Tag: 007

James Bond and the U.S. Presidency: A History

A fascinating factoid is out now that the U.S. Presidential Election of 2020 is in the rearview. As fans of the James Bond franchise are aware, we are now approaching the 60th anniversary of the series in 2022. The release of No Time to Die will mark the 25th official feature in the 007 canon when it (hopefully) debuts in 2021. As you are likely aware, the fifth and final Daniel Craig appearance as the British super spy was originally slated for April 2020 before its COVID-19 related delay.

Why am I saying all of this as it relates to the election that just happened? Well, it turns out that the Trump presidency will be the first since the series began in which no James Bond picture was released. That means there have been 10 U.S. Presidencies in a row where 007 appeared on the silver screen… from Kennedy to Obama. Until now. This will clearly resume when No Time is released in plenty of time for when Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office.

Based on this interesting little nugget of trivia info, I thought it might be fun to run through the movies that were released under each former POTUS and take stock with how their administrations matched up with Bond’s adventures onscreen:

The Presidency of John F. Kennedy

The Bond Pictures: Dr. No (1962)

It seems more than appropriate that this franchise started under JFK’s tenure. President Kennedy was a self-professed fan of the Ian Fleming novels. The producers of Bond actually chose From Russia with Love to be the second in the series because JFK singled it out as a favorite book. Sadly, the last movie the President ever watched at the White House was From Russia (months before its actual US release, though it was out in the UK). That was on November 20. Two days later is when Kennedy took the fateful trip to Dallas.

The Presidency of Lyndon Johnson

The Bond Pictures: From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967)

I would say it’s hard to argue that Johnson’s time in the White House isn’t the most impressive when it comes to the 007 catalogue. This was, of course, the heyday of Sean Connery’s time in the role which turned him into an international superstar. The first two titles on the board are often cited as the greatest of the bunch (my personal favorite is Russia).

The Presidency of Richard Nixon

The Bond Pictures: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973)

Nixon wins having the most Bonds during his time in office. There were three as his Presidency marked George Lazenby’s one off in Service, Connery’s return in Diamonds, and Roger Moore’s first outing with Live. I would also say the trio is all somewhat underwhelming to a degree (though I know the Service diehards will not appreciate that statement).

The Presidency of Gerald Ford

The Bond Pictures: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Pretty slim picking for Mr. Ford with Moore’s second go-round as 007. This is deservedly considered one of the weakest in the franchise.

The Presidency of Jimmy Carter

The Bond Pictures: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979)

The best of times and worst of times for Roger Moore matched with the Carter Administration. I would easily call Spy the finest Moore pic in his run while Moonraker is the low point.

The Presidency of Ronald Reagan

The Bond Pictures: For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987)

It’s appropriate that some of the titles here incorporate the Cold War activities happening in Reagan’s 1980s era. The list here includes two solid Moore outings (yes, I think Octopussy is quite good) and the middling finale of View. It also marks Timothy Dalton’s fairly pleasing debut in Daylights. As a side note, while not considered an official Bond pic in the canon sense, Sean Connery returned to his signature part with 1983’s Never Say Never Again.

The Presidency of George H.W. Bush

The Bond Pictures: Licence to Kill (1989)

The last one term President until now had just one 007 flick. I maintain that Licence may be just the most underrated one of the whole series. It was Dalton’s swan song for his brief tenure.

The Presidency of Bill Clinton

The Bond Pictures: Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999)

The Clinton Era matches with the Pierce Brosnan era as the franchise was revitalized financially with these three blockbusters which were all decent in quality.

The Presidency of George W. Bush

The Bond Pictures: Die Another Day (2002), Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008)

A mixed bag. I consider Brosnan’s finale of Day to be the worst James Bond adventure of all time. On the other hand, Daniel Craig’s emergence in Royale is second only to From Russia with Love in my opinion. Quantum was just OK and the weakest of the Craig pics.

The Presidency of Barack Obama

The Bond Pictures: Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015)

Bond reached a billion dollars in the Obama era with Skyfall, rightfully considered one of the strongest of the two dozen pictures. Spectre didn’t match its quality, but was still pretty good.

The Presidency of Donald Trump

As I said… nada. No Time to Die would have been the one Trump time release if not for the pandemic. It will instead be unveiled when President Biden is in office and there could be even be a new 007 under his Presidency depending on how quickly the studio casts a new spy.

 

In Defense of Timothy Dalton

When Spectre opens this weekend, it will mark the 24th official James Bond adventure and Daniel Craig’s fourth go round as the famed super agent. There is no doubt that Mr. Craig’s time as 007 has been a wildly successful venture and it’s brought the franchise to previously unseen billion dollar heights.

Regarding the general consensus of the six actors who’ve played Bond, the least regarded are typically George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton. Not so coincidentally, they’re the two thespians who played him the least. Lazenby played him just once in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and his mediocre work was crushed under the weight of Sean Connery comparisons, who was the only man at the time to have played him. The generally negative rap on Lazenby is one in which I agree.

With Dalton, it’s a different story in my view. When 1987 came around, it was clear that it was time for Roger Moore to call it a day. 1985’s A View to a Kill found Moore playing 007 at the advanced age of 57. It was a mostly rewarding 12 year run in the role, though the pics themselves varied considerably in quality. Enter Dalton, stepping into Bond’s designer shoes in his mid 40s. Ironically, it has since been revealed that Dalton was originally considered to replace Connery for Secret Service and that even the actor himself felt he was far too young at the time to do it.

