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Comments
"Anytime you want to drop by and listen to my...Barry Manilow collection" 8-X
Agreed. Always nice to read praise about my 2nd favorite entry in the series. The cast is terrific but so is the intelligent script which plays like a complex, Cold-War era spy drama. The best Bond film post-TB IMHO.
Well, even though I'm not a huge OHMSS fan, DAF's action scenes are definitely lower than OHMSS's. I'm not sure why, considering that Connery had some really good fights in his previous Bond outings (Red Grant, Oddjob, Largo, Hans). I'll give it to OHMSS for much better action, except for DAF's fight with Peter Franks. The only thing that comes close to it is the fight with Draco's henchman in the hotel. As for gun battles, OHMSS wins again, since the Piz Gloria battle easily tops the oil rig. For car chases, they're close. I really do enjoy the Las Vegas chase.
Moneypenny was pretty good actually, but I'm with you on all the others! The only worthy villain is Necros, and Felix Leiter is absolutely useless and unnecessary in TLD.
Definitely a favorite of mine too! And yeah, I see what you mean about the boat chase. It's set up to be the highlight of the movie and really epic, yet it comes off as way too long, dull, and repetitive. Nobody's shooting at anybody, it's not too fast-paced in my opinion, and there are no explosions! (except for Adam's death) I mean come on! They should have jazzed it up a little bit more.
In response to your comment about DAF vs. OHMSS action sequences:
DAF and OHMSS are two very different movies. OHMSS is very action focused, because the director Peter Hunt didn't want to give first time actor George Lazenby many lines. Also, Lazenby was very physical, so they could play to these strengths. Secondly, as mentioned in the Behind the Scenes documentary, OHMSS had some of the top stunt people in the business, with the addition of professional skiers.
By contrast, DAF's strength is in it's dialogue and person to person interactions. Tom Mankiewicz was brought in to do a rewrite and gave the film a boost of witty dialogue. Plus, Connery's Bond is more actor focused: the audience wants to hear his quips and see his facial expressions. But it is possible, that EON, had to cut back the second unit action budget due to the...ahem...Connery payroll. Keep in mind, the finale was supposed to be bigger, with frogmen raiding down on the oil rig and lot's more explosions. But in DAF's defense, as you mention the Peter Franks fight is a standout. To me this is one of the most impressive and intense fights of the series, rivaling the Red Grant fight. But on the whole, OHMSS thrives with it's grand finale ski/car/bobsled sequence. It's hard to compete with such a thrilling finale as that.
Goldeneye Generally a pretty good film, but I still don't understand the fanfare. GE's greatest strength is the tight direction by Martin Campbell. All the shots are sensical and keep your attention to what's going on. I particularly like the scene where there are quick cuts on Natalya's eyes and the ticking digits on the bomb at the satellite complex. Campbell also manages to make GE "look" and "feel" like a Bond film, yet feels very modern and fresh. I was also VERY impressed with Eric Serra's score: he uses the score as a tool to drive the scenes, rather than filling in the scenes with music, just to have music (a problem I have with David Arnold). Goldeneye has an interesting story that is relatively grounded and with a twist. My overall problem with the film though, is that it just wasn't as 'fun' as other Bond's. The PTS seemed like a waste. Why not just attack the chemical lab from the sky?? After the Title Sequence, the first few scenes are obnoxiously Bondian cliche: they get the "Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken Not Stirred" lines out of the way, as if they are obligation. The puns are terrible and delivered so awkwardly throughout. None of the actor's really seemed like they were having fun in the role except for Famke Janssen. Most everyone else was pretty forgettable. Also, Pierce Brosnan, looks and acts totally uncomfortable in the role. He's totally subdued and almost aloof. Also, the locations are either drab and unexciting (St. Petersburg) or underused (Cuba). That seems like a lot of complaints, but I still enjoyed GE. I thought it was a pretty well made film, and stands up as an adequate Bond adventure, I just don't see it as the pinnacle of the series the way some do. 6.5/10
