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@QsAssistant I know exactly what you mean. This time through some films I usually rank much higher just didn't click for me like they did in the past either because when they came along I felt like I was watching them out of obligation because they came next in the series rather than because I really wanted to watch them next or because I was longing for certain elements from another actor's tenure. Next time I'll probably just watch them in a random order based on what sounds good at the time and watch any I never got in the mood to watch last.
I forced myself to do a Bondathon back when the Ultimate Editions came out on DVD. That ruined some Bond movies for me because I forced myself to watch some of them. This time I'm taking my time and I'm watching all of them in order, from DN to SP. I've been doing this particular Bondathon for almost two years. I only watch them when I'm in the mood. I'm finally onto the Craig era and I'm looking forward to watching them.
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Casino Royale
4. Thunderball
5. Dr. No
6. Goldfinger
7. The Man With The Golden Gun
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
9. Spectre
10. From Russia With Love
11. Diamonds Are Forever
12. Octopussy
13. You Only Live Twice
14. Live and Let Die
15. Skyfall
16. Tomorrow Never Dies
17. Goldeneye
18. For Your Eyes Only
19. Moonraker
20. The Living Daylights
21. Licence to Kill
22. Die Another Day
23. A View to A Kill
24. The World is Not Enough.
1-6 are untouchable, 7-10 are almost as great, 11-16 are enjoyable and changes places the most. 17-19 are only placed there because there are some better films, 20-22 are okay to mediocre and does not often get time in the player. 23 and 24 are the only films that make the largest sin for a Bondfilm; they bore me to tears. They are also huge misfires in all departments. The only two which I don't revisit as often as the others.
It's #4 on my list .
2. Casino Royale
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. Dr. No
5. Thunderball
6. Goldfinger
7. Licence to Kill
8. Live and Let Die
9. The Living Daylights
10. Skyfall
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Spectre
13. You Only Live Twice
14. For Your Eyes Only
15. Never Say Never Again
16. Goldeneye
17. The Spy Who Loved Me
18. The Man With The Golden Gun
19. Octopussy
20. Diamonds Are Forever
21. A View to A Kill
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. The World is Not Enough
24. Moonraker
25. Die Another Day
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. The Living Daylights
5. GoldenEye
6. Live and Let Die
7. Thunderball
8. From Russia With Love
9. Octopussy
10. Casino Royale
11. Diamonds are Forever
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. The Man With The Golden Gun
14. The Spy Who Loved Me
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. SPECTRE
18. You Only Live Twice
19. A View To A Kill
20. Moonraker
21. License To Kill
22. Die Another Day
23. Skyfall
24. Quantum of Solace
Personal taste, of course. I'm a fan of perspicuity when It comes to Bond. GE, DN, OHMSS, GF are very focused Bond films, you'll notice. They also have a very definitive structure to them, a smooth rising arc to the narrative. TB, CR, FRWL are somewhat scatterbrained by comparison, in my opinion. It's not that the scenes aren't quality in and of themselves, but I don't think they hang together as well as those others. CR and FRWL both trail off for me towards the end. They peak too soon is the trouble - CR with the card game, and FRWL with the fight on the train.
Hope that helps to explain my reasoning. :)
It didn't appear as though the user "WizardOfIce," posted a list here, although he did comment on the lists of several other users. I think that I have gotten a bit of a feel for his tastes, but I would be interested in it nonetheless.
1. The Living Daylights - Holds onto first place
2. Goldeneye - Greatest hits, and it works
3. From Russia With Love
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. Casino Royale
6. Dr No - gets better on each viewing. People who say "other films do it bigger and better" miss the point, the film is all about BOND the character, and to me Dr No is the only film where Bond is at the centre of the film.
7. Octopussy. Has always ranked high. Falls this time because of bland direction and locations
8. Goldfinger - Significant jump up, I get this movie now
9. For Your Eyes Only - always had a soft spot for it
10. Tomorrow Never Dies - Brosnan's most confident performance
11. Moonraker
12. The Spy Who Loved Me
13. Diamonds Are Forever
14. Licence to Kill
15. The Man With The Golden Gun
16. A View To A Kill
17. Skyfall
18. Die Another Day
19. Spectre - Only this high because it looks pretty.
20. Thunderball. I want to like this, it has the wittiest dialogue and great theme songS
21. Quantum Of Solace - Great score and I like the opening car chase and that's about it
22. The World is Not Enough - Bland on every level. The Thames chase and "007 your time is up" is great
To rank: LALD and YOLT
After much thought, this is my new ranking.
