Just last night, Ovation (I think) was running one of the 007 movies that starred the late Sir Roger Moore, who brought a level of high camp to the productions that was unseen since Adam West did his best Uriah Heep impression during the TV run of Batman. The James Bond franchise – industry? – is about to achieve a benchmark with this month’s release of No Time To Die, the 25th feature film in the series. Confession: Last night’s interlude on Ovation, until I changed the channel, marked my first-ever Bond movie and based on my assessment, likely my last. The bigger news is that 007 inspired one of the most successful toys in history, the gotta-have Corgi Toys replica from 1965 of Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5, complete with working accessories that included the ejection seat, tire cutters and bulletproof rear screen. Aston Martin evidently has some sort of product-placement deal in effect for the new movie. Which brings us to our subsequent point.
Okay, we’re being sarcastic here. An actual DB5 does get screen time in the new movie, which we assume stars the new Bond who bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Vladimir Putin. So do three other Astons, famously including the new Valhalla hypercar. So it was probably irresistible for Aston to put an actual DB5 into a full-size Corgi box replicating the original diecast car’s packaging, which was posed this week on the Coaling Jetty outside London’s landmark Battersea Power Station. The actual DB5 inside is one of 25 Goldfinger continuation cars that are being produced, all in the correct Silver Birch finish, the car in the Corgi box also having the requisite special-effects goodies. All very nice, but here, we believe camp is a dish best served with a heaping side of Bat-foolishness.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 