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What spy-type movie do you like more than your favourite Bond?

chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
edited September 2013 in General Movies & TV Posts: 17,800
My favourite Bond movie is TLD, and I don't like ANY spy-type movie better, although Patriot Games and Taylor Of Panama come the closest.

What about YOU?
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Comments

  • PerdoggPerdogg
    Posts: 686
    I would not say more:

    1. The Fourth Protocol
    2. The Day of the Jackal
    3. Topaz
  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    I think my favourite spy movie is TLD. I don't necessarily consider CR to be exclusively a spy movie, but rather just a well-rounded, intelligent, fantasically made action film. He doesn't do so much spying as he does ass-kicking in it, whereas TLD is very investigative.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Well I wouldn't say I like it better. But I hold GoldenEye and Mission: Impossible to be equal in terms of Quality and fun.
  • Matt_HelmMatt_Helm
    Posts: 908
    Well, that's easy. Since there is no better Spy Novel existent than "The Spy who came in from the Cold" which is quite simple the quintessence of what the Genre is all about and Coincidentally also no Movie clinching closer to its literary source, it must be this one. If you haven't seen it you are in for a real treat when you do. Actually I would go so far as to claim that if you don't like it you are not a Fan of the Genre itself, but rather a Fan of James Bond, which of course is pefectly acceptable.
  • saunderssaunders Living in a world of avarice and deceit
    Posts: 987
    The Bourne films...there, I actually said it!
  • retrokittyretrokitty The Couv
    Posts: 380
    saunders wrote:
    The Bourne films...there, I actually said it!

    You might have typed what many are thinking. At least I was thinking it.
    :-/

    I don't know if I'd say I like them more than Bond, I just feel they are superior movies to most Bond and movies that stay true to the task of the movie.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    I had expected someone to say "The Liquidator" or something before Bourne... :))
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    StirredNotShaken wrote:
    I think my favourite spy movie is TLD. I don't necessarily consider CR to be exclusively a spy movie, but rather just a well-rounded, intelligent, fantasically made action film. He doesn't do so much spying as he does ass-kicking in it, whereas TLD is very investigative.

    Well put. I would say my favorite non-Bond spy films would come from Alfred Hitchcock with North By Northwest being the best. The best of the 1960s Bond spy knockoffs is 1967's Deadlier Than The Male with Terence Young's original pick for the actor to play Bond: Richard Johnson.

  • saunderssaunders Living in a world of avarice and deceit
    Posts: 987
    retrokitty wrote:
    saunders wrote:
    The Bourne films...there, I actually said it!

    You might have typed what many are thinking. At least I was thinking it.
    :-/

    I don't know if I'd say I like them more than Bond, I just feel they are superior movies to most Bond and movies that stay true to the task of the movie.

    I love them because the European settings are just so gritty and real, the characters seem more realistic, the writing is clever and the action suitably toned down, though also being a hard-core Bond fan, I feel I can just relax and watch them without worrying that I don't know who the cameraman's 1st assistant is or what Daniel Craig had for breakfast before each scene...ah, the woes of being a Bond obsessive!

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    The Constant Gardner (with the present Bond's Wife, Rachel Weisz) is a superb spy movie, but even that is a little too outlandish while at the same time being a little too realistic for me. Look at Argo, another great film, but even there they had to jazz it up with a chase scene at the end that never really happened. Bourne is realistic within the realm of physical enhancement...
    Basically, infusing so called 'realism' in any movie is a gamble. Movies are basically escapist entertainment.
    My personal measure of a great spy film is, do you need to own it? Watch it every so often? Discuss it on sites or with friends? Piss off people with opinions on it?
    If not, then it's just an enjoyable movie, not a passion.

    Nobody does it better than Bond.
  • illUMA69N4UGHTY69illUMA69N4UGHTY69 Banned
    edited September 2013 Posts: 98
    Our Man In Panama
    Austin Danger Powers
  • jason_bournejason_bourne
    Posts: 97
    Bourne movies especially Damon's trilogy; Munich by Spielberg and similar realistic, somber spy movies. i want to see tinker tailor soldier spy but i need to finish my first movie "Bondathon" first.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    My favourite Bond film, is of course, The Living Daylights. My favourite non-Bond spy film has allready been mentioned...
    PrinceKamalKhan wrote:
    The best of the 1960s Bond spy knockoffs is 1967's Deadlier Than The Male with Terence Young's original pick for the actor to play Bond: Richard Johnson.

