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Harry and Cubby were getting divorced after all. The children weren't happy. From what I read, Sir Rog was crucial easing the crew and casts tension.
When I was that age, I also loved it. Now it’s definitely one of the worst for me, and nostalgia doesn’t even work.
However last year I re-watched it after not bothering to for a couple of decades (that’s how offensive I found it); I loved it. The nastiness was shocking to me, but instead of being repelled by Moore’s-Bond pulling a bit of a Connery, I was very amused and very entertained. I found this cruelty to be balanced by Moore’s professional campiness (his camp feels so genuine).
TMWTGG will never break into my top ten, but it’s now one helluva fun ride for me.
I am also very fond of TMWTGG. Many good memories from back in the day, i even had it in my top 5 for a long time. Now it is only top 15 (#14) and i still really like it.
Top-tier Bond material all the way here. Includes my favorite Bond villain, Bond girl, and soundtrack. And George Lazenby does a very good job as Bond.
I could ramble on, but I’m just going to keep it very brief. It’s super close to my favorite Bond film, CR, and I have no serious issues with either of them. I’d have to nitpick if I felt like it. From start to finish, OHMSS is one of the most special and perfect Bond films. As expected, it remains extremely high. The ending gets me every single time...
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. Skyfall
5. GoldenEye
6. Licence to Kill
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. Live and Let Die
9. The Living Daylights
10. Quantum of Solace
11. Octopussy
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. A View to a Kill
14. The World Is Not Enough
15. Spectre
16. The Man with the Golden Gun
17. Diamonds Are Forever
18. Moonraker
19. Die Another Day
For DAF, it’s mostly because it felt wrong to make Connery’s return so silly (felt far too much like a Moore film), and the third act is pretty lame I thought. Not a lot of stuff stands out to me as particularly good in that one besides Wint and Kidd. The lift fight is really good too.
As for TMWTGG, it sort of feels tired and dull outside of the stuff with Scaramanga. The humor was also very weak I think. LALD was so superior; it’s like if LALD went wrong to me. There are still cool things about both movies, but they have a fair amount that irk me.
When I was a lot younger, YOLT was a Top 10 entry for me. In between then and now it suffered a drop down to around 16 or 17, but sure enough it managed to climb again. Like some other films this Bondathon, my viewing of YOLT was particularly good this time.
It’s probably Connery’s weakest EON Bond performance, but he still gets a lot of good moments. It’s not a top-tier Bond performance, but still really not bad. The title song is among my favorites in the series, though I’m not a fan of the PTS. The Bond girls are all in the average/middle territory. Same goes for the villains, though Donald Pleasence’s Blofeld is growing on me more. The soundtrack is totally solid, and I love the settings used. The epic climax is one of the series’ best. I actually really like all the action in this film - the climax, the Little Nellie sequence, the dock fight, the break-in at Osato Chemicals, etc. Very good stuff. The film, while not on the stronger side of the golden age, still feels like classic Bond through and through. There’s a few moments in the middle I’m not so crazy about, but honestly it’s free of seriously bad problems. It probably has my favorite Blofeld cat too.
Not sure exactly what made me enjoy YOLT more than usual this time, but going backwards could be part of it. Only a few films in the series post-60s were able to capture the magic of that golden era. YOLT earns a pretty decent spot on my list this time around.
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. Skyfall
5. GoldenEye
6. Licence to Kill
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. Live and Let Die
9. You Only Live Twice
10. The Living Daylights
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Octopussy
13. Tomorrow Never Dies
14. A View to a Kill
15. The World Is Not Enough
16. Spectre
17. The Man with the Golden Gun
18. Diamonds Are Forever
19. Moonraker
20. Die Another Day
Now we're talking. Momentum builds coming off a really good watch of YOLT, to an even better watch for TB. TB was my first-ever Bond film, and it looks like it is finally headed for a spot in my Top 10 Bond films.
