One minor gripe I have against Goldfinger: Kentucky is NOT an exotic locale.
i guess maybe it is if you're British.
A James Bond Fan Reviews the Franchise
- Thread starter Admiral Shran
- Start date
i guess maybe it is if you're British.
You said it. I will say, though, that the ONE thing Never did that was on par to the original version...was the girl playing Domino. In both cases...she was--
.(Frankly, though, the Thunderball Domino was better characterized....)
One minor gripe I have against Goldfinger: Kentucky is NOT an exotic locale.
I wouldn't mind trying a KFC in 1964. I agree that Goldfinger is okay but not really great.
The gas plot flown by curvy 1960's women pilot's is laughable.
I'm not so sure. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN lacks the James Bond theme and the gun-barrel opening, which is a shame, but I don't think it is any better or worse than THUNDERBALL. That sequel is just as dull--the under-water sequences go on forever!
I was going to say you should probably skip "Die Another Day" because it sucks, so you probably wouldn't like it, but that's my opinion and I think "Thunderball" is my least favourite and you called it your favourite, so I don't know what to tell ya!
"Thunderball"? Really? That underwater action sequence was so boring and just went on and on...that's what killed it for me. I'm sure it isn't the worst in the series, though. I'm just not that big of a Bond fan so I haven't seen many of the movies. Just "Casino Royale" the Bronsnan ones (because he was James Bond when I was a kid), and about two or three of the Connery and Moore ones. I don't have a particular fondness for any of them, except "Goldeneye", because it was the first one I ever saw (and I loved the women in it) and "Casino Royale" because I think it's just a damn good movie, whether you're a fan of James Bond or not.
edit: HAH! Harvey and I were posting the same thoughts about "Thunderball" at the same time. Great minds think alike.
In my case, I'd say great minds think for themselves. 
But seriously...I actually think the underwater scenes--including the final battle--were pretty tense. Still...it may be more due to Barry's excellent score than anything else. It really kept the tension going--for me, at least.
But frankly...Thunderball's Shran's next "assignment". I'll save most of my thoughts for after his review.
But seriously...I actually think the underwater scenes--including the final battle--were pretty tense. Still...it may be more due to Barry's excellent score than anything else. It really kept the tension going--for me, at least.
But frankly...Thunderball's Shran's next "assignment". I'll save most of my thoughts for after his review.
^Honestly? That's actually what I'd thought about Dr. No, at first--again, because of there being little-to-no score to set the "mood", except for endless repeating of the James Bond theme and "Underneath The Mango Tree"....
Lots of good thoughts here! I have to echo a few things here.
FRWL is the best Bond film and (imo) Connery is the best Bond. I also enjoy Dr. No, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice.
I don't really know what to think of Craig. I like him, but he looks like Vladimir Putin and Casino Royale didn't feel like a Bond film to me.
I'm looking forward to the rest of these reviews!
FRWL is the best Bond film and (imo) Connery is the best Bond. I also enjoy Dr. No, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice.
I don't really know what to think of Craig. I like him, but he looks like Vladimir Putin and Casino Royale didn't feel like a Bond film to me.
I'm looking forward to the rest of these reviews!
i like Thunderball. yeah, it has its problems. prime of those is that it does drag in certain spots. but i think Diamonds Are Forever is the worst Connery Bond film. i've never liked that one.
and yeah, Die Another Day is terrible but i wouldn't skip it. like Never Say Never Again i would watch it once and then go out for a night of heavy drinking.
and yeah, Die Another Day is terrible but i wouldn't skip it. like Never Say Never Again i would watch it once and then go out for a night of heavy drinking.
Thunderball (***½)
Another very enjoyable outing from Connery, very much in the mold of Goldfinger. However, like that movie, this one is also dragged down by several things.
First, however, it is good to see SPECTRE get fleshed out a little bit. During the executive board meeting scene we learn that they engage in drug trafficing, extortion, and counter-intelligence. I like this scene. It's what was really needed in Dr. No to make it five-star worthy. It's also the one thing I would have liked to see added to From Russia With Love. It gives our villians more depth and makes them all the more menacing. It's also good in that it gives us another excellent "performance" by Blofeld, even if he remains nothing more than a voice.
I also liked a lot of the comedy here. The scene where Bond walks in on Fiona Volpe in the bathtub and hands her a pair of shoes had me laughing. I also noticed a more pronounced respect and mutual admiration between M and Bond, which I liked. And, of course, there's Domino. Easily the most attractive Bond Girl yet.
So, what's wrong with the movie? Well, first off, as has been noted upthread already - the underwater scenes. It's not so much that I find them dull. In fact I find them pretty good, actionwise. It's that I think they're unnecessary - especially the final underwater fight. They go on for so long that it almost seems like they were added into the film just for padding. If they had been shorter, the film would have earned more points.
