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And regarding those complaints, they even kind of fit with what the film was going for on a character level.
It may not hit the emotional highs of Casino Royale, but it comes pretty close. I think this is one of the most interesting portrayals of the Bond character we have seen. I think Camille is a great Bond girl, that reflects some of the same emotions Bond have. Greene is a fantastic villain imo, he is such a slimy, pathetic POS. The scene where he goes nuts with the ax is so entertaining. I think the overall plot with the political commentary is quite clever.
A lot of stand-out scenes as well: Tosca, opening car chase, final in the burning hotel, the scenes with Mathis.
Overall, just a great film, that may lack just a little of the Bond flair that made CR and SF so good. I think it is a more successful revenge Bond film than LTK, maybe because at the end of the day it isn't really about revenge after all.
Also have to address one of the common criticisms: The way Bond dispose of Mathis. I think it is a very fitting scene, and I think some people don't get it. This is an extension of the "Job's done, bitch's dead" Bond we have at the end of Casino Royale. A Bond who cares, but tries his best to pretend he doesn't.
It's a fine entry, not bad but not great either, a middle of the road one.
Dominic Greene is a weak villain, but again, I think the film was relying on realism in here and in that regard, not all villains needed to be too intimidating or maniacal, so that's fine, the same for Elvis, why? Those were the villains we're used to seeing in real life aren't we? They're not stereotypical villain with deformities or too much evil or monstrous a la Hugo Drax or Sanchez, not, this is the same thing that I'm telling about the Spangled Mob in the Diamonds Are Forever book, sure, they're not as distinctive as the other villains in the Fleming series, but they're realistic because realistic bad guys (usually) tend to act like them, and Dominic Greene and Elvis aren't that different, and I'm applauding them in that regard.
I think this is the most realistic Bond film, sorry not Licence To Kill (although it's one of my favorite Bond films), because all were pretty much grounded in this film, even the villains, and the plot.
Camille Montes is a great Bond Girl, if the series failed from Melina Havelock by not fleshing her out as a character, then here, they've went 360 angle and done it right, she's not in the background, she's at the forefront much like Bond himself because she had an agenda of her own, she's capable and tough and prepared to get herself dirty, she's not all beauty and glamour, she's brain, flesh and blood too, and Bond never told her what to do as he acknowledged her independence, unlike what Bond did in For Your Eyes Only, and that makes Camille all the more interesting.
I think where just this film failed was Bond handling Vesper's death where this film should've been a conclusion to it that the filmmakers acknowledged this themselves and decided to continue Vesper's memory of haunting Bond for the next, subsequent films, hence, highlighting more of this film's failure. By the time of this film, Bond should be seen moving on from Vesper, but not, very little time was given for that aspect and more seemed like an afterthought, and to fill that gap, she's once showed again in SPECTRE before Bond finally coming to terms with her and her death in No Time To Die, which should've been done in this film, that's why I though get the point of some people criticizing Bond (Craig's Bond in particular) moping around for Vesper for almost of his entire tenure, because it's not given a resolution here, and to think the whole premise of this film was about Bond finding a closure about Vesper's death, isn't that the reason for having a sequel such as this film? Then what's the purpose if the film never have that idea as the central soul of this film itself?
The shaky camera also kinda bothers me a bit everytime I'm watching the film, so another demerit, it felt like completely imitating Bourne (well, it's Marc Foster), but it's almost hyperactive, the way that some of the action scenes that were really good were underplayed by the lousy technical aspects like camera directions, just plain distracting.
But aside from that, it's all fine, from performance, to the action scenes, the theme song is okay (I'd rather listen to it than the other Bond themes in the series like Lulu's The Man With The Golden Gun, and Billie Eilish's No Time To Die or even Sheryl Crow's Tomorrow Never Dies), the score is fine too, everything is fine, it's not one of the best, but not one of the worst either, it's just perfectly ranked in my opinion in this game, although I'm probably being charitable and putting it a bit higher? I don't know, but it's a middle of the road Bond film, just okay.
These posts remind me that I should consider availing myself of my hairdresser's services. I'm beginning to look like Lazenby during his self-financed tour of OHMSS. ;-)
Give it time, maybe you can look like Bond strutting into the lobby of the Yacht Club in DAD!
