Review of Everything or Nothing

To mark the 50th anniversary of James Bond 007 on the big screen, starting with Dr. No in 1962, this special feature length documentary film was released on the same that the first of the spy films came out (the Adele title song for Skyfall was released this day as well), and it would document everything you could think of from the creation of the character and stories up to the present day. It of course begins with the story of how writer Ian Fleming created the character in 1953 and wrote his first of fourteen novels with the famous hero, Casino Royale, and after terrible versions on television how eventually the books caught the attention of filmmakers Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman with Eon (Everything or Nothing) Productions and Danjaq brought Dr. No to the big screen. There is discussion about the casting of Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery (sadly not interviewed) as British secret agent James Bond 007, the four films that followed with the star, the sad death of Fleming after From Russia with Love, the legal battle during Thunderball with Kevin McClory trying to get the rights he battled for, new Australian actor George Lazenby becoming the new star (who it would turn out would only film), and bringing Connery back for Diamonds Are Forever. We see how English actor Sir Roger Moore became Bond for twelve years and seven films, Saltzman leaving the series after falling out with Broccoli, the battle between the official Bond film Octopussy and the independent Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again starring Connery and how they fared, how close Irish actor Pierce Brosnan came to becoming the next Bond before his television show Remington Steel was revived and Welsh Shakespearian actor Timothy Dalton was brought in, and how Dalton returned the character to the routes of the novels but became a somewhat controversial and possibly too dark Bond for fans in two films (especially in Licence to Kill). It shows Brosnan getting his second chance six years after the last film and officially becoming the new Bond in GoldenEye and a following three films after, with the Cold War over Bond is given an up to date new image and the actor is replaced by a then controversial choice, blonde actor English actor Daniel Craig who turns out to be an inspired choice in Casino Royale (which shows the origins of the character becoming a double 0 agent, killing two people), and there is a little talk about the upcoming Skyfall. It is fascinating to hear stories from the actors who have played the part of James Bond 007; Lazenby tells how he stormed into an audition and found it easy to get laid, Moore talks about making great friends with cast and crew and trying to resist a Sir Sean Connery impression when saying "My name is Bond. James Bond", Dalton remarks that he wanted to stick with the original works of Fleming and create a more serious character and how enjoyed being the hero, Brosnan remembers how he came close to getting the part and then when he did he mentions the funny side of the job, and Craig talks about how he was happy to be accepted after some controversy and what the future holds for the franchise. Also with contributions from Ken Adam, Barbara Broccoli, Dana Broccoli, Bill Clinton, Robert Davi, Sir Christopher Lee (Ian Fleming's cousin), Mike Myers and Michael G. Wilson. It is clever that the film does not just use photographs and archive footage to tell the stories, it merges clips and behind the scenes footage from all twenty three films: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. The film also features many of the famous music scores from the films, and a few of the songs, including "Thunderball" by Sir Tom Jones, "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong and "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon. It is a very interesting factual film about one of the most successful film franchises in the world, there are many fascinating and insightful stories about the making of the films, all the crew who made them happen, and the events during and after production and screenings, it is everything you could think of if you are a Bond fan, a very watchable documentary. Very good!