superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
For their iconic elements, I like selected aspects of TB so much that they're high on my Bond general "I like" list, such as the PTS, the Bond girls, music (Tom Jones, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the poster art, etc., and all together, I like them 500% more than the actual movie itself!
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
JFF, that's an excellent post, although I personally like TB. Nice to see someone back up an argument for a change, especially someone who goes against the grain, which you certainly do on this topic (and certain others ).
I believe that a major reason for how much people like it is it's lumped in with the Connery "golden age" (meaning, if it has Connery as Bond in it, it's obviously cinematic gold).
That's exactly how I feel about your favorite GoldenEye. To me, the merits of the film itself are pretty weak, but that gets overlooked because:
(A) This was Brosnan's ballyhooed debut in a role everyone thought he was getting eight years earlier.
(B) It ended a nightmare six-year hiatus period.
(C) A whole new generation of fans was introduced to Bond through this film.
In other words...all hype, no substance. Just as you feel about TB.
Thank you for your kind words Sir Hillary! I've just never understood the love for TB, and I feel that NSNA is such an underrated gem. I think the main reason people don't like that one is because it's not official. Personally, I think we need to do away with these preconceived notions about TB and NSNA and watch them for what they are. When I look at some people's favorite films list, I see all the unofficial ones at the bottom. They could very well hate those films with the passion, but I think that the major reason they are placed as such is for them not being EON Bond pictures, which I don't think is completely fair. Sure CR67 is definitely not everyone's cup of tea but NSNA really isn't that bad.
Anyway, people seem to be jumping on the anti-GE bandwagon now that CR has come out (but, from what I got from your post, you've never cared for GE). I understand where you're coming from, that it really got everyone excited for the new Bond, but I really do believe that everything about it is (excuse the pun) golden. Still, I respect you're opinion and I'm glad you respect mine.
Thank you for your kind words Sir Hillary! I've just never understood the love for TB, and I feel that NSNA is such an underrated gem. I think the main reason people don't like that one is because it's not official. Personally, I think we need to do away with these preconceived notions about TB and NSNA and watch them for what they are. When I look at some people's favorite films list, I see all the unofficial ones at the bottom. They could very well hate those films with the passion, but I think that the major reason they are placed as such is for them not being EON Bond pictures, which I don't think is completely fair. Sure CR67 is definitely not everyone's cup of tea but NSNA really isn't that bad.
I actually just watched NSNA after not seeing it for a few years and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. And just like you said, I didn't like it as much before because it isn't an official film.
The first time I watched NSNA I thought to myself, this is different...but no, it isn't huh?
I had just got into watching Bond films (actually non-Brosnan films) early in high school and I saw NSNA on TV. I watched it and did not care for it much. When I watched TB I adored it. TB has a much more classic feel and I can believe it. When Connery is jumping around etc. in NSNA I just can't. Also, I detest Kim Besinger (yes, even in Batman) and love Claudine Auger.
TB is one of my favorites and will always be. NSNA is just not as good in my opinion.
"We have all the time in the world..."
Sweepy the CatHalifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
So nobody besides me and JFF hates TB. I've got to admit, after re-viewing it it has gone up a few places on my list but it will never be a favourite.
For their iconic elements, I like selected aspects of TB so much that they're high on my Bond general "I like" list, such as the PTS, the Bond girls, music (Tom Jones, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the poster art, etc., and all together, I like them 500% more than the actual movie itself!
Yes! Exactly how I feel! Full of great stuff, especially the jokes and dialogue, and Sean is never cooler as Bond as in Thunderball, but the film itself just isn't as great as the bits it's made from.
Personally I love Thunderball. I think the dialogue is great, the loctions are superb and the women have never been as good. I think the one element that lets it down is the actual story, great though it is, it just isn't as good as some of the others.
Then there is the pacing, I personally feel the film is paced rather well, similarly in fact to FRWL, more of a slow buring plot leading up to a big climax. The difference being that the story in FRWL is better than TB.
It has also been mentioned that the fact we are ahead of Bond so to speak affects the film. This may be true to some degree, we already know who the villain is and that he has the bombs etc. Although the same can be said for From Russia With Love. We know exactly what is planned for Bond by SPECTRE, and although he and M guess that it is a trap being set, they can only make a judgment call and roll with the punches.
