Case in point: This week’s often-enjoyable No Time to Die sometimes seems to suffer from a certain self-importance … which, back when the Daniel Craig Bond era first kicked off with Casino Royale, felt downright bracing and revolutionary.
And then, a decade or so later, all the things that once seemed new start to feel old or tired. Each generation gets a different version of the spy, in movies that have to include just enough preordained elements to qualify them as Bond pictures while still working as plain old movies. That is a challenge but also one of the reasons the James Bond series has continued to be popular for more than 50 years. Which means that the films often satisfy different genre needs depending on the mood you’re in or what year it is on the calendar.
Before you hit “send” on the death threat, consider this: Our opinions on James Bond movies often vary dramatically because what makes a good Bond movie isn’t always what makes a good action movie or spy thriller and vice versa.
Photo-Illustration: 20th Century Fox, MGM, Sony Pictures Releasing, United Artists, United International Pictures
