A James Bond Fan Reviews the Franchise

[Admiral Shran]

A while back there was a thread about people's favorite James Bond movies. Ever since I posted my thoughts on the franchise, I've felt I was a litle unfair (especially to Pierce Brosnan's movies).

Bond is one of my all-time favorite entertainment franchises, after Trek of course. So, it's time to either put up or shut up. I'll be reviewing each of the twenty-two films in the franchise. I'll try to watch one movie a night - but I make no promises about that, sometimes it might be longer. After watching, I'll rate the movie from 0 to 5 stars, including half-stars. When all is said and done, I'll create some graphs and calculate some average scores, both for each Bond actor and for the franchise as a whole. I'll begin each viewing with the assumption that the movie gets a 5/10, or **½. After that, it can either gain or loss points. If the film ends up doing nothing for me either way, it will retain its 5/10 rating. Here's the scale I'll be using to score each film:

0: Horrible
½: Awful
*: Bad
*½: Poor
**: Meh
**½: Average
***: Enjoyable
***½: Good
****: Very Good
****½: Great
*****: Exceptional

I'll also be counting things - things like the number of women Bond sleeps with and the number of people Bond personally kills. If anybody has any suggestions for other things to count, I'm game.

Now a little background information before I get started. As it sits now, Sean Connery is not my favorite Bond actor. Yes, I know, it's almost sacrilege, but there it is. Currently, I rate the actors as follows....

Dalton > Craig > Moore > Connery > Lazenby > Brosnan

Will this ranking change after I'm done? Maybe, maybe not. Seeing if this holds up is one reason I'm doing this review thread. I've always admired the more realisitic approaches Dalton's and Craig's movies have taken. I've also been very forgiving of the light-hearted comedic take on the character that Moore brought to the table. In addition, I've been highly critical of the direction the franchise took during Brosnan's tenure. So, we'll just have to see if this ranking holds true or not.

Hopefully, if real life and work don't get in the way, I'll sit down and watch Dr. No tonight and then we'll get this party started. I hope this thread will provoke some interesting and enjoyable discussions.

One last thing - if anybody is a fan of TheGodBen's review threads of VOY, ENT, and Babylon 5, you will probably notice that my way of doing things is pretty much identical to his. But have no fears, I asked for and received his permission to blantantly plagiarize his system.

 

[JayOwl]

I've watched around 5 or 6, so I'll follow this thread, but I'll have to catch up on the films I haven't watched before commenting on them .

 

[SPCTRE]

Looking forward to your reviews, Shran!

I guess this is a good time to rewatch some of the Bond movies, it's been a long time. I'm not even sure if I've seen all of them.

 

[Lindley]

Dalton > Craig > Moore > Connery > Lazenby > Brosnan

Huh. I would definitely have put Moore lower on that list, and Brosnan higher.

As for Dalton, The Living Daylights was excellent, but I find License To Kill average at best. So it's tough to really give him a definitive ranking.

 

[ichab]

For me, Lazenby gets a back seat to all of them. He was a horrible actor who got big headed after one movie and destroyed his own career. My order goes Connery-Craig-Dalton-Brosnan-Moore-Lazenby. If Brosnan would have had better movies to work with(Golderneye was the only good one), he would be higher on the list.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I've been rewatching the series for a few weeks, so I could catch up with the commentaries after watching the movies. Just to be awkward, though, I started with Casino Royale and QoS, then went back to Dr No and onwards. Watched LALD on Saturday and am listening to the director/cast commentary right now...

 

[Rush Limborg]

I've seen all the Connery films, the Lazenby film, all the Brosnan films but one (Die Another Day), both Craig films, and one Moore film (Live And Let Die). I've seen bits and pieces of the others.

My personal favorite is Thunderball, with Casino Royale coming in close second, then a toss-up between Goldeneye and Goldfinger.

I haven't seen the Dalton films, so I'll leave him out until I do--but for me, the ranking is:

Connery>Craig>Brosnan>Moore>Lazenby

Sorry. While OHMSS was a good film (except for the crigeworthy scenes with the "allergy patient" girls), Lazenby often acted pretty goofy (the moment where he check out a Playboy when his lock-pick machine is working was groan-inducing).

The other four were all excellent, but I had to rank them. Connery defined "cool", Craig perfectly captures the tough, gritty-yet-wry Bond of the books, and Brosnan channels "style" quite nicely--problems with the films notwithstanding.

And like I said, I haven't seen the Dalton films.

 

[Saga]

OHMSS is a great movie and i think it works because Lazenby is Bond. he just such a different kind of presence and feeling about him than Connery's Bond did. also, Lazenby was advised by his agent to quit Bond because he thought Bond would not survive the 70s. a lot of people seem to think that OHMSS was terrible and had a terrible Bond. not so.

 

[Starkers]

Now a little background information before I get started. As it sits now, Sean Connery is not my favorite Bond actor. Yes, I know, it's almost sacrilege, but there it is. Currently, I rate the actors as follows....

Dalton > Craig > Moore > Connery > Lazenby > Brosnan

Well if its any consolation I'd put Connery further down the list still...personally as good as he is (and he is good, much as with Doctor Who I've never met a terrible Bond) I just can't warm to him, OHMSS was the better film for not having him in it.

 

[Candlelight]

If you give the Craig films anything higher than a * I'll be surprised.

 

[Candlelight]

Brosnan > Moore > Connery > Dalton > Craig > Lazenby.

Lazenby is last only cos I can't remember OHMSS very well.

 

[Electric Coleslaw]

Sorry but I have to doubt the validity of anyone's opinion who ranks Dalton as the best Bond. Dalton played him like a creampuff.

"I saw you playing cello...it was exquisite."

