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Jason's Top 10:
1 THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
Stromberg's the most evil of them all
Evil-o-meter: 10
2 MOONRAKER
Drax is not much better than Stromberg, evil evil
Evil-o-meter 10
3 TOMORROW NEVER DIES
Carver creating the exclusive news by mass murdering and raging war
Evil-o-meter 9
4 GOLDFINGER
Goldfinger rendering Fort Knox's Gold worthless for 100 years
Evil-o-meter 9
5 ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
Blofeld using hypnotised beauties to create havoc with biological warfare if the governments don't pay a hefty fee.
Evil-o-meter 9
6 DIE ANOTHER DAY
Graves creating the ultimate weapon of mass destruction and selling it to the highest bidder
Evil-o-meter 8
7 QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Greene controlling water supplies to privatise them so the regimes can get filthy rich, helping overthrowing governments with the help of some scumbag CIA
Evil-o-meter 8
8 OCTOPUSSY
Orlov turning the world into a war zone for his own ideological madness
Evil-o-meter 8
9 A VIEW TO A KILL
Zorin destroying the Silicon Valley, mass murdering, only to control the micro chip market
Evil-o-meter 8
10 GOLDENEYE
Trevelyan double-crossing everyone to get filthy rich by destroying all financial records and government records of England
Evil-o-meter 7
The still convincing plots, the middle field:
11 DR NO evil-o-meter 7
12 THUNDERBALL evil-o-meter 7
13 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE evil-o-meter 7
14 YOLT evil-o-meter 7
15 SPECTRE evil-o-meter 6
16 THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS evil-o-meter 6
17 LIVE AND LET DIE evil-o-meter 6
18 THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN evil-o-meter 5
19 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY evil-o-meter 5
The meh ones, bottom five.
20 LICENCE TO KILL
A capitalist drug lord, oh well.
Evil-o-meter 4
21 CASINO ROYALE
There is no evil plan, there is no villain, just an overpaid henchman called LeChiffre
Evil-o-meter 3
22 DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
Blofeld wanting to make the world cross-dress...and put his diamonds collection into space.
Evil-o-meter 1
23 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Elektra King fooling everyone, taking revenge on M, her father and well...silly.
Evil-o-meter 0
24 SKYFALL
Dr. Evil taking revenge on his Mommy, silly.
Evil-o-meter -1
GF
OHMSS
TND
AVTAK
OP
TLD
FRWL
TSWLM
MR
DN
TWINE
FYEO
CR
QOS
GE
YOLT
DAD
DAF
LALD
SP
LTK
TMWTGG
SF
TB
TLD
CR
FYEO
FRWL
AVTAK
OP
TND
TWINE
GE
QOS
SP
YOLT
TSWLM
MR
DN
LALD
LTK
TMWTGG
OHMSS
DAD
DAF
SF
It's cruel and conniving and fits the Hichcockian atmosphere of the film. SPECTRE wants to manipulate Bond into doing their work for them while discrediting both the British and Russian intelligence agencies, then they'll get rid of Bond. These sorts of spy games are exactly the sort of machinations that you'd expect A-grade Bond villains to concoct. It's not silly or outrageous at all, but not completely realistic either. Just the type of villain plot for a Bond film.
GF
The gold standard for Bond villain plans. Don't have to explain why.
TB
Simple and effective. It's just acquiring two bombs to blackmail the world, yet it would be double-oh-so successful if it wasn't foiled by 007. Definitely the type of thing you'd get one of the best spies in the world to try to stop.
FYEO
What I like about this one is how down-to-earth it is. It's realistic - something that could totally happen in the real world - and it's still effective enough to provide the motive for the entire film, and it manages to do all that whilst appearing simple. That's a good villain plot.
YOLT
SPECTRE wants to inaugurate a worldwide war and then reap the profits. You can't get a more perfect setup for a Bond story - there aren't many better plots for Bond to stop.
TSWLM
This is the first truly grand "world-domination" type of plot that we've seen in Bond. It's also still the best. For a Roger Moore flick, this is exactly the type of overtly grand, outlandish plot that Bond has to save the world from.
GE
This one's just the right mix of outlandishness and genuine, palpable threat.
AVTAK
A thinly veiled GF plot, perhaps, but still designed and executed well. It also came a lot closer to succeeding than most other villain schemes in Bond.
TWINE
The film has an overwhelmingly complicated plot but when you step back the villain's plot isn't all that complicated. Elektra basically wants her own twisted form of justice - she's gotten revenge on her father and she now wants to expand her power over the oil industry, whilst humiliating MI6.
MR
It's a cheap knock-off of TSWLM, just more outlandish, extreme and cliche.
