History Film / JamesBond

Like the books, the movies tend to be episodic and low on continuity, with Bond himself [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] every decade or so and little-to-no commentary made on the subject. That said, there are recurring elements: Every film has at least one "[[GirlOfTheWeek Bond Girl]]," who will provide some combination of [[LoveInterest casual romantic dalliance]] (Bond is TheCharmer), DistressedDamsel, {{sidekick}} and [[StuffedInTheFridge motivator]]; while Bond ReallyGetsAround, he doesn't typically do relationships, and in over 60 years of continuity has only developed genuine emotional connections three times. However, he does have an ArchEnemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who runs the NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE, and a [[TheLancer Lancer]] in the form of CIA Agent Felix Leiter on the occasions when he drops in. He also has a CastHerd who show up in most films: M, DaChief of MI-6; Q, the Quartermaster and GadgeteerGenius who preps Bond for his next mission; and Moneypenny, M's SexySecretary whom Bond constantly flirts with [[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou for fun]]. The main constant is Bond himself: TheAce, TheCharmer, The DeadpanSnarker, The RenaissanceMan, The ManOfWealthAndTaste, The OneManArmy... The ProfessionalKiller, The SociopathicHero, TheAlcoholic, [[ParentalAbandonment The Orphan]], the man who can always find women but can never find love. Which of these traits are pushed to the forefront will depend on the tone of the movie in question.

* '''''Film/TheLivingDaylights'''''[[note]]Director: John Glen (4)[[/note]] (1987) -- Bond helps smuggle defecting Soviet general Georgi Koskov (Creator/JeroenKrabbe) to the other side of the Iron Curtain. But Bond feels something is wrong, and his investigation on Koskov's cellist girlfriend (Creator/MaryamDAbo) leads him to uncover a weapons and drugs smuggling ring operating from Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.

* FieryRedhead: The [[HeroesWantRedheads redheaded Bond Girls]] have a tendency to be quite feisty.

* HeroesWantRedHeads: Though only three of them, one of which Bond had killed.

** Quite popular among the Bond Girls. One of them was named '''''[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Pussy Galore]]''''' for heaven's sake, which--despite debuting [[invoked]][[SeinfeldIsUnfunny nearly 60 years ago]]--is ''still'' something you might not be able to get away with saying on network television.

** Quite popular among the Bond Girls. One of them was named '''''[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Pussy Galore]]''''' for heaven's sake, which--despite debuting [[invoked]][[SeinfeldIsUnfunny more than 50 years ago]]--is ''still'' something you might not be able to get away with saying on network television.

** ''Film/CasinoRoyale'': Bond is shown killing no less than three male villains throughout the film, though none of them are the main villain. Said main villain and his accomplice girlfriend are killed by a representative of the GreaterScopeVillain for their screw-ups.

Creator/RogerMoore became the third actor to star as Bond in as many films (after Lazenby's single outing and Connery's encore); perhaps in compensation, he stayed in the role for seven films, the most of any actor. He had already made a name playing a charming, debonair playboy on television with ''Series/TheSaint''; to avoid getting typecast, he had the writers of his films shift in a more comedic and campier style. The result was a Bond who was a lot funnier, but somewhat less believable as an action hero.

Creator/DanielCraig's films served as a period of major re-invention for the franchise. His first film shows Bond's {{origins|Episode}} (despite the presence of Dench's M), and the gadgets and CGI spectacle of Brosnan's era were replaced by practical stunts and CharacterDevelopment. Eschewing the NegativeContinuity of prior eras, Craig's films formed a continuous arc focused on Bond's [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]], Vesper Lynd (Creator/EvaGreen), as well as a SecondLove in Madeleine Swann (Creator/LeaSeydoux). Perhaps relatedly, the franchise began to be taken seriously from an acting perspective, with Craig nominated for a UsefulNotes/{{BAFTA}} for ''Casino Royale'', and UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winners Creator/JavierBardem, Creator/ChristophWaltz and Creator/RamiMalek portraying villains in the latter three films. Craig stayed in the role the longest, playing Bond for 15 years, but only produced five films during that time.

** Daniel Craig (as of No Time To Die): 42.86% (3 out of 7, with this trope being taken to extremes in that the first survivor wasn't until his third film, and she didn't even have a speaking part).

