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I'm not that noble. I'm kind of embarrased DAD exists.
I agree with this and as much as I dislike AVTAK, MR and several others, I'm still glad that they're there because they at least offer different perspectives, and in the end, aid the creative process of the future installments, i.e. if there had been no DAD then perhaps CR wouldn't have been as great. It could be seen as a direct reaction to the DAD criticism. I can understand that point of view. Having said that, DAD is the only movie I have such a strong dislike for that I'm tempted to wish it had never been produced. Most of it (except for the very beginning) I have difficulty stomaching. I could have dealt with bad, just not that bad. In any case, I am glad Bond continues and I hope to goodness it continues in the current fashion. I haven't been a life-long fan as most people here, but just my 2 centavos.
But if DAD didn't exist we might not have gotten CR (and I like the first half of DAD anyway). Although then we might've got a 5th Brosnan film, which wouldn't have been a bad thing imo.
Yeah, I mentioned/acknowledged the CR effect on my post above. I still don't care much for DAD.
1. Goldfinger- 4.23
2. From Russia With Love- 4.20
3. The Living Daylights- 4.12
4. Thunderball- 4.10
5. Licence To Kill- 4.06
6. The Spy Who Loved Me- 4.05
7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- 4.00
8. You Only Live Twice- 3.92
9. For Your Eyes Only- 3.90
10. Live And Let Die- 3.83
11. Octopussy- 3.73
12. Dr. No- 3.62
13. A View To A Kill- 3.28
14. The Man With The Golden Gun- 3.13
15. Diamonds Are Forever- 3.02
16. Moonraker- 2.97
All reviews from the first 16 films are complete, so thanks to all the reviewers for getting their thoughts in before we get the Brosnan era started. Thanks as well to everyone else who commented and who are enjoying the thread. Tomorrow we will resume the weekly reviews with the 17th film and the first of Pierce Brosnan's 4 entries, "GoldenEye". I look forward to leading it off, and of course reading the thoughts of my fellow originals.
The year is 1989. Following the release of Licence To Kill, Cubby Broccoli plans to go to work on the 17th Bond adventure in 1990, rumored to be called "Property Of A Lady" (from Fleming's short story posthumously released in 1966), starring Timothy Dalton in his 3rd contracted film. At the same time, MGM/UA is sold to Australian broadcasting group Qintex, who plans to merge with a French group named Pathé. Pathé intends to broadcast the Bond series on television in several countries across the world without the approval of Broccoli, which spurs him into taking legal action and filing a lawsuit to prevent it. Due to the ongoing ligitation which lasts several years, the planned 1991 release is put on indefinite hold and no further word regarding the future takes place until 1993, when Dalton mentions that screenwriter Michael France has assumed script duties and that early 1994 looks like a go to resume production. By April 1994, Dalton's contractual obligations to make his 3rd film have expired, and he announces that despite his "great affection" for Bond and the series, he had decided to retire from the role. To replace Dalton, the producers find they are finally able to do something they had wanted to do in 1986, and quickly sign Pierce Brosnan to play Bond. The script, based on France's 1993 story, is rewritten by Jeffrey Caine. Caine keeps many of France's ideas, with Kevin Wade and Bruce Feirstein also collaborating. New Zealand director Martin Campbell makes his debut in the director's chair and with Cubby's health declining, daughter Barbara Broccoli and stepson Michael G. Wilson assume control of much of the production. Also making their debuts as a result of casualties due to the long wait are Judi Dench as the first female M in series history, and Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny. The story, which uses only the name of Ian Fleming's Jamaican estate in any reference to his series, does bear some uncredited similarities to Fleming's Moonraker novel. In this one, Bond is sent out to find out who has stolen a Russian satellite weapon called "Goldeneye" that uses electromagnetic pulse and shows the potential for myriad, devastating uses. Finding that an Russian arms syndicate known as "Janus" has possession of the satellite, Bond tracks them from Russia to Cuba in order to prevent their plans to rob England of much of it's wealth while causing a global financial meltdown- and finds an old friend and colleague he thought long dead behind it all.
Production of the 17th adventure begins in January of 1995 and ends in June. Partially filmed in Russia, a first for the series, England, Switzerland, and Puerto Rico are also used for other scenes. The movie debuts in New York City on November 13th, 1995 and debuts 9 days later in London. Budgeted for $58 million, the movie brings in the highest gross since Moonraker, an astounding $352 million worldwide. The film earns the 4th highest gross during the year and despite the "so called experts" of the film industry stating that the Bond series was best left as "an icon of the past" and a concept no longer relevant to the "new world order" relating to the fall of the Soviet Union and communism in general, happily the movie is mostly a critical as well as a popular success and establishes James Bond firmly as ever as a character that can endure the test of time. Sadly it would be the final film Cubby would see, as he would pass away from heart failure in June 1996 at the age of 87.
THE CAST-
- Pierce Brosnan as James Bond
- Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan/006
- Izabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova
- Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp
- Gottfried John as General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov
- Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky
- Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko
- Tchéky Karyo as Defence Minister Dmitri Mishkin
- Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade
- Judi Dench as M
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q
- Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny
- Minnie Driver as Irina
BOND- After a thrilling bungee jump down to the back door of the Arkangel chemical weapons facility circa 1986 in the old Soviet Union, our new Bond's face is first seen hanging upside down over a Russian soldier taking a dump in the men's room. Between that and an otherwise excellent PTS that suffers due to a needless repeat of the 1979 Moonraker free fall in even less believable fashion, I seriously wondered who was in charge knowing that Cubby wasn't involved in more than name, and if this new era was heading down the crapper as well. I honestly had expected Pierce Brosnan as an admirer to go towards Connery, but it seemed he was channeling Moore instead. There is a lighter tone to reflect the passing of the Cold War, and Pierce is very good at being charming and doling out the witty one-liners. He also portrays a more sensitive, emotionally vulnerable type of Bond with a consistency not seen before, one that I felt was more tailored to engage the female viewer than a male Bond diehard. He looks the part, fights well, and the script is strong enough that almost any competent actor should have been able to have a successful debut. But it does feel more like a Dalton vehicle at times, and that brings up what's seriously missing from Brosnan's performance- he's not dangerous. My final thought regards his accent, which sounds like one of an Irish guy living too long in America, and it doesn't seem to fit the character. A solid enough debut that he would improve upon in his sophomore film, once again much like Roger Moore did 22 years earlier- 3.5/5
WOMEN- Polish born, Swedish raised Izabella Scorupco is the main Bond girl here as Natalya Simonova, a Russian computer programmer who witnesses the Severnaya massacre and theft of the GoldenEye, and is marked for death. Simonova is feisty, funny, and pretty tough for someone in her line of work. Being a product of the Soviet Union, she knows the danger of speaking out about what she saw to the wrong person, and doesn't trust Bond either. After proving himself to be trustworthy, they begin a torrid affair that makes Bond uncomfortable to say the least. Izzy does a great job as the first Bond girl of the 1990's. Since I do not consider the villainess to be a Bond girl because she doesn't sleep with Bond, the only other character who would qualify is English actress Serena Gordon as Caroline, a psychologist who is sent by M to observe and evaluate Bond. The character is something right out of the Moore era, giddy and completely cringeworthy to me- 4.5/5
VILLAINS- The movie excels here. The lead villain is Alec Trevalyan, the Russian born former 006 who 9 years earlier arranged his murder at Arkangel and is now the head of Janus. Played by one of my favorite actors, the gifted Sean Bean, Trevalyan plans to use the Goldeneye to steal England's money and destroy their economy in revenge for the British returning his Cossack parents to Stalin and a death sentence as traitors. If you can ignore a timeline that should have made the character 55-60 years of age, Trevalyan's 00 background makes him more than a match for Bond on every level and a formidable foe. His henchwoman is Dutch actress Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp, an ex-Red Army fighter pilot and Georgian "lust murderer" who uses her thighs to suffocate her victims during intercourse. Without deep explanations, Onatopp is a serial killer and those with this particular bent in real life are among the most famously disturbed. Unlike a KGB assassin circa 1987 with a similar MO, Onatopp is smoking hot in the looks department and I love her cigar smoking as an extra unique touch. She's an updated version of Fiona Volpe and in my book just as good but with a few twists. Next up is Scottish born Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko, a high level Severnaya programmer and master hacker who has joined Janus. Finally, German actor Gottfried John plays General Arkady Ourumov, since promoted from colonel in 1986 to the head of Russia's space division and a Janus agent who provides the access to steal the GoldenEye. Like the previous entry, another great cast of villains and performances that are memorable, occasionally funny, and always enjoyable- 5/5
