Finally, the wait is over! The twenty-fifth James Bond movie “No Time to Die” is releasing on the 30th of September, 2021. Cary Joji Fukunaga directs it, and Daniel Craig will star as James Bond for the fifth time. The film was postponed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, but now that things are returning to normal, the Bond film franchise is all set to release their new movie, and the fans can’t keep calm.
James Bond (007)- The Iconic Character
James Bond is a fictional character created by Ian Fleming, a novelist, in the year 1953. Bond portrays a British secret agent under the codename 007 who works for the M16. Producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman bought the filming rights of the James Bond novels from Ian Fleming in 1961. After the foundation of Eon Productions, these producers produced the first James Bond movie, directed by Terence Young and featured Connery as Bond in the lead role. The movie came out in 1962 and is the first movie of the Bond series, with twenty-five movies, with the new one No Time to Die.
The James Bond movie series is a highly successful franchise that has managed to earn nearly $7 billion to date, making it the sixth highest-grossing movie series. The James Bond movie series has managed to earn five Oscars for sound editing in the movie Goldfinger, visual effects and sound editing in Thunderball. Adele and Paul Epworth in Skyfall sang this original song, and Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes sang another original song in the movie Spectre. In addition, there was the production of several songs for the James Bond movie series. The songs received nominations for Academy Awards, like “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney, “Nobody Does it Better” by Carly Simon and “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton.
Let us look at the famous James Bond franchise movies
Dr No
The first film in the James Bond Movies Series is Dr No, directed by Terence Young. The movie loosely depicts the tale in the novel of Ian Fleming, which goes by the same name. The movie starred Sean Connery as James Bond in the lead role and Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord and many more talented actors. The movie’s plot revolves around an investigation led by James Bond to find a fellow British Agent who disappeared.
The movie Dr No was produced on a meagre budget but was a substantial financial hit, bringing in a lot of money for the producers. Although the film received mixed reviews on its release, it became one of the best instalments of the James Bond movie series. Dr No was also the first movie to be launched in the “secret agent” genre of films, which set the trend for such movies in the 1960s. As a part of promotional and marketing techniques, a comic adaptation and a soundtrack album were too released. Dr No, which was the first instalment of the James Bond series, established the enigmatic theme music of James Bond.
From Russia with Love
The second James Bond movie, ‘From Russia with Love’, came out in 1963. The same crew produced and directed it who worked in the first Bond movie and starred Sean Connery as the lead actor who played the role of the protagonist. The basis of the film is a novel by the same name, written by Ian Fleming in 1957. The story of the film From Russia with Love follows James Bond, who is sent to Russia to assist the desertion of Tatiana Romanova in Turkey, where Specter greets him to avenge the killing of Dr. No. The budget for this film doubled following the success of the first James Bond movie, and it managed to earn around $78 million worldwide. It became one of the biggest blockbuster movies of the 1960s.
Goldfinger
Goldfinger is the third instalment of the James Bond movie franchise, which came out in 1963. Guy Hamilton, who went on to direct the next three Bond movies, directed the film. The film starred Sean Conney in the lead role as James Bond and Honor Blackman and Shirley Eaton, who played the roles of Bond girls. In this movie, Bond investigates Auric Goldfinger, a gold smuggler, only to find out Goldfinger’s plan to corrupt the US Bullion Depository. The budget of this film was more than the previous two bond films combined. In addition, Goldfinger was the first movie in the James Bond franchise to win an Oscar for ‘Best Sound Effects”.
Thunderball
The fourth movie, Thunderball, came out in 1965, where James Bond investigates a hijack of a fighter plane laden with two atom bombs by Specter. Terence Young directed the film, and Sean Conney starred in it. Kevin McClory produced this Bond movie. The film was a huge commercial success, which collected almost around $141.2 million worldwide. John Stears won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1966 for Thunderball. Ken Adam, the Production Designer of the film, was also nominated for an award from BAFTA.
You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice is the fifth edition of the James Bond movie series, directed by Lewis Gilbert and produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. It starred Sean Connery in the lead role as James Bond, where he is sent to Japan on a secret mission to investigate a spacecraft that disappeared mysteriously in orbit. This James Bond movie grossed around $111 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics and viewers. However, this was the first movie in the Bond franchise to see a decline in box-office revenue. It was because of the over-saturation of the genre of spy movies.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
The sixth movie in the Bond franchise was “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, which was directed by a new director, Peter R. Hunt, and it starred George Lazenby in the lead role as James Bond for the first time. The shoot of this film took almost a year as it was shot across various locations, including Switzerland, England, and Portugal. Unfortunately, though the film was one of the top-performing movies at the box office that year, it wasn’t as lucrative as its predecessors. As a result, the film received mixed reviews from critics as well as viewers.
Diamonds are Forever
The next Bond movie was “Diamonds are Forever”, which was directed by Guy Hamilton. In this film, Sean Conney made a comeback as James Bond after missing out on ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’ In this movie, Bond impersonates a diamond smuggler to penetrate a smuggling ring only to find out that diamonds make a space-laser weapon. The movie was a commercial hit and received positive reviews.
Live and Let Die
Next in line was ‘Live and Let Die’, which came out in 1971. Guy Hamilton directed the movie. It starred Roger Moore as James Bond for the first time. In this movie, James Bond has the task of investigating the mysterious murder of three British M16 agents. This movie departs from the regular plot of James Bond movies and focuses on drug trafficking, a common theme of movies in that period. The title song of this movie, sung by Paul and Linda McCartney, got a nomination for Best Original Songs at the Oscars.
