My One-Line takes on the James Bond films...

chrisisall

Dr. No - Tough, lean & mean; an awesome first entry.
From Russia With Love- Pure Cold War spy business.
Goldfinger - Perfection of the formula.
Thunderball- Possibly the best Bond will ever be in the movies.
You Only Live Twice- The comic book mentality would begin here; over the top, but Connery nonetheless.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service- Lazenby lacked the hard edge, yet tackled the challenge admirably; Savalas was somewhat lacking as Blofeld, but in the end the film worked well, in no small part due to Diana Rigg.
Diamonds Are Forever- Full of fun & action, yet lacking in proper emotional follow up to the previous film, it's still a fine entry in the outrageous Bond legacy.
Live and Let Die- Even the excellent addition of Jane Seymour couldn't counter balance the ridiculous demise of the villain.
The Man with the Golden Gun- Moore found his footing in this one, and Christopher Lee's Scaramanga made it a strange & interesting little Bond flick.
The Spy Who Loved Me- The better version of You Only Live Twice.
Moonraker- The 'Flint' movie of the series.
For Your Eyes Only- Back to basic Bond, too bad Moore was getting too old here, and the dumbest pre-credit sequence ever.
Octopussy- A better Bond than it should have been given the Tarzan yell & Bond theme 'wink', still, hugely entertaining, but Adams was a downer.
Never Say Never Again- Nice to see Connery again, however watching the movie is mostly like watching paint dry.
A View to a Kill- Even Christopher Walken could not save this mess.
The Living Daylights- Dalton is a fine actor, and an excellent Bond, the music is snappy & the plot is not simple for a change; best entry since Thunderball.
Licence to Kill- Standard severe 80's action movie moments with an inappropriate moment of mirth, yet Dalton makes this Bond version of Yojimbo work.
GoldenEye- A superiour update of Bond, though his 'goodness' is a bit too reminiscent of Remington Steele, still it's one of the better movie in the series.
Tomorrow Never Dies- All around fun, great double-entendres, much like Spy Who Loved Me with a much sharper edge & one of the best Bond girls ever.
The World is Not Enough- Contrived yet appealing, the formula still worked, but was showing wear.
Die Another Day- The 21st Century version of Moonraker, too silly & too serious at the same time.
Casino Royale- Great edge, great Craig acting, great story, great pace, too fast editing, too shakey-cam- it might have worked better as a period piece.
Quantum of Solace- A remake of Licence to Kill in a way; straight up revenge in place of intricate plot.
Was I fair here?

BIG TAM

Just trawling through old postings. Can't think why nobody responded to this. I reckon they're a fair grouping of thumbnail synopses. -{
Hope you've rewatched OCTOPUSSY by now. Another Bond that gets unwarranted stick.

Fatsnbul

I really like this post. I am going to do it myself soon. Would love to see others take part.

chrisisall

BIG TAM wrote:

J
Hope you've rewatched OCTOPUSSY by now. Another Bond that gets unwarranted stick.

Wow, that was old, I had to go thru & redo some of it since my tastes have change slightly since then.

Better now.

Napoleon Plural

It's alright Big Tam, but there's nothing to add to a post like that. Are we meant to do our own 20+ one line reviews of each film? I can't be bothered, and while I don't agree with every single assessment, it doesn't have a troll-like aspect to get me strongly disagreeing either. Your views are reasonable enough, but nothing exceptional...

Manxman

I actually posted something very similar to this as my first topic on this board, so I might as well just rehash my comments from then:

Dr No
“A little rough around the edges, and not as good as the book, but still very good.”
4/5
From Russia With Love
“Classic book becomes a classic film, despite the toned-down Donovan Grant and Rosa Klebb.”
4/5
Goldfinger
“Epitomises the series – Connery at the peak of his powers.”
4/5
Thunderball
“The underwater scenes are slow-moving, but otherwise it’s another brilliant Bond.”
4/5
You Only Live Twice
“It spawned some terrible imitations, but this is blockbusting camp fun at its finest.”
4/5
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
“The very best of Bond – Fleming-esque and virtually flawless.”
5/5
Diamonds Are Forever
“Sean Connery ISN’T James Bond!”
2/5
Live And Let Die
“Bond meets Blaxploitation with a fascinating plot – everybody wins.”
4/5
The Man With The Golden Gun
“It’s a Bond film – but where’s the excitement?”
2/5
The Spy Who Loved Me
“You Only Live Twice remade – even camper, but every bit as good.”
4/5
Moonraker
“Bond meets Star Wars with a laughable plot – everybody loses.”
1/5
For Your Eyes Only
“The OHMSS references are no accident – classic Bond is back.”
5/5
Octopussy
“The most underrated Bond film – even contains some contemporary politics plus some funny jokes.”
5/5
Never Say Never Again
“Oh, please do.”
2/5
A View To A Kill
“Has Goldfinger’s plotline, but none of its panache.”
2/5
The Living Daylights
“A silly car and cello chase aside, this is the serious Bond I love.”
4/5
Licence To Kill
“Just how serious do you like your serious Bond?”
4/5
Goldeneye
“Never liked Diamonds Are Forever the first time around.”
2/5
Tomorrow Never Dies
“The most boring Bond – makes TMWTGG look like a nailbiter.”
1/5
The World Is Not Enough
“As good as the Brosnan era ever got – so only moderately good.”
3/5
Die Another Day
“Special effects 1, genuine thrills 0.”
2/5
Casino Royale
“A first-rate film, but Daniel Craig is totally miscast.”
4/5
Quantum Of Solace
“A fascinating character study – but not a brilliant Bond film.”
2/5