HUMOR- The movie has a great sense of humor about it in good ways, and most everyone participates. Brosnan gets off his quips in fine fashion, Natalya's "boys with toys", but to me the minor characters such as Grishenko, Wade, and especially Team Zukovsky are more humorous. Small deduction for the needless bicycle sight gag and Caroline the evaluator who was not as funny as they intended- 4.5/5
ACTION- After the PTS goes to hell following the bungee jump, the movie starts putting an emphasis on shorter bursts of action and more storyline in a more classic manner that would be reversed in later editions. Brosnan first demonstrates his fighting skills aboard the Janus yacht before he gets to Russia and has an exhilarating yet fun tank chase through the streets of St.Petersburg after he and Simonova escape from a holding cell. The Cuban action is classic Bond as he causes havoc galore inside the villain's headquarters, but the real highlight of the action is definitely one of the great fights in series history that rivals anything before as the two double 0's match wits and brawn inside and outside of the GoldenEye satellite dish. But there are negatives. The PTS plane escape, hails of machine gun fire aimed by Russian soldiers first in the archives and later by Trevalyan that the screen shows are on target but somehow miss. Even the final confrontation is dampened as the fight goes outside when Trevalyan's ladder slide fails to knock Bond off the dish (why not simply use a gadget that would have worked such as the belt to save him) and even more improbably, Trevalyan survives the fall. I liked the idea of the satellite dish crashing twice, but can't give a perfect score with too many reality gaffes such as these- 4/5
SADISM- There is one person responsible for all of it, and that's Onatopp. Violence during sex turns her on the most, but violence in general also works. She enjoys suffocating her victims as we see her achieve orgasm, but her machine gunning of the Severnaya staff also clearly gives her pleasure- even Ourumov gives her a weird look in noticing this. Does Minnie Driver's purposely off key howling count here? Onatopp's death was good, like Bond said she always did enjoy a good squeeze. This was above average but not at the frequency or level of other crews that came before- 3.5/5
MUSIC- I'll start with the only positive, which is the title song. Written by 2 self confessed big Bond fans in U2's Bono and The Edge, and sung by R&B legend Tina Turner, the song is very good and feels Bondian enough. Unfortunately it's never heard again and so we are left to hear what French composer Éric Serra comes up with. To that, I defer to two music critics of the time who mostly sum up my feelings about this soundtrack. First in METRO, Richard von Busack wrote "more appropriate for a ride on an elevator than a ride on a rollercoaster". And it is, the romantic cues sound like "muzak" that you'd hear in one, no heart, no soul, and no passion. This reminds me of Bruce Lee's thoughts on the martial arts. No matter how good your technique and knowledge may be, which Serra has shown in other works that he has, there has to be emotional content to make it work to it's maximum potential and his orchestration and melodies entirely lack that. Second, we have FILMTRACKS who states "Serra failed completely in his attempt to tie GoldenEye to the franchise's past". A huge understatement regarding any attempt- I don't think he bothered at all to much listen to Barry's Bond work, let alone understand what a Bond film should sound like in a manner other series composers understood. Far and away the worst soundtrack in the series, it's so bad that even I won't own it and if not for the title song, I wouldn't give any points at all to this appalling abomination of the Bond sound and the Barry legacy- 1.5/5
LOCATIONS- With Pinewood unavailable, EON converts an old Rolls Royce factory into a studio and as it turned out, it was better suited for their needs. For the first time in series history, Russia is visited for St.Petersburg location filming, with England doubling for the airport. Monte Carlo is visited for the casino shots, Switzerland's Contra Dam doubles for Arkangel, and the lush jungles around the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico double for the villain's lair in Cuba. The ambience of post Cold War Russia comes across well and it all works in the context of the story- 4/5
GADGETS- Lots of good stuff starting with the PTS gun that's equipped to both mountaineer and laser through metal. Bond's watch has a concentrated laser beam similar to the gun and a built in detonator. A ordinary belt containing 75 feet of high tensile wire capable of carrying him through the air. Finally. his ordinary pen carries a Class 4 grenade. It all works well for designed use, but as mentioned before, they could have done more with these and made a better film as a result- 4.5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- After a 6 year hiatus, more main characters are replaced. For the first time we have a female M in English film, stage, and TV legend Dame Judi Dench. She quickly proves to be up to the task, as her initial meeting with Bond is powerful. She wastes no time establishing her authority with a serious expression and classic dialogue, but unlike the previous M's there is a noticeably more personal touch that transcends the normal business model and one that in later years has been a source of controversy amongst Bond fans. The role of Miss Moneypenny has been passed to Samantha Bond, and like with M tradition has also been put to the side. This Moneypenny is bold and takes flirtation to another level, starting to sound more like Bond himself. To save space for future reviews, let's just say her dialogue is thankfully kept short. Q is back in the lab and has good chemistry with the new Bond, even laughing for a change at some of Bond's usual quips. The rest of the cast is mostly humorous. First we have Joe Don Baker return but this time as Russian based CIA agent Jack Wade. I found Baker more likable this time around, he just didn't make for a good villain. Turkish born French actor Tcheky Karyo appears as Russian defense minister Dmitri Mishkin, and has an excellent scene with Bond and Natalya. The show stealer is Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane as former KGB agent turned gangster Valentin Zukovsky. He doesn't much like Bond after a Bond bullet to the knee some years ago gave him a permanent limp. Their exchanges are both comedic gold and interesting, and add well to the story. Finally, English actress Minnie Driver makes a brief appearance as Zukovsky's mistress Irina, a wannabe lounge singer. Her off key singing of the country classic "Stand By Your Man" with an accent thicker than Russian dressing and her interaction with Zukovsky is an absolute howl. Aside from the new Moneypenny, very entertaining- 4/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- This was a very emotional time for me that I'll never forget. My wife of 5 months had decided some time before to see why I loved the series so much, had watched all and enjoyed several of the films, and liked Brosnan besides. She knew it was mine and my brother's first Bond ever without Dad, and wanted to take up the tradition of "3 tickets please". With her on one side and my brother on the other, the lights went down and I started to cry because that's when it really hit me how much I missed my Dad being there, the man who helped give me life as well as my love for all things Bond. Each took my arm and hand and held on until I was able to compose myself, and it was definitely very welcomed. As was Bond's return after 6 years, of course. My thoughts on the overall package then and now has not changed very much over the years since my first and second viewings at the cinema. GoldenEye presents a unique storyline and cast of characters with a definite sense of humor, while establishing a post Cold War Bond trying to figure out and adjust to the ever changing new world order that includes his own colleagues at MI6. And it's mostly all done very well for being a fresh update and entertains me to the point that I always enjoy a watch. But the movie falls a little bit short of classic status for me in important ways. First and foremost is Brosnan. He lacks the danger factor that Connery, Dalton, and Craig have done brilliantly, as well as the incomparable charm of Moore who could work around these things yet still command the screen and the role. Second is the music, this effort is inexcusable unless you are tone deaf and razzies to EON for this hire. Third is the action sequences which fall short from time to time in a believable fashion, something we'd see with increasing frequency during the era. Even with it's faults, GoldenEye is entertaining and scores an impressive 39 out of 50 points, for an average of 3.9
Thanks guys, glad you appreciated the review and my sentiments.