The speeded up fights scenes are probably the worst in the series, the effect was used a lot in the earlier films but never as poorly. However, I never let them get in the way of my enjoyment of the film. OHMSS also features some not so perfect speeded up scenes in Bond's hotel room when he is attacked.
A lot of people I know say they don't like the underwater scenes, that they are too slow and dull. But at the end of the day, you can't move as quickly underwater can you, admittedly the music could have been a bit better, but I enjoy this sequence, it's different and a break from the more ordinary gunfights.
In short I love Thunderball, always have and always will!
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
Personally I love Thunderball. I think the dialogue is great, the loctions are superb and the women have never been as good. I think the one element that lets it down is the actual story, great though it is, it just isn't as good as some of the others.
Yeah. It's worth pointing out that, despite it not being as stylish, the plot of NSNA actually makes a lot more sense than Thunderball; especially regarding Domino and Jack.
It has also been mentioned that the fact we are ahead of Bond so to speak affects the film. This may be true to some degree, we already know who the villain is and that he has the bombs etc. Although the same can be said for From Russia With Love. We know exactly what is planned for Bond by SPECTRE, and although he and M guess that it is a trap being set, they can only make a judgment call and roll with the punches.
Maybe, but then FRWL generates a lot of tension from us knowing that Grant is stalking and is going to eventually kill Bond. Thunderball doesn't have Bond in the same position as I don't think the baddies know about him either.
Personally I love Thunderball. I think the dialogue is great, the loctions are superb and the women have never been as good. I think the one element that lets it down is the actual story, great though it is, it just isn't as good as some of the others.
Yeah. It's worth pointing out that, despite it not being as stylish, the plot of NSNA actually makes a lot more sense than Thunderball; especially regarding Domino and Jack.
It has also been mentioned that the fact we are ahead of Bond so to speak affects the film. This may be true to some degree, we already know who the villain is and that he has the bombs etc. Although the same can be said for From Russia With Love. We know exactly what is planned for Bond by SPECTRE, and although he and M guess that it is a trap being set, they can only make a judgment call and roll with the punches.
Maybe, but then FRWL generates a lot of tension from us knowing that Grant is stalking and is going to eventually kill Bond. Thunderball doesn't have Bond in the same position as I don't think the baddies know about him either.
Absolutely, I think that that sort of tension is another thing lacking from TB. The only occasion I can think of with any sustained tension is the Junkanoo scene when Bond is being tailed and up to were Fiona Volpe is shot. The tension is then broke by a great one liner and is never really racked up again, as perhaps it should have been.
1- On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2- Casino Royale 3- Licence To Kill 4- Goldeneye 5- From Russia With Love
"Hate" is a strong word. How could I hate a Bond film?
Alex...you said it all.
'Nuff said.
Sweepy the CatHalifax, West Yorkshire, EnglaPosts: 986MI6 Agent
I don't really hate TB, it just isn't quite as good as many other bondmovies. Actually after rewatching it it has gone up once again on my list to no.10. Maybe I was a bit harsh to some of the slower bond films eg. TB, CR etc.
I don't really hate TB, it just isn't quite as good as many other bondmovies. Actually after rewatching it it has gone up once again on my list to no.10. Maybe I was a bit harsh to some of the slower bond films eg. TB, CR etc.
Well, there you go! I like TB a lot, though Im not sure its the best of Bonds, it does have a lot wrong with it. Ive written about it before and I have a soft spot for it because as a kid my Dad let me watch it. Unfortunately I was sent to bed after Fiona Volpe got shot because it was past my bed time! Ive seen it on the big screen too and it comes across much better in the cinema than on tv. I also think YOLT benefits from cinema viewing as its filmed in 'scope. DAF is in Panavision, but the colours look really muddy in the day light, even thoough the night time scenes look gorgeous. I always prefer to watch Bond in teh cinema. Even the worst Bond films feel like great adventures when they are 10ft tall
I really do not understand how anyone can hate TB. I really can't hate any films in the official franchise, but some are mediocre. TB is not one of them. Definitely a Top 5 007 film for me.
It had a surprising and terrific opening featuring the stunt prodigy Bob Simmons.
