Last Bond Movie You Watched

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  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,216
    Yes, the Hi-Def format is not often kind to actors.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    Returned to my first Bond, GoldenEye. Some overacting, some problems with the plot, etc. but it was all so fun that I didn't even care about any of that.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    Goldeneye

    Another mid level Bond. The Tank chase is a highlight (that has to go down as one of the best Bond moments), Samantha Bond's Moneypenny is a lowlight (she is mildly tolerable in TND, TWINE, and DAD), but she if awful here (worse even, than Pamela Salem in NSNA). Not only did we get the "sexist misogynist dinosaur" talk from M, we have to suffer it from Moneypenny too.

    Random Bond Viewing 2016 (in order of viewing):
    January:
    1. You Only Live Twice
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. Tomorrow Never Dies
    4. The Living Daylights
    February:
    5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    6. From Russia With Love
    7. Spectre
    8. Octopussy
    9. Diamonds Are Forever
    March:
    10. Quantum Of Solace
    11. Goldfinger
    12. Moonraker
    13. Goldenye
  • Posts: 11,189
    Goldeneye

    (worse even, than Pamela Salem in NSNA).

    Oh common!! :p
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Last night, I watched Spectre. You know? The flawed it might be, I actually went through and let the film go like water down the well smoothly. It's actually a very enjoyable film, which isn't anything different than the first time I've seen it but thought my memory needed a little refreshment. Though, it could have been a lot better if they focused on the more horror/gothic-oriented Spectre organization rather than anything else. I said it before and I'll say it again, Madeleine's character really I can do without.
  • Watched Skyfall earlier this week, in celebration of DC's birthday and to see if Spectre had shifted my opinion of it (interestingly, my last four Bonds watched are SF/SP/SP/SF).

    I still greatly enjoyed it, although I understand some of the criticisms. All of the character arcs were well-executed and developed throughout the film, from Bond's battle with his own mortality, to M's struggles with the modern world of espionage and governmental skepticism, and finally Sliva's rage and bitterness at M for betraying him. My only criticism of Bond's arc is how it fits into the larger story of his tenure: he goes from young and inexperienced in CR/QoS to possibly old and past it here to hale and hearty in Spectre. It's all a bit of a mess, as great as his arcs are on their own (except for SP, where he has no arc). I don't mean to dump on SP yet again, but the difference between Bond's character, the villain's connection with the story, and MI6's relationship with the modern world in this movie and in the next movie are like night and day. Here they are fully developed, in SP they are tacked on.

    Concerning some of the criticisms about the plot, my opinions are a bit more mixed. Some of the little holes don't bother me at all (like the train passengers not noticing the fight or Mallory rescuing M rather than Tanner), but others are a bit more substantive and deserve a longer response. The only two I really cannot understand are how Bond escaped after being shot and severely wounded and how Silva escaped from his cell despite two armed guards standing by. I noticed both of them on my first viewing and still haven't figured them out.

    As to the other problems: Moneypenny didn't shoot again, obviously, because she was in shock after having (seemingly) killed another agent and wasn't thinking clearly. This is a bad move for an agent, but they paid it off by having her step down from field work and take a desk job. Patrice used the uranium bullets because they're extraordinarily powerful, as M tells Bond it would have torn him in half had it connected. Perhaps it's still unsatisfying that he uses something easily traceable, but this one is also minor enough to ignore.

    M doesn't pull the covert operatives out of their embedded units because she doesn't want to lose valuable sources of intelligence that it likely took years to embed and who are likely doing extraordinarily valuable work of their own. It's also not guaranteed that the tape will be posted online before MI6 can get to it, so she weighed the different options. She also refused to leave the hearing because Silva was pursuing her anyway, and would have come to the hearing and killed some of the attendees had she left. Waiting to meet Silva there also gives them a better shot at capturing him rather than letting him run off.

    Finally, the decision not to have a squad of SAS commandos or MI6 agents or whomever waiting outside Skyfall Manor was M's own. She didn't want anyone else involved, and she recognizes that she's messed up (as she almost literally says) and seems to be at peace with her possible death from this catastrophe.

    All in all, Skyfall remains a top tier Bond movie and stays at #6 on my personal ranking.
  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    For Your Eyes Only

    Watched this outing last night. This would be about my fourth viewing of it. Ever since my first viewing of it, it has been at the bottom of my Bond list. It was just an outing that fell rather flat with me and I would get so bored that I would have trouble paying attention to the plot. That all changed this last time around! I was able to get into everything about it. It's very much a more grounded and realistic Bond movie. While I still don't adore it as much as other fans, it will have to move up a few spots on my ranking list.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I too got in, just in time to watch the late night showing of FYEO. :)
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    I re-watched SP and QOS recently.

