have been a boost to the Bond legacy. Well spoken, perfectly dressed and utterly lethal. Plus, as a female fan, he makes this heart go pitty-pat!
tdiinva| 4.24.12 @ 10:06AM
The problem with Bond is that he is passe. There is a new spook on the block:
My name is Michael Westin and I used to be a spy.
Welcome to Miami.
Stuart Koehl| 4.24.12 @ 1:22PM
What I enjoy about Burn Notice are the little expositions of trade craft, some of which are actually very accurate--sometimes scarily so.
That, and Sharon Gless as Michael's mom, Madeline. I have quite forgiven her for Cagney and Lacey.
tdiinva| 4.24.12 @ 5:54PM
I suspect that they have a former case officer or two on the payroll for technical advice.
Bond may know his wines and caviar but he still a brute force kind of guy. Westin uses his brain far more than his brawn.
Stuart Koehl| 4.25.12 @ 7:06AM
Though Michael and Maddy are entertaining, Sam Axe is the most realistic character on the show. Those of us who work with and around the military and intelligence agencies all know someone like him--sometimes a number of someones like him.
Harry the Horrible| 4.24.12 @ 10:23AM
Ya know, if you're thirsty, you might drink a beer instead of a martini. Martinis are less than useless for quenching a thirst.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:27PM
Not to mention, have any here actually ordered the Bond drink, "a vodka martini, shaken not stirred."
They're terrible.
They taste absolutely terrible.
Harry the Horrible| 4.25.12 @ 8:15AM
I tried a gin martini. Smelled (and probably tasted) like industrial solvent.
Old Soldier| 4.24.12 @ 10:29AM
How did the makers of Bombay Gin not pay whatever it took to sponsor Bond movies?
gray man| 4.26.12 @ 10:31PM
gin was used to ward off malaria in some areas of the british empire. that's how people developed a taste for it, love a gin and tonic myself.
LarryK| 4.24.12 @ 10:52AM
What next? James bond saying to his nemesis, "You look faaaabulous!"
Dick Simmons| 4.24.12 @ 11:00AM
Bond has gone down as a literature/film character for the ages--much like Sherlock Homes ( and Lord, how many people have played him!?) so everybody will have their favorite. I read Fleming's Bond novels when I was thirteen. They were written in the early fifties and Bond back then was described as a rough customer, barely able to pull off the tuxedo look. He had cut his teeth on knocking off Axis agents during the war, mingling with Brit intell informers and the OSS. He was always projecting a controlled menace. How far they moved away from that character in the sixties! Remember, Fleming died in 1964, so was unable to ride the Bond mania that was just starting. He wouldn't have recognized or approved Moore, Bronson, or Dalton. Ironically, Craig may come closest since Connery.
Seek| 4.24.12 @ 11:11AM
I always thought Roger Moore's James Bond was highly underrated. His last Bond flick, "A View to a Kill" (1985), was as fun and skillfully plotted as any in the franchise; Christopher Walken, with his classic creepy calm, played the arch-villain to perfection in that film.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.24.12 @ 11:17AM
Agreed wholeheartedly about Walken! He was one of the best Bond villains ever!
W| 4.24.12 @ 1:00PM
I liked Walken in Deer Hunter.
Stuart Koehl| 4.24.12 @ 1:23PM
Best movie about Ruthenians ever made.
Con Chef (NB) | 4.24.12 @ 1:46PM
Agreed! I NEVER get tired of seeing that movie.
Stuart Koehl| 4.24.12 @ 2:39PM
I love that the wedding takes place in "Lemko Hall". And, of course, the most authentic scene in the movie was the one at the very end, where they all sit around a table and sing "God Bless America". And every time I watch it, I think, "I know those people. I go to church with them.
W| 4.24.12 @ 3:38PM
Parts of Deer Hunter were shot in Clairton, an old mill town outside Pgh on the Monongahela.
Great movie. The bartender, George..., is from Pgh and played a detective on Law and Order.
