Amid well-deserved wins, surprise snubs, and internet-breaking altercations, this Sunday’s Oscars ceremony also featured a tribute to the James Bond franchise to honor the super-spy’s 60th anniversary. 2022 marks 60 years since the secret agent first told us his name in 1962’s Dr. No, launching an immortal saga and changing the shape of cinema in the process. Catch the epic highlight reel, which celebrates 007’s entire history on film, above.
The two-minute tribute manages to squeeze in footage of all six actors to don Bond’s tux over the decades — namely, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig, who just bowed out of the role after a record-breaking tenure with 2021’s No Time To Die. The reel also spotlights some of James’ most iconic love interests, too, like Ursula Andress’ Honey Ryder, Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd, and Halle Berry’s Jinx.
There have been a lot of highs and lows in the franchise, but this reel does a good job of focusing on the highs, slipping in some of the movies’ most famous moments — from the likes of the seminal laser torture scene from Goldfinger to the death of Tracey, Bond’s wife, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Not to mention that it rightly trumpets Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” as the best Bond theme of them all.
All in all, the Academy’s tribute to all things 007 reminds us of the enormous pressure producers are under to steer the brand in the right direction now that both Craig has said goodbye to the part and Amazon has landed the rights to the character, following its multi-billion merger with MGM.
With the hunt for 007 No. 7 set to get underway this year, hopefully, we’ll find out who the next James Bond will be before his 60th birthday is over. Either way, this milestone year has got off to a good start, what with Billie Eilish winning the Oscar for Best Original Song for “No Time To Die.”