Sean Connery is at his absolute best here, dishing out his best one-liners and being as lethal and charming as ever. He is basically perfect as Bond in all of his first 4 Bond films. The PTS, minus the silly jetpack, is a really great start, and the title credits and song that follow are very good too. The Bond girls are my favorite overall group in the entire series, though Tracy and Vesper are my favorite individual ones. Fiona is a perfect Bond girl and villain, while Domino is among my favorites of all the main Bond girls. Largo is alright as the villain, but not a personal favorite. He doesn't appear much, but Blofeld is perfect behind the scenes, and the SPECTRE meeting early on is a great scene. There are several individual scenes I love - the SPECTRE meeting, the chase with Fiona, the clinic sequence, Bond at Largo's at night, the fight on the Volante, etc. The soundtrack is terrific. My only complain of any kind is that there were 1 or 2 underwater scenes that sort of hurt the pace, but nothing to significantly hurt the film at all.
I have a lot of fond memories of TB, and it's fitting it is finally making my Top 10. It used to be around 16 or 17 on my ranking, but has enjoyed a steady climb up. It deserves to be included among the greatest Bond adventures.
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. Skyfall
5. GoldenEye
6. Thunderball
7. Licence to Kill
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. Live and Let Die
10. You Only Live Twice
11. The Living Daylights
12. Quantum of Solace
13. Octopussy
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. A View to a Kill
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. Spectre
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Moonraker
21. Die Another Day
GF represents everything great about Bond. It established many of the tropes we’ve seen in the series, brilliantly building on what DN and FRWL had started. GF earns its status as the quintessential Bond film.
Connery is in top form, of course. The Bond girls are pretty good, and the villains are terrific; Oddjob is a great choice for the best henchman. The title song and soundtrack are great. The action scenes are all very good, especially the thrilling climax at Fort Knox. The PTS is one of the series’ best, and basically shows you everything Bond is about in just a few minutes. The whole film is the best showcase of what Bond is about, and fires one great scene after another: the perfect PTS, classic title song, foiling Goldfinger in Miami, the golden girl, golfing with Goldfinger, the factory chase, the laser table, the briefing of Grand Slam, the finale at Fort Knox, etc. So much good stuff. It’s the breeziest, coolest, and most Bondish Bond film of them all. There are no significant flaws.
GF definitely remains among my absolute favorites, for doing just about everything right. This Bondathon has been my absolute favorite one so far in my life, and that’s saying a lot. Sadly just two more to go after this.
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Skyfall
6. GoldenEye
7. Thunderball
8. Licence to Kill
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. Live and Let Die
11. You Only Live Twice
12. The Living Daylights
13. Quantum of Solace
14. Octopussy
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. A View to a Kill
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. Spectre
19. The Man with the Golden Gun
20. Diamonds Are Forever
21. Moonraker
22. Die Another Day
Not going to say a lot because I’m tired, but a terrific finish to a terrific Bondathon! DN has always been a favorite of mine, and it goes up one more spot this time around! Love the villains, the girls, the story, Connery’s performance, etc. No signifcant issues at all. It’s as good a start to a franchise as one could ask for. One of the best.
Posted my ranking in the other thread, but I’ll post it here too. Not sure when my next Bondathon will be, but for a while I’m likely to just watch one here and there. The ranking is never set in stone, but that’s what keeps it interesting! Here’s hoping we get some news about Bond 25 soon!
2018 Bondathon Ranking (Finished)
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Skyfall
6. Dr. No
7. From Russia with Love
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Licence to Kill
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. Live and Let Die
13. You Only Live Twice
14. The Living Daylights
15. Quantum of Solace
16. Octopussy
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. A View to a Kill
19. The World Is Not Enough
20. Spectre
21. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Diamonds Are Forever
23. Moonraker
24. Die Another Day
After all the discussion on the thread about it a few weeks back, I decided to take in a viewing yesterday. This is a film that I used to think highly of when I was young (for obvious reasons perhaps) and which declined in my estimation as the years progressed. However these days it's enjoying a bit of a resurgence, along with DAF, NSNA & DAD. It's the scale which I find particularly impressive in this film, along with the whimsical & playful tone. To me it remains the epitome of what is possible with extravagant cinematic Bond - the end of a logical progression of escapism and outlandishness which began in the mid-60s. It's fitting that this film capped off the 70s and then they scaled back at the start of the 80s. Having said that, I think Bond lost a lot of that special & unique quality after this film imho, and has never regained it since. I've always loved Lonsdale's Drax and think Moore plays Bond perfectly for the kind of tone they have here. However, it is Lois Chiles' Dr. Holly Goodhead who I have had the most change in opinion about. I used to dislike her when younger and found her quite plain jane, but now think she is one of the better Bond 'girls'. She's a very independent, capable and qualified character and Chiles plays her with an aloof cool which I find increasingly appealing these days. All in all I had a great viewing experience of this one.
