Every James Bond's Tenure

FILM ONE: Everyone tries their hardest to really launch the guy in style.  The script and casting all get that little bit more effort applied to them; the action is a bit grander; the jokes are a bit funnier.  Everyone wants this to succeed.

Dr No, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye, Casino Royale.

FILM TWO:  They try to make the first film again, but something stops it from working properly.  There's a writer's strike that stops development of the script, or it's rushed into production too quickly to meet some arbitrary factor like a stock issue.  It comes out a little bit unsatisfactory in many ways, with some of the polish of the previous film absent, and you feel the script could have done with another couple of passes.

The Man With The Golden Gun, Licence To Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies, Quantum of Solace.

Exception that proves the rule: From Russia With Love.

FILM THREE: Everyone's firing on all cylinders.  They've worked out what their lead actor can do and is comfortable with, and allowed him to have script input to make it more to his voice.  A new director comes in and brings a freshness to the series.  It all just works, and in subsequent years, the film is seen as a high point of the entire series.

Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me, The World Is Not Enough, Skyfall.

FILM FOUR:  They try to make the third film again, only BIGGER.  Everything that happened in the previous film is repeated only blown up by a thousand percent.  The result is a film that wobbles and collapses and doesn't work anywhere near as well as its predecessor.  These films have their supporters, but are mainly seen as pale shadows of the one before.

Thunderball, Moonraker, Die Another Day. 

Currently pending but all the signs are there: Spectre.

FILM FIVE:  After the relative artistic (but not financial) failure of the previous films, there's a comprehensive change in personnel.  A new director comes in and he makes different decisions to his somewhat jaded predecessor.  It doesn't do as well at the box office but it's largely seen as the superior film over the one before.

You Only Live Twice, For Your Eyes Only.

FILM SIX: Everyone is just pissing about now.  The set is a load of fun, the actor is so relaxed he's practically asleep, and silliness seeps into every part of the script.  The Bond family are having a party.

Diamonds Are Forever, Octopussy.

FILM SEVEN: You're getting too old for this shit.

Never Say Never Again, A View To A Kill.