Exquisite? Come on!!!!

The proper rankings is:
Connery>Craig>Lazenby>Brosnan>Moore>Dalton

OHMSS is a great movie with some unfortunate moments.

Roger Moore was very good in Live and Let Die but he unfortunately suffered from the campiness that seemed to creep in during the 70's and 80's. Ironically, Brosnan's Bond shed these in his first 2 movies but then they came creeping back like a bad fungus.

 

[Orcus]

Sorry but I have to doubt the validity of anyone's opinion who ranks Dalton as the best Bond. Dalton played him like a creampuff.

"I saw you playing cello...it was exquisite."

Exquisite? Come on!!!!

The proper rankings is:
Connery>Craig>Lazenby>Brosnan>Moore>Dalton

OHMSS is a great movie with some unfortunate moments.

Roger Moore was very good in Live and Let Die but he unfortunately suffered from the campiness that seemed to creep in during the 70's and 80's. Ironically, Brosnan's Bond shed these in his first 2 movies but then they came creeping back like a bad fungus.

I agree wholeheartedly. ...Russia and OHMSS are my favourites from the series (I tend to favour the sixties anyway)...

 

[I am Surak]

For me it is and always will be Goldfinger. Great cars, better girls, Odd Job and Pussy Galore. Best movie ever made.

 

[Admiral Shran]

It starts.

Dr. No (****½)

Bond is off to a very good start with this movie. There are several things it's got going for it.

First, I love the slow and methodical atmosphere the movie creates. For instance, we see Bond laying traps and then later checking on the traps in order to see if anybody has been in his room. We watch as he sets the stage for his showdown with Professor Dent. Even the action scenes are cool and methodical - this isn't an adrenaline bath like most action movies are today. For example, the most intense scene involves a tarantula crawling up Bond's arm while he just sits and waits for it to leave. Also, there's a lot of scenes with Bond putting his skills as a detective to use. He doesn't just muscle his way through his problems or rely solely on his gun to do his thinking for him. He survives most of his problems with his wits alone.

Second, Quarrel. This guy makes a great sidekick for Bond. It's a shame they killed him off. Given that his son later appears in one of Roger Moore's movies, I guess they realized what a good character he was. He's witty (Ain't that nice. I like people who's friends of people. ) And he's tough. He gets a broken light bulb raked across his face and just laughs it off. I know if I ever had broken glass rubbed across my face, I'd be screaming like a little girl. But not Quarrel. He just keeps all that pain and torment balled up inside him like a knot, and I respect that.

Third, Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond. He is clearly highly intelligent, but doesn't feel the need to lord that over anybody. While he is flamboyant in many respects, he's mostly quitely competent. He's also a multi-facted character. He can be brutal (killing Professor Dent essentially in cold blood), good-natured and fun-loving (laughing and joking with Felix Leiter and Quarrel), and caring and compassionate with Honey Rider when the situation calls for it.

That being said, the movie does have one major drawback. While I really liked Joseph Wiseman's performance as Dr. No, and even liked the fact that we don't meet him until almost ninety minutes into the movie, what was his motivation? For that matter, what was SPECTRE's motivation for doing what they were doing? They were trying to stop the United States from launching rockets into outer space, and particularly one that will orbit the moon. What does SPECTRE hope to gain from this? Some kind of explanation would have been nice. However, this lacking is certainly not enough to sink the movie.

That's Amore: 3
Bond slept with Sylvia Trench, Miss Taro, and Honey Ryder.

Body Count: 6
Bond forces two men in a car off a cliff, shot Professor Dent, knifed a guard in the jungle, strangled one of Dr. No's scientists, and dropped Dr. No into highly radioactive water.

 

[Rush Limborg]

I like the film...but it took me a while to like it. The reason is simple: there was little music. The times where there was tended to work well (like the spider scene), but 1) there were times when the orchestra seemed to just repeat a few pieces for no real reason (like when Bond stabs the guy in the water--the music is a clear repeat from when Bond interrogates the fake chauffer with his fists), and 2) oftentimes, there was no music at all when it REALLY would have worked to set the mood (the car chase scene, for one).

Fortunately, by From Russia With Love, John Barry had been given full control over the music--and gave us the legendary scores which forever defined the "feel" of the 007 films.

 

[Starkers]

Dr No isn't a Bond film I rewatch very often, but whenever I do I find myself enjoying it far more than I was expecting to.

One thing that does always grate is that no matter how cool the moment when he shoots Dent is--and it is an exceptionally cold, callous act-- it's also a bit stupid. Here is a man who probably has oodles of information on Crab Key etc, and Bond is perfectly aware that he's essentially unarmed. So does he take him in? Interrogate him? No, he shoots him. It seems quite an atypical act for a Bond at perhaps his most detective like.

As for Dalton being a wimp? Just because he manages to be cultured as well as deadly? Just because he has a seduction technique that goes beyond that of Connery (ie lie on top of a woman until she gives in) or Moore (raise an eyebrow and her knickers drop)

One of my favourite moments from Dalton is where he has Pushkin on his knees. "If I beleived Koskov we wouldn't be talking."

 

[Lonemagpie]

Second, Quarrel. This guy makes a great sidekick for Bond. It's a shame they killed him off. Given that his son later appears in one of Roger Moore's movies, I guess they realized what a good character he was.

It's also because, of course, Quarrel was in both novels, and Dr No was the one where he dies. So since they'd killed him in the first movie and couldn't quite just have him miraculously alive again when they got round to filming the book he was originally in...

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I guess that was also before the idea of a reboot - thanks to which, nowadays, Felix Leiter can grow back his limbs and change colour ...

 

[Starkers]

Who needs a reboot, between two Dalton films Felix aged about 20 years