And who better to do it than Martin Campbell, who had ably launched Brosnan’s cycle with “GoldenEye”? mid-stride, stripping the series back after things had gotten too far out of control.īut none of these changes was as radical a reinvention of the elements that define 007 as “ Casino Royale.” Apart from allowing Judi Dench to retain her post as M, this was a complete back-to-the-book-that-started-them-all overhaul: Wipe the slate, erase the memory banks and try to rebuild Bond as something worth continuing into the 21st century. In some instances, as with “For Your Eyes Only,” the creators interrupted a single star’s M.O. Clearly, each new star forced a kind of reinvention: from tough to gallant (when Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery), silly to serious (with Timothy Dalton), outmoded to modern (under Pierce Brosnan). Though the James Bond franchise thrives on the impression of continuity - one in which a single action hero has implausibly managed to thwart every major terrorist act of the past half century - the series has reset multiple times over its 50-year history.

Casino royale review