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Biggest change in opinion regarding anything Bond-y?

thelordflasheartthelordflasheart
edited June 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 1,370
I was thinking about how I felt about Bond when I was first introduced to the films at around 11 years of age. It was an incredible experience - wish fulfilment for wishes that I didn't even know that I had!

But I just remembered something that made me smile. I discovered that not only were there more Bond films (I started out with a Bond double header of GF/DAF on TV on afternoon) but there were BOOKS as well! So I went to the library and was amazed that there were several books. Because they were "grown-up" books I just got two as I figured they would take a while to read, even though I was a voracious reader. So I got Goldfinger and then Dr. No, the latter because it was the "first film"!

So I got home and started to read Goldfinger. Puzzlement changed to frustration - where were the laser beams, the gadgets, the...fun? I tried Dr. No and I thought it was even worse. Dejected, I put these boring books away and thanked god that they people who made the films knew more about Bond than this Fleming loser! Ah, to be 11 again.

When I was 18 I got a job in a bookstore and we got in a new printing of Bond books with (at the time) fancy new covers. I thought what the hell, I'll try one of these because maybe they were a little too advanced for me at 11. So I got Casino Royale and...loved it. I burned through the whole series of books in an incredibly short time and was hooked. I was a little ashamed that it took me so long to get into the books but I cut myself some slack as I was 11...

So what of the rest of you? What was your biggest change in opinion regarding anything to do with Bond? I have another entry (regarding the films) but I'll save that for later.
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Comments

  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    This is a nice topic! Hmm...let's see. Probably my view on Daniel Craig. At first, before I had even seen Casino Roayle or Quantum of Solace, I thought that Daniel Craig was just a Bond wanabee. I figured that Pierce Brosnan couldn't be topped, and that this re-boot of the franchise was going to be dead in the water soon enough. Then, I watched Casino Royale, and I instantly switched my opinion about Daniel Craig. While I don't think he is the best, I do recognize him as the current Bond, and I think he'll do an excellent job in the future Bond movies, if he chooses to stay. If he does, I can see him doing at least as many as Sean Connery, if not maybe one less.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,716
    I loved CR and liked QOS when I first saw them - now they are 21 and 22 in my ranking.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    DaltonCraig007 said:
    I loved CR and liked QOS when I first saw them - now they are 21 and 22 in my ranking.

    I definately agree with you on QOS.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited June 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Probably DAD. Really liked it when I saw it the first few times (I was 16).

    Now, great start. Rubbish conclusion.

    Interesting story Lordflasheart. I remember my first experience with Fleming was a similar one. I first listened to an audio book of DAF and thought "this is rather boring". Years later in 2006 I read CR and really liked it. It was short but exciting and easy to read. Soon after I re-read DAF and, while its not the best of Fleming's work its certainly better than the film IMO.
  • thelordflasheartthelordflasheart
    Posts: 1,370
    00Beast - I had a similar view of Craig at first. A lot of that was based on CNN's report when he was cast - they put up the worst pic of Craig I've ever seen (he looked like a homeless junkie - I've never seen that picture again) next to a pic of Brosnan looking more glamourous than ever. But then I started hear great things about Craig from the set, and how you could actually believe that if he was surrounded by three guys then the three guys would be easily defeated. Then came the first trailer, the one that just featured material shot in The Bahamas. I was duly impressed with how Craig moved onscreen. Not just the action scenes - he seemed to have copied Connery's "panther-like walk" and his posture made him believable as a military man. So I thought he'd be another Dalton - great actor but not embraced by the masses. Boy, was I wrong!

    Which leads me to the second main thing I changed my mind about. When Brosnan was cast in GoldenEye I was a little let down. I feared that Brosnan was too lightweight for the role and would be the second coming of Roger Moore. I was also sad that Dalton wasn't coming back, and was a little miffed that Brosnan said in his press conference that "it was time to peel back the layers of Bond" which sounded to me like he was trying to minimize Dalton's great performances. But when GE came out I was pleasantly surprised. Although Brosnan was still a little "light" (in the interrogation scene he seems more like Remington Steele than Bond) he wasn't anything like the Roger Moore clone I had feared. I also though he got a little better in each film, and that it felt less that he was "playing Bond" and finally just "being Bond" by the time that DAD rolled around.

