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Post by vanhagar3000 on May 3, 2007 15:27:36 GMT -5
Much like Mighty Jack, I plan to review every Bond movie. Unlike him, I beleive it will be a bit slower of a process. So here is my first.
The Living Daylights
This is the first Bond film for Timothy Dalton, in a story about General Koskov, a Russian defector and his scheme to smuggle opium with Mitchell himself- Joe Don Baker. Personally, I liked Dalton as Bond, I felt he brought that cool edge that the character needed after the Roger Moore years and the changing times of the eighties. I really think the edge that John Glen tried to give Bond in the 80s was a good idea, otherwise Bond would have just started to parody himself. Unfortunately, this movie wasn’t written for Dalton’s Bond as he stumbles through some comedy and is forced to act not the way his Bond would. While they were trying to bring certain elements about Bond up to the times, they take about ten step backs with the only Bond girl of the film Kara Milvoy played by Maryam d’Abo. She’s so incredibly needy first on General Koskov and then Bond, who she screws things up for every so often. That wasn’t the only poor casting, John Terry as Felix Leiter can barely act and Joe Don Baker is a cartoonish main villain as a war obsessed mercenary General Brad Whitaker. There were two great casting choices with Andreas Wisniewski as Necros, one of the last decent Bond henchmen, and Art Malik as Afghan Bond ally Kamran Shah. The movie was a couple steps ahead of Octopussy and A View to a Kill, but the whole thing felt messy and someone didn’t think some things through. Dalton tries his best, but this movie wasn’t right for his Bond. **
Van Hagar will return with Goldeneye.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on May 4, 2007 14:58:23 GMT -5
Goldeneye
Pierce Brosnan makes an awesome debut as Bond in the last great entry before Casino Royale. The Bond franchise was modernized and Brosnan was better for the role and times than Dalton. Instead of SPECTRE, we get a more realistic terrorist organization with JANUS, run by Bond’s old double 0 buddy Alec Trevelyan. He spearheads a project to steal money from the Bank of England using a satellite called Goldeneye. He has three great henchmen with the obnxious brilliant computer geek Boris Grishenko played by Alan Cumming, General Ourumov as the Russian insider, and the deadly but sexy Famke Jannessen as Xenia Onatopp. The lovely ladies don’t end there with Izabella Scorupco as Natayla Simonova, the only surviving programmer (besides Grishenko) after Janus’ attack on their base. Other great casting decisions include changing things up with Judi Dench playing M for the first time and calling Bond a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur.” Joe Don Baker does better here as a Bond ally as Jack Wade the CIA contact for Bond, and a big fat greasy American lout (gee he plays those roles well). Desmond Llewyn returns as Q, and gets in one of his better lines of the series when Bond goes for a sandwich, “Don’t touch that....That’s my lunch.” Samantha Bond starts her role as Moneypenny. Brosnan though is the star of the show, and really started with Bond running. He did a better job at adjusting to the role the first time than anyone except maybe Connery and Craig. There are some great locations in this one, and the locales as almost as beautiful as the women in the film. There are some good action scenes and stunts, but not overbearing like it would become in the future. One of the best entry of the Bond series, and Brosnan’s best. ***½
Van Hagar will return with For Your Eyes Only
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Post by vanhagar3000 on May 24, 2007 17:10:52 GMT -5
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill is an interesting film in that it’s almost a stand alone and completely different from anything else Bond. It’s a great action film, but it’s so lowly looked down upon by fans of the Bond franchise. LTK was the first attempt to modernize the Bond franchise past the Roger Moore era. It’s an improvement from the Living Daylights, which seems to have been written for Moore. Here Bond is actually going out for revenge after his friend Felix Leiter is fed to sharks, and Bond his licence to kill revoked, so he’s working against his government. Director John Glen from the beginning of the 80s tried to give Bond a colder edge (including Moore’s Bond killing a man in cold blood in For Your Eyes Only). Dalton was the perfect man to give Bond his cold heart. The world was changing, Bond only sleeps with one other woman beside the main Bond girl, and the main Bond girl gets frustrated