worst bond film of alltime tmwtgg or avtak ?
harryseeds
Posts: 16MI6 Agent
allways fun to throw in the worst Bond debate And I am sure we will get some DAD votes cause some people have strong feelings on that one, but I would say through my own experience most people put either TMWTGG OR AVTAK at the bottom. I know some people hate LTK as well but I personally really enjoyed that one so lets have at. As for me I would say TMWTGG, but not by much over AVTAK. Maybe Jenny Flex saves AVTAK from hitting the bottom rung {[]:):):):)
Comments
(TMWTGG gets my vote!)
For me it's LTK (too dark, too gritty, too violent, no humor, mundane plot, and generally depressing). Dalton truly was the melancholy Bond in this one.
AVTAK is a disrespectable second (sorry JFF). For me it was ruined by the terrifying Grace Jones ( what were they thinking ) and a creaky Roger Moore who was just way too old here (don't get me wrong, I love Roger but facts are facts).
As for TMWTGG, I always thought it was a fun movie that had a lot going for it. The struggle between Bond and Scaramanga was not milked as it should have been but the babes, the stunts, the scenery, and the great Christopher Lee make this a very watchable film for me.
Okay, first of all in my opinion of course TMWTGG is the worse than AVTAK but I don't consider it the worst of all time (that honor goes to LTK).
However, AVTAK has many elements that make it way better than TMWTGG and that element isn't just Jenny Flex (though it's certainly a big part of it). I'll take you through an extensive walkthrough of AVTAK just to prove that AVTAK is way better (and I mean WAY better than TMWTGG).
Dun dun DUNN, dun dun DUUUN, da-da da-da-da, the gunbarrel rolls on and our Bond of the 70s and 80s, Roger Moore walks in to shoot the bad guy!
The gunbarrel fades to Arctic Russia where we find Bond skiing across the tundra to find the body of his fallen comrade, 003 who had stolen a microchip from a secret microchip research center. However, the Russian army doesn't want this microchip to fall into the wrong hands and they've rounded up a sizeable chunk of men to stop Bond dead in his tracks, literally.
Bond finds the chip but the Russian soldier finds Bond and a memorable chase ensues all over the Russian tundra leaving Bond relying on his own wits rather than any gadgets. First, he uses his bungee cord to take a Russian off of the snowmobile which he commandeers but the helicopter takes it down. Now, he must figure out what to do again and he snowboards down the hills on it.
By the way, AVTAK sparked the interest in snowboarding for having one of the first moments in movies so whoever likes snowboarding, thank AVTAK.
This aside, he comes down the mountains to "California Girls" perhaps eluding to Stacey Sutton in the later half of the movie. Bond is cornered by the chopper again and he gets out his emergency flare to destroy the helicopter, where it crashes and explodes into smithereens.
A new creative attempt in an incognito sort of transport is a submarine disguised as an iceberg (well done, Q!) piloted by the stunning Miss World Mary Stavin, (aka Kimberley Jones). Bond emerges inside and seduces her while it drives off toward Alaska in only five days.
Duran Duran's theme tune kicks in, with a slew of silhouetted naked women dancing around in an 80s type background which really works with the song. (Though I think they could've synched it up better with the music, but oh well) as it ends we find ourselves outside MI6 HQ with a parade taking place outside the establishment. Enter Bond with his normal banter with Moneypenny (played by last-timer Lois Maxwell) which is cut short by a worried M (Robert Brown) as Bond is rushed into the briefing room. Roger Moore has another one liner.
"A new pet Q?" Referring to the SNOOPER Surveillance Machine. They explain how the microchip (which contradicts GoldenEye's plot, but hey, through the whole Dalton debacle I think people would've forgotten this small tidbit) Bond brought back from Siberia is identical to the one England's private defense contractors, Zorin Industries are one in the same. To get a heads up on Zorin, they head off to the Ascot Races.
"COME ON FLUKE! MOVE YOUR ACH!" Moneypenny cries after we see the beautiful lawns of the Ascot racetrack come into view. We cut to Bond and M talking about Zorin and May Day, basic things about them, Zorin is from Dresden and fled from there in the 60s and he made his first millions in oil and gas trading. Now he's the second (to Silicon Valley) in electronics and high tech. May Day is a mysterious one though, with sketchy details about her. It turns out Zorin's horse, Pegasus wins the race but goes absolutely crazy after Zorin is presented with the trophy and May Day calms him down. "Steady Pegasus, steady!"
"She must take a lot of vitamins!"
"Perhaps Pegasus does too!"
Tibbett (played by Patrick Macnee aka John Steed) has a friend in a private detective agency named Aubergine (Jean Rougerie) who is going to investigate the sale at Zorin's stud farm at Chantilly. M asks Tibbet to set up an appointment with this man in the Eiffel Tower in which they will meet following day.
