Goldfinger has its place in the critical canon, it's on Roger Ebert's Great Movies list and it regularly shows up on lists of the best action films and best British films ever.
TND is indeed kinda mediocre but still sufficiently entertaining (I always liked the bit where the villain imitates Michelle Yeoh's kung fu posture before scoffing at her, "pathetic," his status as an all powerful media Titan having afforded him cultural superiority); I can't say that if the latter came on tv right now that I'd be all that disappointed that I was watching it instead of the former. I dunno, there's a possibility that I'm so overly familiar with this series that I don't notice subtle differences between them. I should admit that I still haven't seen a few of the Moore ones (or haven't seen them since childhood, when I couldn't tell them apart in any way beyond my suspicion that Octopussy was a funny name for some reason I couldn't quite articulate), but yeah, I don't see the distance between the best and worst in this series as being anywhere near as dramatic as, say, the original Star Wars trilogy vs. the prequels, or Raiders Of The Lost Ark vs. Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.
― this is the dream of avril and chad (jer.fairall), Tuesday, 9 October 2012 04:42 (eleven years ago) link
I haven't seen it in a long while but I remember A View to a Kill being abhorrent, but maybe it doesn't seem so bad because there's so many and of varying degrees of quality that it all feels part of an awfulness continuum, whereas in the case of Indiana Jones there's a remarkable drop-off in that one entry which makes it stand out as even worse.
― Legendary General Cypher Raige (Gukbe), Tuesday, 9 October 2012 04:45 (eleven years ago) link
'from russia with love' is easily among the best-made action films ever and far and away the series high point IMO.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 9 October 2012 06:02 (eleven years ago) link
if only North by Northwest hadn't got there first
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 9 October 2012 11:51 (eleven years ago) link
They're all good in a way. I don't remember if I've said that before in this thread, but I'll watch any of them, even Diamonds are Forever, at any time if someone asks me.
― abcfsk, Tuesday, 9 October 2012 12:02 (eleven years ago) link
A View to a Kill is irritating in that the actors and premise have a lot of potential and it ends up with a boring underground explosion plot where they're just punching in a nondescript cave and a fistfight on a blimp
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Tuesday, 9 October 2012 14:54 (eleven years ago) link
AVtoK seems to be the consensus worst of the series, and as I only remember the very last scene of the film, perhaps I should re-watch it and then amend my statement about the non-varying quality of Bond films accordingly.
― this is the dream of avril and chad (jer.fairall), Tuesday, 9 October 2012 15:06 (eleven years ago) link
Ok, AVtoK is indeed pretty bad. Moore way beyond retirement age for the character at this point, and his sex scene with Grace Jones has to be the ickiest in the entire series. Plus, Walken squandered on an uninteresting character. Like, if ever there was an actor born to play a megalomaniacal Bond villain, it's Walken, but he has exactly zero interesting lines/moments/quirks in the film. Also, the movie is just way to jokey and clowny. When the Beach Boys tune came on during the opening scene, I seriously thought I was watching "Top Secret."
― this is the dream of avril and chad (jer.fairall), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:28 (eleven years ago) link
yeah I hated that one.
Should I roll the dice on one of the Brosnans at MoMA? Which is 'darkest'?
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:42 (eleven years ago) link
Doesn't answer your question, i know, but The World Is Not Enough is my fave Brosnan.
― this is the dream of avril and chad (jer.fairall), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:48 (eleven years ago) link
someone threw DAD (lol) a vote for lols, right? I mean, isn't that the one w/ the invisible car & Pierce Brosnan surfing on a broken slab of ice WHILE firing a machine gun?
― suggest butt (Pillbox), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:51 (eleven years ago) link
that's the one w/ J Pryce yeah? xp
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:52 (eleven years ago) link
either goldeneye or twine (haha) -- goldeneye if you want a cartoony take on postsoviet uncertainty feat. judi dench calling bond a "dinosaur" and the world is not enough if you want the millennium dome + bond in an "antique torture chair" + john cleese
― a hauntingly unemployed american (difficult listening hour), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:52 (eleven years ago) link
pryce is in tomorrow never dies which i can't remember anything about except him.
