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DN & FRWL, my two favourite Bond movies.
They should have ended SP with the world largest explosion. To me the Britain stuff was a bit of a drag.
I don't hate ending the film in London in theory, but I am more sympathetic to the Scooby Squad than most. Battling in the ruin of MI6 sounds like a great idea on the page and Bond choosing between love and duty, throwing the PPK into the Thames on Westminster Bridge is a decently cinematic idea. It just doesn't come together, it breaks the film and it makes Madeleine a damsel in distress (which may have been soften by her fighting off Irma Bunt but we'll never know) and I haven't even mentioned Blofeld and C's cockamamie plans.
It's easily the worst third act of a Bond film. Spectre's many, many problems are well-documented but if Dan hadn't broken his leg then maybe the base destruction might've had a bit more vibrancy... oh what could've been 😩
I've seen them SO MANY LESS times than classics DN and FRWL. And they're a joy to experience. To me the longer run times are also a plus, more to enjoy, no reservations.
Definitely DN/FRWL and it's not even close. The only 2 Bond films that Ian Fleming actually saw.
Something to ponder: FYEO is supposed to be Moore's FRWL/OHMSS-type entry yet he kills off FRWL/OHMSS's primary villain in the PTS?
Indeed it was @thedove It made for quite a happy father/son memory for both my dad and myself.
I wish I could see this double feature as well since they were kind of the Connery era's MB and TSWLM:
Would you rather watch a double bill of TSWLM and MR OR FYEO and OP?
There really isn't continuity in either film to speak of. All are stand alone adventures and some are rated quite highly on most peoples rankings.
In Spy we have Moore finally hitting his stride and getting a script that plays to his strengths. MR goes balls to the wall and takes us to where no Bond has gone before or since. I guess the continuity comes from having Jaws in both films.
In Eyes we have a different side of Moore, it works for some, for others it leaves them wanting. In OP I dare say we have a blend of serious and outlandish in the same movie. Who doesn't love Berkoff chewing up the scenery and great chemistry between Moore and Adams.
Which two are you watching?
I liked MR the most in the Moore Era, I liked that there are some scenes here that highlighted Moore Bond's vulnerability (the Centrifuge scene and the Rio/Brazil scenes), and Moore's performance here was more natural than ever, he's comfortable with facial expressions and more reactive to his surroundings, the Bond Girl proved to be his equal with being capable, independent and intelligent, the villain was interesting and had fleshed out personality, everything about the filmmaking like the cinematography, the score, the set pieces, locations, they're all great, my only gripe with it was the space thing or the plot in general.
But it's partnered with TSWLM, to which I'm not a fan of, because of the characters and their acting, I've felt that most of the cast in this film were all stiff and wooden, to say the least, yes even Moore himself (even though this is where he cemented his Bond), their performances never felt natural, they don't have much facial expressions and reactions, giving one note performances and pretty monotone performances, the line deliveries felt forced and phoned in (Moore delivering some funny lines fell flat, for example), then the characters were purely one dimensional, they hardly do anything, especially the villain and the Bond Girl, the former was a poor imitation of Blofeld doing nothing, uninteresting, lacking any personality, and had been effortlessly killed by Bond, while the latter, while given an interesting premise had ended up doing nothing too, and mostly a damsel in distress and pretty incompetent, and I hardly believe that Bond was in great danger in this film, for me, this is probably one of the most effortless missions for Bond, the plot was intriguing though, but a rehash of YOLT, and done better in TND.
FYEO and OP both suffered from tonal inconsistencies, especially the former, it's meant to be a grounded Moore Bond Era outing, but it's sprinkled with some unnecessary, out of place gags here and there (Margaret Thatcher, talking parrot, the PTS, and that giant underwater mascot, and there's Bibi Dahl), the score also didn't helped that it never elevated such a tense scenes (the score in the Spanish Car Chase in the beginning felt misfit), and Moore's performance felt foreign in FYEO, it's unusual and felt un-moored from his past performances, just felt an odd one out, just weird to see him in FYEO, where the film was obviously written with a new Bond actor in mind (Dalton in particular), and yes with the PTS being the worst part (visiting Tracy's grave after many years and films have passed? And there's the weird Bond throwing Blofeld off the smokestack), And the uncomfortable shoehorned romance at the end between Bond and Melina? Quite uncomfortable, and you also have a very low key production with a cinematography that's almost a drop from the previous Bond films, it almost felt like a made for TV movie, very low key that it's not memorable compared to other Bond Films.
OP, on the other hand, almost didn't felt like a Bond film, more childish with too much slapstick humors, too colorful with clowns and circus, and with a convoluted plot that's somehow got lost in the third act, racial stereotypes of Indians that didn't aged well, Bond in jungle, Bond interacting with animals, the characters doing unbelievable things like they're not humans (more worse than the Supernatural/voodoo concept in LALD), but in the other end of the line, there's Octopussy and Bond's great pairing, although Octopussy's purpose in the storyline also got lost later in the film, this is Moore at his Most Moore Bond.
It's hard, but I'd go with FYEO/OP but even just a margin, as much as I liked MR.
That said I really can’t sit through FYEO. I really don’t like it as a Bond film. Much as I love OP it’s got to be TSWLM and MR.
Yup, either are perfect Sunday afternoon fare.
I’ll probably have to go with TSWLM and MR. They’re a bit more tonally consistent with one another as opposed to FYEO/OP, making for a nice double bill!
We're the same.....
You're obviously a woman of taste and refinement :D
Yes, I do..... ;)
FYEO felt slow to me the last time I saw in a theater, but I always have a rollicking time with OP. To me OP has the best story of the four.
So I vote for FYEO/OP.
Over the years, I’ve come to like TSWLM a little less (although it is still in my top 10), and I’ve come to appreciate MR a bit more. This probably comes down to my shifting opinion of the two Bond “girls” in the respective films: Barbara Bach and Lois Chiles.
On, the other hand, I’ve really come to like FYEO – and it is rapidly becoming my favorite Moore era film. OP – while flawed – is still a lot of fun.