Why are we so fascinated with James Bond? Whether you personally have invested your hard-earned nine dollars (or less, over the last forty-plus years), millions of fans have been plunking down the cash that has led to the release of the twenty-third James Bond film to date.

Releasing this month, Quantum of Solace promises to unleash the full weight of Bond on a world full of fear and pain, with the pain of his fists and his gun to match. But what about the character makes him so fascinating? Why haven't we tired of the schtick? Is there really more that Bond has to offer, or are we condemned to an ever-stagnating cycle of similar plots and the same old Bond? I set out to answer these questions, and a few more, as I spent a few evenings a week over a fortnight (Bond would be proud) reviewing each of the previous twenty-two movies for your reading pleasure.

The Creation of James Bond

The character of James Bond was created in 1953 by Ian Fleming, a military man himself who once directed a group of English soldiers nicknamed "Red Indians." These men were efficient at unarmed combat and collecting intelligence in the decade prior to the creation of the character. Writing at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, Fleming created Commander Bond of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6), and then spun thirteen novels and one set of short stories over the next thirteen years. Outside of the success of Bond, Fleming's other writing experience consisted of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and travel guides for Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers.

Named after an American ornithologist, James Bond was intended by Fleming to be "an anonymous, blunt instrument" of his government, boring and uninteresting by nature, and therefore completely devoted to his work. A few men contributed to Fleming's idea of Bond, but none more than himself, as a womanizing, hard-drinking man who was more than adequate with a gun, with a cruel mouth and cold eyes, who also went to Eton College. Fleming sold the film rights to Harry Saltzman, co-producer of Dr. No with Albert Broccoli, and the rest is history.

Over the years, Bond's character has affected and been affected by popular culture. Belting out the title song has become a token of honor among the musical elite: Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, Tina Turner with Bono and The Edge, and Shirley Bassey (three times) have all headlined the music of Bond. Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill" even hit number one in the United States musical charts.

Bond also inspired quite a few teenage males (and maybe some older ones as well) but he also served as the basis for many other characters and movies. Mike Meyers was obviously inspired by Bond in his rendering of super-spy Austin Powers. Steven Spielberg has referenced Bond in his creation of Indiana Jones, and I would argue that fair comparisons can be made to the personalities invoked by Han Solo. And for those readers nearing middle age, the well-worn television spoofs of the 1960s (Get Smart, I Spy, etc.) were amusing "spin-offs" of the British spy and his growing popularity. For the younger crowd, they have learned more about Bond from Nintendo's first-person shooter game than they have from the novels of Fleming or his successors, like John Gardner.

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