Best Bonds post Connery, pre Craig
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CanadaPosts: 9MI6 Agent
I grew up with the Connery bonds (my favourite is Goldfinger) and I've gotten back into Bond via the Craig films (I like Casino Royale the best of his so far) . However, I realize I've missed years of Bond films.
What are the 'middle period' Bond (Lazenby/Moore/Dalton/Brosnan) films that you think are best? Most enjoyable? Why? Which ones would you recommend I avoid? (Please put the first names, I'm still learning the acronyms.)
Thank you.
What are the 'middle period' Bond (Lazenby/Moore/Dalton/Brosnan) films that you think are best? Most enjoyable? Why? Which ones would you recommend I avoid? (Please put the first names, I'm still learning the acronyms.)
Thank you.
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Welcome to the forum, Hope you enjoy your stay -{
TIS - "The moment you think you got it figured - you're wrong"
Formerly known as Teppo
Moore saved the series from certain death. Yes, his Films may have been a bit too Comedic at times but that's part of Moore's Charm.
Live and Let Die
The Spy Who Loved Me
For Your Eyes Only
Licence to Kill
GoldenEye
Tomorrow Never Dies
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
It was just a far cry from Hamilton's prior work on Goldfinger, and it showed you that maybe Guy was a one-hit wonder Bond director. They gave Hamilton two more films to possibly get him back within his groove but time has shown that obviously Guy couldn't hack it, and they had to let him go. Or at least that's my theory.
It took two Bond films for Roger Moore to really find his stride with The Spy Who Loved Me, but A View to a Kill (1985) was most definitely Sir Roger overstaying his welcome...But I guess it was Cubby Broccoli's fault on all counts for making that happen in the first place.
I really hate every Bond film that Pierce Brosnan did after GoldenEye, because I held those "sequels," to the standard of 1995's GoldenEye, and none of them really measured up in my opinion. I thought they were all horrible in comparison to GE, and even Pierce Brosnan agrees with me on that. He's trashed Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day in various candid interviews.
Sorry about ranting over the Bond films that I dislike but I had to narrow down the good Bond films, by process of elimination.
Dr. No (1962)
From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Casino Royale (2006)
Skyfall (2012)
Oops, I forgot about Quantum of Solace, but I think even the filmmakers wish to forget about Quantum of Solace. I sincerely doubt that 2008's QoS will be referenced in future Bond films and if it does get referenced, then the references will be subtle.
By the way, I guess my guilty pleasure Bond film would be The Man with the Golden Gun, because I just love the way the Bond girls "look," in that movie. They're so beautiful. Christopher Lee was great, considering what he had to work with, and Man with the Golden Gun works better than Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day at being one of those Bond films where you have to switch your brain off...But of course, that's just my personal not so humble opinion on Man with the Golden Gun.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Living Daylights
Licence to Kill
GoldenEye
Honourable mention to For Your Eyes Only which I believe is Moore's best Bond film, but like another poster above, I never really cared much for Moore's rendition of the character as it's too far removed from the original Fleming concept.
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Couldn't agree more.
"On Her Majesty's Secret Service"
"The Living Daylights"
"For Your Eyes Only"
"Octopussy"
"Goldeneye"
"The Spy Who Loved Me"
I think a far more likely scenario is that Cubby wanted Moore in AVTAK because he was a known quantity with star power and who could pretty much guarantee a respectable box office. What Broccoli failed to realize was how unconvincing Moore had become given his advanced age. Before Moore unilaterally decided to bow out of future Bond films, I even recall several interviews with Broccoli and other production members basically saying the role was Moore's for as long as he wanted it and the original script for the Living Daylights was even tailored to Moore and then given some late alterations when Dalton came in. I don't think spite or having Moore do one more official movie than Connery had anything to do with it.
In terms of what post-Connery, pre-Craig films are worth watching, I think the following are the best of the lot given my tastes:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Lazenby's only outing does a lot of the same things Casino Royale tried to do without robbing Bond of his charm or history while still giving us a great adventure and staying very true to Fleming.
The Spy Who Loved Me
Basically a souped up remake of You Only Live Twice, TSWLM is for me easily Moore's best outing as he delivers a slightly tougher version of Bond while the film is crammed with memorable girls, gadgets, sets and incredible stunts, all wrapped up in a suitably world threatening plot.
Goldeneye
Pierce Brosnan's first and best outing as Bond. I always wanted to see Bond take on another 00 agent and GE delivered on this premise; I also think Brosnan strikes a good balance of toughness and humor here.
As for Timothy Dalton, I thought he was a very good Bond saddled with some pretty mediocre scripts. Of his two outings, I'd say License to Kill is more suited to his style and closer to a Fleming thriller, with some passages right out of the Live and Let Die Novel.
My thoughts on OHMSS
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
LTK
NSNA (a post Connery Connery film
So far, I've seen On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Octopussy. I liked both (although Octopussy is very silly, overly long and not very "Bond-ish", I do like Roger Moore's quibs. I know it's an even sillier Moore but I wanted to see it when it came out because I thought Kabir Bedi was so handsome in the trailers). I really liked OHMSS, I didn't see it for years (I remember how poorly it was reviewed at the time). My husband has told me previously how it was closer to Fleming's book (he's read all the them) and he liked it. To my surprise, Lazenby was better than I thought he'd be, especially in the final scene and it's a great story.
