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My favourite Bond book ruined just to cash-in on Star Wars. Had another film been made in 1979 instead as the outlandish peak of the films, a faithful adaption of Moonraker would have made for a perfect stripped back, down to earth, thriller.
Silver Anniversary Bondathon
1. The Living Daylights
2. Licence To Kill
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. Octopussy
5. The World Is Not Enough
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. GoldenEye
8. Skyfall
9. Casino Royale
10. SPECTRE
11. No Time To Die
12. Die Another Day
13. Moonraker
14. A View To A Kill
15. Quantum Of Solace
Spy has to be Moore's most relaxed performance as Bond. And Golden Gun is so... awfully written. Bond acts like an arse (at times Moore looks uncomfortable), M starts off irritated for no reason, and gets more annoyed as the films goes on, and even Moneypenny sounds like she has had enough of Bond even before he opens his mouth. That said, Lee is fantastic as Scaramanga, I like the score, the car chase is good as is the Bond v Scaramanga duel.
Silver Anniversary Bondathon
1. The Living Daylights
2. Licence To Kill
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. Octopussy
5. The World Is Not Enough
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Skyfall
10. Casino Royale
11. SPECTRE
12. The Man With The Golden Gun
13. No Time To Die
14. Die Another Day
15. Moonraker
16. A View To A Kill
17. Quantum Of Solace
Die Hard
Batman Returns
Lethal Weapon
The Long Kiss Goodnight
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
A Christmas Story
A Christmas Carol (Alastair Sim)
and more…
TWINE was fun as always, I even like Denise Richards. A lot of the film looked muddy though- I'm talking about the colour palate... but then it is an oil-based film (see what I did there?).
DAD was not as fun this time around. The washes used in certain scenes irked me. A lot of light blues & grays. The Cuba scenes always look great, though. And this time around I found Halle REALLY annoying, more so than usual. Probably shoulda watched GE instead.
Continues to be an absolute joy in my eyes. It's Glen's only film with a palpable sense of atmosphere (the juxtaposition between the high-adventure in India and the distinct Cold War flavor in Germany/Europe is wonderful and keeps things lively). It also has a great sense of place, to boot, which is important given said juxtaposition.
Moore's performance, while perhaps not his best, is capable as always, and the cast of characters never fails to make me smile. Magda is perhaps my favorite "secondary" Bond girl in the entire franchise (if not, she's close). Maud Adams plays the *only* leading lady in the Moore era who feels genuinely realistic as a partner for his 007, and they have wonderful chemistry.
The action scenes are some of the better in the series (Glen's films all excel in this department, in my opinion). I love the PTS - an exciting escapist romp of a mini-film. The best direct comparison is TND's opener, but this one is far more fun. The train sequence is an exhilarating precursor to SF, and the stunts and action throughout are great.
The humor, by and large (exception: Tarzan) works for me. Moore could sell anything. Kamal Khan, Gobinda, Vijay, more Q. It rules.
Lastly, the clown scene, which many decry as the nadir of Moore's tenure, is easily one of the finest of his entire run. Poetic that the man who many claim to be clownish delivers his most legitimately suspenseful scene dressed as one. The cuts to the oblivious children, and Bond's (rare) sense of desperate urgency really sell it.
I concur!
With more time and more viewings I have become even firmer in my divided opinion on this film. There is much that works, but it is mired down in these long emotional gambits that fall short for me, more so as I become intimately familiar with the film. Part of me leans towards the thought that they should have dropped Madeleine entirely, but then too much of the infrastructure crumbles away, you'd have to start from scratch and this whole "What If?" exercise is pointless. Though I do not mind the character of Matilde or the idea of her existence, that is where I would make the cut. Along with taking away that element I would scrap so much of the repetitive, emotionally laden, laborious dialogue centered around the Bond/Madeline relationship. And, of course, he escapes the island.
What is left is a stripped down, classic Bond film with world-ending stakes. Not a Bond film trying so hard to transcend being a Bond film.
I think Live And Let Die has become the meh film in my ranking. There's nothing "bad" about it, but at the same time, it doesn't quite tickle my fancy. And as for Diamonds Are Forever, it's sleazy, scummy and tacky, and I can now breathe a sigh of relief that it is now out of the way.
Silver Anniversary Bondathon
1. The Living Daylights
2. Licence To Kill
3. Tomorrow Never Dies
4. Octopussy
5. The World Is Not Enough
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Skyfall
10. Live And Let Die
11. Casino Royale
12. SPECTRE
13. The Man With The Golden Gun
14. No Time To Die
15. Die Another Day
16. Moonraker
17. A View To A Kill
18. Diamonds Are Forever
19. Quantum Of Solace
OHMSS is still a jewel in the Bond crown. And YOLT will always have a special place in my heart, it was afterall, the first Bond film I watched, but I don't hold it up as high as I used to.
Silver Anniversary Bondathon
1. The Living Daylights
2. Licence To Kill
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. Tomorrow Never Dies
5. Octopussy
6. The World Is Not Enough
7. For Your Eyes Only
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. You Only Live Twice
10. GoldenEye
11. Skyfall
12. Live And Let Die
13. Casino Royale
14. SPECTRE
15. The Man With The Golden Gun
16. No Time To Die
17. Die Another Day
18. Moonraker
19. A View To A Kill
20. Diamonds Are Forever
21. Quantum Of Solace
One of the odd ducks of the Bond series, for sure, and always a treat. This one lives and dies on how much you buy into its brand of dark comedy that meets pure farce (Bond making out with himself, Blofeld in drag, many of the peripheral characters). In fact, I'd go so far as to say this is the only Bond film in the series that is an outright comedy (MR is more of a spectacle blockbuster film with slapstick/camp as opposed to being purely comedic). Barry's score oftentimes seems fully aware that this is a Bond film that lacks some of the grandeur and importance of other entries.
