The Spy Who Loved Me, hands-down.
Think I'm gonna have to fit in a commemorative viewing this weekend.
Think I'm gonna have to fit in a commemorative viewing this weekend.
Poll Favourite/best Moore Bond movie
- Thread starter lurok
- Start date
Yeah, I feel like the Moore conversation begins and ends with that movie. Live and Let Die is entirely too casual with its racism, The Man with the Golden Gun is a mess outside of Christopher Lee, Moonraker is an utter farce (though Ken Adam's production design is beyond reproach), For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy are essentially forgettable and the less said about A View to a Kill, the better.
Well, I wouldn't be that unkind to the other Moore films (except maybe AVTAK, probably my least favorite of the series, even after DAD). I think that LALD gets a bad rap on the front that you mention...Yaphet Kotto was veritably giddy about his turn as a Bond villain in the DVD extras.
I'm surprised Octopussy isn't more popular. It has a strong story and cool mix of Indian jungle adventure/cold war intrigue. It was the biggest Bond until Goldeneye. I wish Moore had called it quits then and not made A View To A Kill, which was one of the worst Bonds ever.
Kamal: You have a nasty habit of surviving.
Bond: You know what they say about the fittest.
Kamal: You have a nasty habit of surviving.
Bond: You know what they say about the fittest.
I used to really like Octopussy, but last time I tried to watch it I gave up, Bond focusing the camera on a woman's cleavage wasn't one of 007's finest hours.
Live and Let Die obviously has issues, but no more than many of films of that era and Kotto's view counted for a lot in making be reappraise it. How they handled a black villain was important. Kananga isn't a henchman, he isn't some comedic character, he's a smart, dangerous, eloquent adversary and in the top drawer of Bond villains, IMO of course. In fact the film has a retinue of great henchmen too. Tee-Hee and Baron Samedi are again great adversaries. And of course it should be remembered that the most ludicrous and comic character in the film is the redneck.
If I could make one change to the film I think its that Solitaire should have been black. Don't get me wrong, I love Jane Seymour to bits, and she's a great Bond girl (little or no agency but that aside) but a black Solitaire would have balanced the film up somewhat in a way Strutter doesn't quite manage.
Random LALD related question. Who the hell slipped Bond the Queen of Cups card that tipped him off about Rosie? (or was it coincidence-it struck me last night that the hotel might have just given away a tarot card with every check!)
Second random question. Why the hell does Strutter tell Bond to drop it after he escapes from the Fillet of Soul? Obviously from a dramatic perspective we're supposed to think Strutter is another of Mr Big's goons but it doesn't make a whole heap of sense.
Live and Let Die obviously has issues, but no more than many of films of that era and Kotto's view counted for a lot in making be reappraise it. How they handled a black villain was important. Kananga isn't a henchman, he isn't some comedic character, he's a smart, dangerous, eloquent adversary and in the top drawer of Bond villains, IMO of course. In fact the film has a retinue of great henchmen too. Tee-Hee and Baron Samedi are again great adversaries. And of course it should be remembered that the most ludicrous and comic character in the film is the redneck.
If I could make one change to the film I think its that Solitaire should have been black. Don't get me wrong, I love Jane Seymour to bits, and she's a great Bond girl (little or no agency but that aside) but a black Solitaire would have balanced the film up somewhat in a way Strutter doesn't quite manage.
Random LALD related question. Who the hell slipped Bond the Queen of Cups card that tipped him off about Rosie? (or was it coincidence-it struck me last night that the hotel might have just given away a tarot card with every check!)
Second random question. Why the hell does Strutter tell Bond to drop it after he escapes from the Fillet of Soul? Obviously from a dramatic perspective we're supposed to think Strutter is another of Mr Big's goons but it doesn't make a whole heap of sense.
I agree that Yaphet Katto injected power and conviction to his role as Kananga. Speaking of Live and Let Die, the original book is one of the best Ian Fleming novels. Key scenes from For Your Eyes Only and License to Kill were taken from the book.
While Moonraker was my first Bond movie to experience in the theater, I never really found an affinity for Moore's take on the character... The Spy Who Loved me is probably my favorite, but there are elements of the others that I enjoy. Moore's humorous take on the character kind of left me cold, as I preferred Connery's sardonic wit. A close second for me was FYEO, but even then, I felt that Moore was showing signs of being too old for the part, if only by his looks. By the time Octopussy came around, I just couldn't get into it.. Dressed as a clown, the cheap sets (hot air balloon scene, anyone?) and the women fighters in shiny spandex.. Ugh... At least with Connery coming back for Never Say Never, they joked about him being too old...
