JAMES BOND FRANCHISE WRAP-UP
The Graphs:
I wasn't lying about the graphs.
With this graph, Microsoft Excel 2007 was able to tell me just how I felt about the franchise as a whole. The twenty-two scores are plotted along the blue line and each score was multiplied by two in order to achieve a score out of ten. I found that 15 of the films were above average, 2 were just average and 5 were below average. Happily, no movie fell to a zero star rating, though it came pretty close at one point.
The green line is the average score that the franchise maintained throughout the twenty-two movies, which comes in at 6.545. Not bad, whenever an average score can stay above 5.000, I consider it well worth my time.
The red line is a computer calculated trend line. It shows that the films received constantly lower scores as time went on. Not really much of a surprise there, considering the very high scores Sean Connery's movies started out with and the lower scores Pierce Brosnan's achieved.
This is a bar graph showing how many movies managed each score. Clearly the most popular score was 7 (***½) which I gave to five films. What I find interesting here (and yes, I find these graphs interesting
) is that there appears to be a rough bell curve centered around 7 with an obvious spike on the upper end of the scale.
This one shows what the franchise's average score did over time - basically a much more detailed version of the red trend line from the first graph. The most consistent period appears to the Moore and Dalton eras, where the bar stays relatively flat, which some noticeable exceptions. We went from a high of 9.500 after
From Russia With Love to a low of 6.450 after
Die Another Die.
Final Thoughts and Rankings:
Sean Connery:
Connery brings in an average score of 7.000 after six movies - very good and above the average of 6.545. He offered a very good portrayal of the character, and of course is still the actor that most people measure each new Bond against. I found he did quite well, even if he did appear to be tiring of the role in his later movies. What else can be said, but that he peaked early and then had no where to go but down.
George Lazenby:
Lazenby brings in an average score of 7.000 after one movie. There was potential in him for some great work if he had decided to continue on in the role. As I've said before, he channeled way too much of the gentle aspects of Bond's character, but with the right script and director, I can easily see him doing very well with James Bond. While he ties with Connery for average score, I'll give Connery the tiebreaker based on the fact that he managed that score over a longer period, and that has to count for something.
Roger Moore:
Moore brings in an average score of 6.286 after seven movies - a lot lower than Connery and Lazenby (and the overall average), yet still well above the average of 5.000. What can be said about Roger Moore? Well, if you like his take on the character, you won't be disappointed with his work. However, if you prefer Connery's take, then Moore's not your man. I personally liked Roger Moore and his more light-hearted portrayal of Bond. In the end, he delivered the single best film in the franchise,
For Your Eyes Only, so he can't be all bad.
Also interesting is that if it hadn't been for
Moonraker, he would have tied with Connery and Lazenby at 7.000 - even with J.W. Pepper and
A View to a Kill dragging him down.
Timothy Dalton:
Dalton brings in an average score of 9.500 after two movies - very impressive!
However, this should be taken with a grain of salt, as Sean Connery managed to achieve this exact score after his first two movies. Would Dalton have continued to hold such a high rating if he had continued with the role? Sadly, we'll never know. I started out with him as my favorite Bond, and I haven't changed my mind.
Pierce Brosnan:
Brosnan brings in an average score of 4.250 after four movies. This is a really sad case in my opinion. Brosnan did extremely well in the role. The problems with his films were, by and large, beyond any control of his. With the proper story, script and directors, he could have easily scored much, much higher. This man deserved better movies. As it is, he started out as my least favorite Bond, and unfortunately remains so.
Daniel Craig:
Craig brings in an average score of 7.500 after two movies. I'm really liking his take on the character - very much more of the cold, brutal, ruthless Bond than just about any of the other actors, with the possible exception of Dalton. I'm really looking forward to more Craig Bond films and hopefully MGM can get them made before it's too late.
So, my original ranking for the actors was as follows....
Dalton > Craig > Moore > Connery > Lazenby > Brosnan
How does it sit now, and has there been any change?
Dalton (9.500) > Craig (7.500) > Connery (7.000) > Lazenby (7.000) > Moore (6.286) > Brosnan (4.250)
So, my top two and bottom one didn't change at all. However, there was a lot movement in the middle. Connery moved from fourth to third place. Lazenby moved from fifth to fourth place. And Moore had to fall from third to fifth place. All told, I didn't encounter a Bond actor that I didn't enjoy - even though Brosnan scores well below average.
Final Film Rankings (from best to worst):
1.) For Your Eyes Only (*****)
2.) From Russia With Love (*****)
3.) The Living Daylights (*****)
4.) Dr. No (****½)
5.) Casino Royale (****½)
6.) License to Kill (****½)
7.) The Spy Who Loved Me (****)
8.) Live and Let Die (****)
9.) Goldeneye (***½)
10.) Goldfinger (***½)
11.) Thunderball (***½)
12.) On Her Majesty's Secret Service (***½)
13.) Octopussy (***½)
14.) Quantum of Solace (***)
15.) The Man with the Golden Gun (***)
16.) You Only Live Twice (**½)
17.) Tomorrow Never Dies (**½)
18.) Diamonds Are Forever (**)
19.) The World is not Enough (**)
20.) A View to a Kill (*½)
21.) Moonraker (*)
22.) Die Another Day (½)
My Thoughts for Bond 23:
I'm loving the direction in which the franchise finds itself moving today. And, in case any of the powers that be behind James Bond are reading (which I'm sure they're not, but a guy can dream) I have just a few suggestions for what I would like to see in the next Bond film. 1.) Please keep the down-to-earth atmosphere. Don't let it become mired in campy fun like the later Moore movies did or the special effects ridiculousness of most of the Brosnan ones. 2.) Don't bring in Q or Moneypenny. Like I've said before, without Desmond Llewelyn, there is no point in having the character. His personal charm and wit were the only reasons the character was successful. Just leave well enough alone and don't reintroduce the character. Also, as I've said before, Moneypenny is a one note character. Without her unrequited love for Bond, she's just about useless to the story. As I doubt that kind of characterization would fly with modern audiences, please don't try to reboot her character. Just leave her out of it. 3.) Let's see Bond in Australia. Something I've never understood about the franchise is that Australia has never played a role in any way, shape or form. As a major Western ally during the Cold War and down to today, why can't we have some exotic locations Down Under? If we can have a South American desert, surely the Outback would be exciting.
In Conclusion:
I hope you've all enjoyed my reviews as much as I've enjoyed doing them. However, I have a confession to make. As much as I love James Bond - as I said in my first post, it's my second favorite entertainment franchise after Star Trek - these reviews were really just intended to cut my reviewing teeth in preparation for some Trek review threads. Sometime after the first of the year, I'll be starting a TOS review thread. I hope to see you all there.
