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Comments
The pictures were generally bad and deserve their status as such.
Agree they are not Oscar material, and in many ways bad movies, but they are entertaining and the truth is that it is thanks for Roger amusing so many during so many many years that .. maybe .. we still can be amused by (a diferent kind) of Bond movies.
Personally i love them all, shitty or not.
Really. You could remember the audience "groaning" (why would this scene receive "groans"?), but had trouble remembering whether or not AVTAK featured the Beach Boys song?
Okay.
For me, Max Zorin is the perfect Bond villain, excellently portrayed by the Oscar-winning actor Max Zorin. He truly is the most psychotic Bond villain to have braced the screen. He has some incredible dialogue with his costars and Bond himself- "anybody else want to drop out?".
Grace Jones is completely wacky and fun to watch as Mayday. My favourite character from the series. Such a colourful, feisty and at times threatening character. Her death is also a brilliant scene.
Yes, perhaps Moore is a little too old for Roberts. But their relationship does not turn sexual until the very last scene of the film. Again, doesn't bother me.
The fire truck chase is a well crafted set piece by the excellent action director John Glen. The scene where the persuing police cars get trapped at he top of the vertical draw bridge is a spectacle.
It's no surprise to see that RT is mentioned...YET AGAIN! Are you some kind of ambassador for this website?
Yes, well it would! It seems you can't comprehend that people like Bond films outside of your own little bubble.
You don't like the Moore films. Plenty other people do. Accept it, and move on.
I'll reiterate this point: IMO, the most cringeworthy scene from a Bond movie excluding anything from DAD, is Sean Connery getting dressed up as a Japansese fisherman (and unlike the Beach Boys scene, this scene lasts for a fair stretch of the film!) :))
I agree.
That still does not make AVTAK a good film.
No coincidence that it features most of the Moore films, lol.
What? I wasn't using it as barometer of comparison.
Since you haven't bothered to respond to any of my constructive comments, I assume that this "debate" has hit rock bottom.
That was somebody's opinion, LOL.
My list would be very different. And so would the next persons. We all have our tastes.
I actually did answer your questions, but you did not answer mine: If the PTS is the only wart in this film, why then is it ranked in the 30 percentile?
I was referring to the points in my previous post...
And I did respond to that comment, but you seem to have skirted over it.
(shrug)
I can accept that you like the films because you like the character, but stating a film is good when it clearly, clearly not flies in the face of logic.
These films are what they are, all of them, and deserve their merits and deductions.
nope, I didn't even mention Rotten Tomatoes.
Again, what constitutes a good film lies with the viewer. I think AVTAK is an excellent film. It does what a Bond film should do; entertain. There is some terrific filmmaking in this film (just watch the behind the scenes commentary of how they shot the Golden Gate Bridge showdown). Yes, it has its flaws (like all Bond films?!), but for me, and other people, AVTAK is a favourite.
"Flies in the face of logic".
How on earth does it?
Just because YOU don't like the film (or anyone else for that matter), DOES NOT make a film "bad".
Say that you don't like the film, back it up, then move on. Do not go dandying around claiming that it is FACT.
Oh, I don't like the film, and so does most of the world.
I confess to being guilty of that in the past with my dislike of a certain blonde bimbo in one of the Moore films but it gets you nowhere with other fans if you keep going on about it.
Never seen the Stooges film, so I can't comment there! :)>-
Bond films are an entirely different context. They are they're own breed of film. By your logic, no Bond film should be revered (because they are not in the same league as Citizen Kane and such films!).
Why is AVTAK a bad film (with no argument about it)?
So far you've stated that the "fire truck chase is awful" and "the Beach Boys theme is cringeworthy". These are all...uhm, subjective?
And as for your "most of the world" comment. Gosh, thats an exaggeration if I've ever read one.
I think it starts off badly and never really recovers. The ski chase is decent but nothing really new, it's certainly not a patch on the TSWLM PTS, and the beach boys scene ruins it. Also, it never made much sense to me. Why would the Russians just leave the dead agents body there with the microfilm, and how did Bond find it? Plus the iceberg sub with the union jack lid is ridiculously naff and geriatric Bond easily seducing the hot young agent is cringe worthy imo.
The main problem with AVTAK is that Moore is too old. We've seen Bond's age acknowledged in other films (in fact, one of the reasons I defend NSNA is because it has an interesting idea with an older Bond, even though it doesn't do very much with it) and, since Moore in AVTAK is older than any other Bond in any other film, it would have been nice to see it acknowledged here.
But no. They just try to pretend Moore is still young and it's cringe worthy and embarassing. He seems to need a stunt double for even the slightest hint of action and the way he pulls fit 20 something girls is ridiculous. You also mentioned clothes and I agree. He comes across as a deluded old man having a midlife crisis. Seeing him run around in a tracksuit or try to be all cool by putting on a pair of shades is cringe worthy
I love Roger Moore. He seems likena really nice bloke and he was a fantastic Bond but he did one too many films, I think he himself has actually said that he regretted making AVTAK. He really should have gone out on a high with Octopussy.
What's equally annoying is that the 80s were a golden era for action films. In 1985, Police Story came out. In Police Story Jackie Chan hangs from the back of a speeding bus with an umberella, electrocutes himself and kicks ass in some fantastic fight scenes. That same year, EON gave us Roger Moore's stunt double snowboarding down a mountain to the beach boys and oofing and ahhing as he struggles to dispatch some henchman in shockingly bad fight scenes.
However, I think the producers realised how embarassing this was so when Dalton came in they really upped the ante stunts/action wise.
Anyway, back to AVTAK. The plot is also pretty poor imo. It's just a rehash of Goldfinger, right down to the villain getting rid of an investor who wants no part in his scheme. They also waste a lot of time at the beginning with all that horse racing stuff which has really no impact on the overall plot.
I also think Stacey Sutton is a bad Bond girl. All she does is need rescuing, she's insanely dumb (how the fuck did she not notice that massive blimp coming up behind her) and she's way too young for Moore. Say what you will about Christmas Jones but at least she was useful (the whole pipeline bit). Although maybe Stacey did something useful that I'm forgetting, I'll admit I haven't watched AVTAK for ages.
It's not all bad. John Barry's score is brilliant, Christopher Walken is amazing as one of the best Bond villains, the theme song is catchy and there are some great moments. Overall though, I think it's definetely a case of the bad outweighing the good. Shame because there is potential. With a tighter, better written script and a younger Bond (imagine Dalton squaring off against Walken!) it could have been one of the best.
It isn't the only thing. There are two stunt double scenes that are bad, too. But I'd argue that when the PTS takes such a misstep, it casts a pall on the rest of the film. That's me. Others disagree and that's fine, too.
I rank AVTAK middle of the pack. I find it to be Moore's best Bond since TSWLM.
He really should have gone out on a high with Octopussy.
That's a high?
An all time high ;)
Who?
Anyway, I like it for many reasons stated here already.
I respect that you can state that with a straight face :)
Oops! Quite right that was LTK Benicio DelcTorro was in.
Oh god lol
I know what you mean about the soft spot though. I have that for GE.