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It's why I'm not remotely phased by the lack of news. There are so many incredible, iconic installments in the series, I'd rather enjoy one of those a day and just let the B25 news hit me when the time comes, instead of awaiting information day-by-day and setting myself up for disappointment.
It ranks pretty low for me, but I've had a bigger appreciation for it over the last couple of years. I manage to enjoy it more and more as time goes on.
TND is a film that I used to love so much more. It's one of the fastest paced Bond films I can think of. Though it continues to slip down on my enjoyment level. Below average.
TWINE is another film that upon its initial release I enjoyed. Now it's the rock bottom of my ranking. Set pieces awkwardly joined together, a villainous scheme that just doesn't work on me, and Pierce really does over act in this I'm sorry to say.
DAD for some reason really appealed to me, and I found myself finding little positives in this usually negative movie. Pierce is back to being on fine form, and I will admit I got caught up in the fun of this movie. It's rather entertaining if you let it. Even managed to move out of my bottom five.
CR just doesn't change for me. As solid and enjoyable as ever. Daniel Craig took hold of Bond and made the role his own. A splendid film with some great acting. The action can be a little so so, but on the whole a great Bond entry.
QOS has many fans that love it. I am not one of them. I try to like this film. I try to see positives and make it work. But I cant. I find it dull and dreary. I appreciate the vengeful Bond, but the Bolivian water supply plot is very boring. As a sequel this is a poor follow up to CR. As a standalone film, it may have the shortest running time, but I'm still looking at my watch.
SF surprised me with this viewing. Loved it from start to finish. Very enjoyable adventure that had been at the lower end of my ranking. Quite possibly due a boost.
SP is a film that I enjoyed when I first saw it. And still do. It has its problems (and there are many) but I can forgive them. I don't really know why, but I just like this film.
And so with the most recent films done, it's time to go back in time.
Next stop LALD.
Yes, I fully agree @Mendes4Lyfe It's one of the things I love about the Bond series. It's so giving. I often go back to the older films and find new things. A different perspective or appreciation. With 24 films to choose from over more than a fifty year time frame, we've got plenty to fall back on.
Well said, and for once, something that everyone can be proud of you for saying. Cheers.
Hear, hear. This is exactly what I thought two weeks ago when I watched Live and Let die and For Your Eyes Only back to back. My two favourite Moore's. But there is something magical about the Connery films - specifically those first three of his.
But when I was watching LALD and FYEO I was just smiling the whole time thinking how lucky I was to enjoy a behemoth of a series that has 50 years under its belt, one of the most iconic theme tunes ever, the greatest introduction of a character in cinema, 24 films to choose from that cover every mood a human could be in - from Cold War to high tech to romance to heartbreak to space battles to tsunami parasailing - it's all there. There are even two weird films that cover the 'what if' scenarios you might have (what if they made a comedy spoof film at the height of Bondmania - what if Connery came back for one more and took on Moore at the box office).
And one of the most important elements is that the film series generated from a successful book series. Those Fleming originals mean so much to me in my teenage years. They were immersive, transformative and took you away to worlds and adventures that bridged childhood and adulthood perfectly. And like the films - the books are all there to enjoy time and again.
Oh yes. I spent my teens at boarding-school, which I hated; I was bored to death and felt trapped. James Bond and Dr Who, with their freedom to roam the world or the entire universe, were my escapes.
I agree and well said.
It's bitter sweet for me because I watch any of the 60s Bond movies (not a big fan of YOLT) and I'm just in awe. My love for Bond deepens and I'm so proud to be a fan and then I get frustrated with the situation Bond is in today (irrespective of who is at fault). In any case, Bond has enough magical moments and I sincerely hope when Bond graces our screens again, tge magic of what made Bond so enigmatic and engaging in the first place can be recaptured.
I'm going to put on either FRWL or OHMSS and give my Omega planet ocean master chronometer a polish while watching. :P
You know? Despite the film's narrative and writing made a combination of an uneven screenplay that looks good on paper but executed rather badly live action, apart from the final London Climax, the film is actually pretty entertaining. At least for me. The cinematography, of course, is a step down from the Roger Deakins masterpiece that was for Skyfall (don't make the mistake of thinking I like that film. I just love the cinematography), Hoytema actually does a good job in capturing some great aspects, most notably the sunset in the desert while the train goes past forward, or the Rolls Royce hovering in the middle of the desert heading to the volcano lair. Loved these shots.
