Why in the world do we still bond with this guy?

There are four things people expect to hear in a James Bond movie," laughs Bruce Feirstein, a veteran Bond screenwriter:

"The name is Bond, James Bond."

"Shaken not stirred."

"I've been expecting you, Mr. Bond."

"Oh, James!"

What audiences may not be expecting in the new Bond movie, "The World Is Not Enough" (opening in theaters Nov. 19), is Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of a more serious, fallible James Bond echoing the complexity of the character in the original novels by Ian Fleming.

Audiences balked when two earlier 007 movies ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "License to Kill") attempted a similar direction. But this time it could turn out to be the shrewdest move yet in the evolution of the 37-year-old series that has become an indelible part of pop culture.

Those involved in producing the Bond series say the films have maintained their popularity by adjusting to the times while also retaining classic elements. "You can't stay the same," says Mr. Feirstein in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "We're dealing with a vastly different marketplace than we were in the 1980s or 1970s [when] the idea of movies as amusement parks was strictly the domain of James Bond."

"Tomorrow Never Dies," 007's previous outing, did little to differentiate itself from other action movies. Its exhilarating roller coaster of action set-pieces left little time for Mr. Brosnan's character - or the audience - to breathe. Feirstein promises that "World," by contrast, will tell "a more personal story," focusing on the series' most important asset: Bond himself.

"We want to see that Bond is not invincible and does more than run down hallways shooting off machine guns," the screenwriter says. "Bond makes a serious mistake, which is something that doesn't usually happen ... he trips himself up."

Tinkering with the basic formula by adding a dose of realism is a bold move.

Desmond Llewelyn, who has played the role of gadget designer "Q" in all but two of the Bond movies, opines that the series' enduring appeal up until now has been predicated upon "its pure fantasy."

"We live in a rather dreary world," he says in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, "and now we're looking at this wonderful world of Bond."

Mr. Llewelyn says that the series' long-time producer, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, wisely followed Bond author Ian Fleming's own recipe for a good thriller. "Fleming said, 'To any adventure story, add all the advantages of an expensive living.' In other words, "Give Bond the right clothes, the right background, and the right girls; set your story in the most glamorous and beautiful of places ... and take your story along so fast that nobody notices the idiosyncrasies."

Mr. Fleming's prototype James Bond was different from later film versions. The internal monologues of his suave spy reflected the character's worries.

"Fleming wrote with a sense of elegance and panache," says John Cork, a board member of The Ian Fleming Foundation in Los Angeles. "You can see it in his book titles, 'Live and Let Die' and 'You Only Live Twice,' and chapter headings like 'Slay It With Flowers' ... which were witty, dark turns of phrase."

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