Tag: james bond 007

Ranking the Bond Flicks

Okay, so this is my very fast and loose attempt at ranking the Bond movies from favorite to least favorite. I spent about seven seconds thinking about this so it would probably change here and there if I thought about it more. This is not definitive, but it is my gut feeling right now.

  • From Russia with Love (1963) Sean Connery
  • Goldfinger (1964) Sean Connery
  • Casino Royale (2006) Daniel Craig
  • Skyfall (2012) Daniel Craig
  • Thunderball (1965) Sean Connery
  • Dr. No (1962) Sean Connery
  • You Only Live Twice (1967) Sean Connery
  • No Time to Die (2021) Daniel Craig
  • The Living Daylights (1987) Timothy Dalton
  • GoldenEye (1995) Pierce Brosnan
  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) George Lazenby
  • Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Sean Connery
  • Spectre (2015) Daniel Craig
  • Quantum of Solace (2008) Daniel Craig
  • Live and Let Die (1973) Roger Moore
  • For Your Eyes Only (1981) Roger Moore
  • License to Kill (1989) Timothy Dalton
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Roger Moore
  • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Roger Moore
  • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Pierce Brosnan
  • The World Is Not Enough (1999) Pierce Brosnan
  • Die Another Day (2002) Pierce Brosnan
  • Octopussy (1983) Roger Moore
  • A View To A Kill (1985) Roger Moore
  • Moonraker (1979) Roger Moore

The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022 Is Complete!

Last night, just before bed, I finished The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022! Success! It took about 14 years to get through (seems that way at least) but I’ve binged 25 movies covering six Bond actors and I loved every second of it.

The last time I wrote an update I was wrapping up the last few minutes of Quantum of Solace. I had only watched that movie once before. Same with the two that followed it. I had never seen the final Bond movie before so most of what follows was either new to me or almost new to me.

Skyfall isn’t as good as Casino Royale, but it’s so close we’d probably trigger a run off if it were an election. Damn, that movie is phenomenal. I remember the first time I watched it being literally on the edge of my seat for the final 30 minutes or so. It happened again. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It took the recent trend of targeting M to a whole new level and it paid off perfectly. What a great flick!

Spectre was a bit of a step back. I think I enjoyed it more on the second viewing than the first. I may have been a little put off by the Blofeld reveal for some reason. I’m not sure. I really enjoyed it this time. Much more than I thought I would. It wasn’t as good as Skyfall, but that’s not surprising. I was a little worried that we were bringing back too many of the gimmicks from the pre-reboot era. We have a Q again. We have a Moneypenny again. Those things came back in Skyfall but they were more involved here. They aren’t gimmicky yet, but they actually made me a smidge worried for the next movie. All in all, Spectre is just another killer action flick. That brings us up to four excellent movies in a row, and it brings us to the end.

No Time to Die opened with the scariest thing I’ve seen in a Bond movie, and if you haven’t watched them all you wouldn’t know it was scary. First off, the mold was shattered when the movie opened up and the main Bond Girl from the previous movie was still around! Never before had that happened. Well, there was one girl in Doctor No who shows up briefly in another movie, but she wasn’t an integral part of either story. Not this time. The main Bond Girl in movie #24 is the main Bond Girl in movie #25. Awesome! Not even Bond’s wife did that, though she is referenced in at least two Roger Moore movies. That brings me to the scary point. In the cold open Bond tells her that they have all the time in the world, which is what he tells his wife just before… I thought she was going to be toast before the opening credits rolled. I needn’t have worried though because this awesome movie just plot twisted my ass back to the stone age. I mean I did see a lot of the twists coming, but they all landed perfectly. Daniel Craig deserves all of the Oscars for the scene where he goes back to Bond Girl’s house and sees the big twist for the first time. The look on the guy’s face was perfect. Everything about this movie worked. I loved every second of it. It wraps up the Daniel Craig era completely and it seriously made me want to go back to Casino Royale and watch the last five movies again, preferably in one very long sitting.

So there we have it. I have completed the 25 movie rewatch and it was just as lovely as I’d hoped. Now we just have to wait and see what comes next. No Time to Die ends with the usual “James Bond Will Return” message, but it won’t be Daniel Craig. Who will it be? Will they reboot again? Will they alternate-universe us in some way? I can’t think of any way they could continue the Craig story without ruining the ending of No Time to Die. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I thought about trying to rank the 25 movies from favorite to least favorite. I might try that later, but for now here’s the list once more, just for fun.

