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Don't forget Octopussy! And personally I'd add Goldeneye too
Don't forget LTK. Great cast of ne'er-do-wells.
I find them all to be good - even Truman-Lodge and Perez. There's just something about the cast of villains in LTK.
I would go for LTK. They just seemed like lost boys who got caught up in Sanchez's hurricane.
You know, I tried to like this. Tried to find any reason to not rank this at the bottom. And I did. Spectre.
The upside is the PTS. I also like the interactions between Bond and Zukovsky. But everything else is just...plain bad. Daytime soap opera stuff ("knew where to hurt me". "Haven't you heard? So is she!"...nyeh nyeh), the action is sub-par, script awful, terrible use of locations, Arnold's worst score (apart from the excellent "007 Your Time is Up in the PTS). The only reason Spectre is lower because it's even more of a mess, and frustratingly bad.
1. The Man with the Golden Gun
2. Thunderball
3. You Only Live Twice
4. Skyfall
5. Quantum of Solace
6. The World Is Not Enough
7. Spectre
Next up is A View to a Kill. I expect this to fit around the top 2 at this point in the marathon. It might also be apparent I'm doing this in roughly reverse tier order. Things become more enjoyable at this point, and even more so after the next two films.
Still surprised to see DAF safely inside top ten, and watching it again a couple of weeks ago didn't change my (current) opinion of the film. 2019 ranking so far:
1. Thunderball
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. From Russia with Love
4. For Your Eyes Only
5. The Spy Who Loved Me
6. Goldfinger
7. Octopussy
8. Live and Let Die/Diamonds Are Forever
10. Dr. No
11. The Man with the Golden Gun
12. Licence to Kill
13. The Living Daylights
14. A View to a Kill
15. You Only Live Twice
16. Moonraker
17. Casino Royale (1967)
When I saw this in the theatre, it felt so tired and stale. Moore and Maxwell looking way past it felt like it reflected on the franchise in general. It just seemed so bland and generic compared to what came before.
This view was better. The pre title and main title sequences are both among the weaker in the series, but I do like the song. I remember that both Duran Duran and Christopher Walken were a big deal at the time, much like Adele and Javier Bardem later.
The first half is actually great, then after the scene in Stacy s house the film takes a dive until the terrific finale on the blimp and the Golden Gate Bridge. Zorin is probably the most insane villain of them all. Him, Glaub and Scarpine make a triumvirate of pure evil. May Day seems to be the prototype for Necros. I noticed that Zorin asks Scarpine to "Go out and get him! GO!" just like Kamal Khan told Gobinda in the previous film, but unlike Khan, Max decides to go out and get Bond himself.
The score isn t as bad as I remembered. It is mostly brilliant, but there are some bits that I find unbearable.
This one is nice, though.
I'm trying to put my finger on it, because no Barry score is bad. 'He's Dangerous' is particularly good. I noticed this on last viewing too but the score seems tired like the rest of the movie. It's apparent with TLD too but at least he had three songs to work with
Me to. It's one of my favourites.
Me too
Anyway, the Dalton films up next.
Live and Let Die is a strange movie, but a brilliant cast of villains, unique stunts, colourful character (voodoo themes), and a wonderful debut by Roger is enough to have this on top, for now.
1. Live and Let Die
2. The Man With The Golden Gun
3. Thunderball
4. Die Another Day
5. A View To A Kill
6. You Only Live Twice
7. Skyfall
8. Quantum of Solace
9. The World Is Not Enough
10. Spectre
Next is Tomorrow Never Dies. I expect this to be above LALD
When the trailer for this showed in the cinema, it was the US version. I was in the navy at the time, and in July I was home on extended summer leave. Listened to a review on Radio Luxembourg that included soundbytes which revealed the Koskov-Whitaker connection. Then I went to see it with a friend and common Bond fan. I remember him commenting during the pts that Dalton was way cooler than Moore. I had wanted Dalton as Bond for years, so I was happy with his casting. The pts is maybe the best since GF (Honourable mentions to MR and OP)
Main title sequence is sort of generic and uninspired. That A-Ha was doing the theme song was of course a huge thing here in Norway. The only time someone outside the Anglo-American realm got that gig.
Along with the pts, the Bratislava intro is excellent, straight out of Fleming. That they swapped East Berlin for Bratislava is probably due to Berlin being featured only two films earlier, same as when they avoided Jamaica in TMWTGG.
Robert Brown is by far my second favourite M after Lee. He is great and down to business in every scene.
