| In anticipation for Bond 23, a.k.a. Skyfall coming on November 9th, 2012, Ted and I are starting a new monthly series called 007 CHATTER… look for it sometime in the first week of each month. … I’ve also added a new category for this, so click on 007 Chatter on the category drop-down menu for all Bond-related posts. |
As the new batch of Skyfall new pics have just been released (you can see some over at Castor’s blog), it’s time for another 007 Chatter post. This time, both Ted and I take a look at our best and worst Bond films from each decade. Now, as I haven’t watched ALL of Sean Connery’s Bonds, my list will start from the 70s and up.
TED’s LIST
The 60s:
Many Bond fans will agree that this era contains many great Bond flicks so it’s quite a challenge for me to pick the best Bond film from this decade. Here are my choices for best and worst Bond film from the 60s:
Best: Thunderball (1965) – It was hard picking this one over On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger and From Russia With Love but Thunderball is still my favorite Bond film of all time. As I stated previously on my Best Bond films post, Thunderball has everything you ask for in a Bond film: pretty girls, beautiful locales, good action sequences and of course a villain who’s trying to destroy the world.
Worst: You Only Live Twice (1967) – This is probably the only Bond film from this decade that not many people talk about and it’s for a good reason. It contained probably the dumbest idea ever put in a Bond film and there were a lot dumb stuff that appeared in many of the Bond films, this one tops them all. Sean Connery put on a make-up so that appears to be Japanese, not only did the make looked awful and Connery looks nothing like an Asian person, it was quite offensive in my opinion. Now it wasn’t as offensive as Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of an Asian man in Breakfast at Tiffany’s but it’s still quite bad. Besides being offensive, this Bond flick just wasn’t that interesting. The cinematography was awful and the script was badly-written. It’s the worst Bond film of this decade by far.
The 70s:
After the poor box office returns of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which has a more serious tone, the producers were afraid the audience might lose interest in the franchise. So they’ve decided to make Bond films into more of a light action/adventure and as a result, many of the Bond films from this decade were pretty dreadful.
Best: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Out of Roger Moore’s entire Bond films; this may have been his most serious Bond. It’s not perfect but the film was a lot of fun, it was beautifully-shot by Claude Renoir and had some cool action sequences for its time. Also, it was tightly-edited by John Glen who would later direct five Bond films in the 80s.
Worst: Diamonds Are Forever (1971) – So this was the film that kick started the silly comedic tone of the franchise and they convinced Sean Connery, well actually the producers paid a then unheard-of $1.25mil to him, to come back and play Bond again. In a rare occasion, most of this film took place mainly on US soil and it has the first American Bond girl, Jill St. John. With the exception of a nifty car chase through the Vegas strip, this film was quite dreadful. It wasn’t fun or exiting, the plot made little sense to me and Connery looked like he’d rather be somewhere else than playing Bond again.
The 80s:
So the 80s was interesting as far as Bond films are concern, we saw three different actors portrayed the secret agent and it contained two of my favorite Bond films ever. But the decade also released some really bad Bond flicks.
Best: It was toss up but I have to go with License to Kill, my other favorite from this decade was For Your Eyes Only. I thought License to Kill (1989) was a better film because it was a more realistic take on the character and oh yeah, Timothy Dalton was great as Bond. I know many Bond fans hated him but I thought he’s closer to what Fleming had written on the novels.
Worst: Again a toss-up but the worst Bond flick from this decade was A View To A Kill (1985), but my other choice was Never Say Never Again. A couple of reasons why I chose A View To A Kill: first, the film was boring and how could you cast Christopher Walken play a villain and yet his character was so weak and nonthreatening? Second, when Never Say Never Again opened in theater back in 1983, it wasn’t considered the official Bond film because it was produced by another movie studio, Warner Bros., so for that reason it gets a pass from me. It’s now considered part of the Bond family because MGM bought all the rights from Warner back in 1997.
The 90s:
Well, it took a few years before we finally saw a new Bond flick back on the big screen in the mid 90s when GoldenEye opened in 1995. A new actor took over the role of the super secret agent. There were only 3 Bond films that came out in that decade, 2 good ones and the other was quite bad.
Best: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – I’m quite sure many people would’ve chosen GoldenEye over this one but to me this film is a lot more fun. As I mentioned in my previous article, I thought Pierce Brosnan didn’t look comfortable in his first outing as 007 but he looked like he had a lot of fun in this one and was very comfortable playing Bond. The film has some really cool action sequences, such as the shootout/car chase scene in the parking ramp and the motorcycle and helicopter chase through the streets of Hanoi (it’s actually filmed in Thailand). I also like the villain in the film, he’s not another Russian who wants to take over the world, he’s just a greedy media mogul who wants to start world war 3 so he can make more money.
