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One film you will be impressed by, and i was blown away by was how good Licence to Kill looked.
Updated Ranking
1. GoldenEye
2. License to Kill
3. SkyFall
4. A View to a Kill
5. Live and Let Die
6. From Russia with Love
7. Casino Royale
8. Quantum of Solace
9. You Only Live Twice
10. Moonraker
The only things that bring LTK down ever so slightly are the music, titles, some dodgy acting from Grand L. Bush, and a so-so Bond girl in Lupe.
As an aside, what gives LTK its unique texture is the welter of relationships it contains. We have two Bond girls vying for Bond's attention as he spends his time trying to distance himself from both of them, as well as Q. There is Sanchez's obvious liking for Bond, who secretly loathes Sanchez. There is the whole loyalty thing going on with Sanchez and his associates, which Bond exploits to great effect. And, of course, there is the revenge motive that powers it all. On the whole, LTK has more emotional complexity than any other Bond film.
And yes, I am kind of surrendering my free will out of pure anxiety to choose.
I'm not sure if I can consider myself a Bond fan anymore, watching this for the first time in a long while and the first time on Blu ray I watched it cringing and this is becoming an increasingly common occurrence when I go back to these films.
Moore Bond is just not for me anymore and the tongue in cheek feel, the writing is pretty shocking, it feels so stereotypical, all the pseudo blaxplotation elements, obviously written by a white guy with no real understanding of proper black culture. I know it was the times but this film is insulting at times.
Seriously to think everyone is singling SF for plot holes despite the fact every Bond film has them this is just an utter joke at times, the set ups for of the agent assassinations are just utterly ludicrous and the plot has holes in it big enough to drive double decker bus through them.
Some who prefer their Bond utterly ridiculous and just preposterous then it might be fine, I wish I could watch these films with my childhood eyes again but I can't. I'm not suggesting SF is not ridiculous but I'll take that over the utter embarrassment on display here and this was one of the films I considered on my list of the ones I thought I still liked and part of my justification for laying out £90 on Bond 50.
I only really get on with half of them, which is why I only ever watch the series from start to finish because should I pick them out at random, some I would never watch again. This way it seems fairer.
Hmm... a bit like Ian Fleming :p Go back and read the novel again haha. One thing that struck me when I last saw LALD is how dated it is. The 60s films have dated to an extent but not as much as the films of subsequent era's.
I ended up watching Dr No again randomly the other night by the way on Blu Ray (its been a while since I last watched it properly all the way through). While its not as epic as subsequent entries it remains an excellent film with a tight detective style story, a menacing Joseph Wiseman (who's presence lingers through the film) and of course Mr Connery who's brilliant and who would outdo himself in the next two films. My favourite moment is when he's sorting the bed while the fan is going above him and Underneeth the Mango Tree is playing on the record player. Pure class.
The next day I stuck DAF on just for curiosity's sake. What the hell happened to him :p
The last one I saw was Octopussy (on tv on Monday), and to my relief it wasn't quite as bad as I feared, there was far less wanting to tear my hair out than with LALD or MR, for instance, but it still wasn't the film I loved in my youth. Growing up has its disadvantages, I guess. ;) A View To A Kill on tv tomorrow...
Agreed. I think the moment when she activates the Solex with her arse is one of the lowest moments in the series (not THE lowest but not...ahem...far behind). At least Jill St. John was sort of funny and had more charisma.
The ones I actually still enjoy would be.
FRWL
TB
OHMSS
SWLM
TLD
LTK
CR
QOS
SF
I know GF is considered the watermark but I just find it boring after Bond's Miami introduction to GF. I'll watch MWTGG again and FYEO as I've a feeling they might fair better but SWLM is only there for sentimental reasons as it was my first experience of Bond at the age back in 77.
Craig reinvigorated my love of Bond and with the slight miss step of QOS (which I still enjoy) I'm more than happy with this era, I've know doubt like with Brosnan that somewhere down the line I'll fall out of love with the series again but for the time being I'm a happy camper.
That's less than half. Blimey!
No Dr No?
You might enjoy FYEO more - just turn it off before the Margaret Thatcher sequence.
Maybe DN should go in there although I found that a bit dragging despite having some of the most iconic moments of the series.
I know it's quite bad my feelings considering Bond was my world as child, I worshiped the films from 77-89 and then became a fan proper again in 2006, I did go and see everything since 77 with the exception OP theatrically though.
I understand you. My list is almost the same and I'm younger than you! Part of the reason, as I said, for only ever watching the series film by film, before a new one is released. Keeps it fresh, in my mind.
It actuallyis a decent watch, if only they had slowed the freaking thing down. Things move at breakneck speed so often as it all becomes a little muddled, as you try to keep your mind focused from one frantic action piece to the next. It's as though they had all the action in the world, and they tried to squeeze it into a near two hour running time. It almost feels like that when viewing. Without question it's not without it's dull and mundane bits and pieces, but the action more than componsates. If only they had slowed it damn well down a little, it would of been so much better
5.5 / 10. (6 being generous)
James Bond is a British secret agent - not a greyhound on amphetamines
Do you enjoy it more now than you did in the past, @Baltimore_007?
Whoever said it first about the early scenes of TB dragging slowly, they were absolutely correct! Still though, once Bond gets to Nassau, the movie picks up some speed, and by around the time he meets Largo at Palmyra, the movie is in full swing. Certainly one of the better '60s Bond movies, along with FRWL. I enjoyed watching it today! Hadn't given it a watch in many months, so it was nice to revisit it again! Top marks go to the locations, the action scenes, Connery's performance (one of his best, again along with FRWL), and the soundtrack, as well as the overall plot.
Updated Ranking
1. GoldenEye
2. License to Kill
3. SkyFall
4. A View to a Kill
5. Live and Let Die
6. From Russia with Love
7. Thunderball
8. Casino Royale
9. Quantum of Solace
10. You Only Live Twice
11. Moonraker
Surprisingly, I found OHMSS to be slightly better this time around than I normally would; granted, it's still lower on the list, definitely, but I was pleasantly shocked to find that I was not as bored with it as I normally am. I found the pacing to be a little bit more bearable, and many good performances that I previously didn't think much about, like the actors for Blofeld and Draco. Also, the action scenes were tremendous compared to what I had once thought. All in all, a little bit better; not much, but still progress!
1. GoldenEye
2. License to Kill
3. SkyFall
4. A View to a Kill
5. Live and Let Die
6. From Russia with Love
7. Thunderball
8. Casino Royale
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10. Quantum of Solace
11. You Only Live Twice
12. Moonraker