Either way, it's a fun time. It has risen and fallen for me over the years simply depending on how much I was on its sardonic wavelength. Connery is fantastic, as is Jill St. John.
It feels like this was more inspired by CR67 than by the novel.
Well, full of Christmas din/booze, what better way to put in the afternoon then watching my number 1 Bond movie! Never a bad viewing, its simply glorious in every way, from Laz sassy gunbarrel pose, through to fantastic location work, excellent characters, Tellys imposing Blofeld, Dianas sensual,wonderful Tracy, cracking action set pieces, John Barry at the top of his game,and that shocker finale ( eat your heart out NTTD!)
Great viewing as always!
Thunderball
Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
Dr No
Silver Anniversary Bondathon
1. The Living Daylights
2. Licence To Kill
3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4. From Russia With Love
5. Tomorrow Never Dies
6. Octopussy
7. The World Is Not Enough
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. Dr No
10. The Spy Who Loved Me
11. You Only Live Twice
12. GoldenEye
13. Skyfall
14. Live And Let Die
15. Goldfinger
16. Casino Royale
17. Thunderball
18. SPECTRE
19. The Man With The Golden Gun
20. No Time To Die
21. Die Another Day
22. Moonraker
23. A View To A Kill
24. Diamonds Are Forever
25. Quantum Of Solace
NTTD & QOS need to be switched, but otherwise an amazing list!
I watched it earlier in December for my Xmas viewing. NTTD doesn't come close. An absolute joy whenever I watch it.
Hhmm... looking at just those two, presents me with a bit of a dilemma. For the most part (see up until the ending) NTTD is better overall than QOS. The problem with NTTD comes at the end, which I thoroughly dislike, and because of that, it makes me not want to watch NTTD again. I have only seenNTTD once so far.
Now I have the bluray I can scrutinise it to my hearts content. This was only my second viewing and I bloody enjoyed it again. The PTS is really well done. Love all the stuff in Jamaica and the Cuba stuff all still holds up.
The Bond/M scene is better than I remember it, as is the Blofeld confrontation, even if his big entrance is rather silly.
Love all the stuff in Norway and the Safin island climax is well shot and exciting. The ending for me doesn't have the same power on a second viewing. It's horribly contrived and should IMO been left ambiguous. Perhaps when I watch it in future I'll turn off before the end...
It's Miles better than SP though and Fukunaga 's direction is first class. The dialogue is snappy and Zimmer’s score has grown on me. Hoping it will get better with each subsequent viewing, even if that ending drags it down.
My bloody 4k copy hasn't arrived as it should before end of December as it was meant to!
Oh, well, something to look forward to in the long month ahead!
No mate. As far as I'm concerned my Craig ranking is now set in stone.
My love for CR and QoS is well known, and SF is just a better film all round.
It's better than SP though...😁
I love this I know everyone hates it I know I shouldn’t love it but man is this just such a guilty pleasure I wish there was a second episode with Nelson
The one little thing I still can’t get behind…
Oh, and also:
I actually didn’t mind it much this third time around (nor did I the first two times). It’s the end of Craig’s run, James Bond will return, onward to B26 and Bond #007. I do wish we didn’t have a shot actually showing Bond being annihilated, but really that’s it. I’m sure it will be as natural to me as a double-taking pigeon in no time.
I also forgot how much Fleming was used from both OP and TPOAL short stories. This is how it is done properly, P&W. Take note.
Also, apart from the silly escape scene in India, the rest of the film is rather serious in tone, arguably on par with FYEO. I actually think this is just as grounded, and may be slightly better overall too.
And the thing about all the Moore flicks, it left you on a high when the end credits rolled...
In a parallel universe, Sliding Doors style, there is another Bond film by the same name, which has a similar plot, but Felix doesn't die, Madeline is no longer in the film, neither is the daughter, neither is Safin, neither is a female 007.
Instead, Blofeld has escaped and is holed up on his island, and Bond goes in (alone) through the poisonous garden to kill him. Once he does (`Die Blofeld, die!'), he escapes injured on a balloon, not knowing who he is, and meets a Japanese girl at a nearby village.
The last part of the film mirrors the final part of CR, where the film takes a different turn, focusing on a personal love story. Bond becomes a fisherman and lives a simple life in love with this Japanese girl, until one day he sees the word `Russia' in a newspaper which sounds familiar. He then sets off sail there, saying a tearful farewell to the Japanese woman he leaves behind (make her pregnant, if you want to add extra drama).
I know which film I would have preferred...
Finally got to sit down and have my first viewing on the small screen. To start with, it looks and sounds fantastic in 4k! I was hoping this would be better than my very first view in the cinema....and it was...in spades! The first hour is sheer perfection, doesn't put a foot wrong, cracking pts, titles ( and though I wouldn't listen to the theme on its own, it works really well with Kleinmans titles), cast are superb, Craig is fantastic, opening raid, Bond in Jamaica, Bonds meet with Felix, and I really adore the Cuba set piece, and the scenes on the boat after. It slows down after that, but scenes I had big issues with, Bond confronting M, Blofeld scene, and Safin meets Madeleine, played much better now. Even the action in Norway and the climax were more thrilling this time! As for THAT ending, it actually did raise a slight lump in my throat, and I didnt mind the use of my beloved OHMSS theme this time! All in all a very positive viewing, Oh, and a definite shout out to Linus cinematography, beautiful throughout! Have to review my rankings definitely!
Deary me mate, what a turnaround 😄
My third viewing was the most I've enjoyed the film. Craig’s performance really hit home. Ranking it will be difficult!