Necros is another good henchman, and I do like both Koskov and Whitaker as villains. They feel like something Fleming could have come up with. Koskov got a few laughs in the cinema. The showdown between Bond and Whitaker is atmosperic and bizarre, somehow reminiscent of the FRWL pts in style.
Bond aiding the jihadists has bothered me before, but it is probably how it would have played out in real life. That whole middle section is however not very interesting on the whole. Love that John Barry got a cameo in his 12th and final contribution to the series. Kara Milovy is a special Bond girl for sharing a scene with The Master.
This?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5rpv8bO6erY&t=21s
It only plays twice
(I would've thought you didn't care for the screaming guitars. It's a relatively common complaint.)
Just did. Cheers.
We started out with Tomorrow never dies and ended up on a surprising double billing of Live and let die and The man with the golden gun. Never having done a real Bondathon before, just ranked the films from memory, this project made my ranking a bit different. The biggest surprise to me is that I really do find CR the best Bond film. I always liked SF better for some reason. Whats also was kind of surprising was that though I loved OHMSS and especially FRWL, they do end up pretty far down on my list. Guess that says much about my taste in Bond, but also how much I adore these films, when these two can end up this low. I also find Goldeneye slightly overrated, and I do actually enjoy TND a fair bit more.
Final ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. For your eyes only
3. The spy who loved me
4. Skyfall
5. Goldfinger
6. The living daylights
7. Octopussy
8. From Russia with love
9. A view to a kill
10. Tomorrow never dies
11. Live and let die
12. On her majesty's secret service
13. Moonraker
14. Licence to kill
15. Goldeneye
16. Dr. No
17. The man with the golden gun
18. Spectre
19. You only live twice
20. The world is not enough
21. Diamonds are forever
22. Thunderball
23. Die another day
24. Quantum of solace
To put Moonraker in context relative to the rest of the series, I don't generally like any of Hamilton or Gilbert's films. I thank them for iconic moments and memorable villains but on a watch-through they are less engaging than the Glen, Young, and Campbell's.
Moonraker's flaws don't need mentioning but if you roll with the silliness and way too many coincidences, it is a relatively solid adventure. You get what is probably Barry's most varied and rich score, brilliant Ken Adam set design and some of the best villain lines in the series, and those first two points are enough to put Moonraker above Gilbert's other two films.
1. Tomorrow Never Dies
2. Moonraker
3. Live and Let Die
4. The Man With The Golden Gun
5. Thunderball
6. Die Another Day
7. A View To A Kill
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Skyfall
10. Quantum of Solace
11. The World Is Not Enough
12. Spectre
Next up is Goldfinger. I have no idea where this will end up. I expect somewhere in the top half of the current list
I've never been a fan of Hamilton's style (the dodgy acting - gangster scene, Miami back projection) but with this viewing I'm coming to the conclusion that Goldfinger has the best script in the franchise - concise, witty, subtle humour, style. Love the war of words between Bond and Goldfinger.
Diamonds are Forever
The worst special effects and terrible background actor acting (missile blowing up scenes) but absolutely bonkers on the camp and humour. Very rewatchable but minus points for the terrible looking production (with the exception of Adam sets)
1. Tomorrow Never Dies
2. Moonraker
3. Goldfinger
4. Live and Let Die
5. Diamonds Are Forever
6. The Man With The Golden Gun
Fine to watch but flawed
7. Thunderball
8. Die Another Day
9. A View To A Kill
Don't look forward to watching
10. You Only Live Twice
11. Skyfall
12. Quantum of Solace
13. The World Is Not Enough
14. Spectre
Next is The Spy Who Loved Me. Apart from the PTS and Lotus chase, I'm not too keen on this one, I'd rather watch Moonraker.
This was very anticipated in 1989 and did not disappoint. The first half of the film is excellent, but it takes a dive in the second. Kamen is my favourite non-Barry composer along with Newman.
As in all Glen films, there is aircraft involved in the pts, which sets up the villain really well. Main titles are better than the last few, but way weaker than a couple decades ago. Title song is fine.
Good use of material from LALD, THR and TMWTGG. Sanchez and Dario are real psychopaths, they laugh during Leiter s maiming, whereas both Killifer and Krest flinch. Both girls are good on the eye, and Brown is a stellar M replacement again.
The final fight between Bond and the baddie is reminiscent of AVTAK, but whereas Zorin is consumed by water, Sanchez is consumed by fire.
New Glen ranking:
1 OCTOPUSSY (+3)
2 A VIEW TO A KILL (+3)
3 LICENCE TO KILL
4 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (-3)
5 THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (-3)