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I love the titles, theme song and some of the action is very well executed. Other than that, I find it to be quite a slog and not particularly engaging.
I was never a fan of the PTS or the showdown at the poker table.
It’s a better film than Campbell’s first effort, but still not one I particularly care for.
I know this film has fans, and it's a good film too, but I just prefer other Bond films, I think this has something to do with my personal enjoyment factor.
The action was great, the modern Bond was also done well, Craig was also great in the role, the supporting characters were great, the effects, cinematography (although I prefer Skyfall), the score and the theme song was great.
That's said, my problem with this lies in the plot or the narrative, first of all, I don't buy the relationship with Vesper because of how rushed their romance was, like they've only known each other for weeks then suddenly Vesper was the love of Bond's life?, The ending was not heartfelt or melancholic as the one in the book, the drowning of Vesper in the sinking house was too much over the top, the action that happened didn't helped because it lessened the supposed drama of the film and the intense thrill kicked in, in the book, the only moment was her suicide, it's quiet, no high adrenaline action scenes, just Bond mourning, it's more of a devastating feel than the one I've got in the film, sometimes, the lesser and quiet scenes worked for a greater effect because it's more on the emotions than overplaying it too much (think of Tracy's death in OHMSS, as an example of a great execution with grabbing an emotion, and again, Vesper's death in the book).
The same for the full house in the film, I may see some people fault it as a mistake in the film, but I don't know, I don't know Poker that much, and I prefer Baccarat in the book more, because Baccarat was much more understandable for me than Poker, I'm not a gambler but with the way Fleming executed the game in the book, I've very much got it, the Poker in the film, since I don't understand it, made me a bit snoozed while watching the film.
I prefer the whole gambling scenes in the book, there's more thrill and tension in the book, in the film, it's a bit of a snoozefest.
And yes, the whole film was a bit slow, in terms of pacing, Goldeneye was much more enjoyable, if we're talking of Campbell's two films in the series.
Then some of the dialogues like Vesper's "little finger" line, just felt an out of place in the film.
Then there's Bond getting and destroying in through the walls in the action sequence at the beginning, the dated action sequences very felt like 2000s, especially the Parkour Chase, then how the subsequent films (again, with an exception of Skyfall), ruined this film, making Vesper 23 (very much young to handle such a high position in British Treasury) in the grave in No Time To Die, then they're all a part of Blofeld's plan to destroy Bond because he's jealous of him? For me, SPECTRE ruined this Bond film, because anytime I watch it now, I know that all of these were all interconnected with one another and that was botched, and again, I've never realized that Vesper's really that young in the film, and now, it's hard to buy her in such everytime I'm watching the film, it does affect my perceptions upon my rewatch of the film.
But anyway, it's a good film, but I just prefer others more, and yes, I do prefer the book a bit.
Great PTS, some wonderful action sequences, and Craig is excellent. CR isn't an easy novel to adapt (even just making the gambling scenes visual is tricky) but the film does a marvellous job.
I know some people have specific criticisms of it, the sinking house sequence being an example. I've gone back and forth on it but I think ultimately an action sequence was needed at that point in the film, and it's well done. Others say when you actually think about the plot it makes little sense (ie. why does MI6 feel the need to take on Le Chiffre in the poker game at all? Just arrest him, he's a known terrorist affiliate). As I always maintain I don't think illogical plots in Bond matter unless you notice it on first viewing, which isn't the case for me here.
My only issue is some of the dialogue is a bit ropey (things like the 'little finger' line or even the 'half hit man half monk' stuff doesn't quite work for me). But it's great otherwise.
Craig's performance is downright amazing. He's got to be the coolest Bond ever in this film. Smashing the German's car into other cars, then tossing the keys away like it's nobody's business, then waiting for the alarmed guards to run outside so that he can check the security system... I'm having such good fun with this Bond. Not to mention "shooting up" an embassy while fighting soldiers and still carrying the bomber with him. Never before seen in a Bond. The film is filled with such great examples of Bond at his best.
The PTS rocks, the cast is perfect, the score is one of Arnold's best, the cinematography a work of art... I find this film truly addictive. Saw it when it came out, went back many more times. This is the best Bond ever in my opinion.
After I first saw CR back in early 2007, me and a couple of mates got together and we discussed what we thought of the new film, and the response was, "Wow...Yeah that was pretty amazing." What we knew as a Bond film was taken to a whole other level. I had the opportunity to watch this in the cinema in 2021, and (pinching myself) it was the best experience I've had there in a long time.
