Last Bond Movie You Watched

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  • edited May 2014 Posts: 512
    GoldenEye on telly last night, or most of it.

    Not one of my faves, but I enjoyed what I saw of it on my Dad's knackered old TV where the colour is half gone. Somehow I found the plot easier to follow this way, that can happen with black and white films, you focus more on the narrative and can pay attention. All that 'iron man of Russia' stuff and blaming events on Russian separatists is very prescient of course.

    And Brosnan really was a breath of fresh air, a very handsome and suave performance. Shame some of the one-liners are just clunkers, you need Connery's comic genius and interpretative acting skill to do stuff with 'Make sure they send me back first class...' Can you send freight first class anyway?

    The tank chase was better than I remembered.

    It holds up well even after the pts, unlike say TSWLM which of course is very good, but whenever I tune in 20mins in, it seems a very flat, humdrum adventure with dull cinematography, the highlights (ski chase, song) are frontloaded and put the film in credit for the rest of it, without that credit it sort of plods along.

    But I watched the second half of LTK the week before and after the first few mins of watching ("Wow, Dalton was slim and handsome-ish! And not as churlish as Craig!") it was just dishwater, in the casino, then with Sanchez tossing in one-liners the whole time cos our man can't manage them. Just a dull B-movie imo.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    @Birdleson I personally love Celi as Largo. I dunno, something just works.

    Just finished Diamonds Are Forever. Still has perhaps the best dialogue in the entire series, and a delightfully sardonic and cynical performance from Sean, but that sparkle is still gone from his eye. Definitely no longer the top 10 Bond film I considered it just 6 months ago.

    I guess if anyone cares I'll begin updating my rankings as I go. Currently:

    1. CASINO ROYALE
    2. GOLDFINGER
    3. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
    4. DR. NO

    5. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
    6. OCTOPUSSY

    7. MOONRAKER
    8. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    9. LIVE AND LET DIE

    10. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
    11. DIE ANOTHER DAY





    12. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

    A very praiseworthy top 5, or 6 if you included Octopussy, which I'm inclined to do. However my heart weeps over your shoddy treatment of TWINE. ;-)

  • Posts: 1,596
    Hey thanks @royale65.
    Yeah, I used to really love TWINE but now I have a hard time getting through it at parts. TMWTGG and it are destined to end up at the bottom now. To each they're own though :)
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Indeed. At least we can both agree on TMWTGG and our admiration for your top 6 ;-)
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,957
    Those of you who can rank the Bond films 1-23 impress me. I just can't do it.
  • Posts: 1,596
    Creasy47 wrote:
    Those of you who can rank the Bond films 1-23 impress me. I just can't do it.

    Fear not Creasy, I have some real trouble sometimes, so you're not alone :)
    Birdleson wrote:
    I used to place TWINE at #8, but in the last few rounds of viewing it's fallen back to around 12, or owed. GE is now my highest ranked Brosnan outing at 9 or 10.

    Yeah, when I was a kid it was my 3rd favorite Bond film (behind GE and GF).

    Here's an updated list with today's viewing:

    1. CASINO ROYALE
    2. GOLDENEYE
    3. GOLDFINGER
    4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
    5. DR. NO

    6. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
    7. OCTOPUSSY
    8. MOONRAKER
    9. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    10. LIVE AND LET DIE
    11. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
    12. DIE ANOTHER DAY
    13. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

    GE was the first Bond film I ever saw. It was my favorite FOREVER. A pretty big part of me somewhere still thinks it's the best one. I dig Serra's score. A lot. It helps create the shadowy, cold, hazy/smoky atmosphere GE has. Not big on the first bit of "drive in the country" or whatever it's called, though. I also think no matter which way you cut it, Natalya is easily one of the best Bond girls in the franchise (physically and otherwise).

