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Revenge trilogy.
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
For Your Eyes Only
Felix Leiter with Hedison.
Live and Let Die
Licence to Kill
Felix Leiter.
Dr. No
Goldfinger
Thunderball
Diamonds Are Forever
Live and Let Die
Never Say Never Again
The Living Daylights
Licence to Kill
Casino Royale
Quantum of Solace
The Lewis Gilbert trilogy 1967, 1977, 1979. Add Roger Spottiswoode 1997.
You Only Live Twice
The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
Tomorrow Never Dies
Director by director, viewing all before moving forward: Terence Young. Then Guy Hamilton. Then Lewis Gilbert. Then Peter Hunt, etc.
Personal best to worst.
Personal worst to best.
Latest to first.
Its sheer scope and production struggles ensured that it'd never be flawless. It isn't as smooth or polished as many of the entries, regardless of era.
In other words, warts and all, I still think the highs that it hits the series hasn't been able to top, including the overall atmosphere of the film, and the never-repeated way that Young was able to balance the newfound blockbuster, large-cinematic scope that Goldfinger established with the lethal, Fleming Bond he helped shape with his first two entries. It's the combination of the two that makes TB such a satisfying film, and ironically it's that same combination that results in some of its misfires.
If I sound like I'm harping on it, I should state here that I think it succeeds in its ambitiousness as often as it fails, so I don't want to come off as though I'm bashing the movie. The way it works in undercurrents of violent sex, pervasive death among the gorgeous beaches (the juxtaposition of which I find intoxicating every time I view the film), and some of Moore's best cinematography, all just solidifies its greatness.
I'll stop rambling. I just feel like, for better and worse, Thunderball represents the pinnacle of the cinematic 007, in that it hybridizes the two sensibilities (Fleming's atmospheric, violent, lethal prose and the escapist, OTT impulse that the big-screen creates to get audiences in the seats) in way no other Bond film has.
tl;dr - I agree with you, although I'll still go to the mat for the film's overall quality.
I am going to do your exact Mini Marathon of connected movies!
Let's start with Daniel Craig's Bond performance. Something is a bit off; Craig's Bond has suddenly become a little too Moore-esque, and lacks the edge and uniqueness that his first 3 Bond performances had - all some of the best Bond performances in the series by any actor. His Bond performance in SP is just not that great. Christoph Waltz's Blofeld is a missed opportunity. The foster brother angle is unnecessary, and doesn't add anything to the story at all. Waltz's performance isn't anything above average, but the script choices certainly didn't do him any favors. Madeleine Swann isn't a bad Bond girl honestly, but not a particularly good one either. She sticks out as one of the most average Bond girls of the series IMO - certainly not the next Tracy or Vesper. I do like Monica Belluci's brief turn as Lucia Sciarra; she is a good minor Bond girl. I believe that Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, and Naoime Harris as M, Q, and Moneypenny are all well-cast and deserve another turn for Craig's finale, but they need to see less screen time and more traditional roles for it to work well. They tried too hard and failed trying to dedicate so much screen time to the MI6 gang in SP. One of SP's best scenes, if not the best one, is Bond confronting Mr. White one last time - a moment we had all been waiting for since QoS had come and gone. Though I'm not a fan of all the callbacks to Craig's previous films, the way they finished the business with Mr. White was one thing I was very happy with about SP.
The PTS is one of the film's biggest highlights for me. I'd probably still include it in my Top 10, or at least Top 15 PTSs. Never been a big fan of Sam Smith's Writing's on the Wall. Besides a couple of good tunes here and there, Thomas Newman's soundtrack isn't near as good as it was in SF, especially since it recycles so much of the old music from the last film. Besides the helicopter fight and train fight, the action is kind of dull; I used to enjoy the snow chase, but it really isn't that much fun for me anymore (I would have much preferred a ski scene). The car chase and finale action certainly aren't very special. As one could gather, SP is definitely a mixed bag for me.