LALD
Monopolizing the economy by essentially drugging everybody is definitely a Bond villain scheme. The poppy fields get destroyed a bit too early, though, so the threat fades too quickly. It's just not memorable in general - and I'm surprised by how calm Kananga is after Bond's completely ruined his plan.
TMWTGG
I love Scaramanga/Bond's hunt for each other, but the solar energy sub-plots just detract from that.
DN
This is the raw Bond villain scheme. It's simple, yet it can be magnified to a worldwide-domination sort of plot, and it's exactly the thing that a spy would try to stop in 1962.
SP
SPECTRE wants to force intelligence agencies around the world to combine their intel so that they can steal said intel from the world and use it to terrorize the world. It's not necessarily a bad plot, just not quite special enough (it's a glorified FRWL, really) and definitely not delivered well enough.
TND
It's kind of Rupert Murdoch with the evil meter dialled up a couple of notches. Carver's smart, but this is really just another profit-ripping scheme. It's not a real, dangerous plot.
SF
The machinations here are good, it's just so wildly unrealistic. How does Silva know everything such as precisely where M would be at this stage of the day etc.
OP
This one's just too complicated. Every single scheme either of the villains concoct is just another cliched sub-plot to drag the story on. You're not going to catch up with the villain plots at the end of just one viewing.
OHMSS
Technically the plot itself is fine (if a bit too outrageous), but I can't get the horrendous hypnotizing scenes out of my head.
QoS
The plan itself is decent (it's recycled from older Bond plots) but the villain wants to steal water. There's just not enough potency behind the actual plot.
LTK
My complaint with this one is basically that most of this film's story is centered around Bond's attempt at vengeance, not Sanchez planning to do anything drastic. He wants some Stringer missiles and an South American-Asian drug cartel alliance. It's fine, there's just nowhere near enough emphasis on either of those things and as a result we frankly just don't care.
TLD
The plot just changes too many times. Koskov's faked defection and the faked Smiert Spionem were good, but Whitaker's plot, which can be considered the central one (and thus conflicts with Koskov's one), is just cliche and we never feel the threat of it.
Casino Royale
You feel the stakes are so high, but the villain doesn't really even have a plot. I mean, LeChiffre is basically trying to win back cash for his clientele and fund terrorism.
DAF
By the finale, you hardly even care about the villain's plot.
DAD
Not only is it cartoonish, but I can't bring myself to suspend my disbelief for it in any capacity. It makes MR tame in comparison.
My Top 10 of Bond movies with best locations:
1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Spectre
3. OHMSS
4. Dr.No
5. Thunderball
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. Octopussy
8. The Living Daylights
9. Casino Royale
10. Quantum Of Solace
worst: Tomorrow Never Dies, Die Another Day, Skyfall, Live And Let Die
1. TSWLM
2. FRWL
3. MR
4. OHMSS
5. TB
6. FYEO
7. OP
8. TLD
9. CR
10. YOLT
1. TB
2. DN
3. YOLT
4. FRWL
5. OHMSS
6. TSWLM
7. OP
8. CR
9. TMWTGG
10. MR
1 Casino Royale
2 Spectre
3 Goldeneye
4 Die another day
5 Thunderball
6 From Russia with love
7 The world is not enough
8 Skyfall
9 Dr No
10 Tomorrow never Dies
2. You Only Live Twice – Despite having only one location, it's dripping with the travelogue-y feel to it that Fleming's source novel had.
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service – From Portugal to the Swiss Alps, the locations are nothing short of majestic.
4. Quantum of Solace – A whistle stop tour of the world. Shame they couldn't have a more travelogue-y vibe to them, but the excellent DoP, Roberto Schaefer, makes up for it.
5. The Spy Who Loved Me – More snow. And Egypt, yay!
6. Thunderball – Water sports with Auger and Paluzzi? Yes please.
7. From Russia With Love – Istanbul – romance and danger. The perfect setting for a Bond thriller.
8. For Your Eyes Only – perhaps lacking the grandeur of say MR and Spy, but the way the Glen and Hume use the locations is superb.
9. Dr. No – The first and set the standerd for the series.
10. Spectre – Mexico, Rome, Austria and Morocco, just wonderful.
2. MR Had a lot of countries and cities and hear, hear it had OUTER SPACE as well.
3. TSWLM Lots of snow, sands and seas!
4. SF Actually I loved the locations in Skyfall - you had Shanghai, Macau, Silva's Island, Istanbul, Scotland, great stuff and great land shots.