Worst: The World Is Not Enough (1999) – When it was announced that Michael Apted was going to direct the next Bond flick, I thought to myself why did they hired a director whose films were mostly dramas? (Okay I’m hoping Sam Mendes would prove that a dramatic director can make a great action film with Skyfall) Well, my fears came true when I finally saw it and walked out of the theater feeling like the franchise is going downhill fast. Not all of it was Apted’s fault but he directed some really boring action sequences in the film, the plot was a snooze fest and the villains were quite weak. Oh did I mention that Denise Richards played a scientist in this film? ’nuff said.
2000s:
Well in the last decade, Brosnan starred in one Bond film and we were introduced a new Bond later in the decade.
Best: Casino Royale (2006) – After a couple of very bad Bond films the producers decided to reboot the franchise, even though the last film was the highest earning Bond film ever. They cast a younger Bond in Daniel Craig and went back to his early years as a reckless secret agent. The film received great reviews and was big box office hit. It’s my second favorite Bond film of all time and Craig did an amazing job playing 007.
Worst: Die Another Day (2002) – This was the film that resulted in the reboot of the franchise. It was a huge box office hit but critics and fans all agreed that it was one of the worst Bond films ever made. To be honest, I actually enjoyed the first half of this film but the rest of the film was a disaster. I’m not a huge fan of Halle Berry so I thought she was one of the worst Bond girls ever. You might remember, MGM actually considered expanding her character into a stand-alone film. Fortunately her Catwoman film tanked so bad, the idea was scrapped. Also, Brosnan looked like he’d rather be somewhere else than playing Bond again.
…
RUTH’s LIST
Since I haven’t watched all of Sean Connery’s Bond flicks, I’m going to skip the 60s and goes right to the following decade.
The 70s:
Best: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – I totally agree with Ted on this one, and interestingly enough I had just read this awesome review by Dan over at FogsMovieReviews and I wholeheartedly agree it’s certainly the high point of the Moore era. If you saw my post about Mozart a few weeks ago, this is actually the movie that introduced me to Mozart’s music, ahah, what do you know right? 😀 I think I’m partial to Moore’s Bonds that have Jaws in it and he’s got quite a bit of screen time here. I also like Barbara Bach as the sexy but sophisticated Bond girl, waaay too much cleavage but I’m sure the boys don’t mind. Oh and that amphibian car is way cool even today!
Worst: It’s a toss-up between Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun – but if I have to pick just one, I’d have to go with the latter as I’m really creeped out by the dwarf from Fantasy Island as the henchman to Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga. Lee made for a pretty sinister Saruman but he’s a pretty lame Bond villain as well. Overall this just wasn’t a memorable Bond flick to me, I mean I don’t even remember who the main Bond girl was, I just knew that Maud Adams died in this one but she’s of course had a much bigger role in Octopussy.
The 80s:
As I grew up watching a bunch of Bond movies in this decade, it’s really going to be tough to pick just one favorite. This is a special year for me as there are four Bond movies I like released in the 80s, two from Roger Moore and two from Timothy Dalton. Octopussy is more of a guilty pleasure though.
Best: I LOVE The Living Daylight as it’s Dalton’s first outing as Bond, but given the awful villain in that movie (Joe Don Baker, seriously??), I’d have to agree with Ted and pick Licence To Kill (1989). Dalton is even more bad-ass as the rogue spy, but he’s tough guy with a heart as you could still see his broken heart over what happened to his friend Felix. I do think this film is so massively underrated as now people are praising Daniel Craig being so ruthless and hard-edged, but Dalton had done exactly that and more. Plus I think he looks far sexier with wet hair (well just sexier overall) 🙂 It’s also got two bonafide villains, Robert Davi and his henchman Benicio Del Toro (you can hardly recognized him as he’s so much leaner then with no heavy bags under his eyes). Davi is especially charismatic as the suave but sadistic Sanchez, and his friendly scenes with Bond up until the brutal truck-chase finale is fun to watch.
Worst: Never Say Never Again (1983). Really, there’s no contest here as Connery should never have accepted the role as Bond as he looked more like grandpa Bond, which made it all the creepier seeing him wooing Kim Basinger who’s 23 years his junior! It’s also a non-EON production so it’s not an ‘official’ Bond flick, which is why there was no James Bond theme or the gun-barrel opening sequence in this one. I saw this long ago and can’t recall much about it, just as well as it surely wasn’t worth remembering.
The 90s:
Best: Goldeneye (1995) – Though Pierce Brosnan doesn’t rank high on my favorite Bond list, I actually quite enjoyed this one. I like Sean Bean as the villain with a personal vendetta (one of my fave Bond villains in fact), and Famke Janssen certainly made for an indelible villainess with an unforgettable name, Xenia Onatopp (really, it’s right up there with Pussy Galore!). But most of all, I like this one as it’s the first time we see Judi Dench as M (love her spot-on description of Bond as a “sexist, misogynist dinosaur”), which is perfect casting that continues to pay off to this day! The action scenes are pretty well-done and the customary car chase of Bond’s Aston Martin vs. Onatopp’s red Ferrari delivers its optimum good fun. Even the preposterous tank chase through the streets of St. Petersburg is massively enjoyable.