If that means I'm getting a massage from Peaceful, I'm game.
That said, it's got some great stuff. I like how it didn't take the route of a straightforward revenge story or go for a more melodramatic affair. Sure, we get Camille and her vendetta against the General, but that's less a mirror image of Bond's journey and more a cautionary tale for him (essentially the revelation that 'the dead don't care about vengeance'. It's a very Fleming-esque scene showing the emptiness of what Camille has done. It works especially considering we next see Bond track down Yussief where he doesn't kill him, but simply coldly confronts him and has him arrested). We get little scenes such as Bond drunk on the plane staring at Vesper's photo, but it never feels overblown emotionally.
I like Green as a villain (very sadistic). Camille is a great Bond girl, and I find Agent Fields fun. Craig is great. I wish it had a bit more of that Bond flair though.
Ultimately, I think it's an excellent story but executed not very well. It's a film that I always get something out of on revisits though.
Maybe a controversial opinion but Dominic Greene is the most realistic Bond villain in the series, not Franz Sanchez or Kristatos (both of whom are either selfish or maniacal).
Dominic Greene is the type of bad guy I always used to seeing in the news.
Yes, this encapsulates my feelings on it exactly, but much more eloquently expressed than I could!
LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
Directed by Guy Hamilton
"Quite revealing."
The lowest ranked debut entry of them all, Rog's first 007 adventure received a highest ranking of 6th, on one occasion.
Additionally six more top 10's were obtained, as well as ten finishes between 11th and 15th.
That's a pretty big group, but the absence of top 5 finishes as well as two bottom 5's, of which one came in at the very bottom, prevented it to join the top half of our game.
LALD ended up with a total of 122 points.
I adore this movie for many reasons:a dashing Moore, exceptional collection of villains, Solitaire, snakes, alligators, scarecrows, the best non-Barry soundtrack, sharp dialogue.
My favorite Moore by far.
And then there's the plot of the film, which I think is held by a thread in a lot of places. I can generally remember the plot/movement of most Bond films, but with this film I can't. I remember events like Tosca, the plane chase, Greene's party, Fields' oil covered body and Leiter warning Bond to get out. But ask me to put them in order and I think I'd get quite a few wrong.
In terms of the positives, I think the characters are all done very well. This is Craig's best Bond performance, Camille feels realistic and is very effective, and Greene feels slimy and untrustworthy, even if his plot is underwhelming. While I didn't participate in the ranking game (been a long time since I've watched some films) QOS would get around midtable.
Appreciate it (although I'd slightly disagree, I think you put it very well yourself).
As for LALD, it was 13 for me, so not dissimilar to this ranking. I think it's a solid introduction to Moore, and it shows the line the producers had to tread at this time.
For starters, they had to introduce Moore's Bond in a way that distinguished him from Connery's, while still making a recognisable James Bond film. Their solution is pretty good as far as story construction goes - much like DN, we're quickly introduced to a series of murders, after which we see Bond being deployed (again, much like DN we even get a glimpse of Bond's flat, him with a girl etc.) It's quite telling, however, that Moore isn't given Connery's elaborate reveal. We get no shots of his hands, a build up to him saying 'Bond, James Bond' etc. He's almost dropped into the middle of the film (with a rather comedic scene no less). It shows how much faith they had in Moore to approach things with an almost 'business as usual' attitude. It of course helps that Moore's performance is so confident and assured. I don't know how viewers would have seen Moore's Bond at the time, but for me watching it today, he is James Bond. He just owns the role.
The film's a lot of fun. Wonderful, energetic score. The supporting characters are all very good - Leiter (definitely the best version of the character in Hamilton's films, and I think much of this is down to Hedison's natural likability), Solitare, Kananga, Tee Hee... and of course Sheriff Pepper (a very silly character, but so fun). We get some really cool sequences like the alligator run (the behind the scenes footage of the actual alligator farmer doing the runs are really tense if anyone hasn't watched them. Really worth a quick look), the bus chase, the boat chase (it drags a wee bit but it's good stuff).
