Watching the Bondathon on Spike got me thinking about this topic. As lovable as Q was, he should have been keel-hauled for keeping 007 armed with that Walther PPK for all those years. True, it replaced the (even worse) Beretta Jetfire in Dr. No, but come on...a 7.65mm single-column pistol for an operative in 1998 (Tomorrow Never Dies, when it was replaced)?
In the books, he had some better arms--after Fleming passed away John Garner armed with a Browning Hi-Power, an H&K VP70, P7, ASP 9mm before Raymond Benson gave him the damn Walther again.
So...what guns should Bond have carried throughout his cinematic career? Criteria are: relatively lightweight, compact enough not to print through a tuxedo, and European or at least exotic (007 cannot carry a 1911A1...just ain't right).
My choices:
The ASP (for sheer exoticism), the P7, the P5 Compact, and I'm cool with the P99.
Let me know what you all think!
CDS