Btw, the reason I pick this over Tomorrow Never Dies (though I love Michelle Yeoh as a kick-ass Bond girl) is that I can’t stand Jonathan Pryce as the villain. The idea of making the Bond villain as a media mogul is inspired but I wish they had cast a more compelling actor for the part (someone more convincingly sinister like Terrence Stamp perhaps?)
Worst: The World Is Not Enough (1999) – There are only 3 Bond movies in the 90s and hands down this fares as not only the worst of the decade but one of the worst of ALL Bond movies! As Ted already mentioned, not only is Denise Richards plays a rocket scientist, her name is Christmas Jones… Doctor Christmas Jones!! I do like Sophie Marceau as the mysterious Bond girl Elektra, but Robert Carlyle as the bullet-infested Renard is lackluster at best. He’s the least sophisticated Bond villain ever, a far cry from the regal but deranged tycoons like Moonraker‘s Drax or The Spy Who Loved Me‘s Stromberg. Mostly though, it’s just unbearable watching Denise being so far out of her elements, I really have no clue what Michael Apted was thinking casting her. Definitely THE worst Bond girl ever!
2000s:
Best: Casino Royale (2006) – I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie. It ranks perhaps as my favorite Bond film ever, which is such a pleasant surprise given my initial doubts about Daniel Craig. This is perhaps the most-watched Bond movies as I’ve seen it a half a dozen times and still love every minute of it. It’s not only a great Bond film, it’s a great film, period. The story is well-written, it’s got a sexy & smart Bond girl played by the stunning Eva Green, and it boasts an amazing scenery, especially the Italian location, especially the one in Venice. I know that Le Chiffre isn’t the strongest Bond villain, but I actually like Mads Mikkelsen as an actor.
Worst: Die Another Day (2002) – This movie is just ludicrous from start to finish with absolutely no redemptive value whatsoever. Terrible villain, lame Bond girl (I thought the gratuitous sex scene with Halle Berry is much too vulgar for a Bond flick) and there’s the invisible cars to make the agony complete! Oh and did I mention Madonna is in this also? This movie also has the most product placements in a Bond movie, from no less than 20 companies (per Wiki).
Check out Ted’s profile and links to his other posts
Well those are our picks for best and worst Bond films from each decade. What are YOUR choices?
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
These mostly match my choices on the matter.
Favs: Goldfinger, Goldeneye, Casino Royale, Living Daylights, For Your Eyes Only
Misses: A View to a Kill, Die Another Day, World is Not Enough, Moonraker
Awesome Max. I LOVE that you put Living Daylights as one of your faves, yay!!
Hi, Ruth and company:
Another killer list (Pardon the pun!) from one of the coolest bloggers around!
I’m a hard core Connery Bond. So I’ll have to go with ‘From Russia With Love’ for the definitive 60s Bond film. Wet topped Gypsy cat fight and all.
‘Oh Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ still rates very high for the 70s.
Daniel Craig makes a worthy Bond if you want to stand the agent’s long standing Mythos on its head. Much more into the full blown action hero mode than Her Majesty’s trouble shooter or spy.
Completely agree that the worst Connery/Bond film was ‘Never Say Never Again’. A very lame remake of the vastly superior ‘Thunderball. Also the film that turned me off from the franchise until recently.
Hi, Ted!
Great call on ‘You Only Live Twice’.
Wouldn’t the Japanese people consider a taller than six foot man with a strange haircut, facial appliances and make-up to be a somewhat distant
cousin of ‘Gojiro’, or ‘Godzilla’? Inquiring minds want to know!
I’ve always considered ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ to the the ‘Bullitt’ of the Bond films. With Roger Moore desperately trying to capture Steve McQueen’s cool
and failing miserably. And Jill St. John taking Jacqueline Bisset’s role. While the whole film is wrapped around a rather cool bit of stunt driving.
Hi Jack, yes exactly, it reminds me of another silly film, White Girls, where The Wayans Brothers put on make up to look like two white girls and they look nothing like white girls. It’s that kind crap Hollywood would put out that tick me off, anyhoo the less we talk about that movie White Girls the better. You Only Live Twice wasn’t as bad as that piece of turd.
My, aren’t you sweet Jack 😀 Oh I LOVE ‘From Russia With Love’, I probably would pick that one as my fave from the Connery Bonds I have seen. I really should give ‘OHMSS’ another try, especially given that it’s Christopher Nolan’s favorite Bond flick!
You are right that Craig does seem more like a bad ass action hero than a slick spy, I do think that Dalton can balance the two much better because he looks more elegant in a tux but he certainly can be menacing. In fact, in some of the scenes in Licence to Kill where he confronted Pam Bouvier, he looked pretty darn scary.
