The titles of James Bond films are as distinctive to the 007 brand as Maurice Binder’s silhouetted title sequences, or John Barry’s brassy scores. The best are destined for immortality, often as hit songs, and the worst will leave audiences — and songwriters — scratching their heads; a quantum of what, exactly? So there’s always fanfare laced with trepidation when the provisionally titled Bond + number finally gets a proper handle. Yesterday was no exception as the producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that Bond 25 was to be known from this day forth as No Time to Die.
My first reaction was relief that the rumoured Shatterhand, a name that looked far too vulnerable to critical punsmiths, had been discarded,