Semi-Detailed Bond Rankings

My Little 0ctopussy

Hi guys! I've spent almost the last year, on and off, evaluating the entire Bond series of films. I've created a pretty lengthy article ranking them and looking at their attributes and thought you might enjoy!

http://bondrankings.wordpress.com/

(I hope that URL posted correctly)

This board has been instrumental in inspiring me to undertake such an endeavor, and it was certainly fun. Just thought some of you might enjoy perusing through this list---It also includes a video clip with each entry.

chrisisall

TSWLM #1? ) You musht be joking.

DieAnotherDay

Die Another #22 there must be some sort of mistake here! :v

DEFIANT 74205

My Little 0ctopussy wrote:

Hi guys! I've spent almost the last year, on and off, evaluating the entire Bond series of films. I've created a pretty lengthy article ranking them and looking at their attributes and thought you might enjoy!

http://bondrankings.wordpress.com/

(I hope that URL posted correctly)

This board has been instrumental in inspiring me to undertake such an endeavor, and it was certainly fun. Just thought some of you might enjoy perusing through this list---It also includes a video clip with each entry.

While I certainly do not agree with your rankings, you did a very good job in compiling a blog and providing a detailed review.

chrisisall

DEFIANT 74205 wrote:

While I certainly do not agree with your rankings, you did a very good job in compiling a blog and providing a detailed review.

Yes, a good amount of work went into it- fine job!

Thunderpussy

Wonderful bit of work, only someone who really loves the Bond films would
go to all that trouble. ) don't agree with all your rankings but a very
entrrtaining read. -{

Sir Hillary Bray

Great job, My Little 0ctopussy! {[]

screename

Interesting post. I think that how someone was introduced to the Bond franchise has a lot to do with how their preferences develop. My first film was OHMSS, then I watched all the Connery Films, then TMWTGG, then CR and QoS, Then TLD, then all the moore films and LTK. Since My first films were the more realistic and gritty ones (For the 1960's) I naturally dislike Moore. But you watched mostly Moore films, so it makes sense that you enjoy them.

chrisisall

screename wrote:

Since My first films were the more realistic and gritty ones (For the 1960's) I naturally dislike Moore. But you watched mostly Moore films, so it makes sense that you enjoy them.

I started with DAF & LALD... then saw Connery revivals during Moore's period. I liked Dalton but loved Brosnan. About this time I read all of Fleming. Reading Fleming put a whole new light on Bond for me, and now Dalton is my fave. But with a couple of exceptions, I enjoy all the Bond movies.

screename

That's true! Reading the books really does change perception, now I can't really watch Brosnan with telling myself "Now this is simply a reimagining of the character with very little roots to the original source material." And I don't watch Moore that much anyway, besides TMWTGG, AVTAK, and FYEO.

Firemass

My Little 0ctopussy wrote:

Hi guys! I've spent almost the last year, on and off, evaluating the entire Bond series of films. I've created a pretty lengthy article ranking them and looking at their attributes and thought you might enjoy!

http://bondrankings.wordpress.com/

(I hope that URL posted correctly)

This board has been instrumental in inspiring me to undertake such an endeavor, and it was certainly fun. Just thought some of you might enjoy perusing through this list---It also includes a video clip with each entry.

I really enjoyed reading your intro and admire your detailed notes, however I am disappointed with how your list actually turned out. Mainly because we have an almost identical backstory in terms of getting hooked on Bond. Product of the 80's, seeing Goldeneye in the theatre was a big thrill. Moore is my favorite, but I consider Brosnan to be the best overall 007. etc etc

I don't know you, but I can sense your list doesn't truly reflect your honest opinions and I suspect you have been swayed by popular opinion. The reason I say that is some of your choices feel very mainstream and I was hoping for more of a revisionist outlook on the series. Perhaps I had the wrong expectations, but I was really rooting for you while reading the intro, but it all kinda fell apart as I scrolled down your list.

These are some of the "common truths" among Bond fans which I find to be a total load of bull:

1. QoS is the WORST Bond film ever.
2. Skyfall and CR are among the greatest ever.
3. Moonraker and AVTAK are at the bottom of the pile.
4. Lazenby's Bond was a more human, sensitive Bond with feelings.
5. FYEO is the 2nd Best Roger Moore film!
6. Never Say Never Again is rubbish
7. Goldeneye is BY FAR the best of the Brosnan Bonds. Infact it's the ONLY good one that he did!


