92 replies to this topic

[tdalton]

GoldenEye is the only one that really comes to mind, although I do think that the video game had a lot to do with bringing the franchise to the level of popularity that it enjoyed during Brosnan's tenure.

[Professor Pi]

There was so much going against GoldenEye, and not just a new actor, director, production team (mostly), and studio.  There were also extensive legal dramas and financial crises at MGM since the last Bond film came out.  But more than anything, the end of the Cold War had prompted the press to openly criticise the need for Bond.  Magazine articles, newspapers, TV shows openly questioned the relevance of the franchise.  No more Russians to fight, too sexist and chauvinist, couldn't compete with Die Hards, Lethal Weapons and Jack Ryan.  No other movie had to fight so many enemies offscreen.

 

Spy proved Cubby could produce Bond without Saltzman, LALD proved Bond could survive mutiple changes in actors, FYEO was a significant course correction, and CR a much needed updated reboot, but without GE Bond might have gone the way of other faded franchises.

[Mr_Wint]

The real "saviours" that I can see are DAF and LALD. Mainly because these films were made in very a sensitive time, where the franchise wasn't really established yet. DAF was the first film after the commercial catastrophe that was OHMSS. LALD was the second attempt to replace Connery in the role. The stakes were high. Now, some ignorant fans call this era "The Dark Age", but that is not really true if you look at the numbers. These two films turned out to be huge boxoffice successes. And they had to be that for the series to live on.