* ChekhovsArmoury: The sections with Q, where the film's gadgets, weapons, and/or car are revealed and [[ChekhovsGun have their uses explained]]. Some may qualify as ChekhovsBoomerang if he uses it more than once.

*** Jack Wade is seen in the first two Brosnan films and isn't mentioned afterwards. He was most likely a replacement for:

* ComicBookTime: [[invoked]][[TheOtherDarrin Despite being portrayed by different men]], all the James Bonds from Sean Connery up to Pierce Brosnan are expected to viewed as being the very same character whereas Daniel Craig is a separate new Bond of a brand new continuity. Believe it or not though, this was actually loosely averted up until ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' as the James Bond played by Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore aged consistently with real time before being effectively {{retcon}}ned with the younger-looking Timothy Dalton.

** Timothy Dalton: 0% (0 out of 4, but Felix 's wife gets killed pretty quickly in ''Licence To Kill'')

** The end credits for all the films from ''Film/DrNo'' to ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' have concluded with the phrase "James Bond will return in..." followed by the title of the next film. This tradition stopped with ''Film/AViewToAKill'', in which the end credits simply say "James Bond will return." Due to the limbo-like nature of the franchise since the 80s, all subsequent films have ended with "James Bond will return."

** Daniel Craig (as of No Time To Die): 42.86% (3 out of 7, with this trope being taken to extremes in that the first survivor wasn't until his third film note)

* CartwrightCurse:
** Every girl Bond has a relationship with is [[PutOnABus gone by]] [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome the next film]] if they aren't already dead.
** Taken to extremes in the first three Craig films, in which Bond sleeps with four women, three of whom are dead by the end of the film. Madeleine Swann survived the curse in ''Spectre'', however.

* ContinuityNod: Happens a fair bit, especially after a change of actor in the lead role. It started with an early scene in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' in which it was shown that George Lazenby's Bond kept mementos from Sean Connery's adventures in his desk drawer. Since then, Roger has visited George's wife's grave, Pierce has played with Sean's old gadgets while hanging out in Q's lab, and Pierce and Daniel have both driven Sean's old car (in addition to which, Daniel also ended up behind the wheel of Timothy's old Aston).

* CoolCar: Varies from film to film, but you can usually count on at least one per film. The Aston Martin [=DB5=] is certainly the most memorable. Introduced in ''Goldfinger'' and brought back for a cameo in ''Thunderball'', the car was later featured in both the Brosnan and Craig films, with it [[spoiler:playing a major role in ''Skyfall'']].

** Taken to extremes in the first three Craig films, in which Bond sleeps with four women, all of whom are dead by the end of the film. Madeleine Swann survived the curse in ''Spectre'', however.

*** Alec Trevelyan and his [[{{Wrath}} extreme anger]].

As with the books, the movies tend to be episodic and low on continuity. Every film has at least one "[[GirlOfTheWeek Bond Girl]]," who will provide some combination of casual romantic dalliance (Bond is TheCharmer), DistressedDamsel, helper and [[StuffedInTheFridge motivator]]; while Bond ReallyGetsAround, he doesn't typically do relationships, and in over 60 years of continuity has only developed genuine emotional connections three times. However, he does have an ArchEnemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who runs the NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE, and a [[TheLancer Lancer]] in the form of CIA Agent Felix Leiter on the occasions when he drops in. He also has a CastHerd who show up in most films: M, DaChief of MI-6; Q, the Quartermaster and GadgeteerGenius who preps Bond for his next mission; and Moneypenny, M's SexySecretary whom Bond constantly flirts with [[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou for fun]]. The main constant is Bond himself: TheAce, TheCharmer, The DeadpanSnarker, The RenaissanceMan, The ManOfWealthAndTaste, The OneManArmy... The ProfessionalKiller, The SociopathicHero, TheAlcoholic, [[ParentalAbandonment The Orphan]], the man who can always find women but can never find love. Which of these traits are pushed to the forefront will depend on the tone of the movie in question.

* '''''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'''''[[note]]Director: Guy Hamilton (4)[[/note]] (1974) -- Bond goes to Southeast Asia to confront the famous hitman Francisco Scaramanga (Creator/ChristopherWalken), the titular golden-gun wielder, and retrieve a piece of revolutionary solar energy tech.