1. Moonraker - If I didn't know better, I'd think this one was widely considered the best Bond film.
2. AVTAK- Unfairly called the worst of all Bond films. What is so bad about it? Roger is too old and Stacy had an annoying scream? That's hardly enough to sink an entire Bond film.
3. QoS- Quick editing cuts and a confusing plot are not enough to dissuade me from enjoying this a$$ kicking Bond film.
4. TND - A perfect modern Bond film with Pierce and the supporting cast all at the top of their game. Considering among the worst because it has too much action toward the end? Heaven forbid! TND is so definitive I would recommend as THE Bond to watch to a newbie.
5. NSNA- A bonus Bond film! Not sure why so many fans hate it and wish it had never been made. More watchable than TB.
6. Spectre - This one just does not seem near as popular as Skyfall, despite being about x100 better.
***Happy Thanksgiving***
This year I am thankful for all these great underrated Bond films.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
2. AVTAK- Unfairly called the worst of all Bond films. What is so bad about it? Roger is too old and Stacy had an annoying scream? That's hardly enough to sink an entire Bond film.
6. Spectre - This one just does not seem near as popular as Skyfall, despite being about x100 better.
***Happy Thanksgiving***
This year I am thankful for all these great underrated Bond films.
Agreed for both of them. You hit the nail right on the head for both of them, AVTAK may have an older Roger Moore and an annoying scream from Stacy but I like her character a lot and her performance - I'd rank her in the middle for girls (unlike Denise Richards and Britt Eckland who I hate with a passion).
SP is excellent, and I find it more entertaining and enjoyable than SF, let alone the other Craig films.
4. TND - A perfect modern Bond film with Pierce and the supporting cast all at the top of their game. Considering among the worst because it has too much action toward the end? Heaven forbid! TND is so definitive I would recommend as THE Bond to watch to a newbie.
TND has its fans on here (growing) and I think is adequately rated. I find TND has all the right elements, but it's so turned up that it turns into a cliche.
It's difficult to know what constitutes an underrated Bond film anymore but here's what I think.
1. LTK: Granted it doesn't really feel like a Bond film but Dalton is terrific as a brooding, revenge hunting Bond. Enjoy Q's extended role in the film.
2. OP: Never do I have so much enjoyment watching a Bond film than when watching OP. Brilliant fun.
3. LALD: Love the voodoo elements and the crazy set of villains.
4. TB: Seems to divide opinion. Little niggles aside the film has a classy feel to it. I enjoy the underwater scenes.
5. AVTAK: I don't know if this is underrated anymore ) . It seems to be well loved by lots of members on AJB.
6. TND: Another Bond film that is great fun.
1. Thunderball - Weird because it is a classic of the series yet it seems to cop a fair bit these days
2. Live and Let Die - Again seems to often divide opinion. Stonker of a flick!
3. For Your Eyes Only - Appreciated by the Bond fan community but seems to be largely overlooked by critics and the public at large.
4. Quantum of Solace - Flawed but I still stand by it as an intriguing entry
5. Octopussy - Again, appreciated by the Bond community but largely dismissed elsewhere
6. Spectre - Definitely has its faults, but it was slayed by critics outside of the UK and most people I've spoken to were not impressed. Certainly has more going for it then many give it credit for.
3. For Your Eyes Only - Appreciated by the Bond fan community but seems to be largely overlooked by critics and the public at large.
Good point. I think it fits into that category of forgettable Bond by the public because it's more serious and less about entertainment. Most people I know only know about 3-5 Bond films pre-Brosnan and they're mostly the big ones like Goldfinger, Thunderball, OP etc.
In my not-so-humble opinion, Diamonds are Forever gets a lot of undeserved criticism.
Admittedly, the film contains an implausible plot (a diamond laser satellite in outer-space, really?)
and contains many humour and fantasy elements which belong in a Moore movie. That said,
Sean Connery seems to take to the change in style rather well.
However, Las Vegas is the type of location one suspects Bond flits off to for "rest and relaxation."
The film contains plenty of fun: moon-buggy races, a car chase through Las Vegas, and so forth.
The characters aren't all bad: Charles Gray's Blofeld is stuffy and cantankerous, but he's better
than Donald Pleasance (I rank Gray's Blofeld between Pleasance and Savalas). My theory is
that Gray represents a more cunning and devious Blofeld than the others.
The women aren't that bad either. Who says that Bond girls need to be intelligent, capable, or even
Bond's equal in every movie? It's a rather post-modern, social-justice-warrior perspective and, quite
frankly, it grates. (For the record, I'm not saying EVERY Bond girl should be a bimbo either). And, besides,
Tiffany Case does actually come across, at least initially, as a competent diamond smuggler. Expecting her
to know about the rigours of espionage, international crime, or SPECTRE is clutching at straws. The other
Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole, represents the "eye candy" Bond girl. And, let's be honest gentleman: how many
of us have googled "Lana Wood naked?"
