Controversial opinions about Bond films

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  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    I like the Afghanistan sequence. Beats the Bond vs army in many Bond films in particular Gilbert's…yawn
  • JamesBondKenyaJamesBondKenya Danny Boyle laughs to himself
    Posts: 2,730
    The second half of TLD is better than the first half. The first half takes a long to get going, very plot heavy. Even breaking the ice with Kara takes some time. The second half feels more like traditional Bond where nothing needs explaining too much.

    That is indeed controversial or, to use the more conventional term, wrong.

    The first half is classic Bond with one of the best PTSs, a first 20 mins of purest Fleming, one of the great fights (admittedly it's Green 4 not Bond), a solid Aston Marin chase, some nice Cold War intrigue in a classic Eastern European setting, and with Dalton smashing it out of the park.

    The second half is far less interesting and the film starts to drag a little in the Afghanistan scenes. It peps up with the epic plane sequence but then drops again with the feeble finale with the rather underwhelming and tagged on Whitaker scene.

    It's not even close to be honest.

    This summarizes what I feel better than I could say it
  • Posts: 7,434
    The second half of TLD is better than the first half. The first half takes a long to get going, very plot heavy. Even breaking the ice with Kara takes some time. The second half feels more like traditional Bond where nothing needs explaining too much.

    That is indeed controversial or, to use the more conventional term, wrong.

    The first half is classic Bond with one of the best PTSs, a first 20 mins of purest Fleming, one of the great fights (admittedly it's Green 4 not Bond), a solid Aston Marin chase, some nice Cold War intrigue in a classic Eastern European setting, and with Dalton smashing it out of the park.

    The second half is far less interesting and the film starts to drag a little in the Afghanistan scenes. It peps up with the epic plane sequence but then drops again with the feeble finale with the rather underwhelming and tagged on Whitaker scene.

    It's not even close to be honest.

    This summarizes what I feel better than I could say it

    +1
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,711
    I don't find the second half of TLD weak at all, so I'm glad to see some praise for it! That said, to me, the first hour of that film is probably the best hour of Bond that has been made, so I can't agree....

    Which is of course the point of this thread!
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Bond aiding the jihad...gross.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    "That is indeed controversial or, to use the more conventional term, wrong."

    :-)

    Well TLD is my favourite Bond film so I am probably more forgiving than others. But still I find the mix of Cold War espionage in Europe and the adventure in more exotic locations just so very entertaining. Daltons gives us a Bond who seems very normal and likeable by remaining still very focused on his mission. The whole film is also less depressing or pseudointellectual; it is just a good example of smart escapism.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Yeah, aiding the jihad is always wrong indeed.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Yeah, aiding the jihad is always wrong indeed.

    It was the Western slant at the time. I can't blame the filmmakers for that. I just find that whole section dull and awkward.

    Indeed,it was a film of the day,i have no problem with that.
    We all know what my problem with it is,and how the film would leap up my rankings without it.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,136
    Yeah, aiding the jihad is always wrong indeed.

    Really Thundy, you’re better than this. These are the 80’s and the Afghans were the enemies of our enemies.
    That’s like dismissing WWII films for helping the communists.

    Furthermore, not every Afghan resistance fighter became member of the Taliban. After the Russians left, they had a devastating civil war between several fractions.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    We have talked this over before, and you are wrong.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2018 Posts: 23,883
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Yeah, aiding the jihad is always wrong indeed.

    It was the Western slant at the time. I can't blame the filmmakers for that. I just find that whole section dull and awkward.

    Indeed,it was a film of the day,i have no problem with that.
    We all know what my problem with it is,and how the film would leap up my rankings without it.
    It would still be flawed, but would improve dramatically for me too if the same issue were addressed. Some perhaps find it endearing and vulnerable. I find it tiresome.
  • Posts: 19,339
    bondjames wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Yeah, aiding the jihad is always wrong indeed.

    It was the Western slant at the time. I can't blame the filmmakers for that. I just find that whole section dull and awkward.

    Indeed,it was a film of the day,i have no problem with that.
    We all know what my problem with it is,and how the film would leap up my rankings without it.
    It would still be flawed, but would improve dramatically for me too if the same issue were addressed. Some perhaps find it endearing and vulnerable. I find it tiresome.

    Spot on old chap,spot on.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,400
    I love Kara Milovy. :D
  • Posts: 19,339
    I love Kara Milovy. :D

    Put away the Kleenex tissues and leave the bedroom !
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    barryt007 wrote: »
    I love Kara Milovy. :D

    Put away the Kleenex tissues and leave the bedroom !
    I'm afraid when it comes to Kara I can go through a fair bit of Kleenex too. Not quite as much as when I was a teenager but nonetheless.
  • Posts: 19,339
    barryt007 wrote: »
    I love Kara Milovy. :D

    Put away the Kleenex tissues and leave the bedroom !
    I'm afraid when it comes to Kara I can go through a fair bit of Kleenex too. Not quite as much as when I was a teenager but nonetheless.

    Oh Wiz,how disappointing.
  • Posts: 1,162
    We have talked this over before, and you are wrong.

    Actually he is right with every word he says. But don’t bother with thinking it through.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    If you educate yourself with Rambo movies and CIA propaganda, you may still think so.
  • Posts: 16,169
    Kara remains a top 5 Bond girl for me.
  • j_w_pepperj_w_pepper Born on the bayou, but I now hear a new dog barkin'
    Posts: 9,041
    I think Kara's cute. Apart from her lack of judgment regarding Georgiy she's probably the top "would-be girlfriend and also good pal" example in the entire franchise. Well, except maybe Tatiana. She's musical, not stupid and doesn't scream "Jaaaaaaaames" all the time. So what more does one want?
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited April 2018 Posts: 6,304
    Yeah, aiding the jihad is always wrong indeed.