What stands out to me but is rarely discussed are the editing techniques. You have some, what I think are modern cut techniques like Dryden pulling the gun from his drawer and an abrupt cut to him swinging and aiming the gun. Same with him knocking the family photo off the table. Then later during the card game you have Vesper trying the martini which transitions as a fade into the felt table shot with, from memory, no music - which gives off a 1960's film vibe. Mixing the old with the new. And on that note, it kicks off a more 'realistic' era and yet we still have the impossible stunts and villains with facial deformities. CR stands as an amazing, cutting-edge Bond classic - not because of, but despite the previous entry.
It does have a few problems though, I find the pace to be spot on until and including the torture scene, but after that it just comes to a complete halt. It is really jarring how it transitions into that third act, which makes the film less rewatchable than my top 5. We suddenly have to spend a lot of time building up the romance, which wouldn’t be necessary, if we had gotten more of it earlier on. The sinking house scene also does nothing for me, which is unfortunate as the betrayal scene prior and the suicide scene afterwards are brilliant.
I think the soundtrack has aged pretty poorly, the title song is great, but Arnold should not have used its melody so much in the score, it feels out of place. Too bombastic. I much prefer the soundtrack of QoS, which feels proper modern or TND, which feels classic in the right way.
It has a great story, superb locations, lovely cinematography, first-class European actors Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen and Giancarlo Giannini; and several awesome individual scenes such as the pts, the parkour chase, the train to Montenegro, the poisoning, the staircase fight, the torture scene and what I consider to be one of the strongest climaxes of the series (perhaps second only to LTK).
Why didn't I put it higher? A few nitpicks. Montenegro seems to be full of signs in Czech, which is also a Slavic language but looks totally different; the little finger dialogue I find a bit cringey, never really liked the 'Bond Begins' angle and the soundtrack is a bit chaotic during a few action scenes.
None of those is a dealbreaker of course, CR is still a top 10 entry for me and may even end up higher when I revisit them all.
The Bond character here doesn't really resemble any previous iteration offered by EON or Fleming, and wouldn't plausibly be a rookie version of those characters either. It's just a new character totally. The action and music could, with the lone exception of the theme at the end, be transplanted into any other generic action movie without anyone being reminded of Bond. And while the emotional beats seem to resonate on a superficial level, most of them revolve around totally inexplicable behavior and motivations on the part of the main characters. Finally, I feel it's been hugely surpassed on a visual level by the four movies that followed it (and probably by the four movies that preceded it).
I liked it quite a bit more when it came out, but it's hard to turn back the clock on the tiny amount of scrutiny I've applied to the plot and characters.
It's not perfect: plenty of the plot beats are somewhat impenetrable, and it doesn't totally feel like a completely fresh start, with a few hangovers from the Brosnan films still in there. And I wish it had the total feeling of style that something like Skyfall has- it's just not quite on that aesthetic level visually or aurally. But it's still absolutely superb.
Forgive me for mentioning, but I notice that you don't really like many Bond films, would that be fair? Nothing wrong with that, people like what they like, but I'm curious how many of them you would count as ones you enjoy?
I think you are confusing like with love.
There are only 7 Bond films I truly love and have in my collection, quite a few that I like very much and some that I still find enjoyable despite their many shortcomings. That leaves about 5-6 movies that I outrsight dislike, which I don't think is unheard of, even for a Bond fan.
20 years ago, the number of Bond movies I really loved was significantly higher but with age, my appreciation for a few of them has greatly diminished.
I dunno, it's fine, we like what we like, but I don't tend to say that about films I like! :) I'm just trying to understand more than anything, it's not a criticism.
It's a near perfect film to me, with a great pts, action and story. Adapting the Fleming original to a more updated setting. The cast is top notch and again cannot be faulted.
Though unlikely to reach a higher position, it's also likely to never drop outside my top 5.
Truly one of the greatest James Bond films.
I think it will be FRWL, but that would fine with me, as both are superb!
Starting with our #2:
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
Directed by Terence Young
"My congratulations, sir. A brilliant coup."
Sean's second Bond outing remains a lauded Bond film with six gold medals, the most out of all the contestants, four silvers, and one bronze.
It also obtained three 4th places, as well as three 5th places. Two more members rated in their top 10: a 6th and a 7th place.
Which means only three participants ranked it outside the top 10, though one of them still rated it in the top half.
The lowest ranking for this one was 21st, on one occasion.
FRWL is one of those films that usually falls into the top 3 or 5 in one of those many Bond film rankings one can find online, here it confirms that fans might even like it a tad more. Which is quite an achievement.
FRWL claims the silver medal with a total of 180 points.
