A James Bond Fan Reviews the Franchise

[The Nth Doctor]

It's a real shame that the man who was Blackadder is more likely to be remembered as Mr Sodding Bean!

Indeed. Blackadder was pure brilliance (especially series 3 & 4) and yet most American audiences will immediately think of Mr. Bean instead. What a pity.

 

[Harvey]

I don't know why one can't appreciate both of Atkinson's famous roles. BLACKADDER was dialogue-driven comedy; MR. BEAN was pure slapstick. They were both written (for the most part) by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton. I love them both.

And, since Atkinson plays a different character in each series of BLACKADDER, but is always the same Mr. Bean, I can see why one character is more familiar in public consciousness than the other.

On the subject of James Bond, I've seen every official film except for OCTOPUSSY (and am not sure if I've made it all the way through A VIEW TO A KILL in a long time), and I've seen NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. Is the spoof-version of CASINO ROYALE worth it?

 

[Warped9]

^^ It's pretty bad and I didn't find any of it funny. It's got very much a sensibility to it.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

To each their own, I love the spoof for what it is.

 

[Forbin]

I suppose it's odd, but I found Blackadder pure comic genius, and I can't tolerate a moment of Mr. Bean.

 

[Greg Cox]

Klaus Maria Brandauer also pales in comparison to his Thunderball counterpart. Adolfo Celi did a much better job as Largo. .

Okay, to each their own, but I admit this part leaves me scratching my head. I always thought the original Largo was one of the dullest Bond villains: glum, phlegmatic, humorless, while Brandauer seemed to be having a grand time playing a colorful, larger-than-life villain who actually enjoys sparring with Bond . . . .

My own take is 180 degrees different. That the remake had much better villains (including Brandauer and Fatima Blush) than the original.

 

[ichab]

Klaus Maria Brandauer also pales in comparison to his Thunderball counterpart. Adolfo Celi did a much better job as Largo. .

Okay, to each their own, but I admit this part leaves me scratching my head. I always thought the original Largo was one of the dullest Bond villains: glum, phlegmatic, humorless, while Brandauer seemed to be having a grand time playing a colorful, larger-than-life villain who actually enjoys sparring with Bond . . . .

My own take is 180 degrees different. That the remake had much better villains (including Brandauer and Fatima Blush) than the original.

Count me in the small group of fans that enjoyed Never Say Never more than Thunderball. I think Thunderball is the most overated Bond movie next to On Her Majesties Secret Service. But to each his/her own.

 

[Worf2DS9]

I just wanted to chime in here and voice my appreciation for the OP's review thread of the 007 franchise and the other members' offerings as well. It took over three hours to get through and required me to re-Log In five times, but it was worth it!

I was first introduced to 007 with For Your Eyes Only as a kid, and therefore Moore remains "my Bond," but I've enjoyed all the films afterwards to varying extents. I've seen the "old" Connery films once each, but otherwise they're pretty much forgettable for me.

It turns out I have one film from each of the Bond actors in my DVD collection (two from Brosnan, including the much-maligned DAD, which I do like despite agreeing with the majority of its shortcomings mentioned upthread):

Connery: Never Say Never Again
Moore: For Your Eyes Only
Dalton: The Living Daylights
Brosnan: GoldenEye & Die Another Day
Craig: Casino Royale

Regarding Dalton, I too really enjoyed his take on Bond and loved TLD, and despite being lukewarm about LTK (Carey Lowell had nice legs though!), I had hoped he would be back in the role for a 3rd film. However, I seem to remember there being rumors that there would be another "rogue" Bond film like NSNA, this one starring Dalton and released the same year as, I think, Brosnan's GoldenEye, much as NSNA rivalled Octopussy the same year. Obviously this didn't happen, but it would have been neat to see duelling Bonds again. Does anyone have any other info about this? Was this only ever just a rumor, or were there actual plans that fell through?

