007 UP

Is there a journalistic rule when writing about the James Bond films that requires the author to question whether a new 007 film stacks up with other action films? In “A New Mission for a New Bond” (July 16), David Gritten reiterates the tiresome argument that “GoldenEye” will face rough going with “Die Hard” and “Lethal Weapon” audiences. A little perspective is needed here. The James Bond series is 33 years old and has outlasted the 1960s spy craze it created, the 1970s blaxploitation and kung-fu flicks as well as the “Star Wars” era. The “Indiana Jones,” “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” series have all run their courses and James Bond is still around.

A global phenomenon that transcends the fickleness of American audiences, the 007 track record speaks for itself.

GREG BECHTLOFF

Huntington Beach

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Enough with the defeatism and apologies. James Bond is an enduring, multimedia phenomenon, whose faithful and numerous fans span generations. Witness the strong turnout at last year’s Bond convention in Los Angeles. The modern action blockbuster, cited as the standard no Bond film can hope to match, owes its genesis to the Connery classics, primarily the quick-paced, gadget-loaded masterpiece “Goldfinger.”

A new assemblage of proven artists assumes the Bond mantle with “GoldenEye.” They are spending less than a third of “Waterworld’s” budget to reinstate a legend--an intelligent, romantic, patriotic hero who doesn’t use the “f” word or splatter effects. Give it a chance.

JASON WILLIAM KARPF

Thousand Oaks

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Before terrorists held the Free World for ransom with nuclear weapons in “True Lies,” that same plot was featured in “Thunderball” way back in 1965. While the bad guys in “Under Siege 2” threaten the U.S government with a satellite that causes mass destruction on Earth, Bond villains did it 24 years earlier in “Diamonds Are Forever.” In his last outing six years ago in “Licence to Kill,” Bond sought revenge against a Latin American drug lord for killing and injuring his friends. Isn’t this the same basic story, albeit with a few more twists, as “Clear and Present Danger”? And in the latest “Die Hard” movie, the villains have plans to destroy the Western economy by blowing up a large portion of the Free World’s gold supply. Sound familiar? So as Jeremy Irons’ character is stealing gold from the World Bank, his scriptwriters are actually stealing from 1964’s “Goldfinger.”

Some may do it better, but nobody does it earlier than 007.

CURT GEBHARD

Redondo Beach

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James Bond is dead. He died in 1977 with the introduction of “Jaws” in “The Spy Who Loved Me.” At that point, any chance of having a strong secret agent was long gone. Instead, Bond fans were treated to an old man who relied on gadgets to get himself out of trouble.

Timothy Dalton brought back hope in the true Bond fans, but that has proven to be short-lived. In your cover story, Pierce Brosnan states that he can’t compete with Schwarzenegger. This quote says it all. James Bond should be able to compete with Arnold, with or without the gadgets. As a serious fan, I hope he proves me wrong, but for now I’ll stick with the real Bond films on video.

TOM WENDLER

Corona del Mar