ITV is showing From Russia with Love today, which star Sean Connery described as his favourite of the James Bond films he made.

Connery made seven Bond movies, including the unofficial Never Say Never Again, but it was his 1963 second outing that he enjoyed making the most.

Talking about From Russia With Love, which is being shown today, Sunday, May 25, on ITV1 from 4.20 pm to 6.30 pm, Connery once said: "The first one [Dr. No] I think was shot very well under the circumstances [in the] the time we had. I think Terence Young directed it marvellously. I think the second one is the best of them all. That's my opinion."

Connery felt that after the first two movies, the Bond films became more formulaic and less fun to make. Interestingly, he also only read two of Ian Fleming's novels, "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love".

There's plenty of humour in From Russia with Love, especially between Connery and actor Pedro Armendáriz, who plays Kerim Bey, the head of Station T in Istanbul whom Bond teams up with. Connery spoke about how he told Fleming he wanted to get humour into the films.

"I felt there was a lack of humour about them and I raised this point with Ian, who I became quite friendly with and admired tremendously. What I admired about Fleming more than anything else was his curiosity. He had a tremendous curiosity about everything.

"When I mentioned the business of humour, he was quite surprised because he felt he was quite humorous. He was as a man, humorous himself. But in writing the character of Bond, he wasn't. One of the first things one had to do was imbue a humorous aspect on a realistic basis. Therefore, one would get an upbeat ending to scenes and situations, therefore they [the audience] could acknowledge and accept the violence.”

From Russia With Love, which is also in our opinion the best Bond movie, sees 007 sent to steal a top-secret Soviet decoding machine and ends up helping its operator defect to the West. However, he eventually discovers the mission is really a trap set by the international crime syndicate SPECTRE, and struggles to evade his would-be assassins.

Among the many great scenes is Connery's fight with SPECTRE agent Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw) on the Orient Express. It's raw, powerful, and one of the best fight scenes you’ll ever see.

If you’ve never seen From Russia with Love or just want to enjoy it again, it’s on ITV1 today at 4.20 pm (see our TV guide for full listings).

Sean Connery was not the first choice to play James Bond. To be more accurate, he wasn't everyone's first choice to play the suave spy in Dr. No, the first movie in what would become cinema's most successful franchise.

Indeed, Bond author Ian Fleming wanted David Niven to play his creation. Ironically, Niven did indeed play Bond but in the 1967 spoof Casino Royale. Meanwhile, producer Albert "Cubby" Broccoli liked the idea of Hollywood legend Cary Grant taking the part. After all, Grant was the best man at Broccoli's wedding. However, the actor only wanted to do one movie, which would leave Broccoli with the problem of having to recast the role after Dr. No. Grant also would have been 58, and so thankfully for lovers of Sean Connery, Grant turned down the role.

Another star firmly in the running was Danger Man's Patrick McGoohan. Amazingly McGoohan turned the role down for moral reasons. It's hard to imagine an actor today refusing a part on moral grounds, but Broccoli wrote in his autobiography that the actor couldn't square the part with his religious beliefs. While Terence Young, who directed Dr No., wanted Shakespearean actor Richard Johnson to play Bond.

But eventually, thoughts turned to a certain young Scottish actor...

Why Sean Connery was chosen as James Bond 

Broccoli spotted Sean Connery in the 1959 Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People. He was taken by Connery's performance, including in a big fight scene. So he asked his wife, Dana, whether she thought the actor had any sex appeal. She watched Connery and said he had plenty of sex appeal! And thus Connery was suddenly in the running.

The story goes that Connery was asked for an interview at the London offices of the producers. Connery chose to turn up in casual clothes rather than a suit and put on a confident act about how he'd like to play the part. He impressed the makers so much that he won the role, although not before he was asked to do a screen test. Something he stubbornly refused to do!

In a 1967 interview about Bond with F.Lee Bailey [who'd go on to defend O. J. Simpson!], Connery said: "In the final days, they said they wanted to do a test which I refused to do because I'd been acting for eight years up to then. Nothing like that on the worldwide scale but most certainly in Britain as an actor of stature from theatre, television and films."

What part did Sean Connery have in creating Bond's character in the movies?

In his 1967 interview, Connery said he'd only read two of Ian Fleming's books, "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love". He believed the character needed more humor to work well.

Connery said: "I felt there was a lack of humor about them and I raised this point with Ian, who I became quite friendly with and admired tremendously. What I admired about Fleming more than anything else was his curiosity. He had a tremendous curiosity about everything.

"When I mentioned the business of humor, he was quite surprised because he felt he was quite humorous. He was as a man, humorous himself. But in writing the character of Bond, he wasn't. One of the first things one had to do was imbue a humorous aspect on a realistic basis. Therefore, one would get an upbeat ending to scenes and situations, therefore they [the audience] could acknowledge and accept the violence."

Connery said he came up with one of Bond's most famous quips. In Dr No., Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson) comes to dispatch Bond, firing bullets at the bed where he thinks he's asleep. Bond allows Dent to retrieve his weapon. Dent tries to shoot, but Bond dismissively tells him: "That's a Smith and Wesson, and you've had your six" before brutally shooting him dead.

Connery said: "You've had your six, and that was a line I dreamt up as I did in many instances in all the scripts. I had the most license with Terence Young, who directed the first two and the fourth. These sorts of quip lines."

Asked if he added these as they went along, Sean replied: "Yeah, we had to because lots of times in the screenplay they're impractical in scenes. They might read well and then when you're in the situation where the character’s involved in a fight or what have you in a scene, suddenly the dialogue doesn't fit anything or anything like how it's been conceived by the art director."

Did Ursula Andress and Sean Connery get on?

Yes. The pair first met in a dining room! They filmed the last scene of Dr. No first and became firm friends. Ursula said in an interview for the Dr No. DVD, recorded before Connery's death: "Sean is a marvelous person. I still see him, we're still good friends. He's stayed exactly the same person I met in 1962. Down to earth, simple, and real. He's a fabulous person and a marvelous actor."

How many James Bonds did Sean Connery make?

Sean Connery made seven James Bond movies. Six official Bonds with Eon Productions and then 1983’s unofficial Bond movie Never Say Never Again, based on Fleming's "Thunderball".

What is the order of the Sean Connery James Bond movies?

• Dr. No (1962)
• From Russia With Love (1963)
• Goldfinger (1964)
• Thunderball (1965)
• You Only Live Twice (1967)
• Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
• Never Say Never Again (1983)

Playing one of cinema's most iconic characters, secret agent James Bond, automatically places a performer in film history, but British film star Sir Roger Moore has the distinction of playing 007 a whopping seven times throughout the 1970s and '80s, from 1973's Live and Let Die to 1985's A View to a Kill. That action-packed filmography made Moore a global star, but tonight you can better get to know the man behind the legend with an airing of the 2024 documentary From Roger Moore with Love.

Debuting on Saturday, January 25 at 8pm Eastern Time on The CW, From Roger Moore with Love will give movie fans an exclusive look at the life and legacy of the film icon. The 80-minute doc "takes viewers back to a golden age of cinema, tracing Moore’s unlikely rise as a working-class boy from South London to an era-defining global icon. His perfection of his image led to the film role of his life - 007. Responding to the spirit of the times, Moore infused the traditionally macho tough guy role of the British spy with wit, style and natural charisma making his Bond debut Live and Let Die a smash hit," reads the official film synopsis.

Made in collaboration with Moore's estate and family, the documentary offers unprecedented access to never-before-seen letters, personal photographs and star-studded home movie footage, along with archive interviews with Moore and testimonies from those nearest and dearest to him, including the late actor's three children — Geoffrey, Deborah and Christian — and A-list friends such as Joan Collins, Christopher Walken and more. Jack Cocker directed the film, with narration by Steven Coogan.

To tune into tonight's special presentation of From Roger Moore with Love, you're going to need access to The CW. The network is readily available for anyone with a traditional pay-TV subscription or TV antenna that receives local station signals, but if you've cut the cord, you can also access The CW's programming via live TV streaming subscribers such as Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

Check out the official trailer for From Roger Moore with Love before settling in for the eye-opening doc tonight on The CW.

If you're a fan of the James Bond films, then the online treasure trove of the movies that is Prime Video is about to lose its hoard: in both the US and UK, all of the movies are about to be pulled from streaming.

Currently, each 007 flick from Dr. No to No Time To Die can be viewed on Amazon's streaming service, but on Sunday, December 1, they're set to be pulled.

Where will they go? We've no idea for now, but with these movies being certified classics, it's unlikely they'll stay off streaming for long.

If you're a Prime Video subscriber, you better act fast to catch your favorite (I'd recommend going for the Roger Moore lot if you're new to the franchise, as they're the best ones). While technically you could watch each of the 25 movies in two and a half days, you might not enjoy a binge-watch that long.

What's curious is that the James Bond movies were only added to Prime Video at the beginning of October, so you've only had two months to see them. The movies were made by MGM which was bought by Amazon a few years ago, so the company does actually own the rights to the films.

MGM does have a streaming service called MGM Plus in the US, which could emerge as the digital home of Bond there. However in the UK, it's anyone's guess, with ITVX being the online home earlier in the year.

If you don't want to wait for a new streaming service to announce itself as the new online home as James Bond or if, understandably, you're tired of them bouncing around different streaming services, I have a solution.

It's currently Black Friday and loads of the Bond movie box sets are on special offer, saving you loads of money and giving you a physical copy of the movies (most don't have the newest No Time To Die though).

Here is my favorite pick, and if you want other ways to enjoy Prime Video, there are loads of Black Friday Prime Video channel deals doo.

The head of James Bond — we imagine relaxing in her island volcano lair — has declared that we fans need to be "patient" while they decide who the next Bond will be.

But I can't be the only Bond fan who's beginning to lose patience with the ever-increasing gap between Daniel Craig's last outing and whoever will be the replacement. No Time to Die was released in 2021 and after taking the extraordinarily brave/stupid (pick an option as you see fit) decision to kill off the character, you can't help but wonder if the makers know quite what to do next.

Jennifer Salke, the global head of Amazon MGM Studios, the home of Bond, said fans will be patient. To be fair, matters aren't completely in her control as the movies are made by EON Productions, who are in charge of picking the next Bond. 

She said there "were lots of ideas" that were "interesting" about who should play 007. Adding, (quotes via The Guardian): "The global audience will be patient. We don't want too much time between films, but we are not concerned at this point".

Jennifer may not be concerned but personally, I am! The greater the gap between the movies to my mind the greater the risk that a wrong pick for the lead role could kill Bond permanently this time.

There was a gap of just over six years between Licence to Kill (1989), Timothy Dalton's final Bond movie, and Pierce Brosnan's first and finest effort GoldenEye (1995). The way things are looking it would be absolutely no shock if the gap is greater between No Time to Die and Bond 26. The Pierce Brosnan reboot does offer encouragement. Personally, I loved Timothy Dalton's first Bond film, The Living Daylights (1987), number three in our best Bond movies list, but his second movie was at times brutal and went too far away from the charm of Roger Moore's Bond efforts. Brosnan, in the days before he got involved with invisible cars, brought a nice balance to the part and GoldenEye remains a great Bond adventure.

Please don't send Bond back to the 1960s...

Given the growing time gap, it looks like we're heading for a major reset to the Bond universe. One popular theory is that the new Bond movie will be set in the past. Ian Fleming's books were penned in the 1950s and 1960s and setting Bond 26 in that era seems an interesting way of going. It would be a way around Bond's dated behavior but one obvious problem with setting it in this period is how could these films possibly beat the actual Bond movies made in the 1960s? A new 1960s Bond would be compared to Sean Connery's 007 and that's one battle the new leading man couldn't hope to win.

So, Bond needs to go forward and it needs to happen soon. Come on, let's have the next Bond movie. There's only so much patience we Bond fans have...

If you're a fan of the 007 movies, then you're no doubt aware that they jump on and off of various streaming services nearly as frequently as Bond himself jumps on and off of moving trains. Their newest home in the UK is the most accessible, but also the most temporary.

ITV has announced that, for a limited time, its streaming platform ITVX will host all 25 main-series Bond movies (including the newest No Time To Die) as well as a series of documentaries including Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 and Being James Bond: The Daniel Craig Story.

These will first play on ITV4, with ITV airing "a favourite film from each iconic lead" through the first week of the month (though some Bond fans may query certain 'favourites'!) and each movie will be on ITVX for 30 days after it's broadcasted.

Both options are free, as long as you pay a license fee, though ITV loves adverts like Bond loves the Bond women, so paying for ITVX Premium may be worth it. Here's the initial ITV4 air schedule:

• Monday, March 4: Goldfinger
• Tuesday, March 5: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
• Wednesday, March 6: The Spy Who Loved Me
• Thursday, March 7: Licence to Kill 
• Friday, March 8: GoldenEye 
• Sunday, March 10: Skyfall 

You can use ITVX to watch live TV using our guide here. 007 fans traveling outside the UK can use NordVPN to unblock ITVX.

Despite ITV only showing one movie per Bond actor, every main-series entry will be on ITVX. This unfortunately does not include the hilarious original Casino Royale or Sean Connery's return in Never Say Never Again, as both are spoof movies made by other companies.

ITVX's acquisition of the Bond movies marks their first time airing all together on free and ad-supported streaming TV. Previously they've been on Prime Video and MGM Plus, but they're currently not on any streaming service. 

With 25 movies plus two documentaries, that's 27 movie nights to cram into a 30-day period, so you're going to have to act fast if you want to stream them all. Alternatively you could stream them all in one martini-induced sprint, but that'd still take you about two and a half days, so we wouldn't recommend it.

If you find No Time to Stream, you'll be glad to know that ITV will air the Bond movies throughout 2024 on its various channels. There's no word on whether they'll return to ITVX, but generally, movies do grace the streaming service's library for 30 days after the air date, so never say never (again)...

How to watch ITVX from abroad

• Download the app at NordVPN
• Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (i.e. UK)
• Navigate to ITVX and start watching!

Henry Cavill is the big screen's next super spy, just not the one that moviegoers are most familiar with. He stars as the titular spy in director Matthew Vaughn's twisty spy caper Argylle, which releases exclusively in movie theaters worldwide on February 2 before eventually makings its way to Apple TV Plus. However, many are wondering if another spy role lies in the actor’s future, asking is Henry Cavill going to be the next James Bond?

Daniel Craig, the most recent James Bond, concluded his run in the role with 2021's No Time to Die. Unsurprisingly, almost immediately after the movie's release speculation began as to who may be the next to don the tuxedo and order a martini (shaken, not stirred, of course).

Cavill's name has been a popular one (he's in What to Watch's own batch of potential next James Bond candidates) but certainly not the only one. There are many different factors that could go into deciding who ends up playing 007 in any future movies, which could mean Argylle is the closest movie fans ever get to seeing Cavill play a character like James Bond (or at least second-closest, as Cavill's character Solo from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. definitely has many James Bond qualities to him, aside from him being an American CIA agent).

That's impossible to know for sure of course until Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson come out and say who is their next James Bond. However, the internet loves to speculate and many interviewers can't help themselves but to ask questions to see if they can get any discernible nugget that hints at how the Bond team or Cavill is feeling about the future of the role.

Clearing we're not immune from this either. Using recent quotes from Broccoli, Wilson, Cavill and others, let's breakdown if Henry Cavill as Bond still seems like a realistic possibility or if Argylle and other movies, like the previous The Man from U.N.C.L.E. or the upcoming The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (where Bond author Ian Fleming is actually a character), are going to be the closest we ever get to Cavill playing James Bond.

Henry Cavill on James Bond: 'I neither agree nor disagree'

Before we get into more recent comments by Cavill, let's start off with a bit of history — Cavill was actually already very nearly James Bond. He was one of the actors that auditioned for James Bond the last time the role was up for grabs following Pierce Brosnan's exit after Die Another Day.

Casino Royale director Martin Campbell told Variety in an interview in June 2023 that Cavill "looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous." He added "if Daniel [Craig] didn't exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond," which seems to imply that Cavill was the alternative choice at the time.

That is something Cavill's Argylle director, Matthew Vaughn, confirmed in an interview he and Cavill participated in on Sirius XM radio. When auditions for James Bond in Casino Royale were underway, Vaughn was working with Daniel Craig on the movie Layer Cake. He recalled hearing about Cavill from Craig during the audition process and said he heard Campbell "preferred" Cavill's audition to Craig's; Campbell, in the Variety interview, says that he did not "favor" Cavill during the audition process. 

Either way, Vaughn is high on Cavill as Bond. In an interview with Total Film, Vaughn said "... there is no one better on this planet who, if you read an Ian Fleming Bond book, is better for Bond than Henry Cavill." Also, in the Sirius XM interview, he added, "[Cavill] would be excellent, but it's unfair for him to discuss about a project that he might be involved with or not and ruin it because of a question."

That last bit is very interesting. While Vaughn offers a qualifier, he hints that Cavill may indeed be in the running for the next James Bond.

Cavill, for this part, didn't shut down Vaughn's statement, saying in the interview "I neither agree nor disagree with anything" and "I have nothing to say about that." That's a good bit of diplomacy on Cavill's part, knowing anything he says is going to fuel internet discourse (again, fully aware I'm contributing to that with this article). However, it's worth noting because Cavill has shared his enthusiasm for projects he wants to do before (a recent example, Warhammer 40,000). But Bond is a different beast entirely; even if he wants to shout it from the rooftops, the producers and studios involved would likely have sworn him to secrecy and, as Vaughn, alludes, hinting at it could jeopardize his chances of landing the role.

Speaking of those producers…

Bond producers on the next James Bond: 'we haven't even begun'

Long-time Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson are going to have a heavy hand in who plays the next James Bond, but as they put it, the process is still in the very early stages.

Of course there have been rumors and speculation about what they want to do for Bond moving forward ever since No Time to Die came out. One theory was that they would go with a younger James Bond, but Wilson seemingly shot that idea down in a 2022 interview:

"We've tried looking at younger people in the past. But trying to visualize it doesn't work. Remember, Bond is already a veteran. He's had some experience. He's a person who's been through the wars, so to speak. He's probably been in the SAS or something. He isn't some kid out of high school that you can bring in and start off. That's why it works for a 30-something."

That seemingly shoots down the notion that a fresh-face young actor will be the next Bond, which ironically is one of the chief reasons Cavill, who was in his early 20s when he auditioned for Bond previously, lost out on Casino Royale.

However, Broccoli told The Guardian as recently as fall 2023 that they are still in the very early stages of what the future of James Bond looks like.

