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What's the very last Bond movie that sucker-punched you (in a good way)?
chrisisall
Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
The last Bond movie you saw in the theatre, that you walked out of going "That was freakin' amazing. I can't wait to see it again!"
For me, that's 1997 with Tomorrow Never Dies. Yep. It's been a while. I like a lot of them, but this was the last one that knocked it out of the park for me.
Yours-?
For me, that's 1997 with Tomorrow Never Dies. Yep. It's been a while. I like a lot of them, but this was the last one that knocked it out of the park for me.
Yours-?
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Comments
I walked out of that theater in Biloxi, Mississippi (I was stationed there at the time and saw it at an actual casino) feeling like I'd just witnessed history Up to that point, I had never walked out of any movie that happy.
I actually left the theatre after SPECTRE feeling rather happy. But it felt like it won by stealing home... no actual home run.
As far as the Bond film that sucker punched me? Probably OHMSS when I finally came of age to appreciate it; ever since then it’s been either my favorite or 2nd favorite
Saw CR in cinemas last year (I missed it first time around) so that was a pinch myself moment too.
As we get away from the Craig Era, the more I feel that it was an era of missed opportunities. Despite my love (with some issues) of the first three entries, the whole fixation on world building and continuity, along with the constant upping the soap opera ante needlessly and sloppily (shocking deaths and secret relations do not equal plot to me), has left a bad taste. If I could I’d wipe out that past decade of the franchise.
TND was the first and only entry that I missed in the theater (or drive-in) upon release since OHMSS.
So I am a younger fan, and of the four I saw upon initial releases in the theaters, SF was the only one to really leave me 110% satisfied, like where I felt like I would barely have changed anything personally. And to this day it's an absolute favorite for me. QOS and NTTD are both held in pretty high regard by me still, but they're not quite in the "elite of the elite" category. SP has tanked since my initial watch; I think my first ranking had it at like #9 or #10, and now it's #23.
Agreed.
And re: the topic at hand, probably Tomorrow Never Dies. The hype machine was in top form for that one and it was my second theatrical Bond outing. To this day it’s the most recent entry I wish the series would look to for inspiration in terms of tone and action set pieces. I remember leaving the theater very happy indeed, several times that holiday season.
CR, as much as I liked it at the time, still had me wincing with some of the dialogue that to this day sometimes sounds a little too smug and overwritten.
DAD: I was about 8 years old when the film came out and for an 8 year old in 2002 who loves Bond, Die Another Day is probably the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was all so high-tech and modern and it left quite an impression.
SF: This one absolutely floored me and delivered on the promise of CR and raised the bar for what a Bond film could be. I thought the subtext around the character/franchise was brilliant, Mendes at the top of his game, a killer performance by Dame Judi, and (imo) the best looking action blockbuster ever made. It’s really the first Bond film I found to be so striking as a film of its own, not just as a Bond film. In fact, I think Skyfall is a better film than it is a Bond movie.
NTTD: I know it’s early but NTTD really blew me away because it felt so much like the Bond film I wanted to be made ever since Casino Royale (right down to the two most controversial aspects), and my dream of Hans Zimmer scoring a Bond film. It’s also the only Bond performance since CR that genuinely surprised me. Narratively the character has an arc, but despite being a little smoother and lighter from SF onwards the performance itself felt pretty static. In NTTD Craig’s performance was quite different from the 4 previous ones, which caught me way off guard in my first viewing. It’s the same man we met in Casino Royale, but a little older, a little wiser, and maybe a little less intense and self-serious, but we see the caged angst from CR and QoS bubble to the surface periodically (particularly in the Matera sequence). Bond had grown up, but he’s still who he is.
SPECTRE and NTTD come second, but there's a distance between them and CR. QOS and SF are films that I had to process and see again a couple of times before really liking them. But they still weren't CR.
CR - The Craig announcement led me to sign up to the old KTBEU forum, so I followed the production closely and was floored by the trailers, even burning them on a DVD! My dad and I went opening day and had first row seats, so had extremely sore necks afterwards but came away extremely happy with the film and this new Bond. The first 40 minutes or so, I was shaking from disbelief how good the film and the action were.
SF - Another premiere night showing, this time a date night with my new girlfriend (and future wife) whom I introduced to the world of Bond shortly beforehand when the 007 Design exhibit was in town. She had only seen CR and DN before. Skyfall was our first IMAX experience, so we were floored by the picture quality and the overall beauty of the film. The drama hit all the right emotional notes.
NTTD - Enough said about this one. The anticipation was unbearable. And the emotional rollercoaster was akin to both CR and SF.
I got punched in the gut especially by NTTD, then SF and CR.
I really love QoS too and it's definitely a top ten for me, but the three films above really made me feel it... Those films dug way past the surface and hit me in my nervous system.
I also go along with the love of Casino Royale, after being in the doldrums during the Brossa era, and thinking we were never going to see a decent Bond movie for an age ( I really thought Brossa was going to do 6 or 7 movies!!) Was thrilled to hear they were dumping him, and though I didnt know much about Craig, just had a feeling they got the right guy. But I wasnt prepared for how superb he and the film were!
I would concur with this @Mathis1
I was gobsmacked at the incredible PTS and then Dalton, who was actually playing the character as Fleming wrote him! Walked out of that film a true Bond fan!
Last was Casino Royale. Craig was the blunt instrument this Fleming fan had been waiting for. And to have a faithful (albeit updated) adaptation of the novel, I walked out of the cinema on cloud 9! And no matter how many viewings it gets, it still impresses me every time.
There's been other great Bond films since them, but LTK really struck a chord for me.
Back then as a stupid little 29 year old who had never read a Fleming novel & was fixated on Batman I missed out on that. Now, Dalton's two are my favourites.
+1 to both, so 3, or would that be 4?
Yeah, same for me. Then QOS made my eyes widen.