I am also anxious to read the other reviews, a little surprised to not see some more by now. I made good use of my down time before SF and got a bunch of them done in advance, so I'm in good shape and ready to go every Saturday right up to the Craig era.
What's nice about this thread is that everybody contributes thoughtfully. I really enjoy reading everyone's impressions of these films. I don't feel it's like we are trying to make others see our own point of view; this is really about sharing, in detail, about the Bond movies. And obviously, since we are doing all of them, it is something we all put a good effort into it. I really enjoy this thread the most. Thanks to all "old originals" like me who are participating, and for others who read and comment, too. This thread makes very interesting reading, and also helps me look at the films in new ways.
Tomorrow the weekly reviews will continue with the 18th film and the second of Pierce Brosnan's entries, "Tomorrow Never Dies". I look forward to leading it off, and of course reading the thoughts of my fellow originals for this movie as well as GoldenEye. Definitely my 2 favorites of this era and always worth a watch, at least in my opinion anyway.
GE lived large in my mind through the years, but seeing it again a while back for the first time since it was new was a bit disappointing. I still quite liked it, but realized that nostalgia was doing some of the work. I watched it with three friends, one a die-hard Bond fan who loves Connery, and two other friends who are more casual Bond fans but who love the Craig era. The die-hard fan was a little apologetic, saying "Yeah, it's not the best but it's okay - it doesn't seem as impressive now as it did back in 95". The two "new fans" ranged from thinking it was pretty bad to just very cheesy. I still enjoyed it, but it was much more cheesy and campy than I remembered.
GE has my favourite Brosnan performance as he isn't encumbered by the smugness that, to me anyway, marred his performance in later films (he also isn't over-reaching his abilities). Some scenes have him seeming to play Remington Steele rather than Bond (like when he complains about Oromuv not taking the time for a thorough interrogation) but I thought Campbell used him well here. Not to mention that he was credibly tough in the fight scenes, which is even more impressive considering that he looked near-manorexic when his shirt was off.
Judi Dench impressed in her very first scene and brought a gravitas to the film that I wasn't expecting. Bean was quite good, and both Janssen and Scorupco were pleasant surpises as I had never seen them before GE - and they both had that unknown, exotic appeal that the old Bond films had for me (compare that to the likes of Teri Hatcher, Denise Richards, and Halle Berry!). I thought that Samantha Bond was an adequate Moneypenny if a little forward, and it was a little strange to see Q and Bond get on and seem to enjoy each other's company a little better.
The thing that I remember most about watching GE for the first time is how I kept alternating between being extremely impressed and then cringing a few moments later - for instance, great bungee stunt followed by the ridiculous (and poorly filmed) skydiving-after-the-plane stunt. But by the end of the film I was won over and I must admit that I was relieved that Brosnan wasn't as lightweight and campy as I had feared that he would be. I also really liked that GE seemed a return to the exotic, slightly unreal world of glamour that I associated with the early Connery films. I mean, here we have Bond wearing a cravat and going to the casino in Monte Carlo! Now that's escapist adventure....
My review will be in late tonight, or tomorrow a.m. the earliest. I think that all of us "originals" do want to give their review of Brosnan's movies - maybe many are still recovering from these first 12 days of the new year. ;) Goldeneye is a favorite of many members, and it still shines for me.
The year is 1996. Still reeling from and dealing with the death of Cubby, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have little time to dwell on that and the major success of GoldenEye before the owner of MGM, billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, starts pressuring them to quickly come up with a new release to not only keep Bond as visible as possible, but to also coincide with MGM's public stock offering. Co-producer Michael G. Wilson reflected on this development by stating in an interview "You realize that there's a huge audience and I guess you don't want to come out with a film that's going to somehow disappoint them", before starting the rush to get a new entry into production. After hiring director Roger Spottiswoode, writer Bruce Feirstein is quickly brought to write a script which featured many hands later contributing in an unofficial capacity, and led to a fairly unoriginal plot that rehashes You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me while trying to capitalize on the real life headlines of the impending hand over of Hong Kong by the British to China. After Bond successfully escapes from a terrorist arms bazaar no thanks to his own government, the story opens with media mogul Elliot Carver planning to inaugurate a war between Great Britain and China using a stealth boat, stolen British missiles, and a GPS encoder Bond spots a Carver contractor purchasing at the arms bazaar in order to gain exclusive Chinese broadcast rights, and complete his media empire. After Carver's initial plans come to fruition and his newspaper "Tomorrow" reports details no one but the planner would know, M sends Bond to investigate him. Meanwhile the Chinese have sent female agent Wai Lin to do the same, and both reluctantly put their individualism and political differences aside to work together and prevent their countries from doing what Carver is instigating.
