Spy games

Are the days of the suave James Bond numbered? Is he about to be usurped by a louder, brasher new spy hero, more in tune with the rave generation?

If you listen to the makers of Vin Diesel’s in-your-face spy romp xXx, 007’s long reign is about to end. Just don’t say it too loudly to those behind the upcoming Die Another Day, celebrating the 40th anniversary of cinema’s most enduring franchise.

There may be certain diplomatic niceties on the surface with each side promoting their respective special-effects overdoses, coming out barely a month apart in Britain. But behind the scenes there’s a good deal of jostling for position.

In xXx a pumped up Vin Diesel of The Fast And The Furious’ fame depicts an extreme sports nut who is recruited as a reluctant spy. This time our hero is an adrenaline junkie with a sizeable anti-establishment chip on his shoulder.

Director Rob Cohen thinks Diesel’s charmless character Xander Cage is the Bond for a new generation. While admitting to a grudging respect for the 007 legacy, the shaven-headed 53-year-old would also like to write the obituary notice for Bond.

Cohen hopes the 90 million dollar high-octane xXx will reinvent the spy movie for a generation bored with Bond, and open up another long-running movie franchise. A sequel is already being planned, and Diesel’s fee has jumped from 10 million dollars to an A-list 20 million dollars.

Forget about martini-sipping British public schoolboys, he thinks risk-taking super athlete X-Games stars like Tony Hawk (who appears in an xXx party scene) are the future.

“These guys are the heroes for this generation and they symbolize what I wanted xXx to be all about. It’s got X-games, tattoos and piercings. It has a multi-ethnic star who has no time for things like tradition and authority,” Cohen enthuses.

“Come on, lets face it. The only thing Bond has going for him these days is tradition.”

Diesel, a multi-ethnic New Yorker who burst out of supporting role obscurity with The Fast And The Furious last year, unsurprisingly has no doubt that Triple X is the next big thing.

While both spies like fast cars, gadgets and femme fatales, that’s where the similarities end, says the 35-year-old.

“Bond went to the best schools, probably comes from a wealthy family and became an agent through the proper channels. Triple X wouldn’t go to a school like that, doesn’t give a damn about government and doesn’t want to save the world. This is the kind of spy I’d most likely be myself.

“This character couldn’t care a less about patriotism and duty and would rather be pulling off some life-threatening stunt,” adds Diesel.

“Bond is about as relevant to young people today as Clark Gable is.”

Think of xXx like a gangster rap blast, suggests Cohen. “Vinnie has incorporated a kind of hip hop ambience to his stardom. He has this cluster of characteristics that range from ferocity, attitude, anti-establishment to surprising vulnerability.”

So are the makers of Die Another Day shaken and stirred? They’ve heard it all before, suggests Pierce Brosnan. With a spate of spy-theme movies around from Matt Damon’s The Bourne Identity to Mike Myer’s spoof Austin Powers In Goldmember, there will always only be one masterspy.

“One can only take the high ground. It’s flattering to be spoofed, emulated and copied, call it what you will,” Brosnan smiles.

Those behind xXx shouldn’t be too quick about writing 007’s obituary, says the suave Irishman.

“I find it quite humorous that everybody wants to be Bond from Vin Diesel to Tom Cruise to Mike Myers. But ultimately there’s only one Bond and I’m one of that number. It has endured for 40 years, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t go for another 40 years.”

Die Another Day will add new elements, not least Oscar-winning African-American star Halle Berry to the familiar mix, he adds.

“I think we’ve kind of turned the corner with this one. The story is legible, the narrative easy to follow and Lee Tamahori (director) has brought a certain gravitas and reality to the circumstances that Bond finds himself in.”

Fresh-faced All-American boy Matt Damon is being angled as another possible secret agent franchise alternative to Bond with his version of black ops CIA agent Jason Bourne. A practitioner of an obscure Asian martial art who can drive a mini faster than its makers intended, adapted from Robert Ludlums 80s spy thriller books.

From a film-makers perspective spies will always make great subjects, says Damon. He thinks 007 will always have an appeal, irrespective of the new spy heroes who come on the scene.

“The thrill you get from a James Bond movie is hyper-reality, this world where people are drinking martinis, dessed impeccably, and doing these incredibly dangerous things, but doing them nonchalantly. It’s still fun to spend a couple of hours with that.”