Cinema needs James Bond gadget to speed things along

James Bond has been one of my heroes for as long as I can remember, so you can imagine my excitement when the latest adventure of 007 was eventually released.

The iconic MI6 agent has always been at the forefront of imaginary spy gadgets, so I felt like his protege when I whipped out my iPhone (invented in 2007, just after Daniel Craig made his 007 debut in Casino Royale) and – within seconds – managed to book tickets online. Not only tickets, but also snack combos and 3D-glasses.

Instantly, I received a QR code via e-mail to be scanned at the cinema.

Interestingly, the QR code was invented in 1994, just before Pierce Brosnan first donned a tuxedo in GoldenEye.

Although I can come pretty close to driving to the local cinema with my eyes closed, I programmed the built-in GPS in my car to guide us – a mood-setter of sorts as the husky female voice (my choice entirely and totally artificial) directed me faultlessly.

Another interesting aside is that the civilian use of the US military’s GPS system was allowed in the ’80s after an executive order from then US president Ronald Reagan after the shooting down of Korean Airlines flight 007.

Of course, there was just enough time for a quick drink – no, not a shaken martini – before the brisk stroll to the cinema.

One thing I’ve noticed about Bond is that his gadgets never fail him.

His undoing, exploited by his nemesis, is inevitably the human factor. And so it was again on Friday.

But not for Bond. No, it was many of his followers who suffered the consequences of the human factor.

Inexplicably, there were only two cinema staff members on duty to scan the QR codes and do the snack combos. Not even an intervention by Q could get the queue moving faster.

Needless to say, by the time the last bucket of popcorn was filled, Bond was already on his third martini.

I hope that, by the time I see Bond again, there’s a gadget to speed things along at the cinema.