It had an adequate amount of humor to help even out its main theme as a dark spy thriller. Examples include when 007 punches the fire alarm with his elbow in the clinic and then saying to someone inquiring where's the fire "I don't know" in a fake naive way.
It had probably the two best Bond girls ever if you are attracted to busty women. A gorgeous French brunette and a red-headed Italian, both with fair skin.
It had one of the more interesting plots and a classic yet quiet score from John Barry. I actually have a new found appreciation for the Tom Jones title song.
Connery is at the top of his game here, although I'm afraid Rick van Nutter is possibly the worst Felix Leiter.
Classic action sequences include the fight in the beginning, the late-night shootout at Largo's place that eventually led to fun with sharks, and 007 being chased in his Aston by an assassin on a motorcycle.
The underwater cinematography was breathtaking and I don't see how anyone could find it to be boring. It's not like you were watching a documentary about the ocean.
My only complaints with this film are a mediocre villain and an ending that had bad special effects to simulate a boat riding fast.
If you like Connery's Bond, the classic John Barry scores, beautiful busty women, an aquatic setting, and the old fashioned spy thriller type of 007 films, this is the film for you. If you really dislike this style of Bond flicks, perhaps I can see your disdain for the film. As for me, I like films from all styles of 007 films.
Well Thunderball is my favorite Bond film so I thought I'd defend it against accusations of it being boring. How anyone can hate this film is beyond me. It's classic. First of all, I feel that TB has the best Bond performance every by any actor. This is Connery at his peak, when he is most comfortable in the role but before he becomes tired of it. I love the scene when he is leaving his room to avoid the guy with his face all wrapped up and then hesitates and goes back to grab a grape. Domino is one of my favorite Bond girls, very cute, and of course we all know about Fiona Volpe. Largo is a strong villain but what I like most about him is the fact that he is part of SPECTRE. Things always seemed bigger when there was an organization Bond was going up against. Yes, Largo is the villain of the movie but there are still more members of the organization than just him. And of course there's the mysterious Blofeld with the hidden face and the white cat. He was always strongest before he was revealed to us in YOLT. The Shrublands sequences are all classic moments. The cinematographyis beautiful and there is a definite tropical feel to the movie that I really enjoy. Almost feels like taking a mini-vacation while watching. Terrence Young is at the top of his game. The dialogue is extremely well written and there are some great liens. The sequence where Bond is trying to escape from Fiona is incredibly tense, even when I know what is going to happen. The underwater scenes are actually quite pleasant when you just sit back and enjoy them instead of getting antsy waiting for something else to happen. The Bond and M scene is one of my favorites of theirs when M backs Bond who claims he saw Domino's brother. There's so much I love about this movie it's hard to think of it all off the top of my head of get it in any logical order. All I can say is that TB is the one I would turn to if I needed something to calm me down after a rough week. It's pace might be described by some as slow but I call it leisurely and there is certainly enough intrigue, suspense, action, and good dialogue to make this a very entertaining film.
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
Well actually I wouldn't say I'm Brosnan generation because I was born in 94' so I only came in at the end of Brozzers era. The reason RM didn't pull off FYEO is because he's usually lighter and friendly. This is a TD bond.
Wow, you're my son's age. He began watching Bond at the theater with TND and I actually pulled him out of school early one afternoon to catch our 3rd viewing of TWINE. Anyway, I thought he would mirror my Bond watching habits through osmosis (repeated viewings of CR and Moore's 1st 4 lately have been guilty pleasures, esp. CR ;% ). He certainly is no Craig fan maybe because of my influence, but in fairness he's not a big Brosnan fan either, which I would have thought to be the case based on his earliest Bond exposure. Independently after sequestering my new Ultimate Edition DVDs and watching these on his own, however, he's now distinctly a Connery fan. I asked him exactly what likes about those entries, and of course the SC coolness came up, but interestingly he really likes the old school-ness of those films, as pedestrian I imagine they'd seem to a young teen compared to the recent Bonds and today's VG influenced blockbusters.
As a side, my son loves TB very much and in fact has committed me to watchin FRWL this afternoon!
