Bond & Beyond

Alex and James share their first impressions of First Light, the new title song for the upcoming 007 video game of the same name. Composed by David Arnold and performed by Lana Del Rey, this song should on paper be one of the greatest additions to the musical library of Bond, but how well do we think it stands up? You can email your own thoughts to bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com , or via the Facebook...

Alex and James are once again joined by friend of the show (and unofficial/semi-official third host) Sam for the latest ranking episode. This time, we're ranking the pre-title sequences. The criteria is simple: This applies to any scenes that appear before the opening title sequence, so that discounts Dr No but includes the gunbarrel-less openings from Casino, Quantum, and Skyfall. There are plent...

Alex and James cast their eyes outwards from the established Bond casts and try to imagine other actors, actresses, directors and composers in a Bond role. Not just potential other 007s, but Ms, Qs, Moneypennys, villains, and more. For this exercise, we each chose two films and tried to imagine who would be involved with them if they were made in a different time. What would a 1980s Goldfinger loo...

In this bumper-sized episode, Alex and James guide you through the history of every Bond adventure and the impact they had on the careers of their stars. From major villains to Bond girls to bit parts and cameos, we explore every notable name that appears throughout the series, whether it was at the height of their fame or the beginning of the decline. You'll be amazed at how many other series, fi...

James and Alex are joined by Josh Trett of Trett Films, a filmmaker and fellow Bond fan, to discuss the visual language of Bond. Josh and his brother were contracted by Ian Fleming Publications to create a trailer promoting Charlie Higson's excellent Bond novella On His Majesty's Secret Service - but without the usual iconography and familiar elements many fans will know from the films. We discuss...

James Bond is a generational franchise, often introduced by father to son. But when you find yourself in the role of the former, where - and, more importantly, when - do you start? Alex and James discuss their own earliest memories of Bond, their experience presenting Bond (or elements of Bond) to their own children, and some of the many considerations that need to be taken into account. Got your...

This week, Alex and James are joined by friend of the show Simon Smith to discuss the moments that could have ended the entire Bond franchise. Following our Make or Break episode, we take a closer look at the Breaks: the films and behind-the-scenes developments that defined (and nearly destroyed) the future of 007. From the Connery-draining Thunderball to the baffling brother revelation of Spectre...

In light of Goldeneye's recent anniversary re-release in cinemas (and given that not every 007 adventure will get the same treatment), Alex and James discuss which are the make-or-break Bond films. This is not about quality, nor is it killer vs filler. Instead, this is a look through the history of the James Bond films and defining the moments that could have ended the franchise or gave it fresh n...

Alex and James briefly turn their attention away from James Bond to discuss the adventures of Ethan Hunt.  We take a look at the Mission: Impossible series, how it evolved over the course of eight films, as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Plus, keeping things on topic, we attempt to answer whether Tom Cruise's stunt-filled outings serve as a suitable alternative to Bond for classic fans who...

Kicking off renewed efforts to deliver a more regular Bond & Bond listening experience, Alex and James share their impressions of the recent deep dive into upcoming video game 007 First Light. If you haven't already, make sure you watch the whole presentation before listening to this episode. We discuss our takeaways after being given a glimpse at two missions, as well as the range of options youn...

As Amazon-MGM continue to drip feed us details of the next Bond film, Alex and James discuss what we could expect now that Dune and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has been given the helm for 007's 26th adventure. If you want to email us your thoughts on Villeneuve and what he'll bring to the series, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com . You can find us on Facebook (just searc...

Alex and James are back to discuss the next 007 outing - not a film, but a video game. Hitman developer IO Interactive has finally revealed 007 First Light, an action stealth adventure game that reimagines the story of how James Bond became a Double-O agent. We discuss how the studio's success with Hitman and the agent fantasy it portrays sets them up perfectly for this game, as well as our hopes...

