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He had a different director instructing him and had different experiences as an actor. Marnie had some influence on his performance, I think.
However, I don't see that much of a difference. It's still Connery-Bond. And I'm not sure what you mean about not breaking a sweat when his death by Grant seemed certain. If you watch that scene closely he is clearly freaking out.
In GF he just brought a bit more cinematic movie star presence to the role, maintained the level of charisma, but was still Bond through and through in my opinion.
As for OHMSS, Peter Hunt did a great job, and Lazenby threatened to ruin the film at every turn. But everyone knows where I stand on that one. Due for a rewatch, I suppose.
Roger Moore is absolutely excellent in his sophomore performance as the world's favourite spy imho. Assured, and very hard edged (for him), he also looks better than in any other Bond movie. Nor having read many of the books (it's a pleasure I'll have later this year in anticipation of SP), I can't comment on whether his performance here is close to Fleming. I just know that I see a lot of Dalton, Craig & early Connery in Moore's performance in TMWTGG, & I like it. He does not descend into too much slapstick humour (nearly none actually) but still presents his trademark easy charm often enough, but with a believable and ruthless intensity here that we regrettably, didn't see enough of from him as Bond.
The rest of the cast is fantastic as well.
I actually like Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight. I know she gets a lot of flack here, but she played the ditzy role she was given with aplomb, is very charismatic on screen, and she looks quite fetching in a bikini, which is an added bonus.
Maud Adams is very alluring and suitably demure as Andrea Anders - there's a lot of similarities between her character & Severine from SF imho - both trapped and waiting for Bond to rescue them, but we know it won't happen. The scenes between Bond and her, particularly in the Peninsula hotel post-shower, are some of Moore's best.
The great Christopher Lee is quite chilling as Francisco Scaramanga, although somewhat underused. He makes an appearance as early as the pretitles, but doesn't really come into his own until mid-way, when he has his first repartee with Bond during the kick boxing fight.
I found Herve Villechaize interesting as the dimunitive Nic Nac. Sure, he's somewhat unthreatening, but he serves an interesting contrast to the 6 ft 5 in Lee, and is suitably quirky, like some of the best Bond henchmen/women.
I also liked Soon-Tek Oh as Lt. Hip and his nieces too.
I have always found the plot very entertaining, in a scaled back sort of way. This is definitely not a 'big' Bond film, but rather a more intimate one, with a personal plot element due to Bond's erroneous fear that Scaramanga wants him dead. I love the location photography, particularly the great work at the end when Bond is approaching Scaramanga's Island, the Macau/Hong Kong locations at night, the use of the sunken ship as a HQ etc. Bond gets to do a lot of spy/investigative work on his own in the early stages which I always like to see. The perfectly choreographed car chase is always entertaining (yes, even the infamous slide whistle & also JW, although I prefer him by far in LALD), as is the boat chase (although again, I prefer the one in LALD). John Barry's score, altough far from his best, suits the movie very well and has some great brassy moments that he uses again in OP.
So at the end of the day I really like this movie and I always have. I find it one of the more enjoyable Bond films precisely because, like those other sophomore efforts (LTK & QoS) it's somewhat scaled down, eccentric and idiosyncratic. I'll never tire of it and it's as fresh to me today as it was the first time I saw it years ago on tv. If it's possible for a movie to have charisma, then this one does.
100% agree. In Berry's defense, the character was written like shit. Unfortunately, she did the role no favors.
Roger Moore is quite serious in this one. Perhaps too serious. From the opening scene of him walking over to Tracy's grave, we see an uncharacteristically somber Moore, particularly in comparison to the previous two installments. Dapper as ever, his famous humour is still there, but it's toned down considerably. I know some (maybe many) see this is as his best turn as Bond, but I couldn't disagree more. From my point of view, Sir Rog acts as though he's drugged or on meds throughout the movie - it's quite a contrast with the focused, intense Bond we got in TMWTGG (which I recently watched as well).
The rest of the cast is a mixed bag for me:
Carole Bouquet - Quite gorgeous, she remains my favourite Bond girl of the 80's. Very simply dressed, she conveys a sense of grief and coiled anger throughout the movie, as though she is just waiting for a chance to put an arrow through everyone connected with her parent's murder.