  • Sean Connery
    • Dr. No (1962) 95% – Finished
    • From Russia with Love (1963) 97% – Finished
    • Goldfinger (1964) 99% – Finished
    • Thunderball (1965) 85% – Finished
    • You Only Live Twice (1967) 74% – Finished
  • George Lazenby
    • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) 81% – Finished
  • Sean Connery (Again)
    • Diamonds Are Forever (1971) 63% – Finished
  • Roger Moore
    • Live and Let Die (1973) 65% – Finished
    • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) 40% – Finished
    • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 81% – Finished
    • Moonraker (1979) 59% – Finished
    • For Your Eyes Only (1981) 69% – Finished
    • Octopussy (1983) 42% – Finished
    • A View To A Kill (1985) 37% – Finished
  • Timothy Dalton
    • The Living Daylights (1987) 73% – Finished
    • License to Kill (1989) 79% – Finished
  • Pierce Brosnan
    • GoldenEye (1995) 80% – Finished
    • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) 56% – Finished
    • The World Is Not Enough (1999) 51% – Finished
    • Die Another Day (2002) 56% – Finished
  • Daniel Craig
    • Casino Royale (2006) 94% – Finished
    • Quantum of Solace (2008) 64% – Finished
    • Skyfall (2012) 92% – Finished
    • Spectre (2015) 63% – Finished
    • No Time to Die (2021) 83% – Finished

The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022 Update Again, Yet Again, Still Yet Again

We’re getting near to the end now. The Bond movies will be removed from Amazon Prime Video at some point tonight (midnight?) and I will likely have three movies left to watch. I own a copy of one of them on iTunes. If the other two (including No Time to Die, which is the only Bond movie I have never seen) don’t move to a new streaming service right away I will rent them from iTunes. Everything is lined up for success.

So where was I? The last time I posted I had just started The World is Not Enough. It’s the first of a new trend of bad guys targeting M movies. It was okay but nothing special. The action sequences were starting to get cartoony again, and Pierce Brosnan was starting to seem a little out of his depth. He’s not bad per se, but he’s just no longer looking like someone who was born to play Bond. The pithy comebacks are not landing quite the way they used to. The villain is good. The henchman who can’t feel pain is blah. The diabolical plot is better than the previous movie but not all that interesting. It’s an average quality Bond movie. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

Die Another Day was better than I remembered it, but the longer I watched, the worse it got. I know it was the 20th movie and they wanted to honor that, but the call backs were just too much. The jet pack was cute and all but enough is enough. We’ve done the lasers thing before, we didn’t need to do it again. The bad guy was awful. The whole -I can’t sleep so I am rich- thing was dumb. The DNA replacement was idiotic. The invisible car was unforgivable. I mean… come on, folks. An invisible car? Give me a break, please. That wasn’t what bothered me the most though (close but no cigar). What bothered me the most was using slow motion in the action sequences. I hate movies that show action sequences in slow motion. I hate it.

Casino Royale is the only Ian Flemming novel that I read before seeing the movie. I read them all, in order of publication. Casino Royale was the first one. They didn’t make it into a movie until the 21st century because Flemming sold the rights to a different studio. The first film version was a made for TV movie in the US where Bond was an American CIA agent (I believe he was called Jimmy Bond). The first film was the spoof from the 60’s that I am pretty sure was written by Woody Allen. The book was good enough to make me want to read them all. The first few Connery movies are reasonably close to the books. Not exact but in the ball park. By the time Roger Moore comes around the only things the movies and the books have in common are the title and some of the character names. That’s all. The Casino Royale movie is someone close to the book. The card game and the torture scene are very similar. In the book it’s baccarat, not poker. I am pretty sure the double cross at the end came from the book too.

How is the movie? It’s the only post-Connery movie that legitimately holds up against the best Connery movies. It’s freakin’ awesome. It’s a reboot so it gave the studio the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start over, without the silliness and the gimmicks and the Bond-cliches. Where the Brosnan era action sequences were feeling goofy, these are riveting and intense. The goal isn’t spectacle anymore, it’s excitement and every single one of them works perfectly. This movie is so good it makes all of the crappy movies that came before it worth while. If I were to rank my favorite Bond movies I think Casino Royale would be forth behind From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball. Actually it might come in third, ahead of Thunderball. It’s not just a great Bond movie, it’s a great movie.

As I type this I am watching Quantum of Solace. It’s good, but it’s not even close to as good as Casino. All of the positives regarding the action sequences are still there. It’s super intense all the way through. Daniel Craig continues to be the perfect violent, vicious, mean and nasty killer Bond. The story just isn’t quite as good. It’s not bad, but it’s just not as good as Casino Royale. I am down to the last 15 minutes so I will consider this blurb my official entry.

Here is the complete list of movies, along with the Rottentomatoes.com score that I don’t always agree with. Three more movies to go, and when it’s all done I will finally be able to say that I’ve seen them all.