"I think these movies reflect the time they are in, and there's a big, big road ahead reinventing it for the next chapter and we haven't even begun with that."

If Broccoli is to be taken at her word, then we could be in for one of the longest gaps in the franchise's history. Heck, the gap between Spectre and No Time to Die was six years (tied for the longest break with the transition from Timothy Dalton's Licence to Kill and Pierce Brosnan's GoldenEye) and that involved no search for a new Bond; though the movie did face a myriad of issues itself, not least of all the pandemic that delayed it by a year.

Chances Henry Cavill is the next James Bond

As things stand right now, Cavill is widely seen as one of the favorites to be the next James Bond. In the betting market, Cavill is the current second favorite to Bullet Train and Kraven the Hunter star Aaron Taylor-Johnson (9/4).

He would seemingly have an inside track as someone who has been seen by the producers for the role before and was, allegedly, the alternative to Daniel Craig. However, the same thing that kept him from being Bond then may be the biggest question mark once again, but this time it being the opposite issue: is Henry Cavill too old to play James Bond?

That may seem far-fetched based on Wilson's comments on wanting a Bond that looks like they've been around the block and the fact that Cavill is only 40 and is still starring in plenty of action movies, but let's think about it for a second. Craig was 38 years old when Casino Royale came out and 47 when Spectre, his fourth Bond movie and one that nearly drove him to retire from the role, was released. Cavill is 40 now, but he turns 41 in May 2024, and we know that there's no new Bond movie this year. Even if they announced a new Bond tomorrow, the earliest it would likely come out is summer/fall of 2025, at which point Cavill would be 42, and there's a really good chance the next Bond movie will actually come out later than that. But if he's who the producers want and Cavill is up for it, then perhaps, as they say, age is just a number (Cavill's Mission: Impossible co-star Tom Cruise continues to do death-defying stunts in that franchise and he's in his 60s).

Of course, Cavill's schedule is also a factor. IMDb lists Cavill as having four projects at various stages of production (aside from the previously mentioned The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare releasing in April). Those include an untitled Guy Ritchie movie, The Rosie Project, Squadron 42 and a Highlander reboot. IMDb does not include another project we previously mentioned, Warhammer 40,000, which again is seen as a passion project for Cavill, or the possibility of Argylle sequels.

Could he make room for Bond if he wanted? Sure. And again, it could be a while before Bond even gets in front of the cameras, so these projects may all be done and his schedule free and clear.

Should Henry Cavill play James Bond?

Taking all that in, now's the point where I guess I have to offer my two cents on all this. If Henry Cavill were to be named James Bond, I think the choice would make a lot of sense. He's got a natural charisma and a persona that would fit the character like a glove. 

However, Cavill is already an A-list star without playing Bond, so he certainly doesn't need the role. And for a franchise that is looking to reinvent itself for a new generation, someone less established as Cavill or that offers something different than what we've traditionally thought of from James Bond would help in that regard.

Remember, Craig was initially panned when he was picked for Bond; little known and not what we were accustomed to James Bond looking like (a blonde Bond, the horror). But once we saw him in Casino Royale he became one of the iconic iterations of the character because of the unique qualities he brought to the role.

Cavill was great in a Bond-esque role in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and plays a heightened version of a super spy in Argylle. I'd be good with that and would love to see him keep doing other things. But, if Bond 26 stars Henry Cavill, I'll still be there opening weekend to watch with excitement.

Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is in the race to be the next James Bond, according to the bookmakers.

The Scottish actor has made his mark playing spook River Cartwright in the acclaimed Apple TV Plus series, currently enjoying its third run.

As a "slow horse" River is an MI5 reject, who does his best to get back in with the bosses while battling against a sort of anti-M figure in Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman).

But Lowden has done his chances of playing 007 no harm at all by appearing in a show that's only grown in popularity and sees him carrying a gun in true James Bond fashion.

Lowden is now as short as 12-1 to be cast as the next James Bond, following the end of Daniel Craig's reign. At 33, Lowden would appear the right sort of age to take on the part. Craig was in his late 30s when he first appeared in Casino Royale and given how long the production cycle is on a Bond movie Lowden would be a similar age by the time of his debut if it were to happen.

While Lowden has shown his softer side as River, a spy with a heart who loves nothing more than a fireside chat with his grandad, he displayed he can also have a harder edge in BBC One hit The Gold.

That saw Lowden play notorious villain Kenneth Noye in the series about the real-life Brink's-Mat robbery.

Daniel Craig also did him a favor by clearly displaying that being fair-haired is no issue when it comes to playing Bond.

However, Bullet Train actor Aaron Taylor-Jonhson remains the favorite for the part. He's headed the betting market for some time, but it's not always the person at the top who ends up becoming the next 007. 

As to when the next James Bond will come out it looks like being either 2025 or 2026. It now seems an age since 2021's No Time to Die saw Craig's tenure end controversially. Let's hope the gap won't be as long as that between Timothy Dalton's last outing in 1989's Licence to Kill and Pierce Brosnan's first appearance in 1995's GoldenEye.  

Personally What to Watch reckons Lowden would make a great Bond!

This 007 news has left us shaken, but not stirred — fans have only hours to watch as many James Bond movies as possible before they're all ripped from streaming services (in the UK, at least, US viewers are still going to have access to the Bond movies on various streaming services). We highlighted this story last week and now things are even more urgent for Bond fans!

At the moment, you can use Prime Video to watch every single Bond movie, and that includes the original 1967 Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again. However they're leaving the service on Friday, December 1, so if you're a fan, you're going to need to seriously hurry and see as many as possible.

The one exception is 2021's No Time To Die, which isn't streaming.

It's not technically possible to watch all of the main-line 007 movies, from Dr. No to Spectre, in the remaining time, unfortunately. If you put them on and don't stop, you can watch all of the main-series films in under 2 and a half days, according to Binge Clock, so you will just have to pick your favourites.

Personally, we reckon From Russia With Love is the greatest Bond movie of all time! We wrote: "Bond at its very best. Sean Connery is on top form as 007, delivering some magical lines, particularly declaring: 'She had her kicks' after the demise of knife-kicking baddie Rosa Klebb. It also has arguably the greatest plot of the series as SPECTRE devilishly plays MI6 against the Russians to acquire a Lektor machine. 

"It's also notable for the first appearance of Blofeld (although you don't see him fully) in the movies and Desmond Llewelyn as Q. And to cap it all off there's a quite brilliant fight sequence on a train between 007 and assassin Grant. Perfection."

There's no word on what'll happen to the movies once they're off Prime Video, so you'll have to wait and see.

007: Road to a Million host Brian Cox confessed he originally mixed up the reality series with a new Bond movie, thinking he may have landed a dream role in the action series.

In the Prime Video series, Brian Cox takes on hosting duties as the role of  "The Controller", a mysterious meddlesome figure who has millions of pounds to give away, but it's no easy task.

But with a gripping title like that, it's easy to mistake it for a new Bond villain, and Brian admitted the mix-up in a new interview, where he thought he'd "finally" been cast in the long-running spy series.

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the Succession star said: “I thought it was the new James Bond film. So I said, ‘Oh, finally they’re getting me in a James Bond movie.’ I thought, ‘Yes, of course!’

"For years, I thought, you know I would love to be in James Bond. It would be really interesting. And I thought this was my moment, but it wasn’t."

Despite missing out on the chance to star in a James Bond movie, Brian spoke fondly about his time on the Prime Video series and said: "I got to see how ordinary people would cope with being on a James Bond adventure." 

"As they travel the world to some of the most iconic Bond locations, it gets more intense and nail-biting. I enjoyed my role as both villain and tormentor, with a license to put the hopeful participants through the mangle."

007’s Road To A Million follows two-person teams as they navigate their way across iconic Bond movie locations such as the Scottish Highlands, Venice, and Jamaica, answering hidden questions as they go in order to progress to the next challenge, hoping they'll be the ones to win big.

Speaking to What to Watch, he teased his role and said: "Now I can finally say I’ve been in a Bond production. I always thought I’d be a very good Bond villain, but nobody’s ever come up with the offer, so at least by taking part in this, I’m doing it somehow. Having played one of the most misunderstood men in television history, it was a no-brainer to be a Bond villain of sorts."

007: Road to a Million arrives on Prime Video on Friday, November 10.

We're past the mid-way point of Jack Ryan season 4 now, with only three more episodes to wrap up the final season of this Tom Clancy-inspired action spy show.

So far this season we've met new and old members of the Jack Ryan season 4 cast, as everyone works to uncover the ties between the workings of a Triad in Asia, the Cartel in Mexico, assassinations in Nigeria, conspiracies in Washington D.C. and now a deal in Croatia too. Episode 4 brings more drama on almost all fronts, and Jack Ryan has his closest brush yet with becoming James Bond.

With only two episodes after this in Prime Video's popular spy thriller, anything could happen... and a lot is happening! That's why this Jack Ryan season 4 episode 4 recap is so important. We've taken apart the events of the episode and presented them here in a logical and easy-to-understand order.

If you still haven't watched the show, we also have a guide on how to watch Jack Ryan season 4 which you can use.

*Spoilers for Jack Ryan season 4 episode 4 follow*

Fah gets unexpected news

After using his dead brother-in-law as a scapegoat for his subterfuge, Chao Fah Sein (Louis Ozawa) is given a new mission. Instead of going to the marketplace in Dubrovnik as he was supposed to, he gets sent to Geneva. Tin Tun warns him to pack light.

At Geneva, Fah has an appointment... with Zeyara Lemos (Zuleikha Robinson), a humanitarian who's spent the previous episodes trying to court Jack Ryan's girlfriend into supporting some medical cause. As it turns out, Lemos has affiliations with — or possibly is in charge of — the Silver Lotus Triad.

Lemos tells Fah that she wants him to take control of the Triad and rebuild it, since he's better suited for the role than Tin Tun. That would be a grand promotion if he hadn't spent the three previous episodes trying to get his family out of the Triad.

Something fishy is happening in Bethesda

In Washington D.C., analyst Patrick comes to James Greer (Wendell Pierce) with information that he's discovered about Bizhub (all explained in the previous episode). Turns out, a business called Southwest Petro could be a shell company set up by previous CIA Director Thomas Miller.

Greer travels down to Bethesda, to speak to Dominic Sanderson who's a signatory on the company, but after an explosive reaction from his mother on the topic, Greer discovers that Dom is just a boy who's been in a coma for several years after a football accident.

On his way to follow up another lead, Greer is attacked by Mr. Walters who's been pursuing him. Greer gets stabbed and has to jump off a bridge into a river to escape.

Luckily, Greer survives and finds his way into a hospital. He tells Patrick that the knife shows Walters is ex-special forces, and that DNA evidence of blood on it could be used to work out who it belonged to.

CIA Acting Director Wright (Betty Gabriel) comes to visit, hot off the heels of a meeting with some senators who are pushing her to stop it with the black ops antics of Ryan and his group. Greer tries to explain to her the conspiracy but, with her confirmation in three days, she's not keen to pursue it.

Jack Ryan becomes James Bond

Jack Ryan (John Krasinski), Domingo Chavez (Michael Peña) and Mike November (Michael Kelly) are in Dubrovnik, Croatia, to try and find Chao Fah Sein at an infamous illegal marketplace. They talk to an escort-slash-information broker Mike knows who directs them to a returning face for an invite: Levan Zubkov (Ivan Mathias Petersson), who we met in season 3, is now an associate of marketplace owner Olafsky.

We get some brief texting between Jack and his girlfriend Cathy Mueller (Abbie Cornish) to remind us that she exists before it's mission time.

Kubkov takes November with him to the marketplace, which takes place in a converted Croatian monastery. It's a classy affair, but November doesn't share the Bondian antics alone. The escort helps smuggle Chavez and Ryan in via a secret cave so they can join in the fun.

November mistakenly identifies Tin Tun as Fah, and follows him and Olafsky into a secret meeting where he overhears Tun trying to sell Olafsky five mysterious triggers that are ID-locked once activated. November tries to grab the case, but is apprehended by Olafsky's men, and taken into a secluded place. Chavez and Ryan rescue him and Zubkov, and kill Olafsky, but not before his men start descending on their position.

The four men escape across rooftops, fulfilling their true Bond potential by wearing suits for the escape. Later, on Zubkov's boat, Fah stands sending bank transfers to Chavez. They're for tiny amounts until Ryan realizes that it's actually coordinates being sent by code.

James Bond fans want to know who the next James Bond is and when the next movie will finally go into production. It's been an age since No Time to Die brought Daniel Craig's run as the superspy to an end... and now there's the news that producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have given creative control to Amazon MGM Studios in a multi-million pound deal announced in February, 2025.

This resulted in traditional fans fearing the iconic British character might be played by an American actor. However, it's been reported that Amazon intends to keep the character as British and male. So the next Bond is therefore very likely to be a British actor.

Ex-James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, soon to be seen in the Thursday Murder Club movie, commented it was a "given" the actor had to be British.

One of the interesting things about the huge time delay in making the next Bond is that the actors are of course getting older and you could argue in some cases some of the previous front runners are getting too old!

The favorite remains Aaron Taylor-Johnson and he's been the favorite for the post of next 007 for a long while now.

Taylor-Johnson was quizzed by Numero Magazine about the rumors linking him to Bond. In response, he said: "I find it charming and wonderful that people see me in that role. I take it as a great compliment".

Since the rumors have gone around, Brosnan told a radio show he thought Aaron Taylor-Johnson "has the chops and the talent and the charisma to play Bond". 

Without a formal announcement, we're still in the dark when it comes to who's going to be the next James Bond. With that in mind, we've kept our list of other potential Bonds below, as there have been plenty of rumors about the role over the years.
Here are more actors we think could be in with a shot of being the next James Bond, besides the frontrunner.

More stars who could be our next James Bond

Harris Dickinson (current odds 7/1)

Harris Dickinson has recently emerged as a new front-runner to be the next Bond. Going back to the point we made about some of his rivals for the job getting a bit long in the tooth, Harris has the advantage he's only 28. Harris appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in Babygirl and also Where The Crawdads Sing. He’s far from the biggest name in this list but his stock is on the rise.

James Norton (current odds 7/1)

James Norton has suddenly found himself being linked to the role. At 39, he's the right kind of age although he's perhaps best known for his TV work and this would be by far his biggest-ever movie role.

But James has certainly proved what a talented actor he is with parts in Happy Valley, McMafia and War & Peace. Could the nice vicar from Grantchester suddenly be fighting against SPECTRE?

Regé-Jean Page (current odds 20/1)

Whilst Regé-Jean Page is probably most famous for playing the Duke of Hastings in Bridgerton, he isn't just limited to period dramas.

Although Page downplayed rumors that he was in the running to be the next James Bond in the past, he's remained one of the many favorites to take up the mantle after Daniel Craig. 

Could it be a sign that he's currently appearing with ex-Bond Brosnan in the spy thriller Black Bag?

Tom Hardy (current odds 40/1)

Tom Hardy has consistently been one of the frontrunners to play Bond next, and it's easy to see why he might be an obvious choice. 

He's no stranger to filming action set-pieces having appeared in the likes of Mad Max: Fury Road, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, and it's easy to picture him picking up where Craig left off.

With Craig's era at an end, the 007 producers will likely want to try and shake up the franchise a little bit going forward. Tom has a very strong background in crime drama— thanks in no small part to his key role in Peaky Blinders— so he could be a great choice if they want a darker, grittier tone in the next movie. However, Tom Hardy is now 47, and perhaps that explains his drift in the betting. Might he be getting too old for the role?

Henry Cavill (current odds 6/1)

Henry Cavill is most famous as the DC Universe's Superman and Geralt in The Witcher And Cavill is no stranger to espionage action. 

He was a key player in Mission: Impossible – Fallout where he partnered with legendary action star Tom Cruise as SAC operative, August Walker. He also appeared in Guy Ritchie's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. movie and has recently starred in the first movie in Matthew Vaughn's spy franchise, Argylle.

What's more, Henry Cavill is definitely up for stepping into the Bond franchise if he can. He regularly shares how much he would love to be involved in the Bond franchise as either a hero or villain, and he even auditioned for the role before it went to Daniel Craig.

Aidan Turner (current odds 33/1)

Poldark heartthrob Aidan Turner is another popular choice for the next James Bond. The Irish actor is well known for his lead role in the BBC period drama, though he's also well known for his turn as Kili, one of the dwarves in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy.

Turner is a few years younger than some of the other frontrunners, which could make him a popular choice as the Bond bosses will likely be looking for another actor to stay with one of cinema's longest-running franchises for several movies. 

He was recently on our screens in the smash hit series Rivals which can't have done his chances any harm.

Richard Madden (current odds 25/1)

Richard Madden is thought to have been in the running for the next James Bond ever since he impressed as Police Sergeant David Budd in the gripping BBC drama, Bodyguard. At some point Bodyguard 2 is on the way, well we hope it is!

Elsewhere, the Scottish actor is best known for playing Robb Stark in Game of Thrones, a just figure cruelly betrayed along with his with at the infamous "Red Wedding".  

More recently, Richard Madden has become a Hollywood favorite, featuring in Rocketman, 1917 and he's now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of the Eternals. He also appeared in Citadel, an Amazon Studios spy thriller — a perfect training ground for the next James Bond.

James Bond is one of the greatest — and most prolific — spies that's ever graced the big screen.

As of No Time To Die there are 25 movies, not including the offshoots Never Say Never Again and 1967's Casino Royale or any of the many documentaries made about the spy or his origins. These are all based, some loosely and some not, on the writings of Ian Fleming.

Everyone has their own personal favorite Bond movie, and thanks to the internet fans can watch all of the movies right now. You don’t need any special gadgets from Q branch to see them either — in fact, in celebration of 60 years of Bond (since Dr No), Amazon Prime Video is offering every single one to stream.

Outside of that, we often see these movies pop on on streaming services including Hulu, Paramount Plus and Pluto TV, so they're always pretty easy to watch.

Let’s break down the full slate of 24 bond films, including where you can easily stream them and where they are available to rent.

Dr. No (1962)

Available to stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

From Russia With Love (1963)

Available to stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Goldfinger (1964)

Available to stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Thunderball (1965)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Diamonds are Forever (1971)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Live and Let Die (1973)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Google Play, YouTube

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Available to stream on:  Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Moonraker (1979)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Octopussy (1983)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube

A View to a Kill (1985)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

The Living Daylights (1987)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Licence to Kill (1989)

Available to stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

GoldenEye (1995)

Available to stream on: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Die Another Day (2002)

Available to stream on: Pluto TV, Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Casino Royale (2006)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Skyfall (2012)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

Spectre (2015)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu with Live TV
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, YouTube

No Time To Die (2021)

Available to stream on: Amazon Prime Video
Available to rent on: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube

Everyone has an opinion on what the best James Bond films are. And also which ones are the worst!

