Ian Fleming’s most famed character, James Bond, first graced the screen in 1962, ushering in a cinematic obsession that has grossed more than 7 billion dollars since its creation.
Across 26 feature-length films, the James Bond saga has evolved through the ages and met the expectations of audiences. The saga’s latest films, which introduced Daniel Craig in the lead role in 2006, marked a break with the past. The protagonist appears both more robust and more fragile, more in line with the character as sketched out in the original novel, and the tone darkens. Action and espionage remain, while drama supersedes comedy. The films presented a different narrative archetype by following a common thread, each character beginning each film with the stigma (physical and psychological) of the previous one.
