Très Bond

Spite is never lonely; envy always tags along. So said Mignon McLaughlin who passed away the same year as Kevin McClory's second attempt at a Bond film was released. It's hard to say how this film is rated within the Bond community. Some say it's an admirable effort and a return to Connery's wonder years. Others deride it as a project driven by the two green monsters; envy and money. One thing, ho...

This novel and its film adaptation couldn't be more dissimilar. The latter being decidedly camp and full of Star Wars envy; the former hailed as one of the defining pieces in the Bond literary canon. But what say three young lads from down under? How does Fleming's third adventure stack up against its predecessors? Is it still, like it's villain, a 'nail-biter' or will it fail to launch?

James Bond video games have a hallowed legacy. In 1997, a James Bond game took the world by storm and, subsequently, changed the first-person shooter genre. Fifteen years later, were the 007 games still pioneering new ways of playing or had the world moved on? 007 Legends was the last video game to be made based on the Bond franchise and is, partially, blamed for the collapse of a storied studio.....

If music be the food of love then the Bond franchise is well-fed. Norman, Barry, Martin, Hamlisch, Conti, Kamen, Serra, Arnold, Newman, and Zimmer. More men have scored Bond's films than have played the secret agent himself but which of them is the composer king? Which soundtrack sits atop this mountain of magnum opuses?

Casino Royale '67 lays claim to an impressive troupe of talent both on and off the screen. It also had a larger budget than the official Bond film that opened in the same year. So our one question is: what the hell happened? Strap in for a psychedelic, eclectic and baffling experience as three best mates from down under try to make sense of the sensory overload that is Casino Royale '67.

Live and Let Die has some of the more controversial passages from Fleming's oeuvre but also some of the most thrilling. This week we're discussing Fleming's action-packed, second novel. How does it hold up after all these years? Is it still an exhilarating, swashbuckling adventure or has time been less than kind?

Assassins, rivals, minions, thugs, hackers, dealers, femme fatales; henchmen, all of them. The Bond films have a rogues gallery that is, nearly, peerless. In this episode, three dirty devils from down under rank the best of the worst. Which charismatic killer will take the top spot?

It's the battle of the brassy Basseys and the shy Sheryls in the first of our Top 5 rankings specials! This week we're going through our favourite title songs from the official James Bond films. There's plenty of spirited debate and dirty devilishness in this ranking of, arguably, the most iconic feature of the Bond films: The Title Songs.

It's the first of the unofficial Bond film reviews and, technically, the first-ever Bond story committed to celluloid. Lost for decades after its initial broadcast in 1954, this one-hour TV special is now being watched and dissected by three Bond fans living through the golden age of television. Yes, that seems fair. At least it'll be a be bit of a laugh.

Having exhausted the list of official James Bond films, the boys at Très Bond are starting a 'new chapter'. It's time to investigate the place where it all began, Ian Fleming's novels, and what better place to start than the story that launched a worldwide phenomenon?

'To us, Mr Bond. We are the best!' To celebrate our 25th episode of Très Bond, we've decided to do a definitive ranking of all twenty-four official James Bond films. Join us as we reminisce, recollect, and re-examine our ratings for this greatest of film franchises. Can we justify our previous 'shaken' ratings, or has time left us more 'stirred' when it comes to our previous assessments?

Following the most financially successful Bond film of all time, Spectre saw the long-awaited return of an iconic villain and his dastardly network, the classic coterie of MI6 regulars, and the return of an Oscar-winning director. Bond fans were keenly anticipating a classic, all-time 007 adventure but, upon release, reception was mixed. Some praised it as a return to the winning Moore-era formula...

Fifty years of James Bond on the silver screen was celebrated with a massive cultural and financial hit: the first Bond film (and only to date) to cross the one billion dollar mark at the box office. It had also been ten years since the appearance of Q, Moneypenny & gadgets; Skyfall promised to bring the Bond of old storming into this new century. Sometimes the old ways are the best but there's al...