Dr. No, the very first Bond movie, was released on 5 October 1962. But where does the original rank in our list? And what about No Time To Die, the latest in the long-running series. As fans of the series, we should add that every Bond movie has something going for it! 

Every fan is hoping the makers get a move on and finally cast the next James Bond and get shooting a new movie.

We've stuck to the official Bonds, so no Never Say Never Again (1983), which to be frank isn't a huge loss. In our latest update, we've added in some fun facts about each film, plus who the main villains were in each film. Here's our verdict...

25. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Great title. Great villain. But, sadly, not a great film. Christopher Lee is terrific as assassin Francisco Scaramanga, aka the man with the golden gun. The movie goes up several gears every time he's on-screen, but the rest of it is largely forgettable. It does, though, feature a quite wonderful stunt where Bond's car does a full 360 in mid-air to clear a river. And the Bond v Scaramanga shoot-out is entertaining at the end.

Villain: Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee).
Fact: "The Man with the Golden Gun", first published in 1965, was Ian Fleming's final James Bond novel.

24. Live and Let Die (1973)

Roger Moore's first outing as 007 is entertaining enough while still very much at the bottom of our list. Bond battling a drug lord isn't nearly as much fun as him trying to destroy a volcanic lair. The theme song performed by Wings is probably the best thing about the whole movie.  Well, that and the scene where Bond uses some nifty footwork to escape some very hungry crocodiles.

Villain: Kananga (Yaphet Kotto), Tee Hee (Julius Harris)
Fact: The famous crocodile skipping scene used real crocs and took 5 very dangerous takes by the stuntman Ross Kananga to perfect.

23. Die Another Day (2002)

Is the invisible car ridiculous? Yes, but it’s also a lot of fun. What’s really a drag is the rather downbeat opening. Nothing quite adds up and there are far too many crazy stunts. However, there are some great lines, especially… Bond: "You know, you’re cleverer than you look". Q [John Cleese]: “Still, better than looking cleverer than you are” Ouch! 

And yes, this is the one where Madonna is a fencing instructor. The less said about that the better, but this film isn't nearly as bad as people remember. Judi Dench is always good value as M, while Tophy Stephens makes a half decent villain as Gustav Graves. Plus Rosamund Pike and Halle Berry have their moments.

Villain: Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens).
Fact: The North Korean beach scenes were filmed in Cornwall, England!

22. Moonraker (1979)

Hmmm. Hugo Drax makes a rather dull villain, while Jaws, brought back after sparkling in The Spy Who Loved Me, completely loses his menace and even falls in love! All the fighting in space is fairly laughable, at least Q gets to make a good gag at the end. The theme song is rather dreary to boot.

Villain: Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale)
Fact: Bernard Lee made his final appearance as M.

21. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

After the craziness of Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only feels unusually serious for a Roger Moore Bond. The plot's pretty good, with a neat twist. Moore, though, sparkles as Bond when there's plenty of jokes about and this film rather lacks them. The attack on the clifftop monastery base is good fun at the end. While Sheena Easton's theme song is a corker.

Villains: Kristatos (Julian Glover), Locque (Michael Gothard).
Fact: Singer Sheena Easton is seen in the main title sequence, the first time a performer is featured in it. 

20. The World Is Not Enough (1999)

An enjoyable Pierce Brosnan adventure, which sees the relationship between Bond and Judi Dench’s M develop. Robbie Coltrane makes a welcome return as Zukovsky, and there’s a slightly bizarre cameo by Goldie! Robert Carlyle isn't exciting as the villain, but the relationship between Bond and Elektra King makes the film. Notable for sadly being Desmond Llewelyn’s last appearance as Q. Llewelyn played the role in 17 of the movies.

Villains: Renard (Robert Carlyle), Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane), Bull (Goldie).
Fact: Robbie Coltrane celebrated his 49th birthday during filming.

19. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Sean Connery was tempted back for one last outing as 007 (not counting Never Say Never Again!). Should he have bothered? Well, he's still great as 007 even though it's not as magical as his earlier performances. Charles Gray as Blofeld is sadly about as scary as Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers film series. In fact, this is arguably the worst villain of the lot. Great theme song though performed by Shirley Bassey. 

Villains: Blofeld (Charles Gray), Mr Kidd (Putter Smith), Mr Wint (Bruce Glover)
Fact: Sammy Davis Jr makes a cameo.

18. A View to a Kill (1985)

Blimey, Roger Moore is looking a bit old by this point, can he actually climb all those stairs on the Eiffel Tower?! Still, Moore remains great fun in his final outing. And the whole thing is hugely helped by Christopher Walken and Grace Jones being fab as baddies Max Zorin and May Day. While it sags a bit in the middle, the ending over the Golden Gate Bridge is spectacular and Duran Duran's theme tune is a corker.

Villain: Max Zorin (Christopher Walken).
Fact: Lois Maxwell made her final appearance as Miss Moneypenny.

17. No Time to Die (2021)

The first 15 minutes are absolutely brilliant and then... well, it slows down and never quite recovers in a movie that is way too long. Daniel Craig is enthralling throughout but again the baddie is forgettable. Plus, the whole tone of the film is so downbeat, come on we want some fun! As for the ending, well we won't spoil it other than to say "Why do that"? Perhaps this was one Bond film too many for Craig.

Villains: Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek)
Fact: During the famous opening gun barrel sequence there's no blood.

16. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Doesn't match the zip of Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as Bond in GoldenEye, but is still very watchable. You have to love the remote-controlled car, while Jonathan Pryce makes a decent villain as media baron Elliot Carver. However, the best part of the film is the wonderful Dr. Kaufman, a deliciously meticulous assassin who’s somehow highly amusing! He delights in telling Bond how brilliant he is before, obviously, winding up dead. Shame he didn't get more screen time.

Villains: Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce), Dr Kaufman (Vincent Schiavelli)
Fact: Bond gets a new gun, The Walther P99.

15. Quantum of Solace (2008)

At just one hour and 46 minutes, this is easily the shortest of Craig's Bond outings and the short length does inject some pace into the action. With Bond on another revenge mission, his investigation leads him to Dominic Greene, who's part of the mysterious Quantum organization. Never comes close to the heights of Casino Royale, but still very watchable.

Villain: Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric).
Fact: The title is the name of a short story by Ian Fleming.

14. Licence to Kill (1989)

Erm, perhaps Timothy Dalton's 007 gets a bit too serious. Bond is out for revenge and it's great when Q finally pops up as it gives it a bit of light relief. Still, it's a pretty good thriller, and watch out for a young Benicio del Toro as a henchman. Dalton also makes a highly engaging Bond, but sadly this was his last outing.

Villains: Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), Dario (Benicio Del Toro).
Fact: It was originally titled Licence Revoked.

13. Octopussy (1983)

Terrific fun right from the start, especially the scene where Bond almost gives a government official a heart attack by bidding thousands for a Fabergé egg! And it's hard to argue with a film that ultimately sees Roger Moore dressed up as a clown while he attempts to disarm a nuclear bomb! Even Q gets in the act here, helping Bond out by flying into battle on a hot air balloon. There's also a great action scene on top of a train that has echoes of the train sequence in Paddington 2.

Villains: Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), Gobinda (Kabir Bedi), Orlov (Steven Berkoff)
Fact: Maud Adams, who played the title character, appeared in multiple Bond films. 

12. You Only Live Twice (1967)

The screenplay by Roald Dahl sees Bond head to Japan to investigate why American and Russian spacecraft keep going missing. A certain Ernst Stavro Blofeld is behind the plot and is here wonderfully played by Donald Pleasence, who remains the best Blofeld. You can actually imagine him trying to take over the world!

As Bond and Blofeld come face-to-face at last, the master villain tells 007: "You only live twice Mr Bond." 

The rather ponderous middle section of the film stops it ranking higher up our list. But it has a great ending as Bond sets about destroying Blofeld's volcano lair.

Villain: Blofeld (Donald Pleasence).
Fact: The sumo wrestling match is real.

11. Spectre (2015)

Contains spoilers! Yep, it was cinema's worst kept secret that Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) was returning and seeking world domination, as ever. However, ultimately the baddie side of the film doesn't quite live up to expectations. 

The rest of the tale, though, is enthralling as Bond seeks to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Léa Seydoux is great as Dr Madeleine Swann, who reluctantly partners Bond. Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), Q (Ben Whishaw), and M (Ralph Fiennes) all slowly work out Bond might be onto something.

Special mention must go to the brilliant opening sequence which sees Bond hunt down a foe in brutal fashion in Mexico City on the Day of the Dead.

Villains: Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), C (Andrew Scott).
Fact: Gary Oldman was one of the actors considered for the part of Blofeld.

10. Thunderball (1965)

Connery is still on fine form as SPECTRE's latest dastardly plan sees them nicking two atomic bombs. Well, one is never enough! Emilio Largo is a suitably menacing villain and you certainly wouldn't want to take a dip in his shark pool! The jetpack is a lot of fun, but the underwater fight scenes drag somewhat, while the speeding boat scene at the end hasn't aged well.

Villains: Largo (Adolfo Celi), Count Lippe (Guy Dolmen).
Fact: During the shark swimming pool scene, despite protective measures a shark got through, leading to a swift exit from the pool by Connery!

9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Is George Lazenby any good as Bond? Well, his one effort certainly goes down as one of the best Bond films.

The late Diana Rigg is truly magnificent as Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo — a glamorous name completely ruined when Bond calls her Tracy! It's the one where Bond falls in love, of course, and this makes it the only 007 film (maybe Skyfall?) that is genuinely sad as Tracy slips away from him. 

There are some great stunts and Telly Savalas is good value as Blofeld. Not sure about all the scenes with 007 in a kilt and Lazenby at the end of the day is no Sean Connery. However, he does make for a different type of Bond and maybe he was the right man for this story.

Villains: Blofeld (Telly Savalas), Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat). 
Fact: Diana Rigg did not eat garlic on purpose to put off George Lazenby during romantic scenes. However, it's fair to say the pair didn't exactly hit off!

8. Skyfall (2012)

This film really comes alive in its final act as Bond and M head to Skyfall, his childhood home. Silva, a brilliant villain played by Javier Bardem, then launches a huge attack on Skyfall as he tries to gain revenge on M. It leads to some brilliant scenes between Bond and M leading up to the unthinkable happening. Add into a mix a great theme song from Adele and you have a corking Bond. 

Villain: Silva (Javier Bardem)
Fact: A shot of James Bond composer John Barrie's former house features in the movie, doubling for a property owned by M.

7. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Easily Roger Moore's best Bond movie. And it's worth a top 10 spot just for the moment Bond looks like he’s about to plunge to his death only for his Union Jack parachute to shoot out! Still the best stunt. 

There’s so much to enjoy — from a great villain in Jaws to the fabulous moment the underwater car emerges on a beach and 007 cooly lobs out a fish!

Much of the action also takes place in Egypt, with the pyramids acting as a great backdrop. Plus Roger Moore and Barbara Bach, who plays Soviet agent XXX, have a great chemistry.

Villain: Jaws (Richard Kiel), Stromberg (Curd Jurgens).
Fact: The iconic ski jump stunt was performed by stuntman Rick Sylvester (obviously not Roger Moore!) from Mount Asgard in Canada.

6. Dr. No (1962)

Sean Connery is introduced as Bond in one of cinema’s truly iconic scenes. "I admire your courage, Miss, er…” "Trench, Sylvia Trench, I admire your luck, Mr…" "Bond, James Bond.” Magic! 

Connery just oozes class as Bond; while Ursula Andress is great as Honey Ryder with Joseph Wiseman suitably villainous as Dr. No. It’s a shame we don’t see a little more of Dr. No, who berates Bond for being “just a stupid policeman".

Villain: Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman).
Fact: It's the only Bond movie without a pre-title sequence.

5. GoldenEye (1995)

Pierce Brosnan’s first and best outing as 007 opens in spectacular style as he bungees jumps off a dam and the film cracks along at a ferocious pace. Great turns by Sean Bean and Robbie Coltrane only add to the enjoyment. Plus we get our first introduction to Judie Dench’s brilliant M. 

Throw in some great gadgets from Q, a belter of a theme tune sung by Tina Turner, and you've got yourself one of the best James Bond films going. Oh, and the GoldenEye computer game for the Nintendo 64 was rather special.

Villains: Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean), Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming).
Fact: Goldeneye is the name of Ian Fleming's estate on Jamaica where he wrote all his Bond novels.

4. Casino Royale (2006)

Before its release there was some grumblings over whether Daniel Craig would be any good as Bond, well he gave his critics an emphatic answer! He's fantastic as Bond and gives real depth to the character as he falls for Eva Green's Vesper Lynd. Mads Mikkelsen is also a great villain as Le Chiffre, who turns out to be a terrible poker player. Add in the memorable foot chase across scaffolding, and you have one of the best Bond films of all-time.

Villain: Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).
Fact: Daniel Craig was initially unsure about taking the part but was won over by the script.

3. The Living Daylights (1987)

OK, this might be controversial. But The Living Daylights is brilliant! And we reckon it deserves to be this high on our best James Bonds films list!! Timothy Dalton makes an exceptional debut as 007 and it's a shame he only ended up making two films. 

After the fun of Roger Moore, he brings a seriousness back to the part and heads off on a cracking Cold War thriller. And there’s fun too, check out a baddie dispatching people with explosive milk bottles! Plus we love Bond hurtling down a snowy hill in a cello case. Inspired!!

Villains: General Georgia Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé), Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker).
Fact: Princess Diana visited the set.

2. Goldfinger (1964)

Auric Goldfinger is our favorite villain, and he has the honor of delivering the best line in the whole series. As Bond has a laser beam heading for a very uncomfortable place, he pleads with Goldfinger: "Do you expect me to talk" to which Goldfinger smirkingly replies: "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die." 

There's a string of great scenes between the pair, especially their golf match, which ends with hat-throwing henchman Oddjob crushing a golf ball! Throw in Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, Shirley Bassey's cracking theme song, and an audacious raid on Fort Knox and you have all the ingredients for a fantastic Bond movie.

Villains: Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), Oddjob (Harold Sakata)
Fact: Goldfinger was the first Bond movie to win an Oscar, winning for best Sound Effects.

1. From Russia with Love (1963)

Bond at its very best. Sean Connery is on top form as 007, delivering some magical lines, particularly declaring: "She had her kicks" after the demise of knife-kicking baddie Rosa Klebb. It also has arguably the greatest plot of the series as SPECTRE devilishly plays MI6 against the Russians to acquire a Lektor machine. 

It's also notable for the first appearance of Blofeld (although you don't see him fully) in the movies and Desmond Llewelyn as Q. And to cap it all off there's a quite brilliant fight sequence on a train between 007 and assassin Grant. Perfection.

Villains: Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), Grant (Robert Shaw), Kronsteen (Vladek Sheybal).
Fact: Pedro Armendariz, who plays Bond’s ally Kerim Bey, was dying of cancer during the making of the movie, but was determined to finish filming.

We’ll never know how Danny Boyle’s James Bond movie would have turned out, but the director recently revealed some of the details of what his version would have been about. More than six months after the release of No Time to Die and the official end of Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond, the director spoke with Esquire UK to promote his new limited series Pistols and unsurprisingly Bond came up.

In the article, it is mentioned that one of the reasons that Boyle stepped away from directing the 25th Bond movie was that he wanted James Bond to die. SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie, but No Time to Die does end with the death of Craig’s Bond. Rather than that particular plot point, Boyle says the creative differences emerged elsewhere.

"I remember thinking, 'Should I really get involved in franchises?' Because they don’t really want something different," Boyle told Esquire. "They want you to freshen it up a bit, but not really change it and we wanted to do something different with it."

That something different apparently was setting the entire story in Russia and exploring the character’s beginnings.

"Weirdly — it would have been very topical now — it was all set in Russia, which is of course where Bond came from, out of the Cold War. It was set in present-day Russia and went back to his origins and they just lost, what’s the word… they just lost confidence in it," Boyle said, referring to the producers. "It’s a shame really."

A specific plot point that Boyle said they did keep from their initial script was James Bond having a child, though he says that No Time to Die did it in a different way. He does not confirm if Bond would have died in his version, though said he was in favor of that decision in No Time to Die.

No Time to Die was well received, scoring an 83% "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes; you can read What to Watch's review of the movie here. Find out how to watch No Time to Die right here.

Boyle added he didn’t think that he would find himself back to the spy franchise in the future movie, though he did give his thoughts on who he thinks could be interesting choices to be the next James Bond. "Robert Pattinson would be a great Bond," Boyle said, while also talking "excitedly," per Esquire, about what Paapa Essideu (I May Destroy You) could do in the role.

Pistols, Boyle’s next project, comes out on May 31 on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.

She’s usually seen conducting post-mortems under the artificial lights of the Lyell Centre lab as Silent Witness’s forensic pathologist Nikki Alexander. So Emilia Fox was delighted to be on location in sunny Italy for her latest TV series, the Acorn TV crime drama Signora Volpe. 

The three-parter stars Emilia as Sylvia, a high-ranking MI6 employee who is taking a welcome break from work to attend her niece’s wedding in Umbria, where she is reunited with her sister, played by Tara Fitzgerald. 

But when the groom disappears and a dead body is found near his home, Sylvia draws on her espionage skills to conduct her own investigation.

We caught up with Emilia to find out more about why she would make a great spy — but won't be in the next James Bond film... 

There was a female 007 in A Time to Die. How do you fancy starring in a James Bond film? 

Signora Volpe is available on Acorn TV from Monday, May 2. 

No Time to Die had its long-awaited and triumphant debut in movie theaters in 2021, but now the 25th entry in the spy franchise, and Daniel Craig's final outing as James Bond, can be watched at home.

In addition to Craig, No Time to Die stars Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas and Christoph Waltz. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the movie sees Bond return to the spy game when a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology emerges.

Also: Best James Bond films

Here's how you can watch No Time to Die right now:

How to watch No Time to Die: streaming and on-demand

After a successful run in movie theaters, earning $774 million worldwide, No Time to Die is now only available to watch at home.

Fans can currently rent No Time to Die on-demand through online platforms like Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play and Vudu at a starting price of $5.99 on most sites.

