"Take the bloody shot" — it's time to kill James Bond

The Eon James Bond film timeline is simple: 1962-2002 and 2006-present. Daniel Craig is the only Bond actor with a separate timeline from the other five who have portrayed 007.

George Lazenby's Bond (1969) was the same character as Sean Connery's (1962-67 & 1971). In the Australian's only outing as 007, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), it is drilled into the audience that it's the same person.

The title sequence shows clips from the previous Connery films. The new 007 is seen looking through souvenirs of earlier missions while we hear bursts of instrumentals of songs from these outings. An early draft of Majesty's even featured Bond undergoing plastic surgery to explain the transition.

On to Roger Moore (1973-85) — still the same person. Bond's marriage in Majesty's is referenced in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and For Your Eyes Only (1981). Timothy Dalton's Bond (1987-89) also becomes unsettled at the mention of his deceased wife in Licence to Kill (1989).

All of these references work. It wasn't until the twentieth Bond film, Die Another Day, that references went from happy nostalgia to being winced at. It was the 40th anniversary of the James Bond films. One or two subtle references would have been nice, but not 20+. 

Much like the CGI and corny dialogue, the producers should have reigned in the in-your-face nods to previous Bond films. Yet it's still reinforcing the notion Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan all played the same character. It's time to kill James Bond. But not for good. James Bond always returns.

"At any cost — any — Bond must die"— Dr. Kananga, Live and Let Die

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