History YMMV / JamesBond

* AudienceAlienatingEra: Just like fellow British cultural treasure ''Series/DoctorWho'', this franchise has run for over fifty years, so everyone has their own AudienceAlienatingEra. Unfortunately, this is precisely where the aforementioned BrokenBase comes in.
** To many, Bond's Dork Age is the DenserAndWackier instalments: ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' for Connery; ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' and ''Film/AViewToAKill'' for Moore; ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' and ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' for Brosnan. For these fans, these films go against everything that the Ian Fleming's books and early films were, and are a disgrace to the franchise.
** Then you have the other way around (though more subdued): the people who think the series' low points are when it takes itself [[SeriousBusiness too seriously]] and forgets to be fun in the process, like the Creator/TimothyDalton and Creator/DanielCraig installments.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Fleming chose the name, James Bond, because it sounded like the most boring and non-descript name imaginable to him. However, decades of the books and films permeating world popular culture have given that name a coolness and glamour with a forceful simplicity that a multi-syllabic name could not match today.

** Dr. Christmas Jones from ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', is hated for generally existing only so that Bond has a backup girl when the infinitely-more-interesting primary love interest, Elektra King, [[spoiler: turns out to be evil]]. Not to mention the [[WTHCastingAgency casting of Denise Richards as a brilliant nuclear physicist]].

* WTHCastingAgency: Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond has been criticized due to him being blond and considered too short, whereas his predecessors were [[TallDarkAndHandsome dark-haired and 6 ft or taller]]. Fortunately, his portrayal, and the well-done ''Casino Royale'', helped get most fans on board.

** Although many have praised the Creator/DanielCraig ''Bond'' films for being more gritty and realistic than the sometimes-campy ''Bond'' films of previous years, there are a significant number of fans who 'miss' the implausible gadgets, girls with suggestive names, and over-the-top villains and wish them to return. At a more general level, these fans often feel like the Craig films aren't really ''Bond'' films at all, having a lot more in common with ''Film/TheBourneSeries'' than with previous ''Bond'' films. Another aspect of this is Bond's personality; the Craig-era Bond is the only one (with Creator/TimothyDalton to some degree) who seems to hate his job, while the one thing the others all seemed to share was a genuine joy at living life as a secret agent.

** Instead of spending all day here, let's just say "Early Bond" + "Women" (note that the books have other value issues as well, but the women are most prominent). Creator/RogerMoore couldn't hide his discomfort attempting to imitate such demeanour in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''.

* HomegrownHero: ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' gives it a double whammy by including an American ComicRelief from the previous film, Sheriff JW Pepper, as a tourist in Thailand.

** Mary Goodnight from ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', due to Creator/BrittEkland's DullSurprise acting, and the character constantly coming across as both TheLoad, a DamselInDistress and a bad ComicRelief, despite supposedly being a trained secret agent. It also doesn't help that Andrea Anders, the secondary Bond Girl played by Creator/MaudAdams (who would return as the main Bond Girl in ''Film/{{Octopussy}}''), is widely considered to be much better-acted and a more interesting character, [[spoiler:only to be unceremoniously killed off halfway through the film.]]

* FandomHeresy: [[LegacyCharacter "The Codename Theory,"]] which states that "James Bond" is a cover identity given to whatever agent currently holds the rank of 007 (and thus each actor to portray Bond has been playing a "different" character) is very divisive. Some like the idea a lot, while others hate the fact that it tries to take [[ComicbookTime Bond continuity]] ''far'' more seriously than Creator/EonProductions ever has, and even that it turns {{Call Back}}s into plotholes (why do people remember Bond and know him by name from before he was an agent? Why were souvenirs from Connery!Bond's missions in Lazenby!Bond's desk? Why would Moore!Bond pay respects to his predecessor's dead wife? Why is the dead wife actually named Bond on her gravestone too? Why does Leiter recognize Dalton!Bond? Why would [=MI6=] bother with such a pointless masquerade?) and veers into over-the-top parody territory in similar fashion to the infamous 1967 ''Film/{{Casino Royale|1967}}'' that wasn't produced by Eon. Lee Tamahori, director of ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', is a supporter of this theory and reportedly planned to canonize it by having Creator/SeanConnery cameo as the now-elderly "First" Bond, endearing him either more or less to a lot of fans. It was actively {{Jossed}} by ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', as Bond visits his parents' graves and their names are "Bond". However, since Creator/DanielCraig's Bond is an explicit ContinuityReboot, the theory persists that the first five Bonds were agents using code names. Others just go the extra mile and explain it all with TheMultiverse.

*** Related to that, Bond creator Barbara Broccoli declared in an interview that "that's the whole point of the guy. He can't have a family", regarding the decision to [[spoiler: kill Bond rather than have him go off with his wife and daughter]]. Is that because he's supposed to be an insouciant womanizer or because his family would always be in danger given the nature of his job?