The World Is Not Enough This one's a little harder to rate. I mean, it's packed full of goodies: beautiful women, large scale action sequences, effective gadgets, lots of twists and turns in the plot, two (mostly) convincing villains...it's just that the movie's a little drawn out and overblown. I found myself actually bored in various parts of it. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe the story couldn't capture my attention, or maybe the film just feels like rehash, old hat, tired formula. It's not as tight and well directed as GE, and looks pretty dismal visually in a lot of places. I will say this though, I liked that there was an actual thought out story involving kidnappings, deception, shady deals, a love triangle: there are a lot of classic story-telling elements to it, which I was impressed with. The writers took some risks by taking some different approaches like kidnapping M. The dialogue though, especially the jokes were even worse than in Goldeneye. I feel like some of these jokes would have worked with Roger Moore, but Pierce...come on Pierce, show some animation in your quips! On the subject of Pierce, on the whole I really like him in this film. He's way more confident and collected than he was in GE. I'm really convinced that he's Bond in this one. Unlike Daniel Craig's Bond, he actually stops to catch his breath, suffers injuries, you know, things that normal human beings do*. I especially liked the scene in Constantin's casino with the x-ray glasses and how he deals with the goons. Pierce is just so damn dapper. He really looks the part. Sophie Marceau is incredibly hot and has a really good performance in this, easily one of the best femme fatales of the series. Denise Richards was even worse than I remember her, they couldn't have picked a worse actress. But she wasn't enough to bring down the film. Enough about her...Renard was ok. He certainly was despicable, but I think they underused his character in the final fight sequence. They could have done so much more with his condition: think about it, that's a real advantage he has over Bond! Instead, we get a short generic fist fight. All around, I was surprised at how decent this film was for a Bond; not great no, but I have no idea how so many fans consider this drivel; the worst of the lot. I thought it was pretty good. 6.5/10
*On the note of DC: I'm finding that I despise that rooftop chase at the beginning of QOS even more now after seeing the action in these Broz films. Sure, Bond is trained in combat, but he's not some super-hero stuntman either!
I disagree though that GE isn't as much fun as some of the other films. I've already mentioned this in other threads but for me Cambell's slick direction makes it extremely fun. The library shootout and tank chase, as OTT as they are, are well put together and exciting. Also there are little things Campbell does that make the film "fun" and exillerating. You have already mentioned the Serra score (which I think gives the film more of a unique flavour) but there are other instances:
-the shot of Bond and Natalya sprinting towards the camera as the train explodes behind them.
-the fade from a close up of Bond's eyes to Xenya's helicopter hovering above him in the jungle.
-the shot looking up at Bond and Alec from the vent as they infitrate the facility in the PTS.
-the shot of the train's front burning as it speeds towards the tank in the tunnel.
-Alec reaching for his gun but Bonds foot suddenly appearing from no where covering it.
-the shot of the computer screen with the line going across the picture of the map and Bond counting down the time in the train
-("30 seconds...25 seconds...20 SECONDS!!)
-the shot of Wade's plane flying right above Bond and Natalya's BMW.
-The scene where Boris is clicking the pen and Bond is stood watching - very tense and very well put together
As for characters...we will have to disagree :) I thought it had some of the best set of characters in the series.
Natalya...an ordinary woman who's tough, witty and a survivalist. She has a little mole on her cheek and really has the sexiest of smiles. Definitely my personal favourite Bond girl.
Oromov...Very underrated villain
M. She's Judi Dench
Valantin: He's Robbie Coltrane
Moneypenny: Feisty and with a cheeky little glint in her eye. For me she's the best after LM.
Alec: Great. Tough sometimes witty and Brosnan has some of his best scenes with Sean Bean.
Wade: a far more effective role for JDB than the one in TLD.
