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It’s a shame because I’ve made it very clear on this forum how much I love the film and I showed some of my buddies Casino Royale and hey loved it and then I showed them Quantum and they all hated it. I’m like guys, it’s pretty good, but they were all like nah it’s mediocre and boring. They didn’t like the editing the villain or the story or dialogue. They said the cinematography was okay and there wasn’t any great action. We had the biggest discussion every because I wasn’t gonna take that lying down. I was like I completely disagree, the villain plan is awesome the shots in the film are spectacular the action still takes my breath away with it’s intensity. The dialogue is excellent and the character journey for bond is awesome. They didn’t agree and it made me rather confused and insecure with my own opinion. Alas I just had to accept that they just misunderstood the film
There was a point I found QOS to be mostly average and had it around 16-17 in my ranking, which isn’t a bad place but not near as high as I see it now. Sometimes it takes rewatches to appreciate a film more. The first couple times I ever saw QOS it ranked very high, then it dipped for a while, and now my last couple watches it’s been doing quite well again!
I think for sure a lot of people misunderstand it as a revenge film, or get turned off by the editing or something. Sure, I still think it’s a step down from CR, but CR for me is the best Bond of all so that’s really no insult at all. I’m glad it was its own thing despite being a direct sequel of sorts. It was still very unique and different from CR which is only a good thing for itself. It doesn’t waste time, it’s very energetic, and it’s got very good elements.
As I said, Connery is in top form; he basically is just perfect as Bond in all his first four Bond films. Auric Goldfinger and Oddjob are among my favorite villains. Jill Masterson and Pussy Galore are good Bond girls. The film is littered with awesome moments: the mini Bond film in itself with the PTS, Bond making Goldfinger pay for his cheating at cards and golf, the golden girl scene, the Aston Martin introduction, the chase at Auric Enterprises, the laser table, the introduction of Pussy Galore, Oddjob disposing of Solo, and the epic finale at Fort Knox and the little bit on the plane. There’s just no shortage of fun and greatness with GF.
I noticed the film has a few detractors here on the site, but I simply can’t agree with any of the complaints I’ve heard. GF is the film I would show to introduce anyone to James Bond. It’s got all the right characteristics of a classic Bond movie, is standalone, and just offers up a ton of fun and enjoyment the whole way. It’s looking like my Top 3 will be intact for this Bondathon.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. From Russia with Love
5. Dr. No
6. GoldenEye
7. Live and Let Die
8. Quantum of Solace
9. Licence to Kill
10. The Living Daylights
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. The Man with the Golden Gun
It's one of my go-to Bond films,and now I actually touched and photographed Bond's Aston Martin that was used in the PTS,it is definitely going to stay there.
Another Bond film,like OP,that I have an emotional affection for, now.
You mustn’t ever wash your hands again. That Aston is glorious
Easily my favorite final entry of the long-running Bonds (Connery’s DAF, Moore’s AVTAK, Brosnan’s DAD, and as of now Craig’s SP). Lots of fun and despite its flaws I really enjoy it.
It all starts with a bang with the PTS - one of the series’ best ones. The title song is pretty good as well. The soundtrack by Marvin Hamlisch is a lot of fun - especially Bond 77. Anya is a good Bond girl, and Stromberg is a good Bond villain; I think Stromberg in general is kind of an underrated villain. Jaws of course is one of the great, legendary henchmen of the series. The side characters are all pretty good as well. Simply put though, the best aspect of TSWLM is that it is loads of fun, with epic action throughout and plenty of humor to spare. There’s a lot of sequences I particularly enjoy, such as the PTS, Stromberg’s introduction, all the scenes in Egypt, the train fight, the car chase, and Stromberg’s death. There’s a good reason it’s one of the franchise’s most beloved films - one only needs to watch it to understand!
TSWLM earns its place as one of the series’ best for being so fun and memorable. For me, it’s definitely Moore’s magnum opus, and is always a blast to revisit. Just barely misses out on my Top 5 this time around, but that’s more of a testament to how strong the films above it are than anything else.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. From Russia with Love
5. Dr. No
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. GoldenEye
8. Live and Let Die
9. Quantum of Solace
10. Licence to Kill
11. The Living Daylights
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. The Man with the Golden Gun
It certainly wasn't Connery's brusque Dr No performance that Lazenby drew on. By 1967 Connery had established a calmer, more urbane persona that is now so associated with his playing of the role. And Lazenby offers a variation on that. His line delivery isn't always on the money, but he looks the part and is at his best when he gets to act scared or emotional (the moment when he tosses his hat to Moneypenny at the wedding couldn't have been handled better by a seasoned actor).
As for the film I don't think any Bond film has looked as good as this. The cinematography is outstanding throughout. And the stunt work in the explosive final hour is the best in the series up until the 1980s.
Terrific film, as well as a terrific Bond film, and a massive step up in quality from the already marvellous Dr No.
