In an effort to match the prevailing trends in blockbuster movies, the Daniel Craig Bond films were reimagined as chapters in a larger story. According to the accepted rules of screenwriting theory, however, Bond films should not work. Writers are taught the necessity of a strong ‘character arc’ for their heroes. The hero needs to change and grow in a story, the theory goes, and plot events need to drive this change if the narrative is to be engaging and satisfying. In the great majority of Bond films, of course, Bond does not change in the slightest. His ‘character arc’ is non-existent, and
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