In movie land, all is not well. COVID is proving Hollywood’s eggs-in-one-basket strategy (i.e. a steady pipeline of mega-expensive, spectacle-based blockbusters) for the foolishness it was. Almost every day I’m reading news stories in which cinema chains from various countries, hit by screen closures or tight restrictions on audience numbers, express their fear of permanent shutdowns as soon as next year and call for government bailouts.

Meanwhile the new, big titles on which the industry was depending have hit roadblocks. Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan bypassed cinema release and went straight to its TV streaming channel. Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s time-twist thriller, did get cinema release but to underwhelming box office. And no sooner than the trailer and then the theme tune for the latest 007 movie been released this month than the studio announced for the second time it was pushing the release date back, this time to April 2021.

No matter how many times I’m disappointed by the Bond series, there’s always a chance another cracker will turn up. Daniel Craig helped reinvigorate the series in Casino Royale and Skyfall – sadly balanced by two...