But hey at least you got one thing right: The Spy Who Loved Me is the greatest Bond film of all time. -{

DEFIANT 74205

Firemass wrote:

I really enjoyed reading your intro and admire your detailed notes, however I am disappointed with how your list actually turned out. Mainly because we have an almost identical backstory in terms of getting hooked on Bond. Product of the 80's, seeing Goldeneye in the theatre was a big thrill. Moore is my favorite, but I consider Brosnan to be the best overall 007. etc etc

I don't believe that the backstory has anything to do with a person's preference at all, and personally, to say that the poster was "swayed" by popular opinion and that the list didn't reflect the poster's true opinion is, I think, a little insulting. I, too, was born in the 1980s. The first Bond film I saw at the cinema was also GoldenEye. The Man With the Golden Gun was the first Bond I saw. But I guess the difference is that I was fed a diet of Connery Bonds and the Fleming novels before I went to see GoldenEye at the ripe old age of 14 at the time. Does that mean all of us who were born in the 1980s should hold the same (or at least similar) opinions? I think not.

As for your "common truths" with which you disagree:

1. No, I didn't think Quantum of Solace was the worst Bond film ever.
2. Skyfall and Casino Royale were very good, but among the greatest ever? Probably not.
3. Absolutely agree.
4. I agree with that too.
5. For Your Eyes Only is THE best Roger Moore Bond film, by a long way. Not the second best, THE best.
6. Never Say Never Again was pretty bad, but not THAT bad
7. I agree with that too - at least the part about it being Brosnan's best. Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough are worth watching too, but isn't as good as Goldeneye.

The Spy Who Loved Me the greatest? I think you've had too many Vespers. -{ -{ -{ -{ -{ -{

My Little 0ctopussy

"I don't know you, but I can sense your list doesn't truly reflect your honest opinions and I suspect you have been swayed by popular opinion. The reason I say that is some of your choices feel very mainstream and I was hoping for more of a revisionist outlook on the series."

First off, thanks so much for posting on the thread! I'm loving the feedback so far from everyone, as well as their own views.

As to your point, I can assure you that my rankings completely and without reservations reflect how good I think each movie is in relation to the others. I put too much time, effort and analysis into this process for it to be anything but completely genuine.

The fault may be mine in the intro somewhere. There must be some disjoint, although I'm not seeing it. Looking back over my intro, I don't see where anything I wrote is contradictory to the rankings or the individual movies' analyses.

I write that I consider myself a contrarian Bond fan, although I go through the reasons that is, and I think that's reflected in the rankings: i.e. my "elite eight" of Bond films does not include one many consider among the best---"From Russia With Love"; I've got two Moores in my top 8. I've got two Craigs in my top 5, although both have been battered quite a bit in popular opinion over the last couple of years (this is addressed in the analysis); I've rewarded movies like "License To Kill" and "Live and Let Die" for daring to be different, even if there were some flaws.

My views may be "mainstream" when compared to some on this board (I've seen some great contrarian Bond fans at AJB), although I think in the main vein of the Bond universe, my views and rankings are off of the mainstream path. I mean, look at my number one. Heck, look at my number two.

In any case, thanks so much for reading through! Having put so much time into this project, I'm so glad to see so much feedback so far. Keep it coming, everyone! : )

My Little 0ctopussy

DEFIANT 74205 wrote:

Firemass wrote:

I really enjoyed reading your intro and admire your detailed notes, however I am disappointed with how your list actually turned out. Mainly because we have an almost identical backstory in terms of getting hooked on Bond. Product of the 80's, seeing Goldeneye in the theatre was a big thrill. Moore is my favorite, but I consider Brosnan to be the best overall 007. etc etc

...As for your "common truths" with which you disagree:
1. No, I didn't think Quantum of Solace was the worst Bond film ever.
2. Skyfall and Casino Royale were very good, but among the greatest ever? Probably not.
3. Absolutely agree.
4. I agree with that too.
5. For Your Eyes Only is THE best Roger Moore Bond film, by a long way. Not the second best, THE best.
6. Never Say Never Again was pretty bad, but not THAT bad
7. I agree with that too - at least the part about it being Brosnan's best. Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough are worth watching too, but isn't as good as Goldeneye.

The Spy Who Loved Me the greatest? I think you've had too many Vespers. -{ -{ -{ -{ -{ -{

Love the "Common Truths" lists thrown down by Firemass and Defiant! I agree with many of them. As reflected in my analyses, I like AVTAK and Moonraker quite a bit. The first half of Moonraker is a masterpiece in the unraveling of a mystery. A View To A Kill, although I believe it missed out on some major opportunities, still presented a very entertaining BIG storyline for Bond fans to sink their teeth into.

