James Bond is a divisive figure, definitely a character who hasn’t moved with the times, and even the modern take on him is of an outdated alpha male oozing quip and machismo that doesn’t sit comfortably with today’s more enlightened sensibilities. And so, as ‘Revenge of the Bond Girl’ outlines via a story of role reversal and redressing the balance, you can only ask one question. Why has it taken this long for someone to address the issue in song?
Think Bond music and you think of something big, brassy, anthemic, so again, Bond Girl cuts to the subversive chase, their song taking the form of a lilting gypsy jazz waltz, a slow spin around the dance floor of a French cafe but definitely and defiantly more Arles underground bar than Saint Tropez casino.
Of course, this reply to such macho stereotypes might take its cue from those early Bond films, but it is also a metaphor for reality, knowing full well that promoting the values and ethics of such an iconic character enables and emboldens men to, sadly, act a certain way in real life.
If Bond ever does get cast as a woman, and why not, we know who to turn to to write the music for the next film – imagine Emily Blunt or Rosamund Pike (that would be Revenge of the Bond Girl writ large) ordering an Appletini as this plays in the background. That’s actually a Bond film I’d watch.