Next up for me, Roger Moore's debut in Live And Let Die
Of his four Bond performances, I think TWINE was Brosnan's weakest overall. He has some great moments still ("I never miss..."), but collectively this entry seems to be where he is least comfortable in the role. Judi Dench has a great turn as M. Desmond Llewelyn got an awesome final moment as Q. Valentin's return from GE is very welcome and works well. Renard has never been one of my favorite villains, but he has grown on me a bit with time. The real scene stealer of TWINE is Sophie Marceau as Elektra King; I love her character and story. David Arnold delivers a good soundtrack, and I also like the title song. The PTS is a bit long, but I do like it; it has the best action sequence of the film.
So where does TWINE go wrong exactly? Well, there's a few issues for me. The biggest problem is Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones. She turns in a distracting, cringe-worthy performance, and is quite easily one of the weakest Bond girls of the series. The action scenes, outside of a few moments including the boat chase in the PTS, are very bland and somehow just lack punch. The climax is particularly weak; following Bond killing Elektra (a great scene), the rest is kind of a bore. The pacing isn't always great, and there's a few parts that are a bit tedious. I think under better direction and some changes here and there, TWINE could have been one of the series' best, but as it is it's quite the mixed bag. As with most Bond films, I still like the film overall, but it does have to sit in the lower section of my ranking.
I went back and forth a bit between placing TWINE or TMWTGG last for now, but in the end I decided there's a bit more I enjoy about TWINE. Both suffer from some dull segments and sometimes lackluster action, but I'm going to give TWINE the nod for keeping me interested a little bit more.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. From Russia with Love
5. Dr. No
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. GoldenEye
8. Live and Let Die
9. Quantum of Solace
10. Licence to Kill
11. The Living Daylights
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. The World Is Not Enough
14. The Man with the Golden Gun
So, my fellow Bond brethren, I ask you this, in what order should I watch? The choice is yours....
How about no 1,11,21,2,12,22 and so on?
I must have watched this one more than any other. Not because it's my favourite, but maybe because it's so damned easy to watch without the need to think too hard.
Moore's intro differs from the previous two. Where Connery and then Lazenby were introduced with iconic, moodily lit close ups of cigarettes being lit by Bond, here we have Moore in one of his favourite places - a bed, complete with beautiful girl.
I like his haircut, and I do wish he had stuck with this tidier cut, as opposed to his 80s bouffant.
A lighter and fluffier film than either Dr No or OHMSS , with bags of chase sequences, but I guess that was the idea. They couldn't afford a wrong step this time, having swapped Bond actors in the previous two films.
So, LALD is full of those all important iconic moments. Worryingly though, even in Moore's debut we have the oldest Bond paired up with the youngest ever Bond girl.
Daniel Craig has a terrific performance in SF. He balances the drama and humor so well here. He gets to be a little bit lighter than in CR and QoS, but still keeps his signature style intact and doesn’t go too light like in SP. The supporting cast/characters are all top notch, particularly Judi Dench as M and Javier Bardem as Silva. The cinematography is unbeatable, the soundtrack is good, the story is good, the action is good - it’s just got everything going for it!
I’ll probably catch a lot of flak for ranking it so high, but I just love SF so much. It has all great elements, and stands really well as a standalone Bond film or a film within Craig’s Bond series. To me, SF is worth all its hype and then some. Too good.
Ranking:,
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Live and Let Die
10. Quantum of Solace
11. Licence to Kill
12. The Living Daylights
13. Tomorrow Never Dies
14. The World Is Not Enough
15. The Man with the Golden Gun
Oh don’t worry, it’s coming ;) up next!!!
Sean Connery is cool as ever as Bond, great in every scene. Domino is one of my favorite Bond girls in the series, as is Fiona (both one of my favorite Bond girls AND henchmen). Largo isn't one of my favorite villains of the series, but he's still pretty good. Vargas is a decent henchman. The PTS is a little bit silly, but a lot of fun! John Barry's soundtrack here is one of his greatest IMO. The title song by Tom Jones is good. I love the depiction of SPECTRE in TB. I think FRWL still nailed it better than any other film, but TB probably comes second for the best representation of the SPECTRE organization in a Bond film. The meeting scene is a definite highlight. The only serious issue I have with TB at all is a couple rough moments of pacing in the underwater segments, but it doesn't drag the film down too badly.
TB is a great, classic entry in the Bond series, particularly enjoyable thanks to Connery still in top form (as he was in all his first four outings). To date, it's the only fourth entry by a Bond actor that I think is particularly good, the other ones being MR, DAD, and SP - all closer to the bottom section of my ranking. But TB is pretty great overall - a lot of fun, and certainly a bit sentimental for me!
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Live and Let Die
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Licence to Kill
13. The Living Daylights
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. The World Is Not Enough
16. The Man with the Golden Gun
Roger Moore’s performance in the film isn’t particularly impressive for the most part; for me personally, it’s his least unique and most “coasty” Bond performance. Still, he has some good moments. The Bond girls also don’t particularly impress me. I think Holly Goodhead’s character is fine, but Lois Chiles’s acting is a bit too wooden too often IMO. Hugo Drax makes for a decent main villain, and Jaws gets some really good moments. John Barry’s soundtrack is pretty darn good, and I personally am a big fan of the title song.