Maybe I'm a little biased towards GE because it was the first EVER Bond film I saw and the one I've certainly seen the most (I can probably quote you 80% of the dialogue - seriously :-S ) BUT I still think it's a very entertaining flick. Maybe a bit drab and a bit dated at times but for me one that means a lot.
8.5/10
Note: I can completely understand why Campbell dislikes Quantum. Watch the action in his films and then watch the action in Quantum. There isn't really much of a comparison.
Characters? Yes, Judi Dench certainly leaves an impression I should have mentioned her for sure. What I also like about her in this, is that as cold and stern as she comes across initially, I get the sense that she genuinely cares about Bond when she says "Come back alive". Oromov to me is just your run of the mill general: it's unclear what his motivations are, just that he's evil and wants power. Valantin is somewhat entertaining and I do like his scenes. (Gosh! I'm eating my words here!) But in a way, he's such a minor character, that he's a bit inconsequential. Moneypenny is just ok for me. She's trying to play up the Moneypenny character, which seems a bit mimetic. Alec's story seemed a bit convoluted to me. Why would go through all that trouble for the sake of revenge: go under a new identify to become a fully qualified British agent, fake his death, wait 9 years to hatch his plan? I wasn't quite buying it. Maybe you can clear it up for me? Oh and Natalya...She's alright. I can see what you mean about her. I just didn't feel a whole lot of personality in her, and her screams got on my nerves at times. But she sure is beautiful.
Regarding Brosnan being more "human", I'm not sure about that particularly considering the number of people he kills and the number of bullets he avoids but you're right in the sense that he does stop occasionally to allow himself (and the audience) for a breather.
As for TWINE yes he is a lot more confident. Love this rather cheesey but fun moment:
Two other bits I love from Brosnan:
Mr Bullion: After you
Bond: No. After you (quitely sticks gun in Bullion's back) I insist!
Bond: Get lost. No no no down the back.
Yes. He said they survived the firing squad. The way he explains the murder/suicide could imply that his father did it immediately, but it could also have been years and years later. So the back story works fine, contrary to popular belief.
Perfection, as always. Its '60s'ness alone puts it in an echelon above every Bond film that has been made since.
Just curious GL, how many times would you say you've seem Majesty's? It's at the top of my list too, but to me it's such a delicacy, best enjoyed only on special occassions.
Had some time to myself before I had to study for exams, so I thought I'd pop in DN. After finishing it just 5 minutes ago, my opinion of it has not really changed a whole lot. For me, it is still a middle-class Bond movie: that is, not super spectacular but not scraping the bottom of the bucket either, and I come to find that's what the majority of fans out there think as well. Considering it is the first, you have to give it some elbow room and not criticize too harshly. There are some great scenes which have come to be Bond classics, like the cold-blooded killing of Professor Dent, Honey Ryder's entrance onto the beach, and the dinner discussion with Dr. No. On the note of Dr. No by the way, I like the way the movie builds up suspense to see him, giving Dr. No a menacing effect that some villains do not have in the series. The few scenes he gets are a real treat, with one of the highlights of the movie for me being the dinner table scene. His henchmen are rather poor quality and incompetent, though Professor Dent isn't too bad. The rest however are obviously just meant to show how vast his branch of SPECTRE is, even if they are pathetic. I like Jack Lord's performance as Felix, and it's nice to have screent time with Bond and Felix, showing the beginning of their partnership. Quarrel is one of the useful allies in the series, and is used well in the movie to the point where his death is actually saddening. That is the mark of a great ally. As for the music in the movie, it's terrible and very annoying. I found myself turning the volume down at certain parts to avoid my ears bleeding to death. And let's not forget the most important part: Bond himself. Sean Connery did a good job with his opening appearance as 007, with such scenes to prove this like his dealing with Mr. Jones, the photographer, Professor Dent, the death of Quarrel, and dinner with Dr. No.
On the whole, a mid-ranger, probably around #13 or 14.