Still can’t believe they remade Thunderball, or any other Bond flick for that matter, and cast the same actor who obviously did not age well.
Great list team! I am an occasional Bond fan so I am not too familiar with many of the films. I got into it starting in the 1980s and 1990s. From that period I think that you are all on the money with your picks.
Denise Richards as a rocket scientist belongs in a Bond-spoof, not a Bond film!
Ahah, totally agree with your last line there Iba. She would be PERFECT in a spoof!
Well she was in Undercover Brother!
Oh hells yes. Now youre talkin’!!
LOVE ME SOME BOND!!
Great idea, I loved reading all the blurbs, I agree with many things, disagree with others. Loved seeing Dalton get some love. Love seeing Thunderball win even though I go Goldfinger, Ruth you should check out whichever Connery Bonds you havent seen!! 😀
I loved getting a shout out, that was pretty SWEET. It’s a fun idea, and I can’t wait to play. Here’s mine –
60’s Best: Goldfinger Worst On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
70’s Best Spy Who Loved Me Worst The Man With the Golden Gun
80’s Best The Living Daylights Worst A View to a Kill
90’s Best Goldeneye Worst Tomorrow Never Dies (I like TWINE as a guilty pleasure)
00’s Best Casino Royale Worst Die Another Day.
Gonna be on the lookout for more Bond Chatter for sure! 😀
I see we match up pretty closely, Fogs — with the exception of OHMSS, that is ;-).
You like OHMSS, Mike? That’s actually one of the Bonds I hate the most, LOL! We’ll have to hash that out at some point!
OHMSS is not my all-time favorite, but it’s come up significantly through the decades (I didn’t like it much when it first arrived). I think Mr. Peel’s take covers a good bit why that is. It’s far from perfect. Lazenby is nowhere close to my favorites in the role (Connery and Craig) and Telly Savalas’ Blofeld is entirely too thuggish, but the story, direction, Barry’s score, and of course Diana Rigg overcome a lot.
Now are you insinuating that we’re not really talking if it’s not a Bond post? 😀 Just kidding Fogs, ahah, glad you enjoyed the post!
Y’know I think I have seen most of Connery Bonds as my brothers often watched those when I was a wee girl, I just couldn’t remember most of ’em or I didn’t see them in its entirety. I do have Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger in a bundle DVD that my friend Becky lent me, so I should watch ’em soon.
YAY, another fan of Living Daylights, awesomeness. I tell you, I think I *meet* more Dalton fans around the blog, so clearly he gets more credit from moviegoers than critics. I truly wish he had done his third outing, which would have been called ‘Property of a Lady.’ Based on what I read anyway.
Good choices there Fogs, even though The Man with the Golden Gun was bad I somehow enjoyed it. It’s one of those so bad it’s good film, what’s funny about that Bond film is that it doesn’t really feel like a Bond flick.
Thanks Ted!
Ruth…. come on now, you know that’s not what I meant, LOL!
I would have liked to see a third Dalton, too. And you’re right, his fans come out in the blogosphere, thats for sure 🙂
I pretty much agree with you both and only differ very slightly.
BEST: From Russia with Love and Casino Royale, followed by Thunderball, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only, and License To Kill. I’ll give Dr. No honorable mention as one of the best too. So many good bits, like the opening titles.
Three from the 1960s. What I like about Thunderball, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, are the lush sets and overall style. It all looks the money. And On Her Majesty’s Secret Service gives the only other true love interest for Bond. I mean, he gets married for real. They should have moved the tragic ending to the pre-credit sequence of the next movie. It was probably the biggest mistake they ever made. However, the director actually filmed it to end after the wedding as he explains in his commentary. You can see the camera pans towards the sky as Mr and Mrs Bond drive into the sunset, so it’s believable he intended it to end there. So who made the decision?
What’s intriguing in Casino Royale, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, is the way Fleming sets up Bond in order to let him fall deeply in love. In the book he first says he’s a misogynist, then that it’s actually only because he couldn’t find a woman he could talk to. So it’s partially disinterest stemming from disappointment…until he meets Vesper or Tracy. It’s a great set-up because it goes against expectations, and that’s why you get more character depth as a result.
Most Disappointing: Quantum of Solace.
In the future, I hope they manage another Casino Royale. Thing is, the basic story and character in Casino Royale followed Ian Fleming’s book quite closely. Do we see a pattern here? The best of the best all closely follow Fleming’s books.
Great picks, Marcus! For Your Eyes Only is a guilty pleasure of sort even though Moore was really showing his age in it, but I LOVE Carole Bouquet as an elegant, almost icy Bond girl. I also like the opening with Bond placing a bouquet on his wife’s grave.
“They should have moved the tragic ending to the pre-credit sequence of the next movie.” Hey, that’s not a bad idea at all… that certainly would make the movie end on a more positive note.
