10 Biggest Mistakes The James Bond Series Ever Made

Bond has long been something of a family business. Producer Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli shepherded the franchise for over three decades before handing the reins to his daughter Barbara and her half-brother Michael G Wilson. As such, it's hardly surprising that other figures in the Bond machine rose through the ranks over the years.

Perhaps the most notable behind-the-scenes career progression on Bond was that of John Glen. Having started out as both editor and second unit director on On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Glen repeated these duties throughout the Moore years. Clearly he garnered a lot of trust in that time, as he ultimately made his directorial debut on 1981's For Your Eyes Only - a role he would repeat on the following four Bond films made in the 1980s.

This five film streak makes Glen the most prolific director of the series; no subsequent Bond director would helm two films back-to-back again until Sam Mendes on Skyfall and Spectre.

However, while he might have directed 007 the most, was Glen ever really the best person for the job? There's a perfunctory, workmanlike quality to his films that make the 80s Bonds blur into one another somewhat.

This became a particular problem as Glen stayed at the helm for both of Timothy Dalton's outings. This, I would argue, scuppered Dalton's chances of ever really making Bond his own from the off. Being younger, more physically adept and crucially much harder-edged than Moore, Dalton's casting marked the start of a new era, and surely called for a reshuffle in the ranks all around.

Alas, Glen remained; and whilst The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill are entirely respectable entries in the series, which pre-empt the more grounded style of the Craig years, there's no denying that they could have been so much more. A new director more attuned to a darker, grittier approach would surely have helped.