Friday, August 7, 2015

My Top 10 Favorite James Bond Girls


Nothing says clichéd damsel in distress or clichéd action heroine like a James Bond Girl. It’s one of the biggest trademarks of the series, you just can’t have a 007 adventure without a token Bond Girl to steal the show, or perhaps I should say “supply the eye candy”. It’s not always about who’s the most well developed character, who’s the strongest fighter or even the most attractive, for this list it’s all about who’s the most memorable and who left the biggest impact. Now this all is subject to personal opinion, so forgive me if I leave off some of the classic Bond Girls. 



#10 Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman) – Goldfinger (1964)



Obviously she’s one of the franchises most famous and beloved leading ladies, but personally, I never liked her that much. I just found her to be kind of generic, and even forgettable. So why is she on my list, because her name is “PUSSY GALORE”, that's the definitive silly yet awesome name for a 007 girl. It’s become a tradition that Bond girls have a name with some kind of sexual pun built in, but they all pale in comparison to this hilarious title, even James Bond has a funny reaction to how obscured her name is.    

  


#9 Domino (played by Kim Basinger) – Never Say Never Again (1983)



Before Kim Basinger shined as one of Batman’s most memorable girl friends in the 1989 “Batman” classic and before winning a Golden Globe for the 1984 film “The Natural”, she was first a note worthy James Bond Girl friend that often gets overlooked. The character herself may come off like your typical, one note Bond Babe, but she has some memorable scenes, including an upbeat tango dance with 007 and a note worthy finally where she saves the day by rescuing James Bond and axing off the main villain, not to many Bond girls do that.




#8 Mary Goodnight (played by Britt Ekland) – The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)




No other Bond girl is as conventional or as clichéd as Mary Goodnight. This young blond has all the traits of your classic token female, and yet somehow she stands as one of the most memorable of the series. While a little dimwitted, she proves she can rescue herself before our hero can get the chance and of course no other Bond girl rocks a bikini like her. Sure there have been others, but honestly I think Goodnights blue swim suit even out matches the iconic figure of Ursula Andress from “Dr. No”, yeah, I said that.     




    
#7 Octopussy (played by Maud Adams) – Octopussy (1983)




Actress Maud Adams was featured as a Bond girl once before in the 1974 film “The Man with the Golden Gun”, but her character was killed before she could make a lasting impression. She got her second chance as the title character Octopussy whose name might just be the most memorable sense Pussy Galore. This joule smuggler is yet another Bond girl originally employed by the bad guys, but then struck out on her own and became one of the franchises most iconic ladies. She’s just the girl to put 007 in double O Heaven.  








#6 Tracy Di Vicenzo (played by Diana Rigg) – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)



While I wouldn’t call her one of the most attractive Bond girls, she’s definitely one of the most intriguing and helped make George Lazenby’s single Bond picture a classic amongst fans. While James Bond always has a relationship with his girls, no one stole his heart like Tracy. To further prove the point, she’s the only Bond girl that our hero has ever married. Unfortunately, their honeymoon is cut short in one of the most tragic and unforgettable endings of the whole series. 




#5 Jinx (Played by Halle Berry) - Die Another Day (2002)




Born on Friday the 13th, this Bond girl was appropriately nicknamed “Jinx”, and is regarded as a bad luck charm to all but James Bond, who had the best luck in the world receiving her as a partner. She’s a sword fighting, bikini warring babe that pays omega to some of the classic Bond girls, while creating her own traits and can kick some serious ass.






#4 Colonel Wai Lin (played by Michelle Yeoh) – Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)




I might have mentioned earlier that I really like Asian woman ... well, this chick has a lot more to offer then your typical Asian good looks. She’s a martial arts master, doesn’t fall for seductive tricks, has surprisingly good chemistry with our main spy hero and is just a strait up awesome character. This Chinese spy is widely regarded as one of the best Bond Babes, and her character was so successful that MGM tinkered with the idea of giving her a standalone spin-off movie. It also helped launch the carrier of Michelle Yeoh, leading her to star in awesome films like “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”.




#3 Solitaire (played by Jane Seymour) – Live and Let Die (1973)



Now here’s one of the more interesting Bond girls, with Solitaire you can never tell if she’s good, evil or both. She’s a girl with psychic powers, is under the employ of an evil drug lord, but meets her match when she fails to predict that her heart will be stolen by 007. Jane Seymour was in her mid 20’s when she took on the role of Solitaire, making her one of the youngest Bond girls, but also one of the most beautiful and had a note worthy carrier in films like “Somewhere in Time” and she also stood out as Sinbad’s love interest in “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger”. With one heck of an attractive figure, and always shrouded in mystery, she’s one Bond girl to watch out for.




#2 Vesper Lynd (played by Eva Green) – Casino Royale (2006)




Probably the most complex and tragic of the Bond girls, Vesper has trouble deciding where her elegance lies, but one thing’s for sure, she’s one of the phew woman to really win the heart of James Bond. Launching the carrier of Eva Green, this captivating agent proves to be both a valuable ally to Bond and also his greatest weakness. Their back and forth relation is one of the highlights of the series, and concludes with the most tragic ending sense “On Her Majesties Secret Service”.  








Before I crown my #1 girl, here are some honorable mentions ...


Kissy Suzuki – You Only Live Twice (1967)

Mata Bond – Casino Royale (1967)

Tiffany Case – Diamonds are Forever (1971)

Lupe Lamora – Licence to Kill (1989)










#1 Agent XXX (played by Barbara Bach) – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)



Of all the memorable Bond girls, my absolute favorite by far who stands proud and tall among them is the Russian KGB agent Anya Amasova, code named XXX from “The Spy Who Loved Me”. This was a chick that could put up a fight and had a sly demeanor. Her relation with Bond was also really good, instead of just falling in love with him, she actually hated his guts because he was responsible for her husband’s death and that built conflict between them. Under the circumstances, she had no choice but to work with 007 and that made for a far more interesting character than what we’re use to seeing in Bond films. She had great chemistry with Bond, owned every scene she was in and helped make “The Spy Who Loved Me” my favorite of the entire Bond film series.



James Bond Countdown will return in “My Top 10 Favorite 007 Theme Songs


2 comments:

  1. Download the Solitaire App for your mobile (Built for Android & iOS)

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  2. thank you for the commentaries about the Bond girls and the films, very interesting. My favorites are Jane Seymour and Ursula Andrews.

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