― a hauntingly unemployed american (difficult listening hour), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:54 (eleven years ago) link
this review of the 50 box set prefers Goldeneye:
http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/bond-50/2447
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 13 October 2012 15:59 (eleven years ago) link
i do too
― a hauntingly unemployed american (difficult listening hour), Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:06 (eleven years ago) link
the only thing i remember from DAD is the completely tension-free ice chase scene. iirc his car gets shot like a billion times and blown up like a hundred times but it's cool, nothing can stop the magic indestructible invisible car.
― Perfect Chicken Forever (Merdeyeux), Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:23 (eleven years ago) link
Goldeneye the only solid Brosnan, but I don't think any of them are particularly dark. They were clearly trying to get away from the harder-edged Dalton stuff, but quickly overcompensated with Moore-esque ridiculousness.
Tomorrow Never Dies has a good chase scene and Michelle Yeoh is good, but the finale is pretty blah and Pryce isn't a very good villain. World is Not Enough has Denise Richards and unmemorable action scenes. I don't think Carlyle is terrible, but submarine stuff is sort of a snooze and bullet-in-the-brain "i can't feel pain" is kind of pointless. Die Another Day is best avoided unless you really want to see Madonna turning up in a fencing kit.
― Legendary General Cypher Raige (Gukbe), Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:37 (eleven years ago) link
CASINO ROYALE tbh
― Raymond Cummings, Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:40 (eleven years ago) link
I watched The Living Daylights for the first time since a cable rerun in 1990, and it holds up! Two crippling mistakes:
1. No villain. Joe Don Baker's war buff isn't given enough to do. The blond mail Annie Lennox-esque master of disguise comes close.2. The cellist is perhaps the most insipid Bond girl, which is saying a lot.3. Timothy Dalton is game but given no memorable quips and is directed to act like he's in Othello.
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:45 (eleven years ago) link
as far as Dalton goes, Benicio Del Toro in a meat grinder >>> sliding around the snow on a cello case.
― Legendary General Cypher Raige (Gukbe), Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:53 (eleven years ago) link
*THREE crippling mistakes rather
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 16:57 (eleven years ago) link
Daylights was my last one til the Craig Royale. I should try Licence to Kill, I guess.
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:09 (eleven years ago) link
actually only recently saw A View to a Kill. just horrifically bland, besides delightful Walken delivery in this scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCmgle7Q5eU
xp you might wanna avoid Licence Morbs, unless you really, really like generic B-action. it's the closest to a Stallone/Norris movie that Bond ever came
― no love spud webb (fadanuf4erybody), Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:11 (eleven years ago) link
everybody has different opinions! I hate that.
― cancer, kizz my hairy irish azz (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:12 (eleven years ago) link
I dunno. What's the diff b/w Bond and Norris -- tuxes and martinis? This is why I'm not a Bond fan.
― the ones that I'm near most: fellow outcasts and ilxors (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:14 (eleven years ago) link
Invasion U.S.A. is a more entertaining movie than all but like 5 or 6 Bonds so I really do not know
― no love spud webb (fadanuf4erybody), Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:16 (eleven years ago) link
RAVES coming in for Skyfall.
― piscesx, Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:28 (eleven years ago) link
License To Kill is a good 80s action movie.
― this is the dream of avril and chad (jer.fairall), Saturday, 13 October 2012 17:41 (eleven years ago) link
Never Say Never Again surprised me! I expected a smug Sean Connery but his quiet weariness is exactly right for the part -- one of his subtler performances. The shark sequence (which I remembered watching on cable as a kid at a friend's house) is quite well shot.
A thousand curses on Kim Basinger. Is there a role she didn't scream for help through?
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 00:06 (eleven years ago) link
love her in Nadine actually
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 01:57 (eleven years ago) link
she didn't deserve Jeff Bridges.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 01:58 (eleven years ago) link
I remember seeing Connery on Johnny Carson when NSNA came out, talking about putting his hairpiece on to play Bond again.
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 01:58 (eleven years ago) link
I liked it more than Thunderball for sure
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 01:59 (eleven years ago) link
!
― balls, Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:05 (eleven years ago) link
shorter, less waterlogged + Max von Sydow
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:10 (eleven years ago) link
It's 2-hours-plus and drags after Brandauer walks away though.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:11 (eleven years ago) link
One of the more disappointing truths of my adulthood has been learning that Thunderball pretty much sucks.