Yep, yep, I agree that having Bond fall head over heels is always intriguing. That scene of Bond trying to revive Vesper is heartbreaking but that’s what makes the movie work so well for me, that ‘heart’ factor.
I’m so with you on Quantum, I disagree w/ Ted on that one as he likes that movie, but to me it’s such a huge disappointment given how good Casino Royale was. The third act is just brutal and uninteresting, I didn’t like the villain and the movie just isn’t pretty to look at except for a few scenes. But still, it’s still much more bearable than Die Another Day!
“I LOVE Carole Bouquet as an elegant, almost icy Bond girl. I also like the opening with Bond placing a bouquet on his wife’s grave.”
Placing the flowers on his wife’s grave is the opener to the book following OHMSS, which makes total sense, right. I think Thunderball? What’s significant is that Bond does not go undercover to the health clinic in Thunderball. Bond has been suffering from depression(!) after his wife’s death. After six months of mourning and slacking off, M tells him to shape up or ship out. It’s these serious bits of character depth they usually skip in the movies.
Carole Bouquet was great, and so different. She’s become a really good actress too. I’ve seen her in some French films. One where her lawyer husband has been cheating on her with a 20 year old woman thief he has to defend. She behaves all strong, shows nothing publicly. Then closes a door in the house and crumbles. No words, but a very powerful performance.
I completely forgot to mention “The Spy Who Loved Me” as one of the best. It’s stylishness is close to Thunderball. I actually saw it as a little kid at the Odeon Leicester Square in London where the Bond movies premiered. During the first two weeks before it was released nation/worldwide. Needless to say, it impressed me immensely. And, as a kid it’s fun when you can see it weeks before all your friends, hee-hee 😉
Yay, another fan of miss Bouquet. I just love that she’s not a bimbo y’know. Yes she does lack some acting skills as she’s a model but I think she’s faaaar better than say, Denise Richards or even Tanya Roberts who CLAIMS to be an actress! Wow that French movie sounds really strange, but I can see her in such a role.
You saw that at the Odeon??! Wow, that’s awesome man. Where do you live in the UK? I’m just so jealous of you Brits right now as all the movies I want to see are released there first and we in Minnesota often don’t get a chance to see it until DVD 😦
Bouquet’s acting skills greatly improved within a few years. Have you seen her in “Too Beautiful For You” (1989) ?
She won the best actress award in France for that movie. The film also won in most other top categories. I definitely recommend checking that out for some classy entertainment.
It’s about a successful local business man who has this beautiful (trophy?) wife (Bouquet) but in a strange twist, feels almost oppressed by her beauty and perfection. He starts an affair with his frumpy secretary.
It’s a think outside the box kinda film. Great cinematography as well.
What a grand idea, Ruth and Ted. Wonderful answers by both of you, as usual. Here would be mine:
The 60s
• Best: Goldfinger (1964) – because it set the template for the whole series, and included a great villain (who-know-who) and henchman, Oddjob; great Bond girl in Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore, with Connery at the top of his run, too.
• Worst: You Only Live Twice (1967) – and for the reason Ted expressed; although, I do like its big final action set and villain (Donald Pleasence as Blofeld) better than Thunderball’s (and I also believe Nancy Sinatra’s theme song rendition is underrated).
The 70s
• Best: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Roger Moore as his best at Bond, though to be honest it’s not in my top five for the series.
• Worst: The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) – love Christopher Lee as the villain, hate this movie (and the weak Bond girl).
The 80s
• Best: License to Kill (1989) – Timothy Dalton’s (never given anything close to really good scripts in the series) best IMO and in the cruelest Bond film there ever was, but that’s plus in this case.
• Worst: A View to a Kill (1985) – really the worst for me as a long-time Bond fan; I can re-watch Never Say Never Again over and over before this one.
The 90s
• Best: Goldeneye (1995) – just not enough in the decade to make it competitive. Brosnan’s first and very good debut with simply splendid villain/henchwoman support by Sean Bean and Famke Janssen (but, I agree with Ted that Brosnan’s more comfortable in Tomorrow Never Dies).
• Worst: The World Is Not Enough (1999) – purely for the ridiculousness of its set action pieces and , Criminy, Doctor Christmas Jones! Worst. Bond Girl. Ever. Although, I like the female villain behind it all — Robert Carlyle’s Renard masqueraded as the mastermind, but was actually the henchman.
The 00s
• Best: Casino Royale (2006) – it’s really no question, is there?
• Worst: Die Another Day (2002) – what a sad vehicle to leave the Bond series for our man Brosnan (and celebrate reaching 20 film installments). Bad story, villain, henchman. I like Halle Berry, though.
Thanks all.
Oh, and I should add another thing I hate about Die Another Day: Madonna’s theme song. That woman should stay far, far away from movies (Swept Away, Body of Evidence, Shanghai Surprise and almost wrecking Guy Ritchie’s directorial career). But then, that’s just me ;-).
