Skyfall director Sam Mendes will not be helming the next 007 adventure. Why Martin Campbell should return to the fold...

Okay, so Sam Mendes is officially out.  There was rumbling over the last few weeks that Sam Mendes would actual But as of today, Mendes politely bowed out of the running.  He will not return to helm the next James Bond picture following his phenomenally successful Skyfall.  I'm sure I will be but one of a million people offering their thoughts on who should helm the next 007 picture. It's tempting to once again half-jokingly offer up Terrance Malick, Warner Herzog, Sophia Coppola, and Michael Haneke as go-to picks.  But the choice is obvious.  The name is Campbell, Martin Campbell.  He directed two of the very best 007 pictures of the post-Connery era, if not outright ever (it's no secret where I stand on this... Goldfinger can suck it).  He revitalized the franchise twice with two different Bond actors in the last 18 years.  The stain of Green Lantern leaves him in a position of 'needing a hit', and there is no reason to presume he won't knock it out of the park for a third time.  But more importantly, doing the follow-up to Skyfall gives Campbell a new set of tools to play with in the 007 sandbox.  This time he'll just get to play with few restraints, without the burden of franchise rebirth.

James Bond 007: Movie Deathmatch

This a very cool little video pitting Bond against Bond.  I completely admire its extremely unbiased approach (SPOILER: Connery doesn't always win).  Bravo to whoever put this together as it plays rather seamless.  Its short, but I could have enjoyed probably 20 minutes of this.  Skyfall opens Friday November 9th in the states and I'm rather excited for it.  Hopefully I'll be able to catch it in IMAX.  Scott's already seen it and you can find his thoughts here.  

If you've got any cool (well-made) Bond videos like this you'd like to share, feel free to throw them my way.  I'd enjoy seeing them.  Thanks to Ty for bringing this to my attention.

Brandon Peters

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Brandon Peters's 007 series retrospective final analysis part 2.

This is the end.  Hold your breath and count to ten.  After three months of extensive and rather superb retrospective reviews of every single 007 film that's been currently released since 1962, it all comes down to this.  What follows below is Brandon Peter's final analysis, split up into two sections. Part one is HERE.  Part two is a critical ranking of every single film, complete with links to his respective essays, so you can all argue in the comments section.  Following that is my actual review of Skyfall, which I saw on Monday night was holding off on reviewing until Brandon had his say on all that had come before.  Expect said review to drop later this afternoon.  And yes, once Brandon sees Skyfall (hopefully in IMAX, as it really should be seen in said format), he will offer his take on this site as well.  But for now, let's all dive in and see how the chips fall.  As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below (for what it's worth, I rather agree with probably 90% of the rankings, at a glance).  At the very least, you should give him a hearty thanks for crafting this rather fantastic ongoing series.  We look forward to whatever Mr. Peters decides to contribute from this point on and look forward to his adventures in the Great Valley.

Brandon Peters's 007 series retrospective final analysis part 1.

This is the end.  Hold your breath and count to ten.  After three months of extensive and rather superb retrospective reviews of every single 007 film that's been currently released since 1962, it all comes down to this.  What follows below is Brandon Peter's final analysis, split up into two sections.  Part one, which deals with favorite characters, favorite villains, and the like, is below.  Part two, which is a critical ranking of every single film, will hopefully follow in the next couple days.  Following that is my actual review of Skyfall, which I saw on Monday night but am holding off writing about until Brandon finishes his series.  And yes, once Brandon sees Skyfall (hopefully in IMAX, as it really should be seen in said format), he will offer his take on this site as well.  But for now, let's start the end game for this epic 007 retrospective.  As always, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 20: Die Another Day.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a few weeks, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the twentieth entry, with a full review of one of the worst films in the franchise, Die Another Day. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

Die Another Day

2002

Director: Lee Tamahori

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Toby Stephens, Rick Yune, Judi Dench, John Cleese

PG-13

I’m Mr. Kil

                        ~Mr. Kil

Okay, so I’m starting a little early, but I have to mention this.  This moment is so horrible.  Bond gets out of his car and this big goon by the side of the road just awkwardly and out of place says this to him.  FOR NO REASON.  Bond doesn’t acknowledge the guy or anything.  Its almost very “I like turtles” variety.  And seriously?  Mr. Kil?  That’s like calling Oddjob ‘Mr. Hat’.  Or Red Grant “Blonde Strong”.  Or calling Jaws…uh…oh…well…”Giant Metal Mouth Biting Man”. 

