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Lets do one more viewing battle!
These two films feature a villain controlling a satellite in space to bring "peace" to the world. In one film it's being done for a ransom, the other the villain wishes to increase the communist country of his nation!
Would you rather watch DAF OR DAD
In one corner, a Bond actor returns for his final performance in the tuxedo for EON. We have a bit of globetrotting with Bond going from Holland to Vegas. We have a villain using cosmetic surgery to create clones of himself. We have a moon buggy, some female henchmen and a Felix Leiter who is often frustrated and mad at James. Climax on an oil rig with no resolution for the villain.
In the other corner, a Bond actor makes his last appearance. Some globetrotting with Hong Kong, Korea and Cuba. We have a villain who is using cosmetic surgery to change his appearance. An invisible car, some dodgy CGI, a Bond who is captured. An Academy Award winner saddles up to our hero. Climax on an airplane with two gonzo fights and a resolution with the tension between Bond and Moneypenny!
Which one dear community members would you rather watch?
However, to uphold the spirit of @thedove's thread, I will choose DAF. Witty dialogue and Barry’s score make it somewhat watchable. In addition, Jill St. John is among the most attractive Bond girls ever – even if I find her character increasing annoying as the film progresses.
While quite the comedown after OHMSS, like MR, if I park my brain outside of the screening room, I can have fun with it.
My negative feelings about DAD are well known.
It's not a good film, but it doesn't bore the arse off me the way DAF does. And when it comes to films, being boring is a far worse crime than being bad.
However for this round I'm going to pick DAF. Sean Connery is having so much fun, it has countless great characters and a plethora of wonderful lines.
Sure it's silly and camp, but it's also lots of fun if you're in the mood.
If Sean Connery was fast asleep, snoring and drooling as Bond, he's still light years ahead of Brosnan. In other words: Sean in DAF engages me wayyyy more than Brosnan in DAD....
The quips in DAF are sharp, vulgar and funny, whereas DAD's "quips" were flaccid.
Wint and Kidd were, and are, memorable, whereas Zao is... forgettable at best (although Pike was damn good in her role, and she's the only person I want to watch in that film).
Q vs Q, just no comparison at all...
DAF had its slobbering tongue firmly in cheek, while DAD truly made me feel embarrassed while I watched it that first time.
See I don’t entirely disagree with a lot of your other sentiments on DAF, but this one I take exception because I don’t think that’s a fair criticism myself. I know you’ve made your opinions on Brosnan quite clear on here, and that’s all fine and dandy, but that doesn’t excuse the lack of effort from Connery in both YOLT and DAF. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather watch an actor who’s at least attempting to sell the material he’s stuck with and try to make it work than an actor who is clearly just there for a paycheck.
Agreed on DAF (I don't have much issue with YOLT as others do). While I find mostly everything about to be lazy and limp, this in particular applies to Connery's performance. It's erectile dysfunction Bond.
Though I'm sure @peter was being hyperbolic with his assessments. I don't think anyone wants to see a drooling Bond.
I’m sure he was too, even if he wasn’t, that’s his opinion and I just disagree. But it points to a larger issue that I personally have with Connery’s Bond; I think his performances in YOLT and DAF have brought him down in my estimation. It’s easy for me to tell that this was somebody who was clearly not having any desire to be playing the character anymore, which is such a shame considering how great he was in the first four films. It’s a huge drop in quality, and one that we haven’t seen from any of the other actors throughout their tenures. “Erectile Dysfunction” Bond really is a great way to put it.
Ironically I think that was a reason why I used to be such a huge Lazenby fanboy/supporter. It felt like a huge fresh breath of air to have someone who was actually engaged with the role despite his shortcomings as an actor.
I do enjoy the first half of DAD, and if the second half was as good as the first half then I’d rank it well over DAF… but that second half is god awful.
And I disagree with the silly take that Connery was sleepwalking. Frankly, it’s the most engaged he has ever looked since GF. Just because he has an extra amount of pounds doesn’t take away from how utterly charismatic he is throughout DAF.
Connery’s weight has nothing to do with the quality of that performance. And what charisma?
The way he plays fake surprise at “killing” James Bond. That’s just among a ton of scenes that I find him a lot of fun to watch. Funnily, I thought he had more chemistry with Gray’s Blofeld than he did with Pleasence’s.
I agree on the chemistry he has with Gray vs Pleasence, but to me that isn’t really saying much when compared to the chemistry he had with Joseph Wiseman, Robert Shaw, Gert Frobe, heck even Adolfo Celi. Every time Connery shared a screen with any of those villains, there was always a slight tension beneath the surface of those encounters. I don’t feel any tension between Connery and Gray. They come across more like old friends than mortal enemies. I also don’t deny that there are moments where that old magic Connery had from Dr. No to Thunderball comes back, but for me those moments are few and far between. For every scene like the elevator fight or coffin burning scene, there are plenty of moments where Connery stands around conveying a look of boredom, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. It’s a night and day difference between his performance in DAF and his performance in something like FRWL or GF imo.
DAD has always been in the bottom 4, and unfortunately last place over the last 3 years, but I still enjoy each viewing. I actually have an urge to put it on now!
Now, if I have to pick one, I think I'll take DAF, even though I hate missing out on Raoul and his Delectados.
It has a cool Bond, cool story and Charles Gray is great as Hugo Drax ;)
(He is not a good Blofeld but he is a great villain)
DAD is fine but unoriginal. It's another DAF remake after GE.
Yeah, I'll be very happy if the next Bond has half of Connery's charisma in DAF
*Just using this for a bad pun, I don't think that Tim was drooling, either.
It’s a film marred by silliness. Actually some of these ideas come from DAF - the idea of a villain surgically altering their appearance, a diamond powered laser etc. It feels like a film that began life as something much more interesting but soon devolved when the more ‘generic’ Bond ideas were introduced. But at the end of the day it feels like a James Bond film - albiet with untapped potential and a lot of questionable decisions.
Apart from Wint and Kitt and a couple of other scenes, I actually don’t find DAF particularity fun after the PTS. I actually find the middle portion of the film dull. It has a strangeness to it to the point where it doesn’t feel like a James Bond movie. I don’t mind Connery in it and the dialogue is actually quite snappy, but it’s not a Bond film I revisit often. So yeah, I guess DAD, but neither are my cup of tea.
It's basically Connery's DAF vs. Brosnan's 2nd DAF.
My pick is DAF. No CGI plus Connery's 007 and John Barry's score.