I've got GoldenEye, Licence to Kill. The Living Daylights and The Spy Who Loved Me lined up to watch next although I probably will watch most of the Bonds I haven't seen yet (and start reading Fleming
If you're not bothered about staying chronological then definitely watch OHMSS, The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill, Goldeneye, Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved first before trawling your way through the rest!
Roger Moore: Live and Let Die was pretty great but his later films aren't as bad as people say. A View To A Kill is one I really enjoyed too, the only bad one I think Roger did is Moonraker. I'd suggest you watch a 70's film and an 80's film to get a feel for him.
Timothy Dalton: License To Thrill seems to be the one that most Bond fans favor I think he's very hit and miss with a lot of fans. They either love him or are kind of so-so on him
Brosnan: Definitely Goldeneye. The movie is great, The villains are cool and the story flows well. It is a bit overrated due to the very popular video game but it's probably Brosnan's best movie out of the ones he did.
http://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/the-007-files-live-and-let-die/
Wow, what a long hiatus. Your experience actually resembles that of some Bond actors, who admitted not watching many of the Bond movies that weren't theirs. However, which of the following best describes you?
(1) You were shipwrecked on a desert island for over thirty years.
(2) You were in a coma.
(3) You lived in a bomb shelter because of a false alarm.
(4) You joined a monastery in Nepal.
(5) You were a resident in a Siberian gulag.
The reason why I joke is because with many Bond fans it seems, the "best" Bond is indisputably, and invariably Connery...or with the changing tides of fan demographics particularly in terms of age, it's Craig...so for any discussion on "the best" these 2 guys are givens (depending on which camp you're in), they're left out of the mix and it then becomes a deliberation between the "mediocre," other guys.
On the other hand, I recommend a comparison that includes ALL the Bond actors with the assumption that the "best" is not a forgone conclusion. which I believe will make it a more interesting discussion. If you want to peruse some of the more stimulating discussions on AJB, I'd suggest the various appeciation threads for this or that actor, with some posts explaining and defending the merits of their guy despite the surrounding circumstances, e.g., a lousy script, a poor directoral effort, etc., etc.
As for my opinion on the "best," I have 2, actually. Connery was a magical confluence of qualities who resonated with the cultural appetites and sensibilities of his day, not unlike The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis; as you know, Sean nailed the cinematic incarnation of James Bond to a "T." However, after being treated to a couple decades of suave, movie Bond, I was introduced to the books and found myself longing to see the literary Bond on the screen for a change...then suddenly when Brosnan became unavailable Timothy Dalton came along to take over from Moore and man, Dalton delivered, and in spades like a cool glass of water during a stifling drought; he was (almost) literary Bond straigt from the pages, but adjusted for the 80's.
As far as which of the movies or actors to avoid, I guess I'm too much of a Bond fan to say that even the ones typically considered by many as the weakest are still worth watching, "cough" AVTAK, NSNA, DAF, QoS, etc. "cough," "cough!" Despite my having favorites, I have many good things to say about each film and actor.
You don't have to watch them in order either.
Overall, I prefer the Dalton's interpretation of Bond to Moore. As much I like Roger Moore as a person and enjoy his comedic timing, I find his Bonds films are Bond-light. To me, they are really more parodies of Bond, like Austin Powers but much watchable as they aren't so over the top. I thought The Spy Who Loved Me was the most enjoyable Moore and then my next favourite would be For Your Eyes Only (although there are good bits in every film). With Dalton, I prefer The Living Daylights as there are a few too many gruesome deaths in Licence to Kill for me (and the edge between Sanchez and Bond is a bit too thin for me. I think Bond should be ruthless. but a tad less than in Licence to Kill.)
I do think that over time, Lazenby could have developed into a decent Bond and I really liked On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
As to why I've never seen the Bonds after Connery and until Craig - 2 reasons really. I couldn't have joined a monastery - I'm female.
Onto the Brosnan films next...
For me, each actor that has portrayed Bond brought something to the role that made their performances very memorable to me. Even Barry Nelson, who first played the character on TV in 1954 had a one-liner and a world-weary air that I still recall to this day. Who was the "best" Bond? Who knows? Personally, I do not think a "best Bond" exists. Think about it. In the end, it is all subjective and not a question that can be answered as a fact.
1.SF 2.CR 3.OHMSS 4.DN 5.YOLT
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
http://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-007-files-the-living-daylights/
In general, I found the Brosnan Bond films somewhat disappointing. Some of that was the writing - I know
Bond films usually have a formula but these films seem particularly formulaic to me. However, Pierce as Bond left me somewhat cold as Bond. Although he's very handsome and has the 'look", he is missing something. He doesn't have Sean's animal magnetism (those eyee, that accent!), Timothy's intensity and acting ability, Daniel's acting ability, Roger's charm and comic timing or even George's arrogance and physicality. To be, he's rather bland as Bond and doesn't seem to have any distinguishing characteristic. However, there are parts of his films that I enjoyed and it's interesting seeing all the different interpretations of Bond.
I'm looking forward to rewatching the Connery bonds soon.
Brosnan's best for me was TWINE but even that is reduced on the small screen. Try to catch The Thomas Crown Affair though, he's very good in that.
Roger Moore 1927-2017