Julian Glover - his Kristatos has to be one of the most boring Bond villains. In fact, from my standpoint he gives the useless Robert Carlyle's Renard a run for his money as the most stodgy of them all. There is nothing more to say about him - what a disappointment - he doesn't even have any good lines unlike Drax, his immediate predecessor, who had some of the best.
Chaim Topol - his peanut chewing smuggler Columbo is interesting and charismatic. He adds an element of fun to the movie and provides a lot of the humour.
Lynn Holly Johnson - Bibi Dahl has to be one of the most annoying characters to ever grace a James Bond film. Britt Ekland gets a lot of flack for Goodnight, but in my view Lynn's virginal Bibi is the low point, yes even lower than Talisa Soto as Lupe in LTK. I cringe whenever she is on screen.
My view on the movie has not really changed all these years later. In fact it's dropped down quite a bit in my rankings - in short I find it very boring, humdrum & mundane. There is no 'twinkle' in this film - no sense of fun. That's something nearly all the other Roger Moore films in particular have, including AVTAK.
I think both the director and the screenwriter share the blame, as both were new to the top job:
-John Glen is pretty good with the action in a lot of places here (the opening helicopter chase, ski chase, shark escape at sea, mountain climb) but is also very lousy in other areas (I almost fell asleep during the Neptune sub scene and during the hockey fight, as well as the finale on the mountain top itself). His inexperience is quite evident in directing the actors as well & he does not get the best performances from the stellar group he has to work with. I have never seen a more insipid performance from Roger Moore in particular, a crime given his enormous screen charisma.
-This is also Michael Wilson's first attempt at co-screenwriting with Maibum, and it shows. The dialogue is very uninspired with very few notable classic lines. "I'll buy you a delicatessen.....in stainless steel!" says it all I think.
Interestingly both Wilson and Glen took it all to a new level with OP so they probably just needed one movie to get used to it all.
What was also noticeable to me this time is how much this movie needs a John Barry score. Bill Conti's work is downright shameful in some places (particularly the action scoring), and in my view his score is the most dated of all of them, & it was probably dated in 1981 as well. Very late 70's. The scoring for the Citroen chase and ski sequence is especially awful, although it's somewhat redeemed by the magnificent submarine score & the gunbarrel work, & he should be congratulated for how he incorporates Sheena Easton's title track.
So in summary, this movie continues to disappoint, despite some very positive elements (Carole Bouquet, the escape from the sharks and the ski sequences). Ultimately, I think this is the fault of a freshman Glen & Wilson as well as Conti. It's certainly not bad, but sadly could have been so much more.......
Anyways, I don't want to turn this into a hate DAD thread. There are still some great scenes in the movie and I enjoy giving it a view from time to time.
I think the score is absolutely terrible (Barry would have lifted this movie up in a big way) and also that Glen showed his inexperience by not really getting charismatic performances from his actors.....a lot of it just seems flat for some reason, punctuated by some notable moments of brilliance. It's certainly uneven. I may get a lot of flack for this, but I much prefer almost everything about TMWTGG which I saw two days ago - and especially Moore's performance in that movie.
You prefer the plot as well?
No, maybe not. I think it's just the direction that lets FYEO down for me. Something's off. Not sure what. It just seems very dull in some places, which is something TMWTGG cannot be accused of - I was entertained throughout that one.
I actually now will put FYEO just above AVTAK and below all the rest in Moore's era (I know this is not a conventional view here).
Completely agree. I'd also consider replacing Lupe with someone with some acting skills, or giving her character more to do, like Domino.
LTK deserves all the love it gets. An unsung legend.
\m/ Yes, my brother in Bond!
Indeed, MR is the abyss. But FYEO is on the edge of it, and I agree 100% with your assessment. The film has some nice sequences; interestingly, they're mostly not punctuated by music--perhaps because John Glen realized that Bill Conti's score was all wrong and used it sparingly.
There has been (much deserved) criticism of Jinx on this thread; but I think Bibi Dahl (as in baby Doll) is even worse, maybe the worst female character in the franchise.
You said it SO well with those coments, @DaltonCraig007! I am all with you on this! :-bd
As for Glen's Bond films, I would rank them something like this:
1. Octopussy / The Living Daylights
3. A View to a Kill
4. For Your Eyes Only
5. Licence to Kill
1. Licence to Kill
2. For Your Eyes Only
3. The Living Daylights
4. Octopussy
5. A View to a Kill