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"Names is for tombstones, baby!"
Say what you like about DAF, TMWTGG and LALD but Tom Mankiewicz sure knew how to write witty dialogue, and let's not forget some of his lines made it into TSWLM and MR aswell.
Wonderful taste barryt007 :) and very true, they are all watchable and great :)
Just hope you're not 009! ;)
It's the annoying summing up of Octopussy by the Tarzan scene that's ridiculous. It really is an outstanding movie for sure, can't praise it enough...would be Moore's best but for the by-words for perfect: The Spy Who Loved Me
007. The Man With The Golden Gun (21st)
Andrea Anders is a stand out character, truly tragic. She also allows Moore to show a nasty side to his persona, which is coupled with a good fight scene in Saida's dressing room. Indeed Moore is good value here, building upon his performance from LALD. His scenes with the legendary Chris Lee are well, simply put, erm, legendary. True Bondian classics.
A pity the rest of the film rarely reaches those heights; the humour gets very silly at times while Hip and Goodnight are damned inept. Furthermore locking the latter in a closet, while Bond gets groiny, is unforgivable.
006. Moonraker (19th)
Moore is on fire here, and it also benefits from some typical Barry and Adam contributions. I particular admire the cinematography and the locations, framed beautifully by Jean Tournier. I also must confess to really liking Bond and Holly hunting down the space globes in the films climax. The idea of Bond going into space has never really bothered me, but the laser battle just left me cold. Still, we got to hear John Barry at his celestial, ethereal best.
005. A View To A Kill (18th)
A schizophrenic film; youthful, dynamic pairing of Zorin and Mayday vs. the aged forces of MI6; inventive action scenes (steeplechase, City Hall) vs. seventies spectacle (Paris chase, Fire truck escape); forward thinking plot vs. 70’s overt humour; well written characters, unfortunately portrayed by weak actors; Moore’s easy going charm vs. cut- throat 80’s business ethos. It’s like the producers wanted to give Roger Moore a spectacular send off, but the film can’t make up its mind whether go with seventies excess vs. eighties characters/conservative style.
It’s an unfitting way to say goodbye to Sir Rog; I always get a lump in my throat when the end titles come up, it really is the end of an era. Roger Moore provided a steady hand, when the films were at their most inconsistent.
However there is plenty to enjoy in AVTAK; namely Barry's score, the performances from Walken, Fullerton and Macnee, the whole climax and having an intuitive Bond doing a nice bit of espionage, keeping in tone with the previous Glen efforts.
004. Live and Let Die (16th)
Very understated entrance for Roger Moore. Very good cast, especially the heavies, ( “You’re entering Harlem, baby!”), ingenious plot; cunning in its simplicity, and some delicious lines. Unfortunately is has Sheriff bloody Pepper.
003. For Your Eyes Only (13th)
In many ways this film is the spiritual successor to OHMSS. Which is why I love it. After the spectacle of the seventies, this film marks a refreshing change of pace, where emphasis is placed on characters, and on having Bond rely on his wits.
For me this makes the film eminently more satisfying. Bond becomes key to the plot; rather than being the catalyst around which action rotates; Bond is proactive in propelling the story along.
Moore is particularly satisfying, his performance now undercut with a steely determination.
What isn't so good however, are the comedic hangovers which bookend the film, and dent its appeal ever so slightly.
Which brings me on to Bibi Dahl. She used to be a cute little irritant. Now she has evolved into a cute little character who, despite admittedly being somewhat out of place in a Bond film, at least establishes a little humanity for Bond and Kristatos.
002. Octopussy (12th)
The action is inventive, locales stunning and it has great cast; Moore, especially, has some fine moments, defusing the bomb, squaring up to Orlov, the death of Vijay; very touching and sombre. Plus Moore has a great chemistry with Maud Adams. Silly humour infiltrations into a few scenes, the Tarzan yell, for example, but by the by is a damn fine movie.
001. The Spy Who Loved Me (9th)
I had a smile plastered on my face the last time I watched this movie, from the death-defying jump to the climatic battle, I enjoyed Spy like never before. Sure it’s too implausible at times, but it also has a fair bit of introspection that balances out the fantasy. Moore establishes his legend in this film; not just in terms of his Bondian performance but also his stature as a leading man.
2. LALD - First Bond film for me, Jane Seymore, Moore still looks young, the voodoo gives the film a unique and interesting spin, great music, I am a snake fanatic. May be #1 if not for the Sf. Pepper garbage.
3. MR - Great first half, great score, great locales, very poor last half-hour keeps it out of my top 10. The lazer-fight alone drops it 5 spots in my overall list.
