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Yes, LTK is the last of the classic Bonds. Between this and GE, we lost a lot of the founding members.
That’s awesome. I wanted to do something similar but figured I’d just wait until closer to release. I have three films left, trying to stretch them out now after watching CR today so I can finish as close to NTTD’s release as possible.
I’ve always respected GE for breathing new life into the series after its hiatus, but I’ve never warmed to it, the way some fans have. Yet that is changing. First GE was the modern film. Then, later, is was the dated film. Now, 26 years later, it’s the retro film. A curious blending of the Cubby classic pictures and the modern Barbara movies.
I often forget how much meaty dialogue is in GE. Whole swathes of cracking dialogue. ‘tis a good script. The best old Pierce would enjoy, alas. I do like Brosnan’s performance in this. I admire his restraint. No gurning. No foibles and ticks that would define Brosnan as he got comfortable in the role. A steely restraint, befitting of an English secret agent.
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Thunderball
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. Dr. No
5. The Living Daylights
6. Licence to Kill
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Goldfinger
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. Octopussy
11. GoldenEye
12. Live and Let Die
13. A View to a Kill
14. You Only Live Twice
15. Moonraker
16. Diamonds Are Forever
17. The Man With The Golden Gun
Classy, sleek and thrilling, TND is a great sophomoric outing for Mr. Brozz, at least until the final act, when action fatigue hits in. Brosnan improves on his debut performance, the always classy Yeoh is good value, probably the best of Bond’s comrades in arms, and does Pryce want cheese with that ham sandwich? Delicious. Hatcher is the least egregious of the American stunt casting that plagued the Brosnan era. Though I couldn’t help but laugh when “did I get to close for comfort” crawled out of her mouth. Monica Beullci? Sure, I could believe that Bond was invested in Paris. But a TV hack?
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Thunderball
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. Dr. No
5. The Living Daylights
6. Licence to Kill
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Goldfinger
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. Octopussy
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. GoldenEye
13. Live and Let Die
14. A View to a Kill
15. You Only Live Twice
16. Moonraker
17. Diamonds Are Forever
18. The Man With The Golden Gun
This is a novel film. It tries different things to shake up the formula. The execution is lacking however. It’s always a delight, however, to watch Sophie Marceau fantastic performance, ranging from bird with a wing down, to sheer and hammy megalomaniac, with slight daddy issues.
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Thunderball
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. Dr. No
5. The Living Daylights
6. Licence to Kill
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Goldfinger
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. The World Is Not Enough
11. Octopussy
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. GoldenEye
14. Live and Let Die
15. A View to a Kill
16. You Only Live Twice
17. Moonraker
18. Diamonds Are Forever
19. The Man With The Golden Gun
Within the first few moments of DAD, I was stuck by how fake it appeared. The unconvincing green screen, the models, the obvious sets when Bond walks out on the ship in Hong Kong harbour. The colour grading, from desaturated to over saturated throughout the course of the movie. Not helping the almost parody-esque feel, is the script.
Yet, DAD has some spunk to it. A real sense of moxie. Which, arguably, the other three Brosnan films don’t. I do think that this picture, represents Brosnan at his best. He has an ownership to the role. Slightly more restrained compared to TWINE. Less of Brosnan’s ticks. Which makes me enjoy his undeniable coolness more. Certainly Brosnan deserved a better closing line than “especially when you’re bad”
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Thunderball
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. Dr. No
5. The Living Daylights
6. Licence to Kill
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Goldfinger
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. The World Is Not Enough
11. Octopussy
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. GoldenEye
14. Live and Let Die
15. A View to a Kill
16. You Only Live Twice
17. Moonraker
18. Diamonds Are Forever
19. The Man With The Golden Gun
20. Die Another Day
We’ve not seen such emotional rawness since Lazenby. I haven’t been this captivated by a Bond since Connery in TB. Exceptionally acted, exceptionally photographed and exceptionally directed.
15 years on, and CR still thrills me.