Ha ha yeah when I saw Modonna appeared on the screen, I accidently yelled out: “What the F!” in the theater. LOL.
Looks like your choices are pretty close to mine too.
I’m with you about Madonna, Michael!! She should just stick to music.
Great idea! Not a big fan of Bond films in general but there have been some great ones. Am I the only person that likes Diamonds are Froever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun? Glad to see Ted pick Tomorrow over Goldeneye too. Need to see the Timothy Dalton ones still!
Hey Pete, check out the Dalton’s Bond films and see if you like them. They’re more “serious” than the Moore Bond flicks, just FYI.
I hope you get to see Dalton’s Bonds Pete, really you can’t go wrong with either one IMO.
Love this post!
As expected, Die Another Day is on both ur lists as one of the worst Bond flicks ever! Absolutely agreed. I only liked the car on the ice scene myself.
Found it interesting, Ted, that you chose Tomorrow Never Dies. I tend to dislike it as “the best” for some of the same reasons as Ruth.
Man, this was great to read. Look forward to next month’s! Nice work Ted and Ruth!
Thanks T., I think I really enjoyed Tomorrow Never Dies so much was because it didn’t have another Russian villain, by that time I was so sick seeing Russian villains. But Ruth was right about Jonathan Price, he was pretty weak and she’s right on about Terrance Stamp, he would’ve been great as the evil media mogul.
As you already know, I’m not the biggest James Bond fan out there. I have seen very few of them, and most of the ones I did started with when Pierce Brosnan took over the role. Casino Royale definitely is my favorite so far but hopefully, Skyfall is going to be even better 😀
I seriously can’t wait for Skyfall but I’m Bond fanatic so I get excited every time a new Bond film is announced. Also, this would be the first time where a “quality” director actually making a Bond film, most of the directors in past were so so. Let’s hope Mendes doesn’t disappoint.
Skyfall does look very, very promising! Can’t wait for that one.
My penny’s worth!
THE 1960s
I agree that it’s a tough call to choose the best Bond film of the 1960s because I’ve never been able to weigh From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service up against each other, putting one of them on a pedestal as Number One! However, that said, when asked which Bond film someone should watch to capture the essence about what the film James Bond is all about, I always suggest Thunderball to any first time viewer who wants to see what all the fuss is all about; it personifies cool and sophistication and oozes class, as does Sean Connery’s performance in this fourth entry in the series – truly the biggest Bond of all for so many reasons.
I think for me the word ‘least’ rather than ‘worst’ is a better way of describing the placing of You Only Live Twice in the six 60s Bond films. When viewed 45 years after it was first released in cinemas the idea of a villain attempting to start World War III from inside his secret base in a hollowed-out volcano in Japan can be seen to be totally ludicrous. But when I sat in the front circle of the Odeon Leicester Square in June 1967 as a 15-year-old schoolboy and watched the film for the first time with my Dad, it was all real. Ken Adam’s volcano set is still the single greatest piece of production design produced for any film ever and surpasses anything ever created using CGI, however clever and creative that medium has become. Also having the wonderful opportunity of visiting that set and actually walking around inside made its eventual appearance on that giant cinema screen at the Odeon even more impressive and exciting to me. As for Bond being disguised as a Japanese fisherman – no sillier than the rest of the film, but just as entertaining, “Why don’t you just dye the parts that show!” Freddie Young’s cinematography makes this the best-looking 007 film in the entire series. Young deservedly won Oscars for Best Cinematography on David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Ryan’s Daughter (1970).
The 1970s
Diamonds Are Forever remains a very peculiar Bond film (see the just published 007 MAGAZINE ARCHIVE FILES: Diamonds Are Forever – File #1, where much of the usual criticism of this film is addressed at length) and stands alone from the rest of the series – but is still better than any of the Roger Moore films.
The 1980s
The Roger Moore James Bond films have never interested me at all, with the possible exception of the brief serious interludes in For Your Eyes Only, but what the silliness in that film doesn’t destroy of Bond’s cool, Bill Conti’s appalling disco-orientated score does for the rest! 1983’s Octopussy and the unofficial Never Say Never Again prove that by slapping the name ‘James Bond’ on just about anything will ensure biggish bucks at the box-office but apathy in the audience; James Bond in disguise as a clown (were they trying to tell us something?) and hiding dressed in a gorilla suit!!! 1985’s A View To A Kill belongs in the triumvirate of terror! The three most terrible Bond films ever made, and joins Die Another Day and Quantum of Solace in a trio of films that did little to add lustre to this cluster of 007 outings. The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill came as a refreshing change to the buffoonery of the Roger Moore years but have not aged well. Daylights was a far superior debut movie for Timothy Dalton than GoldenEye was for Pierce Brosnan.
