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What about Thunderball?
Less so, because it contains a mix of the "cinematic Bond" and the "Fleming Bond."
What DN may lack in cinematic flash it makes up for in simplistic, gritty detective thrills that propel the low-key first into a more expansive and classic second half. Connery doesn't waste any time fitting into the role; he takes charge immediately and establishes one of his greatest 007 performances. Even without Connery, the supporting cast is more than enough to carry the movie. The characters of Dr. No, Professor Dent, Miss Taro, Jack Lord's Felix Leiter, Quarrel, Pleydell-Smith, etc. are outstanding. DN has a definite ability to play its characters' strengths for the betterment of the movie. Such a knack for characterization is helped out a ton when the movie isn't so busy throwing up big time action sequences and stunts all over the place, although those are welcomed later in the series. Still, the Bond movies that dial back the explosive, "popcorn" action approach seem to always do better with their characters. Having watched DN this time around on the UE DVD, I can give the location work some fairly good points. Since Lowry fixed the majority of problems with the movie's format, DN's cinematography comes out more vividly, and it looks spectacular. Something else that popped out at me on this go-around was how tight the movie's plot and pace are. Not a minute is spent uselessly, and the progression of events is extremely fluid and focused. I suppose that's a perk of Terrence Young's direction, since the same is mostly true for FRWL and TB, though less with the latter. DN's score still annoys me; it's an okay start for the series' music, but nowhere near what will come to be on basically every other Bond score. Overall, I'm usually very pleased with DN, and certainly so today!
Bondathon 2014/2015
1. From Russia with Love
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. For Your Eyes Only
4. Dr. No
5. Diamonds Are Forever
6. The Man with the Golden Gun
7. Thunderball
8. The Living Daylights
9. Goldfinger
10. Live and Let Die
11. The Spy Who Loved Me
12. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
13. Moonraker
14. You Only Live Twice
=D>
I actually like that scene.
Of the four Bond films that are often at the bottom of fans' lists - DAF, TMWTGG, MR, AVTAK - Connery's final outing as Bond for EON is perhaps the one I favour most. That wasn't always the case, mind. Rather, DAF is like the friend I first loved, then hated, then loved again. When I first saw this film at age 9 or 10, I didn't complain about anything. It was Bond, it had Connery and I needed little else. Growing up, however, I noticed things about DAF that I began to consider inferior to most of the other films in the series, including the script, the effects, the action and even some of the acting. I couldn't believe anyone in their right mind could turn in this insult of a movie after the brilliant OHMSS. The only reason I kept watching DAF was my rigid completism and my love for Barry's score.
Then one day the DVD's were released; I fervently watched the 'Inside' documentaries. I read several of the books on Bond, including James Bond: The Legacy. And I became a member of this forum. All of these things combined allowed my views on the Bond series to expand and deepen out, to become more complete and more nuanced. Furthermore, I had simply watched more films in general, including films from the 60s and 70s, getting a better grip on the 'Zeitgeist'. And it suddenly hit me on the nose so to speak that for many years I had neglected the power of DAF.
DAF is outrageous but as such it also provides a great deal of fun. The fruit of some wild, seemingly drug-induced creativity, it's the closest thing to James Bond In Acidland we may ever get. Obviously that's the main reason why many fans of OHMSS have something to say about DAF, and not much good at that. Luckily though, I'm able to forgive the weirdness of DAF because I find it simply fascinating to examine this film that was so not the sequel to OHMSS it should logically have been.
I guess I also like the locations and the music. It's just great fun to follow Bond as he goes from a plastic surgery clinic to a small apartment block in Amsterdam and from there to a funeral home, a circus, a penthouse in Vegas and an oil rig. Meanwhile, Barry's sexy and at times suspenseful jazz music tries to convince us that all of this should be taken pretty seriously. Case in point, the score reaches some dramatic heights while Bond battles two feline henchwomen in a luxurious swimming pool. This is the kind of 'crazy' I have come to love rather than hate.
DAF used to be a frustration of mine. There was so much potential for it to be a cold spy thriller, thriving on a theme of revenge, if only it had dared to pick things up where OHMSS had left off. Instead it bordered on self-parody and with Hamilton proclaiming that we should all just have "some fun" with this film, my anger level only went up. Some of that frustration is still with me, but I have learned to appreciate DAF for what it is, rather than for what it isn't. I find it to be a deliciously silly joyride, a fascinating failure, a guilty pleasure.