There's also good news on the streaming front. What to Watch's sister site, TechRadar, has reported that No Time to Die will be made available to stream as part of Prime Video on April 15, but only for UK subscribers. No Time to Die is expected to be available to stream on Prime Video for 12 months.

US subscribers to Prime Video are going to be able to stream No Time to Die on the service as of June 10.

In addition to No Time to Die, you'll be able to watch all previous 24 Bond films on Prime Video as of April 15 for a limited time (expected two months). 

No Time to Die Blu-ray/DVD

No Time to Die is now available to purchase on Blu-ray/DVD.

Here is a rundown of what will be included on the No Time to Die DVD:

• Anatomy of a Scene: Matera - In true Bond fashion, there is an incredible pre-credit sequence featured in No Time To Die. A breathless chase shot in Matera that starts on foot, then motorcycle, then car. Not just any car either — the iconic Aston Martin DB5! Through interviews with Daniel Craig and director Cary Joji Fukunaga, plus on-set interviews with key members of the crew, we discover how the filmmakers shot this breathtaking sequence.
• Keeping It Real: The Action of No Time to Die – In a world full of CGI-heavy action films, the Bond franchise proudly stands out from the crowd for always shooting practical stunts, without the use of special effects. In this piece we see how No Time To Die continues with this tradition with its amazing action sequences.
• A Global Journey – Exotic locations are synonymous with all Bond movies and No Time To Die is no different. As well as returning to Bond’s spiritual home, Jamaica, for Daniel Craig’s final outing, we also go on a global journey taking in Italy, Norway and Scotland. We’ll hear from Daniel Craig, Cary Fukunaga, other key cast and filmmakers, on what it was like filming at these spectacular locations.
• Designing Bond – Production designer Mark Tildesley and costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb, along with cast and other filmmakers, discuss the inspiration, challenges and trials of concepting and making such remarkable sets and costumes for the iconic Bond franchise.
• Being James Bond – In this special 45-minute retrospective, Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15-year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, in the lead up to his final performance as James Bond.

The James Bond franchise has accepted a brand new mission, a reality TV competition series that will stream exclusively on Prime Video. Inspired by the James Bond movies, 007’s Road to a Million will be the first reality TV show based on the spy. Variety was the first to report the news.

007’s Road to a Million, which will have long-time Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson on board, will see teams of two travel around the world competing to win a £1 million cash prize; applications to be a contestant on the show are currently being accepted. 

Testing contestants’ intelligence and endurance, they will need to complete physical obstacles and answer questions hidden in different locations around the world to move on to the next challenge — kind of like The Amazing Race with a martini, shaken not stirred, of course.

The series will be filmed in a "cinematic format," Variety was told, at many of the historic locations featured across spy franchises’ history. Production is expected to begin later this year. When it does premiere on Prime Video (no hints to a release date were given), 007’s Road to a Million will be available on the streaming service in more than 240 countries and territories.

This news comes after the acquisition of MGM by Amazon was recently finalized, though Variety reports that this reality show had been in the works at Prime Video for years and is separate from any shows that may come out of the new agreement.

007’s Road to a Million will join a lineup of Prime Video reality TV programming that includes Lizzos’ Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, the streamer’s All or Nothing sports docuseries, Clarkson’s Farm and more.

The reality series could also serve as a gap as fans wait for the next James Bond actor and movie to be announced. Daniel Craig’s run as 007 officially came to an end with No Time to Die in 2021, the 25th movie in the long-running franchise. Even though Bond was believed to be a driving force behind Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, producers Broccoli and Wilson committed that future James Bond movies are still planning to be shown in movie theaters. 

The James Bond franchise has had some previous experiences on TV, including James Bond Jr. animated series and the 1950s series Climax doing an episode that was an adaptation of Casino Royale.

James Bond may have found himself a new streaming home in Prime Video. After initially announcing they had come to a more than $8 billion agreement in May 2021, Amazon’s purchase of MGM has closed, according to a report by Variety. 

With that, Bond and other MGM movies and TV shows could soon be part of the streaming lineup on Prime Video.

MGM’s catalog, which dates back to 1924, includes more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV shows. Among the most high profile titles are of course the James Bond, Rocky/Creed and Pink Panther movie franchises, as well as the likes of Legally Blonde, The Silence of the Lambs, Tomb Raider, Robocop, 12 Angry Men and The Magnificent Seven; for TV, MGM has helped produce Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu distributes in US) and Vikings.

The news did not give any clue as to when or what titles specifically may make their way to Prime Video, but there are some complications. Pre 1986 MGM movies are currently owned by Turner, as IndieWire outlined back in May 2021, which include titles like Gone With the Wind, Singin in the Rain and others. However, that deal does not include films in the United Artist library that is owned by MGM, and that is where James Bond movies reside.

Certainly one of the big draws will be if Prime Video becomes the de facto streaming home for the James Bond franchise. Figuring out how to watch all the James Bond movies can be a herculean task, as they currently are spread across multiple services, with some not even available to stream, though some are already available on Prime Video. 

This deal could also signal that No Time to Die, the last Bond movie to star Daniel Craig that was released in October 2021, may make its streaming debut on Prime Video, though again that was not confirmed at this time.

Classic MGM titles appearing on Prime Video is just one facet of the deal with Amazon, however. The two companies will also work together to develop new movies and TV shows, both original and based on MGM IP. However, both companies said they are committed to theatrical windows for movies, though that will likely be determined on a case by case basis; save for Bond, which has no plans to become a streaming exclusive.

“We are excited for MGM and its bounty of iconic brands, legendary films and television series, and our incredible team and creative partners to join the Prime Video family,” said Chris Brearton, chief operating officer of MGM, in a statement. 

“MGM has been responsible for the creation of some of the most well-known and critically acclaimed films and television series of the past century. We look forward to continuing that tradition as we head into this next chapter, coming together with the great team at Prime Video and Amazon Studios to provide audiences with the very best in entertainment for years to come.”

In the ongoing streaming battle with Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Hulu, Apple TV Plus and others, Prime Video has plucked a nice feather for its cap.

*This article contain No Time to Die spoilers*

Daniel Craig left the role of 007 after last year’s No Time to Die and the shock manner of his exit allows the producers to completely reset the role and the narrative he says.

James Bond chose to die at the end of the film – his future compromised by villain Lyutsifer Safin’s bioweapon in his blood – while he was on the phone to his lover, Madeleine Swann, played by Lea Seydoux.

The plot development stunned James Bond fans, especially as the No Time to Die cast and crew had managed to keep this twist of all twists secret while the film was on ice for over a year due to the Covid pandemic.

Daniel has described it as a ‘really very, very satisfying’ way to leave the role of Bond behind, adding:  “The through line of this is family [and] love, plus the fact we had an end so it was about hanging the film off that.”

He revealed to The Telegraph that he had the idea before his first film Casino Royale even came out and he pitched it to the producer Barbara Broccoli who, audaciously, agreed to his request.

Fifteen years and five films later, the super spy died.

Daniel said: “I mean, as much as the killing-off of my version of Bond has been problematic for a lot of people, I do think it’s a positive thing that whenever these guys get together again, it can be completely reset. They can start again wherever they want.”

Starting again is very much on the minds of fans four months after No Time to Die was released. What’s next is always on the mind of James Bond fans and as to the identity of who the eighth Bond will be there are so many names bandied about as potential agents that it’s hard to keep up.

One name that keeps reoccurring is Luther star Idris Elba, who at 49 is widely considered too old to play 007. But two people who haven’t ruled him out are the producers, Broccoli and Michael G Wilson.

She said told Deadline this week: “Well, we know Idris, we're friends with him, and he's a magnificent actor. And, you know, it's been part of the conversation, but it's always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat.

“I think we have decided that until No Time To Die has had its run and Daniel has been able to, well, we've all been able to savour, reap the benefits of Daniel’s wonderful tenure, we’re not gonna think about, or talk about anybody else, actors to play the role or storylines, we just want to live in the moment.”

Will they be forward thinking enough to cast the first black Bond? Only time will tell.

Hollywood's most famous spy, James Bond, returned to the big screen in 2021 with No Time to Die. The film, the fifth and final outing for Daniel Craig as 007, was also the 25th entry into the iconic franchise.

This action-packed blockbuster was one movie fans waited for an awfully long to see so without further ado, here’s everything that you need to know about No Time to Die.

What is the plot of ‘No Time to Die’?

The last time we saw James Bond in Spectre, he was driving away from MI6 and the espionage world with Madeleine Swann at his side. As we saw in trailers and other promotional material, at the start of No Time to Die Bond was still enjoying his life in retirement, but you seemingly can’t keep a good spy down.

CIA operative Felix Leiter tracks Bond down and asks for his help to rescue a kidnapped scientist. However, Bond soon finds he’s in deeper than he thought as the trail leads to a mysterious villain, Safin who, unbeknownst to Bond, has ties to Madeleine. This all leads Bond back to MI6 and sees him working with the operative who replaced him as 007.

As has been the case for all of Daniel Craig’s James Bond films—save for Casino Royale—this is an entirely original story and not based on a work from Bond creator Ian Fleming. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Cary Joji Fukunaga wrote the screenplay.

Daniel Craig on the twist ending of 'No Time to Die'

*This section of our guide contains major spoilers for the ending of No Time to Die*

In a special final installment of No Time To Die: The Official James Bond Podcast, host James King held discussions all about the making of the film with a range of people who worked on No Time to Die, including delving into the shocking ending with Daniel Craig. 

In an unprecedented move (that just so happens to set the stage for a new actor to take the reins from Craig), No Time to Die actually killed off James Bond. He'd ordered a missile strike from HMS Dragon to destroy Safin's nanobot factory but was forced to remain behind on the island to ensure the blast doors would stay open so the ship's missiles could strike true.

Talking about the ending, Craig said: "There were lots of different ideas that came and went and some it stuck. The through-line of this is family [and] love, plus the fact we had an end so it was about hanging the film off that."

He went on to call the film a "massive collaborative effort", adding "that was the headline really, just make it better. So we all input into it in varying ways. I tend not to shut up or keep my mouth shut about things and the only reason I want to get involved is because I just want it to be the best it can be.

In the final moments of the film, M, Moneypenny, Nomi, Q, and Bill Tanner stood around to toast Bond's sacrifice, symbolically also offering Craig the send-off he wholeheartedly deserves for his time as 007. 

Who made up the ‘No Time to Die’ cast?

Leading the way since 2006, Daniel Craig plays the suave super-spy, James Bond. With No Time to Die being his fifth appearance in the franchise, Craig still trails Sean Connery and Roger Moore in the number of Bond roles— Connery appeared in six (seven if you account the non-canon Never Say Never Again), and Moore starred in seven. Craig has solidified himself as one of the best Bonds ever and truly went out on a high note with No Time to Die.

The rest of the No Time to Die cast includes the following:

• Rami Malek - Safin
• Léa Seydoux - Madeleine Swann 
• Ralph Fiennes - M 
• Naomie Harris - Eve Moneypenny 
• Ben Whishaw - Q 
• Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter 
• Lashana Lynch - Nomi (new 007) 
• Ana de Armas - Paloma 
• Billy Magnussen - Logan Ash 
• Christoph Waltz - Ernst Stavro Blofeld 
• Rory Kinnear - Tanner

Who directed ‘No Time to Die’?

After Sam Mendes directed the last two Daniel Craig Bond films (Skyfall and Spectre), the franchise is got some fresh blood with Cary Joji Fukunaga at the helm, the first American to ever occupy the director’s chair for a James Bond movie.

Fukunaga is best known for directing all eight episodes of True Detective’s first season, but his credits also include Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre, Beasts of No Nation, and the Netflix series Maniac.

When was ‘No Time to Die’ released?

Originally, No Time to Die was set for an April 2020 release date. Around the time that the pandemic was officially declared, No Time to Die was one of the first major movies to announce that it would be pushing back its release. While first hoping for a fall 2020 premiere, the decision was ultimately made to push No Time to Die into 2021.

After a couple more changes, No Time to Die's final release date was set for Sept. 30 in the UK and Oct. 8 in the US, essentially a year-and-a-half later than the original intended release. 

While the Bond franchise is one of the biggest in the world, it actually hasn’t occupied a traditional summer blockbuster spot most tentpoles aim for in a long time. 

You’d have to go back to Licence to Kill in 1989 for a James Bond film to have been released during the summer. Since then, Bond has found a home mostly in November, so the fall release date is par for the course.

Ahead of the No Time to Die release, fans were treated to a new documentary, Being James Bond, that looked back at Daniel Craig's tenure as the character, as well as including never-before-seen archival footage from his films, including No Time to Die.

Is there a ‘No Time to Die’ trailer?

There were several trailers released for No Time to Die. As the film was delayed multiple times, there were several trailers released to keep it at the forefront of filmgoers' minds, including a teaser from July proclaiming that Bond was back ahead of its October release (in the U.S.).

Ahead of its debut in the UK and other international markets, we also got a final international trailer. This showcased just a handful of new clips as they tried to keep the big plot points under wraps, but was made abundantly clear that No Time to Die was going all out with big set pieces to close out the Daniel Craig era.

Not to be left out, a final U.S. trailer was also released shortly after the international version.

Are there 'No Time to Die' reviews?

No Time to Die had its world premiere on Sept. 28, and with it came the first reviews of Daniel Craig's long-awaited final performance as James Bond. The general consensus was that the movie was definitely worth the wait.

As of Dec. 10, No Time to Die has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 84% and a Metacritic score of 68.

Variety described the film as the best Bond entry since Casino Royale and the send-off that Craig deserved. The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap also praised the film, calling it surprisingly devastating and emotional like few Bond films before it.

WhattoWatch's own Todd Gilchrist describes No Time to Die as "probably the best 'last Daniel Craig Bond movie'" we could have gotten but he did notice a few cracks in what is the longest-running Bond movie in franchise history.

How to watch ‘No Time to Die’? 

No Time to Die played exclusively in theaters when it was first released on Oct. 8. While there were rumors throughout the pandemic about the likes of Netflix or Apple TV Plus bidding big for the rights to stream the film, no deal was struck. Even after Amazon acquired MGM’s library, which holds many James Bond films, the producers were adamant that No Time to Die would have its debut on the big screen, as would future films in the series.

Now that the film has been released in cinemas, it's started cropping up on premium video-on-demand services like Amazon Prime Video. We've already produced a full guide explaining how to watch No Time to Die, which gives you a run down of all the places you can find the movie. It's also scheduled for a home release on DVD this December.

Who performed the ‘No Time to Die’ theme song?

Almost as big as the actual movie itself are the theme songs that play over the opening credits of each Bond film. Some of the best that the franchise has had include Adele’s Oscar-winning “Skyfall,” Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall,” Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” and others from the likes of Madonna, Duran Duran, Tina Turner and Gladys Knight.

So who joined that impressive roster of musicians to lend their voices to the James Bond franchise? None other than Billie Eilish.

Eilish’s theme song, “No Time to Die,” was actually released in February of 2020, ahead of the film’s original release. You can give it a listen below.

Who will be the next James Bond?

Guessing who the next actor to play James Bond is always a fun pastime, but with Daniel Craig taking his final bow, speculation has been rampant over who may don the tuxedo next.

WhattoWatch has put many of the prospective Bond candidates in a single place for you to read about.

Of course, there has been no announcement as to who will be the next James Bond, or who is even under official consideration at this point. It’s all rumors and wishful thinking. In that spirit, if I could throw my two cents into the conversation, how about The Green Knight star Dev Patel?

Whoever may be the next James Bond, don't expect to hear any news until 2022. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli said "We're not thinking about it at all. We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we'll start thinking about the future."

• Best James Bond films — we rank them all
• How to watch every Bond movie
• Best Bond actors

Daniel Craig has revealed his feelings about the twist ending of his action-packed final 007 outing, No Time To Die.

*spoilers for the ending of No Time To Die ahead*

Daniel Craig's last James Bond flick ended with a killer twist. Bond remained on Lyutsifer Safin's (Rami Malek) island so he could open the blast doors, allowing the missile strike he ordered from HMS Dragon to blow up Safin's poisonous garden and killer nanobot facility. 

In their final confrontation, Safin injected Bond with nanobots programmed to kill Madeleine (Léa Seydoux) and Mathilde (Lisa-Dorah Sonnet), their daughter. Tragically, Bond stayed behind to ensure Safin's island was destroyed. As he said goodbye to Madeleine over the radio, she confirmed Mathilde was his daughter before the missiles landed, killing Bond.

• How to watch No Time To Die

Reflecting on this ending on No Time To Die: The Official James Bond Podcast, Craig said: "There were lots of different ideas that came and went and some it stuck. The through-line of this is family [and] love, plus the fact we had an end so it was about hanging the film off that."

He described the film as a "massive collaborative effort", adding "that was the headline really, just make it better. So we all input into it in varying ways. I tend not to shut up or keep my mouth shut about things and the only reason I want to get involved is because I just want it to be the best it can be.

"And Cary [Fukunaga, director] was a hell of a collaborator, so that was very satisfying when we figured things out. It was really very, very satisfying."

Bond producer Barbara Broccoli described the death as a "clever twist", and said: "Bond has always been unable to have a family because he could never put himself in a situation where a villain could threaten the lives of his family."

"That's why he's always just been a singular person because he can always give up his own life. It would be too difficult for him to be put in that situation, so of course, that's the ultimate position to put him in", she explained.

No Time to Die is still showing in some cinemas and is now available for purchase on premium video-on-demand including Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Apple stores.

• No Time To Die Review
• Who will be the next James Bond?
• How to watch every Bond movie
• Best Bond actors

Many people have been speculating about who the next James Bond will be, following Daniel Craig's dramatic exit in the recent blockbuster film No Time to Die.

Since it's such an iconic role, there's been plenty of rumours about who might be stepping into the shoes of the iconic British spy, following in the footsteps of some legendary actors.

When asked who the new 007 would be, MGM executive Pamela Abdy told The Hollywood Reporter: "It’s wide open. We’ve had very early preliminary conversations with Barbara [Broccoli] and Michael [Wilson], but we wanted Daniel to have his last hurrah." 

With the role in high demand, it's impossible to say who the new James Bond will be or even what direction the next film might go in. No Time to Die had quite the shocking finale, leaving plenty of opportunities to revamp the franchise for the new era of 007.

Daniel Craig was the most recent Bond, starting the role in 2006 with Casino Royale, and also starring in 2008's Quantum of Solace, 2012's Skyfall, and 2015's Spectre before leaving the franchise after the most recent film. 