by this. The villain isn’t a over the top madman bent on world domination, instead he’s a drug lord named Franz Sanchez who’s out for making money. In a supporting role Benicio Del Toro plays the last great traditional henchman in Dario. Also, Q gets in some well deserved extra screen time, when he comes down to help Bond. This film was far removed from the day of Connery and Moore, which may be why this movie is looked down upon so lowly. There is virtually no comedy, which plays well to Dalton, but poorly to Bond movie goers. Some of the themes in the film like Bond going out for revenge for Felix, Q and Bond’s relationship, and Bond getting licence revoked would have worked better with an actor who had the role longer. The same mistake was made with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and the fact that the role of Leiter in the films was never really developed well hurt as well. The movie is highlighted by the best stuntwork in any Bond film, including the final scene involving trucks. After this film bombed, the Bond rights were held up, Dalton left, and the franchise was modernized again only with Pierce Brosnan in the lead roll. It’s a shame, I really wonder what would have happened if they would have continued in this style. This is an underrated Bond movie, with many forgetting it’s no less traditional than Goldeneye was when it first came out. ***½
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Post by Broadsword on May 24, 2007 20:27:51 GMT -5
Great reviews VH. I agree with your take on Goldeneye and Licence to Kill though enjoyed The Living Daylights a little more then you did. Great job again cant wait for the next review.
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Post by Shep on May 26, 2007 7:03:26 GMT -5
Licence to KillLicence to Kill is an interesting film in that it’s almost a stand alone and completely different from anything else Bond. It’s a great action film, but it’s so lowly looked down upon by fans of the Bond franchise. LTK was the first attempt to modernize the Bond franchise past the Roger Moore era. It’s an improvement from the Living Daylights, which seems to have been written for Moore. Here Bond is actually going out for revenge after his friend Felix Leiter is fed to sharks, and Bond his licence to kill revoked, so he’s working against his government. Director John Glen from the beginning of the 80s tried to give Bond a colder edge (including Moore’s Bond killing a man in cold blood in For Your Eyes Only). Dalton was the perfect man to give Bond his cold heart. The world was changing, Bond only sleeps with one other woman beside the main Bond girl, and the main Bond girl gets frustrated by this. The villain isn’t a over the top madman bent on world domination, instead he’s a drug lord named Franz Sanchez who’s out for making money. In a supporting role Benicio Del Toro plays the last great traditional henchman in Dario. Also, Q gets in some well deserved extra screen time, when he comes down to help Bond. This film was far removed from the day of Connery and Moore, which may be why this movie is looked down upon so lowly. There is virtually no comedy, which plays well to Dalton, but poorly to Bond movie goers. Some of the themes in the film like Bond going out for revenge for Felix, Q and Bond’s relationship, and Bond getting licence revoked would have worked better with an actor who had the role longer. The same mistake was made with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and the fact that the role of Leiter in the films was never really developed well hurt as well. The movie is highlighted by the best stuntwork in any Bond film, including the final scene involving trucks. After this film bombed, the Bond rights were held up, Dalton left, and the franchise was modernized again only with Pierce Brosnan in the lead roll. It’s a shame, I really wonder what would have happened if they would have continued in this style. This is an underrated Bond movie, with many forgetting it’s no less traditional than Goldeneye was when it first came out. ***½ This one has really grown on me over the years. I love the "farewell to arms" scene where Bond resigns and you can see he's quietly heartbroken. Dalton played this perfectly. |
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Post by jkrobertson on May 27, 2007 15:36:19 GMT -5
You guys can call me crazy but....
IMO, the best Bond movie is: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". This was a story driven Bond film with an actual LOVE story, not Bond's usual "sleeping with a bunch of women". Much action and excitement during the second half of the movie, when Bond is captured and escapes.
