My mind was wandering in the shower this morning, and I was thinking about all the movies I’ve seen Daniel Craig in. And that made me think of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and that made me think of Angelina Jolie.

Could Angelina Jolie be a Bond Girl? I don’t think so. As a presence, she’s too overpowering. As a movie star, she pulls too much attention, and not in a positive way. She doesn’t work as Bond’s match, even though she’s worked as Daniel Craig’s match (in a movie in which she was the headliner).

However, I think she could work as a Bond villain.

In general, there have only been two kinds of female Bond villains: Ugly ones (Rosa Klebb, Irma Bunt) and ones who sleep with Bond (Elektra King, Miranda Frost). The exception is Xenia Onatopp; Bond doesn’t like her kind of foreplay. This is the mold in which I can see Jolie being effective. Not, y’know, crazyass sadist Xenia, but sexy-but-not-for-Bond Xenia. I can see Jolie playing a villain whose appeal is obvious, but who doesn’t seduce or succumb.