@00Beast, now there's an interesting take, sir. I have never thought about it that way but indeed, you're on to something. Switching the order does make sense! Let's face it, mistakes were made in the 60s when
A) they didn't shoot OHMSS before YOLT
Provided Connery had still been happy to play Bond, he could have rocked in OHMSS. I'm thinking of the Connery of FRWL and Marnie. Also, it would have opened the gate for YOLT to be more consistent with Fleming's writings...
B) they altered YOLT's story from what Fleming had thought up to Dahl's sci-fi adventure
Even though YOLT is a fun little Bond flick with some admirable stunts, effects and sets, there are a couple of pretty dramatic moments on the pages of the Fleming novel which, sadly, were never included in any Bond film...
This gets better and better. Certainly a top ten film.
YOLT as it stands could have benefitted from some added drama and darker elements. Basically all we are offered is the death of Aki and perhaps Henderson's assassination. Most everything else is so campy. It aggravates me that Dahl transformed YOLT into such a fantasy-based adventure. Sure, his ideas were perfect for the time, especially considering the post-TB Bondmania, but from what you said and what I've heard from others, a more novel-oriented approach would have helped YOLT in the long run.
A View to a Kill
I tend to remove my thinking cap and free fall into sheer nostalgia when I watch AVTAK. Being the first Bond movie I owned on DVD, as well as one of my most-watched, I can't critique it too harshly, or for that matter, even critique it at all. The issues don't go unnoticed- Roger's age is always there, Stacey shrieks too much, the action is fairly weak, and the locations are drab- but for all of its perceived mediocrity, I can't pretend to be bothered. AVTAK boasts such magnificent characters and such brilliant dialogue that it's carried through any potential drawbacks. The direction and plot progression also deserves some credit for keeping things moving; it's one of the few Bond movies that seems to flow seamlessly for me. There are also a substantial number of scenes that simply scream 007 in my ears; Bond using the flare to disable to Russian helicopter, the Eiffel Tower chase, Bond telling Zorin that "killing Tibbet was a mistake", the KGB intervention at the race track, the city hall showdown, and the entire finale are all top notch in my book. Also, does Barry's score need to be mentioned? Magnificent, indeed. I doubt that AVTAK will ever be anywhere outside my Top Five.
Bondathon 2014/2015
1. From Russia with Love
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. A View to a Kill
4. Dr. No
5. Diamonds Are Forever
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. The Man with the Golden Gun
8. Thunderball
9. The Living Daylights
10. Goldfinger
11. Live and Let Die
12. The Spy Who Loved Me
13. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
14. Moonraker
15. You Only Live Twice
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/10577/bond-movie-meter-2015#latest
Sorry if your tired of me yelling on about this, but i feel that many people don't know of this thread and it would be nice with some more contributions for a more accurate overlook.
TWINE, as a Brosnan Bond, automatically has my respect and my appreciation. However, unlike its two predecessors GE and TND, it doesn't get the job done for me every time. Whereas GE had dark undertones and a first class cast, TWINE suffers from some more light-hearted elements (i.e. turning Zukosvky into a jokester) and a few forgettable characters. Whereas TND had tight direction and a streamlined focus, TWINE suffers from some directional zig-zagging. It sets itself up with all the right ingredients including a slam-bang PTS and many "on the money" first half scenes, but quickly loses itself by the second half. Part of this is due to the fact that there never truly was an understandable plot to begin with, thus making the table-turning events of the second half hard to grasp and difficult to care about (not to mention easy to see coming). It's this less focused direction and too expansive plot that keeps TWINE from being the greatest of the Brosnan Bonds. Also, there are some serious missed opportunities, particularly with Renard. If some more careful attention had been shown by Apted to smooth out these chinks, I believe TWINE could have matched GE in 90's Bond movies. Nonetheless, it's Brosnan in possibly his finest Bond performance hopping through some nifty action sequences with neat villains, so it'll have its Top Ten spot reserved!