Diamonds are Forever is far from the best Bond movie, but it is fun, offers a great backdrop,
two beautiful Bond girls, and an interesting villain.
^ You've mentioned plenty (!) of the films great aspects. But I feel the film is let down by its lazy production style. There are strange camera zoom-ins, crowds visible in Vegas, the re-rolling of the car in the alley, Mrs. Whistler being alive when dead and some of the other bloopers. LTK gets a lot of flak for looking like a TV movie - DAF looks like a B movie.
I can understand that the B movie feel might've actually been the goal following OHMSS - but I don't appreciate it.
1. For Your Eyes Only - my favourite Bond film in the series... Yes you heard me. It used to considered among top tens but now people just rank it near the bottom, claiming that it is boring, and out of place for Roger Moore. I couldn't disagree more, I think the film is 'perfect' on every level like locations, realistic plot, Bond's performance, Bill Conti's score and especially the action. The only slight flaw for me is the final climax.
2. A View To A Kill - I know this one has been expressed to death on this board but I just can't go without it. Yes, a major flaw is Moore's age, especially in the pre-credits, Ascot and the Eiffel Tower sequence - where he looks much older than he did throughout the rest of the film. Stacey Sutton is a nice Bond girl, despite what people may think. I had the complete opposite opinion for her than for Mary Goodnight, who did nothing for TMWTGG whatsoever. I love the plot, Walken's epic performance as Zorin, San Francisco and the similarities to Goldfinger. John Barry's score was also terrific, and yeah, I just loved it.
3. The Living Daylights - Yet another 80's Bond. Timothy Dalton is my favourite James Bond actor, always has and probably always will be. This film, while feeling similar to FYEO in many ways, and OP in other ways, John Glen's fourth Bond film blends everything good about the previous three films and gives us a dark, cold war realistic plot. No, the villains aren't that great, and the climax was pretty pathetic. Overall, this film never gets boring, the plot is outstanding and Kara Milovy is excellent. The locations, maybe besides Afghanistan were extremely diverse and superb (Slovakia, Austria and Morocco) and this is John Barry's best score.
4. Licence To Kill - People complain about this one feeling too dark and not even like a James Bond film. Yes it is very dark, but that's what makes it real, and human. The only thing holding this one back are the Bond girls, and whilst the locations weren't the best, everything is pulled off with pure excellence. Dalton's portrayal is flawless, Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez was ruthless and the revenge story is just epic - What Diamonds Are Forever and Quantum Of Solace should have been. It is never boring and Timothy Dalton brings out the best of James Bond. Oh god, why did he have to finish here?
5. Spectre - It's such a shame, because this is my favourite Bond film to star Daniel Craig, with Skyfall as an extremely close runner-up. I love everything about it, the locations, the build up to Blofeld, Craig's performance and the similarities to previous Bond films, with the prior three especially. The only negative aspect was the relationship between Bond and Madeline, feeling like a forced romance which wasn't exactly there in the first place. It's like they re-watched Skyfall and heard numerous complaints about there not being a Bond girl so they shoved one onto here. Other than that, it never gets boring and the final showdown is just masterful.
^ You've mentioned plenty (!) of the films great aspects. But I feel the film is let down by its lazy production style. There are strange camera zoom-ins, crowds visible in Vegas, the re-rolling of the car in the alley, Mrs. Whistler being alive when dead and some of the other bloopers. LTK gets a lot of flak for looking like a TV movie - DAF looks like a B movie.
I can understand that the B movie feel might've actually been the goal following OHMSS - but I don't appreciate it.
Completely agree. Personally, I think "Diamonds are Forever" is a middle-of-the-range Bond movie - much like "Octopussy" and the "Living Daylights." I was trying to point out that it isn't as bad as a lot of people say it is.
Completely agree. Personally, I think "Diamonds are Forever" is a middle-of-the-range Bond movie - much like "Octopussy" and the "Living Daylights." I was trying to point out that it isn't as bad as a lot of people say it is.
By the way, nice "Plenty" joke! )
haha cheers! {[] steady on about OP and TLD! They're in a much better league! :v
1. Thunderball: Calvin Dyson is to blame for it being so underrated.
2. SPECTRE: People being disappointed by thinking that this movie isn't as good as Skyfall (even if Skyfall wasn't anything special, but you know, the masses and logic are incompatible)
3. Licence To Kill: The action and gore infested 80s eventually found themselves in a Bond film, and what an exceptionally good film it turned out to be.