The Living Daylights would be his first outing. Two years later, Licence to Kill would be his second and his final. Six years later, after MGM’s financial woes delayed production of new entries, Pierce Brosnan would take over with Goldeneye. And while Brosnan’s four picture time in the part is justifiably regarded as pretty strong, Dalton’s double effort is often not.

Yet when I made the daunting task of watching all 007 flicks in a row in late 2012 to early 2013, I ended that adventure by ranking my preferred Bonds from 1-23. And it turned out that both Daylights and Licence landed in the top ten. Not one Brosnan pic did. Daylights, which stands as a more traditional Bond experience, was 10th. Licence to Kill was 6th, just above the beloved Skyfall. That film  stands alone as less of a normal 007 movie and more of a hard edged late 80s action thriller popularized at the time by the likes of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. So while 007 purists weren’t enthralled, I found Licence to work exceedingly well in the genre it was borrowing. I believe that it’s the most underrated motion picture of the entire franchise.

As for Dalton himself, he was perfectly serviceable as Bond and I would’ve been curious to see his evolution in a third or fourth entry. It was never to be, but if you re-watch his two performances, there are hints of the darker take on the character that audiences would celebrate with Daniel Craig.

So while many talk of the Timothy Dalton era as a forgettable one, my verdict is that it produced two of the top ten flicks among the 23. That’s not forgettable to me.

Spectre Box Office Prediction

Three years after the triumphant box office performance of the 23rd 007 entry Skyfall, Daniel Craig is back for the fourth time as James Bond in Spectre, out next Friday. The big question is whether or not it will manage to top the franchise high debut of its predecessor. It could come close or surpass it, as I see it.

Let’s take a little trip down memory lane with Craig’s 007 filmography. His first, 2006’s Casino Royale, started with $40.8 million on its way to a $167M eventual domestic gross. The second, 2008’s Quantum of Solace, earned $67.5 million out of the gate and just edged its predecessor’s haul with $168M. Then – 2012’s Skyfall was a game changer. It made $88.3 million for its astonishing opening weekend and ended with $304M. Worldwide, it took in a cool $1.1 billion, easily setting the high bar for the now 53 year old series.

The studio clearly has employed the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule as Skyfall director Sam Mendes has returned. Christoph Waltz joins the fray as the main villain with Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris returning as M and Moneypenny, respectively. Spectre has already set records in the United Kingdom, where it was already released this week. Reviews have been mostly strong and it stands at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, though it’s worth noting that critics generally have stated it’s not quite at the level of what preceded it.

This 24th official Bond pic should debut with Skyfall like numbers. On the high end, it could possibly gather over $100M in its first weekend. It could also earn $75-$80M and that would certainly be on the lower end of expectations. My feeling is that it’ll be within about $5M of what the last one made on the same November weekend in 2012 and that Spectre will just manage to outdo it for the largest 007 premiere in U.S. history.

Spectre opening weekend prediction: $91.3 million

For my prediction on The Peanuts Movie, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2015/10/29/the-peanuts-movie-box-office-prediction/

The 007 Files: My Rankings Of All 25 James Bond Movies

**Blogger’s note: updated as of 10/09/21 with No Time to Die

After watching all 24 official James Bond pictures and writing blog posts on each averaging around 1,000 words, we’ve arrived at what may be my final 007 Files entry for a while.

I may find something Bond related to blog about, but the next major post will likely be when the fourth Daniel Craig film is released, probably in late 2014. There will be one likely exception. When I see the well-known “unofficial” Bond picture, 1983’s Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery, I’ll post about that. Until then, I’ve now compiled my list ranking all movies from the worst to the very best.

For those reading along, #23 may be a good number for basketball players, but it isn’t here. That number signifies my least favorite Bond film and we work up from there. You’ll forgive me if I don’t comment on the rankings (been there, done that), but I am providing a link to the original post on the films, along with the trailer.

And with that, my final rankings after a month and a half blogging Bond:

25. Die Another Day (2002)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/the-007-files-die-another-day/

24. Moonraker (1979)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/the-007-files-moonraker/

23. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/the-007-files-diamonds-are-forever/

22. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/the-007-files-the-man-with-the-golden-gun/

21. A View to a Kill (1985)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-007-files-a-view-to-a-kill/

20. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/the-007-files-on-her-majestys-secret-service/

19. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/19/the-007-files-tomorrow-never-dies/

18. Quantum of Solace (2008)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/the-007-files-quantum-of-solace/

17. The World Is Not Enough (1999)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/the-007-files-the-world-is-not-enough/

16. Live and Let Die (1973)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/the-007-files-live-and-let-die/

15. Goldeneye (1995)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/the-007-files-goldeneye/

14. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/the-007-files-for-your-eyes-only/

13. Spectre 

12. You Only Live Twice (1967)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/the-007-files-you-only-live-twice/

11. The Living Daylights (1987)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-007-files-the-living-daylights/

10. Octopussy (1983)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/the-007-files-octopussy/

9. Dr. No (1962)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/the-007-files-dr-no/

8. No Time to Die (2021)

7. Skyfall (2012)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/the-007-files-skyfall/

6. Licence to Kill (1989)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/the-007-files-licence-to-kill/

5. Thunderball (1965)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/the-007-files-thunderball/

4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/the-007-files-the-spy-who-loved-me/

3. Goldfinger (1964)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2012/12/30/the-007-files-goldfinger/

2. Casino Royale (2006)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/the-007-files-casino-royale/

1. From Russia with Love (1963)

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/the-007-files-from-russia-with-love/

And there you have it, my friends! Feel free to let your feelings be known as to your thoughts on the list. It’s been a great experience re-watching all these 007 pictures. Late 2014 can’t get here soon enough!