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Yes, that's very much my Bond. I love the look he gives Greene as he tosses him the fuel, one of the many nice barbs he sends the guy's way. I also adore the situational irony embedded in the script, where the faux-ecologist who was causing a drought is left to die from dehydration. Absolutely genius.
Having said that, I still feel it could have been a masterpiece à la FRWL without the reboot nonsense and proper Bondian stuff.
Started out with this Sir Sean double bill:
Goldfinger:
Loved the iconic moments and characters of this picture. The acting and set design is top notch, I love golf too so that's a nice addition. One problem though: locations. Kentucky has no atmosphere whatsoever, so between the Alps and Fort Knox the film is really let down in that department.
8/10
You Only Live Twice:
Visually a feast for my eyes. Best set design of the series, the music score and the cinematography are up there too. Lewis Gilbert really has an eye for an epic scale, this film is a grand opera thoughout. Didn't mind Sean either, thought he was pretty funny. Also, I really love the allies here: Tiger and Henderson. On the downside, terrible plot and is it sacrilege to not adore Donald Pleasence as Blofeld?
7/10
Next up: Sir Rog double bill
=> Live and Let Die and Moonraker.
finding any logic in QOS or SF is useless, there is none.
At least QOS is highly entertaining and easy to watch.
QOS is Craig at his best. I am not his biggest fan, but I warmed to him here. He had more freedom to stamp his version. I watched the film without comparing him to the others. He brought something new and there was no looking back. But the critics hated it and by following their lead, the next film was to please them.
But SF is where they tried to make him try to be more like Connery and a bit of Brosnan. The cufflink adjustment as he lands on the train was a Brosnan rip off.
And the DB5 made me think of Connery. How could I not, when that was Connery s signature car. Martin Campbellisms better suited to Brosnan. Even then, they are cheap crutches and gimmicks.
SP was too self-consciously trying to be classic Bond and looks like it took tracing paper to copy those classic elements from past films. And then use elements of Eyes Wide Shut. The love scene on the train after the fight with Hinx was stupid even for a Moore film. Craig was badly beaten.
Classic Bond built the series by being original and moving the series forward. And I prefer the classic Bond action scenes as they always pushed the envelope. It was unique to Bond.
CGI is the bane of modern cinema.
Of course, I just don't see how drinking motor oil would improve the situation. He shoulda chucked it while he was still thinking rationally.
"Remember 007, you're on your own."
"Thank you, sir. That's a great comfort."
It's hard not to take someone's criticism of the film that it's not serious enough with a grain of salt. It's way more serious than a film titled Octopussy has any right to be! There is action, fights, suspense, death, thrills, laughs, revenge and adventure and Moore's interpretation of the character makes it one of his best films, rivaled only by The Spy Who Loved Me. Octopussy is definitely one of the best Bond girls. Her and Moore have real chemistry and it's clear on screen. The plot is very Cold War-esque. Octopussy also has one of the strongest third acts in the entire series. The clown suit is well built up storywise due to the location. Moore plays it completely straight. Vijay's death is another scene that Moore adds a lot of weight and depth to. Bond also avenging 009 is another great moment in an awesome flick.
Absolutely love when Bond screws over Kamal Kahn in the gambling scene with his own loaded dice. Moore's smugness when he says, "Fancy that! 200,000 roupies..." is perfect. The following scene when Moore throws the thousands of dollars into the streets and yells, "Easy come, easy go!", is one of the best moments you could show someone Moore's characterization of the character. I have also always loved when he gets stabbed in the chest and the money saves him. Or the scene where he slides down the stair railing set to the Bond theme. John Barry's score for this one is underrated. I never hear anyone talk about it but it's great. I can overlook the rediculous Tarzan noise added in the chase as it's such a minor thing in the scheme of things.
1. From Russia With Love
2. GoldenEye
3. Octopussy
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. SPECTRE
6. The World Is Not Enough
7. Never Say Never Again
First time in a long time Octopussy is above TSWLM. The film is too much fun.
Also, Louis Jourdan eating that eyeball at the villain dinner is a moment I'll always love for my dad's reaction anytime he sees it.
Live and Let Die
Pleasantly surprised by a film I've never been that fond of. Live and Let Die mixes the supernatural with Bond and the eery atmosphere feels like a European horror film alla Mario Bava. Tee Hee and Baron Samedi are also wonderfully entertaining and could it be that this is Rog's best Bond performance? Too bad Kananga's demise is so subpar.
9/10
Moonraker
Safely on Lewis Gilbert territory here. As was the case with YOLT, this film's plot is ludicrous even to Bond standards. However, I tremendously enjoy the epic music, the cinematography and the brilliant Ken Adam sets. Michael Lonsdale is a fun villain as well, I particularly like his dialogue. In the end, it loses a lot of points too by attempting to make Jaws a funny character.
6/10
Next up:
Second outings by Tim and Pierce
Licence to Kill and Tomorrow Never Dies
I love OP. Loved it in the cinema and it was the first Bond I saw on VHS. So I spent many a viewing rewinding the eyeball scene, gunbarrel, and countless Moore moments. One of Roger's best performances.
I'd love to see another fun filled Bond romp like OP in the future. It's pure adventure throughout laced with humor, and the tension is very suspenseful. The countdown to the bomb as Moore attempts to disarm it is very good.
I've always thought that Glen took a page out of Raiders for this film, as that was such a massive hit and cribbed from the Bond universe for a lot of its gags & stunts.
I think he's the perfect representation of the artificial peace-keepers that smile for cameras in daylight and plot for money and power at night. He's a schizo paranoid madman with a short fuse that can be explosive, and takes easy to tantrums. Why he has to be charismatic or likable is puzzling to me, as that's not what necessarily makes a villain; there's other ways to characterize a threat. He's a very different take on a Bond villain, not a Grant or Oddjob remake.
His plot/scheme is also brilliant and very relevant to our resource stripped world. I'd rather take that than a take over the world plot or anything of the like that is too subtracted from reality. The brilliance of QoS is that this kind of shit could happen, and likely has or is in some form or another.
As for the ending, Greene and Bond have an understanding with each other that in exchange for Greene's information on Quantum's operations (specifically what went on with Vesper and where Yusef is), Bond wouldn't kill him. Bond is a smart manipulator, however, and manages to write Greene's death certificate without actually killing him or stomping on their pact. By driving away Bond isn't killing him, nor is he saving his life. If Greene just refused to tell him what he wanted he'd kill him and go off looking for the information another way. He photographed dozens of Quantum agents at the Tosca opera, and so he could use any of those people to get him the information he needed with ease if his plan with Greene failed. Greene just put too much trust in Bond's honor and didn't expect that the man would leave him in the middle of the desert. His anxiety in the face of death made him reveal himself the coward, pleading for mercy in front of Bond, giving him anything that would spare his life, as he thinks Bond will keep to his word. Greene was destined for death anyway. After failing his plans for SPECTRE he would be silenced anyway, so matter what he told Bond he was already a dead man.
It's funny you say that, I was thinking that Raiders and OP would make a killer doible-bill laat night.
I've wanted to try that double bill for a very long time now. Someone mentioned the idea of it several months back, and I've been itching to give it a go ever since.
So Raiders, OP, Temple and AVTAK all have some links.
OP-TOD it was perfect
OP is definitely one I need to upgrade to Blu-ray.
Harrison Ford was mentioned as a possible new Bond after that.