Our staff decided to group together and come up with a list of the best films in the 007, James Bond franchise. With Spectre rolling out this weekend, we decided to republish the article. Let us know which is your favourite, and be sure to check out our review of Spectre here. #1: From Russia With …
Adam Reed’s Archer was created with the express purpose of poking a bit of fun at the well-worn tropes of the spy movie genre, the poster boy for which is undoubtedly the Bond franchise. That’s how it started, anyway. Long running franchises have a tendency to mutate over time, and over the course of 6 (soon …
James Bond #5 gets the adrenaline pumping in the leadup to the concluding issue of the VARGR storyline. What could have been a meandering 24 pages of explanations, revelations, and set-up is really an action-packed, brisk read with critical tidbits communicated so the reader knows where Bond will be heading for the final lap of his mission, and why.
Everyone knows that Bond survives his missions. He isn’t the sort of character franchises kill off only to resurrect a few months or years down the road. 007 is, essentially, immortal, but without the cheap shock value of ‘deaths’ that will clearly be reversed shortly thereafter by fantastical means. Part of the fun is witnessing how he remains alive despite the odds, with special joy provided in discovering how he flees traps laid out by his enemies.
The title to this 9th and final story included in Omnibus 004 is a bit of a misnomer. More accurately, it is a collection of a term, name, and colour that together combined make it sound as if Bond will be involved in an adventure with a heist as its focal point, be it as an agitator or protector of whatever is sought after. The caper in question is only fleetingly important and dealt with very early in the story as Bond and Kew successfully retrieve from Herr Rubin’s office a little book with information protected by code language that requires demystification.
James Bond 007: VARGR #3 Written by Warren Ellis Art by Jason Masters Letters by Simon Bowland Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment After two issues during which writer Ellis and artist Masters supplied fans with ample set-up, issue number 3 of the VARGR storyline finally kicks into higher gear. Bond takes up on Kurjak’s invitation to inspect …
The Phoenix Project Written by Jim Lawrence Art by Yaroslav Horak Published in the Daily Express from September 23, 1974 to February 18, 1975 At H.M. Defence Research, a world leading defence organization located in England, Dr. Hendrix Baar, at the invitation of H.M.’s head Tom Thorp, is about to perform a test on a …
Writer Kim Lawrence makes a strange decision for the latest newspaper strip story by keeping James Bond set firmly on the home front. When prompted to describe what about the 007 brand that attracts its fans, they will be quick to add ‘globe trotting’ to the list of fantastic activities they would love to emulate. As such, having 007 spend an entire adventure in Britain seems counter-productive to expanding on the character’s mythos. From a visual standpoint, Yaroslav Horak is held back from letting his imagination go with exotic flavours, restricted to conveying the English countryside mostly.
Some astute fans of the James Bond film franchise (as well as those that do not hold it in high regard) will point out that in a plethora of adventures, 007 is frequently sent off by M to investigate one thing, only for an extraordinarily convoluted and lucky series of events leading Bond to handle a completely different sort of threat by the climax. Even in the best of Bond adventures, this is a storytelling technique that is by now long accepted as just the way things are done sometimes.
It is interesting to note that the second and presumably final issue predominantly concerned with exposition arrives in December. Fans have been given two months to test the waters with the new series, get into the exceptional artwork, see Bond do his thing just a little bit and take in a fair amount of exposition. One gets the underlying sensation that by issue 3, which arrives in early January, things will really start flying…or exploding…or doing whatever crazy things Bond is best known for. Ellis and Masters have our attention. In the New Year it will be time to deliver the goods.
With Spectre out in theaters, there has been no shortage of debate among Bond fans about where this entry lands in the series’ spectrum of quality, with some like PopOptiq’s own lead film critic J.R. Kinnard calling it “a glorious love letter to classic Bond”. To some this will sound like exactly what they want …
The fifth story in Titan Book’s James Bond Omnibus 004 is the real standout thus far a bevy of brilliantly creative reasons. For starters, the above synopsis barely scratches the surface of what transpires throughout this whirlwind, politically relevant (for the time, anyways) action-packed adventure. Whereas the previous story, Die With My Boots On, was too short for its own good, The Girl Machine aims for the opposite, proving to be the longest strip in the book up until this point.
Die With My Boots On is curiously much shorter than the other stories featured in Omnibus volume 004. Whereas most of the adventures last approximately 30 pages, Boots concludes barely 20 pages in. Preliminary research has not disclosed the reasons for this, but whatever the logic behind the decision, it produces a Bond adventure that sorely could have used an extra few pages to flesh out the climax.
When naming the best and most influential actors who have portrayed James Bond, one might expect George Lazenby to pop up at the end of the list. After all, he only starred in a single film as the famous spy. However, Lazenby’s one entry, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), is now recognized as one …
The release of Spectre this month once again brings the story of James Bond and one of the longest-running movie franchises to the fore. A key aspect of Bond films, dating back to 1962’s Dr. No, has been the villain that Bond squares off with. A good villain can elevate a Bond movie, making the …
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published May 5, 2015. Ian Fleming’s James Bond is one of the most recognizable and successful characters in modern popular culture. The novels have sold over 100 million copies, and the film franchise is the second most successful in history, having been recently displaced by the Harry Potter series. For most …
Skyfall Directed by Sam Mendes Written by John Logan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade U.K./U.S.A., 2012 *Those sensitive to spoilers should be wary with the following article. Certain key story elements are revealed. Time and time again the legendary James Bond film franchise has learned to adapt and survive. Survival of the fittest, if you …
Casino Royale Directed by Martin Campbell Written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade & Paul Haggis United Kingdom, USA, Czech Republic, and Germany, 2006 For reasons that escape me consciously, I’ve never been caught up in the James Bond phenomenon. I understand why the series holds such an allure to so many people—fast cars, beautiful …
Never Say Never Again Directed by Irvin Kershner Written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. United Kingdom, 1983 Never Say Never Again is, in many ways, the red-headed stepchild of the Bond family. Made by a different set of producers than the other 23 Bond films that had been made previously, the movie cannot be found on …
Dialogue can make or break a film. However beautifully photographed the picture might be, however stimulating, thought-provoking or thrilling the story is, however captivating the score, if what the characters say is poorly conceived, that movie is operating on a significant handicap. The Roger Moore tenure in the 007 film franchise is indeed often criticized …
Die Another Day Directed by Lee Tamahori Written by Neal Purvis (story) & Robert Wade 2002, UK The end of Die Another Day’s first act provides a set up to what could potentially have been one of the most freshly original Bond installments, an opportunity to explore deliciously dark corners of the iconic spy’s psyche. …
“There’s no point in living if you can’t feel alive”, Shirley Manson’s eerie and unmistakable voice sings in the melodic title tune to the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. If you can get past the ridiculous concept of Denise Richards playing Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear physicist, The World Is Not Enough is a wonderfully entertaining addition to the Bond film series.
Tomorrow Never Dies Directed by Roger Spottiswoode Screenplay by Bruce Feirstein 1997, USA Goldeneye may have been the first Bond made in the ’90s, but Tomorrow Never Dies is the first ’90s Bond. Finally liberated from the remnants of the Cold War, the Bond era entered the global media age where moguls are the madmen …