Bond. James Bond. With that famous introduction Ian Fleming's British secret agent announced himself on the screen in 1962. Bond 23, "Skyfall" opened in November 2012. Time to geek out about 007. Listen to the extended discussion of Bond online.
Daniel Craig is the sixth actor to take on the role of the famous MI6 British agent, and "Skyfall" marks his third appearance in the franchise. In 2006, the Bond franchise rebooted its highly successful series with "Casino Royale," returning it to more of its literary origins. The producers -- Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson -- decided to go back to the beginning to completely re-launch what has become one of the longest running and most successful film franchises of all time. One of the reasons for this success has been the franchise's ability to reinvent itself during its 40-year plus history. It began by sticking close to Ian Fleming's books with its films "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love" in the early 60s. By the mid 60s it began a move toward gadgetry, special effects, and spectacle ("Thunderball," "You Only Live Twice").
That trend peaked in the 70s and 80s when Roger Moore took over the Bond role and the series became more and more over the top (the best of these being "For Your Eyes Only" and "The Spy Who Loved Me"). In the late '80s there was a swing back toward grit and realism with Timothy Dalton's brief outing as Bond. And then Pierce Brosnan's Bond announced the franchise's move back toward slick productions loaded with clever quips and prone to poke fun at Bond for being a misogynistic dinosaur. But with Craig, Eon Productions decided to put all those Bonds behind them to begin again. Here's the trailer fot latest film.
"Skyfall" completes Bond's back story and ends at the point where we can start moving forward to new adventures. At the end of "Skyfall," Craig's Bond is the Bond we know and we look forward to Bond 24. Craig has committed to 2 more Bond films.
KPBS film critic Beth Accomando is a longtime Bond fan, having worn out her LP of "Goldfinger" at the age of 5. For her geek panel, she has called on fellow Bond fans, Ramie Tateishi, assistant professor of English and film studies at National University, and Aled Jones, owner of Moviedrome DVD in Wales.
If you have any favorites you'd like to mention, please leave them in the comments section. James Bond will return.
