Tag: james bond

The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022 Update Again

I remember why I usually avoid You Only Live Twice, and I am not talking about the pretty racist and stereotypical depiction of everyone and everything in Japan. It’s Connery. He’s clearly bored. He clearly doesn’t want to be Bond anymore. I read an article about it last night that says his performance is so disinterested that it borders on unprofessional.

It’s still a pretty great Bond movie though. It just goes to show you that Connery is so freakin’ good that even when he mails it in and does a terrible job, he’s still great (see: Highlander).

So, five movies down. I started On Her Majesty’s Secret Service this morning during my faux walking. George Lazenby. Okay. In House of the Dragon there is a character who is often referred to as The Queen Who Never Was. That’s what I think of this movie. It’s the bad ass, monster classic Bond movie that could have been. If Connery or Daniel Craig played Bond in this movie we’d be talking about it as the best of them all. Hell, if Moore, Dalton, or Brosnan had played him we’d probably be saying the same. I am not trying to say that Lazenby is a bad actor. He’s fine. He’s just not really an actor and he doesn’t have the chops that Connery or Craig or any of the others have. He’s perfectly acceptable, he’s just not a commanding presence like the other guys.

Everything about that movie is great. Telly Savalas as Blofeld is perfect casting. Diana Rigg does what she always does and steals literally every scene she’s in. Imagine the sparks if she had been playing off of Sean Connery. Just imagine! There is no way on Earth he would have seemed bored when they were on screen together. Hell, if you want to see just how amazing Diana Rigg can be, watch Game of Thrones. I mean her last scene is so fucking incredible that it will burn itself on your soul forever. “Tell Cersei.” Enough said.

Here is the list as it stands now:

  • 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) – In Progress
  • Sean Connery (Again)
    • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • Roger Moore
    • Live and Let Die (1973)
    • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
    • 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)

The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022 Update

Did I read correctly that Amazon Prime Video is dropping the Bond movies in two weeks? I need to get cracking then!

Here’s the latest update. Goldfinger is as awesome as awesome gets. Sean Connery is the best Bond without question. I mean, Daniel Craig is fantastic as Bond, Roger Moore is iconic, but Connery just IS James Bond. Period. The best there is and the best there ever will be.

I finished Thunderball last night. It is a great movie, but probably not up to Goldfinger’s new standard. It’s the forth movie and the first that isn’t better than the previous movies. I still stand by From Russia with Love being my favorite, but I can’t say anything negative about Goldfinger and the only negative thing I can say about Thunderball is that it isn’t Goldfinger. It’s almost like that movie was just a technical challenge. Can we film a full battle scene underwater? Let’s find out. My favorite part of the big fight at the end is Bond with the jet pack thingie on his back, booking it through the battle and just reaching out and pulling masks off bad guys. Just, excuse me, pardon me.

Up next is You Only Live Twice. I haven’t watched that movie in 100 years. I remember it being good but not quite up to the standard. It’s the first clear step back, but it’s still a good one. We’ll see if my memory is accurate.

Until next time, here is my updated status bar:

  • Sean Connery
    • Dr. No (1962) – Finished
    • From Russia with Love (1963) – Finished
    • Goldfinger (1964) – Finished
    • Thunderball (1965) – Finished
    • You Only Live Twice (1967)
  • George Lazenby
    • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
  • Sean Connery (Again)
    • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • Roger Moore
    • Live and Let Die (1973)
    • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
    • 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)

The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022

I had been thinking about it for a while. Over the last month or so there have been a ton of television shows that I have been following closely. For the most part I watch new episodes while doing my morning walkies and that’s how I stay caught up. Most of those shows have ended now so I was thinking of what I could watch in their place (until the next round of must-see shows kicks off).

I started watching the first Hobbit movie but it wasn’t really holding me. I’ll get back to it, but I needed something more engaging. The answer to my conundrum? Bond movies. All of them. It should take me months to finish. Yeah, Bond movies will be the ticket.

I started The Great James Bond Movie Rewatch of 2022 last night with Dr. No. The first official Bond flick and Sean Connery’s debut. I forgot how mean he was in this movie. He’s pretty brutal for 1962 as well. He just plain murders that geologist dude, including a second insurance shot in the back. Blood thirsty.

During today’s walkies I started From Russia with Love. I didn’t get terribly far into it. I think it’s safe to say that Goldfinger is the template for all Bond movies that followed it, but for me personally, From Russia with Love might be my favorite of them all. It’s still a spy movie first and foremost. With Goldfinger they start devolving into fantasy action movies rather than spy movies. I don’t know. I love them all, and Goldfinger is easily one of the best, but there is just something about From Russia with Love that really works for me.

As with the Marvel rewatch I did a few months ago, I will keep an updated list of the movies as I watch them because… it’s my page and I can do whatever I want, dig? Note, I am not including the unofficial movies. I don’t acknowledge that the spoof version of Casino Royale exists (sorry, Woody Allen), and the final Connery appearance in Never Say Never Again was not made by the same studio and is just a remake of Thunderball. It’s a good movie and I might tack it on to the end, but it’s not official so it’s not on the list.

Here is the full list of Bond movies, in order of release:

  • Sean Connery
    • Dr. No (1962) – Finished
    • From Russia with Love (1963) – In progress
    • Goldfinger (1964)
    • Thunderball (1965)
    • You Only Live Twice (1967)
  • George Lazenby
    • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
  • Sean Connery (Again)
    • Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
  • Roger Moore
    • Live and Let Die (1973)
    • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
    • 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)

007

I’ve been thinking about watching all of the Bond movies in order. Sort of like the Marvel rewatch, just without the Marvel. You know what I mean?

I just put on Dr No. Sean Connery just landed in Jamaica.

Also, on an unrelated note…

Heh heh heh. My first roll of higher end film? Heh heh heh.

Sean Connery

Diana Rigg

Diana Rigg passed away. Cancer. I’m so sick of cancer.

She was wonderful. You all know her as the Queen of Thorns in Game of Thrones. You may all know her from the old TV series, The Avengers (not Marvel).

What we all should know her from though… the most important role she played… One of the most important roles in film history…

She played Mrs James Bond.

Rest in Peace, Mrs Bond.