STATS

Kills:  16

Bond Girls:  Jinx, Miranda Frost

Cars:  Aston Martin Vanquish

Locales:  North Korea, Cuba, Iceland

Odd Villain Trait:  Zao has the side of his face embedded with diamonds

Song:  “Die Another Day” performed by Madonna

Ridiculous.  If I were to describe Die Another Day with just one word, that’s what I would choose.  Bond’s 20^th film, released on his 40^th anniversary features poor direction, performance and much absurdity with an overabundance of call backs (some obvious and some very Where’s Waldo-ish).  Like the other long tenured Bonds, Roger Moore and Sean Connery, before him, Pierce Brosnan bows out on an obvious sub par entry and one of the worst films of the series.  Funny, both Pierce and Sean left off with diamond related satellite-laser beam plots by madmen who are having DNA reconstruction done to change faces.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 19: The World Is Not Enough.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a over a month, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the nineteenth entry, with a full review of one of the most underrated entries, The World Is Not Enough. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

The World Is Not Enough

1999

Director:  Michael Apted

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane, Denise Richards

Rated PG-13

Remember 007, shadows always remain in front or behind... never on top.

                        ~Q

STATS

Kills: 25

Bond Girls:  Elektra King, Christmas Jones, Dr. Molly Warmflash

Cars:  BMW Z8

Locales:  Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Istanbul

Odd Villain Trait:  Renard has a bullet in his head, taking away his body’s senses, it will eventually kill him as it slowly travels through his brain, making him already dead.  Also there is Bullion who has a gold set of chompers.

Song:  “The World Is Not Enough” performed by Garbage

Okay, skipping an introduction paragraph and shooting right past the brief synopsis, let’s just get to THE biggest sticking point of this movie right away.  Denise Richards stinks.  And she lays a big egg in this film.  I’m fully aware of that.  Not only is her performance lame, but she’s brings zero accountability to her role as a nuclear scientist.  I don’t think she is the worst Bond girl of all time (minor spoiler, I prefer this kind of crap Bond girl to what we’re going to get in the next film), but she definitely earns a place in the top 5-10 worst.  Just because she sucks does not mean this film does.  I think a lot of the ill regard to The World Is Not Enough revolves around people’s memory of this character.  She doesn't show up until an hour in, and a better costumed and more skilled performer might have people looking back more fondly on this film.  And yes, her character has no business (maybe because Richards isn't good) being involved in many scenes, but I argue this is far from the first time this has happened.  For me, and after seeing pretty face after pretty face “attempt” to act in earlier films during my marathon, I’m able to shrug it off and enjoy the film being provided.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 18: Tomorrow Never Dies.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a over a month, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the eighteenth entry, with a full review of  Tomorrow Never Dies. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it. But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

Tomorrow Never Dies

1997

Director:  Roger Spottiswoode (of Terror Train fame!)

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce, Teri Hatcher, Judi Dench

Rated PG-13

When you remove Mr. Bond’s heart, there should be just enough time for him to watch it stop beating.

                        ~Elliot Carver

STATS

Kills:  25 (estimate)

Girls:  Paris Carver, Wai Lin

Car:  BMW 7 Series, Bond’s casual ride is still the Aston Martin

Locales:  Russia, Hamburg, China

Odd Villain Trait:  Stamper, another Red Grant but trained in Chakra torture

Song:  “Tomorrow Never Dies” performed by Sheryl Crow

Other notable song:  “Surrender” performed by kd Lang

GoldenEye’s follow up film, Tomorrow Never Dies, was a studio rush job in trying to cash in the restored success of the 007 series.  The production seemed to be a mess, starting off with an incomplete script.  It’s surprising as none of that seems to translate to the final product.  It’s not the best of the series, but seems to float on the better side of the middle ground like For Your Eyes Only.  Tomorrow Never Dies features media mogul Elliot Carver trying to start WWIII between China and the UK.  He has a stealth ship in which he initially uses to sink a British battleship.  James Bond is sent in to investigate Carver, looking to gather information from his ex-flame and wife of Carver, Paris.  Bond also stumbles upon a Chinese agent, Wai Lin who is also investigating Carver.  The two team up to uncover and stop Carver.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 17: GoldenEye

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the seventeenth entry, with a full review of  Pierce Brosnan's smashing debut (and my personal favorite of the whole series*) GoldenEye. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a possible guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

GoldenEye

1995

Director:  Martin Campbell

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Judi Dench, Famke Janssen, Izabella Scorupco, Alan Cumming, Robbie Coltrane, Gottifried John

Rated PG-13

Need I remind you, 007, that you have a license to kill, not to break the traffic laws.