    But then CR came out. What was most surprising to me was that there was an automatic, retroactive diminishment of Brosnan in my opinion. Seeing the line reading choices that Craig made suddenly made it clear what a gulf there was between the two men in terms of acting abilty and characterization. Not only that, but the physical presence, the body language, the range of emotions Craig played, and with such conviction - wow. It put me in mind of what a critic said about Brosnan in a film review - "he has a presence as lightweight as balsa wood - he doesn't look so much like he's acting but that he should be hosting something".

    Not to say that I don't like Brosnan. I still like him (I rank him #3 after Connery and Craig)and am tremendously grateful for what he did for the franchise. It's just that when Craig came along I realized the potential there was for the role and what a different actor could do with it.
  • dragonskydragonsky
    Posts: 2,491
    I loved CR and liked QOS when I first saw them - now they are 21 and 22 in my ranking.
    hahahahaha lol but why CE?and yeah every 1st viewing of a movie you think it is great (well it wasnt the case with QoS for me)
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    dragonsky said:
    yeah every 1st viewing of a movie you think it is great (well it wasnt the case with QoS for me)

    Very true. The first time I saw Goldfinger, I thought it was great. Now it's taken a considerable drop to the middle of the list.
  • LiveAndEatPieLiveAndEatPie
    Posts: 101
    I think my view of the James Bond theme songs has changed over the years, in particular the ballads, such as MR and LTK. When I was young I found them quite dull, now I can appreciate them and they often get played nice and loud.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Agreed! Both of those are top of my list on James Bond theme songs! Every now and then, I'll find myself humming the Moonraker theme for no appearant reason other than it popped into my head.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Only really my liking of Die Another Day when I first saw it. Now, it's my least favourite of them all.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,716
    Only really my liking of Die Another Day when I first saw it. Now, it's my least favourite of them all.
    Please... we all know TWINE is even worse than DAD... :-))
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Only really my liking of Die Another Day when I first saw it. Now, it's my least favourite of them all.
    Please... we all know TWINE is even worse than DAD... :-))
    The second half of Die Another Day is so stupid, so outlandlish, the robocop suit, the CGI tidal wave, the bad jokes, the invisible car, I can't bring myself to say anything is worse than that. One of thing is for sure, I doubt it'll ever be beaten.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    @DaltonCraig007: I completely agree with about TWINE being worse than DAD. The only thing that makes DAD better is that it keeps the pace up fairly well, and some of the better action scenes (fighting Mr. Kil, the car chase, Bond vs Graves, Jinx vs Frost) outshine TWINE, where the only really good piece of action was the battle at Zukovsky's caviar factory.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,179
    DAD feels like watching a terrible striptease when you're all boozed up. You don't care. You just go with the flow. TWINE feels more like watching a funeral. Drunk or sober, it doesn't make you any happier.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,716
    Atleast Brosnan was good in DAD... In TWINE he was just ridicule. And the cinematography is more colorful in DAD than TWINE. TWINE is so bland, colourless, dull... Even more dull direction than Glen's, if that was even possible.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    DaltonCraig007 said:
    Atleast Brosnan was good in DAD... In TWINE he was just ridicule. And the cinematography is more colorful in DAD than TWINE. TWINE is so bland, colourless, dull... Even more dull direction than Glen's, if that was even possible.