4. The Man With The Golden Gun: This film has it all: a good villain, sarcastic Bond and beautiful women. Yet still, people complain that there weren't any gadgets. Those people never read the movie's title.
5. Moonraker: The Bond that I enjoyed the most from Roger's era seems to be the most sh*tted on one of the series. It's a shame that good taste is getting rarer and rarer these days.
6. A View To A Kill: It seems to be well accepted by members of AJB but, like Stacey being a good enough Bond girl, I'm not sure about it.
4. The Man With The Golden Gun: This film has it all: a good villain, sarcastic Bond and beautiful women. Yet still, people complain that there weren't any gadgets. Those people never read the movie's title.
I've never heard complaints about TMWTGG being about a lack of gadgets. Isn't the most common gripe that it features silly scenes and is generally slightly flat? I do think TMWTGG is the best of the Tom M trio - although LALD is consistently rated higher...
Comments
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
2. AVTAK- Unfairly called the worst of all Bond films. What is so bad about it? Roger is too old and Stacy had an annoying scream? That's hardly enough to sink an entire Bond film.
3. QoS- Quick editing cuts and a confusing plot are not enough to dissuade me from enjoying this a$$ kicking Bond film.
4. TND - A perfect modern Bond film with Pierce and the supporting cast all at the top of their game. Considering among the worst because it has too much action toward the end? Heaven forbid! TND is so definitive I would recommend as THE Bond to watch to a newbie.
5. NSNA- A bonus Bond film! Not sure why so many fans hate it and wish it had never been made. More watchable than TB.
6. Spectre - This one just does not seem near as popular as Skyfall, despite being about x100 better.
***Happy Thanksgiving***
This year I am thankful for all these great underrated Bond films.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Agreed for both of them. You hit the nail right on the head for both of them, AVTAK may have an older Roger Moore and an annoying scream from Stacy but I like her character a lot and her performance - I'd rank her in the middle for girls (unlike Denise Richards and Britt Eckland who I hate with a passion).
SP is excellent, and I find it more entertaining and enjoyable than SF, let alone the other Craig films.
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
TND has its fans on here (growing) and I think is adequately rated. I find TND has all the right elements, but it's so turned up that it turns into a cliche.
"Better make that two."
When TND makes it into both your and Wadsy's Top 10 I will remove it from my "underrated" list.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
{[]
"Better make that two."
Plus, as a TND fan you'll also receive a Christmas card from chrisisall
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
1. LTK: Granted it doesn't really feel like a Bond film but Dalton is terrific as a brooding, revenge hunting Bond. Enjoy Q's extended role in the film.
2. OP: Never do I have so much enjoyment watching a Bond film than when watching OP. Brilliant fun.
3. LALD: Love the voodoo elements and the crazy set of villains.
4. TB: Seems to divide opinion. Little niggles aside the film has a classy feel to it. I enjoy the underwater scenes.
5. AVTAK: I don't know if this is underrated anymore
6. TND: Another Bond film that is great fun.
2. Live and Let Die - Again seems to often divide opinion. Stonker of a flick!
3. For Your Eyes Only - Appreciated by the Bond fan community but seems to be largely overlooked by critics and the public at large.
4. Quantum of Solace - Flawed but I still stand by it as an intriguing entry
5. Octopussy - Again, appreciated by the Bond community but largely dismissed elsewhere
6. Spectre - Definitely has its faults, but it was slayed by critics outside of the UK and most people I've spoken to were not impressed. Certainly has more going for it then many give it credit for.
Good point. I think it fits into that category of forgettable Bond by the public because it's more serious and less about entertainment. Most people I know only know about 3-5 Bond films pre-Brosnan and they're mostly the big ones like Goldfinger, Thunderball, OP etc.
"Better make that two."
Admittedly, the film contains an implausible plot (a diamond laser satellite in outer-space, really?)
and contains many humour and fantasy elements which belong in a Moore movie. That said,
Sean Connery seems to take to the change in style rather well.
However, Las Vegas is the type of location one suspects Bond flits off to for "rest and relaxation."
The film contains plenty of fun: moon-buggy races, a car chase through Las Vegas, and so forth.
The characters aren't all bad: Charles Gray's Blofeld is stuffy and cantankerous, but he's better
than Donald Pleasance (I rank Gray's Blofeld between Pleasance and Savalas). My theory is
that Gray represents a more cunning and devious Blofeld than the others.