5. CR Lots of great beaches.
6. OHMSS Great locale in the Swiss Alps.
7. TB Also lots of great beaches.
8. YOLT One location that is utilised very well.
9. OP Exotic India, good locale in Germany as well, and two great palaces.
10. TLD I like Gibraltar, and I like Vienna, and I like the scope sense of the desert scenes too.
2. The Man with the Golden Gun: similar locations for a similar film, especially Hong Kong and Thailand.
3. Die Another Day: based purely on locations, this film should have been special. How could you not like a combination of Korea, HK, Cuba, London and Iceland?
4. You Only Live Twice
5. Octopussy
6. Tomorrow Never Dies: the cool menace of Hamburg and the hot, crowded streets of HCMC.
7. The Living Daylights: love the Cold War feel and the contrast between Austria, Tangiers and central Asia.
8. Spectre: similar to TLD, for me the sunset after the funeral at Rome and the sunset on the train are spectacular shots.
9. The Spy Who Loved Me: impossible to deny this one, even if it is only based on Egypt.
10. Goldeneye.
1. On her Majesty's Secret Service (the perfect location, very unique)
2. Dr. No (very beautifull, Bond stays in one place and interacts with locals)
3. For Your Eyes Only (very beautifull region and perfect use of the Greek islands, also great use of the winter sport facilities in Cortina.
4. From Russia with Love (Bond mostly stays in one place, great presentation of Istanbul in the 1960s, Spy atmosphere)
5. The Man with the golden gun (very interesting presentation of the far east, no useless globetrotting)
6. Octopussy (India is just great and unique)
7. A View To a Kill (San Francisco and Paris are two of the most beautifull citys, great use of famous buildings and landmarks, Bond interacts with locals)
8. Skyfall (Shanghai is beautifully shot, the same applies to Scottland)
9. Diamonds are forever (intersting, unique and beautifull locations)
10. Golden Eye (very interesting location with Russia shortly after the end of the Cold War)
11. You only live twice (Japan is interesting but it is maybe a bit too forced and used as a cliche)
12. The Living Daylights (many locations but they are interesting and unique)
13. The World is not enough (maybe a bit dreary but very interesting and unique location, Bond stays in one country)
14. The Spy who loved me (Egypt scenes are great, the rest is uninteresting)
15. Thunderball (too similar to DN)
16. Casino Royal (too much unnecessary globe trotting)
17. Quantum of Solace (too much unnecessary globe trotting)
18. Live and let die (New York is great, the rest is ok)
19. Goldfinger (relatively uninteresting locations but great use of Fort Knox)
20. Moonraker (too much globetrotting, the locations are a bit too beautifull)
21. Spectre (globetrotting, no interactions with locals, most locations have already been used before in the franchise)
22. Tomorrow never dies (cheap and uninteresting)
23. Licence to kill (everything looks really cheap and uninteresting here, it doesn't help that Isthmus City doesn't exist.)
24. Die another day (everything seems so artificial here, the Ice palace is just ridiculous)
Very interesting, but sensible point of view. Given your criteria I would actually rank AVTAK higher given how well it uses the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge. I would disagree that there is too much unnecessary globe trotting in CR though, because the key middle section of the plot is based around one locale, and I think that is what is important. Although, they probably could have done without Miami.
On her Majesty's Secret Service
Octopussy
The Spy Who Loved Me
You Only Live Twice
The living Daylights
From Russia With Love
The World Is Not Enough
Goldeneye
Tomorrow Never Dies
Diamonds Are Forever
Live and Let Die
The Man With The Golden Gun
Moonraker
A View To A Kill
Licence To Kill
Quantum Of Solace
Dr No
Spectre
Casino Royale
Thunderball
Never Say Never Again
Die Another Day
Skyfall
Goldfinger
The Eiffel Tower sequence is truly amazing from start to finish.
They should have been able to do so much more with Paris than they did. Sure the May Day jump was brilliant, but that was it. I wish they had used the city more for something else suspenseful, rather than the somewhat campy car chase. Other films (from Ronin to Bourne to Rush Hr 3) have used Paris more effectively imho (apart from the Eiffel tower which Bond aced)
Regarding San Fran, again I think they blew it, compared to what other films (Vertigo, Bullitt, Rock, Jade etc.) have done. The green screen work was awful.
---
The best Bond films use locations better than other films do. I still think Istanbul in FRWL hasn't been bettered, or Jamaica in DN, or Nassau in TB, or Japan in YOLT, or Thailand in TMWTGG, or Egypt in TSWLM. I can't say the same about the two locations used in AVTAK.