---
That means that our #1 remains:
ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
Directed by Peter Hunt
"(...), what would I do without you?"
The only George Lazenby film ends up on top yet again, with five gold medals, two silvers and six bronzes.
There were also two 4th places and seven finishes between 6th and 10th.
Impressively, that already covers all of OHMSS's votes. The two 10th places that it received were also its lowest scores.
Hence OHMSS doesn't only have the highest lowest score, it ended up in everyone's (!) top 10 as well.
Laz's only stint as Bond may have been reappraised in general, but amongst fans it is even more highly regarded it seems.
OHMSS receives our gold medal, ending the contest with an impressive 187 points.
FRWL is a classic. A riveting spy thriller where each performer was at the top of their game, featuring the greatest showdown between Bond and a villain.
OHMSS is more than a worthy winner.
It’s the only film in the franchise that deserves to be called a masterpiece imo.
Lazenby is terrific and will forever be my second favorite Bond after Sean.
A film that perfectly blends big spectacle action with drama, thanks to Hunt’s brilliant direction and Maibaum stellar script.
It has Barry’s greatest Bond score, the best ski chase sequences, the best Bond girl, the most gorgeous cinematography, the most perfectly gut wrenching ending. It’s just perfect all around.
I didn't expect to see my favorite film (OHMSS) on top and very deservingly so!
Yes, it's my #1! and I love this film, I love OHMSS, my always and forever be my #1!
It's an all around the best, it balances the tone of seriousness, drama, romance, action, thrill, tension, and mystery, a rollercoaster of a ride in enjoyment, best characters, natural, raw and realistic performance, the definitive Ian Fleming James Bond film (not EON's) Ian Fleming would be so proud of this film, the cast were terrific and done all their job well, they've got the characters of how those were written in the book perfectly! Very accurate portrayals, top tier cinematography, score and set pieces, one of the most beautiful Bond films to date, and a film that improved upon the source material like the second act, the climax and the romance, OHMSS may not be my favorite Book, but the improvements and the execution they've done makes it my ultimate favorite Bond film, yes, of all time!
What can I say, as a Fleming purist and a Bond fan, this is an excellent film, one of my most rewatchable Bond films and never cease to amaze and thrill me, high stakes and tension were all in all time high! Christopher Nolan have great taste in films if this is one of his favorites and one that inspired Inception.
FRWL of course is also a worthy one, great tension, great cast performances too, great characters, excellent plot and very accurate depiction of 'James Bond in Cold War' theme, thrill, mystery and intrigue, realistic story too, although it lacks the entertainment factor that OHMSS also provides, and is a bit slow at times, and of course, the cinematography is decent but I do acknowledge the earlier time it was made, Connery and Daniela Bianchi also lacked a bit of chemistry between each other, the score is great, and the theme song is good, but prefer the instrumentals than the one with lyrics with Matt Monro singing, but it's a very worthy placing at #2!
Anyway, I have FRWL at #4.
Both great Bond films, two of the best Bond films!
Thanks again, @GoldenGun 😊
Anyway, I've changed my profile pic to that OHMSS poster you've posted in there 😊
Thank you, @GoldenGun, for another fantastic journey. You are doing great work, sir. This is fun!
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my #1. I think Lazenby is an excellent Bond, and this film is just amazing. It has so many outstanding scenes, some of the action is so mindblowingly ahead of its time, that I cannot believe it was made it the 60s! It is also clearly the most emotional film in the series, it doesn't feel forced like in NTTD for instance.
Here is a controversial opinion: Blofeld is the worst villain in the franchise, the terrible incarnations outshine the good ones, he is good in FRWL and Thunderball, but is barely a character in those as we do not see him. He is awful in YOLT, DAF, FYEO, NSNA, SP and NTTD, making OHMSS the only time where we actually see his face, where he is also a good villain. Salvalas nailed the role.
Here is my full list and their MI6 rankings and difference to mine in brackets:
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (#1 : 0)
2. Thunderball (#9 : -7)
3. Skyfall (#11 : -8)
4. Goldfinger (#5 : -1)
5. GoldenEye (#8 : -3)
6. Casino Royale (#3 : +3)
7. From Russia with Love (#2 : +5)
8. The Living Daylights (#3 : +4)
9. Dr. No (#6 : +3)
10. The World is not Enough (#24 : -14)
11. The Spy who Loved me (#7 : +4)
12. Quantum of Solace (#15 : -3)
13. For Your Eye Only (#12 : +1)
14. Licence to Kill (#13 : +1)
15. Live and Let Die (#14 : +1)
16. Tomorrow Never Dies (#19 : -3)
17. Moonraker (#17 : 0)
18. The Man with the Golden Gun (#21 : -3)
19. Octopussy (#10 : +9)
20. You Only Live Twice (#16 : +4)
21. No Time to Die (#18 : +3)
22. A View to a Kill (#22 : 0)
23. Die Another Day (#25 : -2)
24. Spectre (#20 : +4)
25. Diamonds are Forever (#23 : +2)
Never Say Never Again would have been between For Your Eyes Only and Licence to Kill. Casino Royale '67 would have been below Diamonds are Forever.