    CR and QOS worked fine arc wise.
    Skyfall made a complete mess of Craig's tenure. Everything happening there was so illogical and Bond behaved as if he had been a 00 agent for decades and M was his mother.
    SF may work on its own if you disregard how they depicted Bond and M before.
    The story of SF should have happened at least 10 years after QOS in a timeline to make at least some sense.

    Spectre on the other hand works perfectly as now enough time has passed since CR to have Bond being a believable character who has experience and a wiseness to act how he does in SP.

    Instead of the soap drama story of SF there should have been something between QOS and SP. It could have been a gritty action drama around M, dying early in the movie and Bond going after Silva for revenge. Of course instead of that Austin Powers like depiction of Silva it should have been some very sinister, dark and menacing villain.

    EON missed so many chances for greatness after QOS, luckily they got on the right track again for Craig's fourth movie.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    edited March 2016 Posts: 1,984
    I've seen The Spy Who Loved Me and Tomorrow Never Dies recently. Spy, as always, is on top form and unquestionably Roger Moore's best. Again, my problems lie primarily with how far they take the humour (which sometimes detracts from the story), but other than that, it's fairly close to perfect (some issues with Barbara Bach's acting, Stromberg couldn't been more menacing in later scenes, and that's about it). The final act is still not quite up to par with the rest of the film, but it's pretty good nonetheless.

    Fast forward to TND, which is twenty years later, and it's the next time we see Bond in his naval uniform. Not for long, of course, but I liked the little reference. As for the film itself, it's pretty good, but I'm still unable to elevate it beyond the "average" tier. It's fun and enjoyable with a couple of good scenes and a good cast, but that's about as much as I can give it. The finale still doesn't feel like Bond.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    The Spy Who Loved Me

    Not my favourite of Moore's 7 Bonds, but TSWLM is easily is most relaxed.

    Random Bond Viewing 2016 (in order of viewing):
    January:
    1. You Only Live Twice
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. Tomorrow Never Dies
    4. The Living Daylights
    February:
    5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    6. From Russia With Love
    7. Spectre
    8. Octopussy
    9. Diamonds Are Forever
    March:
    10. Quantum Of Solace
    11. Goldfinger
    12. Moonraker
    13. Goldenye
    14. The Spy Who Loved Me
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited March 2016 Posts: 8,400
    I love TSWLM, but the ending Is way too long, IMO.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,589
    About an hour of Spectre last night. Gets even better with each viewing
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    SPECTRE last night- but I started it very late & had to be at work early, so I only got up to the meteor scene. I'll finish it tonight.
    Like Last_Rat says, better every time!
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited March 2016 Posts: 23,883
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Watching SPECTRE again something occurred to me; Moneypenny says to Bond (via secret birthday phone), "So she was right", referring to Judi Dench's M and her mysterious knowledge of a secret organization (which doesn't hold up to any realistic timeline, but that doesn't bug me). Then Bond answers, "Of course she was." Because now she has been sainted. But, part of the charm of that version of M (and I really do love this aspect of the character) was that she was ultimately wrong about every decision that she made, except (as was both overtly and implicitly pointed out) about promoting Bond. So what the Hell is 007 talking about!?!
    He always had an overly forgiving opinion of her (as noted during his initial conversation with Silva where he defends her lying). It was mutual too, again as evidenced in SF with the fitness tests. The 'mommy' thing is not off the market imho.
    chrisisall wrote: »
    SPECTRE last night- but I started it very late & had to be at work early, so I only got up to the meteor scene. I'll finish it tonight.
    This is pretty much when I tune out. Up to this point, I think quite highly of it. Even higher up to the Austrian clinic part.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    bondjames wrote: »
    This is pretty much when I tune out. Up to this point, I think quite highly of it. Even higher up to the Austrian clinic part.
    This is where it gets nuts (in a good way) for me!
  • Birdleson wrote: »
    Moving this post to the new SPECTRE thread.

    What thread would this be?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited March 2016 Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    It's my understanding that, due to the degree of specialized and derailed SPECTRE threads that have popped up around here, this one was created to strictly feature members' reviews.