And then, there are the characterization relationships that are awfully rushed and never built up properly, Madeleine is slowly growing on me. But, I will not get ahead of myself. She might seem significant to most here, but to me, she can very well be downgraded to the level of any passing Bond Girl and doesn't need to return to give Bond yet another trauma after Blofeld pulls an OHMSS assassination on her. Close that book and move on. Anyway, back to Spectre, what I like about the film is its incorporation of the old Bond movie formula, and mostly Bond's personification. He's the Bond I want to see there.
Now, the Nine Eyes plot actually looked and sounded promising back when the scripts were leaked and I had to read them. But, the deletion of certain alternate/additional scenes and putting the Colonel Sun torture scene into it truly destroyed the purpose of the blood sample tracking program (as Blofeld in two scripts post-P&W examines them, especially Bond's heart rate due to the installment of the program and shows Bond that he owns the entire world intelligence) as well as cutting off the Nine Eyes operation. All of this is the enforced idea of making the London finale exist so the villain lair encounter as well as many elements are cut short, which destroyed the film.
All in all, regardless of its flaws, I enjoy watching Spectre, and equally am starting to appreciate its outlook and production design more than the story it represents. However, I am guessing they did learn by the mistakes they made and the next Bond film, I am sure, will be a lot more competently handled.
P.S. I also have the feeling the DB10 will return for at least two or three films. They didn't spend that much money on building it only to use it for five minutes in one film.
I was in the mood for something epic. Consequently, there were only two choices. TSWLM or MR. I am saving the 1977 entry for its 40th anniversary later this year. So despite the fact that I have already seen MR earlier this year, it was the only option.
I had a blast, as I did with my previous viewing. This film continues to improve for me lately. Not only is the enormous scale of the film impressive to me, but the execution of the special effects work by Derek Meddings is truly remarkable for its time. The space & Sugar Loaf mountain cable car sequences in particular are still amazing by today's standards. I have new found appreciation for Moore's performance here on account of my recent viewings. Sure he plays it for laughs for most of it, but his tone is pitch perfect for the film EON & Gilbert dished up. I've also become more impressed with Lois Chiles. She's easy on the eyes, doesn't go out of her way to look glamorous, and does a much better job with the 'Bond equal' thing than some of the jokers they put forward in the 90's & 00's with similar pretense. Lonsdale of course is great, and that megalomaniac speech he gives in the space station is one for the ages.
I've always felt that this was the end of an era in Bond film making. Not only was it the last time we heard Bassey, saw Lee, marveled at the spectacle of an Adam set, saw Gilbert work on Bond or witnessed Moore with a side part - but it was also the last time we heard Barry's great 007 theme. I'm glad EON scaled down after this film, because for sheer epicness, this is probably as good as it can or will ever get. Everything taken to the max.
What a fantastic achievement this film is.....
I was planning to watch TB, but FYEO beckoned. I put it in the player on account of the great time I had with MR during the previous night. This is probably my most watched Bond film on blu ray. It's just so colourful & spectacular in this format, and the film itself is a breezy, thrill filled ride. It's so different tonally to the earlier film, and one can definitely tell instantly that Cubby, Glen and Co. were charting a new course for Bond in the 80's. Ditching Ken Adam's lavish sets for fantastic outdoor location work gives FYEO a more adventurous (dare I say Indy inspired?) flavour. Moore's trademark quips are in short supply here as well, and at least for me, are sorely missed. It's a bit jarring to see this rendition of the character from him (especially after just watching MR last night) & he seems decidely older & more wearied as a result. I'm glad he was allowed to let his hair down and bring back more of his humour again in OP (although perhaps excessively in some infamous sequences in the latter film).
Despite this, there's lots to like here. Carole Bouquet is stunning & deadly as icy cold Melina Havelock, and remains one of my favourite Bond girls. She conveys revenge seeking determination with an underlying unsettling emotional volatility beautifully. Julian Glover is decent enough as Kristatos, but I find the character a bit too ordinary for my tastes. It would have been nice if they had injected a little more eccentricity into him, even if it was a bleeding tear duct or something. Chaim Topol's Columbo is a highlight, and his relationship with Bond is one of the series finest, up there with Kerim & Mathis. John Wyman's Eric Kriegler & Michael Gothard's silent (he doesn't even get a "S#!t!" ) Emile Locque are quite forgettable however, especially in comparison to the colourful larger than life villains of previous Moore entries. Lynn Holly Johnson's Bibi Dahl is horrendous, and remains one of the worst female entries in a Bond film for me, rivalled only by Talisa Soto's Lupe (or is that Loopy?), Gloria Hendry's Rosie Carver & the legendary Denise Richard's Dr. (??) Christmas Jones.