Much like the later Guy Hamilton films, I think there's an unfortunate sense of cheapness to this one. Some of it comes from the actual budget being smaller around this time, but most of it is Hamilton's natural directorial instincts. Instead of a cinematic 2:39 aspect ratio seen in most Bond films, for instance, we get a 1:85 one. It has the unfortunate result of making it look a bit more televisual than cinematic at times, at least in tandem with some of the cheaper sets. Kananga's death is very oddly filmed (it's almost as if they realised how awful the blow up doll looked so purposely cut around it in the edit/made it look out of focus/a bit blurry. Shame because I love Moore and Kotto's physicality during the fight, so well done). I find Hamilton a very strange director in that way. He seemed to lack a bit of attention to detail/skill on these films that other Bond directors like Gilbert, Campbell and Mendes really had.
That said, I always have a great time with this one! I don't mind the villain's scheme being a bit more low stakes for Bond (Kotto is a really wonderful presence in this film so it makes up for it) and it helps that the tone of this film is generally quite breezy so it's easy just to go along with it. Not a top ten Bond film for me, but I really enjoy it.
I like this movie a lot. As a fan of blaxploitation films like Shaft, Superfly, Coffy etc I really enjoy the themes, the spooky voodoo, tarot stuff. The locations, NYC & Harlem, New Orleans and the Bayou may not feel very Bond and Roger sure looks misplaced, but it works in that context. Bond stepping into the Fillet of Soul looking like the whitest british gentleman is just great.
The soundtrack is my favorite none-Barry score and is super groovy, and Maccas song is one of the best. The boat chase is awesome. LALD is a great movie and I always enjoy rewatching it.
The film is otherwise nothing special, taking a few too many tropes from the Blaxploitation genre and seemingly forgetting to keep the "larger-than-life" in the Bonds, that is unless you include the supernatural stuff. I don't even mind the cringy bits all that much, including Bond's deflowering of Solitaire costing her the abilities we're meant to believe she had in the first place, or J.W.'s antics. (Clifton James is a delight, but his character is a bit much.)
And while I enjoy listening to the score, it's one of the weaker ones in my opinion. The film suffers from its lack of a Barry score.
For the record, I have very few issues with LALD overall. I don't mind watching the film. I just like my Bonds with a bit more "grandeur" to them.
And [insert Willard Whyte's voice] HOW IN THE HELL this one made so much money, I will NEVER know! ;-)
I like how unique LALD looks and feels, it probably has the best costume design in the series. Roger Moore looks fantastic, and this is probably the one film along with FYEO where I think he is convincing as a secret agent. It does have it's cartoonish elements, but seldomly goes too far (Kanangas death is the obvious one). I like how low key it is and that is has a detective feel to it. It reminds me of Dr. No. The action is all really good, particularly the crocodile scene and the boat chase that follows. The villains are all strong, but Solitaire is kind of an average Bond girl imo. The soundtrack is a highlight and the title song may be the best period. It lacks a bit more excitement for me to stand with the truly great Bond films and some aspects do feel a bit dated.
I had SF there for a very long time, and we'll get to that one too in due time, but LALD took over that questionable honour because for me it lacks the right kind of atmosphere, the locations are dull, the supernatural element feels odd in a Bond film, I find it the cheapest-looking of the lot and that climax with Kananga exploding is the worst of the series imo.
Now having said that, it's still passable as I think even the worst Bonds are better than most other films I've seen.
What I do enjoy: the M scene is one of my favourites, most of the dialogue is rather funny, the croc stunt and boat chase, a few groovy bits on the score and henchmen Tee Hee & Baron Samedi.
I don't know what's worse from my own perspective, having SF as your least favourite Bond film or not having fun while watching LALD!
Kidding of course, completely get it. Glad it's grown on you at least a bit (for me, I said that about TSWLM and TND a few years ago - that they were growing on me despite me not being my favourites - and they're now amongst my top ten Bond movies. You never know).
It's a decent Bond film for sure, the theme song is surely one of the best (I may not be a fan of Paul McCartney's solo discography, but this one is where he really succeeds, and probably the peak of his solo career).
The cast were all great and convincing in their roles, no complain about that.
It has one of the best title sequences.
Okay, so where it failed?
