Yeah, not at all excited about Penelope Cruz. She's a talented actress, but wrong as a Bond girl. In my recollection, with only a handful of exceptions, when they "cast big" for a Bond girl it often doesn't work out so well because she eclipses or at least rivals Bond for screen presence. That's not to say you can't cast a talented actress in a meaningful role, mind you. Just that her fame shouldn't automatically draw eyes to her in a scene, if you get what I mean.
Of the Bond girls that come to mind who were already famous to some degree...
...the following were disasters as Bond girls, as were the films they were in in many cases:
- Halle Berry
- Denise Richards
- Tanya Roberts
- Grace Jones (famous more as a disco/Studio 54 icon, really)
- Britt Ekland
- Jill St. John
- Teri Hatcher
...and only the following famous Bond girls were good (in my opinion):
- Diana Rigg (because she's DIANA FREAKIN' RIGG)
- Honor Blackman
- Sophie Marceau (because she was playing an interesting surprise villain)
- Eva Green (arguable whether she was actually famous, as opposed to merely recognizable)
Generally speaking, I find the "famous" Bond girls to be an example of "stunt casting" which suggests that the overall story is going to be weak and will rely instead on the name draw of the women involved. It can still work sometimes, but I find the film is WAY better when the Bond girl is someone who can act the hell out of a role and who is not at all bringing "brand name recognition" to the table.
