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Elaborate for me if you could
If you say it enough it makes it so!
1 Showing the villain doing villainous things early on.
2 A good sub-plot, (Anya wants to meet her boyfriend's killer, cuts to Bond's face in the plane window. Simple, but very effective)
3 Pacing. TSWLM motors along splendidly, without the need to do quick jump editing.
Moore was great, by the way. These were my teenage Bond films, and what great fun they were!
A long time ago, TMWTGG was among my favorite Bond films. It has suffered a steady decline over the years though, and unfortunately tonight's viewing wasn't so great. It has some elements I like, particularly the villain, but it should have been a much better Bond film.
Moore is perfectly fine as Bond, but I prefer him in half of his other Bond movies. Christopher Lee as Scaramanga is the biggest highlight of course, and he helps make the third act the strongest part. I think a darker tone throughout the film would have helped it; a lot of the film's humor doesn't work for me, unlike LALD, which I consider to be the funniest Bond film (up next!). A lot of it does feel tired coming off of LALD, and with the exception of the villain, it can't really keep up. Anders is a good Bond girl, but I don't really like Goodnight. I also don't particularly care for the side characters in this one. They're not bad, but not particularly memorable either. I can never really decide if I like or dislike Nick Nack.
The soundtrack is pretty good, but the title song is awful; maybe my second least favorite after DAD's. The PTS is one of the weaker ones in the series. It's also low on good, memorable action scenes IMO, the standouts being the car stunt (of course, bad slide whistle there) and the climax. The climax of the film is awesome, I will say that. I like the funhouse and the epic duel between Bond and Scaramanga. If the whole film had been that good, who knows how high it could have ranked. As it stands, the film just doesn't have a lot of good stuff to stand out to me personally. Besides a weak PTS and title song though, there isn't a lot that's noticeably flawed - just some dull segments that also hurt. TMWTGG has its moments, but it certainly remains in the bottom section of my ranking. Tough to go to coming off TSWLM.
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. GoldenEye
5. Licence to Kill
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. The Living Daylights
8. Quantum of Solace
9. Octopussy
10. Tomorrow Never Dies
11. A View to a Kill
12. The World Is Not Enough
13. The Man with the Golden Gun
14. Spectre
15. Moonraker
16. Die Another Day
This film settled the theory about the Craig era consisting of 2 eras. The feel of SF and SP is decidedly weaker, less exciting, absent of an urgency and rawness that really helped make CR and QoS special.
QoS is flawed but it's no nonsense, "let's just get on with this" disposition is something I respect and appreciate and given the scripting constraints something i admire with evefy subsequent viewing. Craig is on top form, his suits look fantastic and his fight scenes are satisfyingly visceral. Excellently paced and entertaining enough to warrant multiple viewings.
Well said.
Been quite awhile since I watched this one and this viewing reminded me how much I loved it the first time. I had a blast with it this time. Craig was great, of course, and Olga remains my favorite Craig era Bond girl. QOS really is a tight action revenge thriller.
That said, one of my biggest gripes is I would have had a traditional looking gunbarrel opening on that amazing first shot. Oh well.
Yes it would have been the icing on the cake for the gunbarrel and the dots to open on that spectacular shot ! Still, it doesn't bother me as much as SF opening which really bugs me!
In SF's case I can understand why having two cases of Bond pointing his gun in succession would have looked silly.
Ultimately it is QoS where a lot of the creative license began. That is the film that established the arty farty that has become customary for this run. CR was for all intents and purposes still quite traditional in approach.
Have to agree here, although I think the difference between QoS and the 2 films that followed RE:arty farty is tgat QoS is nowhere near as pretentious and didnt lack that organic visceral rawness.
Also, Craig isn't that guy anymore. He changed a lot during those four years between QoS and SF. Mellowed out.
He did mellow. Unfortunately.
For SF, have the Columbia music play over it and have the screen fade to black after the blood. Then open the film as it it.
It's not rocket science.
