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Post by mightyjack on Feb 4, 2007 15:21:38 GMT -5
First: I watched these in random order based on what was available at the time at the library and rental place. Second: There are a wide variety of opinions on these flicks, aside from Goldfinger and a handful of others, views vary wildly. We each want or expect something from these movies and it's likely my opinion will be very different from yours. What I'm trying to say is, don't let it get your undies in a bunch. It's cool. Third: Books are books and movies are movies - I don't wanna hear, "But MJ in the books....yadda, yadda, yadda" - I know, but for me they are separate animals. Connery established the style of the "movie" Bond (for me) and unfairly or not, all movies and actors thereafter will be held up to those great standards. And without further ado, let the insanity commence! You Only Live TwiceAnd I started off with one of those movies that often people love or loathe - Unlike Leonard Maltin, I'm in the love it group, as YOLT ranks among my top 10. I love the locals, the big sets: The script is tightly written by Roald Dalh and the direction and camera work is among the best in the series (I love the rooftop chase as the camera pans back so that we can see all that James (Connery) is up against. Simple but effective) Solid song, great score, my favorite title sequence and... Donald Pleasence makes the best Blofeld ever! Live and Let DieDespite the great poster and my favorite Bond theme song (by Paul McCartney) - LALD ranks among the bottom for me. It's so painfully, excruciatingly DULL! You know, I always hated those "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, so guess how much I enjoyed the chase with the too Southerny, obnoxious sheriff? Go ahead, take a guess.  Moore isn't yet comfortable with the role, but I did like Jane Seymour. Other than that, this will be the last time I watch this snoozer Diamonds Are ForeverSilly, lacks tension, poor pacing/blocking, weak fight scenes (the use of liquids -mud,foam- as weapons was a constant), Jimmy Deans shrill performance gave me an earache and it has a weak theme song. Never the less, though Sean is older, he makes the film worth watching License To KillNot a bad flick but too dark and nasty. I like some fun with my 007! Also, I never felt like I was watching "Bond" in action, or a Bond movie for that matter. Dalton's not very funny, not very suave, cool or charismatic. He's just... there. Sub par theme song, Bond girl is bland... all told it's an okay action movie, but it's not a James Bond film, it doesn't "fit" and I will from this point on ignore it (and Dalton's other entry) as part of the series. Die Another DayFun! Fun! Fun! Now THIS one I adored! It gets dark and it does a great job of humanizing James, but it kept up the tradition of good old fashioned thrills. Love the drama at the beginning, with the capture, and the tension between Bond and M. Love the ice chase that ended in the ice palace. Brosnan is my second favorite Bond, he's smooth and suave with an edge, similar to Connery. The World Is Not EnoughAnother favorite. This one is stylish, slick, nice humor but maintains that edge. Brosnan is superb and I like the interplay between him and (whatsername?). As for the other actress, I like the idea of Barbie as a Braniac, but Denise Richards gets some of the worst lines and delivers them badly (BUT - she's still miles better than Tanya Roberts, as I'll soon discover). Garbage performs my second favorite Bond theme. Nice direction by Michael Apted and Llewellyn as Q is a joy as he hands the reigns over to John Cleese. All this and Robby Coltrane (One of my favorite performers) |
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Feb 4, 2007 15:54:21 GMT -5
You Only Live TwiceAnd I started off with one of those movies that often people love or loathe - Unlike Leonard Maltin, I'm in the love it group, as YOLT ranks among my top 10. I love the locals, the big sets: The script is tightly written by Roald Dalh and the direction and camera work is among the best in the series (I love the rooftop chase as the camera pans back so that we can see all that James (Connery) is up against. Simple but effective) Solid song, great score, my favorite title sequence and... Donald Pleasence makes the best Blofeld ever! I haven't seen this one for a while, but I agree. I think it's an enjoyable film if you can get past the silliness of Sean Connery as a Japanese person. |
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Post by mightyjack on Feb 4, 2007 16:54:21 GMT -5
A View To A Kill
I've read some bad reviews for AVTAK, which will be Roger Moore's last. Roger is showing his age and while solid with the comedic stuff, he lacks an air of danger. but overall I didn't think this was too horrible at all.