A magnificent debut for Timothy Dalton! I sat down to watch it start to finish with no breaks or pauses in between, and it was a great 2 hours 11 minutes spent! Ol' Tim's performance was pretty great, probably not as good as LTK's, just because it's his debut, but nevertheless it was a great performance. TLD has the right blend of action and storyline so that you never get bored and still know what's happening in the plot. The more serious approach works wonderfully for TLD, even if a few hang-overs from the Moore era work their way in every now and then. The story is a bit hard to follow in regards to the villains' plot, and I am still not 100% sure what Koskov and Whitaker were planning the whole time. Still, it didn't really affect the enjoyability factor of TLD. The villains weren't as strong as others prior to (Zorin) or after (Sanchez) TLD, but Necros makes up for that by getting a lot of screentime, similiar to that of Red Grant in FRWL. Every scene with him is a delight, especially the Blyden Safehouse and the Cargo Net fight at the end. It was really funny because I had forgotten all about Necros stowing away on the plane, and then WHAM! He pops out of nowhere; it was like I was watching it for the first time! As an additional plus, the John Barry's score is outstanding, and really propel the action sequences. All in all, a definite top ten worthy Bond, and could possibly fit into the top 5 after I make some adjustments.
and?? What were the results?
-Bond: An excellent, magnificent performance by Timothy Dalton, who pushes the character's limits even beyond that of Lazenby in OHMSS, taking Bond to new levels of anger and vengeance. Dalton's relationship with Hedison's Felix really creates sadness and anger when he gets fed to the shark, and adds even more satisfaction when Bond lights Sanchez on fire at the end. With Dalton in LTK we get a more human side of Bond, as opposed to a man who takes orders from the office and does his job without question. Here we are given a chance to take a look at Bond and how he relates to his friends and his personal life away from MI6. A 10/10 definitely!
-Villains: I always enjoy the Bond movies that have a wide variety of baddies for Bond to blow up, shoot, stab, or whatever it may be. LTK gives us an amazing lead villain in Franz Sanchez, one who is probably the most memorable of Dalton's era. He's got a vast network of henchman and low-level goons looking for a quick buck, a fancy coastal palace, and even a pet iguana, with a throwback to Blofeld! Robert Davi's ability to play both sides of Sanchez's personality is a real treat to watch. Dario provides us an awesome direct henchman, Krest and Truman-Lodge are great additions, and then the rest are forgettable. An 8/10 for me
-Action: If there's one thing I want out of a Bond movie, besides good villains, is spread-out action that keeps us engaged all the way through without leaving big boring gaps in between. LTK does a decent job at this, and I say only decent because once Bond gets to Isthmus, there's a huge gap in action until arriving at Sanchez's labs, except the part where Heller's tank shoots up the house with Kwang and his agents. Nevertheless, the action we do get is very enjoyable, such as the tanker chase, the Wavekrest, and the bar fight. An 8/10
-Music: A pretty good score, not the greatest, but not horrible either. Not too much to say on this note, just that it was decent and there were some cool moments. A 6.5/10
All in all, very top ten worthy! One of my favorites definitely.
I've bolded the parts I agree with most. For me, the ghost of Dalton's Bond and John Barry's music tend to haunt GE for me. Not bad and infinitely superior to QOS but not as thrillingly great as some of the others. Have you also noticed the following similarities GE has to DAF?
-In both films the villain "dies" in the pretitle sequence. In both films, Bond's investigation leads to a mystery man who seems to be behind all the criminal goings on(Willard Whyte/Janus).
-In both films, Bond finally meets with this mystery man who turns out in actuality to be the villain who "died" in the PTS.
-In both films, the villain's plan involves his using a satellite to attack a major Western capitol.
Great review of TLD, 00Beast! Always happy to see love for it.
Yeah, I have heard this theory before. But these are two very different movies to me. I'd argue Diamonds Are Forever is a more consistently comic-book high camp film from start to finish. GE is for the most part an action thriller, with moments of humor (albeit somewhat akward humor). The plots move in a different way: DAF is more linear--following a trail of killings until we get to the main villain, but GE leads us in different directions. Also, GE has femme fatale, who is killed off--more akin to Thunderball.