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
3. Thunderball
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
5. Dr. No
6. The Living Daylights
7. Licence to Kill
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. Goldfinger
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. The World Is Not Enough
12. Octopussy
13. Tomorrow Never Dies
14. GoldenEye
15. Live and Let Die
16. A View to a Kill
17. You Only Live Twice
18. Moonraker
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. The Man With The Golden Gun
21. Die Another Day
Quantum of Solace, 2008
You know, I wasn’t a fan of Quantum when I first saw it. But since then, I have come to love it. Its tautness and leanness. Ignore the frenzied editing. Look at this as a character study on Bond. Daniel underplays the conflicting emotions superbly. A man mixed with grief, duty, guilt and anger, searching for his Quantum of Solace.
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
3. Thunderball
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
5. Dr. No
6. The Living Daylights
7. Quantum of Solace
8. Licence to Kill
9. The Spy Who Loved Me
10. Goldfinger
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. The World Is Not Enough
13. Octopussy
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. GoldenEye
16. Live and Let Die
17. A View to a Kill
18. You Only Live Twice
19. Moonraker
20. Diamonds Are Forever
21. The Man With The Golden Gun
22. Die Another Day
The first half of this movie is just exquisite. Seeing an apathetic Bond called back from death by a vague sense of duty. So many Flemingesque touches scattered throughout, such as Bond prowling like a caged tiger when Moneypenny comes to collect him in MI6’s new digs, similar to the literary FRWL, when Bond makes more of a nuisance to his fellow MI6 staffers, when he is assigned to night duty.
Severine is just a joy to behold. Her dialogue with Bond is amongst the best of the series. Yet when Bond calls for back up, the movie takes a minor, yet noticeable dip in quality. It goes from showing Bond’s apathy and struggle to find the “old 007”, into more of an expository piece. Still, a worthy 50th anniversary treat.
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
3. Thunderball
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
5. Dr. No
6. The Living Daylights
7. Quantum of Solace
8. Licence to Kill
9. The Spy Who Loved Me
10. Skyfall
11. Goldfinger
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. The World Is Not Enough
14. Octopussy
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. GoldenEye
17. Live and Let Die
18. A View to a Kill
19. You Only Live Twice
20. Moonraker
21. Diamonds Are Forever
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
23. Die Another Day
If you asked me about where I would rank SP, just after the Hinx fight, I will probably say, top three. Craig is smoothly nonchalant, Lea Seydoux is simply beguiling and the whole film is shot with an almost languorous quality.
Then that languid quality becomes ponderous. Not helping is Newman’s droning score. Worse of all though, is Brofeld’s motivation - “Daddy didn’t love me enough”, so very petty.
Rankings -
1. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
3. Thunderball
4. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
5. Dr. No
6. The Living Daylights
7. Quantum of Solace
8. Licence to Kill
9. The Spy Who Loved Me
10. Skyfall
11. Goldfinger
12. Spectre
13. For Your Eyes Only
14. The World Is Not Enough
15. Octopussy
16. Tomorrow Never Dies
17. GoldenEye
18. Live and Let Die
19. A View to a Kill
20. You Only Live Twice
21. Moonraker
22. Diamonds Are Forever
23. The Man With The Golden Gun
24. Die Another Day
No Time to Die, 2021
I started this particular Bondathon on the 6th of September. 25 films in 25 days. I always say that watching a Bond film is like catching up with an old friend.
Hope you enjoyed the show. Goodnight.
After it comes out on home media.
Despite it's well documented flaws, I found myself soaking up the sights and sounds and general atmosphere of Japan, and that surprisingly gives it the edge over TSWLM. I find Spy's pacing and score off-putting too many times to ignore.
Licence to Kill
A movie I like and enjoy. Still not sure if I enjoy it as a Bond movie. Dalton feels more like Bond in TLD. Here, he's just a man on a revenge mission. So it ends up almost by default in the 3rd quartile in the ranking
Quantum of Solace
I found myself not being engaged at all on this viewing. I thought the editing would at least give it a sense of good pacing and urgency, but there were times I was checking my watch.
1. Casino Royale
2. From Russia With Love
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. Dr No
5. Goldfinger
6. A View To A Kill
7. The Man With The Golden Gun
8. Thunderball
9. You Only Live Twice
10. The Spy Who Loved Me
11. Skyfall
12. The World Is Not Enough
13. Quantum of Solace
14. Spectre
#24: SP - Same as the last several viewings. I hadn't seen this one in nearly two years and it didn't hold up any better for me this time around. The train fight is alright, the rare bit of score is fairly good and some moments look nice, but everything else is awfully bad, packed with plot issues and is a general bloated mess for me. I'm always stunned at how badly they squander a budget like that and the return of Blofeld like that. Step brothers? C'mon. Ranking Change: None.