There's a few individual scenes in this film that I do really like, and I think with some tweaking of the story, this one could have been really good. The surveillance angle was good and relevant, and reintroducing the SPECTRE organization was certainly appetizing - just not executed as well as it should have been. The meeting scene in Rome was so good, but after that the mystique and intrigue kind of just vanishes. I say: cut out most of the unnecessary references to past Craig films (ones I would keep are all the Mr. White stuff and the Vesper tape), cut out Blofeld having any kind of past connection to Bond, keep Craig's Bond more consistent with his first 3 performances, spice up the action and music, cut down on all the M/Q/Moneypenny field work, and we'd have gotten a much more satisfying film. As it is, SP is a missed opportunity, and the only Craig Bond film I feel a little let down by. It has some entertaining stuff and still certainly feels like a James Bond film, but I think part of the issue also is that they tried too hard to make SP a classic Bond film.
Now that my rewatch of SP is over, just Connery and Moore are left, with YOLT, FYEO, DAF, OP, and AVTAK as the final five films. SP is a really hard Bond film to rank; I feel comfortable with it below MR and in my bottom 5, but its quality for me is basically par with TWINE and TMWTGG, which I had a hard time picking between those two as well. So for now I will sandwich it in between.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Live and Let Die
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Licence to Kill
13. The Living Daylights
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
15. Moonraker
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. Spectre
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
19. Die Another Day
I can agree with most of this. I really liked it upon first viewing and during my initial watches on Blu-ray but the flaws stick out more and more each time. It's the one film in the series that leaves me cold.
How good is Judi Dench? Her very presence seems to rub off on Pierce, and he gives a superb performance in those Bond/M scenes (something he fails to do in the Q and MP scenes).
Again this is a worthy debut film for a new actor. A bit of a teasing reveal of the new actor, akin to the Connery/Lazenby days.
I'm not completely against the music score, apart from that generic disco nonsense that accompanies the early car chase (or race).
Pierce does try too hard at times and appears to be a little self conscious in some scenes (such as the casino scene), but when he is good he is very good. Helped of course by a good script and director.
I really do like GE for the most part. But, if I ranked it with the other debuts to date, based purely on these viewings, it wouldn't top Dr No or OHMSS, or for that matter TLD. It may wrestle with LALD a little though.
All said and done all five of these films would end up in the top half.
As a side note, always wondered what Wade means when he asks Bond if he is a gardener.
I quite agree. The first four films are the pinnacle of the series - to get in amongst them, a film has to be exceptionally good, a'la Spy, CR or OHMSS.
Granted, TB is far from perfect. It's a mite bloated and the cracks were beginning to appear. But as far as epic Bondian adventures, you can't go wrong with TB.
Even if OP is corrupted by the usual 80s trappings, I always appreciate that the movie tries to evoke the adventure fantasy of DN, GF, and TB without tipping fully (much) into the YOLT/TSWLM/MR mode of extravaganza. It sort of anticipates GE in that regard.
Good writeup, sir, especially the bolded part. There's something intriguing to the contrast between sunny, pleasant locations serving as the backdrop to a race to prevent nuclear armageddon. The suspense and the sensuous plesaures that are characteristic of Bond are intertwined to fine effect in Tb.
I do find the final underwater battle too long (the film missed the Peter Hunt touch) but more than that, I'm bothered by something TheWizardOfIce pointed out some time ago: the third act lacks tension. Bond does experience some setbacks (such as getting trapped in the Golden Grotto), but overall things seem to run a bit too smoothly for him.
Nonetheless, Tb is a fine entry that continues to grow on me.
Connery is noticeably less enthusiastic most of the time in YOLT - not to the point where it makes the film bad or anything, but it could have been so much better had he turned in another TB-type performance. He has a few nice moments and is still very much James Bond, but it’s easy to see he was getting fatigued and going through the motions much of the time. The film opens with one of the series’ weaker PTSs, but then drops a really nice title song to make up for it. John Barry is in top form and delivers one of his best soundtracks for the film. I think Aki and Tanaka are really good supporting characters, but some of the others, such as Osato, Helga, Kissy, and Hans, fall into more average territory. M, Moneypenny, and Q all get good scenes. Blofeld, played by Donald Pleasance, isn’t a particularly impressive Bond villain (just about average to be honest), but the face reveal is still awesome, as is the white cat.