Bondathon 2014/2015
1. From Russia with Love
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. A View to a Kill
4. The World is not Enough
5. Dr. No
6. Diamonds Are Forever
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. The Man with the Golden Gun
9. Thunderball
10. The Living Daylights
11. Goldfinger
12. Live and Let Die
13. The Spy Who Loved Me
14. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
15. Moonraker
16. You Only Live Twice
MR, YOLT, and OHMSS frequently circulate around one another as my bottom three, and I suppose this time MR seems a little better than YOLT. Crazy things happen sometimes! I don't prefer either, as you can see, hahaha.
Live and Let Die
The LALD slump is no more!! I couldn't be happier about this. There for a good while, I'd gotten very disappointed with Roger's debut; something about it had dulled my senses and left me feeling empty, but that was not the case today! LALD is such an easily accessible 007 adventure. There doesn't have to be an occasion for watching it nor does it require a huge time commitment. The plot is easy to grasp, the characters are colorful and exciting, and the soundtrack is gloriously early 70's. My only gripe is with death of Kananga, which clearly should have been carried out by the sharks meant for Bond and Solitaire rather than that foolish shark dart. Along with that, the transition between Kananga's death and the train sequence is incredibly brief; some expansion in this area could have greatly improved the finale's flow. Still, that surprise battle on the train with Tee Hee more than makes up for any of those missed opportunities. I'm delighted that LALD is back up where it ought to be with me!
Bondathon 2014/2015
1. From Russia with Love
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. A View to a Kill
4. Live and Let Die
5. The World is not Enough
6. Dr. No
7. Diamonds Are Forever
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. The Man with the Golden Gun
10. Thunderball
11. The Living Daylights
12. Goldfinger
13. The Spy Who Loved Me
14. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
15. Moonraker
16. You Only Live Twice
I consider them to be of roughly equal quality, although I may prefer YOLT. Been awhile since I've seen it.
Gilbert's Bond films are all gorgeous, but MR and YOLT are a notch above.
A top notch Bond adventure every time. LTK is loaded with so many 00-worthy aspects from its memorable characters and their quotable dialogue to its near perfect action sequences and moody score. Add in a chilly, to-the-point performance by Timothy Dalton as our hero and consider this outing an influential, standard-setting Bond recipe. LTK remains a Top 5 favorite!
Bondathon 2014/2015
1. From Russia with Love
2. Tomorrow Never Dies
3. License to Kill
4. A View to a Kill
5. Live and Let Die
6. The World is not Enough
7. Dr. No
8. Diamonds Are Forever
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. The Man with the Golden Gun
11. Thunderball
12. The Living Daylights
13. Goldfinger
14. The Spy Who Loved Me
15. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
16. Moonraker
17. You Only Live Twice
I was reminded how much of a workmanlike production AVTAK is. Flat cinematography, expected scene progression, expected plot progression etc etc. Kind of like the movie was made on an assembly line. Moore's appearance has been well detailed on these forums. He looks quite good for 58 years, but Bond just shouldn't be that old. (I'm sure the filmmakers would have been too afraid to actually acknowledge Bond's age. I wonder if discussions were ever held about that....) The fist fights are the worst in the series, just embarrassing. Though I will say that Moore does seem a little more dedicated and intense in the role. Much of his byplay with Walken and Macnee is quite good.
But the movie checks the boxes in many other departments, and ends up being dull. Tanya Roberts can't act, the plot is predictable and the movie is at least 15 minutes too long. A fight on the Golden Gate Bridge sounds spectacularly ridiculous, but I don't know if the movie really pulls it off.
There is only one scene in the movie that actually makes me feel something, and that is Zorin massacring his miners. It unfortunately comes very late in the film, so perhaps a little bit of the scene is dampened, but the disturbing nature of Zorin's insanity is captured very well. Roger Moore said he was horrified by the scene, but I honestly feel it is the best sequence in the movie. (That makes me sound like a terrible person, I know.)
AVTAK is and has always been a bottom dweller for me.
Hated it as a kid, love it now. I enjoy how ridiculously weird it is (even when occasionally it doesn't mean to be). I also love, as with DAF, that balance of "dark and light."
AVTAK has many dark moments, but it also has its fair share of absurdity (spot the stunt double, etc) I enjoy it a lot every time I see it.