    Here: http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/14052/spectre-2015#latest

    I'll comment here because that thread is just for reviews, but hot DAMN that was one Hell of a thoughtful & detailed review(s)! =D>
    All I can respond with is this:
    After the string of latter Moore films I though the Bond I grew up with was dead & buried.
    Then came Dalton. Cool.
    But then the hiatus and eventually Brosnan. Bond was retooled. A total hero. And I thought that was the end of it. I like Brosnan, so I retooled my own concept of present-day cinematic Bond. And I was okay with it. I'd always have Connery & Dalton.
    Then came DAD. Umm, not so cool.
    Then came CR. The anti-matter DAD. Lots loved it- I thought it was as ridiculously straight-faced as DAD was ridiculously outlandish.
    Jump to SP. I loved it because it had bizarre elements I loved, and a serious Bond. That & QOS are as close to a Dalton film as they've done since then (IMO).
    I cannot fault your review(s) at all. But until they can produce a Bond film on the level of Sean's or Tim's again, I'll happily extract whatever joy I can can from any Bond film that at least gives me some identifiable traces of that which I enjoy best about these movies.



  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    What did you think of my claim that the trailers torpedoed what would have been the two heaviest moments in the film?
    Oh, that was absolutely spot on! I avoided trailers like the plague- I saw nothing of the film at all before hand, and I reacted just as you said you might have. Your first viewing of a film is SO important. That's why I can still enjoy miserable nonsense like DAF; my first viewing of it at 11 years old floored me and that viewing is recalled for me each time, even all these years later.
    If I had been totally spoiled for SPECTRE I might not think it was all that right now.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited March 2016 Posts: 17,801
    I just finished watching SPECTRE (continued from last night from the meteor scene forward- a thing I never do with films in general), and I see it with new eyes...
    "...the daughter of an assassin; the only one who could understand you..."
    Combined with the little lip furl before Bond says, "Out of bullets."
    This means to me that this is Dan saying goodbye to his Bond. No more an assassin.
    Retired.
    And I'm fine with that. In the end, a great run.
    Unless they want to kill Madeline for a [yet another] revenge flick (and I don't think Craig would be into repeating himself), or an even more OTT story where ONLY BOND can save the day during a world crisis, lured out of retirement (*yawn*) than t-t-t-that's is all, folks!
    As they drove off in the BD5, I truly got misty-eyed. B-)
  • Birdleson wrote: »
    I would again like to encourage you guys I pong completing a Bond film to go over to @Crazysouls95 's "Bond Meter 2016" thread and add to the tally. If everyone participates world should be able to top 1000 viewings this year. Exciting stuff.

    I forgot to do this with Skyfall, thanks very much for reminding me.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Watched OP on itv Sunday afternoon. :)
  • Posts: 9,847
    A View to a kill (well just until the horse race scene) Funny story my Wife's friend and her boyfriend show up and She didn't believe me when I said Duran Druan did a bond theme so I figured I would prove it by showing her my wife and her boyfriend the first 20 minutes of A view to a Kill. Over all the PTS could of been fantastic if they removed the beach boys tune and kept the great john barry music. Of course my wife and her friends couldn't stop laughing at how old Moore looked So after they had left and My wife was in bed I watched a bit of the living Daylights PTS as well.


    Of course Don (the boyfriend of my wife's friend) was like do you own all the film can I see them so I took out my collection and still have them displayed on my coffe table from Dr. No (as Royale 54 is a bonus feature rather then it's own disc) to Skyfall (I don't own Spectre yet as I will likely be getting it for Easter)


    Over all as bond fans I have to say we are incredibly lucky when I think of other franchises or fictional characters I like ( for example Batman sigh 7 films from WB really only 7 8 now with BVS sigh and the less we say about how MacGyver numerous attempts to come back the better though this fall might change that) 24 official films 3/4 unofficial (depending on how you view Diamonds Aren't Forever) 6 official actors so far (come on Craig come back for one more film please) and the franchise is showing no signs of slowing down, Spectre though it received mixed reviews still made a lot of money..


    Yeah I think we are incredibly luck indeed.