The action is pretty good in YOLT - very intense and exciting, from the one-on-one fight at Osato’s building to the insanely epic finale in the volcano hideout. The one thing that does bother me most about the film is that it has many of the right pieces to be one of the series’ best, but still falls short of greatness due to some of the most important elements being average, like the Bond performance, main girl, and main villain. Much of the film is exciting and fun, but much of it also just sort of falls flat and doesn’t impress as much as one would hope for. I certainly lean more positive than negative about the film as a whole.
YOLT is a good Bond film, but of the 6 films in the golden age 60s, clearly the weakest. There’s a lot to like, but I feel like it could have been one of the best had a few things been altered. I’m going to set it just below the Dalton films this time, but it could be 1 or 2 higher just as easily. Always a challenge to rank.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Live and Let Die
11. Quantum of Solace
12. Licence to Kill
13. The Living Daylights
14. You Only Live Twice
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. Moonraker
17. Spectre
18. The World Is Not Enough
19. The Man with the Golden Gun
20. Die Another Day
Anyways, round 1 of my Bondathon is over, and all six debuts have been watched. How do I feel? Have my feelings changed?
Well, funnily enough they have a little.
The indomitable Sean Connery in Dr No for a start. Once or twice amidst all of the magnificence I sensed he was still feeling his way. His Bond is a little rough around the edges, short of temper, trigger happy (he shot professor Dent far too early. There was still the option of questioning him further). The later smoother, more self confident Bond is there, but with added cynicism.
Take his rather amusing over the top facial expressions during the car chase, and compare it to the car chase in Goldfinger. His character has grown, become more self assured.
Great, but he will become greater still.
George Lazenby in On Her majesty's Secret Service was terrific for someone of no experience whatsoever. He isn't Connery, but why should we expect anyone to be that good anyway?
Lazenby looks great, moves well, and in certain scenes, such as the escape from Piz Gloria, he was outstanding.
Also, when he enters the casino with that swagger, he simply wipes the floor with later actors in the same role.
Roger Moore in Live And Let Die. No chances taken with this film - lots of action, plenty of humour. Roger couldn't go wrong.
Well, truth is, he could have gone wrong, but Roger played it straight, without frills, and his natural charisma won him though.
Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights.
My biggest change of opinion. Tim was far better in this film than I have ever given him credit for. He seemed self conscious in the Q and Moneypenny scenes (as did Pierce Brosnan later), the shadows of Connery and Moore clearly looming over him. But in some scenes he was really quite natural - I'm always accusing him of being too theatrical, so this is new.
Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye. No actor runs so hot and cold as PB. He is either terrific, or terrible in this one. And he is terrific in enough of the film for us to forgive him for the terrible moments. If that makes sense.
And yesterday I watched Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.
When I watched this in 2006 it felt like all of the past Bond films were redundant. Craig had completely overhauled the series, blasted the history of the franchise to smithereens. He was that good.
Well, of course, that was nonsense, just a reaction to the moment. Craig was and still is brilliant in his debut, barely putting a foot wrong. But, this film is made with care and great craft, and even though the last 20 minutes seem a little bit tacked on thus making the film appear overlong, it's still a well made, luxurious piece of entertainment.
Craig isn't the saviour of the franchise as we all assumed. He isn't infallible. But he is very, very good and even in lighter moments (the train scene with Vesper for example) he showed he could do the humour if he really put his mind to it.
Round 2 sees Lazenby eliminated, and will comprise the second films featuring the remaining Bond stars. From Russia With Love to come up next.
Why thank you @Birdleson, very kind :)
Roger Moore himself turns in a really impressive Bond performance in FYEO - his best acting as 007. He balances the serious and silly stuff perfectly, and some of his moments in this particular entry are just outstanding (finishing off Blofeld, interactions with Melina, the car kick, climbing scene, etc.). Melina is among my favorite Bond girls, while Bibi is a total pain. Kristatos admittedly isn't one of the series' better villains, but I still like him fine. Locque is a good henchman. I don't care much for Kriegler. Columbo is definitely one of my favorite ally characters in the series. Q and Moneypenny are good as usual, though it is unfortunate that FYEO marks the first absence of Bernard Lee's M because of the actor's passing. He was such a wonderful M. It just occurred to me that it's the only Bond film without the M character, too.
