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Keep in mind that when these movies came out, most everyone who went to the theatres had already read the book and knew the character of James Bond. He was supposed to be a sophisticated man of the world, good with his fists. He also lived fast and hard as he expected to die before he would lose his 00 status (license to kill) before forty. I had read the books, too, and had some expectations about how the character should be portrayed on screen. In the eighties, James Bond became a comedic character in the movies. But in Dr. No, James Bond shoots Professor Dent with the comment, "That's a Smith & Wesson. And you've had your six." And the girl spits in his face when he turns her over to the police. This guy is pitiless and emotionless. He's a hired killer. Look for the nasty look Sean does in the phone booth at the airport.
I had a real problem with the way James Bond was portrayed in the movies by the 1980s. Roger Moore played James Bond until he was almost 60 and Sean Connery did "Never Say Never Again" in his fifties. Here's a cartoon I did about it at the time - James Bond Comix. Notice that Bond always lists his age in his annual report as 39.
