Bond vs Bourne in battle to thrill

WHO would win in a fight between Bond and Bourne?

With his licence to kill, 007 has dispatched hundreds of villains and henchmen.

The MI6 man comes armed with a range of high-tech gadgets and his trusty Walter PPK.

But whereas Bond might see off his attackers with a laser disguised as a pen, Bourne will stick his enemies with a Bic biro.

And then batter them unconscious with a rolled up magazine.

The rogue CIA agent first appeared on the screen in 2002 in The Bourne Identity.

When he woke riddled with bullets and a serious case of amnesia it was cinema audiences who regained consciousness.

They were slapped in the face by the film's gritty violence. And they liked it.

Here was a man who could kick ass without needing to throw in a cheesy one-liner.

And he didn't need a licence to kill either. He didn't even have a driving licence. He didn't even know who he was. And the only clue was a message surgically embedded in his hip.

Bond, womanising heavy-drinking James Bond, suddenly seemed distinctly out of date.

Matt Damon may have been blond and bland but this suited the blank-slate agent in search of a past.

And the actor himself enjoyed giving Bond's Martini a stir and a shake. Then throwing it in his face.

"The Bond character will always be anchored in the 1960s and the values of the 60s," he told the press last year (sounding a little bit like Dame Judi Dench's M in Goldeneye).

"Bond is an imperialist and a misogynist who kills people and laughs about it and drinks Martinis and cracks jokes."

By contrast Bourne, a serial monogamist with a dead girlfriend and a guilt-complex, appeared to be a much more interesting character.

And then Daniel Craig came out of the sea in his tight trunks and Bond was reborn.

Some might even say re-Bourne. Here was a grittier Bond, a darker Bond, even a blond Bond.

When he was asked if he wanted his vodka Martini shaken or stirred, the new Bond replied: "Do I look like I give a damn?"

Audiences around the world punched the air with excitement.

Bond was cool again. Yes, he was still super-suave. Yes, he still had an eye for the ladies. Yes, he still drove great cars.

But he also had a vulnerability. This was a Bond who got hit and got hurt.

Graham Rye, 007 magazine editor, saw Casino Royale as a return to the era of Connery, where Bond was commanding and enigmatic.