Filming began on January 18th, 1997 for the PTS in the French Pyrenees. The producers had also gained permission for a rare filming in the new location of Vietnam but due to various issues that would later arise, Thailand and the Phuket area where The Man With The Golden Gun was filmed doubles for Vietnam. Much of the film was otherwise shot in England. Despite the admissions of Wilson and Brosnan stating the script was both incomplete and not functioning in certain areas, the rewrites mentioned earlier, numerous reports of acrimony between key members of the cast, and a budget that ballooned to $110 million dollars due to all the various circumstances and rushed nature of the project, the film debuted on December 12, 1997 in the United Kingdom and would go on to gross $333 million, some $20 million less than Brosnan's first entry. Critical reviews were very mixed, and several cuts made to attain a more friendly rating would later be restored on the UDVD edition.
THE CAST-
- Pierce Brosnan as James Bond
- Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver
- Michelle Yeoh as Colonel Wai Lin
- Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver
- Götz Otto as Mr. Stamper
- Ricky Jay as Henry Gupta
- Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade
- Vincent Schiavelli as Dr. Kaufman
- Judi Dench as M
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q
- Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny
- Geoffrey Palmer as Admiral Roebuck
- Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson
- Julian Fellowes as the British Minister of Defence
- Cecilie Thomsen as Professor Inga Bergstrom
- Michael Byrne as Admiral Kelly
BOND- The one thing I was hoping for was to see a tougher, less elegant Bond and I got a bit of that here. Brosnan's scene where he discovers the deceased Paris before dispatching Dr. Kaufman is perhaps his finest moment as Bond, where he is able to show both emotion as well as a harder edge and certain look in his eyes that needs to be at least occasionally demonstrated. He's more suave and confident in the role and appears to have a better idea where he's going with it, his one liners here have improved and are getting closer to Moore's type of relaxed delivery, but at the same time there's a sense of smarminess that only Moore could pull off and make you accept that doesn't quite work for Pierce. I think this portrayal reminds me most of Connery's introduction of his superspy persona in Goldfinger, which was the film that made him a childhood fan of Bond, but the on screen charisma and physical presence that Connery had loads of doesn't quite carry over. Still, in his seemingly ever changing and tinkering with the character, this is the one performance of his four where he seemed to get the most out of what the script would allow and got closest to my idea of Bond. For that, I will give him some well earned props and a solid score- 4/5
WOMEN- For years, we've been introduced to various actresses chosen to play tough women that assist Bond in his mission. We've seen the likes of Pussy Galore, Anya Amasova, Pam Bouvier, and Natalya Simonova. But we've never seen the likes of the leading lady here, a legit martial artist who does all her own fight sequences, usually all her own stunts (Spottiswoode wouldn't allow her to do so in this film), and act all at the same time. Malaysian born Michelle Yeoh stars as Wai Lin, a Chinese agent who Brosnan describes as "the female James Bond". And unlike 2002, Yeoh's legitimacy as an action hero brings a lot of truth to that statement. Lin has her own license to kill, knows how to spy without detection, has lots of her own gadgets, and can leave a path of death and destruction whether it be a person or object that rivals Bond. Yeoh is completely believable due to the skills she used alongside the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and has a sense of natural humor as well. Yeoh was a great hire and her character was done right. Next up is American television and film star Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver. The story tells us Bond and Paris were a hot, heavy, and serious item once upon a time, and M orders Bond to exploit their past relationship. It's obvious he's fighting the feelings of love she still carries for him, and they get it on one last time before Carver finds out and has her killed for her lies and betrayal. It's little more than a bit part which Hatcher, then three months pregnant, treated as such and it shows in her performance. She would later express regret for taking the role (and Brosnan would rightly later call those who made this hire "fools" for not choosing the gorgeous Monica Bellucci instead), which certainly will never endear her to Bond fans. It also appears that the hair and makeup budget suffered here, as Hatcher's hair looks like someone used a weed whacker on it. Finally, Danish actress Cecilie Thomson appears as Bond's first shag of the film Professor Inga Bergstrom, his Danish language instructor at Oxford. The weed whacker strikes again! Thanks to Yeoh's fine efforts, this category scores well- 4/5
VILLAINS- Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce has the lead as Elliot Carver, head of Carver Media News Group (CMNG). How to describe Carver? Well, he certainly on the surface reminds me (these comparisons are becoming a pattern) of a typical OTT megalomaniac villain from the Moore era. Definitely insane, egomaniacal, no regard for human life, this guy just wants headlines and everyone all over the world to watch or read what he puts out and worship him as the king of all media. He seems to think he's godlike, yet he pouts like a petulant child when he doesn't get his way. I know many critics feel Pryce is a fine actor, but here he doesn't get much chance to show it and is nowhere near as fun as the likes of Orlov or Zorin. His henchman is German actor Götz Otto as Mr.Stamper, also a German. Another throwback to days gone by, a big, blond, cold and efficient killer, brutally strong and seemingly impervious to pain, reminiscent of guys like Hans and Erich Kriegler. Bond will have to outwit him just like others of his ilk. Ricky Jay also figures in as Henry Gupta, an American techno-terrorist who Bond sees purchase the GPS and the computer brain behind Carver's plans. There's also an assortment of German goons and others on the stealth boat. It all has a retro feel which almost seems to be a common theme with this movie, but this crew is flat compared to the GE cast and that of prior eras- 3/5
HUMOR- Overall, I enjoyed the humor in this film. A great and more classic exchange with Q in Germany, good chemistry with Yeoh who also displays a bit of comedic flair, Pryce is also very charming and funny in the Hamburg scenes especially when he talks about getting Wai Lin behind a news desk while Hatcher acts like that's no big surprise. I even got a laugh at M's tiny little smile when she tells Bond to pump Paris for information and Moneypenny's response. And of course Dr. Kaufman. But what I didn't care for was Moneypenny's "cunning linguist" line. I thought maybe I was drunk and was watching a bad porn film with tired old dialogue, because this is not my father's Moneypenny, or mine for that matter. Lois Maxwell would have nixed that line as unfit for the character but as we will continue to see, Barb's feminism now unchecked by Cubby would turn the character into one that tries to both outhumor and upstage Bond at every turn, and for me this was obviously not a welcome change- 4/5
ACTION- Poor Pierce. They already messed up one PTS, but this one almost came out unscathed until the scene where a terrorist sneaks onto his jet and tries to strangle him. It looks like the cord is still around his neck when said terrorist gets ejected, so shouldn't Bond's head have come with him? Otherwise, a better start. Carver's Hamburg printing facility and the Atlantic hotel garage are the focus in Germany, when the film gets to "Vietnam" there's the bike chase and then Yeoh gets the chance to show her fighting skills and why she was chosen for her role. It barely lets up for some dialogue before Bond and Wai Lin head for the final confrontation. Action is at a high premium in this one and most of it is good, but there's maybe too much of it compensating for lack of storyline, which is not necessarily good if you're someone who prefers action to serve a purpose other than occupying short attention spans. High marks for the fantastic finish where Bond saves Wai Lin and himself-4.5/5
SADISM- Bond shows a streak of this when he introduces Carver to the sea drill up close and personal, and there's the machine gunning of the Devonshire sailors. Stamper's torture skills are hinted at, but overall this isn't a big focus of the film- 2/5
