James Bond Vs. Thoms Crown Essay, Research Paper
Over the years, there has been a constant battle between various ?guy? movies for the title of the best. Each of these movies must contain a certain amount of toys, exciting lifestyles, and hot cars. The two that stand out most are James Bond and Thomas Crown. For many reasons James Bond is better.
As most fans know, Thomas Crown is merely a civilian. A very rich one, but nonetheless, still a civilian. This greatly hinders what type of toys he can obtain. He does not have access to all of the really cool government secret projects.
In nearly every James Bond movie, Bond uses specialized devices in his missions. A special branch of the British Secret Service known as the ?Q-Branch? makes the devices. These “gadgets” range from the inconspicuous to the grandiose. Whenever 007 is faced with certain defeat, one of the new gadgets will effect his escape. After several movies, Bond has become associated with the gadgets, helping to further define his character. For example, during the Sean Connery era, 007 used gadgets such as a briefcase that concealed a throwing knife, and an exploding tear gas cartridge. When Roger Moore assumed the role of James Bond, the gadgets became larger than life, and most of the time unrealistic. In The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond makes a film viewer from his cigarette case and lighter. In Octo*censored*, his getaway vehicle is a submarine, shaped in the form of an alligator. These neat little trinkets gave Bond another dimension, one that cemented his popularity in the 1970?s.
Thomas Crown does not stand for a lot, and neither does is lifestyle. He is just a lonely rich man who wants to have fun. To achieve this he hires people to take the fall for him. He also needs to have his chauffer drive him to do it, so who knows if he even has his driver?s license. Pleasure comes from illegal acts, and wrecking things for this man.
Another reason James Bond, Agent 007, is better is his lifestyle. James Bond is the ultimate hero. No matter the odds or the enemy, 007 saves the world from mass destruction. He is the ultimate in style. He wears suits tailored by Saville Row, drives the fastest cars, and drinks martinis (shaken, not stirred, of course!). James Bond is the ultimate gambler. In many movies, he enters a casino and wins thousands of dollars. If everyone had that kind of luck, Las Vegas would be out of business!
Sorry to say it, but Thomas Crown lacks in the ?hot cars? area, and this costs the character many points. As stated in this essay, it is made unclear if he even has his driver?s license. The only cool car in the whole movie was when he drove a modified mustang on an off-road path at a maximum of 15 miles per hour. Can we say exciting? Sorry, not for this particular scene.
James Bond not only gets a new car every movie, but he actually gets a new one made for him in real life! For the past few movies BMW has done this nice deed for our super-spy. Some of these cars are the beautiful Z-3 roadster, and the beastly Z-8 super car. ?Q? himself then specially tweaked each and every car, as if these cars were already not enough. Some of these modifications include missile launchers, remote controls, radar, television phones, machine guns, and a variety of other things that aren?t necessary.
As this essay summarizes and illustrates, James bond wins the title of ?the ultimate guy movie?. Hopefully Thomas Crown will try again with a few more tricks up his sleeve. Maybe then he can compete with the guys? dream role, and capture their imaginations.