There are horrible parts to it. Chief among them Tonya Roberts shrill, whiny performance. But Christopher Walken is there, perfect as a whacked out baddie. He and Grace Jones make a nice off-kilter duo. Excellent John Barry score, nice Hitchcockian style ending atop the Golden Gate bridge and I loved the dialog between Moore and Patrick MacNee. That was great fun. Duran Duran do the serviceable theme.
From Russia With Love
Dalton was all danger without the romance. Moore was debonair and funny but lacked that nasty side. But Connery, ahh yes, the man brought it all. Plus he could deliver the human aspects when needed. And in FRWL this side of him is given its due as Bond loses his heart and shows that even he can be fooled.
The great Robert Shaw is the colorful villain, we are introduced to Q and Klebb and her pointy shoes become the stuff of legend. The gadgets take a back seat to the drama and story but I still enjoyed this entry a lot. One of Connery's best.
Octopussy
One of the weaker theme songs (Rita Coolidge). Leans heavy on humor (and some of it gets a little too silly for my blood) but when Q is getting pawed on by the ladies, he complains "Not now, now, I have things to do" - Before adding a quick, "Perhaps later", old dog. Priceless, that joke made it all worthwhile.
Overall very solid with a great finish. After enduring Richards and Roberts, Maud Adams was a refreshingly excellent Bond girl. Moore is now fully into the character and is very good.
The Spy Who Loved Me
Roger Moore's best and it features the return Lewis Gilbert (You Only Live Twice) in the directors chair. His formula here, is to use much of what he did the his first effort... and yet, somehow TSWLM still feels fresh and even surpasses the early film. The reason for this is in the great character play.
Bond and his Russian counterparts game of one-up-man-ship and of course, the classic Jaws as the persistent villain. Richard Kiel is perfect in the part and his ability to come out unscathed out of any scrape was the source of great amusement and fun.
The fight on the train is another old 007 standby, but this one is still exciting and fun (and scary, when Barbara Bach opens the closet to find him there) Great use of sets and location; overall perfect except for one thing... the cartoony Marvin Hamlish score which pulls out a disco vibe that is so dated and cheesy. Oh how I missed John Barry (Hamlish said wanted to get away from the 60s sound. Yet those soundtracks from the 1960s are still vital today, while his work is cringe inducing)
Goldeneye
Was going to be another Dalton film. Thank God that didn't happen. Instead we are introduced to the new and best Bond (since Connery). While Daylights was down and dirty, Goldeneye is classic 007. Big, colorful, slick, funny with a healthy dash of the human element as well. When Bond sees his friend and fellow agent gunned down in cold blood, the look of anguish on Brosnans face was genuine... as was it when he learns of the deception.
A new director brings new life to the series. John Glen was okay, very workman like, but he lacked a certain zip. Xenia Onatop was over the top but fun. Q was a kick "Don't touch that, it's my lunch!" and even Joe Don Baker was in enjoyable peak form as a CIA liaison. Oh, and love the tank chase!
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
I was actually kind of excited to see this often panned edition to the series, as I had never seen it and was very curious. Bottom line, yes Lazenby is a bit stiff but I didn't find him a total waste. In fact I could tolerate him better than I could Timothy Dalton. The movies overlong and drags in places, and it took me a while to get used to the herky jerky camera work and edits during the action scenes. But overall I liked it. It had a solid storyline, good characters. Savlis wasn't bad as Blofeld. And being a hopeless romantic, I got into the love story and was heartbroken at the finale. I wonder what Connery would have done with the role, but with Lazenby I still felt the sting.
Excellent Louis Armstrong sung theme isn't heard in the title sequence (bummer). Despite a few bumps in the road I liked this movie.
Still waiting on Dr. No from the library and the rest I'm still searching for. But this was an enjoyable marathon.
