James Bond Marathon Wrap Up

So this last year I finally broke down and got all of the James Bond films digitally on iTunes. The price was finally right for 24 films (No Time to Die wasn't out at the time) and I decided to dig in and spend November watching them all in order. This also included the two non-Eon production films which were Casino Royale (1968) and Never Say Never Again which had Sean Connery return to the role once more after a long break and a new Bond inbetween.

It was a lot of fun going through each one and seeing the evolution of the franchise. We go from the sex symbol of a young Sean Connery all the way through the blonde Daniel Craig. Along the way there were some excellent films and some not-so-excellent films. Most maintained a fairly straightforward approach to the 'formula' of the franchise. The recipe for Bond Film? Opening action sequence, half-naked silhouettes in the opening credits, a theme song from a fairly popular artist of the time, over the top action sequences, dad jokes, Bond sleeping with as many women as possible (whether they want to or not), said women dying in the next scene, Bond girls, M getting angry at Bond breaking the rules, Q giving Bond an unlimited source of gadgets and cars, an Aston Martin, a Walther PPK, flirting with Moneypenney which never leads anywhere, a bad guy with a big motive, a hidden base, and Bond overcoming the odds to beat the bad guy. On a lesser note, sharks and skiing were also prominent. You get the picture.

So let's look at the 27 films by Bond and see who comes out on top (and yes, I averaged the film scores together and a winner barely managed to pull ahead).

Sean Connery

Average - 3.6

Connery had a run of six films and the non-canon seventh film, Never Say Never Again (to which he should have just said 'never'). He brought the swagger. I always joke with my wife that Sean Connery had the sex appeal to get any woman to drop their panties with a look. Thing is, these films were made in a very different time so the #MeToo movement and women's rights were not in the mindset of the writers. Sean Connery is almost always the top Bond choice of fans. He had this air of being a super spy and it showed. He made the job look cool. He also brought in Spectre and Blofeld which added a 'big picture' feel to the franchise. His biggest triumph, which I list as my favorite Bond film, was Goldfinger. It had all the components of being a great film and it barely kept its title of my favorite. Sadly, Never Say Never Again was a horrible choice as the, now older, Sean Connery didn't maintain the swagger and it felt like he was dialing it in. It also hurt that the story in that one was crap.

Peter Sellers / David Niven

Average = 1

To be fair, it is difficult to rate Casino Royale (1968) on this list as it was an atrocious attempt at, well, I don't even know. This was one of the non-Eon productions and it shows. Now, I love Peter Sellers but he would be the furthest thing from James Bond possible. In reality, David Niven should have played him as he was far more convincing as a retired James Bond. The film just goes off of the rails and the only way I would guess that this one could be good would be if you were on drugs. The only other thing going for this is that it also starred Ursula Andress, the beautiful Bond girl from Dr. No.

George Lazenby

Average = 1.5

On Her Majesty's Secret Service was Lazenby's only foray into the character of Bond before they returned to Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever. I honestly thing Lazenby got a raw deal on this one as it wasn't his acting that killed it, but the crap story that he had to work with. Honestly, if he had been given a solid script, I could see him having his several films and no one complaining. He was different, yes, but he had all of the trademarks of a good Bond character. In all honesty, he got screwed. Oh, and more skiing!

Roger Moore

Average = 2.9

Another of the underrated Bond actors, IMHO. The thing with his films is that he brought some more 'cheek' to the characer. The dad jokes really run rampant in most of his films. That and the writing had gotten TOO formulaic by this point so sometimes looking at one film, it almost ran into the next and it was hard to tell the difference. However, he was just as cool as Connery, in many cases. I think of the big things is that he didn't have a 'big bad' to fight, like Spectre, so it was more a bad guy of the week. He did, however, have one of my favorites in the franchse with The Spy Who Loved Me. It was a brief sidestep into a really well written one that gave Bond an equal and they played off of each other well. That wouldn't be seen again for quite awhile but was a welcome entry into the franchise. It also gave us the best theme song with A View to a Kill. (We also got Live and Let Die which is arguably one of the best as well). Moore at least hot his shot at Bond and made some pretty average ones across the board but in a satisfying way.

Timothy Dalton

Average = 3.5

Timothy Dalton was one of the most underrated Bonds there was, IMHO. He only got his shot to prove this twice, but his average is up there because both of his films were well done and he was a solid entry into the franchise. He was supposed to make another but there was some studio dispute about licensing and he ended up only doing the two. The films he was in were both highly entertaining and he brought the character back to being more grounded. There were far fewer gadgets and dad jokes and a more serious tone to the character. He just had something about him that made Bond more of a cool spy guy and less of an action hero. He doesn't get much credit for his role, which is likely because of the amount of entries in the franchise, but I would rank him highly on the list of the best.

Pierce Brosnan

Average = 3

Brosnan was cool but not quite as cool as some of the others. There was just something about him that didn't make the grade. He was a good 'filler' but I wish Dalton had been given more films. I honestly think a part of it might have been the choices of ditzy Bond girls. They almost made the character more 'silly' and he doled out dad jokes left and right. I just never really saw him as Bond-esque. He did have The World is Not Enough theme, which I have to recognize, as Garbage is one of my favorite bands. HA! There was the introduction of the embittered ex-MI6 character though, which was something new and exciting. I don't know, I might be giving Brosnan a bad wrap here but I really think he was just somone to have on board until the next Bond could be introduced.

Daniel Craig

Average = 3.7

So when I said the race was tight for the best Bond ever, it was down to the last film of Craig's to determine if Connery or Craig would win as both were at a 3.6 average at that point. Then I watched No Time to Die and Craig pulled it off. There was a hubbub when he was hired as he was a blonde and who would have ever though Bond could be blonde, of all things!? Craig brought a seriousness to the role which was lacking. The dad jokes were minimal, if there were any at all. The gadgets? Gone. The silly nature of Bond? A long distant memory. Instead, the five films Craig did all tied together in a way that hadn't been done. It was a connected story that had growth, made sense, and had some solid bad guys. It even seemed to erase some previous canon and brought back a bad guy from the past in a very satisfying way. Knowing that Craig's run was coming to an end, the writers had a beginning, middle, and end that gave the best of the best for character arcs. It also had some amazing action and the first twelve minutes of Skyfall should be proof of that as it is some of the best in any of the Bond films. The conclusion was rewarding and as I finished my marathon, I felt like I had been on a journey with all of the characters.

Conclusion

I had put this marathon off for a long time but felt it was time to get through it. My dad and I used to go see the Bond movies together in the theaters so there is a special place in my heart for them. Whether they were corny or serious, they were almost always a good time. Sure, there were a few clunkers in there, but there were also some gems. It was a lot of fun going through them and seeing the evolution of the franchise. There is an option to continue with a new Bond, but the way No Time to Die ended would be a really good way to end the franchise, once and for all. I could go on about the Bond girls along the way, the different side characters, and more, but it really should be about Bond more than anything else so I'll leave this here.

P.S. I don't expect anyone will ever actually read this but I put it up here as a sort of diary of the experience.