For Your Eyes Only is an excellent movie, and I would never begrudge someone who put it as Moore's best. The World Is Not Enough is very underrated and is a quite good movie. As is mentioned in my rankings, a favorite saying of mine as it relates to Bond movies is---Watch it again. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I think many Bond fans would benefit from that.

I'm loving the idea of creating "Common Truths" lists, either in this thread or another one. I think I'll contribute one of my own here soon

screename

Firemass wrote:

My Little 0ctopussy wrote:

Hi guys! I've spent almost the last year, on and off, evaluating the entire Bond series of films. I've created a pretty lengthy article ranking them and looking at their attributes and thought you might enjoy!

http://bondrankings.wordpress.com/

(I hope that URL posted correctly)

This board has been instrumental in inspiring me to undertake such an endeavor, and it was certainly fun. Just thought some of you might enjoy perusing through this list---It also includes a video clip with each entry.

I really enjoyed reading your intro and admire your detailed notes, however I am disappointed with how your list actually turned out. Mainly because we have an almost identical backstory in terms of getting hooked on Bond. Product of the 80's, seeing Goldeneye in the theatre was a big thrill. Moore is my favorite, but I consider Brosnan to be the best overall 007. etc etc

I don't know you, but I can sense your list doesn't truly reflect your honest opinions and I suspect you have been swayed by popular opinion. The reason I say that is some of your choices feel very mainstream and I was hoping for more of a revisionist outlook on the series. Perhaps I had the wrong expectations, but I was really rooting for you while reading the intro, but it all kinda fell apart as I scrolled down your list.

These are some of the "common truths" among Bond fans which I find to be a total load of bull:

1. QoS is the WORST Bond film ever.
2. Skyfall and CR are among the greatest ever.
3. Moonraker and AVTAK are at the bottom of the pile.
4. Lazenby's Bond was a more human, sensitive Bond with feelings.
5. FYEO is the 2nd Best Roger Moore film!
6. Never Say Never Again is rubbish
7. Goldeneye is BY FAR the best of the Brosnan Bonds. Infact it's the ONLY good one that he did!


But hey at least you got one thing right: The Spy Who Loved Me is the greatest Bond film of all time. -{

I disagree with everyone of those, they should go more as follows.
1: QoS is not the best, but maybe third best Bond film (even though my personal favorite)
2: Skyfall is among the worst and CR is THE best film.
3: Moonraker is at the bottom of the pile while AVTAK is Rodgers third best
4: Lazenby was bad.
5: FYEO is the best Moore film
6: I agree with this one, though it was very entertaining.
7: Goldeneye is Brosnan's worst Bond and should have gone through many more revisions.

Thunderpussy

) no two Bond fans will ever agree on everything, and that's a beautiful thing. )

Peppermill

“Yup, Goldmember number one, Moonraker last.”

Did you do that on purpose? )

I have just started reading but I have to thank you no matter if I agree with your list or not. Thanks for taking the time and effort to do this!

Mr Mallory

I can't believe anyone would think QOS was the worst Bond film.

chrisisall

Mr Mallory wrote:

I can't believe anyone would think QOS was the worst Bond film.

There are so many.
It's my favourite from Craig, and pretty high on my list.

Thunderpussy

From re-reading the Books I've changed my opinion on QOS, from one of hatred to gradual acceptance and now
to liking it a lot ( except that theme song I'm not that crazy ) )
I'd recommend everyone to read the books to get a good grounding on the character of Bond. -{

screename

Thunderpussy wrote:

From re-reading the Books I've changed my opinion on QOS, from one of hatred to gradual acceptance and now
to liking it a lot ( except that theme song I'm not that crazy ) )
I'd recommend everyone to read the books to get a good grounding on the character of Bond. -{

Exactly my transformation! This review also helped a lot. http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/40707/best-review-of-qos-i-ever-read/

MooseWithFleas

Great post and list. Obviously every fan will find some discrepancy between your ranking and their own; however, reading your reasoning and descriptions was the fun part and a very enjoyable read. Nice work -{

DieAnotherDay

Got to love Wynn and Kint )

Agent 00 Frog

I actually agreed with a fair amount of your choices! Great reading it all, thanks for sharing your hard work.

Blackleiter

Nice job putting that post together, My Little Octopussy. I think you give a very thoughtful and interesting analysis for your choices, although being a solid "Connery man" and not very enthused about the Roger Moore era, I disagree with much of what you have to say. Still, it's great to see a fan such as yourself who is willing to spend the time sharing your perspective. Please, keep it up! -{