#23: SF - Objectively well made and one of the best looking films in the series but it can't be saved by a real lack of escapism, too much focus on backstory and past mistakes that we've never been privy to. There's too much over-choreography, in a sense, of the action, occasionally hampered by rough CGI (why they removed that practical, slo-mo shot of Patrice falling, I'll never know) and it's just way too depressing and serious, I suppose, for my tastes. I was way, way, way too hyped for this one, which likely didn't help. Ranking Change: None.
#22: DAF - Tons of goofiness and an unappealing look at America, sans the flashiness of Las Vegas, it's pretty one note and as '70s as it gets for me. I absolutely love that elevator fight (it's one of the best in the series), Wint and Kidd make a great duo villain, and Tiffany Case offers some occasional sass that's in good fun, but other than that, it starts and ends real poorly and there isn't much else on offer. Ranking Change: -3.
#21: TMWTGG - It's an incredible premise and pretty fantastical but it's rather wasted as a whole. This almost always ends up in the last few places for me - the cast is weak and forgettable, Christopher Lee isn't given much to work with and it's overblown in how outrageous it gets. I do love the return of Sheriff J.W. Pepper greatly, though - think he might even be one of my favorite characters of the series now - and the corkscrew jump is great, even if it's ruined by that awful slide whistle. I just wish they could've made this one a lot stronger, especially with all the Fleming material to fall back on. Ranking Change: -1.
#20: TND - By far Brosnan's weakest installment for me. The whole thing reeks of a pricy 1990's TV movie, from the look of some sets to the sound effects during the fight scenes, where Bond is oddly, questionably squaring up against guys decades older than him and overweight foes who aren't remotely threatening. Wai Lin is serviceable and plausible as a badass Bond Girl but Elliot Carver is a fairly weak villain, despite being played by the tremendous Jonathan Pryce. Stamper is a very good henchman, albeit one who should've had more to work with, as should've the whole evil newspaper tycoon angle. It's played up some but isn't used to its full effectiveness. Ranking Change: +1.
#19: TLD - The opening is excellent, one of my favorites of the series, and I love the political back and forth playing out in the plot. A lot of the villains are snobby and slimy, deliciously so, but don't have a real threatening attitude behind their demeanor. It still has a good cast of characters, sadly one of my lesser favorite Bond girls and the locations are pretty gloomy and dull for me. Not my favorite of Dalton's two but at least he's pretty excellent here (when he's not too overly giddy about things). Ranking Change: +3.
#18: DAD - This one absolutely has some of the worst scenes in the series objectively and invites a lot of criticism with its choices - the gene therapy angle, the cringe dialogue, the infamous para-surfing scene that looks even worse than a video game, Jinx's performance for the most part, the overall nonsensical approach the movie takes - but damn it, if this one isn't a blast for me. It was my first Bond installment in cinemas (I'll forever be happy that I got to see a Brosnan film in theaters at the time) and there's still a lot to enjoy here: the PTS in its entirety is incredible, along with Bond's torture, the Cuba sequences, the sword fight at Blades, the VR sequence at MI6, the ice chase between Bond and Zao, etc. If they didn't take it to such sci-fi extremes and maybe kept up with Moon as the main villain throughout, drawing on North Korea as a rare adversary for the series, there could be a Top 10 or Top 15 Bond movie in here somewhere, and it very well may have changed the future of the series (particularly Craig's era) had they done so. It's interesting to think about. Ranking Change: None.
#17: TB - The only thing that saves this from being my least favorite of Connery's era is how awful DAF can be. Much like SF, there are a TON of aspects in this film that are as classic as they come, particularly the gorgeous location that's very well utilized and the Bond girls. The score is excellent in some key areas and the Shrublands scenes are pure gold. They're some of the best in the series. However, the film has several pacing issues with me and always feels longer than the runtime states, with the underwater sequences overstaying their welcome especially. I know it's sacrilege but there are a few aspects of NSNA that I actually prefer to this. Please don't hate me. Ranking Change: -1.
