It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Also, I thought Legacy with Renner (whom I like) was shit.
Looking forward to revisiting SP again as well. Hoping it grows on me. Having only seen it three times it's still hazier than almost all of the other Bond films for me.
Lately these 2 films seem to improve everytime I watch them.
It is a bit one note though. Dour and mopey and dirty. Enjoying it though. The foot chase and the subsequent "rope fight" gave me a headache as well as parts of the boat chase but the PTS and Slate fight are edited very well (personal opinion)
Much better experience this time, because I had a better idea of what to expect. I reaffirmed my earlier view that the film is a top 10 for me up to the clinic. From the moment Madeline came on the scene until the control room scene it was palatable and top 12 or so, but it declined a little because I found her scenes with Bond weren't 'all that'.
From the control room scene onward it dropped precipitously again for me, and by the end, like last time I just wanted to turn the damn thing off. I tuned out the entire London finale once more(I did some work on my laptop while it played in the background) and shut it off again just before the Q MI6 Aston finale because I'd had enough.
I must say that the #1 thing that is making me more appreciative of this film now rather than previously is the cinematography, particularly in the earlier scenes. The film has a scale to it which I've not seen in a Bond film since Gilbert. In fact, I believe it is one of the grandest looking Bond films since TSWLM (not MR - because even though MR is arguably grander, TSWLM has a darker and more suspenseful flavour to it which SP mirrors). It is a decidedly dated element in my view (because films are not made this way any more - with that grandeur and the slower pace) but it is nice to see that style again in a Bond film. If only they had injected the necessary 'charisma' and 'energy' into the characters and performances, I would rank this film much higher.
Since this was a more pleasant experience, and despite the horrendous finale, I'm moving the film up one on my ranking list, from 17 to 16.
Also, finished QoS and unfortunately my opinion hasn't changed much. There's a lot I admire but overall my opinion is that it's a pretty shitty Bond film. The action is a mixed bag as I paid close attention this time. Sometimes it is great, sometimes it just feels like complete chaos (the bad kind, not the zen chaos of masterpiece actioners).
You can tell, similar to SP, that there were some serious problems with the script.
People say Craig's Bond is more Fleming but I disagree, at least in QoS. Fleming Bond would have scoffed at the cry-baby way Bond completely disregards any sort of respect for hierarchy as well as the way he just mopes around.
Ultimately the drab and dour nature of it wouldn't bother me if it moved the character forward as it is clearly attempting to do, but I don't think it succeeds. In fact I think it cuts some of the character nuances from CR in half and presents us with a more one-note Bond and more one-note performance from Craig. So, really, not only is the film inessential in terms of character, but I'd argue it is also a bit reductive. I do admire it for being such a compact slice of explosive action cinema though. A short gut punch.
I just don't think it's very great and I wish I did considering how many on here love it. Just not my style I suppose. I'm going to keep pretending it doesn't exist within my own personal canon (despite that fact that I do enjoy a lot of it) because I love the way CR ends. Much more satisfying way of saying "Now this is the 007 we all know!" I don't think QoS adds much of note aside from its compact shape and some visceral action, with a boring, nearly incomprehensible plot and grating villain in tow.
GE has moved up my ranking over the years, and as much as I thoroughly enjoyed this most recent viewing, I just can't rate it any higher. It still has an almost TV movie feel too it. Sean Bean is an okay villain, without being a Goldfinger , Majesty's Blofeld or Drax.
The tank chase is still an awesome set piece and possibly the last great action sequence. (Though CR's parkour chase and crane stunt is damn good) I know it has a huge fan base here, but it's never really rated that highly for me.
TLD on the other hand could take the #1 spot on my ranking. I've always loved Dalton's debut movie. I really like Dalton's Bond in LTK, but in TLD I think the story works better. It's more classic Bond. Follows the formula better (even though it was tired). There's a lot of Fleming in TLD, one of the series best allies, and certainly a good relationship between Bond and Saunders. Resulting in genuine sadness and loss when Saunders is assassinated. Necros is easily the best of the villains, though Koskov and Whitaker aren't so terrible. Koskov is a bit too soft, and Whitaker is just under developed. Kara is the best Bond girl since Tracy. Well written and nice to have a girl who isn't Bonds equal. The romance builds and is not merely thrust upon us. The action is well staged with the cargo net fight still in my opinion the greatest stunt of all time. (No cgi, 100% real)
A stunning score from John Barry and this is a genuine contender for top spot.
Truly can't understand that opinion.