Coming Soon: Part II: Paris and Chantilly
With NSNA, it's gotta be NSNA. It's just awful: terrible music, no gunbarrel, Connery's way too old, Leiter was black, the guys playing Q and M were terrible, it was just awful.
JFF I MEAN THIS IN THE MOST SINCERE WAY GET HELP NOW PLEASE FOR YOU OWN WELL BEING. AVTAK SUCKS WHY DO YOU MEMORIZE IT CALIFORN GIRLS WAS LAME.
MOORE WAS JUST FLAT OUT OLD
DURAN DURAN SINGS THE SONG OUT OF KEY AND JUST PLAIN SUCKS
AND JENNY FLEX/ WELL YA SHE WAS HOT BUT NOT THAT HOT. MUST REVIZE AVTAK IS WORSE THAN TMWTGG AND LTK IS 10 TIMES BETTER THAN AVTAK. AVTAK IS BOND AT ITS WORST
OLD
UNINSPIRED
REDUNDANT
AND JUST PLAIN TIRED
AND YES I WILL SAY WORST
NOT LEAST FAVORABLE
SO BRING ON YOU REBUTTLE JFF
SORRY IF YOU DONT LIKE REBUTTLES AS STRONG AS YOUR RESPONSES, BECAUSE NOBODY WRITES A 4 TO 5 PARAGRAPH REBUTTLE, IN RESPONSE TO A TWO SENTANCE QUESTION, UNLESS THE INTEND TO BULLY THEIR OPINIONS ONTO SOMEONE ELSE
AMAZING YOU FIND THREE LINES OF CAPITAL LETTERING ( WHICH UNLIKE THIS TIME WAS AN ACCIDENT )OFFENSIVE ,BUT 5 PARAGRAPHS NOT
GO FIGURE
Perhaps JFF simply likes writing long posts.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I agree with Klaus on both counts, NSNA is THE worst Bond movie of all time and MR is the worst "official" Bond movie.
As for TMWTGG, I think that movie is better than most folks think and has several redeeming qualities. Good Bond girls, good villian, Moore in good form, an appropriate plot for its time, a nice twist on the henchman and several nice locations. If it was me I would have tossed the sheriff, title song, and Bond being saved by little girls. I also would have made the ending battle between Scaramanga and Bond a little more exciting.
I agree with you Barry. I think TMWTGG gets an unjustified bad rap. Its not the best movie, but it does have plenty of redeeming features.
Lee was excellent as Scaramanga, a villain who was more on a par with Bond than any others, making him, IMO, sinister. Maud Adams and Britt Ekland were suitably glamorous as were the locations. Nick Nack was an interesting henchman going the complete opposites to the man mountains Bond usually faces and the story is rather plot driven and doesn't rely too much on gadgets. It also has one of my favourite Bond lines
M - "It's even got your number on it"
007 - "I mean who would want me dead?"
M - "Jealous husbands, Outraged chefs, Humiliated tailors the list is endless!"
There are negatives however. It can be slow in parts and Goodnight is just way too stupid to be an agent. It also has the appalling Sheriff J.W. Pepper returning. Why, I do not know. He was awful in LALD.
The biggest problem with MWTGG though is the ending. The eventual showdown with Bond and Scaramanga is a let down, a real anti climax. Some more work required there for sure.
As for my worst, will have to go with AVTAK.
Moonraker I actually like even though it has a ludicrous plot. I just adore Micheal Lonsdale so that compensates for an awful lot, though Dolly and Jaws nearly tipped the balance. DAF I also enjoy very much so, AVTAK it is.
AVTAK as previously mentioned has many faults. A too old Roger, dreadful Tanya Roberts and Grace Jones, but the biggest crime of all was wasting the fabulous Christopher Walken in such an awful film.
I get the least amount of joy watching DAF...the only part I tend to enjoy is Bond's repelling outside Willard Whyte/Blofeld's penthouse. For me the sets are uninteresting, the story is uneven, and the action is almost non-existent.
Still, my 3 least favourites are Moore's:
LALD
TMWTGG
AVTAK
In a humble view point, TND would be my least favorite film, mainly because there is simply not a single major cast member who I really care for.
Media mogul villain, journalism is his weapon, (yawn)-- one henchman taken from the lumber yard, two Bond girls that personally aren't my cup of tea. A corn ball title track bringing out the martinis and guns, and one of the worst names ever combine into a drab and painfully loud cliche central. It's a bland 90s remake of TSWLM. (all that dialogue about thinking with your balls, this has thrashed me into shape.. 8-)
If it wasn't for the terrific Q and vodka scenes, it would have nothing for this fan at all.
