Last Bond Movie You Watched

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Comments

  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    It is indeed one of the best and very faithful to the novel. Lazenby did a good job, as did Peter Hunt.
  • edited March 2015 Posts: 1,596
    @NapoleonSolo I agree that Connery's vulnerability works in that scene (laser scene), but I just have a hard time believing this is the same Bond I saw in DN and FRWL, the Bond that didn't break a sweat when his death by Grant's hands seemed certain. Connery's Bond was the ultimate badass in the first 2 films, and these moments in GF, while good in the film, is IMO contrary to the alpha male persona I saw in the '62 and '63 outings.

    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.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Followed up OHMSS with CR ( two of my favourites ) ;)
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,582
    I am watching DAD right now, on Encore. I'll probably turn it off at the 45-minute mark. That's when it starts going downhill.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    :)) yes it's a bit like a football match the first half is pretty good ! Then........
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Anything with Jinx is poor too, even the 'rip off DN scene'.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I don't know why she was so bad in DAD.
  • Posts: 1,596
    God she was bad.
  • Posts: 1,394
    I liked Jinx.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited March 2015 Posts: 23,883
    Jinx was pretty bad, but the grumpy rocket scientist (ostensibly) named after the most wonderful time of the year from the immediately preceding movie was far worse imho.
  • Posts: 7,507
    To be honest I think Halle Berry is pretty horrible in basically everything she does. I never understood what her critical acclaim is all about.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited March 2015 Posts: 23,883
    Just finished TMWTGG. I really enjoyed it, as I always do. It was one of the first Bond movies I saw as a kid, and really got me into James Bond. When younger, I really loved the exotic feel of far east locations and the somewhat quirky feel to it then, and that still remains the case to this day.

    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.
  • Posts: 1,596
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I guess she'd be glad to know she has one fan here. I think she was absolutely horrible as written and as portrayed.

    100% agree. In Berry's defense, the character was written like shit. Unfortunately, she did the role no favors.

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited March 2015 Posts: 23,883
    Just watched FYEO, again one of the movies I first saw on tv as a kid, & I'll always remember my first impression was one of disappointment. I was expecting a TSWLM/MR type spectacular, particularly after seeing the amazing poster with Bond aiming between some girl's thighs and the Lotus in the background. The movie didn't quite live up to salacious expectations and still fails to (more on that below).

    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.......
  • edited March 2015 Posts: 1,181
    I think it was a situation where they believed that casting someone with starpower would override the bad writing and dialogue. Many of the lines are just so unforgivable that no actress could have pulled it off. I think Berry knew the role was terribly written, but it's a James Bond movie paying mega bucks so I don't blame her for taking it. The real fault rests with the writers and Barbara & Michael for allowing it in the first place.

    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.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited March 2015 Posts: 23,883
    Agreed @Birdleson, there are some great moments in the movie for sure, espeically the ones you mentioned. I too like (now after the fact, but not way back when I was a kid looking for bigger and badder) that they decided to scale it back in this movie.

    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.
  • edited March 2015 Posts: 7,507
    bondjames wrote: »
    Agreed @Birdleson, there are some great moments in the movie for sure, espeically the ones you mentioned. I too like (now after the fact, but not way back when I was a kid looking for bigger and badder) that they decided to scale it back in this movie.

    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?
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited March 2015 Posts: 23,883
    jobo wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    Agreed @Birdleson, there are some great moments in the movie for sure, espeically the ones you mentioned. I too like (now after the fact, but not way back when I was a kid looking for bigger and badder) that they decided to scale it back in this movie.

    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).
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,713
    I'm currently in the middle of LTK. Normally I would only comment at the end, but I am having a total blast right now, IMO it has a great chance of climbing to a top 3 spot in my ranking. Dalton is a legend in this outing, I love the gritty (Miami Vice esque) style of the film, the soundtrack may be my favorite non-Barry score. It's looking very good so far! I used to prefer TLD to LTK but I think it's in the process of changing.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I'm currently in the middle of LTK. Normally I would only comment at the end, but I am having a total blast right now, IMO it has a great chance of climbing to a top 3 spot in my ranking. Dalton is a legend in this outing, I love the gritty (Miami Vice esque) style of the film, the soundtrack may be my favorite non-Barry score. It's looking very good so far! I used to prefer TLD to LTK but I think it's in the process of changing.

    Just eliminate the bar scene, Pam and the bulk of the Q scenes and I'm with you.

    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.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,713
    Well, I've just finished the film. And I can now safely say LTK is in my top 3 favorite Bond outings! I was astonished by how fast and well the film flows, just scene after scene of Dalton acting his heart out, Bond being a badass and completely outwitting the villains. I had an absolute blast!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    bondjames wrote: »
    I'd also consider replacing Lupe with someone with some acting skills
    Talisa gave us a pitch perfect beauty queen airhead, I still can't believe so many can't see this--!!
    Well, I've just finished the film. And I can now safely say LTK is in my top 3 favorite Bond outings! I was astonished by how fast and well the film flows, just scene after scene of Dalton acting his heart out, Bond being a badass and completely outwitting the villains. I had an absolute blast!

    \m/ Yes, my brother in Bond!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Birdleson wrote: »
    The conviction isn't there when it's obviously intended to be.
    You clearly have not dated many real-life airheads... :))
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,582
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I am close to you on this one @bondjames, in that I am surprised at the amount of adoration FOR YOUR EYES ONLY receives on this boards. Some absolutely wonderful moments and scenes (Bond visiting Tracy's grave, the nighttime raid at the warehouse, culminating with Bond kicking Locque's car off of cliff and Bond's ascension to the fortress, particularly), but a lot of boring and silly crap, as well.
    I remember being somewhat surprised at ho flat it felt overall when I first saw it in the theater. Still, I was very happy that we had stepped back from the abyss that was MOONRAKER. And the scenes that work, work very well.

    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.
  • Posts: 7,507
    I'm currently in the middle of LTK. Normally I would only comment at the end, but I am having a total blast right now, IMO it has a great chance of climbing to a top 3 spot in my ranking. Dalton is a legend in this outing, I love the gritty (Miami Vice esque) style of the film, the soundtrack may be my favorite non-Barry score. It's looking very good so far! I used to prefer TLD to LTK but I think it's in the process of changing.
    Well, I've just finished the film. And I can now safely say LTK is in my top 3 favorite Bond outings! I was astonished by how fast and well the film flows, just scene after scene of Dalton acting his heart out, Bond being a badass and completely outwitting the villains. I had an absolute blast!


    You said it SO well with those coments, @DaltonCraig007! I am all with you on this! :-bd
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Personally, I love FYEO. It's my favorite Glen film. I can understand why some people find it underwhelming though. A good friend of mine really despises it and we've had some great arguments about it over the years. I guess that I just enjoy the unique combination of flavors that it provides me while others find it unpalatable. Hey, it's their loss. OP and TLD offer higher highs but they also succumb to lower lows in my opinion. All of Glen's movies are polarizing to some degree.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Very well said, @pachazo. How I feel as well. FYEO is my fav Moore film, and my fav Glen film. No doubt about it. It remains a top ten Bond film.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Watched Thunderball last night, still an epic Bond. The scale of the movie is astounding. Sure some of the underwater scenes go on a bit,but the final underwater battle is fantastic.
  • Posts: 1,596
    Always nice to see more appreciation for TB.

    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
  • Posts: 12,462
    My ranking of Glen's:

    1. Licence to Kill
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. The Living Daylights
    4. Octopussy
    5. A View to a Kill
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