Speaking about his exit, he told Entertainment Weekly: "I'll miss everything, I think. I'll miss the collaboration. I mean, hopefully I'll keep working and I'll have lots of other lovely jobs, but it's very, very, very rare air. 

"Apart from Marvel movies, there aren't movies that are as big as this. I've had the privilege of being involved in it. ... It was there before me, and it will be there after me. But I've had a chance to be part of all of this, and if you can't get it up for a Bond movie as an actor, what can you get it up for? So, yeah, I'll miss it a lot."

Craig undoubtedly started in some of the best James Bond movies.

With the future of Bond still unknown, it's an exciting time for film fans. Plenty of male action film stars could take on the role, or perhaps it'll follow in the footsteps of Doctor Who and cast a female star in the leading role? Only time will tell!

• How to watch every James Bond movie
• How to watch No Time to Die

Few film franchises are as thoroughly iconic as the James Bond saga. Having kicked off in 1962, the ongoing adventures of Ian Fleming's 007, licensed to kill, has helped define pop culture for close to 60 years. With the release of the 25th movie in the cycle, No Time to Die, we see the long-awaited climax of Bond as depicted by Daniel Craig. Before his departure kicks off yet another conversation about who should next play Bond, it’s worth looking back at the past and considering which actor did this part the best.

The Bond saga is a curious one in that it is at its best when it’s reflective of the changing era it embodies, yet it all too often failed to do so. The producers had to tread a fine line between keeping the franchise fresh and adhering to tradition, and that tension created mixed results. Do you stick to Ian Fleming's work, even as you run out of source material to directly adapt? Or do you go your own way and risk deviating from what made the character so alluring in the first place? It's a conundrum that has weighed down heavily on the shoulders of the six men who have played the role over the course of the franchise (and that doesn't even count actors who have played him in other mediums, like radio plays, audiobooks and so on). The shifting expectations of critics and fans alike make the job a veritable minefield, yet one that, if you do it well, can pay off handsomely.

Thus, ranking our Bonds from worst to best is an evidently subjective topic, one we've tried to structure with some caveats. Did the actor succeed on the terms set for them by their films, the era in which they played the role and the changes made to the character? We’re focusing on the six actors in the official series and not including the likes of David Niven from the comedic version of Casino Royale, or Barry Nelson, who played Bond on the television anthology series Climax!

6. George Lazenby

The Australian actor George Lazenby had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace Sean Connery. He was young, dapper, physically right for the role, but could he act? He infamously only appeared in one Bond film, 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, before deciding he didn't want to continue, something that did not go over well with his producers or co-stars. While some critics have slated his performance as a total write-off, that doesn't seem especially fair. He's not half bad, it's just that he never did anything more than that one movie. 

In fairness, that one movie is a real peak in the franchise, an often-cynical tale with one hell of an emotional punch. It's not hard to see why Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh love it. Lazenby could have been great, but his one movie means his status as the worst Bond is kind of a default at this point in time.

Best appearance as Bond: Well, we only have On Her Majesty's Secret Service to choose from, alas.

5. Pierce Brosnan

Let’s be clear: Brosnan is low on this list, but that doesn’t make him a bad Bond. He was dapper, he could crack a one-liner like nobody else and you never doubted his prowess with the ladies. In terms of sheer aesthetics, Brosnan was on the money. The issue is more with the material he was given and how it ended up crushing all of his charisma in favor of a trite kind of slickness that ultimately killed the franchise for several years. 

Remember, this is the part in the Bond series where he gets an invisible car. By the end of his tenure, Brosnan’s Bond had become a parody, not through any fault of him, although he does seem to have checked out by Die Another Day. We can’t exactly blame him. The writing had begun to lean too hard on the quips, the gadgets and product placement. Even his seductions felt kind of gross, with some of his one-liners verging into the kind of territory we would expect from a Carry On movie. He became, we shudder to say it out loud, too Hollywood.

Best appearance as Bond: Brosnan was at his peak in GoldenEye, with the material to match.

4. Roger Moore

Over the course of seven films, Roger Moore was certainly put through the wringer as Bond. He went into space, he defused nuclear bombs, he fought on top of the Golden Gate Bridge and he even fought off some crocodiles. Moore’s era was definitely one of retro cheese, the kind of giddy silliness that thrived on big stunts, high concepts and not much plot. 

His willingness to be kind of daft brought some much-needed levity to proceedings, but it soon overwhelmed the original point of the character. By the end of his run, Moore was a bit too old and it was weird to see him fighting so slowly and charming women young enough to be his daughter. Still, as an exemplification of the '70s and the Bond that decade demanded, you couldn't beat Moore.

Best appearance as Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun gave Moore his greatest adversary in the form of Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga, but for sheer fun, we have to go with Live and Let Die.

3. Timothy Dalton

If ever there was an actor who was severely short-changed by his experiences as Bond, it’s Timothy Dalton. Given only two films to show his stuff — The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill — Dalton helped to ground Bond in reality once more after many years of over-the-top showboating. 

In a 2008 interview, Dalton explained his approach to the character: "He's not a superman; you can't identify with a superman. You can identify with the James Bond of the books. He's a tarnished man, really. I wanted to capture that occasional sense of vulnerability." 

He certainly did that. Many Bond fans consider Dalton's brief tenure to be the most accurate take on Fleming's novels, thanks to that mixture of charm, sleaze and a bubbling darkness underneath the dapper exterior. Some critics had issues with the lack of humor, especially in The Living Daylights, but that works to Dalton’s strength. This is a man whose weariness with the job is evident. Sadly, his run was cut short due to legal issues, and his contract soon expired.

Best appearance as Bond: Easily The Living Daylights, which remains an underrated peak in Bond lore.

2. Sean Connery

What is there to say about Sean Connery as James Bond that hasn't been rhapsodized from the rooftops for the past several decades? He pioneered the character, created what many consider to be the quintessential Bond. His sense of humor was as dry as his martinis and his unabashed macho sensibilities, at the time, a breath of fresh air. Most importantly, he was just so dang cool as Bond too. 

You never doubted that this guy could save the day, play a royal flush at poker then get the girl in the same day. Even with all of the elements of the franchise that have not aged well — and there are lots — Connery's charisma has remained wholly undiluted by time. How do you beat Connery in Goldfinger, the perfect meeting of actor, character and story? It took decades for anyone to even come close.

Best appearance as Bond: There’s a reason Dr. No was such a big deal when it premiered, but we also love Connery in Thunderball.

1. Daniel Craig

It's easy to forget just how invigorating Craig's presence was when the Bond films returned to our screens following Brosnan's departure. He just seemed so left-field a choice, one that had many fans creating protest websites and petitions. He quickly proved the cynics wrong. 

Craig is the best Bond. He was the right blend of dry humor, physicality, stoicism and genuine ego, all topped off with a hefty dose of trauma. There's real grit to his performance that hints at the character's genuine unsuitability for a role like this. It helped that, over the course of his five films, Craig was allowed to evolve from that cocky upstart to the broken-down shadow of his former self and right back to the powerhouse of MI6.

Following the death of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, you can see the pain of that loss etched onto his face in Quantum of Solace. Craig was notoriously uninterested in romanticizing Bond, calling out his misogyny in interviews, and that helped to make his performance so sharp and thoroughly believable. The films didn't always give him the arc he deserved — sorry, Spectre — but you always buy what Craig is selling. 

Best appearance as Bond: Casino Royale and Skyfall are his peaks as Bond, showing both sides of the coin that made him so fascinating. He's going to be a tough act to follow.

After a very long wait and more than one schedule change, the 25th James Bond movie, No Time to Die, is finally here. It’s a big moment for one of the most beloved and iconic franchises in cinematic history. The film signals the last hurrah of Daniel Craig as 007, plus it’s the first film in the series to be directed by an American, the Emmy-winning filmmaker Cary Joji Fukunaga. With critics giving the film the thumbs up and the international box-office already proving to be a success (it opens in the U.S. on Oct. 8), it feels as though it’s time for another round of Bond discourse.

Craig’s impending departure has inspired the usual round of conversations around not only who will next play Bond but whether that person can be a woman. Fan casting has thrown around names like Charlize Theron, Gwendoline Christie and Priyanka Chopra on the table. Gillian Anderson, when asked if she would play a Bond girl, said she’d rather play Bond. It’s not hard to find an actress working today who would kill to headline a decades-long action saga that helped to shape the face of cinema. 

Of course, it’s an idea that’s led to a lot of the usual furor over gender-swapping male roles and it’s inspired a lot of the same tedious bad-faith anger that sees the mere presence of women in a default male space as some sort of hyper-feminist attack. Seeing that kind of petulance makes it easy to defend the concept, but there are legitimate reasons to think a female Bond is a bad idea.

As both Craig and long-time Bond producer Barbara Broccoli noted, surely it’s a better investment to create new IPs for female-fronted action stories? Broccoli even put her money where her mouth is by producing Blake Lively’s The Rhythm Section. 

Bond is a story at its best when it examines the often-brutish masculinity of its protagonist, a man who skirts the line between hero and anti-hero, and a figure whose attitudes towards women, sex and power have shifted as the years have passed. One of the reasons Craig is such a compelling Bond is because he keenly understands how broken and arrogant the character can be. Just watch the shift in his personality from Casino Royale to Skyfall to get the full picture. So, having a woman become the face of this old empire, both literal and cultural, and not be given the room to be her own person feels redundant.

Of course, if the Bond producers want to take the franchise in new directions post-Craig and they are truly interested in putting a female character front and center, they have a great option on the table already. Enter Eve Moneypenny.

Miss Moneypenny is probably the most consistent woman in Bond’s life. The secretary to M, Bond’s commanding officer, and his flirting partner of many cinematic iterations, Moneypenny is one of the more overlooked female characters in blockbuster cinema. In Ian Fleming's novels, she is stridently professional with Bond but also hopelessly smitten with him, while in the films, she regularly banters with him before he is assigned new cases. She's dedicated to her work and holds the rank of Second Officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service, all of which has earned her Top Secret clearance at a level that only a handful of figures are entitled to.

It took until 2012's Skyfall for Moneypenny to earn a backstory and a first name, Eve. As played by Naomie Harris, Eve is shown as a field officer who accidentally injures Bond on a mission in Istanbul, which leads to everyone assuming he's dead. Eve ends up stuck on desk duty as punishment, although she also returns to the field once Bond resurfaces. In Macau, she helps Bond locate an agent of the villain of the week, Raoul Silva, but she later decides to retire from fieldwork and become secretary to the new M.

Moneypenny is a character in large part defined by her potential, and the franchise's wasting of it. Bond actor Roger Moore once expressed regret that Lois Maxwell, the original Moneypenny, had not been given a chance to be promoted to M. In later films, such as the cheesier, shark-jumping titles in the Pierce Brosnan era, Moneypenny is more sexually charged in her flirtations with Bond, but in turn she ends up turning into a man-obsessed ditz. 

Ian Fleming Publications optioned a trilogy of novels from Moneypenny's point-of-view in the 2000s called The Moneypenny Diaries, written by Samantha Weinberg, under the pseudonym Kate Westbrook. While the books offered a backstory and more characterization for Moneypenny, they were decidedly frothy reads with a pastel sheen that the publishers marketed more as "chick lit" than serious spy stories. That's not a bad thing, of course, but it felt indicative of how Moneypenny as a whole has never been taken all that seriously, even by the estate that prizes this property so highly.

The opportunities are rife for Moneypenny to step back into the field. It would certainly be a refreshing addition to the spy genre, one that has frequently overlooked the long history of women agents and the crucial and often dangerous work they’ve done. Moneypenny herself was inspired by the likes of Vera Atkins, a British intelligence officer who was part of the team that evacuated Poland's Enigma code breakers into Romania, and Paddy Ridsdale, an operative who assisted Fleming's own counter-intelligence efforts during World War II.

As the Craig movies have also shown, Moneypenny fits perfectly into this world they’ve remolded for the 21st century. Blessedly, she’s not even the only woman in the field now, with No Time to Die introducing a new 00 agent played by Lashana Lynch, as well as Ana de Armas as a CIA operative assisting Bond in the field. Eve works as a character because she seems to have a much more level head on her shoulders than the oft traumatized and stubborn Bond. She knows her limits but still has a sense of humor about it all. When she flirts with Bond in Skyfall, during one of the sexiest shaving scenes in cinema history, the power dynamic feels more balanced than it ever has in this franchise. It also helps that Harris is so striking in the role.

Also: Best James Bond films: Every Bond movie ranked 

So, why not let Harris headline her own stories? She's an Oscar-nominated actress with close to 35 years in the business, and she's more than proven herself in action roles, from Skyfall to 28 Days Later to Michael Mann's sinfully underrated reboot of Miami Vice. She also has the role of Shriek in Venom: Let There be Carnage, which offers some great opportunities for chaotic action madness. 

Harris can be fiery and provocative, then switch it up to cool-as-a-cucumber allure. Imagine Harris as Eve, back in the field, a little wobbly but still skillful and offering a kind of stealth and intrigue that Bond often rejects. It would also be an exciting opportunity to change up the stylistic aspects of the Bond world. Perhaps a Moneypenny movie could be neon drenched and icy cool, in the manner of Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde?

The James Bond franchise endures because it’s a sturdy formula that can easily shift to accommodate contemporary ideas and evolving notions of cinema. At its best, it shows what it means to be a man over the decades. Leave 007 to the boys and let’s see if we can establish that kind of narrative for women, one where they don’t need to just be the gender-flipped version of a guy. Moneypenny is long overdue her moment in the spotlight.

To some extent, the two hours and 43 minutes of the 25th James Bond film No Time To Die feels earned, or maybe owed, after the delay of its release from April 2020 to October 2021. Languishing in its operatic cool, its blockbuster enormity mostly feels really good since there’s been so little else to experience on its scale during the intervening time. But as the closing installment in Daniel Craig’s tenure as the iconic spy, a detail that even the most casual fan of the series knows going into it, it tries more than a little bit too much. Nevertheless, director and co-writer Cary Fukunaga brings his smooth, effortlessly handsome style to Craig’s swan song for a harmonious, pointedly nostalgic adventure acknowledging the cultural changes that have justifiably rendered parts of the Bond mythology “problematic” while still delivering something that’s true to what audiences expect.

Following an important flashback that won’t be divulged here and an explosive disruption to his relationship with Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), James Bond (Craig) flies off to Jamaica to lick his wounds and live off the grid. When disgruntled scientist Valdo Obruchev (David Dencik) gets kidnapped from a secret MI6 laboratory, Bond gets contacted not by his former employers but his longtime colleague at the CIA, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), who requests his help in locating Obruchev, and more importantly, the advanced bioweapon that Obruchev has engineered. Bond initially refuses, but after discovering that it was commissioned by M (Ralph Fiennes), he agrees to retrieve the scientist and his catastrophic invention. Meanwhile, Bond’s replacement as 007, Nomi (Lashana Lynch), reaches out to inform him that she’s also looking for Obruchev and won’t hesitate to go through her predecessor if need be in order to capture him.

Teaming up with Felix’s colleague Paloma (Ana de Armas), Bond tracks Obruchev to Cuba, where he discovers that the terrorist organization SPECTRE is not only still operating, but doing so at the behest of Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), despite him being in a London prison. When their mission ultimately fails, Bond demands to see Blofeld, both to apprehend Obruchev and to confront him once and for all about their complex past. Unfortunately, the only person Blofeld will speak to from his cell is his psychiatrist — who happens to be Madeleine, whose previous encounter with Bond was unpleasant. 

Before long, the spy’s past, present and future all collide, as a new threat, terrorist leader Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek), emerges to compete with SPECTRE, control Madeleine and eliminate Bond once and for all, as (of course) the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have written or co-written every Bond film since 1999’s The World Is Not Enough. However, the addition of Fukunaga on the story for No Time To Die as well as the screenplay, along with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), suggests that as valuable as their expertise undoubtedly is, Purvis and Wade's relevance has diminished. While there have been unambiguous victories for the series during their time, including Casino Royale and Skyfall, it’s important to note that they were both co-written — although those co-writers worked on both of their less creatively successful follow-ups: Paul Haggis on Casino and Quantum of Solace and John Logan on Skyfall and Spectre.

In any case, Purvis and Wade have been progressively tasked with updating the mythology of a character with foundations in Cold War-era politics and gender dynamics even more regressive than that, while also competing with a steep increase in franchise filmmaking and an industry increasingly competing to release a bigger film than whatever was the previous one. It’s an exciting but unenviable job, and I am sympathetic to the challenge of serving so many frequently competing masters. But where they’ve failed the worst is in equivocating (over seven films) between Bond’s past and his inevitable future, and worse, in focusing on so many of the showiest but least important elements to update while ignoring less obvious but crucial underpinnings that could more substantially move the series forward.

Bond was called a “relic of the Cold War” back in 1995’s Goldeneye, and from where I’m sitting, Pierce Brosnan’s cheeky middle ground between the unapologetic sexism of the Sean Connery era and the proto-Austin Powers self-awareness of the Roger Moore films led to a run that was neither fish nor fowl; angling at the next generation’s spy film but beholden to the previous one’s like the temporary reprieve of a foothold beneath the surface of a pit of quicksand. 

Perhaps that’s why they, Fukunaga and Waller-Bridge, more liberally reference On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the 1969 entry starring George Lazenby that feels the closest tonally in the franchise to a contemporary film, not the least of which because it marks the only time before the Craig era where Bond let himself get semi-permanently tied down by the love of a good woman. No Time to Die's score by Hans Zimmer is inflected with melodies from OHMSS’ Louis Armstrong-sung end-credits song “We Have All The Time In The World,” and the characters express its title multiple times as they defy one deadly scenario after another.

Also: Best James Bond films: Every Bond movie ranked 

But even before this film, it’s obvious that there was no direction mapped out for Bond’s emotional journey in the Craig era. As a result, the writing team has resorted to combining every possible scenario into one so that audiences feel they’re watching a fresh new adventure, something that builds on the narratives of its predecessors and also lives up to (or at least liberally evokes) the energy of the classic films that made this such an enduring series.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is my favorite Bond film, so of course No Time To Die immediately hooked me with its bittersweet romanticism, picturesque locations and breathtaking, inventive action scenes. But after Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd permanently scarred Bond in Casino Royale, Madeleine Swann offers (at best) a comely but uninspiring substitute for the love of the lothario spy’s life in Spectre; and with all due respect to the terrific acting work that Seydoux does in the role, absolutely no one in the audience cares about Swann in this franchise. By comparison, Vesper was complex — formidable and vulnerable, a true counterpart to James Bond. Madeleine simply exists as a plot engine and to provide stakes for this film, as her past becomes crucial to Bond’s pursuit of the rogue scientist, and later when she must be rescued by him multiple times as his investigation reaches its climax.