MUSIC- One of the first things I remember watching this in the theater was listening early on to see if David Arnold would be able to do more than cover classic James Bond songs written by John Barry, and contribute some of his own to the legacy. And the answer was YES!!! What a relief this was after the last film, to have a Barry devotee in the chair who understood Bondian music! Usually I save the best for last, but in this case the first track I must talk discuss is Arnold's intended title theme, "Surrender". The theme, in true Barry style, thematically weaves it's way throughout the overall soundtrack and like the movie has a retro feel, in this case hearkening back to the classic 60's themes of Goldfinger and Thunderball with lots of big brass and strings. Singer k.d lang does an admirable job on vocals and to me not only does this song make the average Sheryl Crow title theme pale in comparison, but it ranks as one of the classic great Bond songs. Crow's title song is never heard in the proper film and it's just as well. "White Knight" serves for the PTS, bits of 007 theme, Surrender, and a wee bit of a FRWL homage recognizing the Russian border location. Well done and gets the movie off to a good start because you can hear this is a proper Bond soundtrack. Arnold also had the thought to write music that matches the locations, so we get a solid dose of techno in "Backseat Driver" with more 007 and Surrender theme nods, plus a lighter dose of the techno in the two "Hamburg" pieces to match a musical style popular in Germany. When Bond gets to the Far East locales, Arnold then bridges the gap using techno but introduces some Oriental flavored sounds with a little more Surrender mixed in. I absolutely love his use of echo effect guitar with this feel in "Bike Shop Fight" and "Helicopter Ride", but it's "Kowloon Bay" with the acoustic guitar doing Surrender with wind chimes, gongs, and strings that provides a perfect feel for the surroundings before heading for the climax. In the area of romance, "Paris And Bond" is the main theme used here and is very reminiscent of Barry's later work with it's flute passage. "The Last Goodbye" serves as a bookend piece and shows the listener right away that one of Barry's great elements is not lost on Arnold and will survive as long as he's in charge. Excellent work here to say the least, unlike the elevator muzak we got last time which did not make me emotionally invest in what was happening on screen. It all ends up with "All In A Day's Work" building the final battle to a rousing musical conclusion before Surrender is reprised just as Bond saves Wai Lin in triumphant fashion, and it's just amazingly on a Barry level with a little 007 theme touch before the end credits then roll to the true theme of the movie. Overall, this is my favorite Arnold soundtrack and one that can stand proudly alongside the Barry and Martin's of the series, but there is one key difference to remember. And that is Arnold is very much a modern composer like Newman, Kamen, Elfman, and others. Thus, this and other soundtracks to come would never quite be the same after 1987, where you can already hear even Barry adopting the methods of the new school. But I'll run with this one as a last hurrah for the old days and this overall effort made me an Arnold fan and supporter- 4.5/5
LOCATIONS- The PTS location serves well for a Russian border location and the aerial photography is excellent. Hamburg and Oxford look nice, but the Phuket locations steal the show just as they did 23 years earlier and are especially calming and well filmed before the big finale- 3.5/5
GADGETS- The standout here is Bond's new cell phone, which is one of my favorite pieces of Q's work to date. It has a fingerprint scanner, 20,000 volt security system, and a function that allows Bond to drive his new BMW via remote control. The Beamer is naturally also well equipped, it's electrically protected and heavily armored besides the bevy of weapons that include a retractable roof rocket launcher, a hood ornament with a hidden cutter to slice thru steel cables, smoke ejector, spikes that can be dropped to deflate a pursuer's ties, and a system that will reinflate it's own. Wai Lin has plenty of her own and her Saigon base converts from an ordinary room to a fully functioning high tech headquarters complete with various defense gadgets that Q would have approved of. Most of it is used and I enjoyed what was presented- 4.5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- Not much of one past the regulars, whose performances I've generally covered. Liked Q here, still not sure dragging M into the kinkier dialogue was the right way to go for someone who's supposed to be a part of the old establishment. Who I absolutely love and who has the best scene is Vincent Schiavelli, a.k.a Mr "I just switched to decaf, have a heart" Vargas from the 80's teen classic "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" as Doctor Kaufman, an international assassin and mentor to Mr. Stamper. He had many other hilarious roles throughout his career and it's shame his role was so short. R.I.P Vince, you always gave me a lot of memorable laughs. More humor comes from Joe Don Baker's short reprisal of the Jack Wade role, otherwise it's mostly military characters and assorted non speaking roles that do well enough for what they are supposed to be doing. Thanks to Schiavelli, Baker, and Q- 4/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- First and foremost, like Hatcher my wife was pregnant with the first of our two children, a beautiful and talented daughter. Second, getting another Bond film on the normal two year schedule was also welcomed and I still had a real interest in seeing Pierce continue and hopefully improve in the role. Which I think that he did do in looking to Connery for inspiration. The interesting thing about the film to me is something I've mentioned several times, there's a lot of retro feel about the movie. You see it in the plot and the villains, and hear it in the music. And I really appreciated the nod to the past and to Cubby. It's a bit short on dialogue and has more action sequences than needed perhaps as a result of the script issues, so it doesn't quite live up to classic status, but overall it mostly worked for me and was a good followup to GoldenEye. It scores 37 out of 50 points, for an average of 3.7
After being pleasantly surprised with GE I was quite looking forward to TND. I saw a couple of bad reviews for it the day I was to see it - one called it "Oldfinger" and said it was a tired collection of Bond cliches. This didn't deter me; I thought, well if that lowers my expectations a bit then I'll just enjoy it even more. I mean, I'm a Bond fan and I want to see a Bond film, right? But after TND was over I left the theatre with a feeling that I never had after watching a Bond film. It was a vague feeling of dissatisfaction; I was thinking "That was it?". I thought the film was okay but certainly a disappointment after the two years of waiting for Brosnan's second effort.
To put it in perspective, when we were kids we were a bit spoiled in that we could see a Bond film on TV every two weeks. So waiting for a new film for two years certainly leads to heightened expectations, but I will say that after TLD, LTK, and GE I left the theatre on a high.
So why did TND disappoint? I can think of a few things. The *idea* of the villain was a good one but the execution wasn't very good. Pryce is a gifted actor but he didn't bring much to the role. Speaking of casting, Hatcher was a major mis-step and drained much needed gravity from what should have been great scenes between Paris and Bond. Some of the action was interesting but it was too much; seeing Bond confidently stride across Carver's office, machine gun blazing, not batting an eye seemed light-years removed from James Bond, secret agent. At least Brosnan went to the gym and added 15 pounds of muscle after GE (I had read that he felt he needed to up his game as soon as Yeoh was cast) and he gave a more confident performance than in GE - but at the cost of some added smugness and smarm. Which brings up the one-liners; they were not of a high quality and there seemed to be a lowering of the tone of the humour which I didn't like. Brosnan seemed more comfortable with the light comedy, but at times it would take away from him being a confident, manly Bond. There's one moment that some people may like in TND but to me it's a defining moment for something that takes away from Brosnsn's Bond. When Wai Lin reveals her armory, Bond puts his hand on top of a dragon's head statue and it spits out flame. Instead of raising an eyebrow like Moore, or giving a slow, surprised look like Connery, he lets out a yelp, grabs his hand, and then gives an embarrassed laugh. To me it negated several scenes of him being more manly, and worst of all for a cheap laugh.
