007 Bond, a Laser Watch, and Rolex | AUSRETROGAMER
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
“From Russia with Love” is one of the best James Bond video games. Sean Connery made a rare return to the iconic character by contributing his voice to the EA Redwood Shores (now Visceral Games) game. The fact that EA Redwood Shores got Connery back to voice Bond seems miraculous now. Having him contribute to something new in the 007 medium was an incredible accomplishment on EA’s part.
The 2005, third-person shooter video game is as entertaining as the classic Bond film it’s based on. I liked how the game used elements from the later films, like the jet pack from “Thunderball,” and the Aston Martin DB5 that was introduced in “Goldfinger.” Entertainment Arts should have produced another Bond game with Connery’s younger likeness as Bond; however, they lost the rights to Activision in 2006.
I really enjoyed using the laser watch in the “From Russia with Love” game. You used the wristwatch to penetrate bulletproof glass and destroy control panels. The watch in the game looks like Bond’s Rolex Submariner 6538. During the great action of the game, it’s sort of difficult to see an up-close image of the classic wristwatch, but it looks like the iconic Submariner 6538 to me.
JAMES BOND’S ROLEX SUBMARINER 6538. Image source: everestbands
In the scene at the beginning of “Goldfinger,” when Connery, dressed in a white tuxedo, peers down at his Rolex Submariner, it may have been one of the most blatant product placements in a film. I’ve always wondered how many Rolex Submariners were sold due to that quick shot in “Goldfinger” when Connery steadily lights up the face of the wristwatch with his lighter.
I’m sure there were thousands of men who saw that watch in “Goldfinger” and went directly to a jeweler. I’m sure a Rolex was as expensive in 1964 as they are today, adjusted cost, of course. The Rolex Submariner 6538 has become such an iconic watch because of Bond. Almost sixty years after the release of “Goldfinger,” Rolex is still the ultimate luxury watch. There’s Tag Heuer and Richard Mille, but Rolex seems like a classic, just like James Bond.