4. OP - Good performance from Moore, nice plot, good action sets, but couldn't make up its mind if it was serious or cartoony. Feels very disjointed.
5. FYEO - Good in the sense that it gets back to the serious Bond basics and adds a little character devo., but forgets to be interesting a good chunk of the time. This movie slides around a lot on my rankings. Needs a reviewing.
6. AVTAK - Moore looks way too old, the firetruck scene derails the whole film, Stacy Sutton is extremely annoying, Walken sure was good though.
7. TMWTGG - kung-fu school, 3rd nipples, racist cops getting pushed into the water by elephants, small people getting exploited, mediocre looking Bond girls, slide-whistles, flying cars and on and on and on. Really hijakcs a pretty decent plot and some genuine solid moments
2. Octopussy
3. Live And Let Die
4. Moonraker
5. A View To A Kill
6. The Man With The Golden Gun
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
I adore the first three, not so much the last three.
2-A view to a Kill. Althought Sir Roger was a little too old to play the part, I love this movie; for one thing John Barry's score gives me the chills. Barry's work supported awesomely the PTS and the whole City Hall fire scene. Zorin in one of the most unbalanced character ever and Tanya Roberts is HOT HOT HOT!
3-Moonraker. Good "spy" movie, with real spy work. Intense moments, such as Corrine Dufour's death, the "you missed", "did I?" scene and the finale when Bond tries to shoot down the orbs from annihilating mankind.
Runner up: For your Eyes Only
1.FYEO
2.OP
3.TSWLM
4.LALD
5.TMWTGG
MR is definitley a bit too silly for it's own good despite the first hour or so being very entertaining and AVTAK is still a decent film I just prefer the others more.
I have never understood the criticism that TMWTGG gets, it's a cracking film.
1. TSWLM - Definitely the high point of Moore's tenure. Good action, good soundtrack, great climax (oo-er!) Lotus chase is excellent, Jaws is a great henchman, the character of Anya (not quite so much the performance of Bach) is very welcome especially after the fairly tame previous Bond girls of Moore era.
2. FYEO - Tougher Moore Bond without going Craig- Dalton style gritty. Keel haul sequence is good. Strange but memorable opening. Kicking the car off the cliff has to be one of Bond's coldest kills. Great, independent Bond girl. Intrigue with the Kristatos/ Columbo relationship. Topol as Columbo harks back to the Kerim Bey charisma.
I've always put LALD, OP, AVTAK into the middle ground of Moore films. All three of them stray into silly territory but have plenty to recommend.
AVTAK - I quite like this one. Moore's age is ridiculous, as is Tanya Roberts but Walken is excellent, the paris segment excellent. There's a nasty edge to Grace Jones, especially the killing in the carwash. Good soundtrack from Barry. Great end with Zorin gunning down his workers and the golden gate fight.
OP - I've always found OP a bit overrated. It has a good opening, good floating palace fight but awful finish. The last third just irritates me wiith clown Bond and army of female circus fighters, Q in a hot air balloon.
LALD - Some great action sequences. But I hate the introduction of Moore as Bond. Hands down the worst intro of any Bond actor. M and moneypenny show up at his flat while he hides a girl? What is this - Man About the House? Mr Big's death is laughable and he is a pretty ordinary villain. samedi, the creepy voodoo and the boat chase are all excellent (but the chase is continually intercut with the horrible JW Pepper). The first half is poor, second good.
MR - this gets an awful rep but actually the first half of this film is very good. Good opening, The Fight In the glass factory. Death by hounds is a beautiful sequence - like a dream sequence from a European horror film. Drax is a great villain - far better than Stromberg. Holly and Bond's verbal sparring is fun and she's a decent bond girl. Jaws is fine to a point and in fact that point is the decline of the film. The only risible part is the space station sequence but that is really on the last half hour. Oh, and the gondola is pretty bad but actually mercifully short.
MWTGG - The worst. My least favorite Bond followed by Die Another Day. Golden Gun's biggest crime is being boring. Christopher Lee is good casting and the 360 car stunt is pretty much as much as it has to recommend. (which they managed to taint with the awful slide whistle sound effect) The pantomime fight with Nick Nack at the end just makes it even tougher to like. And there can't be many more annoying Bond girls than Mary Goodnight (Tanya Roberts perpetual screaming in AVTAK not withstanding.) extra marks down for JW Pepper and his awful racist diatribes.
6. A View To A Kill - A good film, takes a while to get going but another ncie performance by Moore, his facelift makes him look super old though.
5. Octopussy - A very nice film, easy to watch and quite action filled, like the setting and the plot.
4. The Spy Who Loved Me - One of my favourite Bonds, but that proves how much I like the other three, great song, so many action moments and iconic moments, just a masterpiece.