The 1990s
After a six-year gap between Bonds, 1995’s GoldenEye proved to be a resounding $350 million box-office smash, but a rather lukewarm and uninvolving story with script to match. 1997’s following Tomorrow Never Dies worked well for the first hour but then fell apart not helped by Jonathan Pryce’s villain Elliot Carver who was about as convincing an opponent for Brosnan’s 007 as Kermit The Frog! 1999’s The World Is Not Enough was the first Bond film to have a plot similar in tone to the story arc of the 60s Bonds, as was all the better for it, although the action scenes seemed slotted into the piece at predetermined points making them predictable, over long and never making you believe that Bond is in any real danger. MGM seem to be the culprits who hoisted the very beautiful but very miscast Denise Richards on the producers and director Michael Apted as a nuclear scientist. And her character could only have been named Christmas Jones for one reason and one reason only – the corniest pay off line in the history of the franchise!
The 2000s
After the dire Die Another Day it was time for a serious rethink and the producers and their writers got it 10/10 correct with Daniel Craig’s debut as 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale, a Bond film that ranks up there with Peter Hunt’s masterpiece, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The less said about Quantum of Solace the better!
If SkyFall is half as good as Casino Royale it will be a thousand times better than Quantum. For my money, Craig is the best Bond since Connery, and hopefully with a good story and script, SkyFall will bear out the adage ‘The third time’s the charm!’
Connery with Goldfinger; Moore with The Spy Who Loved Me; Brosnan with The World Is Not Enough.
Graham Rye
Editor & Publisher
007 MAGAZINE
http://www.007magazine.com
Hi Graham,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Bond, it’s always great to read other people’s opinion of this great franchise.
You know I thought You Only Live Twice looked pretty bad and I was quite surprised it was shot by Freddie Young, like you mentioned those films he shot with Lean looked spectacular. But I only saw You Only Live Twice in small screen so maybe it looked better when it shown in theater. I’ll find out when it comes out on Blu-ray later this year.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hello Graham, what an honor to have you visit our humble blog! All Bond lovers are welcome here, especially if you have nice things to say about Dalton 😀
“Daylights was a far superior debut movie for Timothy Dalton than GoldenEye was for Pierce Brosnan.” YES, absolutely true! The second I saw him in the opening sequence I knew he was the perfect Bond.
“…Jonathan Pryce’s villain Elliot Carver who was about as convincing an opponent for Brosnan’s 007 as Kermit The Frog!” Mwahahaha… can’t say it better myself. I’m so irritated when he was mocking Michelle Yeoh with his lame Kung Fu moves, I felt like yelling to my telly for Michelle to kick him in the face. Obviously he doesn’t stand a chance against her.
Let’s hope ‘third time’s the charm’ indeed with Skyfall.
just a mention of Halle Berry and Madonna gives me creeps, Flixy dearest 😦
Ahah, indeed Dezzy. Glad they scrap the idea about Halle Berry’s Jinx spinoff!
Reblogged this on ROAD MOVIE MOBILE CINEMA | Outdoor Cinema Hire | Indoor Cinema Hire | Adelaide Australia and commented:
Love a good Bond film! What’s your favourite?
Great pick to include The Spy Who Loved Me. That’s my favourite Bond film with my favourite Bond in the role. Roger Moore gets some stick but I always liked the way he played it, moreso than Connery. I am a fan of the Dalton films too but after Goldeneye I lost interest in Bond completely.
I grew up watching Moore so I’ll always like him as he’s my first Bond, y’know? But the older I get, the more I appreciate the more serious, bad-ass Bond, hence my faves are Dalton & Craig.
I’m not sure why, but I never managed to really get in to the Bond pics. I have probably only seen two or three of them in my lifetime, although I’m not entirely sure that I could say which ones exactly. It is kind of amazing though that the franchise has been able to survive as long as it has!
What, what?? 😀 Hey, to each their own David, that’s ok if you’re not into Bond films. I think because I grew up watching ’em, I’ve become a Bond fan for good. It certainly has a wide appeal across generations.
I am afraid I am not really a big enough BOND fan to comment or have any real picks… I also am one of the very few who preferred the CAMP and silly eyebrows of Roger Moore to any other bond… HAHAH I do love a bit of CAMP!
Nothing wrong with that, matey!! I do enjoy a few of Moore’s Bonds, especially For Your Eyes Only. I always like it when he’s nodding mischievously to his enemies during car chases, ahah.
THANK YOU for submitting to Reddit, you’re a pal!
P.S. I have submitted this fine post to reddit. I hope you get some traffic over from there 🙂
I wish I could comment in more depth on this post, but I’ve seen hardly any Bond films. Talking to my parents, they both believe that Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan made the best Bond. Even though, I will say that I saw Casino Royale quite a few times and really enjoyed it. Glad to read that you love it! It’s very entertaining and I’m definitely a big fan of Eva Green as well.
Oh that’s ok Kris, thanks for your two-cents about Casino Royale. It’s such a great movie isn’t it? Glad that you like Eva, too.
