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The remainder of the PB efforts gave off a distinctly 2nd class vibe. Like a hack or subpar aspirant was behind the wheel. It permeated nearly everything about these films for me. In a way, it reminded me of those 60's films that tried to copy Bond but just didn't quite get what it was all about.
Rest of PB tenure was generic, credit to Pierce he elevated some aspects of his movies though and this is the controversial thread. PB films were generally rubbish
You all sound like Brosnan apologists.
Whereas Goldfinger—popular though it may be—will always be heard with the context of Bond in mind.
I don't think most people today know Goldfinger.
1. Die Another Day is Not the worst in the series, that dubious honour goes jointly to QOS and Diamonds Are Forever, depending on my mood.
2. Skyfall is the most overrated of all the Bond films!
3. A lot of the better films in the series had a weaker villian, and vice-versa.
4. John Glen wasnt actually a bad director, just workmanlike.
5. Connery being 'Japanesed up' in YOLT wasnt actually as bad as people make out, and was take directly from Fleming.
I disagree with Phil about at least Nos. 1 and 2, and half of 5. DAD is definitely the worst of them all, if not by far (TWINE is down there as well, with DAF and AVTAK slightly above), and SF is one of the best (in fact, my No. 2 after FRWL). And no matter if the Japanese Bond is straight from Fleming, it makes sense in the Shatterhand story of the novel because he actually lives in the village for a while, but not YOLT the movie, and the result is plainly cringe-inducing and ridiculous (no, I don't think it is racist, it's too obviously stupid travelogue nonsense for that) and brings YOLT down by at least 1/10.
Come to think of it, take this as my "controversial" opinions for now.
I agree.
It's a close call for me, between LALD and VTAK, though I do hear LALD a little more.
There's something about this film, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I think the action lacks a certain larger-than-life quality. Dr. No is like that, as well, but the premise and setting make up for it.
In particular, I'd say Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day feel more Hollywood than most other Bond films. That's not the case with GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. Still, TND and DAD feel more Bondian to me than FRWL.
One should not care to much about what songs are on the radio. This btw very much depends on the channel. In Germany, many of the rather mainstream channels don't even play 60s and 70s songs. One can however say that the songs already at the time had a very different success. Goldfinger was the only really successfull song in the 60s. A song which was also very successfull was FYEO being in the top10 of the US, the UK and the German music charts. Nobody does it better was successfulll in the US and the UK but has never been so very popular in the rest of the world. I have never heard it on the radio in Germany. The other three very successfull songs were LALD, AVTAK and Skyfall. Interestingly, between 1987 and 1999 no Bond song charted in the US. Even Tina Turner didn't. I don't know why this was the case...
In between there is one film that loses itself in excesses (MR) and one that does the complete opposite and turns out to be rather forgettable (FYEO).
I find "For Your Eyes Only" a very entertaining adventure that wisely, after the ridiculous "Moonraker", brought James Bond down to earth and back to some Fleming.
Here is a 007 adventure where we get a more human James Bond who must think his way through situations with almost no gadgetry. It's amusing to watch James fend off the sexual advances and attempted seductions brought on Olympic skater Bibi in a twist of Bond's regular romantic life. Here is a 007 mission straight out of the real world Cold War. This story is grounded with many elements of Fleming.
However, I do find it quite dull in many areas. The Neptune sequence is terribly boring and goes on forever. The hockey fight is a joke. Some of the casting choices aren't to my liking and lack spark. Not to mention Conti's score can be cringe inducing at times.
With a few tweaks, it could easily have been a top 5 Bond film for me. Sadly, as it is, it languishes near the middle of the pack. I blame it on Glen getting his feet wet in the director's chair.
I feel the same way about MR interestingly. If they'd just kept it a little more taut and foregone the need for a punchline after every action sequence, it could have been a far superior outing. The film has many memorable sequences, not least Corinne's death, the centrifuge, Chang fight, lab poisoning etc.
So yes, I think these two entries are the most frustrating in Moore's run, as they could have both been so much more.
DAF is the worst Bond film because it's boring, and being boring is the only unforgivable sin in the Bond canon.
Brozza's worst movies are over-the-top, and Craig's are overwrought, and Moore's are campy, but DAF is boring. The actors -especially Connery - seem bored by the proceedings. The production is often indifferent (continuity errors, gaps in narrative). The visuals are flat and dull, with Vegas in particular looking totally uninteresting. I can't remember a thing about the score or music except the ho-hum title track. The action sequences are boring and I don't find myself particularly caring about what's at stake. (Diamonds? On a satellite? Or something?)
I'll let Bond get away with a lot. I'll forgive bad fashion, or bad humour, or gaping wide plot holes. But Bond cannot be boring.
However, I don't agree on DAF. It's quite entertaining and memorable for me. The score in particular is a highlight, and there are plenty of charismatic (if cheesy) characters. Moreover, it does indeed have 'bad fashion'. I'm not saying it's a great Bond film, mind you. Just that I don't find it boring.
In terms of 'boring', SP & TWINE are on that list for me, and that's why they rank very low on my list.
I guess the whole Neptune scene lasts for about 10 minutes. How can this be terribly boring and go on forever? I think it is a very intense scene. It is actually the only time, Bond is extremely far beneath the surface.
BTW: Am I the only one who sees some similarity between the approaching to the sunk St. Georges and the approaching to the space station in MR. These are also my favourite Conti track in FYEO and my favourite Barry track in MR.
Actually, I felt similarities between the sinking of the St. Georges and the sinking of the submarine in the TSWLM PTS. I also felt similarities with the sinking of and dive to the HMS Devonshire in TND.