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Comments
She did it for Mr Kissinger Bang Bang.
1. OHMSS
2. LTK
3. NTTD
4. AVTAK
5. DAF
6. DAD
Well THAT’s the most logical choice in the world. I wish I could be in Italy all the time :)
Apparently Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev also thought she was quite nice!!! :))
Détente indeed.
Great photo. @Thunderfinger should adapt that for one of his caption contests!!
The only things I really like in AVTAK are Walken, Patrick Macnee and the theme. That leaves precious little else. The uneven tone from going to broad comedy of firetruck chases to Zorin brutally gunning down miners is an example, as well as having a daring escape from a fire intercut with a hobo showing his concern was just pointless.
From when Bond arrives in San Francisco to the fire in City Hall is about the most boring stretch of any Bond film with little action or anything of real interest. What more can be said of Tanya Roberts that hasn't been said, still the least interesting Bond leading lady. Sure some of the problem is the script, but her line delivery during the first meeting with Bond are just awful. "Selling?" with that deer-in-the-headlights look. Others have tried to explain the constant "James" as the result of somebody being thrown into the action but they didn't do that with most other leading ladies.
The first time I saw the film, having California Girls during the middle of a chase had me thinking the cinema was experiencing a technical difficulty with the soundtrack from another film. It's one thing to have the Close Encounters theme or Magnificent 7 or Lawrence of Arabia as those were in smaller moments, but this was in the middle of an action sequence.
I think back to a review at the time where the critic said it was like the people involved said "Come on guys, it's time to make another Bond film" and that kind of sums it up. There's just no real energy or standout moments, just let's get this one pumped out.
DAF is fun. There's a fair amount to object to here (Blofeld in drag? Really?) but at the end of the day, it's a good time --which is more than DAD can say!
AVTAK -- aw come on, it's got Patrick Macnee playing against Roger Moore...Walken and Jones are a blast... and as a long-time resident of the SF Bay area, I've just got a soft spot for this one. Bond is tooling around in my own back yard. What's not to like, from my perspective?
On the other hand, people who don't like NTTD are never going to get over their distate here. I get that. But I like Craig's swan song as 007, and if you don't well, you have my sympathies. I recognize that NTTD has a few plot holes...but that can be said of some of the franchise's best-loved entries. Sorry, haters, I'm just not with you on this one.
So it's got to be DAD to get the Klebbie for me. I like this movie's PTS -- but once Madonna starts in, I'm checking out. The 2nd rate CGI is very, very bad... and the whole "Colonel Moon becomes Gustav Graves" plot line just doesn't work for me. Jinx's "Yo Mama!"-level dialogue is the tasteless icing on a wretched cake. Point the Klebbie at Lee Tamahori's ankle as far as I'm concerned.
Next, AVTAK. I just love the film. I know it isn't very good, but it IS consistent, and Walken is amazing. The plot was fun too.
Now, then, things get difficult. DAF is just a badly made film with a lazy star in the middle. It doesn't help really. It IS however consistent in it's story telling...
which....
brings me.....
(sorry, some more stairs to go down to)
to.......
DAD.
It starts so promising, and Brosnan is finally getting set in the role... but the film just has one big flaw. I think it was @doubleonothing who once stated that films create their own universes. Their own set of rules. Bond has always done that and though the films varied here and there, and sometimes flew out into orbit, they never really left this universe. That is, until DAD. One of the things Bond films do is come up with gadgets that are believable. An invisible car isn't believable, it's nonsense. You can't project what's on the other side of the car on it's tires, windows, etc. Moreover, even if you'd believe that, they put it IN THE SNOW so we can see the tiretracks. The guards, however, find fresh tracks without a car beeing seen but the cler sound of a V12 engine very normal indeed. The further the film goes, the further it goes off the hook. I can tell you the whole Antonov 124 sequence is utter nonsense. See, i wanted to keep this short but I've hardly started on what's wrong with this film. And I think it's biggest flaw is indeed, as @NicNac said, the fact that in the beginning it starts out with the promise of at least a decent film. A promise it doesn't keep, but worse, it actively denies by coming up with the weakest plot possible, stupidest gadgets and even the ice-lake fight has no excitement in it as it immediately turns to a tit-for-tat exchange of optional extra's.
I was extremely disappointed with NTTD. They threw in everything but the kitchen sink to try to make that ending work and it's a completely disjointed mess.
That being said, my vote must go to DAD. While there are definitely things to enjoy in the first half, the second half turns into a big, dumb, loud catastrophe. To this day, it still represents my lowest point as a Bond fan.
It was for me too. But I think there's a difference between DAD upon release, after you've been waiting for it, and DAD as a movie among 24 others on the shelf. Same goes for the others, I think.
Oh, for sure. I've long since gotten over my crushing disappointment and, like I said, can find plenty to enjoy in the first half. I was speaking about how I felt walking out of the theater back in 2002.
Perhaps you should have EXPECTED to hear a pop song in the middle of an action sequence...after such nonsense became a tradition in R Moore Bond films, unfortunately:
The slide whistle in TMWTGG in the middle of a car jump...which was interrupted also by the ridiculous sheriff from the film before who happened to be in Thailand...Thailand ? AMC marketed with dealerships in Thailand ?
The Tarzan yell in OP
Don't forget the song played after Bond and Anya escaped Jaws.
Our voters voted in the following manner:
Let us move on to a Bondie and give some love to the office briefing scenes that we have had over the years. Bond and M meeting to discuss the mission and in some cases feel each other out when either was new. You can always count on some interesting scenes and while it's not always the best scene of the movie, many long for the day when we have a good old fashioned briefing scene. So without further ado lets see what is the best M, Bond briefing scene. The nominees are:
There you have the nominees. As there are many others to choose from we will allow write in votes if yours isn't on the list. I think there are many wonderful scenes between Bond and M worthy of a Bondie, these happen to be my top 5. What says our academy, what deserves a Bondie for best scene between M and Bond?
---
DN M scene wins for me.
If my memory serves, the debriefing was always happening at night too in the books, and in the film, it's the same with Bond summoned to the office late at night, very Fleming.
The scene in Octopussy where Bond returns the egg is well played.
The scene with M in Bond’s apartment in LALD always makes me smile.
I’m afraid I don’t like the repartee between Bond and any of the MI6 staff in TMWTGG.
The first meeting with M in Dr. No is of course a classic.
The evening drinks scene with Smithers in GF is particularly good too. Definitely the best photographed briefing scene.
There’s good tension in Brosnan’s first meeting with M in GoldenEye and both actors play the scene very well, but I actually like their warmer relationship in TND and TWINE better and especially enjoy the playful car scene in TND.
The very best Bond and M scene in my opinion is not a briefing but a de-briefing of sorts outside Yusef’s at the end of Quantum of Solace.
For me, it's such a wonderful scene and the first time we saw M's house.
This is up there, but I will go with Dr No.
But if that's not allowed, I'll go with Dr. No!