It takes a certain type of person to play James Bond, and with all respect to James Brolin, it’s actually a good thing that he wasn’t selected to play the character since as celebrated as he is and as successful as these screen tests were said to be, it’s actually fortunate that Roger Moore was convinced to come back. The landscape of Bond movies would have been quite different had Brolin been allowed to take on the role, though of course this is all up for debate. One has to remember that many different aspects of the movie-making process have changed so dramatically over the years that trying to judge movies and actors by the same standards of today just doesn’t work. Back then Brolin might have been the next best thing to a Bond character than anyone, but by today’s standards he looks a bit wooden in the role, more like a brawler in this scene than a highly-trained spy that knows how to incapacitate or kill an individual in an efficient yet brutal fashion. When looking at the fight choreography that’s used today it’s easy to look back at past movies and scoff since everything today is so fluid and, in some ways at least, more realistic when it comes to how certain hits will affect the human body. In other words, beating the living hell out of someone and then shoving their face through a cabinet door would come close to ending the fight if it wasn’t done already, unless that person is inordinately tough.
One thing about spy movies, or action movies in general, is that the combatants are usually seen as capable of taking multiple shots to various parts of the body that would normally put many people down for the count. This is usually explained by the idea that these individuals are tougher, better trained, and have a heightened durability and endurance that surpass the average human being. The only problem with that is the fact that if they’re going up against an individual that’s similarly trained, they’re bound to get hurt or be hurt in the same manner. There are quite a few stuntmen and fight choreographers that would be able to sit down and assess just what would be happening in many movie scenes, but a good number of them might agree that once a person has been hit in a certain way or if they’ve been sent face first into just about anything hard or potentially hazardous, the fight is probably over.
Throughout the long course of his history in the movies James Bond has definitely been seen as a ladies man, even if he’s also been accused of toxic masculinity more than once. He’s definitely a player, as the character has tried to be a one-woman man a few times, but he always appears bound to follow his libido instead of his good sense no matter if he finds the right woman that will put up with his lifestyle. The only problem with this is that a certain percentage of women that he deals with can’t be trusted and the act of pulling a gun on them isn’t so far out of line that it would be seen as anything but his own brand of precaution. It does beg the question though as to how Bond has never fathered a child in the past since the idea of protection, aside from a gun, never appears to come up (no pun intended). The whole fantasy of a super-spy being able to romance, woo, and bed any woman he fancies is something that has been debated by a lot of people over the years since at some point it does objectify the women in these movies and it is kind of an issue. But really, a lot of the Bond women in the movies aren’t that innocent or even vapid enough to just fall for a bit of charm from a dashing rogue like Bond. There are plenty of women in these movies that are deadly and ready to do their worst, after a little fun perhaps.
No, before anyone even bothers to gripe about this, the women in the movies are not ‘asking for it’ when Bond charms them into bed, but those that hit the sheets with him definitely aren’t fighting it either. For some of them it’s a way to get close to Bond and get him to let his guard down before the killing stroke falls, though of course the spy usually ends up turning the tables on his would-be assassin/lover and any accomplices she might have. In short, James Bond movies might be an ongoing case of toxic masculinity or they might just be a fun time for everyone involved, but with all respect, James Brolin was better off not getting involved.
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