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
edited February 2008
Glad to hear you're bringing up the boy right, supes. Kids do have their own opinions; Loeff Jr (now 12) was a Brozzer guy through and through (he attended GE as an infant in late '95 ;% )...his favourite Bond film is TMWTGG, even though he concedes that Moore isn't that great in his opinion (my own influence there, no doubt :v ).
He's a Connery guy first these days, and is still making the adjustment from Brozzer to Craig, though he probably likes Craigger more than your boy does
And naturally, both Loeff Jr and Loeff III (10) enjoy TB a great deal :007)
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
superadoRegent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
Glad to hear you're bringing up the boy right, supes. Kids do have their own opinions; Loeff Jr (now 12) was a Brozzer guy through and through (he attended GE as an infant in late '95 ;% )...his favourite Bond film is TMWTGG, even though he concedes that Moore isn't that great in his opinion (my own influence there, no doubt :v ).
He's a Connery guy first these days, and is still making the adjustment from Brozzer to Craig, though he probably likes Craigger more than your boy does
And naturally, both Loeff Jr and Loeff III (10) enjoy TB a great deal :007)
Toy Story was his first theater experience and he fell asleep in my arms right at the climax!
Funny, my kid thinks Moore is really so much lesser than SC, but he ranks 2nd in the Bond pantheon...and what about Craig and the Brozzer? Let's just say that his #3 is Dalton )
"...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
TB is by far my fav Connery Bond film, from the locations to the girls to the action this one to me is pretty much flawless, Both Bond girls were the hottest ones in the series, the Aston Martin didnt look old and rusty to me lol, this is classic Bond from the PTS to Bond and Domino on the raft.
SB_DiamondNorth Miami Beach, FLPosts: 126MI6 Agent
I'm sorry but I absoultely LOVE TB!!! I love everything about it, from the theme song sung by Tom Jones (drooling) to the opening credits (super acid trippy, very 60s) to the locations, underwater sequences and of course Connery in his prime (and sexiest) as others have mentioned. I know for many people its harder to watch the older films since they are longer and the action is a bit slower (its espionage, come on you can't be jumping out of something and running ALL the time) but I still think its a great film!!!
Glad to hear you're bringing up the boy right, supes. Kids do have their own opinions; Loeff Jr (now 12) was a Brozzer guy through and through (he attended GE as an infant in late '95 ;% )...his favourite Bond film is TMWTGG, even though he concedes that Moore isn't that great in his opinion (my own influence there, no doubt :v ).
He's a Connery guy first these days, and is still making the adjustment from Brozzer to Craig, though he probably likes Craigger more than your boy does
And naturally, both Loeff Jr and Loeff III (10) enjoy TB a great deal :007)
Hello everyone, I came here to respond to the whole "how are your kids different than the parents" question and the tastes in Bond and where they started thing! I remember this thread and it appears it came back to life, kind of like me! An omen perhaps???
RogueAgent: Yeah, a bad omen.
Ha ha ha, you're so funny.
Well, I was five/six when I was entered into the Bond universe with the classic N64 game GoldenEye 007. After a few movies on TV and the renting of GoldenEye (on VHS, no less ) to see what was behind the game, Tomorrow Never Dies came out and my dad and I went to the theater to see it! I must say, it was quite a spectacle, though I don't remember a lot about it, but I remember the titles sequence really bothered me. I was also convinced that Teri Hatcher was playing Natalya in the sequel (yes, my love for Natalya, sans the Control mission in GE:007, goes back that far). I liked it and I really liked Pierce Brosnan, to me, he was the image of everything Bond was supposed to be.
I got older, saw TWINE at 8, and rented a lot of the movies. Even from then I didn't care for Dalton much but I always liked Moore and Connery. Lazenby really didn't make much of an impact, while I enjoyed OHMSS, I didn't really get to appreciating its nuances until I was a little older (as in about three years ago). At that time, I remember my ranking stood somewhere like this.
1. Brosnan
2. Connery
3. Moore
4. Dalton
5. Lazenby
And I recall David Niven was in the ranking somewhere because for some really strange reason CR67 was on TV (!!!) and I remember being completely shocked when Vesper Lynd UA (Ursula Andress) changed sides.
