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What order was that? I'd be interested to try the same thing if it worked for you. The continuity aspect of those films always bothered me.
Whoops! I knew I forgot something!
Updated:
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Goldfinger
Casino Royale '06
Dr. No
Quantum Of Solace
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
For Your Eyes Only
Live And Let Die
The Man With The Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
I've watched the films in this order:
CR, QOS, DN, FRWL, GF, LALD, TB, YOLT, DAF, TMWTGG, OHMSS, FYEO.
I figure if you really want to have a go at it, you could say that Pleasance was really just a front for the real Blofeld. You could say that Henderson was really a Blofeld clone made to infiltrate the Japanese Intelligence Agency lol
I just get the feeling that Savalas is the "real" Blofeld and the others were really just stand ins and fronts for the man really behind SPECTRE. The opening of FYEO really cements this since Blofeld still has the neck injuries from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
That would explain why the other two seem kind of weak and less sinister than Savalas. :-? Im normally not a continuity geek, neither normally that into systematic Bondathons, but Im willing to give that a try as an experiment. :)
Right...and plus, with a series like this, it's hard to try to make the best out of the continuity between films. Sometimes it's only a small connection. Similar to how I put Golden Gun after Diamonds. My sole reasoning behind it was due to the fact that the mobster from Slumber, Inc. makes a return in the pre-titles facing off against Scaramanga. Plus, it seemed like a good idea to have another break in the SPECTRE story and focus on something else after Diamonds Are Forever.
After the good (but slightly forgettable and mediocre) For Your Eyes Only, I can say that we are back on track with The Spy Who Loved Me.
We get a splendid pre-title sequence and main title song, a great henchmen, an interesting soundtrack, some great action scenes, a lot of spectacle and some of the best production design in the entire series.
We also get a very nice reference to Tracy, which, up until this film, hadn't even been mentioned or recognized. I've heard people call this one a "Greatest Hits" package but I cannot really complain due to the fact that many pieces of the formula come together really well in this film. Easily Moore's best film as Bond.
This one edges over Quantum Of Solace. Ken Adam really was the unsung hero of the Bond franchise. Everything he touched literally turned to gold.
Rankings (from best to worst):
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Goldfinger
Casino Royale '06
Dr. No
The Spy Who Loved Me
Quantum Of Solace
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
For Your Eyes Only
Live And Let Die
The Man With The Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
From this point on, the series really is going to just run through based on release year now with the rest of the titles: MR, OP, AVTAK, TLD, LTK, GE, TND, TWINE, DAD, SF. Unless someone can think of some interesting reasons why they should be further swapped and switched around.
Of course, with the release of SPECTRE, this order is surely going to be thrown into chaos.
This is one that surely divides fans right down the middle. On one hand, you have a very over-the-top script that puts more emphasis on silliness and gags. On the other hand, you have an excellent Barry score (as much as I like the one-off TSWLM score, Barry's return is welcomed with open arms), great cinematography, locations and spectacle. I loved Hugo Drax in this viewing - his low-key and monotone voice definitely adds an air of menace that hearkens back to Blofeld in You Only Live Twice. The plot is somewhat dark when you think about it; Drax wants to exterminate the human population so he can repopulate Earth with people of his choosing to re-breed the human race.
The biggest issue I have with Moonraker is that there seems to be a "Give and Take" every time something thrilling happens. For example, Bond gets pushed out of an airplane in the opening and has a fight in free fall over a parachute. This scope of the scene definitely makes the parachute jump in the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me pale in comparison. However, the issue for Moonraker is that it takes away any thrill the scene has by introducing more silliness.
I feel that if John Glen had taken a fine razor and trimmed some of the fat from the film, we would have a much leaner and rounded experience. Instead, we're treated to a film that is thrilling but the sum of the parts is better than the whole.
Ranking (from best to worst):
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Goldfinger
Casino Royale '06
Dr. No
The Spy Who Loved Me
Quantum Of Solace
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
For Your Eyes Only
Live And Let Die
Moonraker
The Man With The Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
Also, Bond going into space didn't really bother me during this viewing. I think people take aim at that as a point of the "silliness" argument but most of the space scenes are done in good taste. I did say most! lol I think it's everything else (Jaws and Dolly, the Gondola and double-taking pigeon, the reliance on the over-the-top aspects of the series, etc.) that leaves such a bad taste in everybody else's mouth and not the actual idea of Bond travelling into outer space itself.
And maybe a facelift?
And a little less hair dye.
I like Glen as a director but he's definitely the most "workmanlike" director of the Bond series (followed by Campbell). Two of his films are in my top 10, and I think he did a good job, but he would have probably ruined MOONRAKER.
Also, what @Birdleson said. MOONRAKER isn't that divisive. Most people don't care for it.
And definitely some manicure!
Yay! :)
Most people do. I love it to. I just like GOLDENEYE so it's nice to see Birdleson appreciate it.
I love Moonraker!
The most shocking is that you fell asleep while watching OP! Shame on you. ;)
Thunderball - Wow, I enjoyed this one more than I have in a long, long time. Not that I ever thought it was bad but this time I was truly captivated. Most of it had to do with Connery's performance. Some people say that he starts to get bored with the role here but I disagree. I can't quite call it his best performance but it's right up there. It's clear that Young got the most out of him. I was even able to appreciate Largo's silent menace, although it still annoyed me how obvious it was at times that his voice was dubbed. John Barry's magnificent score carried the film and made otherwise uninteresting moments suddenly mesmerizing. Oh, and who wouldn't give anything to spend time with Fiona in the Bahamas? She's definitely got my vote. We'll see how it all shakes out but this could definitely land in my top ten for the first time in ages. Trend - Moving Up!
Moonraker - I still don't think it's as bad as it's reputation would suggest. Yes, it has some questionable moments and the whole outer space thing goes a bit too far but there is still a lot to enjoy. I actually like the first half quite a bit. I honestly don't even mind the Bondola chase scene. Once Chang is replaced by Jaws in Rio, things start to go downhill a bit. Jaws has turned into a giant goofball for some undetermined reason. The space finale is also pretty lame. However, Roger Moore's performance, the gorgeous cinematography and Barry's lush score are all remarkable. It's not top notch Bond but it was entertaining enough for a passable grade. Trend - No change
Thunderball is Connery's best performance as Bond. By far. Better than Goldfinger; he is so unbelievably cool and relaxed in Thunderball, maybe that's the reason some people call it a 'bored' performance.
Unadulterated joy from "So does England!" to "Keeping the British end up, Sir". I had a huge, idiotic grin from start to finish. Just absolutely fan-smegging-tastic.
It's one of the most masculine, self confident performance I have ever seen in my life.
I've been meaning go give it a watch ever since hearing about Louis Jourdan's passing. It still holds up quite well, and kicks NSNA's ass all over the place. Getting the original leading man to come back is no cure for a BORING movie, I say!
Octopussy delivers everything we want in our Bond adventures.
Moore is starting to push it a bit as a believable womanizing Super Spy but at least the main Bond girl is a reasonable age match (I say that to scale of course, compared to the 20 year olds he's usually paired up with). What a difference it makes when you look at AVTAK!!
But Moore's age has been addressed a thousand times on these boards, so what else can be said? He certainly still works here and the movie is a blast from start to finish. Moore even has a 'badass' moment to rival the infamous one from FYEO: That Russian soldier who catches Bond's bullet right between the eyes! The expression of the soldier and the suddenness of it all certainly leaves an impact.
Added bonus: I convinced my girlfriend to watch it with me (first time viewing for her) and she loved it!