Great cast.
Stormzeye| 4.24.12 @ 9:13PM
His name is George Dzundza.
Stuart Koehl| 4.24.12 @ 1:17PM
Don't be an idiot, Schell. The Brits don't drink their beer "ice cold"--only boorish Americans do that to cover the taste of the swill they dare call beer.
Moreover, in sophisticated circles, beer--especially boutique microbrew--has replaced the cocktail as a sign of refinement, ranking right up their with wine as far as snob factor is concerned.
Also, Craig comes a lot closer to Fleming's portrayal of Bond than any of the previous actors in the role.
As for under-appreciated, what about Lazenby, for crying out loud?
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:30PM
Yes, Lazenby played him well.
But the guy that stole that movie was Tracy's father, the head of the Corsican syndicate. I often thought they should have wrote his role into several of the later movies.
Moe Blotz| 4.25.12 @ 3:12AM
Right you are Stuart, the traditional British ale is served a t cellar temperature (52-55 degrees F). Also the real ale you find in British pubs is unfiltered and served either from gravity or via hand pump (beer engine). With no carbon dioxide used for dispense, the carbonation in the beer is natural and allows the full flavour of the beer to tantalise your taste buds. If the Bond character walks into a bar and orders a Heinie, all bets are off. Faux pas.
MyGirlFriday| 4.24.12 @ 1:46PM
Bond shmond. Reilly, Ace of Spies now that man was the real thing. The James Bond character was loosely modeled after Sidney Reilly who was the greatest British spy to ever have lived.
Stuart Koehl| 4.24.12 @ 2:39PM
Well, loosely based on the legend of Sidney Reilly. Nobody ever really knew him, or managed to find the line that existed between fact and fantasy.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:31PM
Reilly probably never knew himself. But at least he saw through the Bolsheviks, and wanted to bring them down.
Mark MacInnis| 4.24.12 @ 2:41PM
A true Bond would consume (not drink) his Guinness at room temperature, not "ice cold"....
canuckistani| 4.24.12 @ 2:54PM
Guinness is for horses, race horses, but still horses.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:31PM
Isn't Guinness an Irish brew?
Moe Blotz| 4.25.12 @ 3:17AM
The original Guinness Irish Stout brewed in the old brewery at St. James Gate in Dublin is the standard by which all stouts are measured. The fab "Guinness" brewed by beer factories owned by DIAGEO is a mere shadow of the original. Unless you get yourself a bottle of the old original, you will get a beer that lacks flavour and body.
Stuart Koehl| 4.25.12 @ 7:08AM
Been there. Lovely experience.
AhiaGuy| 4.25.12 @ 2:09PM
Sorry, Moe, but Guinness is not the stout by which all other are measured. Guinness is an Irish Dry Stout and would not be any benchmark at all for a Russian Imperial Stout, an American Stout or an English Stout, different styles altogether.
That would be like saying that beaujolais is the standard by which all red wines are measured.
canuckistani| 4.24.12 @ 3:04PM
Bond was always designed to be a reflection of the times he had to work in. First Russians, Russian proxies, working with the Russians and then megalomaniacs seeking some kind of mystical hegemony over the earth.
It went off the rails when the villains became cartoonish - Drax, the Voodoo 7-up guy and Scaramanga. The selection of "quantum" is apt for our times as it blends big business with government extremely well. The conspiracies are not set on world domination, but commercial manipulations that we all sense are likely occurring today. Enrons popping up and others Goldman Sachs-esque.
I would like the new villain to be a counterpoint to this business-government complex and put Bond into the position of having to choose sides in the game. Will he shoot to kill an opponent that possesses altruistic aims?
That would be appropriate for our times.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:33PM
Once the villains became cartoonish, the series took a turn south. That was unfortunate. I don't understand why they allowed the character to move away from the main Cold War enemy. They had him team up with the Soviets as often as oppose them or thwart them.