    But do I really have to choose? I enjoy them both, and to choose which one I like more, would be like choosing which child I like more. Yes, TLD is my favourite Bond, but DTTM is my honorary Bond film. It has all the elements of a Bond film, and is brimming with Bondian style. Richard Johnson as the uber Bondian Hugh Drummond, Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina as the double whammy of femme-fatales, Nigel Green as the villainous Carl Peterson and the Walker Brothers' supremely catchy title track. The tone is about right too, it's neither high camp, nor is it ultra gritty.

    I'm going to use that old cop-out, and say they're equal.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I don't think I have any that I like better than Bond.
    I like Bourne; but better, no. Better filmed? No.

    Other spy films I enjoy:

    North by Northwest
    Notorious
    Casablanca
    The 39 Steps
    The Tailor from Panama

    And there must be a few from the 60's and 70's I simply cannot remember, darn it.

    I wish Inception counted as a spy film; I just watched it again, I really love it.
  • 00Ed00Ed
    Posts: 140
    4EverBonded wrote:
    North by Northwest
    Notorious
    Casablanca

    Took the words right out of my mouth (or keyboard).

    I would add:

    Charade
    The Hunt for Red October
    Mission: Impossible (the first one)
    Ronin
    The Bourne Supremacy (the outstanding entry in that series, IMO)

    I wouldn't say that I actually like any of these films more than my favorite Bonds. I think that some of them are right up there with the Best of Bond, however, and the rest are close behind.
  • Zorin61Zorin61
    Posts: 418
    For me, Bond will always come first, especially FRWL, GF, LTK, TLD, CR & SF - but other Spy films that i enjoy and have in my collection are:

    North by Northwest
    Charade
    Deadlier than the Male
    The Silencers
    Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
    Knight and Day
    Munich
    The Tourist
  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    I enjoy other spy films, but Bond films are the king of the genre and no other film out there beats the best of the Bond films.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    I enjoy other spy films, but Bond films are the king of the genre and no other film out there beats the best of the Bond films.
    Not even "Fathom"?

    ;)
  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    Nor "Operation Kid Brother" or bad Thunderball remakes disguised as Bond films.

    I ain't complaining about Raquel though 8-}
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    I like North By Northwest as much as my very favourite Bond films. Can't (or won't) bring myself to say it's better than them though :-)
  • StirredNotShakenStirredNotShaken Toronto
    Posts: 2,402
    I'd have to agree that nobody does it better than Bond. Though North by Northwest is certainly a contender now that I think about.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    SirHenryLeeChaChing wrote:
    I ain't complaining about Raquel though 8-}

    Then you HAVE seen it! Ha! I knew it!

    Actually, I was gonna buy it last year- I remember seeing it in my teens and thinking it was great. Then I found it on Youtube, and decided to preview it a bit and the horrible truth became clear: Raquel was great; the movie sucked.
  • bitchcraftbitchcraft
    Posts: 1
    The Bourne franchise and some Mission Impossible of course...the competition ensures Bond keeps the bar up.
  • SirHenryLeeChaChingSirHenryLeeChaChing
    Posts: 3,494
    You mean Raquel in those outfits were great, right? :P

    Here's a scary thought though. Both DAD and XXX were released in 2002. And I liked XXX a whole lot better.
  • thelivingroyalethelivingroyale
    Posts: 12,837
    I don't really like any better than Bond. I do really like the Bourne films though.
  • LicencedToKilt69007LicencedToKilt69007 Belgium, Wallonia
    Posts: 523
    Nobody does it better than 007 !

    However, I consider those films as must-see in spy genre :

    The Tailor of Panama
    The Fourth Protocol
    The Hunt For Red October
    Casablanca
    The Recruit (Al Pacino, Colin Farrel)
    Firefox (Clint Eastwood)
    The Ghost Writer (-mixed genre)
    Espion(s) (with Guillaume Canet)
    Spy Game

    and Hitchcock's "The Secret Agent", "The Lady Vanishes", "Sabotage"...
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,976
    The only spy film that I hold higher than GE is 'Munich,' and that's just because it's my favorite film of all time. Another one I hold close to GE is 'The Tailor of Panama.'
  • tonytony
    Posts: 34
    I have 3 words

    The ipcress file

    Is it better than any 1960's bond?

    It is a fantastic film and it is Michael Caine at his best

    It is up there with the best and would of made a very dark bond film at the time

    If you have never seen it watch it . The soundtrack is also epic

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I wanted to put The Ipcress File but I actually have not seen it! I do need to!

    And Charade I almost put, but did not consider it a spy film; but yeah, I guess it counts.
    I adore Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.

  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    4EverBonded wrote:
    I wanted to put The Ipcress File but I actually have not seen it! I do need to!
    I feel shame in admitting the same.
    :\">
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