Great post, Ruth and Ted! I will definitely be coming back to this as I slowly make my way through more Bond films.
60s best – From Russia with Love. Great cold war setting, classic spy story, excellent bond girl and terrific villains. OHMSS and Goldfinger run it very close.
60s worst – Thunderball. Fab settings but just so S L O W and boring. Honourable mention to the ‘Japanese disguise’ of You Only Live Twice – one of the most embarassing parts of the series.
70s best – The Spy who Loved Me. A poor decade for Bond, this is probably the least objectionable.
70s worst – Difficult to choose, could make a case for Golden Gun, Live and Let Die (controversial I know) or Moonraker – the dated and offensive Blaxploitation of Live and Let Die swings it.
80s best – its a controversial choice but my vote goes to A View to a Kill, outstanding performance from Walken as probably the most psychotic bad guy in the whole series. My Bond guilty pleasure.
80s worst – Octopussy. Bond in a clown outfit? fighting with tennis rackets? Casual racism (that should keep you in curry….), mix all of that and more with a incomprehensible plot and a barely adequate budget and you get this horrible mess of a movie. Oh and Tarzan.
90s best – Goldeneye. Not only the best of the 90s – one of the best of the whole series, a great reboot.
90s worst – its a toss up between Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough, 2 Bond movies I struggle to differentiate – 2 of the most forgettable entries into the series. Could make a case for either of them but I’ll go for Tomorrow Never Dies – Hong Kong actioner and Bond does not a happy marriage make – it just leaves me feeling a bit ‘Meh….’
00s best – Casino Royale – no question, its in the top 5 of the whole series
00s worst – Die Another Day – wrong on almost every level, wrong in so so so many ways. A fortune of a budget wasted.
Someone thought Halle Berry was one of the worst Bond girls ever, because she was not a favorite actress of this person? Wow! How illuminating . . . not.
Meanwhile, here is a list of my favorite and least favorites:
1960s:
FAVORITE: “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”
LEAST FAVORITE: “Goldfinger”
1970s
FAVORITE: “The Spy Who Loved Me”
LEAST FAVORITE: “The Man With the Golden Gun”
1980s
FAVORITE: “The Living Daylights”
LEAST FAVORITE: “A View to a Kill
1990s
FAVORITE: “Goldeneye”
LEAST FAVORITE: “Tomorrow Never Dies”
2000s
FAVORITE: “Casino Royale”
LEAST FAVORITE: “Die Another Day”
In regard to the Bond actors:
Sean Connery:
FAVORITE: “From Russia With Love”
LEAST FAVORITE: “Goldfinger”
George Lazenby:
FAVORITE: “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”
LEAST FAVORITE: N/A
Roger Moore:
FAVORITE: “For Your Eyes Only”
LEAST FAVORITE: “The Man With the Golden Gun”
Pierce Brosnan:
FAVORITE: “Goldeneye”
LEAST FAVORITE: “Tomorrow Never Dies”
Daniel Craig:
FAVORITE: (Remains to be seen)
LEAST FAVORITE: (Remains to be seen)
Here are the best and worst Bond films imo per actor who played Bond:
Connery: Best = From Russia with Love (although Goldfinger, Thunderball and You only Live Twice are very close contenders). Worst = Diamonds are Forever (still a good film though).
Lazenby: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was a good Bond film and should have had a direct revenge sequence.
Moore: Best = Live and Let Die or Octopussy. Worst = The Man with the Golden Gun.
Dalton: Best = The Living Daylights. Worst = Licence to Kill (still a great film though only Daylights is better).
Brosnan: Best = Tomorrow Never Dies. Worst = Die Another Day (the worst Bond film ever).
Craig: Best = Casino Royale. Worst = Quantom of Solace (still great though but Casino is a classic and one of the best Bond films ever).
HAHA your list is a clueless joke, tomorrow never dies is an absolute godawful mess and easily one of the 5 worst bond movies alongside living daylights, thunderball, ohmss and moonraker
UGH those picks are f’n LAUGHABLE XD
thunderball is EASILY the worst bond movie of all time alongside tomorrow never dies, an absolute godawful borefest with a sh!tty villain, zero plot and the most anticlimatic messy looking underwater “fight” scene ever prodiuced on film. both lists actually are PATHETIC.
man with the golden gun, licence to kill and the world is not enough not only easily make it into the top 10 but theyre all the BEST films of each bond actor moore, dalton and brosnan just like connerys best is EASILY you only live twice!!!!
god talk about knowing F all about bond! not to mention good movies! get a clue morons XD
Someone needs to take a chill pill, it’s called opinion and you yours and we have ours. Calling us morons doesn’t make your opinion right. You must be one of those losers who only sounds tough behind a keyboard, get a life idiot!
Pingback: Reprise – Friday Forgotten Song: You Only Live Twice | It Rains… You Get Wet
Pingback: Ranking the Family of Bond | It Rains… You Get Wet