Whaaat? "License To Kill" is at least as good as "The Living Daylights." RT ranks it better, even (77% for LTK, 70% for TLD).
Agreed.. Daylights was more "Bond" than LtK... That just seemed... Cheesy.. With Joe Don Baker's ex military guy with the fancy gun and yeah... Wayne Newton... Bless your heart!!
Dalton was a solid Bond.. Probably as close to the original character as we had seen at that point, in some ways.. Craig has been VERY good at capturing what Fleming described, but Dalton had a hardness about him that would have really shown through had he had better scripts.
Dalton was a solid Bond.. Probably as close to the original character as we had seen at that point, in some ways.. Craig has been VERY good at capturing what Fleming described, but Dalton had a hardness about him that would have really shown through had he had better scripts.
I far prefer TLD to LTK, though both are good. Whilst TND is nowhere near as good as Goldeneye I'd dispute that it wasn't a decent second episode, and for me it's Brosnan's second best film. There does seem to be an element of not knowing what to do with a Bond actor after his initial film. At least with LTK you could argue they were trying to make a Dalton film, rather than shoehorning him into a Moore film which was the case with TLD (but like I say that doesn't stop The Living Daylights being my fave Dalton film).
Of course, who knows what QoS might have been if the writers' strike hadn't put the brakes on rewrites. That said I'm one of the 15 people in the world who actually like QoS (I like it's raw, unfinished edge and unlike every other Craig film at least it doesn't go on for-bloody-ever) so what do I know
Of course, who knows what QoS might have been if the writers' strike hadn't put the brakes on rewrites. That said I'm one of the 15 people in the world who actually like QoS (I like it's raw, unfinished edge and unlike every other Craig film at least it doesn't go on for-bloody-ever) so what do I know
I'm one of the other 15 people, then, who likes QoS. CR is better, but that in and of itself doesn't make QoS bad.
I'm with you there on QoS.. I don't get the hate.. It was... different, to be sure.. Maybe too rushed to capitalize on Craig's outstanding performance in CR and the resurgence in popularity... But I really like its grittiness. I'm still puzzled as to why Skyfall gets shown on the SyFy channel, but that's another topic..
Entertainment Weekly has a really good retrospective on Moore's life and career.. I find myself having a newer, better appreciation for him now. The man knew his strengths as well as his limitations and never took himself too seriously.. While I still feel that distracted me away from his portrayal of Bond, it makes me really wish I'd met/known him in real life.
Entertainment Weekly has a really good retrospective on Moore's life and career.. I find myself having a newer, better appreciation for him now. The man knew his strengths as well as his limitations and never took himself too seriously.. While I still feel that distracted me away from his portrayal of Bond, it makes me really wish I'd met/known him in real life.
License to Kill has grown on me. I like it better than A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights, and all the subsequent Bond films. (In all honesty, the only post Albert R. Broccoli/John Glen Bond I enjoyed was Skyfall.) It's a hard edged revenge movie where Bond destroys his nemesis by planting seeds of distrust so the villain ends up killing all his henchmen. Robert Davi was frightening and yet dignified as Sanchez, and all the other parts are well cast. The style of the film suited Dalton's taciturn persona. The action scenes are exciting and believable and the music ain't bad. It feels too Miami Vice for a lot of fans but as an action movie in its own right, its a decent flick.
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Another vote for The Spy Who Loved Me.
Moore's never been my favorite Bond but I've always enjoyed his films for the goof factor, For Your Eyes Only not withstanding. Moonraker is fun but probably my least favorite since its plot is just a remake of The Spy Who Loved Me. I remember binge watching Moore's films in order 20 years ago during a cable package preview and realizing for the first time that I'd just watched the same film twice.
Moore's never been my favorite Bond but I've always enjoyed his films for the goof factor, For Your Eyes Only not withstanding. Moonraker is fun but probably my least favorite since its plot is just a remake of The Spy Who Loved Me. I remember binge watching Moore's films in order 20 years ago during a cable package preview and realizing for the first time that I'd just watched the same film twice.
Big a Paul fan as I am, "Nobody Does It Better" is the definitive Bond theme. (Other than the James Bond Theme itself, of course.)
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