Alex and James emerge from semi-retirement to discuss the latest big Bond news (and first major development in the series since No Time To Die released).  With Amazon taking both ownership and full creative control of the 007 franchise, what does this mean for the future of James Bond? We discuss our hopes, our concerns, our best guesses and our worst fears as the series enters a whole new chapter...

James and Alex return with something a little different. In this episode, we compete to see who can draft the Ultimate James Bond film by drawing from elements of all the previous films. We each choose our favourite Bond actor, villain, girl, henchman, vehicle, gadgets, locations, actions scenes and more in the hopes of creating a new Bond adventure that would be a worthy addition to the series. A...

Alex and James review Anthony Horowitz's third and final Bond novel, With A Mind To Kill. Set after the events of The Man With The Golden Gun (the original Ian Fleming novel, not the slide-whistle stunt film), the story sees Bond sent back into the heart of Russia to face the people who brainwashed him to kill M - while pretending that mission was successful. The stakes are raised as they evaluate...

Alex and James are back after a shamefully long absence, and the topic of this episode is all things Bond. We catch up on what we've been up to Bond-wise (and non-Bond-wise) for the past almost-year, including revisiting classic 007 video games, introducing the next generation of Bond fan to the original films, reading various Bond books, and weighing up the ongoing rumours as to who will be donni...

In October 2021, you sent us your thoughts on No Time To Die. In June 2022, we recorded our responses. Now, in December 2022, we finally share them with you. We're very, very sorry. If you want to email us (we are reading them, we promise!), you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com . You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at...

Alex and James are joined by long-time friend of the show Rick Van Beem to discuss the Sound of 007 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, part of the 60th anniversary celebrations for James Bond's cinematic outings. James and Rick were able to go and see the concert live, and you can watch highlights on Amazon Prime Video (or via this sneaky YouTube playlist . The trio discuss their favourite moments,...

Continuing our celebration of James Bond's 60th Anniversary in cinemas, we gather another 20 facts from the history of the franchise and attempt to out-fact each other with the trivia we have uncovered. (Why not play along, see how many you already know? And if you haven't done so, be sure to go back and listen to the first episode. Oh, and here's that Diet Coke ad you absolutely need to watch ) C...

Earlier this year (actually, the same week we recorded this episode - so sorry for the delay), Bond overseers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson hinted that the next 007 film would be something of a reinvention. Which leaves us with a LOT of questions. On this episode, we discuss the various implications of reinventing Bond - especially in light of how dramatically Daniel Craig modernised the...

Alex and James are joined by Drew Roller, director of Goldenera - a documentary that extensively tells the story of Goldeneye 64. Drew shares with us more about how he become interested in the development of the most iconic James Bond video game of all time, his own experiences with the franchise, and the discoveries he made during this project. If you have any memory of Goldeneye 64, this is the...

Alex and James have had nine months to let the initial impressions of Craig's final 007 outing settle and are now ready to share their full opinions on No Time To Die. We work through the film in our standard review format, weighing up the highs and lows, while trying really hard not to get caught up in speculation as to what comes next.  If you want to email us, you can do so via  bondandbeyondpo...

Alex and James are back. In the first of a three-part episode, we'll be celebrating 60 Years of the James Bond with 60 facts - and here's the first 20. Your two hosts have each found 10 pieces of trivia about the films, actors, and more, and test each other's knowledge: for every fact the other co-host did not already know, the fact giver receives one point. (Why not play along yourself? How many...

Alex and James are joined by composer and friend of the show Richey Rynkowski to discuss the best of Bond soundtracks. We speak to Richey about his experiences as a composer (including some brushes with Bond), and his thoughts on the highs and lows of the soundtracks found throughout the series. We also discuss the declining use of theme tunes, including in the Daniel Craig films - a topic that ta...

Alex and James read out your thoughts on No Time To Die, Daniel Craig's final and perhaps most divisive outing as 007. If you want to email us, you can do so via  bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com . You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at  bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com .