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Sorry I made a mess with the abbreviations in the original post.
I actually hate abbreviations but I can see why they are used here of course :P
It definitely will be the most elaborate expensive and best looking Bond movie ever with production cost exceeding 300 million USD which is insane really.
Question is if the story will be good.
As long as it looks good, that's half the battle won.
Well let's say a third :P
QOS certainly looked good too ;)
Just based on the footage released so far I would have to say yes. Everything from cinematography, costumes to art direction looks first class.
A Brosnan defender is always welcome in my realm! >:D<
Gone are the self-examination and independent characters of GoldenEye, replaced with bog standard globetrotting, adventuring, and gadgetry. What remains is a perfectly acceptable Bond movie with its fair share of strengths, but a definite step down from the previous triumph.
The fundamentals of the movie are as solid as any. The You Only Live Twice plot, although done for at least the third time, is a reliable format for a Bond movie, and if we didn't hold it against TSWLM, we can hardly hold it against TND. Brosnan is more assured in the role, looking as natural as ever in the role, holding the different aspects of Bond in a more steady balance than he did in GE. Carver is a fine villain, humorous and hammy, and his character holds up even more almost twenty years later, as the media (and its ability to distort the truth) has tightened its hold on the world.
Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver is a mixed bag. Her performance and the role are fairly contrived, yet she has great chemistry with Brosnan in spite of all, which almost makes the whole mess work. There were rumors they were looking to bring Natalya back, which would certainly have added more dramatic weight to the role. On the other hand, I shudder at the thought of losing Natalya in an average Bond movie. The movie is also split on whether Paris's death means that "IT'S PERSONAL." The movie hints that Paris is a great lost love for Bond, but it never really follows through on this premise, and the same goes for Bond's grief at her death.
The movie has a number of good action sequences, most notably the PTS and the car chase, although veers to close to generic action movie explosions and machine gun fire, as in the climax, and to a lesser extent the PTS. Two other highlights are two of the best, most Bondian scenes in Brosnan's tenure; Bond waiting for Paris (or an assassin) in his hotel room, tuxedo half-off, vodka and Walther nearby, and Bond's confrontation with Dr. Kaufman, which is tense despite the silliness.
More broadly, the movie is probably the height of the "half-Connery, half-Moore" philosophy that was supposed to be the key to Bondian success and the underlying philosophy of the Brosnan years. The film is sometimes serious, sometimes jokey, and it tries its best to maintain a balance between the one-liners and the action sequences, at which it's mostly successful.
One of the movie's greatest weaknesses, though, is its romance. Here the return to TSWLM's model isn't as welcome, as the "Bond's equal" model is truly tired after Anya Amasova and Pam Bouvier. Wai Lin doesn't have much to do, romantic or otherwise, for most of the movie, and she gets almost no romantic development with Bond for the whole movie, prior to the very end.
All in all, Tomorrow Never Dies is an entertaining little romp, sure to stay on the right side of goofiness and action, although it never truly sparkles, because it abandons the introspection and developed characters of GoldenEye, as well as leaning a bit too heavily on explosions and forgetting the Bond girl's romance, always a central part of a successful Bond movie.
1. Goldfinger
2. From Russia With Love
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. GoldenEye
5. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. Dr. No
7. Licence to Kill
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. The Living Daylights
10. You Only Live Twice
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Thunderball
13. Octopussy
14. Live and Let Die
15. Diamonds are Forever
16. A View to a Kill
17. The Man with the Golden Gun
18. Moonraker
Count me in!
Moonraker
Having usually criticized Bond's outer space mission pretty heavily in the past, I decided to approach Moonraker with a clean slate this time, focusing on its ability to entertain and take me on a 00-worthy adventure. With this mindset, it amazed me how many negatives vanished and positives appeared.
It's abundantly clear from the start that Moonraker is supposed to be one of the Bond movies that will go above and beyond the ordinary. This realization helped me tremendously in relinquishing the sighs about its lack of realism and embrace the grand scope it offers.
This viewing showed me just how pleasing Moonraker is to the eyes and the ears; its score and locations sweep Bond around the globe in an adventure that stops to look around and listen every now and then, particularly in the second half. The story flows seamlessly from California to Venice, Rio de Janeiro, and outer space, giving attention to where it is, rather than merely serving as a vehicle for moving Bond on to the next part of the mission.
Speaking of Bond's mission, I found it to go appropriately hand-in-hand with the aforementioned locations and score to create, as I read some time ago from one user on here, a "globe-trotting adventure." I liked how Bond essentially knows all along that Drax is dirty, but never fully assembles his plan until he and Holly arrive at the space station. Throughout the movie, we wonder with Bond what Drax is planning; each curious clue leads us along with Bond to another part of the world with more leads to follow.