  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited March 2016 Posts: 8,400
    Dr No - 5/5

    Most overlooked Bond film.
  • Posts: 3,336
    Tomorrow Never Dies
    Enjoyed it this time around. The fastest paced bond film along with QoS, imo.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    Risico007 wrote: »
    A View to a kill (well just until the horse race scene) Funny story my Wife's friend and her boyfriend show up and She didn't believe me when I said Duran Druan did a bond theme so I figured I would prove it by showing her my wife and her boyfriend the first 20 minutes of A view to a Kill. Over all the PTS could of been fantastic if they removed the beach boys tune and kept the great john barry music. Of course my wife and her friends couldn't stop laughing at how old Moore looked So after they had left and My wife was in bed I watched a bit of the living Daylights PTS as well.


    Of course Don (the boyfriend of my wife's friend) was like do you own all the film can I see them so I took out my collection and still have them displayed on my coffe table from Dr. No (as Royale 54 is a bonus feature rather then it's own disc) to Skyfall (I don't own Spectre yet as I will likely be getting it for Easter)


    Over all as bond fans I have to say we are incredibly lucky when I think of other franchises or fictional characters I like ( for example Batman sigh 7 films from WB really only 7 8 now with BVS sigh and the less we say about how MacGyver numerous attempts to come back the better though this fall might change that) 24 official films 3/4 unofficial (depending on how you view Diamonds Aren't Forever) 6 official actors so far (come on Craig come back for one more film please) and the franchise is showing no signs of slowing down, Spectre though it received mixed reviews still made a lot of money..


    Yeah I think we are incredibly luck indeed.


    I think part of what has made Bond such a long lasting franchise is that the producres only have Bond and they give all their energy to that character and franchise.
    And its been owned by the same guys since it started.

    The Big Studio, Like MGM or Sonny are only their backup to distribute the films but all are made by EON.

    DC has Batman, super Man and many others so they don't know much what to do with all of them and Batman has been in so many hands that it has lost his identity.

    And each of the directors own the character till they close their thing.

    With Bond the director is just hired to get Barbara and Michael's take on the character.
    Bond is a franchise owned by a small movie company which is only dedicated to make James Bond films.

  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    Octopussy

    I neither love nor dislike this Bond outing, it's just kind of there to me. To be honest I always seem to forget about this one when I go through my Bond list. There's really not much more for me to say about this film. Up next, A View To A Kill.
  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    Just Finished Casino Royale.
    Its such a great film with great style and a very good story.

    Craig was a great Bond since the beginning and his chemistry with Eva Green is definitely there much better than how he was Madeline. Vesper is a fantastic Bond girl one of the best and Caterina Murino was very good too even though she just had 10 minutes or less on screen.

    Definitely one those Bond films which will always be in my top 10




  • SzonanaSzonana Mexico
    Posts: 1,130
    I re-watched SP and QOS recently.

    CR and QOS worked fine arc wise.
    Skyfall made a complete mess of Craig's tenure. Everything happening there was so illogical and Bond behaved as if he had been a 00 agent for decades and M was his mother.
    SF may work on its own if you disregard how they depicted Bond and M before.
    The story of SF should have happened at least 10 years after QOS in a timeline to make at least some sense.

    Spectre on the other hand works perfectly as now enough time has passed since CR to have Bond being a believable character who has experience and a wiseness to act how he does in SP.

    Instead of the soap drama story of SF there should have been something between QOS and SP. It could have been a gritty action drama around M, dying early in the movie and Bond going after Silva for revenge. Of course instead of that Austin Powers like depiction of Silva it should have been some very sinister, dark and menacing villain.

    EON missed so many chances for greatness after QOS, luckily they got on the right track again for Craig's fourth movie.

    Im gonna watch Skyfall right now to pay close attention to those moments you point as its weakness. But as far as i remember the film does imply many years passed since Casino Royale and Quantum and M's relationship with bond i guess it was settled since Casino that their relationship would br much closer than all the previous Bond-M relationships.

  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Thunderball - This one is always a little disappointing coming after the first three. Don't be mistaken, I find TB to be a quality piece of entertainment. It just can't compare to the previous adventures. Still, there are some great moments to be had in this one.

    The whole thing is a bit of a conundrum. Sometimes the slow pace is fitting, like the darkness and silence that one finds deep under the ocean. Barry did a wonderful job of creating just the right atmosphere, as usual. However, there are times when all the tension seems to be eliminated as things just drag on.

    Connery sizzles as Bond but I find both Largo and Domino to be quite bland at times. Fiona always makes everything better. It's a mixed bag. This for heat and these for cold. TB always ends up somewhere in the middle for me.

    2016 Rankings

    1) From Russia With Love
    2) Goldfinger
    3) Dr. No
    4) Thunderball
    5) Casino Royale 1954
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