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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.
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. ;-)
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 :)
Fear not Creasy, I have some real trouble sometimes, so you're not alone :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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. ;)
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.
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
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.
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.
Wow. For the life of me, I cannot fathom how anybody could arrive at those conclusions.
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 :)
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. ;)
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.