I think it is very difficult to compare it. I mean San Francisco has been used extremly often in Cinema history so the competition is high but think of all the locations they use in AVTAK: Harbour, City Hall, China Town. Some of the SF sequences also take place at night. As I said it earlier in a comment, I don't need to have just a set of beautifull holiday locations in a film but get an impression of the specific location. I like it that they spend the entire second half of the film in SF, that Bond interacts with locals and doesn't move again and again to some other locations. Bond even returns to some places (City hall, Stacy's house).
Agree entirely. The series needs to halt this country-hopping and start investing the story in a locale. DN, FRWL, TB, OHMSS, FYEO did this best, i.m.o
On the other hand, Mooraker and also Spectre are the examples for Bond films where I have the impression that the film makers just tried to put as many beautifull locations as possible into one film.
This time HIGHEST CAMP FACTOR Bond movie.
And this isn't mean in a negative way of course, it can be, but not necessarily!
I'll start, and of course you can limit it to a Top 10. I include NSNA, you don't have to.
1 DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER CAMP
almost a no-brainer I think, even the henchmen are gay and Blofeld is cross-dressing for Christ's Sake :))
2 DIE ANOTHER CAMPY DAY
JINX is as camp as they come if you ask me, Graves is OTT acting which in my book qualifies as camp. And those special effects :))
3 MOONRAKER
The campiest of all Moore entries, no doubt. Even Jaws is as camp as possible in that one, remember his fall into the circus tent? :))
4 THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
For some reason I find Goodnight so camp but then I love her. Furthermore the whole setting is ridiculous. A golden gun? More camp is almost not possible.
5 NEVER SAY CAMP NEVER AGAIN
That video game! Brandauer's performance. And Fatima Blush anyone? :))
6 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Bibi Dahl almost single-handedly puts FYEO into the Top 10 of campness :)) And Kriegler, isn't he just fabulous and what a gay time we have with him.
7 A VIEW TO A KILL
I find May Grace Jones Day ridiculously OTT so she qualifies as camp. Zorin also has a lot of camp factor in him. That's enough for the Top 10 and then there is THAT PTS :))
8 TOMORROW NEVER DIES
Unlikely? Elliot Carver anyone? :)) And the campiest Bond girl ever in a negative sense of course is Paris Carver. And Stamper? Huhh...delicious :))
9 GOLDFINGER
Don't get me wrong, it is here for positive reasons only. The most camp Bond girl ever in a positive sense and she's named what?!?! :)) PUSSY GALORE.
Goldfinger himself isn't that uncampy at all, and all those flying circus girls :)
10 OCTOPUSSY
All time high...Kamal Khan...his henchman...OCTOPUSSY for Christ's Sake :)) and that dinner at Kamal's palace! Q in a hot air balloon...and a CLOWN!
11 THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Again for the girl mainly. Christmas Jones, Dr. Almost as bad as Paris but with bigger tit...bits!
12 SKYFALL
Silva's ridiculous camp performance alone justifies rank 12.
13 THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
XXX has all it takes. And there's Jaws doing the camp in Egypt.
14 GOLDENEYE
Xenia Onatopp and that's enough to put it on 14.
15 YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
Connery's only camp performance. I mean he poses as a Japanese for Heaven's Sake ))
And Blofeld?? Dr. Evil must be a spawn of him...
16 THUNDERBALL
Thunderball? Seriously? What camp name is that :)) And that widow at the beginning!! Cross-dressing!
17 LIVE AND LET DIE
The dialogue is camp. Very.
18 SPECTRE
It's getting difficult now. But still, some camp can be found. A bronze topless Bond in the titles! A Fiat on the run from a Aston Martin...and 006 playlist!!
19 DR NO
YES to Honey Ryder and her...shells. Even Mr. No himself has something strangely camp.
20 THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
Georgi must be camp, that performance I guess, or at least that delicious blond muscle guy :))
21 LICENCE TO KILL
Bouvier? Yes. Qualifies. Just so.
22 OHMSS
Well I guess, Tracy could be....hmm...nope.
23 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE attention, attention, camp is missing, I repeat camp is missing...
24 CASINO ROYALE
do blue swim trunks count?
25 QUANTUM OF SOLACE
nada, nothing, zero, no camp at all.
2. LALD
3. TND
4. SF
5. LTK
6. OP
7. MR
8. OHMSS
9. Gun
10. DAD
11. Spy
12. YOLT
13. GF
14. AVTAK
15. TWINE
16. GE
17. SP
18. TLD
19. TB
20. FYEO
21. DN
22. FRWL
23. CR
24. QOS
2. Octopussy
3. Moonraker
4. Die Another Day
5. The Man with the Golden Gun
6. Live and Let Die
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Goldfinger
9. You Only Live Twice
10. Spectre
Yes, I remember- you did an extensive post ranking the films on the amount of camp in each film. Can't remember which thread though.