10 Sean Connery James Bond Moments That Don’t Hold Up Today

The following discusses sensitive topics including domestic abuse, misogyny, racism, and animal cruelty

Summary

• Dated elements in Sean Connery’s James Bond films include offensive portrayals of women and minorities.
• Characters in Yellowface, gender violence, and racial stereotypes highlight problematic aspects of early Bond movies.
• Some scenes from Connery’s Bond films would face backlash in modern cinema.

Sean Connery’s James Bond films may be iconic pieces of cinematic history, but there are a lot of elements within them that would never fly in a modern-day James Bond movie. Appearing as the character across six films, Connery’s version of Bond remains a pop-culture touchstone that has inspired over half a century of film, TV, novels, comics, video games, and beyond. However, those early stories were dated in their views on many subjects, with offensive portrayals of several communities.

Instead of bucking these trends, the harsh realities of Connery’s James Bond movies are thastand out as offensive from a modern perspective. Sometimes it’s character specific, with the acceptable flirtations of 1964 recognized as aggressive assault in 2024. Other times, the films take harsh perspectives against entire cultures, casually insulting communities or dropping ethnic slurs. There’s even a habit of Caucasian people disguising themselves as other races, both within the film and during production. Here are the biggest elements of Sean Connery’s James Bond movies that don’t hold up.

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10 The Yellowface In Dr. No

The First James Bond Film Cast A Lot Of Caucasian Actors For Asian Roles

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The Yellowface in Dr. No is emblematic of the dated elements from Sean Connery’s James Bond films and highlights the harsh reality of returning to them. Dr. No was the first entry in the series, with several of the film’s characters implicitly of East Asian descent. For many of these roles, the film cast Caucasian actors in heavy make-up. This was a common practice at the time (as seen in other infamous examples like Breakfast at Tiffany’s), but remains a controversial decision lingering over the film decades later. Joseph Wiseman played Dr. No, and was given a biracial background.

By contrast, the English-Irish-French Zena Marshall and Jamaican-born Marguerite LeWars played Miss Taro and Annabel Chung. both of non-Asian actors in East Asian roles. This is something that would become more overtly objectable in later years. In the 21st century, films like Ghost in the Shell garnered a far more negative response for casting American actors like Scarlett Johansson. This wouldn’t even be the series’ only example of Yellowface, as Bond himself would later go in disguise as a Japanese man in one of the most infamous moments from You Only Live Twice.

9 Bond Slapping Tania In From Russia with Love

Classic James Bond Had A Harsh Edge

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From Russia With Love remains a classic for the series, but there are some gender politics at play in the film that wouldn’t fly today. This includes the relationship between Bond and Tania, which is the central romance of the film. However, Bond’s treatment of her in the aftermath of Kerim’s death. Suspicious that Tania has been working against him all along, Bond ends up confronting her and slapping her.

Sean Connery James Bond Movies	Year Of Release
Dr. No	1962
From Russia With Love	1963
Goldfinger	1964
Thunderball	1965
You Only Live Twice	1967
Diamonds Are Forever	1971

It’s one of the clearest examples of the interpretation that Connery’s incarnation of Bond was a brute instead of a gentleman. Similar to the use of Yellowface in Dr. No, it was considered an acceptable practice by some at the time to strike women and expect little consequence. However, modern versions of Bond would never be allowed to act so callously towards women and then be treated as the hero of the film.

8 The Romani In From Russia With Love

The Romani Of From Russia With Love Are Based On A Lot Of Sterotypes

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The Romani are featured at a crucial point in From Russia With Love. Bond and Kerim Bay find refuge with a group of them, and one of the film’s many gunfights occurs in the middle of the camp. Within the context of the film’s narrative, the group are portrayed positively. However, the way From Russia With Love portrays the group is very regressive and relies heavily on longstanding stereotypes about that community.

The female members of the tribe are highly sexualized, with a gratuitous fight between two women having little actual bearing on the plot. The community are portrayed as dirty travelers, conforming to outdated ideas of the community. They are even referred to with an outdated slur instead of the preferred term for the community. The portrayal is one-note and relies on stereotypes about an entire community, and it doesn’t age well at all.

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7 Oddjob’s Role In Goldfinger

There’s Some Problematic Subtext To Oddjob’s Role

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Played by Harold Sakata in Goldfinger, Oddjob remains one of the most memorable minor villains James Bond has ever faced. A towering figure that works for Auric Goldfinger and can knockout Bond easily in the first act of the film, Oddjob has been a fan-favourite since his debut. However, there are some elements of the character that would likely have to be changed if Oddjob had debuted today. The character is described by Auric as a loyal “manservant,” a title and role that has largely fallen by the wayside in traditional modern society.

The character is also effectively mute, with his only speech being cries of pain and distress during his fight scenes. Auric even makes a jab at Koreans, an ethnicity that Oddjob is identified with in the original book. This subservient character plays into the questionable racial politics of the era when Goldfinger was produced. Later James Bond villains like Jaws built off the unique edges that make Oddjob memorable, but typically without the queasy elements that can be associated with the character’s portrayal.

6 Bond & Pussy Galore’s Relationship In Goldfinger

Bond Is Really Agressive With His Love Interest

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The James Bond played by Sean Connery was very close to the version seen in Ian Fleming’s books, both of which have been taken to task over the years for their portrayal of women. The aggressive approach to flirtation in those stories can look criminal by today’s standards, something that’s particularly prevalent in Bond’s relationship with Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. Initially implied to be “immune” to Bond by virtue of being coded as a lesbian, Bond’s attempts to seduce her end up becoming very aggressive.