    As for the break, the current top 5 is interchangeable for the most part, and whichever I prefer depends entirely on mood.
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 1,596
    Just finished Quantum of Solace. A true mixed bag. The great is great and the bad is BAD. Marc Forster is my least favorite Bond director, even though QoS isn't my least favorite Bond film. I used to love this one a lot more but the messiness of the story, the mishandling of the Vesper-revenge subplot, the boring villain/scheme, and the general bleakness of it all have begun to wear on me a bit.

    Truly at times QOS seems to be anti-Bond with James Bond in it, due to all of the ridiculous leftist politics against Bond's allies in the CIA and western intelligence in general. Leave the politics for other films Forster. Man.... that REALLY starts to annoy me. Daniel Craig saves it by being an excellent James Bond.

    So yeah, sometimes QOS doesn't even feel like a Bond film, which really handicaps it. Overall there's still a lot to love. When it isn't edited to shit the cinematography is gorgeous, the action exciting, and David Arnold gives perhaps his best score.
  • Posts: 11,189
    Creasy47 wrote:
    Those of you who can rank the Bond films 1-23 impress me. I just can't do it.

    You feel satisfied with yourself once you have managed to do it. I think a lot of if comes down to 2 things:

    -which films you ADMIRE the most
    -which films you ENJOY the most

    If you enjoy and admire a Bond film you'll put it near the top (1-6). If you enjoy a Bond film more than admire it (or vice versa) you'll put it lower-top to middle (7-15). The ones after that may have a few redeeming qualities but as Bond films are weaker (15-20). The bottom 4 speak for themselves.
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 12,837
    I rank them entirely based on enjoyment. EG- I think when you break it down and look at it objectively Skyfall is a better film than Goldeneye. But I enjoy Goldeneye more, so that's number 3 on my list while Skyfall is somewhere between 5 and 10.

    It's the same with films in general for me. I don't think Rocky (my favourite film) is a better film than the Godfather but I like it better, I enjoy it more.
  • Posts: 4,762
    Diamonds Are Forever

    No matter what is said about the possibly cheesy, cartoon-like atmosphere of DAF, my opinion is still the same: it's awesome! Forget about plausibility or continuity in regard to OHMSS; this movie is just pure fun and sheer spectacle. What's not to love? Connery's performance is, in my opinion, really great, and the sets are extravagant, the soundtrack is brilliant, the villain lot is quite memorable, and the script is possibly the greatest in the entire series. So many quote-worthy lines! DAF is truly an underappreciated treasure; as I stated earlier, don't go into it with the disappointment of not following up to OHMSS's events; watch DAF as simply another Bond movie- it's terrific! A true Top Ten Bond movie!

    Spring 2014 Bondathon Rankings

    1. GoldenEye
    2. License to Kill
    3. SkyFall
    4. Diamonds Are Forever
    5. The Man with the Golden Gun
    6. The World is not Enough
    7. Dr. No
    8. You Only Live Twice
    9. Thunderball
    10. The Living Daylights
    11. Live and Let Die
    12. Die Another Day
    13. Moonraker
    14. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
  • Posts: 11,189
    I rank them entirely based on enjoyment. EG- I think when you break it down and look at it objectively Skyfall is a better film than Goldeneye. But I enjoy Goldeneye more, so that's number 3 on my list while Skyfall is somewhere between 5 and 10.

    It's the same with films in general for me. I don't think Rocky (my favourite film) is a better film than the Godfather but I like it better, I enjoy it more.

    I think you probably need a balance of the two for a fair ranking. You can't be completely objective but you can recognise the flaws and strengths in each film as well as enjoyment gained.

    Ultimately though I do understand your point, its whether a film succeeds at being entertaining.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    00Beast wrote:
    DAF is truly an underappreciated treasure; as I stated earlier, don't go into it with the disappointment of not following up to OHMSS's events; watch DAF as simply another Bond movie
    It still has issues but I agree with you that I can appreciate it much more when not viewed directly after OHMSS.
  • Posts: 4,762
    pachazo wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    DAF is truly an underappreciated treasure; as I stated earlier, don't go into it with the disappointment of not following up to OHMSS's events; watch DAF as simply another Bond movie
    It still has issues but I agree with you that I can appreciate it much more when not viewed directly after OHMSS.