After the great direction that we got in GE the direction in TND was adequate (I thought that the cinematography was a step down as well). At least Eric Serra was replaced, although I thought that the soundtrack to TND was poor. I was amazed when I rewatched TND about a year ago, IIRC Arnold used the Bond theme FOUR TIMES in the first half hour and the techno he used in other scenes seemed incredibly "un-Bondy". However, I will say that if I was a 12 year old when TND came out I would have loved the idea of techno and the over-use of the Bond theme. I also would have loved the idea of adding martial arts and machine guns to a Bond film, and I would have loved the "mature" humour too ("Pump her for information").
Rewatching TND a year ago I liked it more than I did when it first came out. It's still a weak entry, but it's fast paced and entertaining in its own way. And when TND was over when I saw it opening night I comforted myself with the thought, well, we'll get another one in two years - surely that one must be better!
BOND- Pierce was now very comfortable in the role, and it showed. Not the literary perfection of Dalton, but a GREAT cinema Bond in the style of Connery blended with Moore and a dash of Lazenby. Nice mix...4/5
WOMEN- Hatcher was beautiful, the 'little Danish' was a nice cherry on this sundae, and Michelle Yeoh was, for my money, the best Bond girl of the entire series. 4.5/5
VILLAINS- Carver was suitably psycho, Stamper was a good henchman with a subtle bark, but an enormous bite, and Dr. Kaufman was an exceedingly creepy toss-in that it was my great pleasure to see terminated. - 4/5
HUMOUR- This threatened to go over the top many times, yet never quite managed to annoy me; M's "Pump her for information" came the closest, but even in that I appreciated her poking fun at Bond in a twisted motherly way.- 4/5
ACTION-Superb & flawless PTS, Vic Armstrong provided Pierce with some frankly stunning bits of choreography (glass ashtray was a gem), and Michelle's Hong Kong background shined something fierce. Even the too-much machine gun nonsense didn't detract (TSWLM & GE must have desensitized me). -5/5
SADISM- Torture talk, gunning down the Devonshire sailors so coldly & Bond giving US what we wanted with respect to Carver put this one pretty high in my book - 4/5
MUSIC-After Eric's sombre score for GE, this was a delight. Not Barry, but as close as I need, personally. Great thematic work off of KD Lang's fantastic song, too bad it wasn't up front.- 4.5/5
LOCATIONS- Hamburg was really nice, the college was cool, nothing outstanding, but it all looked good. - 3.5/5
GADGETS- The car. 'Nuff said.- 4.5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- Gupta, Stamper, Kaufman? - 4/5
OVERALL SCORE - Hands down my favourite Bond of the nineties. It scores 42 out of 50 points.
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I will sort out GE and TND this week, although I agree alot with SirH, and TND is perhaps my Bond guilty pleasure.
BOND
James Bond has always been a playful character in the films. As early as Dr No Bond couldn’t help but tease the ladies he came across, or toss a flippant remark at minor characters. Only in the more recent outings under the guise of Timothy Dalton did Bond’s playfulness desert him.
In GE it returns. Bond is immediately immersed in fast cars and fast women, using his box of tricks Aston Martin to seduce one girl whilst already considering his options on ‘the next girl’. Serious when need be, Bond epitomises ‘boys with toys’.
Brosnan is warming to the role quite early on but his overall performance runs hot and cold. He suffers when faced with the series’ well worn traditions eg announcing his name, ordering cocktails, squaring up to Q and Moneypenny. Brosnan looks as ill at ease as Dalton did. Briefly and wonderfully though Brosnan comes into his own when he has a show down with M. Judi Dench is a powerful actress but Brosnan matches her nicely during the deservedly celebrated first encounter in M’s office.
Bond the show off is back 3.5/5
WOMEN
Natalya the Russian computer programmer who becomes the catalyst to the action as the plot unfolds. Pretty and pert if a little opinionated she tells Bond off when needed but is more than happy to tumble in to bed with him at a moments notice.
Caroline the girl sent to evaluate Bond. The easiest seduction Bond ever had to do. Amusingly played out scene.
Apart from Zukovsky’s cat-a- warbling mistress the ladies are a little thin on the ground although the best of the bunch is one of the film’s main villains…3/5
VILLAINS
Alec/Janus, ex 00 agent and now a criminal mastermind bent on avenging his parents by sending Britain into financial meltdown. Xenia Onatopp his sexy but deadly sidekick who kills by crushing men between her thighs (but if you gotta go…),General Oromo a Russian military man and Boris the computer nerd who helps Ouromov and Xenia steal the satellite. Impressive collection of villains with plenty of nifty Bond villain accessories (such as Alec’s scar). 4/5
HUMOUR
High scoring to be sure. Some excellent one liners which Brosnan handles well. The scenes between Bond and Sukovsky occasionally reach laugh out loud status, especially the misunderstanding over his mistresses singing talents.
The script is very good and the humour comes out of it rather than being forced. 5/5
ACTION
The dazzling pre credit sequence has just about everything we can expect from a Bond. Beginning with the justifiably acclaimed bungee jump we get punch ups, shoot outs, a chase and a typical Bond-improvised escape.
The film is not weighed down with action but it has some excellent moments, including the tank chase and the grand finale on top of the satellite dish. All handled by Brosnan very well indeed. 4.5/5
SADISM
Xenia and her deadly thighs (she seems to get off big time when in a clinch), or indeed when she is gunning down innocent people - which isn’t quite so pleasant to see.
And that is it. 3/5
MUSIC
Well I’m no expert but it all sounds a little mundane and unexciting. The theme song by Bono and The Edge is ok. 2/5
LOCATIONS
Russia, Monaco, Cuba. Plenty of excellent locations worthy of a Bond movie. 4/5
GADGETS
In the PTS Bond is well equipped with gadgets but the most famous gadget is the exploding pen demonstrated by Q and used at the crucial eleventh hour by….Boris. 4/5
SUPPORTING CAST
Judi Dench is M, several notches up from the comfy old Uncle we had previously with Robert Brown. Samantha Bond is the new improved Moneypenny, Q is back.
CIA agent Jack Wade debuts and peps up all the scenes he is in. Zukovsky is the good/bad guy, ex nemesis of Bond who trades favours. He and his mistress Irina offer a crash course in scene stealing during one of the film’s most successful sequences. The film is well cast as we would expect from a Bond movie, but this time the emphasis is more on the humour, which adds greatly to the film’s charm. 5.5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS 38/50
Usually when I see a Bond film for the first time my initial assessment stays more or less unchanged. When I saw GE I was slightly under whelmed, finding the cold, grey settings lacking all of the usual Bond colour and boldness. But of course that is the point. The film seems steeped in grey and green, but in fact the colour explodes from the characters and the dialogue. It took several viewings to warm to GE but I can see it all now, and it’s a confident and vibrant return to form. This does not sit well with the classics of the 60s and it has non of the typically bizarre elements of the 70s films, but it opened a new era for Bond. Where the last two films tried to be modern but wanted to keep the cosy elements of the older films, GE embraces technology, bringing Bond up to date but keeps the man exactly as we knew him - a sexist, misogynist dinosaur.