To its credit, the screenplay works overtime to build her into someone worthy of Bond’s adoration (much less willing monogamy), including an extended flashback sequence that spotlights the events that molded her survivor’s instincts. But the connection that she establishes between Safin and Bond is considerably less important than the bioweapon that the villain hopes to use to exact his revenge upon the world, which by itself is more than enough reason for everything else to happen in this convoluted story. 

Meanwhile, the noble if almost inevitably disappointing impulse to tie up as many loose ends as possible — to create not just a continuity but an inextricable connection between the events in the previous Craig films and this one — creates some momentarily intriguing showdowns (both physical and mental) but mostly just extends the running time to an almost untenable length.

The sequences with Leiter, and later, Paloma, best evoke the Bond that I think even now audiences want to see. Not one but two previous Craig films attempted to generate mileage from the actor’s advancing age (he’s 53, which is still younger than Moore was on his final outing, 58), but Craig's entire run sexualized the character — appealingly so — like never before. What’s indisputably more exciting than people reminding him (and us) that he’s, like, so old, is him demonstrating he’s got more than enough energy to keep up with younger counterparts like de Armas, Lynch as his erstwhile replacement and Billy Magnussen as Logan Ash, an American agent who idolizes him.

The preposterous reimagining of Blofeld as Bond’s “brother” reaches a more satisfying conclusion here than it did as a set-up in Spectre, but it also exemplifies the disappointing responsibility mentioned above to connect everything neatly and leave no questions unanswered for invested viewers who might feel an instinct to pull at loose threads. So of course Swann is Blofeld's psychiatrist; and of course Safin, the individual holding power over her, is the same one Bond is trying to stop from killing the world’s populations. 

Quick note on Safin's plan: Genetically-engineered viruses that target individual DNA sequences certainly mark a level up from the bioweapons viewers have seen in many other action films (one supposes it’s better than technological or computer-based weapons, which should be permanently banished from screenwriters’ white boards). Still, if saving the world is a semi-understandable obligation to audiences for Craig’s final outing, his saga would have been better served by a story with slightly lower stakes, more ambiguity and a little grace.

That said, none of this precludes the fact that Fukunaga made what is frequently, even mostly, a really good film that I enjoyed very much, both as a longtime Bond fan and a person keen to immerse himself in big screen pleasures after too many months in front of the TV. If it resulted in an excessive running time, Fukunaga’s instinct to let scenes play out unhurriedly only amplifies the gravitas of Bond’s entanglements with Madeleine, Blofeld, SPECTRE, MI6 and his own mythology. 

Working with cinematographer Linus Sandgren (Best Cinematography Academy Award winner for La La Land), Fukunaga shoots both the dramatic and action-oriented scenes beautifully, without resorting to a lot of aggressive cutting that typically distracts more than it assists the flow of scenes in other films of this scale. If he yields to the previous film’s narrative demands, Fukunaga also repairs much of the tonal damage done by Spectre, giving Craig-as-Bond the opportunity to explore scenes without feeling like someone’s shuffling him to the next plot point with a cattle prod that’s just off screen.

Along with a committed and affecting performance by Seydoux, Wright gives some real weight to Leiter’s relationship with Bond, so much so that it almost becomes a stronger motivator for the spy than Madeleine’s many complexities. Meanwhile, Lynch proves a more than worthy “replacement” for Bond as the new 007 — it would be amazing to see how she pairs his slick, calculated improvisations in the field with her more by-the-book approach in future missions — while de Armas absolutely steals her scenes as a self-professed CIA newbie whose jittery enthusiasm belies the kind of capable, quick-thinking professionalism that Bond needs in an ally. Malek slightly underwhelms as Safin with an accent that (for better or worse) conjures nondescript, Eastern European Dr. Evil-style villainy. But the remaining ensemble of established players, including Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and a gruff, equivocating Fiennes as M, hold their own as the machinery of the plot grinds through its paces.

After a 17-month delay and a couple of false starts, Fukunaga seems to have anticipated our appetite to sit and marvel in a theater, hence its unwieldy running time, by far the longest in the series’ history. But he also feels like the ideal director for this franchise at this time. His body of work has always communicated not just a unique cinematic aptitude but a quiet confidence. If the film’s measured pacing and its skillful focus on characters over spectacle seem to subliminally be passing along the sentiment that the filmmaker doesn’t need this as a career stepping stone or commercial benchmark, it nevertheless manages to repeatedly impress with its inventiveness and style.  

Ultimately, this is probably the best final chapter in Craig’s stint as Bond that we could have wished for, and what Fukunaga and Waller-Bridge brought to the film would be wise to carry forward in both continuity and mood. But either way, No Time To Die brings the character to a comfortable, even cathartic resting place that provides plenty of new directions to go — whether the franchise learns from the lessons of the past or chooses to lean into them.

It’s taken longer than initially expected thanks to multiple delays, but Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond will come to an end with the release of No Time to Die on Oct. 8 (Sept. 30 in the U.K.). Before that, MGM has one more surprise for Bond fans via a new documentary, Being James Bond, which will serve as reflection on Craig’s 15 years as 007 and is set to stream on the Apple TV app for free from Sept. 7-Oct. 7.

Craig first played James Bond in 2006’s Casino Royale and immediately reinvigorated the franchise. His other outings as the suave super spy included Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and the upcoming No Time to Die. Casino Royale and Skyfall are widely considered among two of the best Bond films to date.

Being James Bond is a 45-minute film that will have Craig and Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson candidly discuss his time as James Bond, as well as show never-before-seen archival footage from all of his five James Bond films, including No Time to Die.

“Daniel has just taken this, the character, the series, the whole thing, to a place that is so …  extraordinary. And so emotionally satisfying,” said Broccoli in a quote provided from Being James Bond.

The documentary was directed by Baillie Walsh.

Being James Bond will be available to rent and stream for free in more than 30 countries and regions exclusively on the Apple TV app. Consumers can access the Apple TV app on iPhones, iPads, Apple TV units, iPod touch, Macs, a multitude of smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, TCL), Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast with Google TV, as well as PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles.

The Apple TV app is different from the company’s Apple TV Plus streaming service, though you can access Apple TV Plus through the Apple TV app.

No Time to Die, the 25th entry into the James Bond franchise — and the final time Daniel Craig will play the character — has been on hold since the very beginning of the pandemic, but as a new teaser trailer reminds us: Bond is back come October.

One of the first movies to push its scheduled release in March 2020 because of COVID-19, No Time to Die has had its release date shifted multiple times, finally to land in theaters on Sept. 30 in the U.K. and Oct. 8 in the U.S. And despite rumors of sales to streaming platforms and Amazon’s official purchase of the MGM library, No Time to Die will have an exclusive run in movie theaters.

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While Bond has been under cover for nearly a year-and-a-half, we do know that his new mission takes place after being out of service for a while, but drawn back into the game to deal with a villain that has a connection with his partner, Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux).

The teaser trailer is just 30 seconds long, but it does its job well, hyping the return of Craig’s Bond not only to the spy world in the film, but back onto the big screen. Take a look below.

Starring alongside Craig and Seydoux are recent Bond regulars Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris and Jeffrey wright. Christoph Waltz returns as Blofeld; Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch as new spies; and Rami Malek as the mysterious villain, Safin. Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective season one, Beasts of No Nation) is directing.

As mentioned above, No Time to Die will be Craig’s last time playing James Bond. He’s been handling the role since 2006’s Casino Royale, with a total of five movies, which puts him only behind Roger Moore and Sean Connery for most films as the suave super spy.

All of Craig’s Bond films are available to stream online.

Hollywood Bulldogs on BritBox is a big telly and movie nostalgia trip, but it’s not about the main stars playing heroes such as 007 and Indiana Jones. It focuses on the unknown stunt men who made stars like Roger Moore and Harrison Ford look like spectacular action heroes! 

Remember all those thrill-packed movies and TV shows from the 1960s to the 1980s well before the days of CGI? They had some truly amazing action sequences, and all were created using brave stuntmen who risked their lives to keep us entertained! BritBox documentary Hollywood Bulldogs is narrated by Ray Winstone and looks at the history of the stuntman.

"These were the unsung heroes of cinema, paid to make the stars look heroic and fearless," explains Ray. "No one is sure when it all began, but in 1908 an acrobat was paid to jump off a cliff for the silent movie The Count of Monte Cristo and so this new occupation was probably born then!"

But what qualities does a person need to get into the stunt game? This one-off show meets many retired British stuntmen to find out, with one Richard Hammat revealing: "I think you’ve got to be really stupid in some respects, but know your own mentality and physical abilities. Sometimes you wouldn’t realise how dangerous the stunts were until after you did them!"

Another famous stunt man Vic Armstrong explains: "You have to do the exact opposite of everything your instincts tell you, like fall off a horse, jump out of a plane, or zig zag your car dangerously between others. Naturally, every fibre in your body would stop you doing these things."

Hollywood Bulldogs release date

Hollywood Bulldogs originally launched streaming service BritBox in the UK from Thursday June 24 2021. It's 106 minutes long.

Hollywood Bulldogs on BritBox trailer

Yes a Hollywood Bulldogs trailer has just been released by BritBox, with clips from Bond movies, Indiana Jones and more, with all the stuntmen in the show featured. Enjoy the trailer right here...

How the stuntmen got started

As Hollywood Bulldogs will show, the route into the the stunt business was pretty ad hoc. Vic Armstrong had been working at a stables from which race horses were borrowed for the 1966 film Arabesque, and the production team needed skilled riders for chase scenes. Meanwhile, Richard Hammat was a helicopter engineer when he met The Avengers star Patrick McGoohan in a pub near Elstree Studios, who somehow persuaded him to get into stunts for the better money. 

Rocky Taylor, a cockney lad skilled a fighting and judo, plus crashing cars spectacularly, was snapped up for TV series such as The Saint and the Avengers. "I first got a part as a thug in the Avengers," says Rocky, who you see being karate-chopped by Diana Rigg’s Emma Peel. "They liked what they saw and I then got the job as John Steed’s double,. That gave me five years work on the Avengers which was my big breakthrough."

Hollywood Bulldogs — the movie years

After all their heroics in other hit TV shows of the 1960s such as The Saint and Champions, many stuntmen were looking for bigger and better offers in the 1970s and 80s, and that meant the movies. They got big money for putting their lives in danger in blockbusters such as the James Bond films, Alien, Indiana Jones trilogy, Star Wars and Superman. 

While high-paying, the jobs were few and far between and that meant battles between the stuntmen. "It was a competitive business and if you didn’t work you didn’t eat, so it was cutthroat, as you were all fighting for the same jobs, and you’d do most stunts asked of you," explains Vic Armstrong, who worked on everything from Bond movies You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me to Raiders of the Lost Ark. "Everyone wanted to work on a Bond movie as it's the epitome of a stunt film, the Holy Grail of stunts! I got three Bonds under my belt doubling for Roger Moore in two of them! My street cred was sky high back then!"

Filming the Bond movies was lucrative especially with the large number of stunt extras being blown up and dying in spectacular fashion, and they could of course be used over and over again for various stunts. "I was killed about seven times in different outfits on The Spy Who Loved Me, and one of them was a huge fall from a submarine," laughs Greg Powell, son of heavyweight boxer turned stuntman ‘Gnosher’ Powell. 

Rocky Taylor actually travelled to India to double for 007 in 1983 film Octopussy. "Roger Moore didn’t run around very well by then so I became Roger Moore running around the jungle, diving around and swinging from a rope. I was also in a three-wheeled vehicle as it jumped over a camel! After this work finished in India, I was immediately called out to the Bahamas to work with Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again. In the opening scene Bond strangles me, then I’m killed a further five times in that film! I had lots to do."

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The consolidation of Hollywood continues, as Amazon and MGM have announced a merger agreement that will bring MGM under the Amazon banner. The deal is worth $8.45 billion.

MGM is one of Hollywood’s oldest and most iconic studios. It has a catalog of more than 4,000 films, among which are the likes of the James Bond movies, 12 Angry Men, Legally Blonde, Poltergeist, the Rocky and Creed franchises, Silence of the Lambs, Tomb Raider, The Pink Panther and more.

There are plenty of TV shows that MGM has made over the years as well, including Fargo, Vikings and The Handmaid’s Tale.

In the joint press release, Amazon said that one of its main goals will be to “preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films, and provide customers with greater access to these existing works.”

That means that a majority, if not all, of MGM’s catalog of titles will at one point or another make their way over to Amazon Prime Video. It is not clear in the announcement what that may mean for a show like The Handmaid’s Tale, which has been a Hulu series for its entire run.

It will also be interesting to see what this means for the next and final installment of the James Bond franchise with Daniel Craig, No Time to Die. The film was one of the first to be pushed off its release date by the pandemic and has been delayed multiple times since. There were reports that MGM considered selling No Time to Die to a streamer, but ultimately nothing came of it.

Amazon Studios, the feature film arm of Amazon, was pretty good about letting certain movies run in theaters pre-pandemic. Will they stick with that strategy now and with a title as big as James Bond? Currently, No Time to Die has a release date of Oct. 8 for theaters.

Update: Longtime James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson say they plan to keep the Bond franchise on the big screen even with the Amazon deal.

Other upcoming MGM films that may be impacted by this deal include the Lady Gaga-Adam Driver starrer House of Gucci, Jennifer Hudson’s Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, The Addams Family 2 and the upcoming untitled Paul Thomas Anderson film.

This is just the latest major merger hitting Hollywood. WarnerMedia and Discovery are set to combine into a single company; ViacomCBS was the result of a merger; and of course a few years ago we had Disney and 20th Century Fox joining forces.

“The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of IP in the deep catalog that we plan to reimagine and develop together with MGM’s talented team,” said Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios. “It’s very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling.”

Amazon and MGM’s merger is still subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. No timetable was given for when those may take place.

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Goldeneye is the seventeenth film in the James Bond series and the first Bond for actor Pierce Brosnan. But by the time it arrived in 1995 — some six years after the previous installment, Licence to Kill — many things had changed that made the slam-dunk success of a new Bond a much shakier proposition than it might have been a few years earlier. The film maintains all of the hallmarks of the franchise but is an imprint of the era in which it was made. It highlights a pivotal moment when the franchise was in flux and when society was re-evaluating whether James Bond had what it takes to stay culturally relevant. 

The 1990s hardly marked the first time that Bond and the series’ priorities were examined or called into question. Even before Sean Connery left the role — handing over the baton to George Lazenby’s brief but exceptional tenure — media experts wrote criticized the character and franchise as sexist, violent and materialistic. Those reactions only accelerated after Roger Moore took over and gave the character a winking jocularity. Because Pierce Brosnan was, at the time, locked into playing the title role on Remington Steele, he couldn’t accept the role in time for The Living Daylights — leading to Timothy Dalton’s decidedly more sober interpretation of the superspy in that film and the underrated Licence to Kill.

But before Brosnan could take on the role, much changed for the franchise. In August 1990, a year after the release of Licence to Kill, longtime Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli split with writer Richard Maibaum — who worked on all but three of the previous films — leading to a revolving door of writers and prospective directors before Michael France (Cliffhanger) delivered a draft in 1993 that they could move forward with. For better or worse Maibaum's experience with the character and conventions of the series was peerless. At the same time, longtime distributor MGM had a legal scuffle with Broccoli’s company Danjaq, which owned the Bond film rights. After a four-year hiatus from the screen, producers refused to let Dalton play the character one last time, as he intended — leading to Brosnan heading to the part that he lost some seven years prior.

Meanwhile, as a result of changing times changing perceptions of the character, James Bond could not be the same guy in 1995 that he was in 1989 — much less the Bond of 1962. Dalton’s seriousness as Bond felt slightly like an overcorrection after Moore’s final appearance in A View to a Kill. A new Bond would have to wrestle at least a little bit (and it turns out, literally) with his lothario’s lifestyle if he were to adjust to the times and a new tone would need to be struck to balance the cheekier elements of his heroism. If Connery’s performance became a platonic ideal of bone-dry humor leavened with an edge of calculating indifference, now Bond would have to be charming enough for his latest conquest to, at least, consider bringing him home to meet the parents.

The other, perhaps more important shift, was in the movie competition that Bond now faced. During Connery’s heyday, Bond was an outlier, quietly chugging along against dramas, war films and, eventually, stories of international intrigue that were inspired either creatively (or commercially) by the franchise. But in the 1980s, action movies had borrowed many elements of the Bond template, forcing Bond into the more competitive action movie space.

So now the Bond franchise was competing with blockbusters with massive set pieces (in 1995 it had to battle with Die Hard with a Vengeance, Apollo 13, Batman Forever and Waterworld). The action had to be bigger, and the character had to be rougher, tougher, sexier and yet more emotionally sensitive. Luckily, the filmmakers had Brosnan, who cut his teeth as a spy on TV in a series that firmly balanced that divide between cloak and dagger and tongue in cheek. They also had a new toolkit of CGI to create exciting sequences that put Bond in more danger than ever.

Did the update work? At the time, yes. Goldeneye grossed more than $350 million worldwide, setting Brosnan up for three more installments. The character development also paved the way for Daniel Craig’s series of films that looked more intensely at Bond's interior life and carved out a more complex and nuanced role appropriate for the new international landscape he was operating in. Casting Judi Dench as M instantly alleviated some of the claims of sexism lobbied against the franchise (for decades) which were alluded to in how M puts Bond firmly in his place: “You’re a sexist misogynist dinosaur,” she says. “A relic of the Cold War. Your boyish charms are wasted on me.”

But if the franchise grew up, it was only in half measures. Bond's jokes with Samantha Bond’s Moneypenny about sexual harassment are limp efforts at acknowledging the changing power dynamics between men and women. And of course, there’s Famke Janssen’s homicidal villain Xenia Onatopp — the puerile joke in the character's name showing a throwback to the Roger Moore Bond days.

One of the things the film does, that audiences hadn’t seen before, is to explore the MI-6 hierarchy.  It introduces Bond’s colleague 006 (Sean Bean, initiating a trend of dying on screen that he couldn’t possibly have known). But even with several really terrific action scenes (the tank chase is absolutely first class) and a few too preposterous to take seriously (the physics of the pre-credit plane escape are idiotic), the movie builds essentially to the same climax as one of its predecessors, You Only Live Twice, which also features a massive apparatus hiding beneath a man-made lake. Goldeneye is a film that wants to have its cake and eat it too — demonstrate it’s smarter than the clichés it’s recycling, but also get the laugh lines from using them.

