DN vs. TLD vs. CR
chrisisall
Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,062MI6 Agent
IMO these are the BIG three for first-time out new, serious & fairly literary Bonds.
DN was fresh, new, and close to the novels in a time sense. It was breaking ground, and setting the stage of a hard British agent dealing with outlandish international adversaries.
TLD was introducing us to a very literary Bond still functioning in the confusing and complex Cold War era, if keeping just a few of the absurd elements built up from the previous two decades.
CR was a retooling Bond for the 21st Century with a serious take on the character not seen since Dalton's 2nd film- tough, ruthless and ready to kill, in a world where evil has been covertly privatized for power and profit.
Which one defines Bond for you?
Or do they all, each in different ways?
Are any of them so iconic you can't be objective?
And... are you pissed that I didn't include OHMSS, LALD or GE in this topic?
DN was fresh, new, and close to the novels in a time sense. It was breaking ground, and setting the stage of a hard British agent dealing with outlandish international adversaries.
TLD was introducing us to a very literary Bond still functioning in the confusing and complex Cold War era, if keeping just a few of the absurd elements built up from the previous two decades.
CR was a retooling Bond for the 21st Century with a serious take on the character not seen since Dalton's 2nd film- tough, ruthless and ready to kill, in a world where evil has been covertly privatized for power and profit.
Which one defines Bond for you?
Or do they all, each in different ways?
Are any of them so iconic you can't be objective?
And... are you pissed that I didn't include OHMSS, LALD or GE in this topic?
Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Comments
Out of those three, DN, then TLD, then CR
Or do they all, each in different ways?
Yep, all with a different spin on things
Are any of them so iconic you can't be objective?
I find DN the most iconic
And... are you pissed that I didn't include OHMSS, LALD or GE in this topic?
Yes
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
"I will say DN. In the end, all other Bonds, one way or another, return to the source. Even SF, when taking us to Mallory's office, finds its way back to the earliest days of the cinematic Bond."
My response was:
"Yeah, even without Llewelyn's Q or a proper Barry score, DN is timelessly awesome IMO. Very much like Indy's first movie.
But TLD is my personal favourite.
"He got the boot." "
In the end, Connery created cinema Bond. Dalton redefined it. Craig yet again. Lazenby was a great placecard, Moore gave us his saintly version, and Brosnan was sublime fun, but only 3 took Bond to a higher place for whatever reasons IMO.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
TLD. This is the Fleming version of Bond. The man who doesn't really like what he does, but doesn't really know what else he'd do. Smart, and efficient. A man who's smart enough to follow his gut, and not shoot first and ask questions later (It was great in CR, but it's not Fleming's Bond. Fleming's Bond just wouldn't have popped the bombmaker out of spite. If anything, he'd have found a way to get them both out, despite the odds stacked way against him.) This is the way Bond is supposed to look and act. The relationship between him and Kara is also well-developed, though Bond/Vesper is about equal. TLD gets a nudge because she doesn't die. And there's a reason for this Bond to be jaded. That's my only quibble with the Craig series. Dalton injected the dark side and bitterness of the Fleming Bond into his performance, but it was in spurts. Even the ultra-dark LTK ebbs and flows, Dalton's not bitter and pissed the whole time, no matter what the people who hate it say. In the Craig series, Bond's going to be a drunken, suicidal mess on a psychiatrist's couch by the 5th film. I can't see any of the other Bonds getting accidentally shot and then playing dead for awhile.
Or do they all, each in different ways?
Dr. No started it all. It introduced the character with no baggage. This is a cool guy, doing cool things. You can't help but like him. TLD presents a Bond who's starting to be sullied by the endless killing, yet still digs deep because, if he doesn't do it, who will? CR allows us to see Bond grow, but it does pack on the cynicism a little strong, and a little fast.
Are any of them so iconic you can't be objective?
No. All three are about equal. TLD gets the tops because The story is good, the supporting cast is good, Dalton's Aston Martin is the best in the series, and Dalton himself gives us a multifaceted James Bond. We are with this guy, but we understand his bitterness.
And... are you pissed that I didn't include OHMSS, LALD or GE in this topic?
No. They're good also, but only OHMSS offers the complexity of the three films already mentioned, and it's hampered by a Bond that doesn't add much to what we know about the character until the very end.
Omg. At last, an acknowledgement that GE saved the series! It did!!!
Without GE and Brosnan there wouldn't be the successes that we have today IMHO.
I even think that if GE had been made in 1991 with Tim Dalton, it would have been the final Bond film ever...imagine that! I am not a Dalton basher, LTK is in my top five btw!
Fans should respect whet Brosnan did and love him for it. I mean, GE w tremendous back in 1995, remember how excited you were back then????
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
You know what...I do remember...and I really enjoyed it at the time...and it DID save the series, no question...but I do find chunks of it boring now...