Moore About Good vs. Evil

My first memory of James Bond was sometime in the early '90s, before Pierce Brosnan stepped into 007's iconic tuxedo. There was an all-day marathon of Bond films on TV, and I unwittingly stopped to watch as Roger Moore was involved in a ski chase at the beginning of The Spy Who Loved Me. At the scene's climax, Moore went sailing off a cliff. I held my breath as I watched him fall for what seemed like forever. When a parachute finally opened and the iconic 007 music started playing, I was hooked!

Roger Moore played James Bond, 007,
in 007 movies between 1973 and 1985

I probably watched 3 or 4 Bond films that day, and in the years that followed, I went on to collect the series on VHS and eventually DVD. I've also read most of Ian Fleming's original books, and find them fascinating. And you may recall that I wrote a post last year, "007 Lessons from 007's 007th Adventure", based on Sean Connery's 1971 appearance in Diamonds Are Forever.

The Connery films are my favorites, but I've found something to like in almost every movie in the series. Today, I'd like to zero in on a few things I noticed in a recent viewing of Roger Moore's 1979 entry, Moonraker.

Of course, James Bond has never made a great role model for Christian living, but as I illustrated before, Bond films still have a lot to say about the struggle between good and evil.

Looking for Closure...

If you read my post last year about lessons from James Bond, you know that I've always been a fan of spy stories. Well, recently I went back and started watching Burn Notice from the beginning, and I'm happy to say I've gotten Amber hooked on the show in the process!

Jeffrey Donovan is Michael Weston
in USA's Burn Notice

For those who don't know, Burn Notice was a show on the USA Network about a spy named Michael Weston who gets "burned", which is to say that he's black-listed - kicked out of the spy game. Forced to stay in Miami, FL, until his burn notice is lifted, Michael is trying to find out who burned him so he can clear his name and get his job back. In the meantime, he has to make money to survive, so Michael does what Michael does best, and he puts his spying skills to work (with the aid of friends and family) to help others escape all the dangerous situations they get themselves into. Though there's still a little bit of language and a lot of violence, Michael is not a womanizing alcoholic like James Bond. Instead, he comes off as a good-hearted guy who happens to have the knowledge and skills to know how to handle problems that come up. Part of the show's appeal is that while you're watching, Michael narrates the story, explaining the logic behind his moves from a spy's point-of-view.

For the first 4 seasons, Michael tries and tries to prove himself until, at the beginning of Season 5, the CIA trusts him enough to let him be part of a team tracking down the covert organization responsible for getting him burned in the first place.

"At last," Michael thinks, "I'll get to find out why this all had to happen!"

But we don't always get all the answers we're looking for...