Dr No To Skyfall: How 50 Years Has Changed James Bond

The latest entry in the James Bond franchise, Skyfall, has been met with critical acclaim since it debuted in front of press on Friday, with some reviewers even stating that the new film is the €˜best Bond film ever€™. Javier Bardem has been lauded for his performance as the crazy Raoul Silva, while Daniel Craig continues to discredit those who believed he was a poor choice as James Bond prior to the release of Casino Royale. An astonishing 23 official films have been made about 007€™s exploits and while some have been highly successful, others have failed to capture the essence of Bond completely. On Her Majesty€™s Secret Service was criticised, not because it was a bad film, but because few felt comfortable with 007 settling down and getting married €“ it went against everything Sean Connery had taught us about the iconic character. While Casino Royale, Skyfall and to-a-lesser-extent, Quantum of Solace, have been successful, I still believe the first four films to be the pinnacle of James Bond. That being said, I don€™t understand how critics can compare Connery€™s films against those of Craig. It is two different versions and if it wasn€™t for the name, they€™d be almost complete opposites. When Casino Royale was released in 2006 it showed Bond was going in a different direction from its predecessors. The Bourne trilogy had changed spy films and the opening 15 minutes of Royale €“ the parkour chase €“ showed Craig€™s Bond was significantly different from those who came before him. Connery€™s Bond wasn€™t the toughest fighter but he was highly intelligent, witty and effective with the ladies. But while Bond may be completely different, not all the other aspects of the movies have changed. Click "next" below to read part 2...
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