    Yeah, Die Another Day did have some better locations to offer, such as Cuba, Iceland, and North Korea. TWINE didn't really introduce us to a spectacular location at any point in the movie.
  • dragonskydragonsky
    Posts: 2,491
    damn i need to stop reading this thread,all that hate for TWINE :( :( :( 8-X [-( [-X :-q
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited June 2011 Posts: 15,716
    http://screenmusings.org/TheWorldIsNotEnough/pages/TWinE_0119.htm

    Look how dreadful the cinematography is - it's as if the film was shot in 1981 and not 1999 !! Instantly makes the film look date by the release day. It feels like some low budget TV movie... not at all what Bond movies standards are.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    @DaltonCraig007: Agreed. TWINE really dates itself, if not going back even further. In my opinion, For Your Eyes Only looked more advanced than TWINE.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited June 2011 Posts: 11,189
    I've never understood why people seem to prefer DAD to TWINE. True, DAD was more "colourful" but at least TWINE didn't "jump the shark" unlike DAD. TWINE, at the very least, attempted to remain (reasonably) level headed. Bond doesn't outrun a giant lazer, surf a glacier or battle a robocop-esque baddie.

    Also, whilst the locations in TWINE may look a little drab I think the costumes and set designs (i.e. Electra's dresses as well as the casino) looked rather good.
  • JBFan626JBFan626
    edited June 2011 Posts: 1,497
    My biggest change in opinion for Bond?

    Three films come to mind:

    You Only Live Twice
    The Living Daylights
    A View to a Kill

    On my first viewing of all three I thought they were pretty lackluster and bland. Frankly they didn't seem Bondian and put me to sleep--all near the bottom of my list. After revisiting them again, I was pleasantly surprised, not only were they Bondian, but they kept my interest throughout the entire run. This is their new place in my rankings:

    Yolt: 7
    TLD: 4
    AVTAK: 11
    Still not top 3 material, but I really had a good time with them second time around.
  • dragonskydragonsky
    Posts: 2,491
    damn i forgot that this was the thread i didnt wanted to enter :) back to the topic guys dont forget the topic
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Thanks dragonsky! I guess this has become the hate TWINE topic! I'd say another change for me would be You Only Live Twice. I originally thought it was great, then I thought it was horrible, and now, after reviewing it again, I really like it again! It's always been that Bond movie that goes through cycles.
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,582
    I have moved this to Bond Movies simply because it's a Bond thread and deserves to be in the Bond section.
  • gt007gt007 Station G
    Posts: 1,182
    Daniel Craig. In 2005 when it was announced he's the new Bond, I really hated him. I hadn't seen any of his movies, I just hated his appearance at the press conference. When the teaser for CR came out, I was like "well he's not as bad as I thought". When I saw the full trailer I thought this guy looks good. And finally when I saw the movie, I loved him.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    I had FYEO at 15th in my mid-90s ranking, I used to find it a bit long and plain, during my teen years. It has now reached the 7th rank jumping 8 spots since my last ranking in 2006. I now consider it to be Moore's best performance and definitely his best movie.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,716
    A viewing of MR and TMWTGG has been added to your agenda for tonight, @Luds !!
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    Daniel Craigs movies since CR I hoped for a lot then we got QoS which left me seriously underwhelmed (have yet to buy it on dvd) in all its aspects. And now we have the delayed movie that somehow I hope will be vastly better than its previous movie.
    The actor Daniel Craig like Pierce Brosnan shuldn't be left with working average movies but have their swansong everytime.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited June 2011 Posts: 13,355
    The actor Daniel Craig like Pierce Brosnan shuldn't be left with working average movies but have their swansong everytime.
    Right you are @SaintMark. So far you could argue Craig has been as wasted with the series as Brosnan was. I really hope his talents are put to use in his remaining films - Craig is such as good actor it would be unforgivable not to.
  • thelordflasheartthelordflasheart
    Posts: 1,370
    Samuel001 I'd have to strongly disagree with you. CR was a wonderful use of Craig and Craig was wonderful in it. Shows not only what a more character based script can do, but what a great actor can do with his choices. And CR certainly used his physicality well in the action scenes.

    Apparently I'm not alone in my opinion - Craig was nominated for a BAFTA for CR.
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