And I just realized something else - these great villains both have two of the worst henchmen in the entire series (Nick Nack and May Day).
I loved AVTAK at the time, sleaker, cooler than OP and unpretentious.
It's still DAD for me, smashes the franchise wide open, but then Tamorahi has a knack of doing that...
Worst at the time:
TMWTGG: didn't realise you could have a bad Bond film until then, but it wasn't the latest Bond at the time, so less raw
NSNA: disappointment of Connery return in shabby imitation of EON flicks
DAD: shaking head for two hours after, couldn't get head round it at all
And all the others as runner up like TLD, GE, TND or OHMSS which don't quite make the mark or seemed a bit odd...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I don't like my henchmen turning traitor and teaming up with Bond. (You think everyone would have learned their lesson from Jaws in MR.)
Goldfinger betrayed Oddjob and he remained loyal! That's the way to do it!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
But I also like Max Zorin's laugh just before he falls to his death.
"worst bond film of alltime tmwtgg or avtak?"
When i first saw that topic title i was really offended!
They are my favorite bond films. The Man With The Golden Gun is my favorite bond movie of all and i liked a view to a kill too. They were intresting and exighting!
I was almost about to lets my emotions get the best of my and tell him off, untill i realised by reading his post that he/she did have an oppen mind. which is kl! It's best to aproch descusions with an open mind (but i guess you should be telling mt that).:p
Anyway... hears my opinion:
my favorites are tmwtgg and the one where bond is aobut to marry someone but she gets shot at the end of the movie.
my vote for the worst film goes to Die Another Day. It just doen't seem to have the same "spy atmosphere" that the other bond movies had. And it was a bit cheesy and bond was too much like a super-hero.
There are plenty here who loathe DAD, you're in good company here!
The film where he gets married in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) with George Lazenby...
Roger Moore 1927-2017
DAF's in my top three and always has been, though its position varies from time to time. John Barry, Mr Wint & Mr Kidd, Lana Wood, Connery's relaxed performance... I'm not blind to its faults (an extended cut would help the story problems; the special effects are hardly special; the ending is weak. Etc, etc, etc) but I love it anyway.
I thought about changing my user name to PlentyO'TooleFan but that may lead to misunderstandings ...
The major reason why I consider AVTAK to be the worst film is that IMO it ripps-off GF (my favoirite film) and doesn't offer anything to the table that is unique. I consider TLD to have been the second worst film as I find every element (performance, script, action scenes, humour) to be below par and I can not think o any redeeming qualities. I'm not a Dalton fan but I actually think that TLD would have been a disappointing film (like AVTAK and DAD) regardless of whom played the lead. Although Dalton IMO made it far worse. DAD is my third least favourite film for reasons that I probably do not need to get into.
But TMWTGG -- I just loathe. I find it an unattractive looking, silly (wedgied sumo wrestlers, schoolgirls saving Bond, Pepper, the biggest moron of the series- Goodnight etc ), and worst of all very unpleasant. I really dislike Roger's Bond in the film, and even the scene with M and Q is mean spirited. Lee is very good, but he's not enough to make me enjoy the film. But he's good enough and Roger's Bond is unlikeable enough that I actually root for Scaramanga to shoot him.
MBE
When I was a wee little man, TMWTGG was actually one of my favorite Bond movies. I found it to be very entertaining. As time has gone on, and I've gained a new (not necessarily greater, but very different) appreciation for Bond, it has definitely gone down on the list.
I think the premise of the story, as is the case with at least four Moore films (LALD, FYEO, and OP, in addition to TMWTGG), brings the potential of the film to be one of the very best in the franchise if done in a darker, more serious light. But the excessive silliness (the sheriff, who meets up with Bond again in Thailand of all places; the bridge stunt; Nick-Nack's OTT treatment; the setting for the assassin matches; and on and on) just detracts too much from it. I actually think Moore was pretty good in this one, as he was in LALD, but his silly performances in later films really tarnishes his Bond in my book.
TMWTGG is definitely an entertaining film, but it falls so short of its potential.
Conversely,The Spy Who Loved Me(more fantastic than Die Another Day) and Moonraker are equally ridiculous movies,but along with Octopussy, they're still guilty pleasures for me.Compared to the other intentionally silly Bond films of the 70s and 80s, they have stronger screenplays and are played with a slightly more serious approach-- despite their unbelievable situations.There's a trace of Fleming's 007 in these--not much but something, and that's better than nothing.
In the end it all becomes a matter of individual taste.:)
I may rate DAF as my least favorite Bond film, but there are still things about it that I enjoy!
What amazes me that the series offers such a wide diversity of movies, that different films appeal to the large spectrum of preferences of everyone here!