    It was the Western slant at the time. I can't blame the filmmakers for that. I just find that whole section dull and awkward.[/quote]

    Indeed,it was a film of the day,i have no problem with that.
    We all know what my problem with it is,and how the film would leap up my rankings without it.[/quote]

    If only you'd learned to play the violin.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited April 2018 Posts: 7,136
    If you educate yourself with Rambo movies and CIA propaganda, you may still think so.

    Yeah that’s how it went. I watched Rambo III and blinded by my stupidity I thought the Mujahedeen must have been a fun gang.

    Of course not, I am interested in history and looked all that stuff up. Furthermore, I have a brother who studied Middle Eastern and North African History at university, so no need to patronise me Mr Thunder.
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    These are the 80’s and the Afghans were the enemies of our enemies.
    That’s like dismissing WWII films for helping the communists.

    Well put.
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    Furthermore, not every Afghan resistance fighter became member of the Taliban. After the Russians left, they had a devastating civil war between several fractions.

    True. I choose to think that Kamran Shah and his compatriots later fought for the Northern Alliance. And until the surviving 1/2 of the writing duo that wrote TLD's script(Michael G. Wilson. Richard Maibaum died in January 1991, more than a decade prior to 9/11) says otherwise I will continue to think so.

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    If you educate yourself with Rambo movies and CIA propaganda, you may still think so.

    Yeah that’s how it went. I watched Rambo III and blinded by my stupidity I thought the Mujahedeen must have been a fun gang.

    Of course not, I am interested in history and looked all that stuff up. Furthermore, I have a brother who studied Middle Eastern and North African History at university, so no need to patronise me Mr Thunder.

    I have a brudder, too.
  • Posts: 7,653
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    If you educate yourself with Rambo movies and CIA propaganda, you may still think so.

    Yeah that’s how it went. I watched Rambo III and blinded by my stupidity I thought the Mujahedeen must have been a fun gang.

    Of course not, I am interested in history and looked all that stuff up. Furthermore, I have a brother who studied Middle Eastern and North African History at university, so no need to patronise me Mr Thunder.

    I have a brudder, too.

    That said the mujaheddin were never nice boys even when the CIA sponsored their weapons and training. They weren't nice before the Russians came and definitely afterwards they were no shining knights, mostly religious fanatics and drugslords. You should read up on Ahmed Rashid's Jihad or Ghost wars by Steven Coll. They paint a less favorable picture.

    I guess Cubby's choice of leaving real world politics out of the movies was a right choice to begin with and they should stick with it. TLD did an oopsie with the so called noble savage.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    edited April 2018 Posts: 4,589
    Kara was vurried too much
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2018 Posts: 23,883
    I don't have a problem with the use of the Mujahedeen in TLD. It's no different from the Cold War. That just happened to be what was happening in the world at the time. The film offered no opinion on the conflict itself, nor the participants.

    The villains in Bond films tend to be rogues with their own devious agendas. That is how they keep it apolitical. That is how it should remain.
  • Posts: 1,162
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    If you educate yourself with Rambo movies and CIA propaganda, you may still think so.

    Yeah that’s how it went. I watched Rambo III and blinded by my stupidity I thought the Mujahedeen must have been a fun gang.

    Of course not, I am interested in history and looked all that stuff up. Furthermore, I have a brother who studied Middle Eastern and North African History at university, so no need to patronise me Mr Thunder.

    I have a brudder, too.

    But probably one that doesn’t know as much when it comes to the situation back then. Look, back in the 80s you would have been very hard pressed to find anyone ( apart from the Pravda that is), who didn’t consider it right to help the Afghanis in their fight. Most saw them as a kind of noble savage. Kind of like Indians. Religion wasn’t on the monitor all way back then. Actually the educated consensus was that religion was on its way down and probably almost nonexistent in the 21st century. Hindsight is always 20/20.
  • Posts: 787
    Here's one:

    I'm a very big fan of Craig - I really like him in general, like him in the role, and like his movies. I also think he's got a great look for the part.

    But: on the way to the Macau casino in Skyfall, he looks awful. I think it's a combination of lighting and makeup and the general palette of the movie, but he looks like a clown:

    Snapz-Pro-XScreenSnapz0044.jpg

    I take no joy in saying it, but there you go.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2018 Posts: 23,883
    octofinger wrote: »
    Here's one:

    I'm a very big fan of Craig - I really like him in general, like him in the role, and like his movies. I also think he's got a great look for the part.

    But: on the way to the Macau casino in Skyfall, he looks awful. I think it's a combination of lighting and makeup and the general palette of the movie, but he looks like a clown:

    Snapz-Pro-XScreenSnapz0044.jpg

    I take no joy in saying it, but there you go.
    That's not entirely controversial from my perspective. I didn't think he looked that great either to be honest. Same goes for most of SP. Too 'made up' imho.

    To me, Craig works best in casual gear when his rugged features and bulky physique are best represented. Put him in trad gear, prissy him up and try to make him look all suave stylish and it doesn't work for me any more (not like it did in CR/QoS, and it barely did there either). It takes a certain look to pull that off, which is why not everyone can be Bond.
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