Second, two nitpicky little things. I'm usually not one to nitpick, but this plays a major role in the movie's plot. When Bond first meets Leiter, he punches him the gut to keep him from saying "007," thereby giving away his identity. Then, in the very next scene, he says "Sorry Felix, but you were about to say 007" in front of the very man he wanted to keep in the dark! Either that's bad writing or somebody wasn't paying attention. Also, what happened to the man who saved Domino at the end? Bond just throws him off the ship and then we never see him again.
Third, I didn't care for the way Bond killed Fiona Volpe. This is the first time Bond has killed a woman and it almost comes across like he didn't intend to do it. If they had just had him kill her in a normal way, like he's done with dozens of people already, it would have been better.
So, Thunderball is a good Bond movie - good performances, good story, good comedy, and mostly good action - but it does have it's problems.
That's Amore: 11
Bond slept with Nurse Pat, Fiona Volpe, and Domino.
Body Count: 47 (+16)
Now a little housekeeping note: Last night my computer literally fried itself and I have to buy a new one. I'll try to keep up with these reviews on a one per day basis, but until I get my new one it might be a little slower.
Another very enjoyable outing from Connery, very much in the mold of Goldfinger. However, like that movie, this one is also dragged down by several things.
First, however, it is good to see SPECTRE get fleshed out a little bit. During the executive board meeting scene we learn that they engage in drug trafficing, extortion, and counter-intelligence. I like this scene. It's what was really needed in Dr. No to make it five-star worthy. It's also the one thing I would have liked to see added to From Russia With Love. It gives our villians more depth and makes them all the more menacing. It's also good in that it gives us another excellent "performance" by Blofeld, even if he remains nothing more than a voice.
I also liked a lot of the comedy here. The scene where Bond walks in on Fiona Volpe in the bathtub and hands her a pair of shoes had me laughing. I also noticed a more pronounced respect and mutual admiration between M and Bond, which I liked. And, of course, there's Domino.
Easily the most attractive Bond Girl yet.So, what's wrong with the movie? Well, first off, as has been noted upthread already - the underwater scenes. It's not so much that I find them dull. In fact I find them pretty good, actionwise. It's that I think they're unnecessary - especially the final underwater fight. They go on for so long that it almost seems like they were added into the film just for padding. If they had been shorter, the film would have earned more points.
Second, two nitpicky little things. I'm usually not one to nitpick, but this plays a major role in the movie's plot. When Bond first meets Leiter, he punches him the gut to keep him from saying "007," thereby giving away his identity. Then, in the very next scene, he says "Sorry Felix, but you were about to say 007" in front of the very man he wanted to keep in the dark! Either that's bad writing or somebody wasn't paying attention. Also, what happened to the man who saved Domino at the end? Bond just throws him off the ship and then we never see him again.
Third, I didn't care for the way Bond killed Fiona Volpe. This is the first time Bond has killed a woman and it almost comes across like he didn't intend to do it. If they had just had him kill her in a normal way, like he's done with dozens of people already, it would have been better.
So, Thunderball is a good Bond movie - good performances, good story, good comedy, and mostly good action - but it does have it's problems.
That's Amore: 11
Bond slept with Nurse Pat, Fiona Volpe, and Domino.
Body Count: 47 (+16)
Now a little housekeeping note: Last night my computer literally fried itself and I have to buy a new one. I'll try to keep up with these reviews on a one per day basis, but until I get my new one it might be a little slower.
I'm going to be the dissenting voice here. I actually prefer NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN to THUNDERBALL. For the one thing, the villains are much more colorful and dynamic. (The original Largo has to be one of the blandest and more boring Bond villains ever.)
Plus, the scuba scenes in the original seem to go on forever . . . . .
Excellent post AS! Read through your 3 reviews so far and I thoroughly enjoyed them. It does bring back my memory on those films and will discuss them also in detail...
My B.R.S. (Bond Ranking System) goes as this,
Connery>Brosnan>Moore (before adding WAY too much humor)>Dalton>Lazenby...Haven't sat through Craig totally so I don't count him so he is dead last...
BTW, It has been done like that in Never Say Never Again, with Bernie Casey playing Felix.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086006/
Ah but NSNA wasn't in the official Bond canon - it's a remake of Thunderball and wasn't made by Eon, who made all other Bond movies, save the Niven/ Allen Casino Royale. Felix was always white in the 'real' Bond movies (even if he changed age and appearance in most of the movies, never being played by the same actor in 2 consecutive appearances).
Well...I think Bond had to ensure that the man wouldn't get away with the information, until he was sure it wouldn't become a problem. His message to the lackey, to tell Largo that "the little fish I throw back", could, in addition to the "007" identity, I'd say is something of a "I hope you understand exactly who you are dealing with, Mr. Largo".
At least, that's how I saw it.
For anyone that is interested, SyFy is going to air a James Bond marathon ( only some, since it is NOT a 2-day one as they suggest) starting at 8:00 a.m on the 25th.