Other plus points in Moonraker's favor include, as always with his tenure, Roger Moore's performance; along with him include a half chilling-half boring villain in Hugo Drax and an occasionally intriguing Holly Goodhead. Drax and Holly are about as ho-hum as it gets since neither of them rise above average. I see the idea behind Michael Lonsdale's stone-cold portrayal of Drax, but it tends to bore instead of excite. The same is true for Holly: at times she has an engaging chemistry with 007, and other times she is annoying and too much the "intellectual woman," specifically in the first half. As for Jaws...well...MR did a nice job of ruining a fine henchman. The idea to bring him back after TSWLM was a good decision, but its implementation makes me wish that it never happened. Besides, I would have liked to have seen more encounters between Bond and Chang- a final duel between them aboard the space station could have been cool!
With mediocre characters and the clear overload of sight gags and corny jokes, Moonraker works hard to undo the work put in by its score, locations, and global expanse. Thus, it most likely will never see the light of day of the upper division on my rankings; it's destined to be a bottom half entry, although I'm inclined to keep it away from its typical bottom three to five position following this more enjoyable viewing.
DAF's existence in the Bond series forces a serious question onto its fans: if a director feels the need to be goofy, is it better for him to load the movie up with all kinds of silliness, or should he weave some cheesiness into select scenes? Bond movies that receive criticism for their cheesy scenes such as TMWTGG, OP, DAD, etc. seem to fall into the latter category. The whole movie itself isn't supposed to be laughable; instead, only that particular scene is meant for humor, and perhaps that one scene's inclusion hurts worse than a multitude of scenes like it. In DAF, it seems like the entire movie is supposed to be a goofball, and it actually works out well because we understand that the overall tone is supposed to be lighter. In short, I suppose I'm saying that if a more light-hearted, comedic approach seems like the way to go, then it doesn't get more effective than DAF.
This recognition of DAF's zany approach calls something else to the stage, too: its darkness. With the inclusion of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, there are some particularly disturbing scenes in DAF that creepily fit alongside all the silliness. Mrs. Whistler's murder and Wint and Kidd's subsequent picture taking of her corpse prove that amidst the comedy, there's a dark undertone. Plenty's death and Bond's killing of Blofeld's double in the Whyte House also give off this dual vibe of goofy antics and ruthless murder. It's a strange way to direct a Bond movie, but DAF is exceptionally memorable with many standout scenes that confuse and perplex.
Its plot starts off entertainingly with our hero tracking down some hot diamonds that are being stockpiled for a mysterious use at the hands of an even more mysterious user. The first half of the movie is intriguing as we watch the contraband proceed up the pipeline, continually switching hands following several gruesome murders delivered by Wint and Kidd. Once Bond climbs up to the penthouse of the Whyte House, however, this portion of the movie vanishes to reveal the return of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, whose need for diamonds turns out to be a rather unfulfilling blackmail plot via a space satellite death ray. Consequently, Willard Whyte finally turns up and makes a mess of things while Tiffany loses her cool and transforms into a blockhead basically overnight. By the time the oil rig climax comes around, there's not a lot left to be desired, unfortunately. It's one of the most disappointing finales in the series! Wint and Kidd's subsequent last ditch effort aboard Willard Whyte's yacht tries to help us out with this bitter after taste, but its silliness soils that hope (Tiffany's "EEEE!" and cake toss are nearly unforgivable). Obviously, DAF is stronger in its first half. The gags just pile too high towards the end, which is a shame because it is a wonderfully fun adventure there for a while.
I remember feeling cheated the first time I watched DAF. I rented it from Blockbuster and returned it afterwards with a fair amount of disappointment. My mom asked me if I had enjoyed it, and I replied with a statement along the lines of, "Ehh, it wasn't one of the better ones." While this is still true regarding DAF, I have come to enjoy it over the years for its adventurous, fun-filled, and occasionally serious tone. It has too many jokes and tries to be too much of a joke to be considered one of Bond's best, but it entertains with that classic '70s swing, so that ought to count for something!
:))
Count me in, boys!
(heh, not really
:D )
Thats interesting, i recently rewatched both of Daltons movies for the first time in years.
When i watched them all those years ago i remember that i really liked LTK, but TLD didn't do much for me.
Seeing them now i was totally suprised myself how much TLD grew on me, it is easily one of my favorite Bond movies now, and on par with LTK, which i still think is a pretty good movie but as you said seems like a typical 80's action movie at times, and i would even say very "Americanized". But it features one of my favorite Bond Villains, henchman and Bond girl.
I aim to tease ...I mean please, Christ... :))
it was the auto-correct....really
ok...maybe not.
Why can't you all live in Switzerland?? It is nice here...we have cheese, with holes.
And chocolate galore.
Toblerone anyone?
This last week watched Die Another Day and Skyfall. Two completely different aproaches to the Bond Movies franchise and, quality wise, also very different.