The women aren't that bad either. Who says that Bond girls need to be intelligent, capable, or even
Bond's equal in every movie? It's a rather post-modern, social-justice-warrior perspective and, quite
frankly, it grates. (For the record, I'm not saying EVERY Bond girl should be a bimbo either). And, besides,
Tiffany Case does actually come across, at least initially, as a competent diamond smuggler. Expecting her
to know about the rigours of espionage, international crime, or SPECTRE is clutching at straws. The other
Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole, represents the "eye candy" Bond girl. And, let's be honest gentleman: how many
of us have googled "Lana Wood naked?"
Diamonds are Forever is far from the best Bond movie, but it is fun, offers a great backdrop,
two beautiful Bond girls, and an interesting villain.
I can understand that the B movie feel might've actually been the goal following OHMSS - but I don't appreciate it.
"Better make that two."
1. For Your Eyes Only - my favourite Bond film in the series... Yes you heard me. It used to considered among top tens but now people just rank it near the bottom, claiming that it is boring, and out of place for Roger Moore. I couldn't disagree more, I think the film is 'perfect' on every level like locations, realistic plot, Bond's performance, Bill Conti's score and especially the action. The only slight flaw for me is the final climax.
2. A View To A Kill - I know this one has been expressed to death on this board but I just can't go without it. Yes, a major flaw is Moore's age, especially in the pre-credits, Ascot and the Eiffel Tower sequence - where he looks much older than he did throughout the rest of the film. Stacey Sutton is a nice Bond girl, despite what people may think. I had the complete opposite opinion for her than for Mary Goodnight, who did nothing for TMWTGG whatsoever. I love the plot, Walken's epic performance as Zorin, San Francisco and the similarities to Goldfinger. John Barry's score was also terrific, and yeah, I just loved it.
3. The Living Daylights - Yet another 80's Bond. Timothy Dalton is my favourite James Bond actor, always has and probably always will be. This film, while feeling similar to FYEO in many ways, and OP in other ways, John Glen's fourth Bond film blends everything good about the previous three films and gives us a dark, cold war realistic plot. No, the villains aren't that great, and the climax was pretty pathetic. Overall, this film never gets boring, the plot is outstanding and Kara Milovy is excellent. The locations, maybe besides Afghanistan were extremely diverse and superb (Slovakia, Austria and Morocco) and this is John Barry's best score.
4. Licence To Kill - People complain about this one feeling too dark and not even like a James Bond film. Yes it is very dark, but that's what makes it real, and human. The only thing holding this one back are the Bond girls, and whilst the locations weren't the best, everything is pulled off with pure excellence. Dalton's portrayal is flawless, Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez was ruthless and the revenge story is just epic - What Diamonds Are Forever and Quantum Of Solace should have been. It is never boring and Timothy Dalton brings out the best of James Bond. Oh god, why did he have to finish here?
5. Spectre - It's such a shame, because this is my favourite Bond film to star Daniel Craig, with Skyfall as an extremely close runner-up. I love everything about it, the locations, the build up to Blofeld, Craig's performance and the similarities to previous Bond films, with the prior three especially. The only negative aspect was the relationship between Bond and Madeline, feeling like a forced romance which wasn't exactly there in the first place. It's like they re-watched Skyfall and heard numerous complaints about there not being a Bond girl so they shoved one onto here. Other than that, it never gets boring and the final showdown is just masterful.
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Lazenby 5. Craig 6. Brosnan
Completely agree. Personally, I think "Diamonds are Forever" is a middle-of-the-range Bond movie - much like "Octopussy" and the "Living Daylights." I was trying to point out that it isn't as bad as a lot of people say it is.
By the way, nice "Plenty" joke!
haha cheers! {[] steady on about OP and TLD! They're in a much better league! :v
"Better make that two."
2. SPECTRE: People being disappointed by thinking that this movie isn't as good as Skyfall (even if Skyfall wasn't anything special, but you know, the masses and logic are incompatible)
3. Licence To Kill: The action and gore infested 80s eventually found themselves in a Bond film, and what an exceptionally good film it turned out to be.
4. The Man With The Golden Gun: This film has it all: a good villain, sarcastic Bond and beautiful women. Yet still, people complain that there weren't any gadgets. Those people never read the movie's title.
5. Moonraker: The Bond that I enjoyed the most from Roger's era seems to be the most sh*tted on one of the series. It's a shame that good taste is getting rarer and rarer these days.
6. A View To A Kill: It seems to be well accepted by members of AJB but, like Stacey being a good enough Bond girl, I'm not sure about it.
As usual, Moore is getting blamed for films he wasn't even in. 8-)
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I've never heard complaints about TMWTGG being about a lack of gadgets. Isn't the most common gripe that it features silly scenes and is generally slightly flat? I do think TMWTGG is the best of the Tom M trio - although LALD is consistently rated higher...
"Better make that two."
+1. Connery made a silly Bond film first, so he should get the credit, not Moore!
+1
"Better make that two."