Fans of the James Bond franchise need to get a start on their series rewatch if they hope to be up to date by No Time To Die’s release—particularly those who live in the UK. No Time To Die’s long-awaited release marks the twenty-fifth official screen outing for suave super-spy James Bond, as well as the last movie wherein Daniel Craig will play the character. As such, some fans of the franchise are celebrating the star’s send off with a marathon rewatch of the James Bond franchise.
However, fans hoping to rewatch the entire series before the release of No Time To Die may struggle to pull off this feat, depending on which country they live in. Revisiting Craig’s tenure as James Bond only takes a few hours, but watching all twenty five Bond movies before the release of No Time To Die will mean setting aside time for one movie a day for US viewers. As for fans from Bond’s home country, things are a bit trickier.
Viewers in the UK will need to start their Bond marathon ASAP – even if they begin today, there will be more than one 007 outing per day required to catch up in time for No Time To Die’s September 30 release. Meanwhile, readers from the US can still stay at the more measured pace of one movie a day for the 24 movies leading up to the day before No Time To Die’s October 8 release in the country. Fortunately (for UK viewers in particular), the two Non-Eon movies (1967’s Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again) are eminently skippable, and there are a few more sneaky tricks to get around the “two movies a day” issue.
Many critics would agree that there's a strong case to skip Craig’s second Bond outing Quantum of Solace but, as disappointing as the movie was, it is still part of the actor’s canon and features some important lore connections to Casino Royale, Skyfall, and Spectre. However, Quantum of Solace is also mercifully the shortest Bond movie in the entire series, meaning this could be a chance for the 1.5X speed button to shine. On a similar note, not a lot would be missed by putting Pierce Brosnan’s laughably campy 007 swan song Die Another Day on fast forward, or perhaps muting the 2002 dud while preparing martinis for 2006’s Casino Royale. Speaking of, pairing the exemplary Casino Royale and the unfortunate Quantum of Solace on one day and following this double feature with Skyfall and Spectre the next day will give UK viewers a condensed crash course in the canon of Craig’s Bond, which is vital before viewing No Time To Die.
As for the rest of the pairings, beware that the tonal disparity between You Only Live Twice’s goofy high camp and the unexpectedly brutal tragedy of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is enough to induce whiplash. However, it is nonetheless worth starting with a Dr. No/From Russia With Love double bill, as this will eventually lead to watching both of Timothy Dalton’s wildly underrated outings on the same day a week later. US viewers will have an easier time in tonal terms, but they are liable to give up on the enterprise midway through the seemingly never-ending stream of Roger Moore outings. In contrast, UK fans preparing for James Bond’s No Time To Die return will only be committing three and half days of the 007 with the most movies, making the marathon a slightly easier endurance test.