3. Live and Let Die - A unique film, but that's what makes it great, full of cool characters and action scenes and a nice performance by Roger Moore and Yaphet Kotto.
2. Moonraker - Full of action, cheesy moments and spectacular moments, funny and memorable film, but also a great one.
1. The Man With The Golden Gun - For me, Simply the best, great villain and just an overall spectaular film.
6: Octopussy. The movie is kinda fun, and Kamal Khan is certainly a top tier villain, but the movie is brought down by some rather major flaws.
5. The Spy Who Loved Me. Once again, a mediocre movie with a great villain. Seems to be a recurring trend with Moore's Bond.
4. Live and Let Die. This one is a great one. Best henchmen in the series, Tee Hee is a favorite of mine.
3. The Man With the Golden Gun. Mary Goodnight is the worst Bond girl ever, but I still do enjoy this movie. Lee is amazing, as always. However, the plot involving the Solex Agitator was really not needed.
2. A View To a Kill. So sue me, this movie is great. Amazing final battle, amazing villain, okay henchman, great movie.
1. For Your Eyes Only. Not a shocker. A great plot with a fantastic twist. Great stuff.
Alan Partridge called it the greatest film ever made, and it is great. Almost everything about it is awesome. The iconic PTS, the underwater Lotus, Jaws when he was actually good, the hot russian agent, Moore's usual funny lines but no stupid sight and sound gags, Atlantis, etc. Just lots of fun and an all round classic, and I think it gets lots of unfair flack on here, I don't see it in many top tens and I see it placed low alot of the time.
I also really like Octopussy. Some nice locations and lots of fun with some serious cold war stuff tied in. It has some of the tensest scenes in the series. That's a top ten film for me too.
3rd would be LALD (fun, good villians and Moore is great as Bond but some of the blaxpoitation stuff pisses me off a bit), then TMWTGG or FYEO (both are ok but not great) and then AVTAK (Walkens a good villian, Moore is good but not in the action scenes) and in last place MR (it ruined Jaws, nuff said).
See what I said about Spy getting unfair flack ;) Your own opinion and everything but I'm intrested now, why do you put TSWLM below MR and AVTAK @Samuel001?
You took the words right out of my mouth, @thelivingroyale. TSWLM is the first Bond film I ever saw, and it remains - to this day - in my all-time top 5. It is Roger Moore's finest hour, without a shadow of a doubt.
However, the remaining six Moore films don't fare so well, all sitting near the bottom of my overall list, with MR and TMWTGG perennials in my bottom three. AVTAK is the best of the rest - but only because of Tanya Roberts (and not for her acting ability, if you catch my drift!).
To me, it's just a box ticking Bond film with little else to it, I'm not a fan of Moore in this film either. Almost a parody of itself and a 'remake' of You Only Live Twice.
I realise it's a highly unusual opinion to have and do of course love the theme song and that stunt.
What they wanted to make was a modern take on the old 30s movie matinee serials. Star Wars was Flash Gordon without the license as Lucas couldn't persuade the studios to let him have it. Allan Quatermain of King Solomon's Mines was the main inspiration, combined with Professor Challenger of Conan Doyle's Lost World. (Yes, I'm even more of an Indy nut than Bond). Bond was mentioned, according to Spielberg, and Lucas said he "had something even better" or words to that effect.
Here is why I liked Moore's movies and it wasn't just about him
LALD - Great locations, an array of memorable characters, dark and surreal, it has Jane Seymour, Wings soundtrack, it's my favorite Bond release above all else
TMWTGG - Christopher Lee, great locations, Lulu soundtrack, suspense, great pre credits sequence, Clifton James makes a return
TSWLM - Barbara Bach, locations again, Jaws in his one good appearance, lots to get involved in
MR - Outstanding PTS, It has Michael Lonsdale, quite brilliant sequence in the G Force simulator, great locations (again ?!), and the musical scores may be the best ever
FYEO - Good PTS, Moore is serious, lots to get involved in, and a decent story
OP - Locations again, another outstanding pre titles sequence, so many good characters, Moore does get serious every now and again (Orlov on the train) for example, so much to get involved in. Louis Jourdan does very well
AVTAK - And now I'm struggling..
Well it was the last time we saw Roger Moore as James Bond, who up until then, had been a decent Bond, but this time I couldn't find any redeeming features for that release, except one or two bits were unintentionally amusing if nothing else. Duran Duran gave us a good (if outdated) theme intro, they can have that also
You will discover Beast is full of questionable thoughts on many topics not limited to Bond films. They are not facts except for in his peculiar world view. But he is entitled to them.