Daftest decision by the film makers?
Nicko1234
Posts: 74MI6 Agent
I guess there are quite a few contenders.
Although I love OHMSS, the decision to hire an actor to play Bond who then had to be dubbed by Inspector Wexford will always be a bizarre one.
Having a pigeon do a double-take in MR was equally ridiculous.
The worst in my opinion though is the California Girls moment in AVTAK. Now this would have been bad enough anyway but why didn't they use the original Beach Boys song or ask them to rerecord it? Let's face it, they would have killed their first born for a few dollars and using the cheap cover makes that section of the film seem even worse than it needed to.
I do find it quite comforting in a bizarre way though that a franchise with so many powerful decision makers could make such insane choices.
Although I love OHMSS, the decision to hire an actor to play Bond who then had to be dubbed by Inspector Wexford will always be a bizarre one.
Having a pigeon do a double-take in MR was equally ridiculous.
The worst in my opinion though is the California Girls moment in AVTAK. Now this would have been bad enough anyway but why didn't they use the original Beach Boys song or ask them to rerecord it? Let's face it, they would have killed their first born for a few dollars and using the cheap cover makes that section of the film seem even worse than it needed to.
I do find it quite comforting in a bizarre way though that a franchise with so many powerful decision makers could make such insane choices.
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Plus most of the Brosnan castings - Jonathan Pryce, Halle Berry, Robert Carlyle, Toby Stephens, Denise Richards bought nothing to the roles except "Star names" and were godawful in their respective roles...
Yes, I have seen 'Once were Warriors' and its a good film with credible acting, script and direction. But not the masterpiece Tamahoris defenders seem to think it is. Also most of his work seems to be brainless crash bang wallop actioners. One piece of crasp after another.
So what went wrong with DAD?
Ten reasons why Tamahori buggered up DAD
10 - narrative - why did Graves kill his own father? What was the reason behind it?
9. - Editing. The cuts were so fast during pieces that you couldnt follow the story.But the story was crap anyway.
8 - acting. Only the Cuban contact comes away with any credibilty here - Brosnan, Berry, Stephens, Yune etc do very bad. Berry actually lowers Brosnans performance when she shares a scene with him
7. - unimagination. Laser satellites, gadget cars, ice palaces - been there done that.
6. The Invisible car
5. The clunky one liners - "Yo Momma" was the worse line in forty years of Bond
4. The Mad Donna cameo - FFS
3 The cgi. "Its the future" says Tamahori "get used to it". Luckily it sucked so badly they ditched it in CR
2. The continuous continuity references. How the F did they get Rosa Klebbs shoe?
1. The feel that this wasnt a Bond film but an actioner like any other Hollywood film. Putting Bond music in does not a Bond film make.
You think I am being too hard? And you are right it does get approval from Babs and Mickey (who should take some of hte blame). But the director wants to make his mark. He was the one who convinced them to ditch the 'stunts for real' in favour of cgi. Vic Armstrong argued against the surf scene but it still went ahead. Tamahori overuled him.
The directors set the flavour of the film whether it be Guy Hamilton or Lewis Gilbert with his ninja battles inside hollowed out volcanoes. The blame for DAD must lie mainly with Tamahori. And 'Once were Warriors' doesnt wash as one good film doesnt this one make.
Thank god the producers got rid and came to their senses in Casino Royale.
Brosnan doesnt seem to be trying as hard in this one as he did in previous films. I'm no great fan of his Bond but he has great charisma so I'll let you have that.
But Yune, Stephens, Berry and even Pike are directed lazily by Tamahori. Judi Dench, usually as sharp as a tack, is sleepwalking throughout her underground platform scene.
I agree that Brosnan's acting in DAD was not as good as the three previous films. He probably felt demotivated and gave up hope because he probably knew that it would be a crap film, lol
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
I think bringing back Jaws to 'Moonraker' was diabolical too- I thought he was great and at times, genuinely threatening (if cartoonish) in TSWLM but he was brought back in 'Moonraker' for comedy relief and feats of ludicrousness.
'The Man With The Golden Gun' had a potentially fascinating concept but had shocking execution. Sheriff Pepper should not have returned, Mary Goodnight should have been written out entirely and the tone should have been far, far more serious than it was, imho.
