NMR: Everything or Nothing

Prior to the release of Skyfall last November, a documentary was released celebrating the world of James Bond in honor of the film franchise's 50th anniversary. The documentary is now available on Netflix Instant View which enables me a chance to finally see it. Given that this documentary did not receive a lot of fanfare or even a theatrical release made me worried that it would either be hatchet job or look cheap. Thankfully neither are true. I actually loved this depiction. While I certainly knew a lot of the information, I was pleasantly surprised that it did give insight into the franchise that I was not previously familiar with. It goes into a lot of detail about Albert Broccoli, the producer of the Bond films and his often contentious relationships with others associated with the films. We also get some insight from the various men who have played Bond. One of the things that struck me about their comments is that each of them, regardless of how long or successful their tenure was as 007 absolutely loved playing the role. You could tell that for each of them, this was more than just an acting job. The success of these films is nothing short of spectacular and you truly get a sense while watching this film as to how they've managed to keep the franchise alive all these years. Some of it was luck, but it also took a lot of talented people with a devotion to this character to constantly being driven to wanting to always make the best film possible. While Bond fans should absolutely check this out, I do think that those who don't care much for the series would still find the film interesting as well. Not too many franchises can say they've been around for a half century, so why not check out what make this one so unique. Rating: *****