Can't wait to hear what Kerim, Lancaster, and OHMSS come up with, I may have to slow down after TWINE and give everyone a chance to catch up a bit.
I was a bit hard on TD, he did have his moments - even finding time to lark around with Pam in the boat.
I always think Bond should be better than every other man and KNOW it. When he shows off his knowledge about sherry he is deliberately winding M up (in DAF), and there is even a suggestion that Bond has no idea if he is actually right, but he does know full well that M has even less idea. Those are some of the moments I love in Bond movies.
I too do like that aspect of Bond "getting the better" of other people and thriving off it. That's one thing I love about Connery, Moore, Craig and even Brosnan at times. Dalton I never really felt had that and it was something I missed a (little) bit.
I will release my review of the 19th film, "The World Is Not Enough" in a few minutes. After that, I think it's only fair to allow the others to catch up before I do any more.
After toying with the idea of a millennium release to be called "Bond 2000", wiser heads prevail and the title "The World Is Not Enough", the Bond family motto first heard in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" is adopted. After turning down lifelong Bond fan Peter Jackson's bid to direct, Wilson and Broccoli settle on Michael Apted, while new writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade are hired to come up with a story that has Bruce Feirstein later contributing to the screenplay. The plot opens with Bond retrieving ransom money paid by Sir Robert King, a close friend of M, for his daughter Elektra's release after she is kidnapped by an ex-KGB agent turned international terrorist named Renard. As the story progresses, Bond discovers that Elektra is not who she appears to be, and that her relationship with M will put the head of MI6 in mortal danger.
Filming for the 19th adventure began with the longest PTS in series history being shot both in Spain and in England for the Thames boat chase. New location Azerbaijan and it's capital Baku are used, in addition to a long awaited return to Istanbul. The movie debuted on November 19, 1999 in the United States and a week later in the United Kingdom. Budgeted for $135 million, the movie would eclipse all prior records with a worldwide gross of about $361 million dollars. Reactions to the film by critics were mixed to negative, with most stating the the plot was poorly executed, the action excessive, and Bond girl Denise Richards "the worst in series history".
THE CAST-
- Pierce Brosnan as James Bond
- Sophie Marceau as Elektra King
- Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones
- Robert Carlyle as Renard
- Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky
- Judi Dench as M
- Desmond Llewellyn as Q
- John Cleese as R
- Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny
- Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson
- Serena Scott Thomas as Dr. Molly Warmflash
- Ulrich Thomsen as Sasha Davidov
- Goldie as Mr. Bullion
- Maria Grazia Cucinotta as "Cigar Girl" Giulietta da Vinci
BOND- Underwater tie straightening. Wiping away an image of a Elektra tear from a computer screen. Initiating sex with a MI6 doctor to go on a mission he's not physically ready for in order to be with and protect Elektra, acting almost like a lovesick teenager as much as an agent. And that's all in the first half hour. J.W Pepper would have said the same thing I was thinking back in 1974- "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" . I felt bad for Pierce at this point, because this was his third and I expected he'd have the chance to really nail down his interpretation and cement his legacy. But he regresses if anything. There's a few flashes of what he did before that I liked, but they aren't many. He kills Elektra in great style, yes that's a high point, yet he can't resist touching her corpse with regret after she's tried to kill him more than once? That isn't Bond, this is too much psychobabble and melodrama and a real buzz kill in the story, and the whole premise of his infatuation with Elektra is presented very haphazardly compared to other occasions where Bond has truly been involved on an emotional level. Apted's direction also doesn't help as like most everyone else there is a noticeable element of hamminess in Brosnan's performance and facial expressions that doesn't escape the viewer's notice- 3/5
WOMEN- French sex symbol and international film star Sophie Marceau is the villainous Elektra King. I'll always remember first seeing Sophie in "Braveheart" and being very impressed with her beauty and performance. 4 years later, she was as gorgeous as ever and this time she gets to show off assets that were mostly hidden then under a period dress. Those dresses slit up to near her waist, oh hell yeah, this is how I like my Bond girls to look and let's just say I was very happy with her being cast! She has good overall chemistry with Brosnan in their love scenes. Unfortunately, it goes downhill from there. As in off Mount Asgard without a parachute. American actress Denise Richards, if you can call her that, plays Dr. Christmas Jones. She's a nuclear physicist currently disarming old Soviet nuclear devices in Kazakhstan when Bond and Renard crash the party. At the time perhaps better known as "Mrs. Charlie Sheen", she is far from "winning". She is a horrible, monotone actress and is there for eye candy. Not believable at all as someone highly educated. I agree with anyone who rates her and her character at or close to the top as one of the worst Bond girls ever. Finally we have Serena Scott-Thomas as Dr. Molly Warmflash, a weak willed MI6 physician who Bond bribes with sex and the promise of more for medical clearance. Let me guess. One bimbo doctor wasn't enough, we needed two? Ugh. Other than Sophie and lots of casino hotties that include two lovely Zukovsky playmates named Nina and Veruschka, the bad characters of Jones and Warmflash keep this an overall average score- 3/5
VILLAINS- Marceau also qualifies for this category. I think I liked her better in her disguise of the innocent victim scared of her former captor. Not that her conniving, manipulative nature related to "Stockholm Syndrome" was a bad idea on paper, but the script telegraphs what's to come before she can make it work, and Apted's terrible direction has her hamming it up at times when she didn't need to. Her former captor and current lover Renard, is portrayed by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle. I was initially excited to have both Carlyle and Marceau casted, as I think Carlyle is a very talented performer and love that he is the type of actor who will change his appearance and get down and dirty with a role. Can't miss, right? Nope, not here. The moment the script introduces a "magic bullet" theory even more ridiculous than JFK's, the character suffers before he can even get on screen. The character is so poorly written that not even Carlyle can do much in the way of projecting any sort of serious menace. I was very disappointed with the overall result, a great actor wasted. We also have Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta as the "Cigar Girl" Giulietta DaVinci, a very competent assassin working for Renard. She was the best of this bunch even in her limited 14 minute role, at that point you could believe that Renard was a foe to be reckoned with before the script effectively castrated him. Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen rounds out the cast as Elektra's Azerbaijan head of security Sasha Davidov, who is also in on the scheme. Not a memorable bunch, as I said the talent was wasted- 2.5/5