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Post by mightyjack on May 27, 2007 16:25:42 GMT -5
You guys can call me crazy but.... IMO, the best Bond movie is: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". This was a story driven Bond film with an actual LOVE story, not Bond's usual "sleeping with a bunch of women". Much action and excitement during the second half of the movie, when Bond is captured and escapes. Your crazy! ;D Actually when I did my Bond marathon recently, it included my very first viewing of this one... and I loved it. I even liked Lazenby. Easily in my top 10 for 007 films. Can't wait for a single release on DVD so I can own it. Oh and Shep, I never knew you were a Dalton man? I never would have guessed, you need to stop keeping these things to yourself.  j/k |
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Post by Shep on May 28, 2007 7:34:02 GMT -5
Oh and Shep, I never knew you were a Dalton man? I never would have guessed, you need to stop keeping these things to yourself. j/k LOL I must be slipping!  Actually "On Her Majesty's" is one of my faves, too. It's very faithful to Flemming's book (and has no gadgets). Same reason I loved the new "Casino Royale." |
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Post by vanhagar3000 on May 29, 2007 12:14:17 GMT -5
You guys can call me crazy but.... IMO, the best Bond movie is: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". This was a story driven Bond film with an actual LOVE story, not Bond's usual "sleeping with a bunch of women". Much action and excitement during the second half of the movie, when Bond is captured and escapes. Lazenby isn't what I'd call great, but it could have been worst. I think this one may be next. Thanks to everyone for the feedback. |
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Post by mightyjack on May 31, 2007 14:50:55 GMT -5
For you collectors who don't have the box sets, I see another 6 singles have been released. They are...
From Russia With Love
You Only Live Twice
The Man With the Golden Gun
Moonraker
The Living Daylights
The World is Not Enough
That's 12 total to date.
What's left to release?
Lazenby's effort
From Connery they have Dr. No and Diamonds are Forever left to release.
From Moore there's Live and Let Die, Octopussy and a View to a Kill.
Brosnan has Tomorrow Never Dies. I'm not sure if Die Another Day is still in print or not as a single.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Aug 3, 2007 10:46:55 GMT -5
They're going to be showing Bond films on Spike again, so I should get a few quick refreshers, including this one...
You Only Live Twice
You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever were Connery’s final two Bond films, and suffer two main problems, neither follow Fleming’s novel at all and Connery was tired of the role and obviously sleepwalking through everything after Thunderball. I’m guessing there are a couple of key reasons for the changes, the first being that You Only Live Twice was a direct sequel to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Perhaps they felt they didn’t want Connery’s Bond have his wife killed, and then not return to the role so then someone else would have to go after Blofeld. Another is that the original novel wasn’t so over the top, but producers now faced with a large amount of Bond knockoffs, had to prove they could have the biggest budget and best special effects. Because you know, Neil Connery’s box office power was probably intimidating Sean. Though the final special effects of the Volcano erupting were AWFUL. Like Wood bad if you really look at it. As mentioned Connery starts sleepwalking here, but because he’s Connery he can get away with it better than anyone especially as Bond, and it’s still a good performance. The plot is rather silly now, and worked much better in The Spy Who Loved Me. Space Shuttles are eaten up by a mysterious craft, and the Russian and American blame each other. So Bond has to go to Japan and investigate the crimes, which lead him to none other than Ernst Blofeld. The middle portion is actually pretty decent with Bond doing detective work and showing off the culture of Japan. A highlight is the performance by Tetsuro Tamba as Bond’s Japanese ally, and his friendship with Bond, which was about the only part from Fleming’s novel to make it into the move. In the end, You Only Live Twice is something where many Bond cliches come from, and while not a bad entry in the Bond franchise, it’s nowhere in the top ten. **½
VAN HAGAR WILL BE BACK IN THE GIRL WITH EIGHT VAGINAS! (or was that two different movies?)
