Espionage and Bond Movies
Espionage has always fascinated the public, especially as a result of Hollywood’s spy films. Throughout the centuries the spy genre has undergone many changes. From early movies based on World War II to modern films about the Cold War, Hollywood has always seemed to distort the line between fact and fiction. Ian Fleming’s James Bond was and still is the catalyst of the latest transformation of undercover agent within the spy genre. Moreover, other films such as Mission Impossible II have also propagated this distortion between truth and reality through the character of Ethan Hunt. However, separating the theatrics from the truth is important; movies within the spy genre have set unrealistic stereotypes of what it means to work in the intelligence field. For that reason I intend to compare and contrast two films, Die Another Day and Mission Impossible II as well as discuss how real espionage differs from the common myths represented throughout these films.
It is important to first compare the major similarities between the two films. James Bond and Ethan Hunt share similar job descriptions, both are spies and for that matter it is important to outline common traits. In Die Another Day, Bond’s physical appearance is what people find most appealing, he has relatively good height and posture, dark coloured hair, he is good looking and is quite the conversationalist. In various scenes, both at the start of the movie and towards the end it appears that Bond is also a man that must be in good physical condition in order to be effective at his job. Now take Ethan Hunt, in Mission Impossible II the opening scene introduces mostly all of Hunt’s physical characteristics. Hunt (just like Bond) is in top physical shape, although Hunt exhibits his physical strength more convincingly in the opening scene with his mountain climbing. Hunt also has dark hair, is relatively tall and quite charming when attempting to recruit one of his female team members. Finally the most overlooked
It is important to first compare the major similarities between the two films. James Bond and Ethan Hunt share similar job descriptions, both are spies and for that matter it is important to outline common traits. In Die Another Day, Bond’s physical appearance is what people find most appealing, he has relatively good height and posture, dark coloured hair, he is good looking and is quite the conversationalist. In various scenes, both at the start of the movie and towards the end it appears that Bond is also a man that must be in good physical condition in order to be effective at his job. Now take Ethan Hunt, in Mission Impossible II the opening scene introduces mostly all of Hunt’s physical characteristics. Hunt (just like Bond) is in top physical shape, although Hunt exhibits his physical strength more convincingly in the opening scene with his mountain climbing. Hunt also has dark hair, is relatively tall and quite charming when attempting to recruit one of his female team members. Finally the most overlooked
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