HUMOR- The psychological nature of the script doesn't give Brosnan much to work with too often, and most of his quips fall flat. Someone must have realized this was a key element for this era and something needed to lighten up the tone, so enter the return of Robbie Coltrane reprising his GoldenEye character Valentin Zukovsky. Since we saw him last, Zukovsky appears to be less gangster than legitimate business owner and has diversified into casinos and a caviar factory. His dialogue at the factory, starting with wanting to congratulate his security after finding Dr. Jones (keep in mind I never said Richards wasn't hot) alone in his office, calling his sidekick a "gold plated buffoon", and ending with "the insurance company is never going to believe this" after the last 4 walls of his factory collapse is some of the funniest moments in this era and series, even thinking about it still doubles me over with laughter. Coltrane is so entertaining and this time he has a sidekick bodyguard called Mr. Bullion so named for his gold teeth and perchant for wearing gold, appropriately enough played by British musician and artist Goldie. Their interaction with the other and Bond is worth a few laughs, the rest they try to get out of John Cleese, whose skill for physical comedy is used to become a foil for Q- 3.5/5
ACTION- Aside from the tie straightening bit, the PTS comes off really well between the scene in Spain and the Thames boat chase and the movie is off to the best start of Brosnan's era. I really liked the Parahawk sequence and thought it nicely incorporated some qualities of the OHMSS ski chase as well as the gadget supplied by Q. The pipeline scene is very good despite Richards' acting, and the Maiden's Tower demise of Elektra and rescue of M is also very well done. The negatives? The usual amount of flying bullets and explosions that miss the target in more ways than one, and what is one of the most unimaginative final confrontations between Bond and the villain that lacks any sort of excitement and punch to it, bring this down a bit- 3.5/5
SADISM- Elektra King proves to be quite the psychological mess and seems to delight in a bit of this as she is bent on making her father and M "pay for their sins". Her torture of Bond towards the end of the film, slowly strangling him with a medieval device in order to get sexual arousal from him is a twist on Xenia Onatopp. Her own self mutilation in hacking her earlobe off and mailing it to Daddy was also something a little different, but it's more masochistic. The scene where Renard makes Davidov hold a large steaming hot rock until he burns his hand is also good. Like the film, more or less average- 3/5
MUSIC- David Arnold returns to followup his excellent debut in the composer's chair. This time he gets to write the title theme, performed by American band Garbage featuring Scottish singer Shirley Manson on vocals. The song has a bit of a lounge feel to it and is rather musically simple in it's construction, yet does have a Bondian element to it due to the orchestration. Manson's vocals mostly power the effort, she does well with it but it's all very average in comparison to "Surrender". Arnold uses the theme for musical identity here and there and the song is first reprised in "Welcome To Baku" , an interesting track with Natacha Atlas singing notes only and the use of a qanun (a Middle Eastern string instrument) to give it a feel for location. "Caviar Factory" also uses the qanun. Arnold continues to make sure string and brass sections are featured but in this effort techno is used to a greater degree here not only by way of rhythmic drum tracks, but other assorted electronic noises are heard as well starting with the PTS track "Come In 007, Your Time Is Up" . More of the same is heard in other action pieces and this is the highlight of those. For romance, "Elektra's Theme" is featured and carries over to other pieces such as "Casino" and "I Never Miss" . Really sort of average compared to his Paris theme and what he would later do. I much prefer the simple piano arrangement of "Christmas In Turkey" , which is very pleasing if not a little short and contains Bondian elements. I also really enjoy a short cue not on the original soundtrack called "Snow Business" that's heard when Bond and Elektra ski to a section of her oil pipeline, very Barryesque with the soaring brass. As a total effort this is OK and has a few decent moments, but for my taste it's mostly an less than average action movie soundtrack that seems to overly rely on the Bond theme to remind the listener that this comes from a Bond film, and my least favorite of Arnold's Bond work to date- 2.5/5
LOCATIONS- One of the better parts of the movie. The pre-title sequence begins in Bilbao, Spain, featuring the Guggenheim Museum. Spain is also used for the shots in Kazakhstan. London is also prominently featured, showcasing the SIS Building, the Millennium Dome, and sections of the Thames River. Eilean Donan castle in Scotland is used by MI6 as a location headquarters. The excitement for locations in my opinion was for Azerbaijan being used for the first time, which included it's capital Baku, and the Azerbaijan Oil Rocks. Istanbul is shown for the first time since FRWL in 1963, and features the Maiden's Tower where M is held as well as Elektra's Baku villa. The ski footage was shot in the French Alps around Chamonix and overall, the locations and various sets are fresh and well filmed- 4/5
GADGETS- Par for the course, there's plenty of these to be seen and used. The Q boat is excellent and armed to the teeth, including the ability to go underwater for a period of time. We also have the inflatable suit, X-ray glasses, credit cards with keys, an updated BMW with rocket launchers, a watch that now conceals the high tensile wire Bond uses in a belt in GoldenEye , and a King helicopter that carries large, motorized sabre saw type blades that can cut through nearly everything- 4/5
SUPPORTING CAST- M is yet another script casualty here. First she doesn't trust her top agent's opinion that something is wrong, which is truly baffling. She puts her desire to protect Elektra and avenge King's death ahead of her own security as head of MI6, and winds up looking incompetent as a result. Dench's performance is as melodramatic as anyone's, and in my opinion the worst of her tenure. Then we have Moneypenny looking like a jealous twit, making a snide and unprofessionally jealous comment towards Warmflash when she suspects why she cleared Bond for action, not to mention another unclassy early exchange once again trying to show up Bond. And why was a line that we've never heard Q say emphasized as something we should know? I must have missed those films. Monty Python legend John Cleese also appears as "R", a man who Q is grooming to replace him and sadly the character actually would in the next installment. Here he uses his skills in physical comedy as a foil for Q's new toys, but is mostly a comedy figure who you can't take as seriously as Q. If not for Cucinotta, Coltrane, and Goldie it could have been much worse- 3/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- Another memorable release on a personal level as I would later discover. During the following weekend, which was both Thanksgiving and my 20 year high school reunion, my wife and I conceived a son who would later become the 4th generation Bond fan in my family. Before I received that joyous news though, I was shocked and greatly saddened to hear that our beloved Q passed away after an auto accident, and it's usually the first thing that comes to mind when the film is mentioned. I still get a tear in my eye whenever I see him disappear below the floor, the last of the original cast from the classic era was gone. But never forgotten. And forever immortal. As far as the movie goes, I left it with less than my usual feeling of exhilaration after seeing a Bond film, realizing essentially that the critics were right about this one. The ambitious plot is poorly written and then made into an overly melodramatic soap opera under Apted's lackluster direction, and it never quite becomes the psychological thriller they seemed to have intended for it to be. When compared to "The Living Daylights", it's faults become glaringly obvious. Once Richards is introduced and the plot telegraphed, it gets more worse than better for the most part and the end aboard a sunken nuclear sub left a lot to be desired. A big step down from the previous Brosnan films in many noticeable ways, with a collection of uninspired performances by everyone short of the minor characters including the regulars, it scores 32 out of 50 points for an average of 3.2
I'm hoping some of the others catch up soon.
Me too.