chrisisall

Manxman wrote:

For Your Eyes Only
“The OHMSS references are no accident – classic Bond is back.”
5/5
Octopussy
“The most underrated Bond film – even contains some contemporary politics plus some funny jokes.”
5/5

I find giving 5 out of five for these two curious, yes they're good, but really, THAT good? )

Manxman

Yes, they're two of my favourites — not as flawless as OHMSS, but I think they have intriguing plots, great action scenes and some good touches of humour (plus some very bad jokes, of course — the Tarzan yell and "Sit!!!!").

chrisisall

Manxman wrote:

"Sit!!!!"

That one actually makes me laugh. Are you old enough to remember what that's all about?

Manxman

Sure am — Barbara Woodhouse! How an old lady could become famous simply for bullying dogs, I have no idea!

Dutchfinger

Here are my quick takes on it:

Dr. No
- Iconic, classic, "mystery/ spy - thriller". Nice start of the franchise, though a little dated in parts.
FRWL:
- Plot wise, one of the best, very good spy-thriller.
GF:
- This is where Bond became a phenomenon. I always call this the quintessential Bond movie, the blue-print of the series. And if it wasn't for this one, the series proberbly would have looked a lot different. This movie truly deserves all it's praise.
TB:
- Tried to make Bond even bigger, and on paper, it's the highest grossing Bond movie till date. (Inflation adjusted) Didn't succeed in being better then GF, but a solid classic entry imo.
YOLT:
- The series became more over the top, and the plot was a lot less realistic. Nonetheless, a great classic and highly enjoyable 60's fantasy movie in my book.
OHMSS:
- Some call it the pearl of the series, I wish I enjoyed it more then I do. Lazenby was terrible, (he executed the ending very well though) great cinematography, but the plot doesn't keep me as hooked as it should, Blofeld's plan seems very weird to me. Reading the novell might help me change my mind on this one...
DAF:
- Proberbly one of the worst in the series. Connery was bored, everything was so out of place. And most of all "It could have been so much more." Terrible entry.
LALD:
- Great start for Moore, though not a huge fan of the whole voodoo thing. Don't rank this one to high.
TMWTGG:
- Simple, straightforward plot, though it keeps me entertained from start to finish.
TSWLM:
- Classic Bond movie! A true masterpiece in the franchise. Top 5 worthy.
MR:
- Big, huge and way 'out of this world'. Though not as bad as many people claim it to be.
FYEO:
- Very solid entry, a serious Moore seems to work well, intresting plot.
OP:
- Enjoyable, average Bond movie. Keeps me entertained.
NSNA:
- Not really good, though when looked at differently. (Without expecting an EON film, and without comparing it to Thunderball to much, it stands out pretty 'okay' and enjoyed it. I almost dare to call it better then Diamonds Are Forever...)
AVTAK:
- Below average, not as bad as people claim it to be, but has a lot of dull and boring moments. Moore has passed his prime.
TLDL:
- Timothy Dalton is excellent, nice to see a serious Bond again. Although I'd rank it somewhere in the middle of the pack.
LTK:
- Personal favorite, dark, violent, cool 80'ies styled, greatest villian of the franchise. One of the best plots of the series.
GE:
- Great sweep into the 'modern' Bond movies, yet very classic. By far Brosnan's best, and top 5 worthy.
TND:
- Enjoyable, but you don't watch this one for it's plot, more of a Bond movie you go and watch with the family and just enjoy.
TWINE:
- Brosnan's tries to get deeper into his character. Enjoyable movie, but had more potential in both the villian and the story.
DAD:
- Over the top, to much CGI, 40 year anniversary fest and parody of it's own.
CR:
- Hard needed rebooth, feels completly fresh out of Brosnan's movies. And proberbly saved the series. Top 5 worthy.
QOS:
- Doesn't work well as a sequel, the plot is a mess and so is a lot of the filming.

Prediction:

Skyfall:
All the classic Bond elements are back but yet put in the era of today. Entertaining from start to finish and has the classic Bond formula.!