And so, 25 years later, Goldeneye arguably ranks as the best James Bond movie of the Pierce Brosnan era, but it’s also emblematic of the piecemeal nature of those films’ individual and collective success, each nailing certain aspects (casting, choreography, stunts) without consistently tying them together into a cohesive whole. In a moment when the franchise needed to be updated and refreshed, the Bond producers and storytellers chose to compete against the specter of commercial foes rather reckoning with the character’s own inconsistencies and demons. While it obviously worked — only one installment since its release made less money — there’s something disappointing about a franchise so tied to and synonymous with masculine signposts that it chooses ‘stirred’ rather than ‘shaken’ (up) as the path for its hero to take.

• Check out the No Time To Die trailer
• No Time To Die moves to 2021

Sean Connery — the original James Bond and prolific actor whose on-screen work spanned more than 50 years — has died at age 90.

Mostly retired over the last 15 years or so, his most recent film character was Alan Quartermain in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But it was his original take on 007 that made him a household name, starting with Dr. No in 1962. That followed with From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever, and the offshoot Never Say Never Again.

Connery played other iconic roles over the years, including Marko Ramius in The Hunt For Red October, Professor Henry Jones in the third Indiana Jones installment, and 

His death was reported on Oct. 31, 2020.

Connery's body of work is extensive, but here are some of our favorites:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

In a pre-Avengers world (not to be confused with 1998's The Avengers, also staring co-Connery), we saw some of history's favorite fictional characters come together to stop the Big Bad. It was a fun watch, though not a great one.

Entrapment (1999)

There's nothing overtly stellar about this movie, save for Catherine Zeta Jones, perhaps. The backdrop of Kuala Lumpur stands out more than the plot itself, and the twists aren't unexpected. Still, this heist caper this is one you watch whenever it's on.

The Rock (1996)

Before Michael Bay became a meme and Nick Cage became, well, whatever he is today, we had this epic action flick. A disillusioned military hero (Ed Harris) is trying to threaten the U.S. government into paying a ransom for Alcatraz and the city of San Francisco, and only Connery's John Patrick Mason — a former inmate on The Rock who managed to escape — can lead a team to stop it. It's good, dumb fun.

Just Cause (1995)

Sean Connery and Lawrence Fishburn, Ed Harris, and Kate Capshaw and Blair Underwood in a film version of the must-read book. It shines a light on the racial injustices of the U.S. justice system and remains as poignant today as it was then.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Never mind how bad his actual Russian was, or how much worse the Scottish-Russian accent came through. Connery was a great Marko Ramius in the Tom Clancy book of the same name that launched the military techno-thriller. Alec Baldwin is nearly unrecognizable as Jack Ryan, too, and remains the best of the iterations of that character. Plus, Courtney B. Vance, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Tim Curry, Stellan Skarsgård, Fred Dalton Thompson — "This business will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it!" — round out the best of the Clancy stories played out on screen.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Each of the original Indiana Jones movies was brilliant in its own right, and the series deserves even more credit today for that feat. And it only got better when it brought in Connery as Professor Henry Jones — Indiana's father and namesake — in the search for the Cup of Christ. Watch it again and see Harrison Ford straight up when he's addressed by his father for the first time in the Austrian castle. It's a testament to how good those two were together.

The Untouchables (1987)

If this movie isn't on any list of gangster films you might run across, just put that list away. Connery as James Malone alongside Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia and Robert De Niro remains one of those movies you just have to watch. Connery won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this role.

Highlander (1986)

Look, there's a lot of cheese in this movie. It was the height of the 1980s. But you can't beat the fun idea of an immortal Scotsman with a sword and a killer soundtrack from Queen. It's just fun. And in the end, there can be only one. Connery played Juan Sanchez-Villalobos Ramirez, an immortal who serves as mentor to Christopher Lambert's Connor MacLeod.

Dr. No (1962)

I'd put every Connery James Bond film on this list, but for the sake of brevity I'll stick the one that start it all. Connery is the original Bond. There have been other greats, but there wouldn't have been the opportunity for any others had Connery not led the way. 

You must be completely exhausted with reading stories about the next big blockbuster getting pushed. Regrettably, remain in our purgatory. James Bond: No Time To Die has joined the graveyard of casualties who will no longer be hitting their 2020 release dates and are shifting their hope to the 2021 release slate.

No Time To Die was originally slated for November 20, 2020. With this new move, it now sits on Easter weekend (April 2nd) in 2021. The official announcement comes on the tail of plenty of rumor that MGM would make the call soon. The majority of the industry waited with bated breath to see if Christopher Nolan's Tenet would be able to withstand the storm. Unfortunately for everyone involved, that was not the case.

What does that mean? Well, for starters, we should all come to terms with the fact that blockbuster films are done for 2020. We'll continue to see "smaller" budget films shift to streaming, but anything that needs to play in a theater to be successful won't be doing so this year. It also means that you can expect any major film that hasn't announced its delay yet to do so soon. 

Disney's Soul is the next major release expected to either rabbit from their date and shift to 2021, or to shift to Disney's streaming platform. Given the lukewarm success of Mulan, you can likely expect a 2021 release date.

James Bond is back this November, probably for the last time with Daniel Craig. The newest trailer for No Time To Die sees Bond going up against Rami Malek's Safin. But as has been the case with the last couple Bond flicks, it's more complicated than that. 

"The past isn't dead," we see Bond say upon apparently seeing Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) again. Christoph Waltz is back as the new-generation (and imprisoned) Blofeld. "Now your enemy is my enemy," he says.

And then there are the additions of Ana de Armas as Paloma (Never mind the 20 year age difference between her and Craig), and Lashana Lynch as Nomi, the new 00 agent who came online after Bond's retirement.

There's a lot going on here — far more than we'll see in a trailer, no doubt.

No Time To Die is set to hit theaters in November.

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MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) is in Berlin just before the fall of the wall in 1989, hunting for a missing list of all the spies in the city.

Call off the search for the next James Bond. She’s already here.

Charlize Theron has all the attributes to make a killer 007 and proves it handsomely in the ferociously entertaining Atomic Blonde. She’s playing a British spy for a start; one who is posh, tough, and looks good in designer clothes. She also has what it takes to charm a beautiful woman into bed. What more could you want?

OK. Let's face it, a Charlize-type Bond is not likely to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, though, we can enjoy watching her impossibly cool agent showing off her skills in this terrific spy thriller. It’s based on Antony Johnston’s graphic novel The Coldest City and takes place in a febrile, dangerous Berlin in November 1989, right before the fall of the Wall. A list of all the spies in the city has gone missing and Theron’s MI6 agent, Lorraine Broughton, is there to recover it.

The mission, however, goes violently awry — as we know from the debriefing that frames the action, in which po-faced interrogators Toby Jones and John Goodman pump a bruised but still blithely self-possessed Broughton for information. The flashbacks that follow tell us how she came by those bruises. It’s a fiendishly tangled intrigue, fraught with double and possibly even triple crosses. 

Theron's Broughton can trust no one. Not James McAvoy’s sleazy, self-serving MI6 station chief, David Percival; not slinky French spy Delphine Lasalle, played by Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Star Trek Beyond); and not Eddie Marsan’s nervy Stasi defector.

Le Carré aficionados will get the drift. Yet with stuntman turned director David Leitch at the helm, what ensues in Atomic Blonde is more Bourne than Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Leitch, co-director of John Wick, gives the action a thrilling brutality. The fight scenes are remorseless. Indeed, some go on so long that the antagonists are left bloody, bruised, and panting for breath before the end.

We’re left breathless, too. But it’s Theron’s remarkable heroine who really makes us gasp. Looking drop-dead gorgeous as she slinks through Berlin’s neon-drenched bars and clubs pursuing contacts and clues, she’s drop-dead ruthless when it comes to combat. And, as her Imperator Furiosa proved in Mad Max: Fury Road, few can match Theron when it comes to being badass. We really do believe she can take out a roomful of opponents armed only with a length of hose. 

Perhaps, if Bond isn’t an option, she could be the next Bourne.

Review rating: Charlize Theron's on explosive form in this action-packed thrill ride 4/5*
Runtime 115 mins. Director David Leitch.

Sir Sean Connery has joined the other James Bond stars to mourn Sir Roger Moore, who died after a short illness on Monday

Sir Sean Connery has paid tribute to fellow James Bond star Sir Roger Moore following his death aged 89.

The original big screen 007 said he will miss Sir Roger, with whom he enjoyed a long friendship 'filled with jokes and laughter'.

The longest reigning James Bond died in Switzerland on Monday after a 'short but brave battle with cancer', his family said.

Sir Sean joined Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan in mourning their fellow 007 star.

The Scottish actor, 86, said in a statement: “I was very sad to hear of Roger’s passing, we had an unusually long relationship by Hollywood standards, that was filled with jokes and laughter.

“I will miss him.”

In a reference to the theme of Sir Roger’s The Spy Who Loved Me, Craig wrote: “Nobody Does It Better – love Daniel.”

Brosnan, who like Craig has starred as Bond four times, described Sir Roger as 'magnificent' as he shared a photograph on Instagram of the pair together.

He wrote: “It is indeed with a heavy heart that I hear the news of your passing this morning.

“You were a magnificent James Bond and one that lead the way for me, the world will miss you and your unique sense of humour for years to come.”

Sir Michael Caine, who enjoyed a close friendship with Sir Roger, said his 'world will never be the same again' in a post on Twitter.

The actor’s three children Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian confirmed the actor’s death.

In a statement, they said: “It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer.”

They said they would focus their attentions on supporting his wife, Kristina, and added that there will be a private funeral held in Monaco in 'accordance with our father’s wishes'.

The debonaire star added a light-hearted touch to the 007 role during his seven performances.

He will also be remembered for the 1960s TV series The Saint and for his early 1970s show The Persuaders! in which he starred alongside Tony Curtis.

Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson said Sir Roger’s 'legacy shall live on through his films and the millions of lives he touched'.

Jane Seymour, who starred with Sir Roger in 1973′s Live And Let Die, remembered him as being 'funny, kind and thoughtful to everyone around him'.

Among Sir Roger’s Bond films were Moonraker, A View To A Kill and The Man With The Golden Gun.

Off-screen, he was respected for his charity work.

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999 and a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 2003.

James Bond star Sir Roger Moore has passed away after a short battle with cancer

Classic James Bond star Sir Roger Moore has died aged 89 after a 'short but brave battle with cancer', his family have announced.

Sir Roger starred in seven 007 movies from 1973 to 1985, but was also a star of the small screen, memorably leading the casts of The Saint and The Persuaders in the 1960s and 70s.

A message shared on the actor’s official Twitter account read: “With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated.”

The statement continued: “It is with a heavy heart that we must announce our loving father, Sir Roger Moore, has passed away today in Switzerland after a short but brave battle with cancer.

“The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone.”

They continued: “We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for Unicef, which he considered to be his greatest achievement.

“The affection our father felt whenever he walked on to a stage or in front of a camera buoyed him hugely and kept him busy working into his 90th year, through to his last appearance in November 2016 on stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

“The capacity crowd cheered him on and off stage, shaking the very foundations of the building just a short distance from where he was born.

“Thank you Pops for being you, and for being so very special to so many people.

“Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina at this difficult time, and in accordance with our father’s wishes there will be a private funeral in Monaco.”

The statement was signed by Sir Roger’s children, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.

Sir Roger was the longest-serving actor to play the womanising MI6 agent.

Last year during a question-and-answer session at London’s Southbank Centre, he admitted that, despite winning the coveted role of the martini-swirling spy, one part he wished he had landed was Lawrence of Arabia.

He said: “I remember Bob Baker and I going to see Lawrence of Arabia and coming out both being very depressed and saying ‘We might as well give up the business’, because they had made the best movie that had ever been made.”

The debonaire star, who added a distinct light-hearted touch to the 007 role, also admitted that, while he thought Sir Sean Connery had been the greatest Bond, fans were 'lucky' to have the current star of the franchise, Daniel Craig.

He said: “I think that Sean was obviously the great Bond.

“He was obviously the right person, he brought the right personality to the performance, otherwise Bond would not have gone on past the first six that he did. He was a tremendous Bond.

“Today, I think we’re very lucky to have Daniel Craig because he is quite extraordinary. I always say that Sean looked like a killer, but Daniel Craig would finish it off.

“When I saw Casino Royale, I thought that Daniel Craig did more action in the first seven minutes than I did in seven movies.”

While arguably best known for his role as 007, Sir Roger will also be remembered for his work in TV’s The Saint in the 1960s.

https://youtu.be/QIEblgU_z50

He once joked of his role as Simon Templar in the spy thriller series, which he also produced: “When I was doing The Saint on television I had two expressions; as Bond I’ve managed to work up to four.”

Sir Roger received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007, with children (from left) Christian, Deborah and Geoffrey and his wife Kristina

Pierce Brosnan is a long way from James Bond, martinis and sports cars in his new family saga The Son, screening on AMC channel on BT TV

As former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan returns to TV to play an American oil tycoon in AMC’s Wild West-style family drama The Son, What's on TV looks back at how Brosnan and the other 007s have fared on the small screen…

PIERCE BROSNAN Long before starring in The Son, the Irish actor made his name as a likeable former con man in 1980s TV romantic crime caper Remington Steele, playing the title character who gets emotionally involved with Stephanie Zimbalist’s Laura (above).

DANIEL CRAIG The current incarnation of 007 is best-known on TV for the 1996 BBC drama Our Friends in the North, playing Geordie Peacock (above), but he also starred as Guy Crouchback in the 2001 adapatation of Evelyn Waugh’s Sword of Honour.

TIMOTHY DALTON Dalton’s early TV roles included an appearance as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Since leaving the role of Bond, he has starred in Doctor Who and US spy comedy Chuck. In 2015 he took on the role of Sir Malcolm Murrray in Penny Dreadful (with co-star Eva Green, above).

ROGER MOORE Famously played debonair criminal Simon Templar in The Saint (above) between 1962 and 1969, then teamed up with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders before getting the Bond gig. After filming his final 007 movie, A View to a Kill in 1985, he appeared in short-lived secret agent drama The Dream Team.

SEAN CONNERY The Scotsman clocked up numerous TV roles in the 1950s before becoming Bond in Dr No (above), including playing a hoodlum in Dixon of Dock Green, and starring in the BBC’s Anna Karenina with Claire Bloom. But after his final outing as Bond in 1983, he focused on movies rather than TV.

The Son screens on AMC in the UK.

Spectre - Daniel Craig again proves his mettle in his fourth James Bond adventure, and this time he shows his lighter side, too.

Daniel Craig’s fourth James Bond adventure, Spectre sees him shed his reputation for dourness and lighten up, swaggering through a movie that revels in the series’ illustrious heritage.

Everywhere you look, there are nods, nudges and witty allusions to 007’s past escapades - from a mountaintop retreat that recalls the Alpine lair in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service to a fight aboard a speeding train every bit as bruising as Sean Connery's railway encounter with Robert Shaw in From Russia with Love.

Spectre’s weak suit is the plot. Following a bravura opening sequence, a dazzlingly intricate single take that shows Bond tracking an adversary through the streets of Mexico City amid the macabre splendour of the Day of the Dead, the ensuing story finds him on yet another globe-hopping quest.

He is still in pursuit of the shadowy criminal organisation that has been dogging his previous three missions, but this time his mission brings him closer to the villain at its apex, played with sinister suavity by Christoph Waltz.

We largely have to take on trust, though, exactly how Bond manages to foil his machinations. Most of the time, Spectre is so extravagantly entertaining we’re content to go with the flow, but as 007 skips from Mexico City to Rome, Austria to Tangier, and finally London, the movie occasionally stumbles. Bond's encounter with Monica Bellucci’s Italian Mafioso widow feels limp and the final showdown with Waltz’s evil criminal mastermind is underwhelming.

For a change, it’s the good guys that make more of an impression. Ben Whishaw’s fey, geeky Q is terrific, refreshingly down-to-earth even when he ventures out into the field, while Léa Seydoux’s psychologist Madeleine Swann, Bond’s love interest, is smart, sexy and very handy with a gun.

Certificate 12. Runtime 148 mins. Director Sam Mendes

Spectre makes its debut on the newly launched Sky Cinema today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTDaET-JweU

Aidan Turner is said to be 'in talks' for the role of James Bond, and fans are already Photoshopping him with the famous 'shaken not stirred' Martini.

The role of Ross Poldark in the BBC’s revival of period drama Poldark made the 32-year-old actor a TV heartthrob.

Poldark star Aidan Turner (BBC)

According to The Sun, the Irish star was flown to Los Angeles for discussions with the producers. He is already one of the bookies’ favourites to take over from Daniel Craig when the blond eventually decides to hang up his tuxedo.

Aidan’s profile rose yet again when he was awarded the Breakthrough accolade for his performance as brooding rebel Poldark at last week’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

Aidan started the year with the Impact prize, voted for by members of the public, at the National Television Awards.

Aidan Turner with his National Television Award (Matt Crossick/PA)

Producer Karen Thrussell accepted on his behalf and appeared to hint at 007. “I am sure it is nothing to do with James Bond, but we will see!”

If Twitter has anything to do with the decision, the Being Human actor is definitely the public’s pick for James Bond.

Omfg me if Poldark/Aidan Turner is the next James Bond pic.twitter.com/rwJByTfCqZ

— rebeccamariex (@bechodgson_) March 16, 2016

Aidan Turner for James Bond * perks up

— Claire T (@needaphone) March 16, 2016

I would not be unhappy if Aidan Turner is the next James Bond

— Naomi (@naomihear) March 16, 2016

@AidanTurner yummy…would make a great Bond but keep the long hair

— Alexa Gleeson (@badgerstock) March 16, 2016

Ohhh, just give Aidan Turner #Bond. JUST GIVE IT TO HIM!!!!

— MancVamp (@MancVamp) March 16, 2016

So @AidanTurner for #bond oh yes please! @GMB @piersmorgan ☘

— LynseyD (@lynseydolan) March 16, 2016

Reuniting with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy is at her hilarious best in the infectiously entertaining action comedy Spy, a rib-tickling espionage spoof that gives a confident female-centred spin to the traditionally ultra-masculine spy movie genre.