#16: LTK - No real knock against this film, there are simply lots of others that I prefer way more. Dalton is great here, even if a lot of his fight scenes are quite cheesy and he offers up some real goofy pain faces (something Brosnan is constantly getting knocked down for). It plays out like an extended, grittier version of a Miami Vice episode, interestingly so, and we get to see Bond going rogue and teaming up with close friends and allies to get revenge for his dear friend Felix. The film is packed with lots of great and instantly recognizable henchmen, even the ones lurking in the background, and this is an aspect I'd love to see the series return to consistently. Ranking Change: +1.
#15: OP - I hate ranking this one this low and I'm upset that it dropped so many places for me in my ranking this time around. I guess the bad slightly outweighed the good for me this time around, like the Bond theme attracting 007's attention, the lazily packed-in amount of stereotypes in the India chase sequences, that goofy carnival-esque rescue sequence with Octopussy's girls that acts as a finale to what should've been the real finale (the bomb defusal at the actual circus, which is one of the best crafted and more tense action sequences of the entire series for me). Simply put, this is one of the few installments where no matter what it's ranked, no matter how I might feel after a recent viewing, I still like to classify it as underrated, exciting and one of my favorites. Kudos to Jourdan and Berkoff for playing some of the best, most twisted villains of the era. Ranking Change: -5.
#14: AVTAK - Another one of my favorites and it very well may be the highest I've ever ranked it (or so I thought - I've had it much higher before, which is surprising, as I was quite proud of how high up it landed for me this time). Look, Moore is way past his prime here and there are several cringe-worthy moments, especially the fight sequences packed with old men and obvious stunt doubles performing the most simplistic of moves, but it's perfect '80s cheese and I love it. Walken is having a blast, making for one of my favorite, larger-than-life villains of the entire series, Moore is still a treasure, as always, and the supporting cast is pretty brilliant (sans Chuck Lee, who's utterly useless and doesn't make an impact for me. Hell, even Bond shrugs him off after Chuck offers appreciation for working with the legendary 007.) Moore gets a bit of revenge to steam toward while simultaneously saving millions of people. It's good, it's funny, the action is pretty solid and I usually find myself loving a lot of the aspects that others hate (I'll forever enjoy the 'California Girls' bit in the PTS), for some reason. This film always clicked with me as a kid and now, decades on, it still manages to do so. Ranking Change: -3.
#13: LALD - This one was my favorite of Moore's for many, many years, it seemed, but has been knocked down a bit in my last couple of viewings. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, unless you're offended by the casual sense of racism permeating throughout, but I guess other installments of his have been elevated more as this one has gone down in my estimations. It's still one of the more unique installments for me - a heavily black cast, voodoo and supernatural, all feeling larger than life and so much more complex and ominous when it's really about a guy cornering and cutting off the drug market for profit. It's a very cool entry vehicle for Moore and has a lot to enjoy - the endless boat chase, the introduction of Sheriff Pepper, the crocodile farm, all the voodoo on display and the manipulation of fates via tarot cards. It has such a unique spice and flavor to it and is a cracking good time anytime I fire it up. Ranking Change: -5.
#12: MR - This is another one that really surprised me this go around. If there's one film I've been looking upon much more favorably and interestingly in the past few years, it's MR. The score? Perfection. The locales? Gorgeous, breathtakingly so. The action? Varied, even if it's bogged down at times with cheesy space effects that are better left unquestioned or double-taking pigeons. Some of it really doesn't work for me but this is as epic as the definition allows and is nothing if not fun and escapist in nature. Ranking Change: +2.
#11: TSWLM Monumental in scope and exotic in flavor, TSWLM moves up one space and is much more entertaining for me than the previous viewing. Moore is great, Jaws is excellent, and I'm a big sucker for those army-vs.-army battles that usually fill up some of these finales. They're exciting as hell and it's one more element I'd like to see occasionally make a return - it's OK if Bond asks for help from time to time, especially when the stakes are so high and the number of forces is too much to bear. I love the focus on the submarines, their theft, and the balance it has with leading Stromberg to his inevitable dream of life under water. He makes some good points, even if he's clearly unhinged, and his death sequence is one of my favorites - short, simple, to the point and very personal in how Bond takes his time placing his shots carefully. Ranking Change: +1.