                        -Q

STATS

Kills:  25 (estimate)

Girls:  Natalya Simonova, Xenia Onatopp, Caroline

Car:  BMWZ3, however Bond’s casual vehicle is the Aston Martin

Locales:  Monte Carlo, St. Petersburg, Cuba

Odd Villain Trait:  Xenia Onatopp gets off on violence (literally) and can crush a man wrapping her legs around his waist

Song:  “Goldeneye” performed by Tina Turner (written by Bono & Edge of U2 fame)

Other notable song:  “The Experience of Love” performed by Serra

After 6 ½ years removed from theaters around the globe, James Bond reloaded and returned in a big way for GoldenEye.  GoldenEye was a major cinematic event for 1995.  The Berlin wall had fallen and many felt Bond’s legacy should go with it.  It was questioned as to whether the character could remain relevant with no cold war.  Also, debuting in the role of James Bond was Pierce Brosnan, an actor who many had been clamoring to see play this part (and as we all know my mother was one of those people).  Would he be able to live up to expectation?  Could Bond manage to win back audiences and pick back up where he had left off?

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 16: License to Kill.

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the sixteenth entry, with a full review of  Timothy Dalton's second and sadly final turn as James Bond, License to Kill. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a possible guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

License To Kill

1989

Director:  John Glen

Starring:  Timothy Dalton, Robert Davi, Carey Lowell, Benicio del Toro, Talisa Soto

Rated: PG-13

Why don’t you wait until you’re asked?

Why don’t you ask me?

                        ~Exchange between James Bond and Pam Bouvier

STATS

Kills:  6

Girls:  Lupe Lamora, Pam Bouvier

Car:  Lincoln Mark VII LSC

Locales:  Miami, Republic of Isthmus

Odd Villain Trait:  Dario is an lunatic with a silver tooth and a switchblade

Song:  “License To Kill” performed by Gladys Knight*

Other notable song:  “If You Ask Me To” performed by Patti LaBelle

Director John Glen finishes out his tenure as director of the James Bond franchise delivering the film he was trying to make with his first effort (For Your Eyes Only).  The film takes a much darker and gritty course than any preceding 007 entry.  The script and direction plays in favor to Timothy Dalton’s strengths as James Bond that would make Ian Fleming smile if he were around to see it.  In a summer movie season packed with more colorful large scale pictures the initial reaction to License To Kill was not that of a positive one, and audiences did speak with their wallets.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 15: The Living Daylights

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a couple months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the fifteenth entry, with a full review of  Timothy Dalton's criminally underrated debut, and my introduction to the James Bond series, The Living Daylights. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a possible guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

The Living Daylights

1987

Director: John Glen

Starring: Timothy Dalton, John Rhys Davies, Maryam d’Abo, Joe Don Baker

Rated PG

Something we’re making for the Americans.  It’s called a ‘Ghetto Blaster’!

                        ~Q

STATS

Kills: 3 + unknown amount in a bridge explosion

Bond Girls:  Kara Milovy

Car:  Aston Martin V8 Vantage (Series 2)

Locales:  Czechoslovakia, Austria, Vienna, Tangier, Afghanistan

Odd Villain Trait:  We get the Red Grant archetype in Necros, but this guy wears headphones which he strangles people

Song:  “The Living Daylights” performed by A-ha (Yes, they did have another song)

Other Notable Song: “If There Was A Man” performed by Chrissie Hyde (of The Pretenders)

James Bond reloads and fires on all cylinders for the debut of Timothy Dalton as 007 in The Living Daylights (TLD).  John Glen gets a chance to introduce a new 007 to the film going audience and does it with much success.  TLD finally is able to bring back and emulate the sense of mystery, adventure and espionage found in From Russia With Love that the franchise had tried and failed many times.  Soveit General Georgi Koskov fakes his defection and recapture to the British Government.  Koskov has in reality, teamed with arms dealer Brad Whitaker.  Koskov is also purchasing opium from Afghanistan renegades and hoping to profit and make money back to purchase arms as well.  Bond is led onto the case by the would-be assassin of Koskov, Kara Milovy, a successful cello player.

Nobody did it better: Goldeneye, still my favorite 007 adventure, turns 15 years old.

15 years after the fact, it's still my favorite James Bond film. Yes, you read that right. I like most of the Connery pictures (especially From Russia With Love and Thunderball), and I've learned to appreciate some of the Roger Moore entries (even Moonraker is a fast-paced action picture before that final reel set in space). And it's no secret that both Timothy Dalton entries are pretty high on the list. But Goldeneye is still my personal favorite.