Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story Of 007 review

Now pay attention 007! You might think a documentary made by EON productions to celebrate James Bond’s fiftieth year in cinemas would be nothing more than a glorified DVD extra. Usually, such tie-ins are little more than a grab-bag of colourful clips and PR-friendly talking heads. And a 007 birthday party, arriving in the same month as Bond’s twenty-third adventure 'Skyfall' hits cinemas, could so easily have turned into yet another yawn-inducing retread through the guns, the girls and the gadgets.

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As its title suggests, director Stevan Riley studiously avoids this approach in his new doc 'Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story Of 007'. Returning to his creation at the hands of former British Naval Intelligence officer-turned-author Ian Fleming, Riley explores a path every bit as exotic and engaging as one of Bond’s adventures – a spicy blend of bitterness, betrayal, friendships and family. “I was just curious how this franchise had actually survived for so long,” he notes – and the answer might be ‘with difficulty’.

“Everyone takes for granted how this train has stayed on the rails,” says Riley. “But it’s no mean feat.” And it’s true. From debut Bond Sean Connery’s spat with producers Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, to the franchise’s short-lived affair with second 007 George Lazenby, to the lingering, disruptive presence of rogue producer Kevin McClory and the Saltzman/Broccoli split…the megalomaniacs, it seems, weren’t just on screen trying to blow up the world with a giant laser.

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True to form, Roger Moore is the most entertaining interviewee – not least when he explains how traumatised he remains (as a UNICEF ambassador, lest we forget) by the scene in 'The Man With The Golden Gun' where he pushes a small Thai boy into the river. Lazenby is also a fascinating presence, talking about his regrets in blowing his big chance after he announced that 'On Her Majesty’s Secret Service' would be his only Bond outing. Even Timothy Dalton (hamming it up to Shakespearean proportions) gets his due for his grittier Bond, a prototype for Daniel Craig.

Of the six Bonds, only Connery declines to be interviewed (“we made several petitions to get him on board,” says Riley) – though given his testy relations to the franchise, returning in 1983 to play 007 in McClory’s ‘unofficial’ 'Thunderball' remake 'Never Say Never Again', this is hardly surprising. But in a way, 'Everything Or Nothing' isn’t so much about the men who played Bond, nor does it feel the need to document every 007 outing ever made (the declining Moore years are mercifully skipped over).

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Rather, Riley concentrates on the men behind Bond – with Cubby providing the film’s real emotional spine. “He was the last man standing,” says Riley, simply because he always saw Bond as an extension of his family rather than his ego. Fleshed out with great archive footage – such as Connery in Japan during 'You Only Live Twice' – what results is a smart, compelling look at why Bond’s endured. A character that’s always operated at extremes, as Riley notes, “That’s where we all like to go when we’re watching a fantasy.”

Rating: 4/5