To be honest, I don't dislike any Bond film.
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. Licence to Kill
3. From Russia with Love
4. Thunderball
5. GoldenEye
6. The Man with the Golden Gun
7. Casino Royale
8. The Living Daylights
9. Goldfinger
10. Spectre
11. The Spy Who Loved Me
12. Dr. No
13. Skyfall
14. Die Another Day
15. Octopussy
16. You Only Live Twice
17. For Your Eyes Only
18. Live and Let Die
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
20. Quantum of Solace
21. A View to a Kill
22. Moonraker
23. The World Is Not Enough
24. Diamonds Are Forever
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. GoldenEye
5. Skyfall
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
7. Dr. No
8. Licence to Kill
9. From Russia with Love
10. Live and Let Die
11. Thunderball
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. Spectre
14. Quantum of Solace
15. The Living Daylights
16. You Only Live Twice
17. The World Is Not Enough
18. Octopussy
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
20. The Man with the Golden Gun
21. Diamonds Are Forever
22. Die Another Day
23. A View to a Kill
24. Moonraker
LALD may not have the attention to detail of other films, but there is great chemistry on screen amongst the main cast. Solitaire while perhaps a one-dimensional "kept woman" character doesn't pretend to be something she's not (other Bond girls try too hard and fail to be convincing). Moore may have tricked her into losing her virginity but Moore does it with such suavity that it can be forgiven (but also it was in the cards, before Solitaire lost her powers, so you could argue it was inevitable either way).
The voodoo theme of the film gives it a distinctive flavour and regardless of one's personal viewpoint you can't deny the impact it's hard on popular culture - the iconic crocodile stunt, Teehee, bus chase, and climax are images stuck in the minds of generations of Bond fans. The supernatural themes set it apart and I can see how it captivated the 70's kids.
I've ranked LALD quite low in recent years, not because I disliked it, rather I didn't see it for what it is, and it excels at what it tries to do - a straightforward Bond adventure with its own identity, acknowledges the past but lives in the present and creates its own path.
TOP TIER
1. The Living Daylights (0)
2. Goldeneye (+4)
3. From Russia With Love (+1)
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (+1)
5. Casino Royale (-2)
6. Dr No (+4)
7. Octopussy (-5)
EASILY WATCHABLE
8. Live and Let Die (+12) Significant jump up, more to like about it than Goldfinger
9. Goldfinger (+8) Another big change, I get this movie now
10. For Your Eyes Only (-3)
11. Tomorrow Never Dies (-2)
12. Moonraker (-1)
13. The Spy Who Loved Me (-5)
14. Diamonds Are Forever (-2)
15. Licence to Kill (-2)
FLAWED BUT STILL FOND OF
16. A View To A Kill (-1)
17. The Man With The Golden Gun (+2)
LESS THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
18. Skyfall (+4)
19. Die Another Day (+1)
20. Spectre (-3) Only this high because it looks pretty.
BIT OF A MESS
21. Thunderball (-3) I want to like this, it has the wittiest dialogue and great theme songs
22. Quantum Of Solace (+2) Great score and I like the opening car chase and that's about it
23. The World is Not Enough (0) Bland on every level. The Thames chase and "007 your time is up" is great
Coming up, You Only Live Twice
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. From Russia With Love
3. The Living Daylights
Good
4. Casino Royale
5. Dr. No
6. Spectre
7. Skyfall
8. Licence to Kill
9. For Your Eyes Only
Fun
10.GoldenEye
11.Goldfinger
12.The Spy Who Loved Me
13.Live and Let Die
14.DIamonds are Forever
15.Quantum of Solace
16.You Only Live Twice
17.Octopussy
18.Thunderball
Bad
19.Die Another Day
20.Tomorrow Never Dies
21.The Man With the Golden Gun
22.The World is Not Enough
23.A View to a Kill
24.Moonraker
@FoxRox I predict it will be around 16th to 17th. It used to be at the bottom, but that's unfair to Ken Adam and John Barry and the cinematic experience which Gilbert does well, even if the plot and character of Bond get shunted to the background.