Four movies are more than 5 slots off my ranking, with TWINE being in my humble opinion the clearly most underrated film and Octopussy the most overrated.
I appreciate all of Brosnan's output more than average and Dalton's less. I also seem to be more critical of Lewis Gilbert and John Glen than most, agreeing on the rankings of Moonraker and AVTAK, but ranking everything else lower.
FRWL is my favourite Bond film. It always has been. Love how it adapts the source material to have SPECTRE as this puppet master playing both the Russians and British. Unlike DN where Bond is confident and always one step ahead, this time the character legitimately doesn't know what he's walking into. It comes out especially with his interactions with Tatiana, culminating in him confronting her after Kermit's death.
Filmmaking wise, this is one of the best in my opinion, another massive step up from DN. Love the boat explosion and the helicopter chase. The fight with Grant on the train is hands down one of the best fights of the series. It's very Hitchockian in places too, and the idea of showing only Blofeld's hands/with the cat as a sort of cypher is genius.
Connery's great. Armendarez as Kerim Bey is probably the best ally of the series. Shaw is brilliant as Grant, as is Lenya as Klebb.
Excellent score as usual.
The film does an excellent job at balancing several villains, all of whom are memorable in their own right. Not very many Bond films can do this effectively in my opinion. It's also a rather convoluted plot that doesn't confuse the viewer.
I'm not sure if I can find any fault with it as such. Perhaps a lack of main titles song? The PTS isn't quite as grand as we see in later instalments? Nothing major. It's just a gripping and really well done Bond film.
OHMSS was at number 7. It's a film I'm glad has had a re-evalutaion of sorts over the past few decades. Much like FRWL it does an excellent job at adapting the source material and deviating where needed (ie. things like Tracy being captured by Blofeld for the third act ups the stakes a lot more and makes her killing more relevant. We also get rid of the in media res structure of the novel's first third for a more straightforward narrative which is a lot smoother).
It's another excellently crafted film with some wonderful cinematography. Love the ski chases and the assault on Piz Gloria particularly. Some nice fights as well such as the opening and the one in the hotel room (Lazenby's physicality in the role is one of his best attributes).
Generally the cast are very good. Rigg as Tracy is one of the best Bond girls of the series. Savalas as Blofeld is menacing but charismatic (an odd but wonderful choice for the role). Ferzetti as Draco is also very good, as is Steppat as Bunt.
The end of this film is played very well. Hunt as a director knew exactly what was needed from this scene and how it worked in the book (there's a famous story about Lazenby seemingly trying to cry during a take and Hunt telling him not to. Hunt was absolutely correct in my opinion. The sad part of the scene is that Bond has almost shut out completely what's happened due to shock, telling himself 'it's ok, she's having a rest').
Once again, another great score from Barry.
Unlike FRWL I do have some obvious criticisms of the film. Lazenby, unfortunately, is one. He's not a good actor at all. He's not charismatic, has little screen presence, and unfortunately during a few scenes this lack of ability spoils things.
One such moment for me is when Bond gets annoyed at M and threatens to resign. Lazenby plays the scene so awkwardly you barely get a sense that Bond is even annoyed, much less angry enough to do something impulsive and major. He certainly doesn't come across as jaded like in the novel. It's should come across as a big moment but it leaves little impact, and I think it's due to Lazenby's bad performance.
It's obvious when Bond arrives at Piz Gloria the film sees fit to dub Lazenby. It's a really silly decision, but another huge problem is that Lazenby has no ability to play these scenes. Connery and Moore in particular were good at showing Bond having to play a 'character' at certain points. These actors knew that to make that idea work their Bond still had to be in there. They would give the audience those little Bondian looks beneath the played up accents, perhaps a wry reading of a line or two. Lazenby, on the other hand, is too one note. When 'Hillary Bray' is meant to be airsick he doesn't play this as Bond looking out the window curiously and covering it up, but instead just look nervous. Unfortunately during parts of those Piz Gloria scenes I always feel Lazenby's Bond gets a bit lost and almost becomes Hillary Bray. It takes away a bit of the tension.