'Die Another Day' has a catalogue of disasters- Toby Stephens' performance is more akin to a spoilt brat, without a shred of the dignity or wit that the best Bond villains have (imho), and Halle Berry's performance was smug (perhaps it was the role itself rather than her, though), the script was laden with overtly crass dialogue (Miranda Frost talking about how she 'did' Bond was a real cringeworthy moment for me; how did they plumb so low? The dialogue with Madonna is laughably over-the-top too).
Yeah - by third best understand you also said second worse.
I know Im in the minority, but I like what LT did with the first half of DAD, I thought it was very well pieced together.
I personally think that DAD's flaws could have been solved with a script polish (none of that crap bird dialogue) Additionally, the end is too action heavy. From about the introduction of the laser fight to two seconds later the rocket car chase to two seconds later the car chase. Then a small breather and bang - the Antanov. The first half of the movie is relatively sparse when it comes to action, to overcrowd the end half makes it feel unbalanced.
I like Brosnan and Moore - I think that both those actors gave very solid performances across all of their movies. As a matter of fact, I think Dalton did too, just did too few to appreciate it.
I know Im in the minority, but I like what LT did with the first half of DAD, I thought it was very well pieced together.
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Lets lay the myth that the first half hour of DAD is OK. Its not, its dreck. Its the worse kind of dreck. Dreck at the bottom of the barrel.
You want evidence? Well, the Jinx/Bond intro scene is sufficient. I've never seen such godawful lines delivered so clumsily by actors. Not even the Carry On team could do anything with the crap they have to spout.
And, lo, I hear you cry. Thats the scriptwriters fault not the director. He got approval over the final script and he should have directed the actors with more oomph. Brosnan looks positively bored in that scene.
Other howlers in the first half hour include.
- the bullet coming out of the screen
- Mad Donnas wailings, like a cat with its balls in a mousetrap
- The stopping the heart crap
- and if 007 has spent whatever time in a korean torture chamber how comes he's still got a belly when he walks into the HK hotel lobby..
Lets lay this myth about the first half hour of DAD - its just less painful then the other 1 1/2 hours....
1) Perhaps the worst Bond performance in any Bond film (Brosnan was even more out of it than Connery appeared on YOLT and, given that he lacks Connery's inherent magnetism, that he appears way too old, and that the rest of the movie has a lot less going for it than YOLT did, this isn't good).
2) The lamest villain and girl in any Bond movie.
3) Over the top CGI.
4) The invisible car, and on and on.
Of course, I dislike the Brosnan era movies. And its funny, but there isnt such strong support for them since Craig arived on the scene.
Oh Dan, when will you see the light about AVTAK? I still don't see why you bash it why you have such affection for that one moment.
Still, the daftest decision by the filmmakers was definitely the newest CR. I hate the reboot, but at least if they did it, could they make it slightly less confusing?
And whoever let Michael Kamen score LTK wasn't very smart. Definitely the worst Bond score ever, lacking any individuality, which probably didn't help that movie.
Oh that movie... that was a daft decision as well on the whole, the only high point being Pam Bouvier, she started the trend of the FIERCLY independent Bond girl that continued into the 90s. Still, the one who perfected that role wasn't her but Natalya, but of all the Bond girls, Bouvier is in my top 10.
I must mention, I dislike the MR PTS. I mean, Jaws falls from a bloody plane, lands on a circus, yet lives? Also, Bond is falling with no parachute and not even seeming a tad scared? I know he's Bond and all, but falling from a plane with no parachute should really make someone scared.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
I know that there's each to their own and all that, but how can anyone possibly think TLD and AVTAK are worse than DAD?
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Others include:
TMWTGG: Stupid Sound Effect with the car jumping over the broken bridge. They should have just carried on with the music.
All Roger Moores films, for not ordering a Vodka Martini.
Some of the stupid brandings involved with the films. As per the books and some of the films, Bonds favourite Champagne is Dom Perignon, not Bollinger as per the later RM, TD, PB, and CR Films.
Lets face there as so many.
While AVTAK borrows elements from GF, the more blatant ripoff is TWINE. Both Goldfinger and Elektra are in charge of corporations that go about cornering their markets by the use of nuclear weapons. AVTAK came up with a new way to corner the market, and that was creating an earthquake beneath the San Andreas fault.
And Moore baking the quiche? Well, James Bond can do everything you know.