A mate and I have been contemplating the idea of writing a James Bond film script for next year's ScriptFrenzy. Obviously we have no pretentions of getting it made, but it should be fun none the less.

So I have been mentally reverse-engineering the Bond format and it has occurred to me that, outside of the usual reoccuring characters of Bond, M and Moneypenny, there are six character archetypes that appear in virtually every Bond film.

On the good side:

The love interest (aka The Bond girl)

The woman who Bond falls very temporarily in love with over the course of the story. I find the strongest love interests are the ones that complement Bond's weaknesses (eg Vespa Lynd, Natalya Simonova), female Bonds (eg Jynx) are somewhat redundant and dumb ones (Mary Goodnight) are just annoying.

The ally

A non-Brit who shows up from time to time to give invaluable assistance to Bond. Quite possibly just there to avoid the impression of Britain acting unilaterally. The best example of the ally archetype is Felix Leighter.

The lamb

Someone (Normally female) who pays the ultimate price for assisting Bond in some way. This archetype exposes Bond's biggest weakness, his tragic inability to protect his loved ones.

And on the Evil side:

The villain

The mastermind of some evil plot to upset the power of the free world.

This archetype embodies some of the negative elements of Bond, typically being a well mannered, intellectual socialite and man of action who isn't afraid to use violence to get what he wants. Some have even seen Bond as a kindred spirit of sorts.

The dragon

Typically the villain's bodyguard or most trusted confidant. Usually someone that Bond either has to defeat to get to the Villian, or someone who catches Bond off guard after the evil plot has been thwarted.

There are two main variants of the dragon. The first one is the henchman, typically stronger than Bond but is defeated by Bond's superior cunning. Jaws and Oddjob are well known examples. Could also be seen as a dark parody of Bond, being a dumb brute who resolves situations through extreme force.

The other is the femme fatale. A beautiful woman who can again can be seen as a dark parody of Bond, being someone who uses seduction as a means to control people.

The accomplice

Typically a traitor whose position or skills initially make him key to the Villain's plot. It's not unusual for the accomplice to be killed off by the Villain himself once his usefulness has expired.

Of course these archetypes can overlap somewhat and don't apply to every single Bond movie, but to make my point I have done a table listing characters in each official Bond movie that I feel fit the archetypes. (Warning - potential spoilers)