I got older and in 5th grade when I was 10/11, I saw Die Another Day (which, shockingly, made my Favorite Movies List that year and was so happy when the song played during our school retreat at our local ice rink). I do remember being sad for Miranda, which turned me against Jinx. I remember my viewing experience with TWINE a whole lot better than DAD for some reason and like so many other people, I was quite uncomfortable during the first Jinx/Bond (and last Jinx/Bond, for that matter) love scene. I think I thought it was cool but on further reflection, not so much.
And then I waited, and during this waiting, I got into Bond a lot more than I had been because there were GAMES! GAMES! GAMES! to be played. AUF, NF and EON all in sequence, and I considered EON Brosnan's swansong. Then a break, GE:RA (we need not go there) and then FRWL (which was cool because of Connery but it really wasn't because it wasn't that special and somewhere in between all this game playing I joined AJB and told everyone about how I loved AVTAK, started a cult, led it for a whopping 24 pages, Moonraker5 stopped it, I lived on and everyone lived happily ever after.
Then CR was announced. Cool, I've heard about the books but everyone here wants me to read them. But then... Pierce Brosnan quit/got replaced/whatever and I was FREAKED OUT . NOOOO! He is everything that Bond is!
I was shocked, dismayed and it was worse when they picked HIM! (he needs no introduction) and he just looked un-Bondish! Even less than Dalton (but turned out to be slightly better). Learning from my fellow posters and the whole AVTAK cult thing, was that I should keep an open mind and did so when viewing CR which FREAKED ME OUT FROM THE GET-GO WITH THE SCARY TITLES SEQUENCE AND POORLY MIXED SONG!!!! X-( Shock! Anger! Dismay! All conveyed through smilies no less!
It was then I was sad... I was very disappointed in CR, Craig and EON's decisions. However, it was about this time I got into the Bond music and with that movie soundtracks in general but that's another story. So my ranking changed a teensy bit since I was 8 and stood thusly.
1. Brosnan
2. Moore
3. Connery
4. Lazenby
5. Craig
6. Dalton
The spaces are to make a point, if it was the real list, there would be bigger spaces. Anyways, we go to the present where I still hope that EON changes its mind and I have formed big new opinions on the movies (which I haven't watched in forever, BTW, and really should). I await Bond 22, didn't think this would be a big long post and I guess you could count this as my real welcome back post.
Also, my dad's different in that he doesn't like Roger Moore and HATES AVTAK. But we find common ground in Dalton's evilness.
6. Dalton.....Anyways, we go to the present where I still hope that EON changes its mind......But we find common ground in Dalton's evilness.
{[] It's great to have you back.
"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake. and then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory." Death of a Salesman
I love TB. It has the undeniable benefit of being reasonably close to the book. It has so much going for it:
1. SC at the hight of his power. Super confident, super cool.
2. The locations. I've had a love affair with the Bahamas since I first saw it in the cinema. Unfortunately it is an unrequited love affair as I have never got there.
3. Some of the best dialogue - 'I know a little about women' - 'I think he got the point'. Nuff said.
4. Bond is the coolest man on the planet. When he sits down in the bathroom and hands Fiona the shoes - classic.
5. Bond as the ruthless assassin he should be. When he pulls Fiona in the path of the bullitt and then sits her at the table with the immortal line 'she just dead'.
OK unlike FRWL and GF it isn't flawless. There are a few problems. At times it is in danger of creaking under its own excesses brought on from the pressure to top GF.
The girls for me are an undistinguished bunch. Domino, Fiona, Paula I feel like you could swap them around in their roles and no-one would notice.
The underwater scenes are a bit slow at times, but hey thats what the fast forward button is for.
No a pure gem like FRWL and GF but one with just a few flaws and compared to some of what was to follow a classic.
I really do not understand how anyone can hate TB.
OOOHHHH, thats an easy one. To me its more than anything a matter of pacing that ruins the movie for me. Everytime that there's an underwater section I want to like it - it does look cool. However so little happens for how much time passes. And then they have another underwater battle. Don't get me wrong - it's impressive to see, and I can imagine it would have been hard ti film. But that doesnt make it interesting. Far, far from it actually.
Or how long the movie takes to start up. 10 minutes we spend with Mr Angelou stealing the bombs - a character we dont care about killing people we dont know. 10 whole minutes.