One of the things I love about Brosnan is that he always looked to be having fun and made the character someone you wanted to eb and in some cases probably do a better job. But in all seriousness, I do have a lot of issues with this film, his whole era to be fair but the guy really invoked a fun factor that is noticeably missing from the last few Bond films.
Brosnan has some very cool moments such as when he first meets Carver in Hamburg. His scenes with Paris Carver (who btw isn't as disasterous as some folks make her out to be), Bond's escape from the Hamburh Warehouse, particularly the factory escape.
Wai Lin was alright, Stamper was...Stamper, Dr Kaufmann was pretty damn good and would like to have seen more of him. Carver as the main villain was serviceable and who can forget his infamous...
Some of the set pieces were alright although a tad overblown and machine gun-totting Bond in the manner as presented in this film is something I don't want to ever see again.
Nothing great but its a fun enough romp.
Bingo. You smashed the nailed on the head right there. I would love a more mischievous Bond like Brosnan is throughout this film, and the tone is much more breezy. The type of Bond film you can easily watch on a Sunday afternoon.
I can't get myself to watch any of the Craig films on a Sunday – QoS perhaps the only exception, because of the runtime. Fun Bond is perfect for a Sunday. A serious Bond, not so much.
On the whole, it does feel like something one would watch on tv on a Sunday, but I'm afraid I don't mean that as a compliment.
A great way to drive Carver even more mad !
Discussion on the Production Thread motivated a viewing. I had a blast as always, and actually this was one of my better viewings in some time. This film moves at a much faster pace than MR (which I viewed on the previous night) and the action sequences, while less extravagant, are more exciting. I now agree with some viewers who have previously stated that this is a very 'colourful' Bond film. I'm surprised I didn't notice it before. India in particular really pops. Moore plays the weary agent superbly here and the script emphasizes his strengths. From the thrilling PTS to the even better suspenseful post credit sequence (Mishka and Grishka's introduction is really well done), you know that this film means business. The auction scene remains one of the most memorable in the series for me, and the entire German sequence from arrival in the east to bomb diffusal is Roger at his sublime best. Only he could make a Bond in a clown outfit credible. The great Louis Jourdan's Kamal Khan is a formidable adversary, and one of the better villains for me. Kristina Wayborn is quite stunning and I'm glad she gets quite a bit of screentime (I prefer her to Maud's titular character - I liked Adams more in TMWTGG). Kabir Bedi & Steven Berkoff are also excellent. In fact, I'd say OP has one of the best villain rosters in the series, along with FRWL, GE & LALD. I've always liked Barry's score too, and especially the whole bit when Bond is snooping about Kamal's Monsoon Palace. Nobody could do melodic suspense like Barry. The film is only let down by the (at times) childish humour (particularly in India) and the lame finale. Yes, I admit that the plane sequence is absolutely first class, but I could have done without the circus girl show which preceded it. This was a fantastic viewing experience of a film that doesn't get enough credit imho.
A quick question: Was Magda working for Octopussy or for Kamal? I've never been quite sure about that.
Octopussy,she was in Kamal's troupe to keep an eye on things,part of her deal with him,her ambassador if you will.
Great review by the way,and this is my favourite Moore film,so good to see you appreciate it !
Thanks chaps. That clears that up.
But overall a very solid Bond adventure.