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19-08-2008 12:32
Over the years the character of Bond has been portrayed by six different actors Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and most recently Daniel Craig.
Sean Connery's James Bond was introduced in 1962 with Doctor No where Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the death of a British Agent
With every film the stunts and action sequences became more daring as technology advanced and each actor brought different aspects of Bond's character to the screen as Ian Fleming's novels, which included Live and Let Die, Moonraker, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger were turned into a highly successful franchise.
But it's the recent incarnation of Bond, played by Daniel Craig, that has had the most success. released in 2006 Casino Royale went on to become the highest grossing Bond film of all time.
It's perhaps Casino Royale that confirms Bond as the action hero gone are the elaborate gadgets and in it's place it Bond's raw power and physical prowess, a side we have never seen before.
When the Bourne Identity was released in 2002 it was labelled the America's answer to James Bond but over the three instalments Bourne has become a successful franchise in its own right.
Based on the novels be Robert Ludlum the movies follow Jason Bourne who is found floating in the Mediterranean Sean, off Marseille, with two gun shot wounds to his back .
When Bourne wakes he is suffering from amnesia and has no idea how he came to be on the ocean. He attempts to discover his true identity and how the Central Intelligence System (CIA) is involved.
As the films progress, Bourne Supremacy and the Bourne Ultimatum, he discovers that he enrolled into Treadstone's conditioning programme and left behind his identity of Captain David Webb to become a government assassin.
Despite being a lesser known actor when Bourne Identity was released, due to this role Damon has been propelled onto the Hollywood A-List.
At the box office Bourne was a major hit with the trilogy raking in just under $1 billion worldwide, with the Bourne Ultimatum grossing just over $440 million alone.
First appearing on the big screen in 1962 and based on the 1959 thriller novel, by Richard Condon.
Laurence Harvey stars as Sergeant Raymond Shaw, whose U.S. army unit is captured while fighting in Korea, taken to Manchuria, and brainwashed by Chinese communists.
The men return to the U.S. with no conscious memory of their experience, and Shaw is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour for bravery.
But when Captain Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) starts having nightmares, he begins an authorized investigation into what happened in Manchuria and eventually reveals that the sergeant's brainwashing has transformed him into an unconscious assassin who can be triggered by his communist controllers at will.
The film was remade in 2004 starring Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber.
Simon Templar, better known as The Saint, which was based on a long running series of books by author Leslie Charteris that were published between 1928 to 1963.
Not content with just being one of the faces of James Bond actor Roger Moore is perhaps the most famous actor to have taken on this role in television series that ran from 1962 to 1969.
Ian Ogilvy also filled the role on TV. Prior to this, George Sanders played Templar in the 1940s movie adaptations of Leslie Charteris's pulp novels, and the more recent movie saw Val Kilmer reprising the role as a master thief.
'Yeah Baby' a satire on James Bond the character of Austin Powers is one of actor Mike Myers' most famous roles in a three film franchise that has enjoyed major box office success.
He burst onto the big screen in 1997 in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in his trademark crushed velvet suits and Beatle boots.
While James Bond is known for his good looks the films poke fun at this convention as Powers is not attractive yet women seem to find him irresistible.
International Man of Mystery proved to be a massive box office hit grossing over $470 million giving birth to an unexpected franchise.
Get Smart is released 20th August
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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