The other pacing problem is the plot. We know pretty early on that Largo has the bombs, and that Bond knows Largo has the bombs. And then the movie just keeps going along, no element in the story changes the plot. In Goldfinger - Bond got cpatured and they introduced Operation Grand Slam. In FRWL they stole the Lektor and caught the train. In TB - it just bobs along.
Connery is at the top of his game here, although I'm afraid Rick van Nutter is possibly the worst Felix Leiter.
[/quote]
Comments
Thank you for your kind words Sir Hillary! I've just never understood the love for TB, and I feel that NSNA is such an underrated gem. I think the main reason people don't like that one is because it's not official. Personally, I think we need to do away with these preconceived notions about TB and NSNA and watch them for what they are. When I look at some people's favorite films list, I see all the unofficial ones at the bottom. They could very well hate those films with the passion, but I think that the major reason they are placed as such is for them not being EON Bond pictures, which I don't think is completely fair. Sure CR67 is definitely not everyone's cup of tea but NSNA really isn't that bad.
Anyway, people seem to be jumping on the anti-GE bandwagon now that CR has come out (but, from what I got from your post, you've never cared for GE). I understand where you're coming from, that it really got everyone excited for the new Bond, but I really do believe that everything about it is (excuse the pun) golden. Still, I respect you're opinion and I'm glad you respect mine.
I actually just watched NSNA after not seeing it for a few years and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. And just like you said, I didn't like it as much before because it isn't an official film.
I had just got into watching Bond films (actually non-Brosnan films) early in high school and I saw NSNA on TV. I watched it and did not care for it much. When I watched TB I adored it. TB has a much more classic feel and I can believe it. When Connery is jumping around etc. in NSNA I just can't. Also, I detest Kim Besinger (yes, even in Batman) and love Claudine Auger.
TB is one of my favorites and will always be. NSNA is just not as good in my opinion.
Yes! Exactly how I feel! Full of great stuff, especially the jokes and dialogue, and Sean is never cooler as Bond as in Thunderball, but the film itself just isn't as great as the bits it's made from.
Then there is the pacing, I personally feel the film is paced rather well, similarly in fact to FRWL, more of a slow buring plot leading up to a big climax. The difference being that the story in FRWL is better than TB.
It has also been mentioned that the fact we are ahead of Bond so to speak affects the film. This may be true to some degree, we already know who the villain is and that he has the bombs etc. Although the same can be said for From Russia With Love. We know exactly what is planned for Bond by SPECTRE, and although he and M guess that it is a trap being set, they can only make a judgment call and roll with the punches.
The speeded up fights scenes are probably the worst in the series, the effect was used a lot in the earlier films but never as poorly. However, I never let them get in the way of my enjoyment of the film. OHMSS also features some not so perfect speeded up scenes in Bond's hotel room when he is attacked.
A lot of people I know say they don't like the underwater scenes, that they are too slow and dull. But at the end of the day, you can't move as quickly underwater can you, admittedly the music could have been a bit better, but I enjoy this sequence, it's different and a break from the more ordinary gunfights.
In short I love Thunderball, always have and always will!
Yeah. It's worth pointing out that, despite it not being as stylish, the plot of NSNA actually makes a lot more sense than Thunderball; especially regarding Domino and Jack.
Maybe, but then FRWL generates a lot of tension from us knowing that Grant is stalking and is going to eventually kill Bond. Thunderball doesn't have Bond in the same position as I don't think the baddies know about him either.
Absolutely, I think that that sort of tension is another thing lacking from TB. The only occasion I can think of with any sustained tension is the Junkanoo scene when Bond is being tailed and up to were Fiona Volpe is shot. The tension is then broke by a great one liner and is never really racked up again, as perhaps it should have been.
Alex...you said it all.
'Nuff said.
Well, there you go! I like TB a lot, though Im not sure its the best of Bonds, it does have a lot wrong with it. Ive written about it before and I have a soft spot for it because as a kid my Dad let me watch it. Unfortunately I was sent to bed after Fiona Volpe got shot because it was past my bed time! Ive seen it on the big screen too and it comes across much better in the cinema than on tv. I also think YOLT benefits from cinema viewing as its filmed in 'scope. DAF is in Panavision, but the colours look really muddy in the day light, even thoough the night time scenes look gorgeous. I always prefer to watch Bond in teh cinema. Even the worst Bond films feel like great adventures when they are 10ft tall
It had a surprising and terrific opening featuring the stunt prodigy Bob Simmons.
