James Bond relegated to the dustbin of history

Well, fans, it’s over for James Bond. The suave, charming lady’s man who long protected the West from Communists and megalomaniac bad guys has been outed as a bad guy himself:

Matt Damon has dismissed James Bond as being stuck in the 1960s while promoting his own new spy film.

Speaking from London, where his latest film, The Bourne Ultimatum, is having its UK premiere, Damon said: “Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it, and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes.”

The Hollywood star dismissed comparisons between 007 and his character, assassin Jason Bourne, saying: “Bourne is a serial monogamist whose girlfriend is dead and he does nothing but think about her”. Damon added that Bourne “doesn’t have the support of gadgets, and he feels guilty for what he’s done”.

Stop me if I’m wrong — and I haven’t seen the Bourne films myself — but isn’t the plot of the latest Bourne movie all about the evil CIA? So, if I’ve got this right, in Damon’s world, Bourne is good because he’s got a dead girlfriend and is trying to undermine America’s security infrastructure that comes complete with Abu Ghraib analogies. I’m no fan of the CIA, which I think is too hostile to American interests for our own good, but I think the Bourne thesis takes things a week bit too far.