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Kevin McClory, who co-wrote Thunderball and who remade it as NSNA did plan a rival Bond series in the late 1990s. I don't think it would have coincided with Goldeneye, this was a bit later. This third version of Thunderball was supposed to feature Dalton as 007, with Connery as Blofeld and Lazenby as an assassin. Other rumours had McClory chasing Liam Neeson for Bond (even though he declined the chance to replace Dalton) and Roland Emmerich to direct.

However, all was contingent on McClory winning his court case regarding ownership of the movie rights to Bond. Sadly for him, he lost and I think this may well even have been part of the reason why Eon got the rights to Casino Royale (but maybe that's unconnected).

That's a potted version, you'll probably get a more accurate and full version on Wikipedia or any Bond fansite.

 

[Admiral Shran]

This third version of Thunderball was supposed to feature Dalton as 007, with Connery as Blofeld and Lazenby as an assassin.

That would have been awesome to have three former Bonds in one movie. But, why did he want to make Thunderball for a third time?

 

[Starkers]

I think it was supposed to be called Warhead:2000!

Unfortunately Thunderball is the only story McClory had any right to write...as it were!

 

[Greg Cox]

I think it was supposed to be called Warhead:2000!

Unfortunately Thunderball is the only story McClory had any right to write...as it were!

Exactly. McClory owned the film rights to the plot of Thunderball . . . and only Thunderball. And he kept trying to milk those rights for all they were worth.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ Yes. He then tried to say that in co-writing the script for that movie with Fleming - and, IIRC, when he did so, none of the others had yet been filmed - he had helped create the cinematic template for 007. As such, he argued that he was equally entitled to cinematic rights to Bond and should thus be allowed to start his own rival series of Bond movies, with Dalton or Neeson or whoever.

However, as he had waited over 30 years to make this legal action, having already brought the action which enabled him to make NSNA, the court dismissed it.

 

[DarthPipes]

I think it was supposed to be called Warhead:2000!

Unfortunately Thunderball is the only story McClory had any right to write...as it were!

Exactly. McClory owned the film rights to the plot of Thunderball . . . and only Thunderball. And he kept trying to milk those rights for all they were worth.

Has he actually made any money on it? Seriously, he's fought for years to retain the plot to Thunderball. Is it really worth anything anymore? It has to be next to useless.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think it was supposed to be called Warhead:2000!

Unfortunately Thunderball is the only story McClory had any right to write...as it were!

Exactly. McClory owned the film rights to the plot of Thunderball . . . and only Thunderball. And he kept trying to milk those rights for all they were worth.

Has he actually made any money on it? Seriously, he's fought for years to retain the plot to Thunderball. Is it really worth anything anymore? It has to be next to useless.

Look at it this way. Suppose you owned one tiny piece of HARRY POTTER or TWILIGHT, and that was your only real asset. Wouldn't you try to make the most of it? For as long as you could?

(McClory died in 2006, btw, so this is literally a dead issue.)

 

[DarthPipes]

You have a valid point, Greg.

But it looks like he spent so much time fighting this subject that he didn't make any money off of it.

 

[Forbin]

Shorty after Never Say Never came out, a friend of mine who was an editor took the car/bike chase and mixed in some John Barry music (can't remember which Bond film he took it from any more, though). 'Twas quite awesome.

 

[Starkers]

You'd think if nothing else you could parlay your role in a succesful franchise into opportunities elsewhere?

I like to think I'd be big enough to walk away and go somewhere else with a new idea!

 

[Greg Cox]

You have a valid point, Greg.

But it looks like he spent so much time fighting this subject that he didn't make any money off of it.

I don't know. He did get NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN made. I assume he made some change out of that.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^IIRC, Connery ended up suing the producers of NSNA but I don't know the outcome.

I remember reading (I think it was in a biography of Cubby Broccoli) that when McClory and Connery were trying to get NSNA made, at one stage Broccoli argued that they should only be allowed to make a scene for scene, word for word remake (paging Gus Van Zant?) and generally made life difficult. He then had a stroke and was hospitalised. Connery was quoted as saying 'I hope he getsh paralyshed down one shide of hish fucking body!' Made me laugh, thinking of him saying it.