It had an adequate amount of humor to help even out its main theme as a dark spy thriller. Examples include when 007 punches the fire alarm with his elbow in the clinic and then saying to someone inquiring where's the fire "I don't know" in a fake naive way.
It had probably the two best Bond girls ever if you are attracted to busty women. A gorgeous French brunette and a red-headed Italian, both with fair skin.
It had one of the more interesting plots and a classic yet quiet score from John Barry. I actually have a new found appreciation for the Tom Jones title song.
Connery is at the top of his game here, although I'm afraid Rick van Nutter is possibly the worst Felix Leiter.
Classic action sequences include the fight in the beginning, the late-night shootout at Largo's place that eventually led to fun with sharks, and 007 being chased in his Aston by an assassin on a motorcycle.
The underwater cinematography was breathtaking and I don't see how anyone could find it to be boring. It's not like you were watching a documentary about the ocean.
My only complaints with this film are a mediocre villain and an ending that had bad special effects to simulate a boat riding fast.
If you like Connery's Bond, the classic John Barry scores, beautiful busty women, an aquatic setting, and the old fashioned spy thriller type of 007 films, this is the film for you. If you really dislike this style of Bond flicks, perhaps I can see your disdain for the film. As for me, I like films from all styles of 007 films.
Wow, you're my son's age. He began watching Bond at the theater with TND and I actually pulled him out of school early one afternoon to catch our 3rd viewing of TWINE. Anyway, I thought he would mirror my Bond watching habits through osmosis (repeated viewings of CR and Moore's 1st 4 lately have been guilty pleasures, esp. CR ;% ). He certainly is no Craig fan maybe because of my influence, but in fairness he's not a big Brosnan fan either, which I would have thought to be the case based on his earliest Bond exposure. Independently after sequestering my new Ultimate Edition DVDs and watching these on his own, however, he's now distinctly a Connery fan. I asked him exactly what likes about those entries, and of course the SC coolness came up, but interestingly he really likes the old school-ness of those films, as pedestrian I imagine they'd seem to a young teen compared to the recent Bonds and today's VG influenced blockbusters.
As a side, my son loves TB very much and in fact has committed me to watchin FRWL this afternoon!
He's a Connery guy first these days, and is still making the adjustment from Brozzer to Craig, though he probably likes Craigger more than your boy does
And naturally, both Loeff Jr and Loeff III (10) enjoy TB a great deal :007)
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
Toy Story was his first theater experience and he fell asleep in my arms right at the climax!
Funny, my kid thinks Moore is really so much lesser than SC, but he ranks 2nd in the Bond pantheon...and what about Craig and the Brozzer? Let's just say that his #3 is Dalton
Hello everyone, I came here to respond to the whole "how are your kids different than the parents" question and the tastes in Bond and where they started thing! I remember this thread and it appears it came back to life, kind of like me! An omen perhaps???
RogueAgent: Yeah, a bad omen.
Ha ha ha, you're so funny.
Well, I was five/six when I was entered into the Bond universe with the classic N64 game GoldenEye 007. After a few movies on TV and the renting of GoldenEye (on VHS, no less
I got older, saw TWINE at 8, and rented a lot of the movies. Even from then I didn't care for Dalton much but I always liked Moore and Connery. Lazenby really didn't make much of an impact, while I enjoyed OHMSS, I didn't really get to appreciating its nuances until I was a little older (as in about three years ago). At that time, I remember my ranking stood somewhere like this.
1. Brosnan
2. Connery
3. Moore
4. Dalton
5. Lazenby
And I recall David Niven was in the ranking somewhere because for some really strange reason CR67 was on TV (!!!) and I remember being completely shocked when Vesper Lynd UA (Ursula Andress) changed sides.
