Any franchise which has survived over half a century deserves recognition. The Bond franchise has gone from Sean Connerys charming portrayal, to Roger Moores comedic take, to Daniel Craigs darker and far more realistic take. Yet this period (roughly Live and Let Die through to Die Another Day) amounts to cheap fillers deployed to keep the franchise alive, but void of depth. Roger Moores portrayal was distinct from Connery, it was light hearted and funny, yet the production of the films was so focused on creating blockbusters that films from the latter years of Moores portrayal can be seen as almost a spoof of the spy genre. Scenes worthy of True Lies and Johnny English were rife in these films, and the franchise visibly began to stagnate. Plots became similar, villains were one-dimensional and gadgets grew grotesquely absurd - the shark repellent pill from Live and Let Die was as likely to be useful as Adam Wests shark repellent in Batman. Daniel Craigs portrayal has coincided with a production shift towards realism; as the new Q has said, there are no more gadgets. This portrayal and shift may save the franchise, but the franchise is so markedly different that it is almost a separate entity from the initial franchise.
A 21 year old History graduate looking for someone to listen to his ramblings. Lover of comic books, movies and all other superhero related things. Published in The Independent, always looking for interesting things to write about...Follow me on Twitter at @samclements1993, and check out my blog: http://samuelclements.wordpress.com/
