His name is Bond, James Bond: just don't expect him to introduce himself. For the first time in his 22 screen outings, Britain's best- known secret agent will not utter the words of introduction that have thrilled fans and appalled master criminals for 46 years.
Nor in his next adventure, Quantum of Solace, released in November, does 007 utter the other classic one-liner – "shaken not stirred" – when ordering his martini, according to the director, Marc Forster.
"There was a 'Bond, James Bond' in the script," he said. "There are several places where we shot it as well, but it never worked as we hoped. I just felt we should cut it out, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson [the film's producers] agreed, and Daniel [Craig, who plays Bond] agreed, too. It's nice to be open-minded about the Bond formula. You can always go back to them later on."
It is another radical departure for Bond who, in his last film, Casino Royale, found himself stripped of many on-screen staples.
Gone were the unfeasible gadgets on which he could always rely in a tight spot. The boffin who created them in the basement of the MI6 building, Q, played in the past by Desmond Llewellyn and John Cleese, was also therefore eliminated, along with Miss Moneypenny and her flirtatious banter. Bond even briefly abandoned his high-performance motor to drive a Ford Mondeo before reverting to an Aston Martin.
It is all part of a deliberate attempt to bring the agent with a licence to kill into the 21st century – the producers declined the film rights to Sebastian Faulks's Bond homage, Devil May Care, last month because it was set in the 1960s – yet also to take him back to his 1950s roots.
The move is welcomed by fans who have seen the films veer away from how Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, originally envisaged his cold-blooded hero.
Graham Rye, who edits the online 007 Magazine said that Craig, who made his debut in last year's Casino Royale, is much closer to Fleming's vision.
"The Bond films had become tired and needed reinvigorating," he said. "Rather than going away from Fleming I think the producers have gone back to him."
Mr Rye added that the famous ingredients of the film, such as Q and Moneypenny, had only featured once or twice in the books. Nor does he make a habit of ordering martinis or introducing himself.
"His announcing of himself had become a bit corny," he added. "Casino Royale gets back to the spirit of the books, rather than all the silliness."
Ajay Chowdhury, who edits the Bond fan club magazine Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, added that excising the famous lines was unlikely to upset Bond fans.
"The producers have been mixing and matching the famous Bond tropes – such as the theme song and the gun-barrel sequence," he said. "But this time there is a theme song by Jack White and Alicia Keys. If this line of script is not in there it's not going to undo the foundations of Bond. The fans didn't miss Moneypenny or Q. Bond is the only British character with worldwide resonance now, apart from Harry Potter. The producers are paying more attention to psychology and relationships, as well as adventure.
"Quantum of Solace picks up from Casino Royale, which was a really good thriller first and a good Bond movie second."
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"Hmmmm....not shaken, nor stirred - really 007, what is going on?"
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