#10: CR - We hit the Top 10 and I'm very surprised to see how much this one dropped in ranking for me. Again, nothing particularly wrong with it, save a few moments that do drag a little for me or aren't as thrilling as others (like the airport scene or the falling house finale). The twists and the emotional beats hit as powerfully as they did back in the theater in 2006 and Craig's introduction into the shoes of 007 is great as always. He brings a lot of grittiness and power to the role - it's almost shocking seeing how great he looks, how built he is walking out of the ocean - that I really, really enjoyed with these first two installments. The entirety of the parkour chase, the stairwell fight, the entire card game in Casino Royale, the torture sequence, the PTS - this film is packed with highlights. The only issue this time around is that other films sat with me much more positively and made some surprising impacts and opinion tweaks. Ranking Change: -5.
#9: TWINE - One of the biggest shocks in this Bondathon for me is how high this one sits, even cracking my Top 10. It's always been my second favorite of Brosnan's but it really, really stood out to me this time in how exciting this journey is, where Bond starts out confused, lost, unsure of what's going on, now injured, then slowly piecing together context clues and blunt evidence before the full picture comes into play and he understands what's going on, now racing against time to once again save millions and his very own boss while simultaneously tackling any feelings of guilt he might have over his feelings for Elektra and now having to put her down. The action is a highlight here for me, some of the best in the series, from its intimate disarming fights to the sweeping Thames River chase or the skiing/parahawk sequence. The assault at Zukovsky's is excellent, too, with Bond using his gun and his wits to take out several enemies and even a couple of buzzsaw-helicopters. I love it, even if many others don't. Ranking Change: +6.
#8: FYEO - This is another one that's always been special to me, even upon my first viewing of it many years back, but I think now, I can definitively say that this is my favorite of Moore's era, an era of highs and lows, but when the highs are on, they're really, really on. It's just too damn consistent in its set pieces, its action, its character interactions, its sense of revenge and urgency of mission for me not to love. The good guys through the bad guys, the Bond girls and more, the cast here is simply tremendous; I really feel for those who perish and I heartily enjoy when certain folks meet their fate, particularly Locque (that entire sequence in general is perfection, with Bond's heavy breathing filling the quiet air as he races up the steps to get ahead of him and destroy him). Melina is one of my favorite Bond girls, no question, and she and Bond share some pretty great chemistry that never feels overblown (I always smile at Bond's "I love a drive in the country" line, which, to me, always seems to get a big, genuine laugh out of her before the shot cuts to the next part of the chase). I love this film so much, and have even warmed more and more to the score over the years, which I now find very fitting and exciting for the most part. Ranking Change: -1.
#7: GF - Without question the most iconic and classic installment of the series, to the point that there's simply way too much to even list, from a gold-painted girl to Oddjob to the vehicles to the dialogue. There isn't much, if anything, that this film doesn't get right, and I always enjoy the rather unique nature of the proceedings, where Bond goes from chasing down Goldfinger and his men several times before being treated to some false hospitality, spending the back half of the film in his care while he uses his own spy skills to learn more about the situation and hopefully, maybe get some foes on his side to help save the day. The odds are stacked against him mightily and he manages to do so. However, out of all the good this film offers, my favorite takeaway each time is the relationship Bond and Goldfinger have. Bond interferes with GF's card scheme and is knocked out, leaving Jill's body as a warning, which doesn't deter Bond. He then goes to beat him on the golf course, further unveiling the cheating personality of Goldfinger. Even here, the two acknowledge one another, where they come from and what sort of people they are. Goldfinger could easily have Bond killed, but what does he do? He accepts that he lost, pays Bond his winnings, once again notes that he knows what's going on, and STILL gives Bond the opportunity to stop and keep his life. Of course, Bond opts not to do so, leading to the events of the rest of the film, but it's rare that you get to enjoy a villain who knows trouble is coming but doesn't take extraordinary measures until he absolutely must. It's a refreshing dynamic. Ranking Change: +2.