Overall this is a fine entry with some great location work & outstanding action (particularly the ski sequences), but I find it's lacking a certain something which keeps it from being a truly great film for me. I can't quite put my finger on it. The dialogue is a little weak certainly, with very few memorable lines & the film lacks that eccentric spark which characterizes my favourite EON entries (I actually disliked it immensely as a kid and found it quite boring). What keeps me coming back to it frequently these days are some fantastic action sequences, the fact that it looks beautiful on blu ray with near perfect colour filtering, Bouquet's Melina, & certain parts of Conti's score (minus all the video game like disco nonsense). This is certainly Moore's FRWL though - a stripped down, bare bones thriller with very little of the excesses of the past. Perhaps that's why I revisit it so often these days.
I think FYEO was a result of having nowhere left to go after MR and getting a Bond film with a more grounded and serious approach that was more Fleming than Star Wars.
Raiders certainly impacted on OP as EON realized here was an action hero to challenge 007 and with regards to action and entertainment they pulled it out of the bag with OP.
According to Spielberg he told Lucas he wanted to make a James Bond movie one day, to which Lucas replied he 'had a better movie than James Bond...'
My understanding is that the industry was facing major cost pressures at that time, including tax issues in the UK etc. So Adam and Co. were out and well edited action was in.
Getting worse with each viewing and it was never a favourite. Probably bottom 5.
The whole Florida Keys part of the film feels stuck in an American 80's TV show. The sets are underwhelming and the story is relatively slow.
Dalton gives a great performance but the supporting cast drags him down. I don't appreciate the scenes with Felix and especially Della *shudder*. I guess the plot is too "cute" at the beginning because of the wedding and the small talk between the group of "pals". Later we have a bad performance by that DEA guy and his corrupt partner.
The bridge on the Keys is way too reminiscent of True Lies (yes LTK came first) but TL made that location their own. It's like how the Arecibo 'scope belongs to JB, even if another movie filmed there in the past.
Sanchez isn't interesting nor intimidating. He's just going through the motions of acting and that's it. So no emotional payoff at the end for me. I just see Dalton sitting on a rock.
LTK, in conclusion, is a sub par James Bond film because of the tacky 80's vibe, bad score and the terrible locations. I still love Dalton though. He gave a good solid performance and I kinda wished that he'd get another shot at Bond. It's funny how TLD is in my top five and LTK in last five.
The Harrier jumpjet for instance will always be associated with True Lies as well. So will any public toilet encounter (Sorry CR).
Bond owns Sugar Loaf mountain though.
I love that scene on the bridge, when the truck goes over the side. Much better than that sub par Bond parody True Lies, which i found very dull and Cameron lost his touch with the action imho.!
Sorry, but seeing those Harrier Jump-Jet scenes on a massive screen at the Empire Leicester Sq was nothing short of exhilarating!
The bit where the Harriers machine guns takes out an entire tower block floor is Cameron at his gung ho best!
I definitely agree that the first half hour of LTK is rather weak and TV-like (not in a good way but a cheesy dated way). That has an impact on the rest of the film. The set up just isn't very convincing. Several of the performances aren't particularly good and the Florida Keys is indeed shot in a bland way. TL incorporated the same location in a far better manner. Cameron is flawed but he's a far more visually dynamic director than Glenn.
@LeonardPane. True Lies is indeed a lot of fun. Kind of cheesy now but some great action sequences as well as Jamie Lee Curtis and the late, great Bill Paxton.
It's easy to see where the makers of GE got their inspiration.
Great film with an intriguing mystery plot. In Dr No Bond is doing some real detective work and i love it. Connery's performance is absolutely superb and i love his snappy returns. "Crab key perhaps, ... Why so certain"? "Suitable for what"? Does the toppling of "American missiles really compensate for having no hands"?
Connery is such a bastard and orders everyone around in this one. Miss Taro wants to eat at home, but Bond just orders a taxi without her approval, "Fetch my shoes", and he also orders a guard to just take off his handcuffs. Great stuff!
Had a blast watching this one last night!
I don't think its his best performance but for most of the film he's excellent. His best scene is easily his meeting with Dr No at the dinner table. He and Wiseman are both superb.