    It probably helps that I am in no way, shape, or form an OHMSS fan, so I couldn't care less whether or not DAF followed up on it or not, hahaha. I mean yeah, it would have been nice if the OHMSS loose ends were tied up in a more appropriate fashion, but technically Bond got his revenge in the DAF pre-title sequence, or so he thought.
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 7,507
    00Beast wrote:
    Diamonds Are Forever
    DAF is truly an underappreciated treasure; as I stated earlier, don't go into it with the disappointment of not following up to OHMSS's events; watch DAF as simply another Bond movie- it's terrific!

    I don't think that's the heart of the issue. I never watch DAF with any emotional bagagge or revenge thirst from the preceding film. The first time I watched DAF I didn't even know OHMSS existed. I still disliked the film, and my opinion has not changed since...

    Appreciation of DAF basically boils down to the stylistic preferences of the viewer. Some like the farce and the camp, others cringe, I'm one of the latter... I simply don't agree that the script is brilliant and highly quotable, and (apart from a few decent lines) I don't even like the humor. DAF is just a film that fails to excite me neither in dramatic, aesthetic nor humoristic terms. It just doesn't work for me. I do respect your opinion, in fact I am very pleased that some find this film to their liking, as I love Bond and want all the films to be respectable. We're just not on the same wavelength here. ;)
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 7,653
    OHMSS was on the telly, what a great and fun movie it was. And while I adore Roger Moore I feel that the franchise could have used a few more Lazenby 007 movies.
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 1,596
    Just finished OHMSS. Can't wait to get chewed out...

    1. CASINO ROYALE
    2. GOLDENEYE
    3. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
    4. GOLDFINGER
    5. DR. NO
    6. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
    7. OCTOPUSSY
    8. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
    9. MOONRAKER
    10. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    11. LIVE AND LET DIE
    12. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
    13. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
    14. DIE ANOTHER DAY
    15. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
    16. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
    17. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

    Basically it all boils down to Lazenby. He's boring. He's not convincing. His line delivery is awful. His wardrobe is awful. And he makes me miss Sean which takes me out of the movie.

    I enjoy every Bond film, so I still enjoy OHMSS from time to time. Barry's score and the supporting cast swallow Lazenby whole and are so good that they occasionally (only occasionally) mask his large inadequacies in the role. Also, great action sequences, great cinematography, great locales. The last 10 minutes or so is real emotional, but would be only more so if we had Connery. Picture him in Laz's spot as he tosses his hat to a crying Moneypenny, presumably for the last time. Would've been hugely impacting. Instead we get Captain Bubbly Jolly Pants constantly smiling and stoked to be in every situation, no matter how dangerous.

    edit: Also, it beats out TWINE because TWINE basically ditched the character of Bond altogether whereas Hunt and company at least directed Lazenby well and had an understanding of the story they were telling with the character in mind.
  • Posts: 4,762
    @ThighsOfXenia: I too dislike Lazenby a great deal- in fact, if Connery had taken the role in OHMSS, I might enjoy OHMSS, provided that his hypothetical performance was better than his actual lazy performance in YOLT. I think there are other problems with OHMSS though, not limited to just Lazenby; the whole movie itself feels strange, like it's not a Bond movie or something. The soundtrack is annoying and the pace is slower than Christmas (no pun intended).
  • Posts: 1,596
    I find the soundtrack to be one of the series' best, personally.