Nov. 25:
8:00 - Thunderball
10:30 - Dr. No
1:00 - Goldfinger
3:30 - Goldeneye
6:30 - The World Is Not Enough
9:00 - Casino Royale
12:00 - Never Say Never Again
3:00 - The Man With The Golden Gun
Nov 26:
Have to put up with Highlander: The Source @ 8....
10:00 - From Russia With Love
12:30 - Diamonds Are Forever
3:00 - The Spy Who Loved Me
5:30 - Tomorrow Never Dies
after this showing they are going to show SmackDown and Sancuary
11:00 - You Only Live Twice
1:30 - Moonraker
Not much a marathon to me....
Nov. 25:
8:00 - Thunderball
10:30 - Dr. No
1:00 - Goldfinger
3:30 - Goldeneye
6:30 - The World Is Not Enough
9:00 - Casino Royale
12:00 - Never Say Never Again
3:00 - The Man With The Golden Gun
Nov 26:
Have to put up with Highlander: The Source @ 8....
10:00 - From Russia With Love
12:30 - Diamonds Are Forever
3:00 - The Spy Who Loved Me
5:30 - Tomorrow Never Dies
after this showing they are going to show SmackDown and Sancuary
11:00 - You Only Live Twice
1:30 - Moonraker
Not much a marathon to me....
It was under my impression that marathons were run without any type of breaks,...such as other shows. When they advertise it they state that "It is a two-day marathon. There might be another movie they could have put in there other than wrestling or Sanctuary.
^ Definitely not much of a marathon. And to throw Highlander: The Source in there? 
You Only Live Twice (**½)
And so, we reach our first average Bond movie, meaning that the good and the bad balance out each other.
It was nice to see them faking Bond's death in order to provide him with some anonymity. That's a very reasonable thing to do for a spy. Especially since Bond hasn't been going out of his way to hide his identity thus far. It's a shame that that down-to-earthness was quickly abandoned. The movie has just the right mix of action and humor. There's another good sidekick in Tanaka, and he didn't die!
And, of course, "ninjas Bond-san"! You can't go wrong with ninjas, and this movie has a shitload of them.
But, of course, the biggest draw this film has is the final reveal of Dr. Evil's, I mean Blofeld's, face. And, we get the best Blofeld performance yet, by the inimitable Donald Pleasence. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen this guy give a bad performance. So, now that they've got the perfect Dr. Loomis, I mean Blofeld, they'll never have someone else play him, right?
However, there are an equal amount of drawbacks. The most noticable is that things are starting to get silly - hollowed out volcanos, spaceships swallowing other spaceships, man-eating piranhas and Bond averting nuclear war. We're really getting away from the down-to-earth atmosphere of From Russia With Love.
Also, I did not care for the portrayal of the Americans in this movie. Now, from a storytelling standpoint, I'm not opposed to the idea of the U.S. being an obstacle for Bond or even to them being "bad guys." But here, they're just written so poorly. They come across as needlessly aggressive. And the final scene with them comes across like everyone is thinking "Well, World War III was just averted, who wants some coffee?"
So, hopefully they learned their lesson with this one and never again do another Bond film involving outer space, right?
That's Amore: 13
Bond slept with Ling and Miss Brandt.
Body Count: 68 (+21)
That's a new record for a single movie.
You Only Live Twice (**½)
And so, we reach our first average Bond movie, meaning that the good and the bad balance out each other.
It was nice to see them faking Bond's death in order to provide him with some anonymity. That's a very reasonable thing to do for a spy. Especially since Bond hasn't been going out of his way to hide his identity thus far. It's a shame that that down-to-earthness was quickly abandoned. The movie has just the right mix of action and humor. There's another good sidekick in Tanaka, and he didn't die!
And, of course, "ninjas Bond-san"! You can't go wrong with ninjas, and this movie has a shitload of them. But, of course, the biggest draw this film has is the final reveal of Dr. Evil's, I mean Blofeld's, face. And, we get the best Blofeld performance yet, by the inimitable Donald Pleasence. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen this guy give a bad performance. So, now that they've got the perfect Dr. Loomis, I mean Blofeld, they'll never have someone else play him, right?
However, there are an equal amount of drawbacks. The most noticable is that things are starting to get silly - hollowed out volcanos, spaceships swallowing other spaceships, man-eating piranhas and Bond averting nuclear war. We're really getting away from the down-to-earth atmosphere of From Russia With Love.
Also, I did not care for the portrayal of the Americans in this movie. Now, from a storytelling standpoint, I'm not opposed to the idea of the U.S. being an obstacle for Bond or even to them being "bad guys." But here, they're just written so poorly. They come across as needlessly aggressive. And the final scene with them comes across like everyone is thinking "Well, World War III was just averted, who wants some coffee?"
So, hopefully they learned their lesson with this one and never again do another Bond film involving outer space, right?
That's Amore: 13
Bond slept with Ling and Miss Brandt.
Body Count: 68 (+21)
That's a new record for a single movie.