Maybe it's because I followed the making of the film so intently back in '94 '95. Or maybe it's because the locations are often the UK doubling for another place. I realise that this has been done in the Bond films before and since. But GE for me stood out like no other. Despite the films scale, it feels low budget.
http://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/Goldeneye/pages/Goldeneye-0129.htm Great model, but the explosion makes it look like a Thunderbirds episode. I guess the fact that it was the late great Derek Meddings has a lot to be said for this.
http://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/Goldeneye/pages/Goldeneye-0796.htm
Epsom racecourse doubling for St.Petersburg
http://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/Goldeneye/pages/Goldeneye-0818.htm
Somerset house London
The church where Natalya meets with Boris is another London location supposed to be in Russia.
http://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/Goldeneye/pages/Goldeneye-1215.htm
The alley the tank goes down is much wider than the establishing shot.
http://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/Goldeneye/pages/Goldeneye-1211.htm
The music too was too similar in my opinion to Eric Serra's work on The Professional aka Leon.
I don't expect everyone to agree with every members opinion. As we're all aware we all have differing tastes and likes. For me GE feels cheap.
I just think GE is grand and cinematic as hell.
Agreed. I just don't understand the love for that film, and the acceptance of the comedic tone. "Sit!"
Just re-watched the first act of SP.
I just love the way OP brings all of these different feels in a single film (exotic India full of intrigue, sneaky Bond as well as a huge helping of bizarreness - second half is a Cold War spy thriller with a huge helping of bizarreness - the climax is like a full on fantasy mix of the two).
Lots of Bond being sneaky in the film as well and infiltrating etc which I love, and Moore does some nice fighting for a 54 year old.
I really like the Bourne films as well.
Yeah, it's grand entertainment all right.
And I always laugh at 'sit!'.
1. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE / GOLDENEYE
3. SKYFALL
4. MOONRAKER / DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
6. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY / SPECTRE
8. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN / DIE ANOTHER DAY
10. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
11. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
New additions are bolded. I'll update as I go. I'm really glad that I'm warming up to SP. I know what to expect so I look at it in a certain way and can really appreciate a lot about it. For most of its runtime I find it a pretty great Bond film, albeit not quite top tier. When it sucks, it really sucks, but when it's good I really like it.
QoS I still think is an entertaining explosive film that doesn't mess around. Has some great visuals and occasionally great action, but it just isn't what I want in a Bond film, which would be okay if I thought it did anything to advance the character and it doesn't. If anything I find it regresses him, so in my own personal canon I sort of pretend QoS doesn't exist because I find the end of CR more satisfying.
Just too dour and humorless for me. I don't get excited for any aspect of it, aside from the PTS which opens phenomenally and Tosca. Gives me chills. Bond just spends much of the film wandering around looking like total shit and I just don't care for that at all. CR stripped him back, but made him (more or less) really Fleming, and really gave us a great character study/thriller. QoS strips things back even more, which would be fine, but it doesn't do anything with that then so we are left with an unglamorous, unspectacular film. Doesn't do anything for the character and doesn't do anything to excite me (except Tosca). Just drab and dirty and I don't think there's as much Fleming Bond here as some might think. Near the bottom of the barrel for this fan.
@Birdleson haha, no order really. Kind of trying to pair up movies that have different tones etc, spread them out so I don't finish with one actor too soon if that makes sense?
I am saving some of the films I love most for last, but mixing in some that I know I'll love that way I don't get discouraged.
Maybe silly, but I'm just kinda picking and choosing.
If it works for nostrils, it works for Bond films.
hahahaha. Indeed.
Recommendations for my next viewing?
Thinking:
YOLT
LALD
AVTAK
Either Dalton
TWINE
Might not get to it tonight. Not sure.
Yeah I'm not 100% random, as I tend to pick my lesser loved ones first, mixing in a few personal classics to keep things exciting.
Fingers crossed that I enjoy TWINE. I might, as I skipped it last time I recall because I really don't like the film all that much and even the Bond films I don't rate highly (QoS) I'd still rate favorably. Not so much with TWINE. Maybe I'll appreciate it given the time it's been since I've seen it.
I just remember it feeling like a poorly written episode of Days of Our Lives with obligatory actions scenes that felt about as organic as Richards' line delivery. Funny enough, the villains are pretty good if I remember. Missed opportunity there...
Yeah I'm not 100% random, as I tend to pick my lesser loved ones first, mixing in a few personal classics to keep things exciting.
Fingers crossed that I enjoy TWINE. I might, as I skipped it last time I recall because I really don't like the film all that much and even the Bond films I don't rate highly (QoS) I'd still rate favorably. Not so much with TWINE. Maybe I'll appreciate it given the time it's been since I've seen it.
I just remember it feeling like a poorly written episode of Days of Our Lives with obligatory actions scenes that felt about as organic as Richards' line delivery. Funny enough, the villains are pretty good if I remember. Missed opportunity there... Funny how things change. When I was young TWINE made my top 10, maybe even top 5.
Just to clarify also, when I said it only gets better above, I meant the films only get better once I'm done watching TWINE.
It's at the bottom of my list right now, so it has no where to go but up!