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It is highly entertaining, as usual with Sir Roger Moore's entries. Awesome locations, music, characters, and humor. :D
I thoroughly enjoyed the first forty minutes or so (more than I expected I would). A particular highlight being the early meeting in Bond's home (Bernard Lee particularly is at his dry best here), then it just gets sillier and sillier with the cars flipping over and low-brow slapstick. The plot is pretty weak overall and just takes a back seat after a while.
I don't mean to crap on David Hedison but he's not exactly the best of actors either.
Moore's decent enough as is Yaphet Kotto and Seymour.
If you haven't seen it go and see it. If you have seen it go and see it again!
The movie has two flaws that drag it down, one more widely discussed than the other. The first is the direction, which is perhaps overly impressed with itself and certainly incompetent at handling action scenes (the car chase at the beginning and the boat chase being the two standouts, with the dogfight seeming contrived and out of place as a bonus). The second is the unrelenting cynicism. While Bond movies can be serious and even dark, as From Russia With Love and Licence to Kill attest, they should never be cynical like this. The British and the Americans should never be getting in bed with the evil organization because of some sense of realpolitik, especially not in the distinctly mediocre way it's pulled off in QoS (oil was really a tired bit in 2008, and the CIA/Brits are shockingly easily convinced there's oil in the Bolivian desert and that it's the only way forward). Oh, and the gun barrel at the end is just awful, as is the title.
Those two glaring deficiencies aside, the movie does have many strengths. Craig is magnetic as Bond, elevating the material in a way Brosnan never could, even at his best moments. He also gets most of the good lines in the movie, which may or may not have anything to do with his helping to write it. I also quite enjoyed the focus on the disastrous effects of Bond's lifestyle on all those involved. Bond is clearly worn down by his work and runs into problems with his government (this is partially cynicism, but partially just a compelling angle for the movie to take, cf. GoldenEye). Camille is in the same boat as Bond, and many others are pulled into the web of destruction, like the poor girl in the opening chase who gets shot, Fields, Mathis (for this reason, I never minded his death), Guy Haynes's bodyguard, and even M. The little thematic resonances are another deft touch, like Bond and Mitchell's chase sequence being implicitly compared to the horse race, and the plot of Tosca mirroring Bond and Vesper's predicament in Casino Royale and the aftereffects here.
The movie takes a focus on the more mundane aspects of evil, with a subdued plot and villains. It could certainly have been handled better, as the water plot never feels like it has stakes, both because of a lack of explanation (possibly owing to the writers' strike) and the focus on oil and the institutional reaction thereto. Greene is still a compellingly sad little villain, and Medrano a well-depicted petty dictator. It would have been amusing, perhaps, if Elvis's uniquely pathetic henchman somehow survived the movie and flipped over to the side of the British, but this might also veer to close to the attempted realpolitik that so damaged QoS.
All in all, Quantum of Solace is an interesting experiment that has many little successes and innovations, but also glaring flaws that drag the movie down. Still, the Bond series is better for having it.
On to Skyfall!
1. Goldfinger
2. From Russia With Love
3. Casino Royale
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. GoldenEye
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. Dr. No
8. Licence to Kill
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. The Living Daylights
11. You Only Live Twice
12. Tomorrow Never Dies
13. Thunderball
14. Quantum of Solace
15. Octopussy
16. The World is not Enough
17. Live and Let Die
18. Diamonds are Forever
19. A View to a Kill
20. Die Another Day
21. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Moonraker
Same here, and they were showing the new Star Wars trailer beforehand.
Teenager sitting next to me: "What is that? Is it Legend?"
Two seconds later: "Is it, like, a robot movie?"
Another few seconds: "Is it that Star wars stuff?"
Then he told his friends it was indeed that Star Wars stuff.
Walking out of the theatre I heard a couple of folks commenting on SPECTRE.
"Much darker than the other Bond films. Not a lot of action."
:))
I love it.
Highly enjoyable, and enjoy it even more than before. Sir Roger Moore is older but still awesome! Zorin is so crazy and his insane laughter is hysterical! :))
Christ, it´s been a while since the last time. A classic, but very, very silly Bond movie... thanks, Roald. Pleasence´s Blofeld is, while he looks good, too light for my taste. I prefer Savalas and that one other fellow...
That's what most people think, but it's not true. Connery's sense of dark, deadpan humor works much better for DAF's script than Moore's presence as Bond would.
Moore's finest film. Tempers his humor with realism and thrills. Glover and Topol are fascinating to watch. Dynamic action and camera staging, something Bond has lacked for a while at the time. An excellent proto-revival of the early Connery films, something we'd be seeing more attempts of as the series progressed.
OCTOPUSSY
A bit of mood whiplash towards the middle as the film transitions between the more comical India sequences to the tenser Germany action. Goofy stuff still happens in Berlin, but you don't notice it as Bond races against the clock. Both halves are entertaining, with the circus finale being one of the tensest moments in franchise history. The disparity between the two elements is it's only real flaw.
1. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
2. GOLDFINGER
3. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
4. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
5. THUNDERBALL
6. OCTOPUSSY
7. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
8. MOONRAKER
9. LIVE AND LET DIE
10. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
11. DR. NO
12. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
13. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
A lot of great things about Dr. No - but doesn't that boat scene feel tacked-on at the end? Really leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Well, I didn't really expect to enjoy this. Connery and Brandauer really elevate the film; with Sean having his sparkle back and Brandauer giving one of the most interesting villainous performances in the series. The script is half baked, the movie runs a touch too long, and the action isn't quite there. Still enjoyed it. Maybe it's the gin.
1. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
2. GOLDFINGER
3. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
4. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
5. THUNDERBALL
6. OCTOPUSSY
7. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
8. MOONRAKER
9. LIVE AND LET DIE
10. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
11. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
12. DR. NO
13. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
14. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
Well, of course Connery is different, especially in the way his humour and one-liners were utilized, but the whole lightness of the film is very much "Moorising" what should've been a dark follow-up to OHMSS.
Zorin stands out, as does Mayday. Nothing else really does. The zest and zeal of the previous two films is gone. Awkward humor, bland characters, and a blatant Goldfinger copy with very little spice to the mix. Far from bad, but very mediocre.
1. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
2. GOLDFINGER
3. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
4. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
5. THUNDERBALL
6. OCTOPUSSY
7. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
8. MOONRAKER
9. LIVE AND LET DIE
10. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
11. DR. NO
12. A VIEW TO A KILL
13. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
14. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN