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Containing the Spectre of the Past: The Evolution of the James Bond Franchise during the Daniel Craig Era

2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 18; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14714787.2017.1338161

1941-8361

Jonathan Murray,

Theater, Performance, and Music History

The notable commercial and critical success of the four James Bond films made with actor Daniel Craig playing the lead role – Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, GB/Cze/USA/Ger/Bah, 2006), Quantum of Solace (Marc Forster, GB/USA, 2008), Skyfall (Sam Mendes, GB/USA, 2012) and Spectre (Sam Mendes, GB/USA, 2015) – has, over the past decade, provoked a sustained increase in the amount of academic commentary and debate around the Bond character, his fictional universe and multimedia incarnations. Working from the premise that Spectre knowingly advertises itself as a possible conclusion to the Craig era, this article attempts to identify and discuss a range of key thematic trends in Bond filmmaking (and Bond criticism) in the years since Casino Royale. Such themes include: enhanced attention to the fictional spy's body as a producer of textual and popular cultural meaning; Bond's complex relationship with evolving ideas of British national identity and state structures; and the questionable extent to which the Craig Bond films constitute a meaningful revision of the 007 film franchise's traditional aesthetic and thematic defining characteristics.