Bond had survived numerous revisions over the years but when a film adaptation of Robert Ludlum��s book The Bourne Identity was released in 2002 just months before Die Another Day, the Bond producers knew something had to change. After 40 years and twenty films, the character had become far removed from Fleming��s original novels and taken on a life of its own relying on sci-fi gadgetry and computer generated thrills in stories that were becoming predictably formulaic. After 2002��s Die Another Day, there was a general feeling that the Bond series had run its course. To mark the 50th Anniversary of one of the most successful movie franchises of all time and with James Bond��s 23rd official outing in Skyfall due for release later this month, I have been tasked with taking a retrospective look at the films that turned author Ian Fleming��s creation into one of the most recognised and iconic characters in film history.