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Post by Ratso on Feb 4, 2007 19:01:03 GMT -5
Live and Let DieYou know, I always hated those "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, so guess how much I enjoyed the chase with the too Southerny, obnoxious sheriff? Go ahead, take a guess. I thought that guy was in The Man With The Golden Gun. Anyway, I share your hatred for that character. BTW does anybody know why Every Roger Moore Bond flick has a 20 minute chase scene? |
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Post by Shep on Feb 5, 2007 19:35:45 GMT -5
License To KillNot a bad flick but too dark and nasty. I like some fun with my 007! Also, I never felt like I was watching "Bond" in action, or a Bond movie for that matter. Dalton's not very funny, not very suave, cool or charismatic. He's just... there. Sub par theme song, Bond girl is bland... all told it's an okay action movie, but it's not a James Bond film, it doesn't "fit" and I will from this point on ignore it (and Dalton's other entry) as part of the series. How can you not love Dalton, MJ? Why just look at this "Living Daylights" outtake of Dalton romancing a sexy older Bond girl. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjOhe-Wk0CMLOL Enjoy! |
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Post by Chuck on Feb 5, 2007 19:52:12 GMT -5
Live and Let DieYou know, I always hated those "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, so guess how much I enjoyed the chase with the too Southerny, obnoxious sheriff? Go ahead, take a guess. I thought that guy was in The Man With The Golden Gun. Anyway, I share your hatred for that character. BTW does anybody know why Every Roger Moore Bond flick has a 20 minute chase scene? It was in his contract. His stunt double was used for the shoots, so he didn't have to work. |
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Post by Broadsword on Feb 5, 2007 21:12:12 GMT -5
MJ I love your reviews, I love You Only Live Twice but then again every one of Connery's ones are classic to me. I have to disagree with you on Dalton I though he was very good, in fact better then Brosnan. I do like reading them even it I don't agree.  |
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Post by mightyjack on Feb 6, 2007 15:34:33 GMT -5
I knew the Daltons would chime in, but that's cool. I'd rather eat glass than watch his version again - In fact it's the only one I didn't buy of the 6 that were released today.
Oh and I forgot to mention that I'd rather eat glass than ever hear that horrid Madonna theme (From Die Another Day) ever again! Cripes, it's the bleeding worst most irritating song in the entire series. I'd have preferred someone rake their fingernails down a chalkboard over the title sequence.
Goldfinger
On most lists you'll often find this on top. And I can't disagree. Sean is perfect. He's brash arrogant, oozes with elan and though smooth, Connery came from a working class background. So his 007 always feel like a guy who earned his lifestyle, instead of one who was born into it.
I loved the opening bit when the bad guy is about to bash Bond on the noggin, but James turns the tables on the betraying woman and swings her about so she takes the hit. Harsh, but hilarious and its says a lot about the kind of guy 007 is (He might be a lover, but he's not a sap). Plus Sean has one hell of a nice golf swing (whereas Mr. Goldfinger swung like an old hacker. lol )
Great villains (Oddjob), great Bond girls (Pussy Galore, what a name), great theme song, great dialog ("No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die") and that Aston Martin, way too cool for words.
The pacing of the film is arguably the best in the series. While some of the movies can feel a little overlong, Goldfinger is tight as a drum. Though I can't figure why the baddie went into such detail with the gangsters, and then gasses them all. I'll have to watch it again and try to figure out the point of it all (other than to show off a cool set and give 007 some important info on the plot)
Yeah, I'll go with the majority and rank this #1.
Coming up, "Dr. No" and I just bought "For Your Eyes Only" and "Thunderball" (among others) yay!
BTW: The 6 new Bond singles that came out today don't have all the bells and whistles (light on extras). But at under $7.84 a copy at Wal-Mart I wasn't complaining. I'm not sure whats next or when they will be released (Tried to check amazon w/out success).
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Feb 6, 2007 22:46:18 GMT -5
I hate to go with the majority, but that about sums it up to me too. Goldfinger is my favorite, followed by From Russia with Love.
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Post by mightyjack on Feb 7, 2007 12:03:37 GMT -5
Those are my top 2 as well with, The Spy Who Loved Me at #3, probably Goldeneye after that.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Feb 7, 2007 12:06:45 GMT -5
Whoops, I forgot about the new Casino Royale. That's the third member of my top three. I've avoided seeing any Roger Moore ones yet so I don't know about The Spy Who Loved Me.
