The 3 ‘James Bond’ Movies That Saved The Franchise From An Untimely Death
You may not say it, but the ever-popular ‘James Bond’ franchise has, of course, been around for over 60 years and has gone through the eye of the needle several times in the past.
Every fan has their own favorite title and performer, but no one can deny that three specific installments saved the franchise from demise by making its lackluster predecessors forget and luring interested fans back into theaters.
There have always been ups and downs, both commercially and critically. But if it weren’t for the following parts, it’s quite possible that 007’s film career would have ended abruptly and much sooner:
‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ by Roger Moore
After Sean Connery’s departure, expectations were of course high, but both Live And Let Die (1973) and The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) were not particularly well received.
This was partly due to the fact that the new Bond, Roger Moore, did not appear in any of the opening sequences and the familiar elements were somewhat absent. After George Lazenby, Moore was the second successor to fail to catch on with the public and, as a result, the struggling franchise found itself in deep trouble.
After a production hiatus that was a little longer than usual for the first time, The Spy Who Loved Me appeared in 1977. All the elements of the past returned, the story was bombastic, the stakes were high, there was a flashy car. With gadgets, the action didn’t stop and Moore himself starred in the pre-film with an impressive ski trick.
‘GoldenEye’ salvaged disappointing Dalton era
It almost seems as if Timothy Dalton was destined to “fail” so that the desperately seeking producers could finally break into the modern age that was so badly needed at the time.
Dalton’s two entries, The Living Daylights (1987) and License To Kill (1989), were commercially disappointing and, along with A View To A Kill (Moore’s last from 1985), have the dubious honor of being the films with worst financial performance ever. franchise.
Dalton struggled to win over the fans and it was all on tired legs. Behind-the-scenes legal wrangling didn’t help either, so he ultimately left for a third appearance.
It wasn’t until six years later that the reboot with Pierce Brosnan arrived. He gave GoldenEye (1995) a modern twist. The pressure to perform was enormous, and despite the ‘James Bond’ name, there was no guarantee of success. But this came thanks to an exciting plot, great supporting characters, and a strong villain.
‘Casino Royale’ showed that Bond still had a future
Brosnan’s last appearance in Die Another Day (2002) looks like the black sheep of the family. Although it was highly successful commercially, fans agreed that the whole thing had become a parody of itself, with superficiality and cartoonish action more like a video game to appeal to a younger audience.
Therefore, Brosnan was left out, and through the young Daniel Craig, the producers tried to avoid a dead end, because the image of Bond was considered outdated and sexist.
Therefore, with Casino Royale (2006) it was hoped to bring things back to reality and bring Bond into the 21st century. This worked.
The result was not just a solid, mature and compelling masterpiece. James Bond himself reinvented himself as well, proving that as a secret agent, he’s still relevant to this day!