The film for me felt a bit slow, it really does, in the entirety of its length, I felt like nothing happens, it's full of Bond having a hide and seek with the bad guys, it's been like that for almost an hour or so, not much action, just showing Bond escaping and hiding from the bad guys.
The chases were overlong (again, as a part of the hide and seek nature of this film), where it could've been cut and it would be much easier to watch, it had so many different types of chases were some of them were to say, unnecessary and redundant, like it made me think "just why Bond can't just confront them and kill them one by one? Why the need to escape and went through different types of chases, whether it's in bus, boat, or plane?", It's just utter nonsense.
The score, okay, I know George Martin was a good producer, but he could've been better than this, those scores felt a bit repetitive to be honest, it had the same tune for every scenes, it adds to the overall boredom that I'm having while watching this film.
Of course, there's Bond tricking Solitaire into the cards to have sex with her, typically, this one didn't aged well, and it made looked Bond like a sexual predator taking advantage of Solitaire's naiveness, of course, the age gap between Moore and Seymour also didn't helped in this scene, it felt very creepy, the more I realize it, to be honest, they're almost like father and daughter, with Moore doing that tactic, it's just made him looked bad for his debut Bond film.
Rosie Carver, I don't know where could I blame the fault in here, is it on the actress or the character itself? Or on the direction? Probably a combination of all that, it's an obnoxious character, unconvincing, overacting, and obviously made as a distraction, it could've been better, I guess? Who knows?
Then of course, the villain's death, what could I say, it's silly and ridiculous, blowing him up like some balloon is very bad (bad, in the sense of quality in terms of writing, direction and execution), a villain that was treated like a joke doesn't sit well with me, it felt cartoonish.
The cinematography is okay, a big improvement after Diamonds Are Forever, but these two Hamilton films were a bit letdown from On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the screenplay, again, very duff (not much action, and literally nothing happened until almost the final act), and the effects were good, I wished it was utilized more.
This film have so many flaws, but it's not as severe as the other Bond films that I put below it, but it's the film I don't feel like watching again, it's a utter bore with a ridiculous villain death,middle of the road entry for me.
The Book is better.....
Certainly, any Bond film can always grow on you, that's one of the great things of being a fan.
Personally, I had it with MR :)
Oh my, that's a lot of stuff you don't like about your 15th favourite Bond film... :p
It's still a lot better than others listed below it, it's a neutral Bond film, it's not the worst but definitely not one of the best, it has its moments like the cast, acting, theme song, the title sequence, the stunts (like the alligator stunt is actually a good one), and it's a bit funny at places, especially those scenes where JW Pepper was concerned, and again, the effects were good.
I think the film are just "for what it is" Bond film, with the possible exception of Bond deflowering Solitaire, it never offended me that much unlike the other Bond films, it's not as bad as TMWTGG, DAF, AVTAK, and the last two Craig entries, personally, in terms of the film's quality, it's okay, not the worst, but not the best.
That's why it's #15 for me, despite its flaws, I think the film is just okay for what it is, I can't place it higher enough, because there are others I prefer and like (and yes, better), but I can't place it low either, because there are others that I disliked moreso than this film, this film is just a neutral presence to me, but I can't overlook its flaws.
LICENCE TO KILL (1989)
Directed by John Glen
"Bless your heart."
LTK's highest finishes were two 2nd places. Next to two silvers, it also obtained one bronze medal. Additionally, five more top 10's and another six top 15's were noted.
At the other end, two bottom 5's were given to 007's revenge mission of the late 80's, out of which one penultimate place was the lowest.
A respectable outcome for what used to be a much-derided entry, yet, given its fairly recent reappreciation, some of its fans might have hoped for an even better score.
In total LTK obtained 124 points.
Great news too as this means Octopussy made the top half!
I'm catching up now and so far I'm skewing with the game (minus a couple of entries).
25. DAD (my 25)
24. TWINE (24)
23. DAF (22)
22. AVTAK (23)
21. TMWTGG (20)
20. SP (16)
19. TND (18)
18. NTTD (1)
17. MR (19)
16. YOLT (11)
15. QOS (8)
14. LALD (13)
13. LTK (14)