I got older and in 5th grade when I was 10/11, I saw Die Another Day (which, shockingly, made my Favorite Movies List that year and was so happy when the song played during our school retreat at our local ice rink). I do remember being sad for Miranda, which turned me against Jinx. I remember my viewing experience with TWINE a whole lot better than DAD for some reason and like so many other people, I was quite uncomfortable during the first Jinx/Bond (and last Jinx/Bond, for that matter) love scene. I think I thought it was cool but on further reflection, not so much.
And then I waited, and during this waiting, I got into Bond a lot more than I had been because there were GAMES! GAMES! GAMES! to be played. AUF, NF and EON all in sequence, and I considered EON Brosnan's swansong. Then a break, GE:RA (we need not go there) and then FRWL (which was cool because of Connery but it really wasn't because it wasn't that special and somewhere in between all this game playing I joined AJB and told everyone about how I loved AVTAK, started a cult, led it for a whopping 24 pages, Moonraker5 stopped it, I lived on and everyone lived happily ever after.
Then CR was announced. Cool, I've heard about the books but everyone here wants me to read them. But then... Pierce Brosnan quit/got replaced/whatever and I was FREAKED OUT
I was shocked, dismayed and it was worse when they picked HIM! (he needs no introduction) and he just looked un-Bondish! Even less than Dalton (but turned out to be slightly better). Learning from my fellow posters and the whole AVTAK cult thing, was that I should keep an open mind and did so when viewing CR which FREAKED ME OUT FROM THE GET-GO WITH THE SCARY TITLES SEQUENCE AND POORLY MIXED SONG!!!!
It was then I was sad... I was very disappointed in CR, Craig and EON's decisions. However, it was about this time I got into the Bond music and with that movie soundtracks in general but that's another story. So my ranking changed a teensy bit since I was 8 and stood thusly.
1. Brosnan
2. Moore
3. Connery
4. Lazenby
5. Craig
6. Dalton
The spaces are to make a point, if it was the real list, there would be bigger spaces. Anyways, we go to the present where I still hope that EON changes its mind and I have formed big new opinions on the movies (which I haven't watched in forever, BTW, and really should). I await Bond 22, didn't think this would be a big long post and I guess you could count this as my real welcome back post.
Also, my dad's different in that he doesn't like Roger Moore and HATES AVTAK. But we find common ground in Dalton's evilness.
And I still don't like TB.
1. SC at the hight of his power. Super confident, super cool.
2. The locations. I've had a love affair with the Bahamas since I first saw it in the cinema. Unfortunately it is an unrequited love affair as I have never got there.
3. Some of the best dialogue - 'I know a little about women' - 'I think he got the point'. Nuff said.
4. Bond is the coolest man on the planet. When he sits down in the bathroom and hands Fiona the shoes - classic.
5. Bond as the ruthless assassin he should be. When he pulls Fiona in the path of the bullitt and then sits her at the table with the immortal line 'she just dead'.
OK unlike FRWL and GF it isn't flawless. There are a few problems. At times it is in danger of creaking under its own excesses brought on from the pressure to top GF.
The girls for me are an undistinguished bunch. Domino, Fiona, Paula I feel like you could swap them around in their roles and no-one would notice.
The underwater scenes are a bit slow at times, but hey thats what the fast forward button is for.
No a pure gem like FRWL and GF but one with just a few flaws and compared to some of what was to follow a classic.
OOOHHHH, thats an easy one. To me its more than anything a matter of pacing that ruins the movie for me. Everytime that there's an underwater section I want to like it - it does look cool. However so little happens for how much time passes. And then they have another underwater battle. Don't get me wrong - it's impressive to see, and I can imagine it would have been hard ti film. But that doesnt make it interesting. Far, far from it actually.
Or how long the movie takes to start up. 10 minutes we spend with Mr Angelou stealing the bombs - a character we dont care about killing people we dont know. 10 whole minutes.
The other pacing problem is the plot. We know pretty early on that Largo has the bombs, and that Bond knows Largo has the bombs. And then the movie just keeps going along, no element in the story changes the plot. In Goldfinger - Bond got cpatured and they introduced Operation Grand Slam. In FRWL they stole the Lektor and caught the train. In TB - it just bobs along.
Connery is at the top of his game here, although I'm afraid Rick van Nutter is possibly the worst Felix Leiter.
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