The notoriously difficult second album, or the sophomore slump, seems to be the consensus regarding the 22nd Bond film. Director Marc Forster described wanting his Bond film to feel like a bullet - a feat that he can claim to have achieved. This is the shortest run-time for a 007 film and, most definitely, the fastest paced. We are now more than a decade on from the first-ever direct sequel in the...

It's the reboot that had to happen. After the CGI-drenched & over stuffed Die Another Day, the producers at EON productions decided to reinvigorate the franchise by taking it back to its Fleming roots. Back to the start, back to basics, back to Bond. The conventionally handsome Brosnan was replaced with the unconventional choice of Craig. It was a massive gamble, pun intended, and one that has bee...

And finally, here we are... the last film of the original saga. Let's not beat around the bush here, it's a much-maligned movie. It's loved and hated in fairly equal measure due to it's purported campy tone, geriatric Bond, bat-shit wild Walken, menacing May Day, and screeching Stacey Sutton... but when has consensus ever gotten in the way of a good time? OHMSS was widely panned at time of release...

After the astronautic high jinks of Moonraker, the producers of the Bond franchise decided to take a more grounded approach with the 12th film. Bond alumnus, John Glen, was handed the directorial reins after more than a decade behind the scenes, Bill Conti was brought in to fill-in for long-time composer John Barry, and Roger Moore was convinced to extend his contract to return as Agent 007. The f...

Whilst it is the highest grossing film (adjusted for inflation, of course) in the James Bond franchise, Thunderball often sits in the shadow of its immediate, golden predecessor... but should it instead loom over the franchise as a towering triumph? It is seen by some as being waterlogged by prolonged underwater sequences; by others it's a rip-roaring, exhilarating thrill ride. Très Bond always ac...

Space, as they say, is the final frontier... and it very well could have been the last we saw of Mr Bond. The most expensive James Bond adventure made (at the time) was a gamble that paid off handsomely at the box office... but just because it made money doesn't mean it's watchable. Just like the Moonraker knows, we're here to sort the gold from the space debris and give you our unfiltered take on...

From Russia with Love was picked by John F. Kennedy as one of his favourite novels, which gave the producers the signal to go all in with the greatest film franchise of all time. It is jam-packed with iconic images, luxurious locations, a furious fistfight, and red wine with fish. The novel was good enough to be considered a personal favourite of the President... but is the film good enough for th...

The consensus regarding Roger Moore's second outing is that he suffers from a rushed sophomore slump. TMWTGG is considered both too lean on substance and too bloated by nonsense. Is that really fair? Is this much maligned Moore movie really a rollicking, rough-diamond Roger romp? You've heard from the rest, now listen to the best: the boys at Très Bond have got you covered.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Bond actor in possession of a third film, must be in want of their best 007 adventure. Connery had Goldfinger, Moore had The Spy Who Loved Me and Brosnan had The World Is Not Enough. History is made in the 19th entry into the Bond franchise: the first female villain, the last Bond film of the 20th century, the longest pre-title sequence to date... but...

After the runaway success of Goldeneye, Bond mania was back on track... but would Brosnan be able to avoid the sophomore slump? A film with a somewhat troubled production and a bigger than expected budget, this film also promised to be bigger & better. With a Titanic rival at the box office, the competition was fierce and the expectations high. More than twenty years later, how does it stack up? W...

Nobody does it better... or so the saying goes. The first of the Bond films produced by Albert R. Broccoli, without long time producing partner Harry Saltzman, had a lot riding on it. It had been three years since the last film (considered by many to be a financial flop) and this was the everything or nothing shot Cubby had to make. History tells us that this film is a triumph in every respect; th...

In 1983, it was the Battle of the Bonds. Moore returned for his sixth James Bond film and he was up against Connery's unofficial rival film 'Never Say Never Again'. Naturally, EON had to pull out all the stops and make this a Bond film for the ages to assure their place as the one, true Bond franchise. Did they succeed? Financially, yes, but they did create an all time high 007 adventure or a clow...