The PTS of FYEO is one of my personal favorites. A lot of people will say it's one of the weakest, but I personally love every bit of it - from the solemn flower placement at Tracy's grave to Bond creatively disposing of Blofeld. Though he is unnamed in the film for legal reasons, I think the scene would be way less effective if they had used Blofeld's name in it; we all know who it is, and I love that it gets right down to business. The soundtrack is one of the series' weaker ones, but does have a few good tracks. The action is really solid and often suspenseful. The skiing, keelhaul, and climbing scenes are all big highlights. What I love most about FYEO though is that it's a simple, straightforward, stripped back Bond film for Roger Moore's James Bond, and it's done very well overall. There are flaws here and there, but it's very refreshing for Moore's tenure and I think just what the series needed after MR. It's a really consistent, classic, and rewatchable Bond film I think.
I still can't fully decide if I like FYEO more than LALD or not (they're so different but I love them pretty much equally), but having had such a good watch today, I'm going to give FYEO the edge this time. It's just a classic, solid Bond film I always enjoy coming back to. Sadly, just 3 more films remain for this Bondathon.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. Live and Let Die
12. Quantum of Solace
13. Licence to Kill
14. The Living Daylights
15. You Only Live Twice
16. Tomorrow Never Dies
17. Moonraker
18. Spectre
19. The World Is Not Enough
20. The Man with the Golden Gun
21. Die Another Day
And, despite all of FYEO's good intentions they couldn't help themselves at the end
'Really Mr Bond. A- har-har-har'
Still, they had earned themselves a little silliness, and ending a Bond film on a big laugh had become quite the thing.
Let's start with Sean Connery. He does have an improved performance from YOLT here, but it's still a far cry from his DN, FRWL, GF, and TB performances. He has an alright Bond performance, but by no means one of the series' best ones. I think Tiffany Case and Plenty O'Toole are the worst Bond girls of Connery's films - don't care for them much at all. Charles Gray is too silly of a Blofeld, and is one of my least favorite main villians in the series. He has some amusing moments, but not at all the kind of Blofeld I prefer. Norman Burton's Felix Leiter is one of the weaker versions of the character in the series (I'd probably place him one above John Terry's Felix). Not bad, but just very unmemorable. The MI6 gang is good as usual, save for the uncomfortable scene when Moneypenny asks Bond for a diamond in a ring (seriously, what's the deal with that?!). The real highlight in the characters department is Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd - two of the series best henchmen and responsible for almost all the film's best scenes.
The PTS begins the whole thing on a bit of an awkward note, going super silly immediately and striking a very different tone from Connery's previous 5 films. Much of the humor and scenes really would feel much more at home in a Roger Moore Bond film than a Connery one, and that's one of my biggest issues with the film. The silliness just doesn't mesh with Connery's Bond. John Barry's soundtrack is okay, but it's one of if not his weakest effort for the Bond series. The action is rarely all that good, especially the back-to-back moon buggy chase then car chase. They're just not that exciting. The elevator fight with Bond and Franks is the notable highlight in the action department. I also like Bond disposing of Wint and Kidd in the last scene. The best parts of the film almost all come in the first hour or so. Once the moon buggy scene hits, it's a downhill climb for the most part. I also think the climax is one of the series' weakest. It just lacks punch and excitement!
Well, that review probably sounds pretty harsh, but it's not to say I had no fun with DAF at all. It must remain right near the bottom though, as it does carry many issues for me. I've got just one week remaining in this Bondathon - double Moore action with OP and AVTAK.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. Live and Let Die
12. Quantum of Solace
13. Licence to Kill
14. The Living Daylights
15. You Only Live Twice
16. Tomorrow Never Dies
17. Moonraker
18. Spectre
19. The World Is Not Enough
20. The Man with the Golden Gun
21. Diamonds Are Forever
22. Die Another Day
Roger Moore has a good Bond performance throughout the film. Octopussy (the character) is a good Bond girl, though I never cared much for Magda. Kamal Khan, Gobinda, and Orlov are all very good villains. John Barry delivers a solid soundtrack. I’m also a fan of the All Time High song (maybe not very Bondian, but I like the tune anyway). The PTS is one of the series’ weaker ones IMO, but the film just picks up from there and gets very good quickly. There’s a lot of great moments, like 009’s chase/death, the auction, the casino scene, the train fight, the circus sequence, and the bit on the plane at the end. The only two bits I thought were particularly weak were the PTS and climax at the palace. Just sort of bland moments in an otherwise entertaining film. Some of the super-silly moments like Bond imitating a ghost and Tarzan are also off-putting.