Describing his actions as “tender loving care” makes Bond particularly creepy, especially from a 21st century perspective on consent. This act even leads Galore to fall for Bond and turn against Goldfinger, perpetuating dangerous sterotypes that women who aren’t attracted to men just “haven’t met a real one yet.” The relationship between Bond and Pussy Galore is problematic on a lot of levels, and is a far cry from the way women have been portrayed in the series in recent years.

5 “Man Talk” In Goldfinger

James Bond Highlights The Inappropriate Attitude Of The Time

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Even beyond the problematic elements of Bond and Pussy Galore’s relationship in Goldfinger, the movie also underscores the problematic approach to women even in more casual settings. One of the film’s quick but infamous moments is the “Man Talk” scene. While at a hotel getting a massage from Dink, Bond is greeted by his American ally, Felix Leiter. After introducing Dink to Felix, he tells her to excuse them while they have some “man talk.”

As she leaves, he slaps her on the behind and sends her on her way. It’s a small moment, but an indicative one of how James Bond films (and large portions of society) treated women in that era. The casual nature of the moment makes it especially egregious from a modern perspective, where such an action would typically be used in a film to highlight a creep or villainous character.

4 Spectre’s Undercover Agent’s Exposure In Thunderball

Opening A Car Door Is So Unladylike, It Could Only Be A Man

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Due to the evolving popular perception on feminism, some elements of James Bond films wouldn’t be included if the movie was hypothetically made today. This includes a plot relevant beat from Thunderball, Connery’s fourth outing as the character. In the film’s opening sequence, Bond attends the funeral of Spectre agent Jacques Bouvar. However, Bouvar has faked his death and is even at the funeral in disguise as a woman.

The way Bond tells that Bouvar is a man is by noticing how “she” opens a car door for herself. This reflects a time when it was expected for men to hold open the door for women, and that to otherwise would be considered “unladylike.” In the 21st century, this view on gender norms has fallen by the wayside. A modern Bond likely wouldn’t see the act of a woman stepping out of a car as a clue towards their hidden identity, with female characters in films like No Time To Die taking a great deal of agency on their own.

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3 The Unsafe Shark Pool In Thunderball

The Shark Pool Was Unsafe On Several Occasions

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In modern film , safe care for animals are taken in each production. It’s highly controversial for any movie to not be careful with the animals that are featured in their productions. However, Emilio Largo’s shark tank in Thunderball proved to be a uniquely unsafe, as the production faced repeated difficulties because it used real sharks for the sequence. Connery was in a pool when one of the sharks got loose and rushed towards him, endangering the star.

Special Effects Coordinator John Stears got into the pool at one point with what he believed was a dead shark, and was nearly caught in an ensuing feeding frenzy. One of the sharks even seems to take a harpoon to the head in the film. The situation was so bad, stuntman Bill Cummings would only complete his scene standing in for Largo’s sidekick Quist in the shark pool after he received a raise. In a modern film, that kind of approach to animal and crew safety would be widely condemned.

2 The Circus Act In Diamonds Are Forever

The Gorilla Transformation Is A Very Bad Image

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The final Sean Connery James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, follows the example set by the previous films in terms of their treatment of female characters. However, there’s also a minor moment in the film that adds a very questionable racial layer to the movie. During a mission, Bond and his allies end up at the Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas. Various acts and sideshow games are included in the scene, including one that definitely wouldn’t be produced today.

One of the sideshows that Tiffany Case features a scientist revealing his latest experiment, which involves a black Zambora performer transformed into a gorilla. It’s a very bad moment that did not age well at all. This moment brings to mind long-standing offensive imagery that’s often been associated with black people of various nationalities comparing people to apes. Having such a beat in a modern James Bond movie would definitely incite protests if it were included today.

1 Mr. Wint & Mr Kidd In Diamonds Are Forever

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Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are the two primary threats of Diamonds Are Forever. Two assassins who work for Blofeld and the Spangs, the pair are heavily implied in the film to be a gay couple. Coming at a time when LGBTQ+ characters were typically portrayed as villains if they appeared at all, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd were some of the most distinctive of that unfortunate archetype. The pair were also notoriously silly in their attempts to kill Bond, failing repeatedly to actually kill him.

Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd also meet unfortunate endings, befitting the villains in a James Bond movie. However, their demises are almost comical compared to the other villains in the series, with Mr. Kidd even giving a comedic high-pitched yell after being struck in the groin. While the James Bond movies were far from the only films of this era using this negative stereotype, it remains the sort of beat that would likely need to be altered if it was made today.

James Bond

The James Bond franchise follows the adventures of British secret agent 007 as he combats global threats. With a license to kill, Bond faces off against various villains and criminal organizations, employing high-tech gadgets, espionage, and charm. The series spans multiple films, featuring exotic locations, thrilling action sequences, and memorable characters. Bond’s mission to protect the world and uphold justice remains central, making the franchise an enduring icon in the spy genre.

Created by Ian Fleming , Albert R. Broccoli First Film Dr. No Latest Film No Time to Die Upcoming Films James Bond 26 First TV Show Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond Cast Sean Connery , George Lazenby , Roger Moore , Timothy Dalton , Pierce Brosnan , Daniel Craig TV Show(s) Fleming: The Man Who Would be Bond Expand

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