#6: YOLT - A great installment, through and through. I've never had the same problems with this that others have and I really don't take issue with Connery's performance. Japan is gorgeous, and anyone who has seen me mention it time and time again over the years would know that I really love it when an installment focuses heavily on one particular country. There's something special about it, it makes the mission feel even more serious when Bond has all the trouble locked down to one area and it gives the locale even more time to breathe and come to life on screen. All of the action surrounding Osato's building, the scenes at the wharf (and that sweeping rooftop one shot), and Bond's inevitable infiltration of the volcano, among other things, are some of the big highlights here. Pleasence is a great Blofeld and Aki is one of my favorite Bond girls in the series, no question. Her death always hits hard. Ranking Change: None.
#5: FRWL - I've always appreciated FRWL for what it is and acknowledged it's one of the most classic installments in the series, absolutely oozing in class and detail and intrigue, but this is probably the biggest change I've seen from it yet and one of the highest spots it's ever ranked for me. It's such a sinister and backstabbing film, I love it - I love the politics, I love watching all the spectacle and back-and-forth machinations take part, watching enemies assist Bond so they can get a one-up on his plans and have him accomplish tasks for them. Bond knows it's a trap, but does he know how high up the chain it goes, how dedicated the major players are to its success? Everything, top to down here, is special - Kerim Bey is one of my favorite allies, the tastes of local flavor we get interspersed with the main story are exciting, and that train fight is as great as it gets, as is seeing Bond on the run, constantly crafting new plans and making new maneuvers to get him, the girl and the case to safety, whatever it takes. Ranking Change: +8.
#4: DN - I think at this rate, DN will always be classified as my favorite of Connery's. I can't remember the last time one of his other installments beat it in the rankings. It's cracking perfection for a first installment in a series that surely no one involved would've ever dreamed would grow so big and still be shattering records to this day - the spicy beauty of the locale, so heavily featured throughout almost the entire runtime, the mystery, both social and physical, of the main villain, the group of allies and adversaries, the simple spy thriller elements, where Bond does way more investigating and playing head-games than he does fighting or shooting. It's a unique installment that I'll forever be grateful I have to enjoy. They certainly don't make them like this anymore but I'd love to see something this stripped back once again some day. Ranking Change: None.
#3: OHMSS - Yet another that's sweet perfection through and through for me. Classic in so many ways, OHMSS is a terrific one-and-done outing for Lazenby where he excels on screen as the legendary 007 and makes me yearn for even more from him. It's got the greatest love story in the series, all set around Christmas, with snow heavily featured and one major location shifting to the next as things go south and Bond has to adapt to the situation while simultaneously saving the day and hopefully getting the girl. The fights are stellar, the cinematography is my favorite in the series (the way a lot of the scenes look unnecessarily dark is so great to me) and the characters are all terrific (doesn't get much cooler than Bond teaming up with Mafia figures to stop Blofeld and unexpectedly fall in love). It really is as great as the '60s era gets and will almost always hover around the Top 3 - 5 for me. I'm even surprised by the slight tweak in spots it received this time around. Ranking Change: -1.
#2: QoS - The highest the film has ever ranked for me, QoS is arguably the most unique of the series - it works as a direct sequel to CR with absolutely no time to breathe and no time to waste - from the opening moments, the engines rev loudly and we're off, hopping from one perfect action sequence to another. This film runs the full gamut of diversity when it comes to its action, and with the shorter runtime, you're amazed at just how much destruction takes place and saddened by how quickly it ends. Craig's stoic, determined demeanor is a delight (I wish he had kept this same quiet edginess and the series didn't try to inject slapstick and comedy into the proceedings) and I love how he's always got the secret mission of revenge in his back pocket - he wants to stop a sinister plot but he's also happy to use this guy to get the personal answers he seeks. I'll forever feel this movie is criminally underrated and highly artistic and will, hopefully, continue to receive further praise and appreciation as the years go on. From opening night in 2008, where I sat jaw-dropped at times in my seat, to the moments after, sitting on the curb outside the theater, looking at the film's title on the marquee and reflecting on what I just watched, to the four subsequent viewings after, to now, 13 years later, still as big a fan as ever, this film is always going to reign supreme and be one of my favorites. It's exactly what I'm looking for in today's world of Bond. Ranking Change: +1.