This is always ny fear with EoN, not being able to constructively take criticism. Yes, they got quite a bit of flack for poorly aping Bourne but all that needed to be done was stop all that excessive shake cam and quick cut edits. They should have looked to CR which was a universal hit.
As for Craig mellowing, that does seem to be the case unfortunately and I truly feel the man's been wasted. Post QoS One 3 year gap and two 4 year gaps. Theres 1 or 2 extra Bond films we're missing there.
1. Casino Royale
2. The Spy Who Loved Me
3. Skyfall
4. GoldenEye
5. Licence to Kill
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. The Living Daylights
8. Quantum of Solace
9. Octopussy
10. Tomorrow Never Dies
11. A View to a Kill
12. The World Is Not Enough
13. Spectre
14. The Man with the Golden Gun
15. Moonraker
16. Die Another Day
Very nice to watch LALD after TMWTGG. TMWTGG felt tired and had ineffective humor IMO, whereas LALD is bursting with personality and is the funniest Bond film to date. I enjoy every Bond actor's debut film, and LALD is certainly no exception.
Roger Moore is completely comfortable in the role from the beginning, and he does a wonderful job throughout. Solitaire is among my favorite Bond girls, and Kananga is also potentially a Top 10 Bond villain for me. Tee-Hee and Baron Samedi are great too! Honestly all the side characters are great - Quarrel Jr., Felix, Whisper, Rosie, JW, etc. The soundtrack is good, and the title song is one of the series' finest. The humor is just terrific, and it really helps give the film identity. LALD is one of the most unique entries in the whole series, and I've always appreciated it for that. I have always liked this movie. It's among my favorites in Moore's tenure (my Top 3 of his being LALD, TSWLM, and FYEO).
There are two small things that hold it back just a little for me: the action scenes aren't among my favorites (the crocodile farm is awesome, but most of the other action-oriented scenes are just okay or decent rather than great ones), and the middle of the film has a couple scenes that hurt the pace. These aren't big problems though, as I enjoy almost all of the film. It will probably fall just short of my Top 10 again, but it's more of a statement on how much I like some of the other films rather than any kind of poor reflection on LALD. It's a very fun, unique, and hilarious Bond adventure. I'm sad that the Moore era has ended for this Bondathon, but after DAF, it's the golden age entries for the final stretch! Maybe I should have Bondathons backwards more often?
2018 Bondathon Ranking
1. Casino Royale
2. The Spy Who Loved Me
3. Skyfall
4. GoldenEye
5. Licence to Kill
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. Live and Let Die
8. The Living Daylights
9. Quantum of Solace
10. Octopussy
11. Tomorrow Never Dies
12. A View to a Kill
13. The World Is Not Enough
14. Spectre
15. The Man with the Golden Gun
16. Moonraker
17. Die Another Day
This was the very best viewing of this film I have had so far. I really think if you once accept the silliness in some of its scenes, it really works as a funny and child-friendly adventure. I also mus correct my earlier assessment that at least some of the scenes in Venice and Brazil are really good, especially the poisoning of the scientists and the Chang fight. On the contrary, I found Drax a bit underwhelming. Sure, he has some of the best villain lines but he actually does not do so very much and does also not really have that much screen time. He is more or less absent in the whole Venice/Brazil section and too much weight is put on Jaws who is a bit too silly.
The film works mainly because of the amazing stunt work (pts) its great score, cinematography, miniature works and set design. In many ways, this is the best looking and sounding Bond film.
I also think that Goodhead is a bit underrated. There is actually not so very much wrong with her. Lois Chiles does her job very well. I would even say that I like her more than all the other female special agents in the franchise who team up with Bond.
I agree here as well. All this discussion of MR on another thread has motivated another viewing shortly. I actually like Drax though. He's one of my favourite villains.
Totally agree SP does not serve Craig well, the film does not play to Craig's strengths.
It really doesn’t and it’s a real shame. Craig, for the most part, has been a super 007 but is let down here. I do hope that B25 gets the best from him.