  • Sean Connery
    • Dr. No (1962) 95% – Finished
    • From Russia with Love (1963) 97% – Finished
    • Goldfinger (1964) 99% – Finished
    • Thunderball (1965) 85% – Finished
    • You Only Live Twice (1967) 74% – Finished
  • George Lazenby
    • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) 81% – Finished
  • Sean Connery (Again)
    • Diamonds Are Forever (1971) 63% – Finished
  • Roger Moore
    • Live and Let Die (1973) 65% – Finished
    • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) 40% – Finished
    • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) 81% – Finished
    • Moonraker (1979) 59% – Finished
    • For Your Eyes Only (1981) 69% – Finished
    • Octopussy (1983) 42% – Finished
    • A View To A Kill (1985) 37% – Finished
  • Timothy Dalton
    • The Living Daylights (1987) 73% – Finished
    • License to Kill (1989) 79% – Finished
  • Pierce Brosnan
    • GoldenEye (1995) 80% – Finished
    • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) 56% – Finished
    • The World Is Not Enough (1999) 51% – Finished
    • Die Another Day (2002) 56% – Finished
  • Daniel Craig
    • Casino Royale (2006) 94% – Finished
    • Quantum of Solace (2008) 64% – Finished
    • Skyfall (2012) 92%
    • Spectre (2015) 63%
    • No Time to Die (2021) 83%

The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022 Update Again, Again

I went a little nuts yesterday. I cranked through three Bond movies. I probably should have stopped at two and, ya know, slept, but I didn’t and now we’re fully immersed in Roger Moore.

Diamonds are Forever is the worst Sean Connery movie by far. He had already given up the role once, but then came back and made a weak movie (though it’s still pretty good) and then left again. Why? I don’t know how old he was in 1971, but he seems a little older and slower in this one. He’s still the best, but there was a definite step back.

Live and Let Die sees the arrival of Roger Moore and brings a little spring back into James Bond’s step. It’s also the start of the Bond movies starting to feel like parodies of themselves. There are a lot of African American stereotypes here that are pretty uncomfortable to sit through these days, and we’re getting to the point where the stunts are less spectacular and more silly. The boat chase scene is about four hours too long and Sheriff Pepper… what the fuck, guys? It’s still a good movie but it’s not my favorite Moore appearance. I don’t know for sure if I have a favorite Moore movie. They are all kinda equal to me, and when I say equal I mean equally not as good as any of the seven movies that preceded them.

The Man with the Golden Gun is marginally better. Christopher “Count Dooku” Lee is a decent bad guy, though he doesn’t quite get as much screen time as I think he deserves. There’s another endless boat chase, and Sheriff Pepper comes back for not one but two scenes. Again… what the fuck, guys? If I never see that character again it will be too soon. I had completely forgotten that Christopher “Saruman” Lee was in this movie so it was a nice “surprise” for me. I also forgot about Maude Adams. I don’t know anything about her other than she played two Bond girls. She’s in this movie and eventually she plays Octopussy herself. I also forgot all about Hervé Villechaize. His fight seen at the end was embarrassing to watch, but otherwise he’s fine in this role. All in all it’s a decent Bond movie, but probably not that good of a movie all around. Pretty much the same as all Moore movies.

Up next is The Spy Who Loved Me, which makes me want to watch Roger Moore in Cannonball Run where he talks about starring in The Fly Who Bugged Me. Is this the one that introduces Jaws? I know he’s in Moonraker and I think he dies at the end, so this must be his first appearance. I think?

Okay, folks, nine flicks down and 16 to go. Here’s the updated list:

  • Sean Connery
    • Dr. No (1962) – Finished
    • From Russia with Love (1963) – Finished
    • Goldfinger (1964) – Finished
    • Thunderball (1965) – Finished
    • You Only Live Twice (1967) – Finished
  • George Lazenby
    • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) – Finished
  • Sean Connery (Again)
    • Diamonds Are Forever (1971) – Finished
  • Roger Moore
    • Live and Let Die (1973) – Finished
    • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) – Finished
    • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
    • Moonraker (1979)
    • For Your Eyes Only (1981)
    • Octopussy (1983)
    • A View To A Kill (1985)
  • Timothy Dalton
    • The Living Daylights (1987)
    • License to Kill (1989)
  • Pierce Brosnan
    • GoldenEye (1995)
    • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
    • The World Is Not Enough (1999)
    • Die Another Day (2002)
  • Daniel Craig
    • Casino Royale (2006)
    • Quantum of Solace (2008)
    • Skyfall (2012)
    • Spectre (2015)
    • No Time to Die (2021)