I thought the first half was ok but second half was a bit weak..the two Bond girls are terrible especially Case doesnt not feel like the other Bond girl....seem she is older and not as beautiful..and Sean Connery looks old he is definately different from the early 60s films and he does not seem to care about Bond as much...Blofeld seems weak...like the car chase through Vegas. I just wish they had more or less faithful to the novel and not some unrealistic laser plot. IS the two henchman Kidd and Witt gay or something...they seem to say the same lines over and over again....overall terrible movie and no where near the classics
Rating: 2/10
What I like about GE is its slick, fast-moving-but-accessable direction.
E.g. Bond on the yaucht-mountacore.
Body of admiral falls out of wardrobe, cut to Bond's suprised face, cut back to close-up of admiral's death face, cut straight to Bond jumping off yaucht onto speed boat, close up of Brozza as he drives away towards land.
Right, Martin Campbell should do Bond 24 ;)
OK, I'm going to try to do the seemingly impossible: convince a non-believer that DAF is a great Bond flic (though this may be tough since you've just seen it, but worth a try):
1. DAF should be viewed as a completely standalone Bond film--a natural extension of YOLT rather than OHMSS, the only pretext is that Bond has faced Blofeld before and the two are arch nemeses.
2. Everything about the film is intentionally Over the top, comic book, fantasy, mixed with an eerie hint of danger provided by the deaths and the moody score. The odd-ball locations such as Circus-Circus and Morton Slumber's create a surrealistic, "Fear and Loathing" atmosphere that plays up the eerie mood. The Bond girls are both played to the max as pure fantasy 'vavoom' Bond girls. Even Bambi and Thumper are present merely in the movie for the purpose of having two bikini clad Bond girls kicking Bond's ass in a moment of almost S and M domination: the very idea of it is preposterous, yet so outrageous it's entertaining. One has to go into to this movie with a mood to just kick back and have a fun ride.
3. Connery's performance is unique, in that it is relaxed and care-free: this adds a level of 'fun' to the character. He looks aged, but his laid back confidence lends a certain charm that Bond still 'has it', and gives him a more 'veteran' swagger. On that note, Tiffany Case, is played by an older actress in Jill St. John: this makes more sense opposite the older Connery. Just think of how bad Roger Moore and Stacy Sutton were opposite together? Instead we get Connery and Case having great chemistry as two world weary protagonists.
4. The dialogue is highly entertaining and a highlight to the film. I had to watch this a few times to really get all the funny lines it packs in. "Provided the Collars and Cuffs match" "I'm afraid you've caught me with my hands up" "Alimentary my dear Leiter" to name a few. "Making mud pies 007?" Furthermore, the Blofeld in DAF as played by Charles Grey is the wittiest Blofeld of the bunch: "As La Rochefoucauld observed, "humility is the worst form of conceit." I do hold the winning hand." When I envision a megalomaniac leader, I imagine someone with some brains and charm. This brings us to point 5...
5. Kidd and Wint: "If God wanted man to fly...He would have given him wings Mr. Wint." These two are methodic in their killing and their humorous quips add a sadism to their characters: very Clockwork Orange. Again, it's all about the dialogue, and these two are not short of it.
I find my self quoting this film from time to time it's so good. One has to understand, that DAF goes for a certain tone, a certain feel, and successfully maintains that tone through the course of the film: it's Bond, James Bond, played by none other than Sean Connery, globetrotting around, from South Africa to Amsterdam, to Vegas; going undercover, bedding the most voluptuous women, getting into high speed chases in fast cars, going to toe-to-toe in a battle of wits...pure Bondian entertainment. For me personally, it doesn't get any better, except for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which takes a completely different approach to Bond, but wins nonetheless. But for classic Bondian entertainment taken to the max, DAF is quintessential.