    But yes, presuming Connery gave a performance closer to that of his first 4 I think we have at least a top 7 or so Bond film in OHMSS
  • Posts: 2,483
    00Beast wrote:
    pachazo wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    DAF is truly an underappreciated treasure; as I stated earlier, don't go into it with the disappointment of not following up to OHMSS's events; watch DAF as simply another Bond movie
    It still has issues but I agree with you that I can appreciate it much more when not viewed directly after OHMSS.

    It probably helps that I am in no way, shape, or form an OHMSS fan, so I couldn't care less whether or not DAF followed up on it or not, hahaha. I mean yeah, it would have been nice if the OHMSS loose ends were tied up in a more appropriate fashion, but technically Bond got his revenge in the DAF pre-title sequence, or so he thought.

    I rate OHMSS No. 1 and still don't give a dam' that DAF didn't follow OHMSS' story arc. Bond film continuity is an utter myth anyway, so why get hung up on something that has never really existed? There are rational critiques of DAF; failure to follow up OHMSS is not among them.

  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    That's the crux of the situation. If Connery had delivered a performance akin to his first four films, then OHMSS may well have been the greatest Bond film, bar none. But, if Connery had gone the way of his performance in YOLT, I'd still take Lazenby, without a shadow of a doubt.
  • Posts: 2,483
    jobo wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    Diamonds Are Forever
    DAF is truly an underappreciated treasure; as I stated earlier, don't go into it with the disappointment of not following up to OHMSS's events; watch DAF as simply another Bond movie- it's terrific!

    I don't think that's the heart of the issue. I never watch DAF with any emotional bagagge or revenge thirst from the preceding film. The first time I watched DAF I didn't even know OHMSS existed. I still disliked the film, and my opinion has not changed since...

    Appreciation of DAF basically boils down to the stylistic preferences of the viewer. Some like the farce and the camp, others cringe, I'm one of the latter... I simply don't agree that the script is brilliant and highly quotable, and (apart from a few decent lines) I don't even like the humor. DAF is just a film that fails to excite me neither in dramatic, aesthetic nor humoristic terms. It just doesn't work for me. I do respect your opinion, in fact I am very pleased that some find this film to their liking, as I love Bond and want all the films to be respectable. We're just not on the same wavelength here. ;)

    I rate both DAF and FRWL in my top 10, so it is entirely possible to love both the bizarre and the serious. Having said that, I do agree with you that aesthetics are paramount with DAF. (As an aside, they are paramount with James Bond in general.) And given that I adore DAF's aesthetics--not to mention its humor and script--it's only natural that I consider DAF criminally underrated, and probably misunderstood.

  • Posts: 2,483
    00Beast wrote:
    @ThighsOfXenia: I too dislike Lazenby a great deal- in fact, if Connery had taken the role in OHMSS, I might enjoy OHMSS, provided that his hypothetical performance was better than his actual lazy performance in YOLT. I think there are other problems with OHMSS though, not limited to just Lazenby; the whole movie itself feels strange, like it's not a Bond movie or something. The soundtrack is annoying and the pace is slower than Christmas (no pun intended).

    Wow. For the life of me, I cannot fathom how anybody could arrive at those conclusions.

  • edited May 2014 Posts: 11,189
    @Perilagu_Kahn. To be honest whenever I watch DAF I can't help but find it flat out boring a lot of the time. Despite some funny lines occasionally its a lazy dated, plodding parody starring an overweight Scottish bloke who's meant to be James Bond.
  • Posts: 1,596
    royale65 wrote:
    That's the crux of the situation. If Connery had delivered a performance akin to his first four films, then OHMSS may well have been the greatest Bond film, bar none. But, if Connery had gone the way of his performance in YOLT, I'd still take Lazenby, without a shadow of a doubt.

    I think I'd still take Connery. Connery still shows some glimmer and spark at times in YOLT. He's definitely not where he was in the first four films, but I'd still take him over Lazenby. He seems too happy to be there all the time. Nothing about him feels like Bond to me.