TR Graham| 4.24.12 @ 4:27PM
If one wishes to "know" James Bond, they need to read Fleming's books. Fleming's writing belongs to a particular era, long past, and has a certain charm not which is not found in the movies. Attempts to "update" the character detracts from Fleming's original creation, which from what I understand was based partially on his own experience. In any case, movies are for the unimaginative....
Stormzeye| 4.24.12 @ 9:15PM
Another great writer of espionage novels was Eric Ambler.
Shaboe Delucks| 4.24.12 @ 5:46PM
You do know that the Dos Equis guy is an absurd caricature of Bondish savoir... oh, never mind.
Pallbearer| 4.24.12 @ 5:49PM
The last one I saw was the Bond movie that started with the scene in Sienna with the famed Palio taking place.
Other than enjoying that scene and the pageantry of Italian Tuscan color, the rest of the film was g-a-r-b-a-g-e. Only the sharp, ugly noises emitted from the movie sound track keep a viewer awake.
There is no meaningful dialog, the characters are shallow beyond belief, Bond wins, criminal thug that is so fictional as to be farcical loses. Bond's contrived, strained relationships with his Mi6 master(s) is hardly well done.
Ho-hum.
Is it really any different than watching a split-second, don't blink, whack-whack, wooden chairs break Jackie-Chan spinoff film? That is all most of the scenes contain.
I would say that the Bond films are a perfect example of how dumbed-down all has become.
There is nothing at all to admire in the Bond movies except the interesting locales they might choose, i.e. the motorboat scene on the Thames. London looks great, some nice camera angles, nice views of the river banks, a nice look at a few of the canals that no one ever notices.
But I can get that in a historical documentary, too. Or just by using GoogleEarth.
On these pages we vociferously attack the decline and fall of the American empire and the whole Anglo culture, e.g. Great Britain. Well, look no further than the dweebs who patronize such movies as the Bond series to know why.
Dan| 4.24.12 @ 6:35PM
Quantum suffered from the writers strike, and there were way too many writers in on the final product. That's why the show makes so little sense, and has so little flow from scene to scene.
The next movie will suffer no such misfortune.
I don't understand why go forward with a movie so billed, so much money invested in it, with a screenplay that sucks. Quantum should have been delayed until all the problems could have been worked out.
Buckfan| 4.24.12 @ 7:31PM
Nero Wolfe savored beer, and who could have been more worldly wise and sophisticated?
skip| 4.24.12 @ 7:43PM
This topic, article, and thread is much too serious to be left to the amateurs. Never has John II been more needed. Who's in charge of the bat II signal? Turn that puppy on.
PCP Smoker| 4.24.12 @ 9:12PM
A brit who doesn't drink Guinness? Heineken is too well known. How about something else?
Moe Blotz| 4.25.12 @ 3:19AM
Good suggestion PCP, Crudgington's Best Bitter would be more appropriate.
POST American| 4.24.12 @ 11:47PM
---Bond is the 50's --60's--70's--80's--90's Show
that simply NEVER ends.
MEANWHILE, Hollywood continues to deliver
this and other cultural incest while BURYING
w/o a trace 6 decades of anniversaries for the
staggeringly relevant, Globalism/RED China and
FINAL EUGENICS 'unfriendly'
--------------------KOREAN WAR-----------------------
There are not words for just how BAD this is.
AVCurmudgeon| 4.25.12 @ 2:33AM
Though it's been a long time since I read the books in the 1960s, Craig seems to me to be a lot closer to the character that Fleming created than even Sean Connery. Bond was a loner, thuggish, sociopathic. Craig plays all that to a T. My only complaint with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace is that they both relied too heavily on long action sequences (tho the opening chase in CR is something of a marvel). There has to be more to the character they are creating than the ability to engage in seemingly eternal free-running escapades.
Benjamin| 4.25.12 @ 7:26AM
Who cares? THe Bond movies have sunk to the level of comic books.