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Post by mightyjack on Feb 7, 2007 12:11:26 GMT -5
I haven't yet seen the one starring Mr. "Dried apple head" yet - He doesn't look the part at all.... but I've heard enough good things about the movie that I'll rent it on the 1st when it's relased to DVD.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Feb 7, 2007 12:15:02 GMT -5
Haha!
I don't have too much of a problem with how he looks, although he definitely doesn't have the traditional James Bond look. But as far as his acting and the storyline/production go, it was definitely worth seeing.
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Post by mightyjack on Feb 7, 2007 16:28:55 GMT -5
ThunderballWhen you listen to the commentary you realize all the small details they put into this, tiny things to add depth to the character. Things I never noticed on my own. So, you know, despite these films being seen as simple mind candy, the film-makers did put a lot of thought and effort into them. Still, I've always found Thunderball -at times- a little sluggish. Maybe it's all the underwater scenes. Underwater battles are a challenge. It's tough to create character identification, fast action is difficult since everything is slowed down and a point of reference in relation to where and what is going on can be hard to establish. Take the big finish - While the battle commences, James zooms off as if he has a destination. But then he gets bogged down in the fight (Obviously to help those in trouble), then he zooms off with purpose again, before getting lost in the fight once again. Despite the frequent close-ups, I rarely never knew where he was, what he was doing and why he was in such a rush to do whatever it was he was planning. I know he had a plan but why fart around? He had the underwater jet pack thing, Largo can't catch you, just get to it. On contrast, the final scenes aboard Largo's boat bristled with action. It was quick, violent, well staged and suddenly the movie came back to life for me. Since it stutters about like this throughout, TB ranks somewhere in the middle area for me. But I don't mean to come off too harsh. I enjoyed this for the most part. What I liked: The jet pack escape at the start. The baddie largo who oozes menace and strength, and I like that the Bond girl gets to save 007 at the end (and get her revenge - a contrast from the message found in "For Your Eyes Only"). Domino (Claudine Auger) is understated but sexy/cool and she has always been one of my favorites. I also liked the dialog: Domino: "What sharp eyes you have" Bond: "Wait till you get to my teeth" as well as the song sung by 60's heartthrob Tom Jones (my Mom was in love with Tom and she owned the Thunderball soundtrack. lol) On the negative: The scene where James is nearly stretched to death was laugh out loud goofy looking. Good flick but flawed. For Your Eyes OnlyAnd speaking of breaking the goofy meter... Sometimes the Moore movies just went too far. The opening bit with Blofeld reduced to a cackling cliched baddie brought the cheese factor to new heights (or, lows) and there are a few other cartoonish moments which bug me to this day. Still, if you can get past that, Bill Conti's "too much like Disco-Rocky" score (worse than Hamlish's even), and Lynn Holly Johnson's odd baby/woman performance; there's a decent flick at the core. One thing Moore did very well were the scenes where he's asked to remember his dead wife. They are brief, but always poignant. The Greek locations are a beauty as is the lead Bond Girl with the crossbow. She is very cool. I also like how Moore showed his bad ass side by kicking a nasty thugs car and thus, help sending it over a cliff (Edit: Listened to the commentary track by the director. Moore didn't want to do this scene. As always, he never wanted Bond too violent or ruthless. Dumb ass just didn't get it ). I liked his allies, I liked some of the humor (despite Johnson's acting, Moore gets in some good quips at her expense). Fun movie, moves along at a nice pace. If only they'd have cut out some of the silly stuff. (Come on, Blofeld should have gone out with some dignity. Donald Pleasence would never screech and cackle and beg like that. Shame, shame, shame!
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Post by Shep on Feb 9, 2007 11:18:40 GMT -5
My personal take is:
The first 3 films were pretty amazing, but the scripts got silly and Connery started to sleepwalk through the part.
The Lazenby film was good, but Lazenby wasn't.
Moore was 70s/80s fun, but just jesus it was a long way from Fleming's original character.
Dalton was great, but the films themselves weren't particularly strong.
Brosnan's "Goldeneye" was a nice return to form for the franchise, but the rest of his movies were terrible.
"Casino Royale" is the best Bond film since "Goldfinger."
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