*SPOILERS* If you’re after a spoiler free review of “SPECTRE”, you can find it here, but this is the final chapter of a journey which began back on 22nd May with “Dr. No”. Welcome to the final stop on “Craggus’ Bond Voyage”; we have reached our destination. Following the unprecedented success of “Skyfall”, the producers were understandably keen to stick with a winning team behind and in front of…

This review is spoiler-free but I’ll go into much more detail later in the week when “SPECTRE” gets the full “Craggus’ Bond Voyage” treatment. There’s a reassuringly familiar feel to “SPECTRE”; it hews much closer to the classic Bond films of the past than any of Daniel Craig’s previous outings, continuing the trajectory set in “Skyfall”. It even starts with the traditional gun barrel sequence!…

A major change* occurred in the Bond films when Daniel Craig took over and the impact of that change has been felt more and more in each subsequent film. As of “Casino Royale”, the films were no longer about Bond’s adventures and his mission, they were about Bond himself. Although each film contained the requisite action and intrigue, they were essentially the backdrop against which his character…

I don’t really want to spend much time on “Quantum Of Solace”. After all the producers clearly didn’t. The shortest Bond film in the whole series, it’s still not short enough. Developed from a plot created by Michael G Wilson, the script was drafted by the “Casino Royale” team of Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis although thanks to the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike, the script…

After the bloated extravaganza that was “Die Another Day”, the franchise had crashed back down to Earth. But for once, the behind the scenes legal wrangling would work to Bond’s advantage as a series of trades, deals and mergers finally unified the Bond film rights under a single studio. With Brosnan nearing his 50th birthday as the last Bond film was released, it was decided that what the series…

Production on the 20th (Official) James Bond film was delayed for a year so that the release would line up with the 40th anniversary of “Dr. No” and give the franchise an opportunity to highlight and celebrate its enduring legacy. On something of a roll, the franchise’s confidence was at an all-time high as Neal Purvis and Robert Wade returned for scripting duties. As with “The World Is Not…

With Brosnan firmly established in the public’s mind as Bond and the franchise now one of the undisputed cinema heavyweights, things were looking good for 007 as the new millennium approached. Taking its title from Bond’s family motto – “The World Is Not Enough” – as revealed in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, new scriptwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, aided by Bruce Feirstein concocted a…

With Bond firmly re-established as a cinematic heavyweight franchise and “GoldenEye” delivering the best box office returns of the series to date, the pressure was on to build on the success with the next movie. With Martin Campbell reluctant to direct two Bond movies in a row, Roger Spottiswoode was recruited and a script was written focussing on the forthcoming handover of Hong Kong to China.…

Despite the relatively disappointing box office performance of “Licence To Kill”, the team began prepping for the next adventure – rumoured to be called “The Property Of A Lady” for a 1991 release. Once again, however, Bond’s true nemesis would rear its ugly head as the takeover of MGM/ UA by Pathé provoked a legal dispute with Danjaq, the parent company of Eon Productions. As the delay dragged…

With a new Bond successfully installed, usual writers Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson set about drawing up Dalton’s sophomore adventure. Keen to capitalise on Dalton’s harder edged interpretation of the role, the two writers plundered original Fleming novel “Live And Let Die” and the short story “The Hildebrand Rarity” for characters, set pieces and snippets of dialogue, patching them into…

With Roger Moore finally bowing out, for the first time in nearly fifteen years the producers were looking to cast a new James Bond. When NBC’s “Remington Steele” shenanigans put paid to Pierce Brosnan’s chances at Bond (for the time being, at least), it was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man. That man was Timothy Dalton, whose life story could easily have been called ‘The Man Who Would Be…

Riding high on “Octopussy”’s success, not just at the box office but in seeing off the threat of “Never Say Never Again”, the official Bond franchise pressed ahead with the next instalment. With the public’s affection for Roger Moore’s portrayal of Bond so recently validated, and with the producer’s preferred actors unavailable, the drive to cast a younger actor lost some momentum and so Roger…

Finally making good on his threats, Kevin McClory exercised his bitterly fought, hard won rights to produce his own James Bond movie. The trouble was, said rights were pretty specific. Yes, he could use the characters who appeared in the ‘Thunderball’ novel and he had the rights to particular settings (Shrublands), gimmicks (a motorbike armed with rockets) and locations (The Bahamas) but any…

Roger Moore had taken some convincing to play James Bond for a fifth time in “For Your Eyes Only” and was reluctant to keep going, feeling he was too old for the part. However, with the looming threat of Sean Connery’s return to the role of 007 in “Never Say Never Again”, the producers were unwilling to bet the future of the franchise on the public’s acceptance of a brand new Bond – despite…