James Bond is a Bank Holiday institution in the UK. Every long weekend the super spy's adventures will be scheduled without any care or continuity, filling up massive afternoon and evening blocks on a variety of TV stations. It's the kind of lifelong blessing that means that although dates and times dictate that I should be either a die hard Roger Moore or Timothy Dalton fan, I'm far more interested in seeing a thick-set, sunburnt Sean Connery prowling around, thumping stunt men.
Like the Godzilla series, Bond's massive back catalogue is interesting unto itself - the longevity, the determination, the sheer bloody-mindedness of making essentially the same film over and over again is appealing. It suggests, at the very least, an ability to tap into the pulse of a culture, the late 20th century regurgitated as iterative instances of a man trapped inside an out-of-control car.
Below are links to each of my 007 reviews, beginning with Bond's screen début as CBS anthology fodder, tracking umpteen official and unofficial adaptations of Ian Fleming's books through to today's tent-pole blockbusting.
Casino Royale (1954) dir. William H. Brown Jr
Dr. No (1962) dir. Terence Young
From Russia with Love (1963) dir. Terence Young
Goldfinger (1964) dir. Guy Hamilton
Thunderball (1965) dir. Terence Young
Casino Royale (1967) dirs. Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath, Robert Parrish, Val Guest, Richard Talmadge
You Only Live Twice (1967) dir. Lewis Gilbert
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) dir. Peter R. Hunt
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) dir. Guy Hamilton
Live and Let Die (1973) dir. Guy Hamilton
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) dir. Guy Hamilton
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) dir. Lewis Gilbert
Moonraker (1979) dir. Lewis Gilbert
For Your Eyes Only (1981) dir. John Glen
Octopussy (1983) dir. John Glen
Never Say Never Again (1983) dir. Irvin Kershner
A View to a Kill (1985) dir. John Glen
The Living Daylights (1987) dir. John Glen
Licence to Kill (1989) dir. John Glen
GoldenEye (1995) dir. Martin Campbell
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) dir. Roger Spottiswoode
The World is Not Enough (1999) dir. Michael Apted
Die Another Day (2002) dir. Lee Tamahori
Casino Royale (2006) dir. Martin Campbell
Quantum of Solace (2008) dir. Marc Forster
Skyfall (2012) dir. Sam Mendes
Spectre (2015) dir. Sam Mendes
No Time to Die (2021) dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga
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