A dumpy CIA analyst who becomes an unlikely field agent, McCarthy’s Susan Cooper gets into a series of slapstick comic scrapes as she hops from the US to Paris to Rome to Budapest in pursuit of a stolen nuclear bomb, reluctantly adopting a string of frumpy undercover identities en route. Yet she is never made ridiculous. Indeed, the story gives equal weight to her emotional journey, as she rises to the mission’s challenges, gains confidence and proves her worth to those around her.

The film’s good-humoured generosity extends to the other characters as well, including Jude Law’s dashing, debonair, 007-type spy, Jason Statham’s absurdly overconfident hard man and even Rose Bryne’s impossibly haughty arms-dealing villain. Allison Janney delivers a drily deadpan turn as a CIA spymaster and Miranda Hart is genially bumbling as the fellow desk jockey who joins Susan in the field. But this is McCarthy’s show and Spy finds her on peerless form.

Certificate 15. Runtime 115 mins. Director Paul Feig.

Spy is available on Blu-ray & DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltijEmlyqlg

Disguised behind the rictus grin of a skull mask, Daniel Craig's James Bond begins his fourth screen adventure, Spectre, by tracking an adversary through the streets of Mexico City amid the macabre splendour of the Day of the Dead.

It's a bravura opening; shot in a dazzlingly intricate single take to rival the start of Orson Welles's A Touch of Evil and also climaxing with an explosion. And the fearless cinematic confidence on display immediately dispels any worries that the pressure of following the stellar triumph of Skyfall might have inhibited returning director Sam Mendes and his team.

Far from it. This is a movie that positively revels in its heritage, with references to the series' iconic characters and moments dropped into the narrative with a mix of playfulness and reverence. The ghosts of Bonds past don’t haunt Spectre, despite its title. There are nods, nudges and witty allusions everywhere you look.

In places, Mendes and his screenwriters are clearly having fun. At one stage, Craig’s Bond fetches up in an Alpine clinic that recalls a similar mountaintop retreat in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, but when he tries to order his trademark martini he finds himself fobbed off with a nauseating health drink instead.

Later on, Christoph Waltz's suavely sinister villain, Franz Oberhauser, turns out to own a 1948 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith - an echo, surely, of Goldfinger’s vintage Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. Oberhauser’s deadliest henchman, Mr Hinx, played by former pro wrestler Dave Bautista, has more than his fair share of Oddjob's monstrous strength and is nearly as mute.

And when Bond finally slugs it out with him face to face, following skirmishes in Rome and Austria, their fight aboard a speeding train recalls Sean Connery's bruising railway encounter with Robert Shaw in From Russia with Love.

Elsewhere, however, the effort of bringing age-old 007 conceits up to date proves more of a strain. The plot revolves around yet another of Bond’s quests to run to earth a shadowy criminal organisation – the one that has dogged his previous missions from Casino Royale onwards now coming more clearly into view – but Mendes and co try to give the story’s perils a contemporary edge by adding the risks posed by global surveillance.

Bond also faces a bureaucratic threat. MI6, now led by Ralph Fiennes’ M, is being challenged by C, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott, best known as Moriarty in Sherlock), the new head of the Centre for National Security, who wants to disband the double-O programme. Back at the time of Goldeneye, Judi Dench’s M dismissed Pierce Brosnan’s Bond as ‘a sexist, misogynist dinosaur’. Now it’s the whole of MI6 that is ‘prehistoric’. It’s up to Bond, of course, to prove that ‘one man in the field’ is worth more than a fleet of drones.

Convincing the viewer of this ought to be a good deal easier than convincing C, yet Spectre’s writers oblige us to take on trust the way in which Bond unravels the story’s sinister conspiracy. Most of the time, Spectre is so extravagantly entertaining we’re content to go with the flow as Craig’s 007 hops from Mexico City to Rome to Austria to Tangier, but on occasion the movie stumbles.

Bond’s encounter with Monica Bellucci’s Italian Mafioso widow is frankly underwhelming after all the pre-release fuss over her casting as an age-appropriate Bond ‘woman’. And when Waltz’s evil mastermind has Bond at his mercy, it’s disappointing that the writers don’t make more of an effort to persuade us why he should launch into the bad guy’s obligatory megalomaniac soliloquy rather than disposing of his foe immediately.

For a change, it’s the goodies that make more of an impression. Ben Whishaw’s fey, geeky Q is terrific, refreshingly down-to-earth, even when he ventures out into the field. “I’ve got a mortgage and two cats to feed,” he says before a bout of reluctant derring-do.

Best of all is Léa Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann, her name deliciously Proustian. A psychologist who happens to be the daughter of an assassin, she is smart, sexy and adept with a gun.

She proves less proficient, however, at probing Bond’s reasons for choosing his profession (“Well, it was that or the priesthood,” is his rejoinder.) Then again, given Craig’s propensity for dourness, it’s probably best that we don’t see his Bond exchange the hurly burly of the chaise longue for the psychiatrist's couch.

Certificate 12 A. Runtime 148 mins. Director Sam Mendes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTDaET-JweU

Ahead of the release of Spectre (Monday 26 October), and in a TV Times exclusive, 007 superfan Jonathan Ross (who recently presented his own  ITV tribute to Bond) gives us his personal guide to the ultimate British movie icon.

1 I'M TOO MASCULINE FOR BOND

"I’d be lying if I said they hadn’t asked me to play 007, but I think I’ve decided that for the legacy of Bond I shouldn’t.

"I mean if you have a man playing Bond who’s too masculine, like I am,  and too physically strong I think it takes away some off the fun. So you want someone who’s a bit puny and unattractive like Daniel playing it, rather than a masculine sex bomb like me!"

2 MY FIRST BOND MOVIE

"The first James Bond film I saw was Thunderball in 1965 with my dad. I was a kid and remember me being blown away by Tom Jones singing the theme song. I remember the opening sequence where Bond walks and then shoots down the lens – the fact that the character is looking at you and shooting at you sort of scared me. I loved that film, especially the great underwater sequence which has stayed with me for years. And once you get hooked, you tend to stay around."

3 MY LEAST FAVOURITE BOND MOVIE

"The first two Bond movies, Dr No and From Russia With Love, aren’t great I don’t think, although they’ve got some good moments. You look at From Russia With Love now and that weird chase sequence in the boats at the end looks like it’s from Casualty! Nowadays we expect a level of sophistication and glamour that wasn’t there in the old ones, at least to our eyes."

4 THE OTHER BONDS AND ME

"I even loved the Timothy Dalton Bond films and George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, that’s a great film. I mean Lazenby was a good Bond. As an individual I think he was a bit tricky to work with back then. I interviewed him about 20 years ago for an ITV show called In Search of Bond, in which I interviewed all the Bonds except Sean Connery who I’d interviewed previously.

"And Lazenby was the first to admit that he hadn’t really behaved sensibly, he’d got a bit grand too quickly. But that’s a great movie as well. Pierce Brosnan was also a terrific Bond I thought and a lovely man, of course."

5 I LIKE BOND WOMEN

"In Spectre, I’m looking forward to seeing him interacting with two very different women, you’ve got the young blonde, played by Leá Seydoux and then you’ve got the older, sultry brunette played by Monica Bellucci.

 "It’s sort of interesting that’s he got an age appropriate love interest for once, although a 50 year-old in Hollywood looks like a 25 year old in the real world. It’s not like there’s a 50-year-old from Benefits Street wandering around with him."

6 I WAIT CAN'T FOR CHRISTOPH WALTZ v DANIEL CRAIG

"What I’m really looking forward to seeing is Daniel Craig going up against whatever the character is being played by Christoph Waltz in Spectre. They’re not admitting he’s Blofeld yet, but Waltz is such a great screen actor and such a great screen baddie. I mean in Django Unchained he was a great goodie, but in Inglourious Basterds he was so disturbingly upsetting"

7 HOW DR EVIL RUINED BLOFELD

"I think Christoph Waltz might be playing Blofeld, but I’m not that excited by the thought. I think there’s a degree of nostalgia when people talk about him because they remember Telly Savalas and Donald Pleasence. But you can’t really play him like that anymore because you had Dr Evil in Austin Powers sending the whole thing up and I don’t think we’d take someone seriously now with a white cat, it would just seem like a joke."

8  I DROVE BOND'S CARS – AND IT WAS SCARY!

"In my ITV behind-the-scenes show I get to drive Bond’s DB10, which was a hair-raising experience. I also drive a little Fiat 500 (another car Bond uses in Spectre) around the Vatican where they shot the big chase sequence, which was an even more terrifying experience!

"When you’ve just got off the plane and can’t remember which side of the road you’re meant to be on, that’s pretty scary.  The DB10 was a beautiful drive, I think it goes from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds."

9  I KNEW DANIEL CRAIG WOULD BE GOOD

"I remember when Daniel Craig first got the part for Casino Royale there was a lot of talk, which seems ludicrous now, that he was too blond and too short and too this and too that, and I was one of the few people who came forward – I was loosely involved in film because of my film show on the BBC at the time – who said, 'No, he will be a great Bond.' And I think he’s always remembered that and has been friendly to me because of that gesture." 

10 WHY DANIEL CRAIG IS MY FAVOURITE BOND

"I think Daniel has become my favourite Bond now after Skyfall. But I don’t think you really need to play favourites, I have a love for all of them. I still love Roger Moore and I grew up with the Sean Connery Bonds. Everyone says Sean is the greatest and I do think him and Daniel are my two favourites, if I had to choose."

COMPILED BY DAVID HOLLINGSWORTH 

It looks like 2015 is turning out to be the year of big movie comebacks. As well as the new Terminator, Star Wars and Mission Impossible films, James Bond is returning to the big screen with Spectre. 

It's been revealed that London is to host of the world premiere of the movie on 26 October,  although no official venue has been announced yet.

On the same day, UK audiences will also be the first in the world to see the movie as it will open in cinemas across the UK and Ireland simultaneously.

A Daniel Craig stunt double on a speedboat on the river Thames (Anthony Devlin/PA)

Daniel Craig returns as suave, sharp-suited spy James Bond, with Skyfall director Sam Mendes also back at the helm.

Not much has been revealed about the movie, but the plot has hinted at a message from Bond’s past leading to him uncovering a “sinister organisation”.

Old faces returning include Naomie Harris as Moneypenny and Ben Whishaw as Q.

New cast members include two Bond girls, played by Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci.

Ralph Fiennes will replace Dame Judi Dench as Bond’s boss, M, while double Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz will keep fans entertained as a new villain.

Spectre is the 24th movie in the franchise. The 23rd instalment, Skyfall, racked up an impressive 1.1 billion dollars (£704 million) worldwide in 2012.

In the UK, Skyfall was the first and, to date, only film to earn more than £100 million domestically.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ashLaclKCik

Fans have been given the first look at the new James Bond film Spectre in a teaser trailer released online.

The secret agent’s past looks set to haunt him in the 24th big screen instalment of the spy series, with 007 receiving a cryptic message leading him on a trail to uncover the truth behind shady crime syndicate Spectre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ashLaclKCik

Both Daniel Craig, in his fourth outing as Bond, and director Sam Mendes, return following the success of Skyfall, which grossed 1.1 billions dollars worldwide.

The film features the return of Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M and Naomi Harris as Eve Moneypenny, and stars Italian actress Monica Bellucci.

Among the excited fans was comedian, actor, writer and Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams…

#SPECTRE looks astonishing from the new teaser trailer. Sam Mendes might just achieve the impossible with this film & better #Skyfall @007

— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) March 27, 2015

Spectre will be released on 6 November.

James Bond will only live twice in a new Comic Relief sketch featuring two of the men who have brought the secret agent to the big screen.

Daniel Craig and former 007 Sir Roger Moore will be joined by some of the current crop of stars from the films, including Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Naomie Harris and director Sam Mendes.

Sir Roger Moore (Comic Relief)

Sam said: “I decided to take part in this sketch because the work Comic Relief undertakes, especially in west Africa, for people whose suffering is beyond our comprehension is truly exceptional. Any help I can offer, even in the smallest of ways, is a privilege.”

The mockumentary-style sketch, written by David Walliams and his Big School collaborators the Dawson Brothers, will see Daniel reveal a Bond bombshell to shock fans.

Daniel Craig (Rankin/Comic Relief)

Sir Roger said: “I think viewers will most enjoy seeing that old Bonds never die.”

The sketch will be shown as part of tonight’s Comic Relief which starts at 7pm on BBC One.

A Gothic horror series set in a Victorian London populated by some of English literature’s most iconic villains and monsters, including Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein, Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Penny Dreadful is grippingly ghoulish. The first episode has barely begun before we’re wading through the grisly aftermath of a gory Jack-the-Ripper-like killing. But it’s classy stuff, too, with a former James Bond (Timothy Dalton) and a former Bond girl (Eva Green) among the star-studded cast, and Skyfall screenwriter John Logan as the series’ showrunner.

Taking its name from the nickname for the era’s lurid and sensational crime novelettes, the eight-part series follows American sharpshooter Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), who turns up in 1891 England as a member of a travelling Wild West show but gets drawn into the underground world of paranormal London after meeting troubled clairvoyant Vanessa Ives (Green) and joining forces with explorer Sir Malcolm Murray (Dalton), who is searching for a daughter snatched by evil forces. Brace yourselves for a 10-episode second season coming up next year.

Certificate 18. Runtime 7 hours, 15 mins. Director JA Bayona, Coky Giedroyc, James Hawes, Dearbhla Walsh.

Released on Blu-ray & DVD by Paramount Home Media. http://youtube.com/v/YFXHfEqMcis

Dominic Cooper cuts a dashing figure as James Bond creator Ian Fleming in the first official pictures from the new TV series. Fleming.

The Mamma Mia! star is joined by Sherlock beauty Lara Pulver, who will play Fleming's lover Ann O'Neill in the Sky Atlantic show, set in World War II, when the writer worked for British Naval intelligence against the Nazis.

It was Fleming's experiences during the war that inspired the creation of secret agent James Bond and influenced the series of books.

Ann and Ian first fell in love in 1939, when she was married to Baron O'Neill. When Ann was left widowed by the death of O'Neill in the war, it was expected Ian would marry her, but the writer decided to remain a bachelor, just like his spy hero 007.

Ann remarried in 1945, but continued her affair with Fleming and they eventually married in Jamaica in 1952.

Lara said: "I am thrilled to be playing Ann, a real-life high society siren worthy of Fleming's finest fictional femme fatales. In extraordinary times, Ann had the ear of politicians as powerful as Churchill and counted artists like Lucian Freud among her friends, yet was consumed by a torrid romance with the great Ian Fleming; a twisted and passionate love that would last the rest of their lives."

The four-part drama is due to screen on Sky Atlantic in the autumn and will also star Annabelle Wallis, Lesley Manville, Anna Chancellor, Samuel West and Rupert Evans.

Fleming lived a lifestyle as lavish and thrilling as his creation James Bond, working in espionage, travelling the world, enjoying wild parties and a colourful love life.

Dominic said: "Stepping into the shoes of the spy who not only created the enigmatic character of 007, but who fantasised about being him, has to be every actor's dream."

THE STORY After a life-saving operation following a car crash, London businessman Harold Pelham (Roger Moore) wakes up to find his more extrovert double has been released and is now taking over his life – both at the office, where his firm is undergoing a merger, and in his private life, where an attractive woman claims to be the married CEO’s mistress. Determined to prove the doppelgänger exists, Pelham sets out to track his double down…

THE LOWDOWN In his last pre-Bond film, Roger Moore gives one his finest performances in this taunt and gripping psychological thriller, directed by acclaimed veteran director Basil Dearden, that has been rarely seen since its brief cinema release in 1970.

Known for his cheeky turns in The Saint and The Persuaders!, this film showed Moore could play it straight, and he does so here with careful restraint. Indeed, Moore cites the role of the stuffy corporate Pelham undergoing an almost supernatural existential crisis as being one of the only times he really acted.

While Moore manages not to raise his trademark single eyebrow, it’s Freddie Jones, in one of the film’s most visual arresting scenes, who gets to ham it up as an eccentric psychiatrist. The frenetic score, meanwhile, from Michael J Lewis (whose 1973 Theatre of Blood score uses similar thematic devices) only serves to heighten the film’s haunting, trippy, disconcerting atmosphere.

Not surprisingly, the film’s downbeat story and skewed themes didn’t exactly have cinemagoers rushing to see the movie. But Moore, in the DVD commentary with the film’s scriptwriter Bryan Forbes (who died last month), cites poor marketing and distribution as the real factor behind the film’s failure.

The Man Who Haunted Himself is a lost British classic that deserves more respect, and this new high definition restoration is surely the first step towards rediscovering a true cinematic gem. And I’m with Moore that this film is so deserving of a sequel.

THE DISC The Network Region 2 PAL DVD release (available from 24 June 2013) eatures a HD restoration from original film elements in its 1.75:1 theatrical aspect ratio on both Blu-ray and DVD. The special features include a 34-minute music suite of Michael J Lewis’s score, a commentary from 2001 with Roger Moore and the late Bryan Forbes, original theatrical trailer, four image galleries, including storyboards, and promotional material PDFs. The DVD also features the full frame 4:3 as-filmed version of the feature.

DID YOU KNOW? Besides Moore, the film’s big stars were a 1969 Rover 3.5 Litre Saloon (P5B) and a Lamborghini Islero 400 S (GTS) http://youtube.com/v/vyRPOIFF4pE

The 50th anniversary of the release of Dr No, the first James Bond film, is marked by Everything or Nothing, an entertaining documentary account of the larger-than-life personalities behind the launch of a franchise that’s racked up gazillions of dollars around the globe from over two-score movies - Skyfall, the 23rd ‘official’ Bond film comes out later this month.

The first of Bond’s begetters is, of course, Ian Fleming, who partly modelled his fictional hero on the intrepid characters he met while conjuring up daring commando missions for British naval intelligence during World War Two but drew equally on a romanticised version of his own womanising Old Etonian self.

To bring Bond to the big screen, however, required the chutzpah and drive of a pair of old school movie moguls, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, whose company name Eon was the acronym for their do-or-die motto - ‘Everything or Nothing’.

Then there are the six men to have played Bond on screen - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and the role’s present incarnation, Daniel Craig. All of them contribute to the documentary, with the exception of Connery, whose eventual falling out with the producers is chronicled at length here.

The other Bonds range from the wittily self-deprecating (Moore) to the good-humouredly regretful (Lazenby), but it’s archive footage of Connery that provides the documentary’s best, if somewhat unfair, barb. Asked on US TV to name the first Bond villain, he replies ‘Cubby Broccoli’.

In selected Odeon cinemas from Friday 5th October.

Skyfall will be released in the UK on October 26th. Read our review.