The next few films in the James Bond franchise were The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and A View to Kill. Roger Moore starred as James Bond in all of these films. The plot of all of these movies revolved around the ‘spy movie‘ genre.
The Living Daylights
The Living Daylights, the next James Bond movie, came after a gap of 2 years and starred Timothy Dalton as James Bond for the first time. He had big shoes to fill after Roger Moore, who played that character for the last six films. The title of the film was taken from Ian Fleming’s short story by the same name. The film did well at the box office, and the viewers welcomed Timothy Dalton with open arms.
License to Kill
The next Bond movie was ‘Licence to Kill’, released in 1989 and is the sixteenth instalment in the James Bond franchise. This movie also starred Timothy Dalton in the lead role, where he quits the M16 to take revenge for his wife’s murder and follows Franz Sanchez, the drug lord who killed his wife. It was the fifth and final James Bond movie directed by John Glen. The shooting of the entire movie took place outside the UK because of budgetary factors. The movie received positive reviews from the audience, praising the extensive stunts and action sequences. It managed to earn $156 million worldwide.
GoldenEye
GoldenEye was the seventeenth edition of the James Bond movie series, which came out after a gap of 5 years. Martin Campbell directed the movie. It starred Pierce Brosnan as James Bond for the first time. James Bond infiltrates an illegal chemical weapons facility in the Soviets and plants explosive charges in this movie. The film received accolades from the critics and viewers, who loved seeing Pierce Brosnan as the new James Bond. The film collected over US$350 million worldwide, much better than what Dalton’s movies were able to earn.
Tomorrow Never Dies
The next edition of the James Bond movie series came out just two years later, ‘Tomorrow Never Dies”. Pierce Brosnan was donning the hat of James Bond again after his first successful encounter, and Roger Spottiswoode directed the movie. The story follows James Bond’s attempt to stop a powerful madman who goes by the name of Elliot Carver from starting World War III by engineering world events. The shooting of the film was throughout the UK, France, Germany, Thailand and Mexico. It became the fourth highest-grossing film in 1997 after earning over $333 million at the box office worldwide. Unfortunately, the film was released on the same day as Titanic, because of which it finished second at the box office that week.
The World is Not Enough
Tomorrow Never Dies, followed by ‘The World is Not Enough’ two years later in 1999. It was the third Bond movie to star Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, and Michael Apted directed it. The film starts with the assassination of Sir Robert King, a millionaire by Renard who is a terrorist. Bond comes into the picture when he is assigned to protect the King’s daughter from Renard. The film received mixed opinions from critics and viewers but made $361.8 million throughout the world.
Die Another Day
The twentieth film in the James Bond franchise was ‘Die Another Day’, released in 2002. It was the fourth and final movie starring Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. The film’s story was original, with a few references from Moonraker and The Man with the Golden Gun, both novels written by Ian Fleming. This movie marked the 40th anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise, and as a tribute, this film included references from all the previously made James Bond movies. While many critics and movie enthusiasts praised Tamahori’s style of direction, some hated the fact that the movie relied on CGI so much.
Casino Royale
The next Bond movie came out in 2006 in the form of ‘Casino Royale’. Martin Campbell directed the movie, and it starred Daniel Craig in the lead role of James Bond for the first time. The film’s plot revolves around the early life of James Bond as Agent007. Though the choice of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond was criticized by many, the film went on to earn $606 million worldwide, putting all controversies to rest.
Quantum of Solace
The next in line was ‘Quantum of Solace’, released in 2008. It starred Daniel Craig as James Bond, and Marc Forster directed it. This movie was a direct sequel to ‘Casino Royale’ in which Bond seeks revenge for his lover’s death. Although Daniel Craig wrote some scenes in the movie, he never got credit for his screenwriting skills. As a result, the film garnered mixed reviews from critics and the audience. The dark and realistic touch to the film received a lot of criticism, while viewers couldn’t stop complimenting Daniel Craig’s outstanding performance in the movie.
Skyfall
Skyfall was the next James Bond movie to release in 2012. Sam Mendes directed the movie, and it had Daniel Craig playing the character of James Bond for the third time in a row. Skyfall received a lot of love and appreciation from critics and viewers. The release of Skyfall coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 007 series. This movie won many accolades, which included two Oscars, two Grammy Awards and two BAFTA Awards. In addition, it is the only James Bond movie to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.
Spectre
The twenty-fourth movie in the James Bond series is Spectre, which came out in 2015. It was the second outing of Sam Mandes directing a 007 film. Daniel Craig dons the hat of the M16 spy James Bond. The film shooting was across five different locations and took almost one year of shooting. The movie got fair reviews on its release, and the title song of the movie, “Writing’s on the Wall”, which was performed by Sam Smith, won a Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Original Song.
No Time To Die
No Time To Die is the twenty-fifth James Bond movie.
To conclude this article, the following is a complete list of the 007 movies in chronological order:
- Dr No, 1962
- From Russia with Love, 1963
- Goldfinger, 1964
- Thunderball, 1965
- You Only Live Twice 1967
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969
- Diamonds Are Forever, 1971
- Live and Let Die, 1973
- The Man with the Golden Gun, 1974
- The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977
- Moonraker,1979
- For Your Eyes Only, 1981
- Octopussy,1983
- A View to a Kill,1985
- The Living Daylights, 1987
- Licence to Kill, 1989
- GoldenEye,1995
- Tomorrow Never Dies,1997
- The World Is Not Enough, 1999
- Die Another Day, 2002
- Casino Royale, 2006
- Quantum of Solace, 2008
- Skyfall, 2012
- Spectre, 2015
- No Time to Die, 2021
