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@Strog, that's one on my list, but it's a damn hard one to track down in my preferred blu-ray presentation. I may have to source it through other means just to see it. I'm a big fan of Marlowe adaptions, and The Long Goodbye has been on my list for a while now. From what I've seen it has a similar look to Diamonds, which makes sense considering their close development. Could definitely be a great double-bill.
Thanks. Doing a Bondathon two years in a row was quite an undertaking. I'm going to take things at a more sizable pace. :)
Enjoyed it as always. What differentiates this from some of the recent films that are the frequent topic of discussion on these threads is its sense of playful fun and adventure. Connery gives off this naturally cool, relaxed and insouciant vibe which contrasts with the villainy around him. The characters are slightly quirky, intensely charismatic & there's also a very slight air of camp exaggeration in places. All of this helps to balance the tone. Overall it's great fun and still a clear top five entry for me after this viewing.
Inspired by discussion in the 'Controversial Opinions' thread and motivated by the current topical troubles on the Korean Peninsula, I decided to take in Brosnan's much derided last outing. I had a great time with it, as I always seem to do these days. We all know the issues so I won't belabour them. This is certainly an entertaining Bond film at least. I don't think it can be accused of being boring. There are some really well done action sequences in it (the PTS surfing, the fencing sequence, the Aston/Jag chase, the Jinx/Miranda fight) & a lot of money up on the screen. Of course there are some clunkers, including Robo-Graves, the disintegrating plane & of course the CGI-surf disgrace. Sure the dialogue is laden with childish innuendo, but I still prefer that to dull tedium. There's sufficient campiness throughout to keep me interested. Everyone pretty much overdoes it here, and the film has a playful tone as a result which is refreshing in retrospect. I wouldn't want this to be the norm, but as a one off, it's not bad. As I've said before, Brosnan is excellent and finally brings that confident edge I knew he was always capable of. This is the first film where I thought he lived up to his promise as Bond.
I am somewhat ashamed to say that I may have to move this one up in my rankings shortly.
I think this is by far not necessarily Craig's best Bond performance but arguably his most interesting.
With the recent update on Bond 25, its rumours and some of the criticisms and backlash towards Craig after watching QoS, for me personally, I just want the man back.
Craig works best when he's doing his thing ala CR/QoS. Don't try to get cute by having him doing Moore type gags. His more natural and dead pan humour as evidenced in his first 2 outings work best and thats the lane he ought to remain.
In any case, QoS obviously has it's flaws but it's still a damn good film that delivers more with less. From the excellent opening car chase, to Arnold's score, the cinematography and Craig being a cool muh'fucker...this is definitely more of a hardboiled thriller that shows why Craig is such a great Bond in the 21st century and why after a million pages in the who could/should be Bond thread no one can fully agree on a worthy successor. I urge all to rewatch QoS, its a short film that does away with the bullshit that made it's way into SF/SP and for those being indifferent towards or dimming on Craig, it should hopefully recalibrate one's enthusiasm for the man. It did for me. I just hope Bond 25 goes back to focusing on Craig's defining strengths that made him such an instant crowd pleaser.
Very few actors can go back to a style in a role that they had previously (especially when it's almost a decade ago now). More often than not, they just continue down the path that they're on.
After my positive experience with DAD last night, I decided to take in Brosnan's sophomore effort. Sadly, it didn't go all that well this time. I was actually reminded of my first viewing in the theatre in 1997. I recall walking out feeling deeply underwhelmed with a case of both deja vu and profound disappointment after the positive start made by GE. These emotions came back tonight.
There's certainly a lot of money up on the screen and Spottiswoode deserves credit for delivering some class leading action set pieces (particularly the jet fight PTS & the BMW bike chase, even if the latter goes on for a bit too long). Despite this, there's something woefully generic about the whole thing. It lacks that special je ne sais quoi which differentiates Bond from mundane action fare. Consequently it just feels like another American action film to me, with pedestrian dialogue & predictable one liners. There are some witty moments back at MI6 HQ with The Admiral, MP & M, but that's about it. The stealth boat finale is quite excruciating to get through (it rivals SP in this regard) & the film lacks glamour and elegance. This is not only on account of the women (action girl Michelle Yeoh seems more suited to a Jackie Chan effort & Teri Hatcher rivals Seydoux for unbelievability when it comes to lasting romantic impact on Bond) but also due to the locations. Brosnan is ok & does his best with the material he's given, but it's not enough. The scene of him twirling the machine gun around in the Saigon office tower is near laughable sadly.
Ultimately this comes across as a predictable poor man's Gilbert greatest hits pastiche. The failure is in the writing. I am going to knock it down quite a few notches in my updated rankings, with DAD moving up instead.
Though I disagree with DAD being better, I can relate to a lot of what you said about TND there. Since I first saw it I have felt it was one of the most generic Bond films, and doesn't do enough to make itself especially special like many other Bond films. I'm also not a big fan of Elliot Carver. TND's biggest strengths for me are Brosnan's cool performance and most of the action scenes. The car chase and motorcycle chase scenes were both pretty good.
What's sad to me is that while I think Brosnan was a good James Bond, he rarely got much good material to work with in his 4-film era. GE is a personal favorite Bond film of mine and is his clear best IMO. After that, for me personally, they each got progressively weaker probably. I actually enjoy TND a little more now than I used to, and TWINE less than I used to. DAD I have always placed near the bottom of my rankings, and that's unlikely to change for me - even though it seems to have for many members here.
DAD is certainly still a bottom tier effort for me. I had it right at the bottom in the past (with TWINE), but recent viewings have caused me to positively reassess it slightly because there are some decent elements in it (Brosnan, the energy & sense of light hearted campy fun, the very Bondian fencing sequence, the torture and Cuba). TND is just too derivative, and doesn't have anything in it that we haven't seen done better before in Gilbert's three.
So yes, it could have been done better, but the location and intensity were great.
Agreed. The scene is still one of the better ones from DAD but like the rest of the movie it overindulges and spoils itself. The only action scene I can really say doesn't do that is the PTS one.
I did like the music as the "tension" of the scene built up...
"Oh dear, you want to continue? **pout**
"Of course I want to bloody continue!!!!" **snarl, pout pout**
Love it for its exaggerated camp. There was an almost hidden sexual tension here (not sure if that was intentional) and I'm not talking about Miranda and Verity.
It's Bond by way of Johnny English and Austin Powers, with a little bit of XXX thrown in for good measure.