    Obviously this all boils straight down to pure personal opinion, and I respect yours :)

  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    edited May 2014 Posts: 4,423
    And I yours
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 7,507
    jobo wrote:
    Appreciation of DAF basically boils down to the stylistic preferences of the viewer. Some like the farce and the camp, others cringe, I'm one of the latter... I simply don't agree that the script is brilliant and highly quotable, and (apart from a few decent lines) I don't even like the humor. DAF is just a film that fails to excite me neither in dramatic, aesthetic nor humoristic terms. It just doesn't work for me. I do respect your opinion, in fact I am very pleased that some find this film to their liking, as I love Bond and want all the films to be respectable. We're just not on the same wavelength here. ;)

    I rate both DAF and FRWL in my top 10, so it is entirely possible to love both the bizarre and the serious. Having said that, I do agree with you that aesthetics are paramount with DAF. (As an aside, they are paramount with James Bond in general.) And given that I adore DAF's aesthetics--not to mention its humor and script--it's only natural that I consider DAF criminally underrated, and probably misunderstood.

    You somewhat missed my point. I'm not saying that I dislike all campy Bond films, or camp in general. Bond is so infuced with both dangerous realism and OTT camp, that a certain appreciation and tolerance for both stylistic worlds is somewhat essentally required for any serious Bond fan. Otherwise you'd have a hard time keeping the interest for the franchise alive.

    Although, in general, the more seriously grounded and somewhat simplistic films like FRWL and CR are my favourites, that is not to say that I can't watch a film like Octopussy or Spy with an almost equal level of enjoyment. But there are finer lines within each stylistic world, and if the film's sole purpose is to glorify the complete obnoxious and farce like in favour of any sence or suspence, that's when it will lose me. I don't dislike DAF because I have a distaste for every element of farce in the world of Bond, but because the film's particular style of camp does not appeal to me. I would have been able to appreciate it a lot more if I had found the humor to be funny, but I don't...

    It's tempting to simply conlude, from an objective point of view, that DAF is badly made, but I have learnt from experience that life is not so easy. Because in certain situations even objective evaluation in reality becomes a matter of subjective preferences. DAF as a film glorifies a style of farce that I don't get. As a result, I'll just have to succumb to that fact, and not bother analyzing it too much. A fan of DAF doesn't necessarily have bad tastes in movies only because we don't agree on certain aspects, and vice versa... And similarly DAF does not have to be a bad film, even though I, from an objective point of view, think it is. ;)

  • Posts: 1,596
    Well said @jobo and @PK. My opinion on DAF flip flops about every time I see it. The Las Vegas setting bothered me this time around however. It fits with the film's tone, but the tone threw me off this time around whereas I used to rank it in my top 10 due to its witty script and pervasive dark comedy.
  • edited May 2014 Posts: 11,189
    This pre-title sequence is pretty laughable. I'm not sure whether its meant to be silly or serious. Those henchman look hilarious, like a couple of blokes from the crew chosen a few minutes before shooting:

  • Posts: 53
    Watched Diamonds Are Forever last night. Picked up the Bond 50 blu-Ray last week and slowly making my way through them in release order. Still can't believe how great the early films look - my jaw hit the floor when I saw the opening 'three blind mice' shot of Dr.No.

    Enjoying re-discovering the films again and picking up on stuff I may have missed previously.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,957
    jaydubya76 wrote:
    Watched Diamonds Are Forever last night. Picked up the Bond 50 blu-Ray last week and slowly making my way through them in release order. Still can't believe how great the early films look - my jaw hit the floor when I saw the opening 'three blind mice' shot of Dr.No.

    Enjoying re-discovering the films again and picking up on stuff I may have missed previously.

    As do I. I'm ashamed to say I haven't watched a lot of the older films in quite some time, so it's very refreshing to return to them and notice things I haven't seen before or watch scenes I really don't remember as well as I thought I did. I really want to get through my entire blu-ray collection, and that'll start with Bond. Going to watch TB today.
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