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Aug 20, 2007 19:18:24 GMT -5
Casino Royale
Easily, the best debut movie for a Bond actor. Everyone was picking on Craig from his height to his ability to drive to his hair. It's likely safe to say all those doubters have gone into hiding since then. He works well as a more methodical Bond than in years previous, and is able to have a better sense of charm than Timothy Dalton's version. The story is marverlous, being the first to be based and named after a Fleming novel since 1974's The Man With The Golden Gun (the next two movies had Fleming novel names, but were new stories). Bond being an expert card player is sent to beat Le Chiffe in a Texas hold 'em tournament, to gain his cooperation. With him is Vesper Lynd who supervises his money use, played by the beautiful and talented Eva Green. The tone of the film is much more gritty than before, but because of it actually keeps more to Fleming's original vision. The action is great, though I thought a foot chase taking place in Uganda was a bit silly to realisticly happen. It's something that looks neat, but like professional wrestling, wouldn't really work in the real world. A good theme song, and an adaquate score. It featured much of the essential Bond material and trademarks, but managed to move away from some of the conventions. With a break since Die Another Day they were able to transition easy like in Goldeneye, unlike the earlier mentioned Licence to Kill transition which didn't go over well. However, they do need to bring back Moneypenny and Q. In conclusion, it's a new take on Bond that works and one of the best of the series. ****
VAN HAGER WILL RETURN IN GOLDFINGER!
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Post by LetGoOfItSlappy on Aug 22, 2007 12:12:00 GMT -5
Totally agree with you VH.
My only minor complaints about the movie: 1) Same as you...we need Q, I thought casting John Cleese as Douglas Llewelyn's replacement was great so hopefully we will see him in future Bond movies. 2) Texas Hold'em..........NO NO NO...the game, IMO, should have remained Baccarat. Yeah yeah I know nobody knows how to play Baccarat, and Texas Hold'em is popular right now...blah, blah, blah.....I know the basics of Baccarat, ya know why? Because I am a Bond fan and I looked it up....as could anyone else. I dunno maybe I am overreacting, but I don;t like changing something simply because something else is more popular.
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Post by ObscureGamer on Aug 22, 2007 12:28:27 GMT -5
Excellent reviews Van Hagar, and so far I can't find much that I disagree with. Right after Casino Royale came out, a friend of mine whined, "but they already made that movie!" So I looked it up, and found out they did : except that it was a Bond parody movie starring Peter Sellers, and had literally nothing to do with the novel except the title.
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Post by vanhagar3000 on Nov 16, 2007 19:35:27 GMT -5
More Bond marathon's are coming on Spike during the Christmas season, so I should get back on track with this. But to wet your appatites.
For Your Eyes Only
A slightly underrated film, that may top even The Spy Who Loved Me as Moore's best Bond film. Much of the story was taken from two Fleming short stories, the title story and the bulk of the plot from Riscio. In it Bond is going after a missile command system and gets caught up with a Greek businessman (and spy) and Greek smuggler with some twists along the way. He also picks up help/trouble from Melina Haverlock (played by the attractive Carole Bouquet), out to avenge the death of her parents by the same people who stole the ATAC. This is likely the best all around cast since the days of Connery's films. The allies, the women, the henchmen and main villian (Julian Glover, who interestingly auditioned for Bond after Connery left a second time) are perfect cast and have good fleshed out characters. Of course, this is the movie where they accidentaly cast a man as a sexy woman, seriously. However, both Glover and Bouquet were better in their roles than Curd Jurgens and Barbara Bach in the other Moore classic The Spy Who Loved Me, even though both actors and the movie may be more prolific. John Glen gave a slightly harder edge to Bond, and Moore pulled it off well, which makes me wonder why they decided to do Octopussy next. A underrated feature, and one of the best out of Moore's catalouge. ***1/2
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j/k