I've seen people praise Lazenby's acting when he's being chased through the ski rink/the camera flashes. For me that's another example of his lack of ability. Bond wouldn't look as terrified as he does (it's far too big a reaction. Again, the likes of Connery and Craig were great at underplaying things as Bond).
The PTS is a bit hit and miss for me. It doesn't help that they're trying to evoke how Connery's Bond was introduced in DN with the shots of his hands and the cigarette being lit. It doesn't quite work for me and doesn't succeed in giving Lazenby's Bond his own identity. Like many others I absolutely hate the 'this never happened to the other fella' line.
Overall though, it's a great Bond film. It has sunk a few places for me just due to my issues with it, but I'd say it's also a testament to how well crafted this film is that even with these issues it remains as gripping as it is.
OHMSS was #7 for me- it's a wonderful one to watch, superb visuals, amazing music, gripping story, just so much to love about it. Again it's notable that so many loud voices on this forum say how they don't want personal stories but we get the most personal (where Bond goes rogue) voted as the best! Oh, and a serious gritty one as #2 ;)
I think George is a massive flaw in though to be honest and holes the boat beneath the waterline. It makes it to shore safely(!) just about but I do think would have been improved a lot with a proper star. 007 is just too crucial a role. Really it's Diana Rigg who is the star power in this film and without her I'm not sure how it would have gone.
Thanks for putting this together Golden Gun, lots of fun.
FRWL came in at #6 last year. I've always loved it, though I had a few year stretch there where I wasn't all that crazy about it, but the older I get, the more and more I love it.
OHMSS was at #4, slightly dropping over the past couple of years but still clearly one of my all-time favorites of the series.
FRWL is a worthy runner up. My number 5, it's a terrific cold war thriller, atmospheric, with Connery on top form, fantastic villains, with that awesome final fight sequence, it's a Bond movie that delivers in spades!
Well done @GoldenGun on organising so well, some interesting placings, but overall I was happy with most. Top 5 were ideally placed!
As for the final two entries, I love them both.
FRWL is a phenomenal Cold War spy thriller with an amazing Sean in top form, a superb collection of eccentric co-stars, gorgeous locations and just a great atmosphere all-round. My number 4.
OHMSS, for me, is a masterpiece. Diana Rigg makes one of the very best Bond girls, Telly Savalas the best Blofeld that isn't unseen, Gabriele Ferzetti a top-tier ally. Atmospheric, spectacular and with the best final scene of the franchise. I'm a huge fan of George btw, one of my top 3 favourite Bonds after Tim and Sean. That final scene is the most touching scene in the series and he sells it perfectly. OHMSS is my third favourite, just behind the two Dalton films.
Overall, my number 1 ended up 4th, the winner is my number 3, seven of my top 10's were also in the overall top 10 (the three other ones are TMWTGG, LTK, TWINE), so I'm quite happy how it all turned out.
Thanks everyone for participating, without you there would a thread / game :)
Excellent points about Lazenby: he is basically just playing Sean Connery's Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 rather than his own version, which leaves him hamstrung; although I don't think he really had the skill to create his own version anyway.
Really George Baker should be given a fair bit of credit as he's playing Bond for a fair portion of the film, and injecting a lot more comic ability and warmth into it than the Dave Prowse lumbering around in the suit! :D
I would love to have seen a version with Sean or Roger playing the lead in this, it would be transformative for all of the reasons you mention. But then maybe it was too early for Roger as the makers seemed, as you say, to be tied to trying to recreate Sean's Bond.
One thing about this film is that the whole section where Bond is trying to escape from Piz Gloria, from the cable car business, the amazing ski chase, Tracy rescuing Bond in the village, the car chase etc. is probably the tensest and most exciting portion of a Bond film so far to this point- it's just so brilliantly evoked that he has to get away. And that's despite Blofeld's evil plan being a pretty unconvincingly weak and small scale world domination plan which is never even demonstrated to us. It's just that more than ever before I think we're incredibly aware that Bond is in serious danger here and out on his own, and that tension just makes for more excitement. I would say that something like the ski chase in FYEO is potentially better realised from a stunt and sequence point of view, but it's far less crucial to the story of film than it is here, which means we can't get as invested. Here it really is very well done.
Well, keeping all differences (minor as they mostly are) about a particular ranking aside, thank you, @GoldenGun, for organizing this survey. It keeps your own ranking of an individual Bond film in perspective and, especially with the comments collected on each entry, makes you realize that not everybody shares your views, and mostly with good (or at least acceptable) reason. Let's have the next of these in about two years...or maybe after whatever kind of Bond 26 movie has been issued!