James Bond Franchise

Director :  John Glen Year Of Release :  1989 Principal Cast :  Timothy Dalton, Carey Dowell, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Anthony Zerbe, Frank McRae, Everett […]

Director :  John Glen Year Of Release :   1987 Principal Cast :  Timothy Dalton, Maryam d’Abo, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies, Art Malik, Jeroen Krabbe, […]

– Summary – Director :  Sam Mendes Year Of Release :  2015 Principal Cast :  Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, […]

Is Skyfall the best Bond film ever? No, not quite. But it’s still a terrific film. A darker edge to the relationship between M and Bond, forged from a botched mission to recover stolen intel, gives Skyfall its dramatic propulsion, and while it sags a tad in the middle, the ripping opener and the devastating final act – all which set Bond up for the future – are dynamite. For all its flaws, Skyfall is terrific entertainment, and a solid entry into the Bond canon.

Of the four Bond films to star Pierce Brosnan, Die Another Day is easily the worst. In fact, it’s highly possible it’s among the worst Bond films ever, and that’s saying something. A director the caliber of Lee Tamahori, no slouch behind the camera, and a cast of (Madonna excepted) decent actors, should have produced a film of a much higher standard than what ended up crossing the big screen back in 2002. Instead, we get Bond driving an invisible car, a giant death-ray from space (which shouldn’t be surprising in a Bond film, I’ll admit) and a massive amount of CGI effects including a jetliner managing to stay aloft even when it’s collapsed structurally – Die Another Day is the Moonraker of Brosnan Bond, a gargantuan, convoluted, pointless mess of a film with so many flaws it beggars belief. There’s money to burn on this movie, it’s just a pity nobody thought about making a film people might like to watch.

The rebooted Bond franchise began to show cracks in its impeccable facade, with some terrible puns, a sense of trying too hard and a somewhat belabored plot ruining what might have been a thoroughly enjoyable Bond romp – the addition of then-popular Denise Richards, and her inexplicably bouncy gait, merely topped off one of the least impressive Bond outings since Tim Dalton took over as the main star, back in the 80’s. The World Is Not Enough is too clever by half, too convoluted, and lacking in any real tension. Compared with both GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, this film floats on the surface like a turd that won’t flush. Compared to Die Another Day, it’s positively a masterpiece. Take from that what you will.

Solid Bond outing is upset by a overly-flamboyant villain in Jonathan Pryce, who slimes his way across the screen but seems to be a little over the top. Brosnan is excellent, Yeoh makes a terrific female foil for his stiff-upper-lip spy, and one of the late Vincent Schiavelli’s best roles last about five minutes but is eternally memorable – not so for Desperate Housewife Teri Hatcher, who sticks out like a sore thumb in this. The plot becomes nonsensical, although the enthusiasm shown by director Roger Spottiswoode overrides any feelings of niggling negativity I have about that. Action packed and thrilling, Dies is a cracker.

Pause. Hit reset. GoldenEye, coming off the back of a 6 year hiatus for the Bond franchise, became the franchise’s first “reboot” and introduced us to Pierce Brosnan as the iconic British super-spy. Director Martin Campbell – who would also reboot the franchise in the late-00’s with Casino Royale barely a decade later – delivers a smart, slick, action-packed entry into the canon, with a masochistic spy existing in the new sexually liberated turn-of-the-millennium post-cold-war era. Brosnan effortlessly makes the role his own, while Scorupco and Janssen (in her breakout performance) provide the requisite female attractions.

– Summary – Director :  Marc Forster Year Of Release :  2008 Principal Cast :  Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Giancarlo Giannini, […]