Overall, OP is just a lot of fun and made a better impression on me this time than ever. It’s not quite top-shelf Bond material, but still an awfully good one. And with this watch, AVTAK is up next - the last one remaining in this Bondathon.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. Live and Let Die
12. Quantum of Solace
13. Licence to Kill
14. The Living Daylights
15. Octopussy
16. You Only Live Twice
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. Moonraker
19. Spectre
20. The World Is Not Enough
21. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Diamonds Are Forever
23. Die Another Day
You're right that would have been an amazing PTS. I guess they were in a certain mode by 1983, and each film had to have a spectacular opening with big stunts and a funny pay off. That never really altered until CR.
Roger Moore, obviously, is too old to be playing Bond at this point; he looks noticeably older here than in any of his other films, including OP. Still, despite the age issue, he has fun with the role and does a mostly good job as usual. Christopher Walken's Max Zorin is one of the series' very best villains - a truly scary madman. The mine massacre scene is seriously disturbing. Conversely, Stacey is one of the worst Bond girls in the series. Her crying "JAMES!" is just too grating, and she is rarely useful. Most of the side characters are pretty good, like May Day, Mortner, Tibbett, and Lee. John Barry's soundtrack here is terrific, and features one of my favorite songs of his (Wine with Stacey). Also, the title song by Duran Duran is one of the series' greatest songs.
The PTS is one of the weaker ones in the series I think, mostly because of the awkward use of California Girls. The action in general is kind of a mixed bag in the film, with some less-than-great moments like the brawl near the conveyor belt and firetruck chase (though it does get a chuckle out of me at the end with the police car gags), but also some solid moments like the city hall escape and fight on the bridge. I like the plot and think the serious parts of the movie are mostly really good. The humor though is a mixed bag.
AVTAK certainly is one of the series' more underappreciated entries I think; it's quite flawed, but still offers a lot to like. For me personally, it's a much better sendoff than what Connery and Brosnan got. Certainly, AVTAK is a lot of fun for me, as was this entire Bondathon. Always a pleasure.
Ranking:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. Skyfall
5. From Russia with Love
6. Dr. No
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. Live and Let Die
12. Quantum of Solace
13. Licence to Kill
14. The Living Daylights
15. Octopussy
16. You Only Live Twice
17. A View to a Kill
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. Moonraker
20. Spectre
21. The World Is Not Enough
22. The Man with the Golden Gun
23. Diamonds Are Forever
24. Die Another Day
I want to compare this newest ranking to my last one and see how this Bondathon changed my opinions. Here is my list before the Bondathon started:
1. Casino Royale
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Skyfall
6. Dr. No
7. From Russia with Love
8. GoldenEye
9. Thunderball
10. Licence to Kill
11. Live and Let Die
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. Quantum of Solace
14. You Only Live Twice
15. The Living Daylights
16. Tomorrow Never Dies
17. A View to a Kill
18. Octopussy
19. Moonraker
20. The World Is Not Enough
21. Spectre
22. The Man with the Golden Gun
23. Diamonds Are Forever
24. Die Another Day
CR, OHMSS, GF, DN, GE, TB, LALD, AVTAK, MR, TMWTGG, DAF, and DAD all stayed the same. TSWLM, LTK, YOLT, TND, and TWINE suffered some drops, the most notable change being LTK falling from 10 to 13 (used to be one of my very favorites, but the issues stuck out to me more than before). SF, FRWL, FYEO, QOS, TLD, OP, and SP got to enjoy some raises - particularly FRWL breaking into my Top 5 for the first time and OP shooting up to 15.
I love having these marathons to enjoy all the films all over again and also see how things change. My ranking always changes at least a little fairly often. This latest Bondathon was definitely one of my favorites I’ve ever had.
Mine takes several weeks/months Bazza, so it doesn't have to be done as quickly as @FoxRox has whipped through this one.
Does Mrs Barry need some education in the world of Bond? Sit her down and make her watch them. ;)
She put up with CR at the Albert Hall but that's as far as she will go with it atm.
But i'm working on it ;)