I must say that i find the first half of DAD (right till when Bond arrives in Iceland) quite good, and this movie could have been Brosnam's best (the pre-titles sequence, even the titles, the Hong kong hotel scenes, Blades club fight..), and Pierce Brosnam really was Bond in this movie but .. then the invisible car, the CGI Ice Glacier surf scene, Jinxx ("your momma!...).. really goes downhill from there.
SK it's a different story. It's an exceptionally well shot movie (cinematographically speaking a triumph), exquisite actors (Javier Bardem is one of the JB best villains ever!), character driven (M and Bond relationship, M and Silva, Bond's past,..) and with profound themes approached and is indeed a great James Bond movie.
For me though, Casino Royale, still ranks as Craig's best and OHMSS the all time best. I think this are the 2 i will be watching next.
Nice! What did you like about it in particular?!
I think Brosnans movies will age a bit better with time.
TND is in my opinion one of the Best overall Action films in the whole franchise, together with Goldeneye. It really looks like they were pulverizing huge budgets back than, just look at the chase sequences.
At the same time it just flows so well from start to finish. Great locations (one of my favorites is Hamburg since it is my current hometown so i have a special fondness for TND)
TND, for me is very close to Goldeneye, almost on par.
Both feature some of the best work by John Barry, and the 2 title songs are magnificient. Connery in DAF is the anti Connery in DN/FRWL, and I mean it in a good way: The latter feature Connery at his most confident, masculine, badass self, while DAF features Connery at his most laid back, relaxed, I-don't-give-a-sh*t-because-I'm-here-to-enjoy-myself. It would be a crime for me to compare these 2 versions of Connery, as both are an absolute joy to watch, even if he is out of shape in DAF.
Sir Rog in AVTAK is old, very old, but once you get used to his look, he delivers his typical epic performance as Bond. Always a joy to watch, even at his age, and I'll never get enough of Sir Rog badassery, charm and charisma.
I was also surprised at how fast the 2 films went. DAF is like DAD: it doesn't let you time to breath or analyse the absolute mayhem and OTT-ness of the film, you hardly have time to realise what on earth is going on that the next scene is already starting. As for AVTAK, sure the film is pretty toned down in terms of action to suit Moore's age, but it goes by at a very fast rate, there's always a cool, neat, subtle thing happening to keep your attention. The film arrived at San Fransisco and I was struggling to realise half the film had already passed.
I have no problems with Stacey Sutton, and Tiffany Case gets away with anything because she is a total bikini babe. :x Charles Gray is very camp but he is better than Pleasance, as for the duo of Zorin and May Day, they completely ham it up and offer 2 of the most entertaining villain performances in the entire franchise.
And one of the best PTS of the series.
It makes for an interesting contrast, as Tommorow Never Dies was an average Bond that never intended to be anything more. It had some faults, which prevented it from being in the top ten, and some strengths, which kept it above the likes of Octopussy. TWINE, on the other hand, presents some novel ideas that are marred by pedestrian (or worse) execution.
The fundamental conceit of the movie, that the Bond girl turns out to be the villain, is a great one, if a bit reminiscent of GoldenEye. Sophie Marceau does well enough as Elektra King, though I was less impressed with her performance this time around. They also felt it necessary to include M in the plot, presumably because they felt they had to make up for TND's low "IT'S PERSONAL!" quotient. Brosnan handles his part in the drama well, in probably his most acting-heavy entry in his tenure (the first confrontation with Elektra is bad, but the rest of his performance, especially the final confrontation with Elektra, makes up for it).
The movie makes the most of the many opportunities to bungle this concept. Apart from adding in M, as was already discussed, the action scenes and location work is incredibly drab. None of the action sequences can compare to the ones in GE or TND, and the locations are probably even more generic (and shot quite unappealingly). Renard's pain-free villain could have been put to good use, since he's a unique spin on the character without Oddjob and Jaws's size advantage, but he gets little to do and his invulnerability to pain is treated inconsistently. Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist is awful on every conceivable level.
The movie does have two other noteworthy positives, in the persons of Valentin Zukovsky and Desmond Llewelyn in his final outing as Q. Valentin is as charismatic as ever, and his death (if it is indeed an actual death, though we'll never know now) is great, as he uses his final (again, if it's real) to save Bond. Desmond Llewelyn gets a brilliant sendoff before his tragic death, showing once last time that despite his and Bond's often adversarial relationship, they really do respect and care for each other.
That's all for today, tune in next week as I struggle through Die Another Day.
1. Goldfinger
2. From Russia With Love
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4. GoldenEye
5. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. Dr. No
7. Licence to Kill
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. The Living Daylights
10. You Only Live Twice
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. Thunderball
13. Octopussy
14. The World is not Enough
15. Live and Let Die
16. Diamonds are Forever
17. A View to a Kill
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
19. Moonraker