― Room 227 (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:19 (eleven years ago) link
this shit is relative, Thunderball is weak but outweighs 20-odd years of bollocks that comes after it
― movember spawned a nobster (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:21 (eleven years ago) link
cd argue the same about the books, Fleming slid downhill from Casino Royale on but they're all better than say Lee Childs
― movember spawned a nobster (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:22 (eleven years ago) link
sonofagun, it seemed shorter... also forgot Brandauer was in it!
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:30 (eleven years ago) link
I had the Thunderball game.
http://jamesbondboardgames.grrgh.com/2010/10/25/thunderball/
― saltwater incursion (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:33 (eleven years ago) link
Thunderball second worst of the EON Connery Bonds. Diamonds are Forever obviously the worst.
― Gukbe, Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:34 (eleven years ago) link
still love Diamonds above Thunderball, which is leaden as fuck.
― movember spawned a nobster (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:35 (eleven years ago) link
the two henchman dudes in Diamonds were a portent of things to come.
― Gukbe, Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:37 (eleven years ago) link
taking your point but there's nothing in the worst non-Roger Moore movie that's more offensive than Live and Let Die
― movember spawned a nobster (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 6 November 2012 02:43 (eleven years ago) link
I just rewatched For Your Eyes Only, and was surprised how lean and stripped-down it was for a Moore Bond. (Though unlike many others, I do love a lot of the Moore era comedy stuff, especially in Octopussy.) There's no grandiose world-conquering schemes for the villain, and the ending is satisfyingly non-black & white ("that's detente, comrade: you don't have it, I don't have it"). It also features what is probably the nastiest scene Moore's Bond ever had (besides him practically raping Solitaire in Live and Let Die), when he pushes the car with the henchman inside down the cliff. And the rock-climbing finale was still a really exciting set piece, with little of the rear-projection corniness that mars many of the Moore era action scenes.
Also, Melina Havelock is possibly the most capable female lead in any Bond movie (and Carole Bouquet manages to convince the viewer she really is that tough): there's no real damsel-in-distress moments for her, and she ends up saving Bond more often than he saves her. I can't recall any Bond girl, not even in the 90s and 00s movies (I haven't seen Skyfall yet), being this skillful, which is a bit sad considering FYEO is 30 years old.
Basically, the only flaws in the movie are the totally unnecessary super-young-iceskater-has-the-hots-for-Bond sideplot (which would've been okay in some of the less serious Bonds, as Moore is quite funny when he's rejecting her advances, but it doesn't really fit here), and the fact that the romance is even more tacked-on than usually: there's literally no romantic scenes at all between Bond and Havelock before the final scene, where they just making out. I guess the idea was that a Bond movie has to end this way, but they could've at least tried to forehadow it in some way. Without those elements I'd say FYEO would easily be among the top 5 Bonds.
― Tuomas, Tuesday, 20 November 2012 08:09 (eleven years ago) link
Here's my ranking of all the Bond movies:
The breakdown basically goes like this: 1-5 are essential. 6-11 are very good, but with some (increasingly significant as the rank decreases) flaws. 12-15 are stupid, but fun. 16 is only that high because of Christopher Lee. 17-22 are generally terrible but still worth watching because, you know, Bond. 23 is Quantum of Solace.
1. Casino Royale2. From Russia with Love3. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service4. Goldfinger5. The Spy Who Loved Me6. Goldeneye7. The Living Daylights8. Dr. No9. Skyfall10. Thunderball11. For Your Eyes Only12. Tomorrow Never Dies13. Licence to Kill14. Die Another Day15. Octopussy16. The Man with the Golden Gun17. Moonraker18. You Only Live Twice19. Diamonds Are Forever20. Live and Let Die21. The World Is Not Enough22. A View to a Kill23. Quantum of Solace
― Bound by Habitrails (J3ff T.), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 17:20 (eleven years ago) link
Quantum really seems to be consensus worst, huh? Personally I found it bland enough that I barely remember it now, but View still strikes me as more screechingly bad.
― Room 227 (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 22:29 (eleven years ago) link
Any movie with Walken and Grace Jones automatically is more exciting than the blandfest that was Quantum.
― this will surprise many (Nicole), Tuesday, 20 November 2012 22:51 (eleven years ago) link