#1: GE - Finally, it'll come as no shock or surprise to anyone that GE still remains in first place. Anything is possible but I do not ever see this film being toppled from its status as king of the series, the one that kickstarted my admiration of the series and my love for film as a whole, the movie I happily watched as a kid on VHS, rewound, watched, rewound, ad infinitum, hundreds of times, if not more. I can never get enough of how cool it is, how awesome and capable Brosnan's Bond is, how sweet and sweeping the action is, how award-winning some of the stunts are, how it can manage to feel sweet and romantic yet also dangerous and unforgiving, all mixed in with a really cool cast, an amazing video game adaptation and some of the best moments the series has to offer me. There's so much to love here and I get so focused each time I watch it that virtually nothing else matters and before I know it, the credits are already rolling, surprisingly so. The pacing is just perfect and likely helps me burn through it (on top of knowing virtually every line and every scene and what comes next too). Trevelyan is a great villain, Bond's equal in a lot of ways and an ex-best friend, of sorts, and their inevitable fight is worth the entire buildup - quiet, bloody, impassioned, necessary. This film tops all other action movies for me, due to a lot of nostalgia and bias, and I don't see that ever, ever changing. Ranking Change: None.
1. Casino Royale
2. Diamonds Are Forever
3. Die Another Day
4. Dr. No
5. For Your Eyes Only
6. From Russia with Love
7. GoldenEye
8. Goldfinger
9. Licence to Kill
10. Live and Let Die
11. The Living Daylights
12. The Man with the Golden Gun
13. Moonraker
14. No Time to Die
15. Octopussy
16. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
17. Quantum of Solace
18. Skyfall
19. Spectre
20. The Spy Who Loved Me
21. Thunderball
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. A View to a Kill
24. The World Is Not Enough
25. You Only Live Twice
Did not count “A” or “The,” since that’s how I usually see it done. I like how random most of this looks, with the glaring exception of Craig’s middle three films all in a row. An unfortunate coincidence, but I feel this will be a fun template to tackle next!
Nostalgia brings this one up a notch or two. It's always been in my top 7 and often a strong 1st or 2nd. Campbell's overall direction, and of the characters, makes this a compelling rewatch. Each character's motivations, mannerisms are a joy on each watch. This time the score didn't bother me so here it sits currently in 2nd. Only Octopussy can beat it at this point.
The Living Daylights
I had doubts I would enjoy it more Goldeneye this time round, but Daylights hangs on to number 1 spot, and has been for at least 5 years. It's a thrilling, tense watch from beginning to end. The action, music, performances are spot on for the most part. One of the few Bond films with few faults (in TLD's case there are three out of place scenes that don't spoil my enjoyment)
Diamonds are forever
My pick for the worst quality Bond film, but I always enjoy this for the dialogue, strange assortment of villains and Barry's score. And for that, I can't rank it too low.
Live and Let Die
Hamilton is a one hit wonder (and I question how much of Goldfinger's success is down to him), and his latter three films demonstrate his lack of directorial eye. LALD is an odd one, but has a charm I can't dislike about it. A lot is due to Moore's performance, where I feel he mostly plays himself, but his acting in this and TMWTGG gives him a distinctive flair (I wish they kept his cigar habit throughout his tenure).
1. The Living Daylights
2. Goldeneye
3. Casino Royale
4. From Russia With Love
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. Dr No
7. Goldfinger
8. Licence To Kill
9. A View To A Kill
10. Live and Let Die
11. Diamonds Are Forever
12. The Man With The Golden Gun
13. Thunderball
14. You Only Live Twice
15. The Spy Who Loved Me
16. Skyfall
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. Quantum of Solace
19. Spectre
Spoilers for any of the films, excluding NTTD, are acceptable and more than welcome. If you get to NTTD and wish to share some spoiler-y thoughts, simply spoiler tag them and you're good to go.
I'd imagine once NTTD is out on DVD/blu-ray/4K, we'll open it up for free and open spoiler discussions everywhere then.
Please feel free to include it, just make sure you spoiler tag it (hit the Paragraph button option above the comment box, click spoiler, then add your spoilers in between the lines of code) and you're good!
Come January, I'd imagine, things will be much more free-flowing since we won't have to worry about which spoilers can be discussed where. We might even lift those "restrictions" before then, once it's released worldwide and clearly everyone has had a proper chance to see it.
If you don t get any protests within a couple of days, you should just go ahead.