It's one of the films you can enjoy if you don't scutinise it and I can imagine it being magical if watched as a kid, which it was for me. But now, being more critical, I prefer more depth especially the characters
2. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
3. DR NO
4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
5. THUNDERBALL
6. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
7. OCTOPUSSY/ NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
8. CASINO ROYALE
9. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
10. LIVE AND LET DIE
11. LICENCE TO KILL
12. A VIEW TO A KILL
13. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
14. SKYFALL
15. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
16. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
17. GOLDENEYE
18. MOONRAKER
19. SPECTRE/ CR'54
20. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
21. TOMORROW NEVER DIES
22. THE WORLD IS NOT ENEOUGH
23. QUANTUM OF SOLACE
24. DIE ANOTHER DAY/CR '67
2. From Russia With Love
3. Dr No
4. The Living Daylights
5. Casino Royale
6.OHMSS
7. Quantum of Solace
8. Skyfall
9. Spectre
10. Thunderball
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. Goldeneye
13. The Spy Who Loved Me
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. You Only Live Twice
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. Octopussy
18. The Man With The Golden Gun
19. A View To A Kill
20. Moonraker
21. Diamonds Are Forever
22. Licence To Kill
23. Live And Let Die
24. Die Another Day
A new appreciation for Thunderball sees it leap into my top ten.
Tomorrow Never Dies leaps above The World Is Not Enough
and a new fondness for Diamonds sees it off the bottom!
1. Casino Royale '06
2. Dr. No
3. Goldfinger
4. License to Kill
5. Octopussy
6. The Living Daylights (+1)
7. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (-1)
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Quantum of Solace
10. Skyfall
11. Live and Let Die
12. The Spy Who Loved Me (+1)
13. Goldeneye (-1)
14. Thunderball
15. From Russia With Love
16. Spectre (+2)
17. Tomorrow Never Dies (-1)
18. The World Is Not Enough (-1)
19. For Your Eyes Only
20. Die Another Day
21. A View to a Kill
22. Moonraker (+1)
23. The Man with the Golden Gun (-1)
24. Diamonds Are Forever
Not much change since last year. I haven't been watching much Bond lately. I'm sort of taking a break, cleaning my palette and watching other kinds of movies.
Spectre has, more or less, remained in the same place. I still contend it's atrocious from a writing standpoint and the characters are forgettable. But as an action-flick, it's well directed, full of scenic vistas and entertaining overall.
While Brosnan's film are in the bottom half, it's because of the weak writing and directing; Brosnan himself did a fantastic job playing the character. If only he received the treatment Craig had...
The films are different. Can't really be quantified. My top 10 picks are just enjoyable as my top 5, depending on my mood. Apart from the bottom 4, I feel like many of the films in the lower-middle had good concepts which just weren't as fully executed as the higher ranking films.
What separates my top 3 from 4-6 is not the entertainment value. I'd consider all 6 equal in that regard. But rather the "importance". The 80's films were great, in my opinion, but they didn't quite capture the spirit of the 80's in the same way that watching Connery's films felt like stepping into a time machine into the 60's.
You really still have two films left to grade from your current re-watching. I recognize that Never Say Never Again is essentially based on Thunderball and that it is not an Eon production, but I have always seen it as a legitimate Bond film nonetheless. Of course, the same cannot be said of Casino Royale '54 or Casino Royale '67. Also, it is not like the situation that produced NSNA is going to happen again, so there isn't much risk of the canon being effected much in the future.
I am assuming that you view NSNA fairly poorly? Where would you place it in your ranking?
I agree 100%.
The Craig films have even made it so NSNA isn't an odd one out due to not opening with a gunbarrel.
2. TB
3. GF
4. CR
5. DAF
6. FRWL
7. OHMSS
8. YOLT
9. QoS
10. LALD
11. TSWLM
12. SP
13. DN
14. LTK
15. GE
16. TMWTGG
17. OP
18. AVTAK
19. TLD
20. TND
21. TWINE
22. FYEO
23. DAD
24. MR