Some scenes I really enjoy would include: the PTS, Bond in the centrifuge, Bond’s fight with Chang, Bond + Manuela + Jaws at the festival, and the cable car fight. The scenes with Bernard Lee’s M are all very good too - he got a great final turn. Of course, though I have come to really appreciate the good stuff about MR, there are some issues that hold it back. The silly stuff can be a bit much, particularly the double-take pigeon gag and Jaws falling in love. These kind of moments are certainly a bit cringe-worthy, and they could have easily been removed. I also have always been a bit put off by sending Bond to space; the whole climax just isn’t very Bondian, and the Star Wars influence becomes a bit too much. Still, most of the first two-thirds help make this a fun movie.
So, MR will probably stay closer to the bottom part of my list, but successfuly stays above the very bottom. It’s kind of like a more extreme TSWLM - certainly another epic-type Bond film. There’s plenty to like, but also stuff here and there to be put off by. No doubt though, it does entertain.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Live and Let Die
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Licence to Kill
13. The Living Daylights
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. Moonraker
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. The Man with the Golden Gun
My biggie has always been watching the Bond actor, and assessing him accordingly. As a result of this I have always, and I mean always been a vocal critic of Timothy Dalton, for his theatrical performances, terrible hair cuts and ill fitting clothes.
But on Saturday I watched him a little closer than ever, and for once I found a lot more subtlety than before. I saw moments that I had probably ignored. A scene on a tram as he watched Kara's arrest unfold, his initial interaction with Kara in her ransacked apartment, some of his moments with Koskov and Saunders. There was a lot there that I should really have given him credit for.
OK, he still over does it at times, and I hate his hair in the scenes with Q, Moneypenny and at the safe house, but I don't want to nit-pick at a time when I'm feeling magnanimous to the chap.
I do love this film, and in two hours Glen manages to create a more memorable, touching and convincing love story between Bond and Kara than the esteemed Sam Mendes managed in roughly the same time in Spectre.
John Barry's wonderful score helps of course, but the film just flows, and maintains my interest throughout.
Well done Tim. I'm now eager to see if I can find something to love in LTK when it comes around (doubtful but you never know), but for now, I'm sort of looking forward to the next time I watch TLD.
Next up Pierece Brosnan's debut GoldenEye
Just curious what is it you didn't like about Tim's hair in the Moneypenny, Q and safe-house scenes? To me it looks pretty much the same throughout the whole film.
To be honest, the one element that keeps me from completely picturing Tim as the truest to Fleming's Bond is that '80's length. I suppose it's all subjective as Fleming didn't go into any great detail regarding Bond's hair length or cut with the exception of LALD. Considering the books were written in the 50's and 60's I picture Bond's hair being cut like Fleming's himself.
I watched TLD the other day and it always hits the spot for me.
Good question. I guess I liked the well groomed Connery/Lazenby/early Moore look, to the longer, scruffier look of the majority of the 80s.
Dalton's hair, as you say, was quite long, but it was the sweep back on top that seemed out of control. In later scenes it was flatter, and I thought suited him more. Hard to pinpoint really.
Pierce Brosnan has a decent Bond performance in his final turn, and is certainly still the film's best aspect. It's a superior performance to his last one from TWINE. I'm not a hater of Halle Berry or Rosamund Pike in general, but their performances and characters in DAD are pretty lacking. Gustav Graves / Colonel Moon is one of the weakest main villains of the series. Zao is a decent villain. Judi Dench has a pretty good turn as M. John Cleese is okay as Q, but I much prefer Desmond Llewelyn and also Ben Whishaw in the role. The score by David Arnold is pretty solid (all his Bond soundtracks are good), but I hate the title song by Madonna - my least favorite Bond title song.
As I mentioned, my experience was particularly frustrating given I was having a good time in the first half and felt like I might finally be coming around to DAD. However, though I should have seen it coming, the second half just hits me like a brick wall as it goes from bad to worse to worst. I'd say the moment they reach the ice palace is when it starts to truly go downhill, and it's just an absolutely unsalvageable mess once Bond is chased by Icarus until the end credits. It's such a poor second half that it just has to seal it as my least favorite EON Bond film. I must reiterate though that almost all the first half is quite acceptable or better (just the bad title song sticks out as lacking in the first half), and the sword fight scene is a delightful series highlight. The PTS, torture montage, scenes in Cuba, homages to past Bond films all help make the first half interesting and fun. So, even though it's a bit of a letdown as a Bond film for me, it's not a complete loss.
There is good about DAD. However, none of it is quite enough to bail it out of last place on my list, or redeem its painful second half. Brosnan certainly deserved a better sendoff, and in general a better run as James Bond. One more thing I can say though is that without DAD, there is probably no CR (my #1!), and so that is the best thing to come from Brosnan's swansong for me. As I've finished DAD, now the only Bonds left standing in this marathon are Connery, Moore, and Craig - and Craig will soon be gone as well with just SP left and up next.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Live and Let Die
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Licence to Kill
13. The Living Daylights
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. Moonraker
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. The Man with the Golden Gun
18. Die Another Day
I’ve got SP up tomorrow, then YOLT later this week. Bond vs. SPECTRE outings.