The title for the next James Bond is...

[lazarus]

You know, I'm going to stop making Chris Carter jokes if you and Dalton aren't going to join me, YLB.

I recently rewatched Live and Let Die, and I have to disagree. It's pretty over-the-top in its subject matter (voodoo drug dealers?!), but they really delivered in the action department. That boat chase (even with that idiot hick sheriff) is fucking intense.

At least it's not forgettable. I couldn't even tell you the plot and locales of Diamonds Are Forever, and while I remember liking Thunderball, I only remember the jet-pack opening and that there's a lot of underwater stuff.

Octopussy isn't great, but Moore in that house of women is pretty damned hilarious. I have no excuse for Moonraker and A View to A Kill, though. They're both pretty bad.

You forgot to mention The Man With the Golden Gun, which, while not a great film, is another nice departure from the evil genius blueprint, making the stakes more personal, and a very memorable installment in the series. Plus, mano a mano with Count Dooku? Supporting role for Herve Villachez? I don't see the negatives.

As for Connery, no love for You Only Live Twice? I saw that in the theatre not too long ago and I think it's my favorite Connery along with From Russia. Screenplay by Charlie & The Chocolate Factory author Roald Dahl? Connery turned into a Japanese guy? The guys coming down those streamer things into the volcano at the end? KICK ASS.

 

[LMP]

I didn't mention those because I either haven't seen them completely or haven't seen them at all... I'm not fit enough to watch them all.

The only thing I can remember about Diamonds Are Forever is the excellent Shirley Bassey song.

Now I have to see The Man with the Golden Gun - I'll catch that and the rest when Spike shows all of them again, I guess.

But Goldfinger is the absolute best:

1. Pussy Galore... "I must be dreaming"
2. The fight in Fort Knox vs. Odd Job
3. "No Mr. Bond, I expect them to die."

Shit son, I love it.

 

[lazarus]

I think I got an Odd Job from Lance's Mom.

I'm not sure exactly what she did, but it definitely wasn't worth $4.95.

 

[LMP]

She didn't work the Thunderballs quite enough then.

 

[lazarus]

Yeah, and I wound up with Moldfinger.

 

[No spoken words]

What years did she serve on Her Majesty's Escort Service?

 

[lazarus]

It was cool when she came back out of retirement to star in Diamonds Are An Acceptable Form Of Payment Instead Of Cash.

 

[phillyfan26]

I prefer Connery to Moore, but only slightly.

I think Brosnan was in poor films (except Goldeneye), but was actually pretty good at the role. I think the point was made earlier that he should have taken the role earlier. I tend to agree with that.

 

[U2girl]

Actually, wasn't Brosnan up for Bond sooner but due to some other commitment (Remington Steel) Dalton got the role instead ?

 

[DevilsShoes]

Yes, I think he was up for the role around the mid to late eighties, but as you say another series of Steel got the go ahead at the last minute so he had to withdraw, much to his annoyance I think.

There's not much love for FRWL which i think set the template for all the subsequent films, its full of great moments.
- Bond being stalked around the moonlit garden by Grant
- Bonds first meeting with Tatiana and being secretly filmed
- Spiky-shoed villaness Ms Klebb
- The whole train sequence/fight with Bond and Grant is really intense stuff for a 007 film and Connery and Shaw play it so well, actually Shaw practically steals the show he's so good.

I just think it was one of those rare times when everything gelled, producing something really special. No wonder they've tried to replicare it so many times.

 

[Lancemc]

FRWL is possibly my favorite Bond film.

Pitch perfect.

 

[monkeyskin]

FRWL feels more like a spy film than an action movie and for that alone deserves to be ranked highly. No silly OTT spectacles, just good plotting and action you care about.

Goldfinger set the template really, with the iconic Aston Martin, world domination plans and just about everything else.

I've always tried hard to like Dalton's films too, particulary License to Kill which had an interesting revenge plot for Bond to follow. But try as I might something about Dalton was just lacking.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Shit title, lock and ban.

 

[lazarus]

Hey, does anyone happen to have an extra quantum of solace I could borrow?

Thanks.

 

[No spoken words]

I get my leading ladies mixed up sometimes....was Lance's Mom in Punraker?

 

[lazarus]

No, but I'm pretty sure she's been offered a role in Quantum of Soreass.

 

[Lancemc]

I think it's worth mentioning, two friends and I are going through all the Bond films in order of release this semester. We just watched Goldfinger tonight.

It struck me for the first time, how messy and incoherent a lot of that film is. Nearly bored me to tears too.

 

[lazarus]

Yeah, Goldfinger is kind of the definitive Bond film (along with The Spy Who Loved Me) in that it bears all the hallmarks, but it's not nearly as rich as From Russia With Love, which I'd objectively say is the best, though not my most favorite.

I'm curious to hear your take on You Only Live Twice, so keep us posted.

 

[Lancemc]

I've seen many of these older films before, but I remember few of them fully. It's fun going back through the entire catalogue like this. But so far, Goldfinger aint faring too well.

 

[lazarus]

If you manage to make it through A View to A Kill, you're a braver man than I.

And for the record, you don't HAVE to watch Never Say Never Again as it's not official Bond canon. I sure as hell wouldn't.

 

[No spoken words]

A View to a Kill is easy to make it through, thanks to Walken.

The scene where he does a computer scan on Bond, and finds out that he's not really Mr. Sinjin Smythe, and he sort of laughs to himself is gold.