Realistic Bond Films and Ridiculous Bond Films

Brosnan_fan · October 2015

NOTE: THIS IS NOT a duplicate thread of "Most Serious Bond Films to Most Silly Bond Films."

"Realistic" is not meant to highten the standings of a Bond film, nor is "Ridiculous" meant to diminish another's entertainment value.

Example 1 - DN has a very serious tone overall, but with a villain with metal hands, it would definitely be a rather ridiculous film.
Example 2 - OP is campy, has Moore imitating Tarzan, and dressed in a clown suit, but overall it is quite a realistic film.

Simply put, what IYO, are the most realistic films, and most ridiculous films (both of which characterised story-wise, as opposed to tone-wise)?

I would say:

Realistic Bond Films:

1. FRWL
2. FYEO
3. OP
4. TLD
5. OHMSS

HM to TMWTGG. LTK could have just snuck in there, but the part with the tanker trucks is rather ridiculous.

Ridiculous Bond Films:

1. MR
2. DAD
3. YOLT
4. DAF
5. TSWLM

Absolutely_Cart · October 2015

You do make a good point. A film like Octopussy or Live and Let Die may be silly in tone, but the plots are very realistic.

Matt S · October 2015

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

You do make a good point. A film like Octopussy or Live and Let Die may be silly in tone, but the plots are very realistic.

It's implied that Solitaire is a true psychic, and Baron Samedi actually cannot die. That puts it more into the unrealistic.

chrisisall · October 2015

MR is the most ridiculous, FRWL is the most realistic, the rest are at degrees in between.

HatThrowingHenchman · October 2015

I'm waiting for the DAD bashing... 8-)

Thunderpussy · October 2015

Keep that bashing up and they'll go blind !

)

chrisisall · October 2015

Eaiting DAD bashing will make you sick.

Wadsy · October 2015

Most realistic:

1. For Your Eyes Only
2. From Russia With Love
3. The Living Daylights
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. Licence To Kill
6. Octopussy

Most ridiculous:

1. Moonraker
2. Diamonds Are Forever
3. Die Another Day
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. You Only Live Twice

Lewis Gilbert gets the pick for most unrealistic Bond films, but I love TSWLM and MR even so...
John Glen gets the vote for most realistic, and I love all five of the films he directed.
4.

chrisisall · October 2015

Wadsy wrote:

Most realistic:

1. For Your Eyes Only
2. From Russia With Love
3. The Living Daylights
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. Licence To Kill
6. Octopussy

Most ridiculous:

1. Moonraker
2. Diamonds Are Forever
3. Die Another Day
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. You Only Live Twice

Lewis Gilbert gets the pick for most unrealistic Bond films, but I love TSWLM and MR even so...
John Glen gets the vote for most realistic, and I love all five of the films he directed.

Good list IMO. And out of all the directors, Glen was the most consistently entertaining for me. Beach Boy cover & Tarzan yell aside, of course.

Wadsy · October 2015

Definitely, and I love AVTAK despite the things people hate about it. The only things I disliked about the movie were Roger Moore's age and the stunt doubles. Moore's age obviously didn't ruin it, it just could have been better and if Dalton had started with this one then AVTAK may likely have been my favorite of the entire series.

chrisisall · October 2015

Wadsy wrote:

it just could have been better and if Dalton had started with this one then AVTAK may likely have been my favorite of the entire series.

Agreed! {[]

Sir Hillary Bray · October 2015

For me, any film with a global criminal outfit like SPECTRE (with operatives known as Number 1, Number 2, etc.) disqualifies it as realistic. So, my most realistic are FYEO, LTK, TLD and OP. I'll go with Wadsy's five most ridiculous.

Gala Brand · October 2015

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

For me, any film with a global criminal outfit like SPECTRE (with operatives known as Number 1, Number 2, etc.) disqualifies it as realistic. So, my most realistic are FYEO, LTK, TLD and OP. I'll go with Wadsy's five most ridiculous.

Because it's just not realistic to think there could be an international terrorist organization with a hierarchical structure and a billionaire leader who hides out in an underground lair in the Afghan mountains where he would direct a terror attack that kills 3,000 people.

Oh, wait a minute.

Sir Hillary Bray · October 2015

Gala Brand wrote:

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

For me, any film with a global criminal outfit like SPECTRE (with operatives known as Number 1, Number 2, etc.) disqualifies it as realistic. So, my most realistic are FYEO, LTK, TLD and OP. I'll go with Wadsy's five most ridiculous.

Because it's just not realistic to think there could be an international terrorist organization with a hierarchical structure and a billionaire leader who hides out in an underground lair in the Afghan mountains where he would direct a terror attack that kills 3,000 people.

Oh, wait a minute.

I suppose perhaps there is one, but I don't really see a parallel between SPECTRE -- who liked to cultivate a veneer of sophistication, play world powers off against one another, steal bombs for ransom and, most importantly, had no ideological agenda other than money -- and a bunch of Islamo-nazis like Al Qaeda, well-financed as they were/are.

Oh, and one other thing. Having seen the second plane fly directly over my head into the South Tower, having acquaintances who died in those buildings, and to this day having the memories seared so deeply into my brain that I can recite them literally in real time, you'll forgive me if I insist that you take your sarcasm, roll it up like a tube, and abuse yourself hard with it. PM me if you need further instructions.

chrisisall · October 2015

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

Oh, and one other thing. Having seen the second plane fly directly over my head into the South Tower, having acquaintances who died in those buildings, and to this day having the memories seared so deeply into my brain that I can recite them literally in real time, you'll forgive me if I insist that you take your sarcasm, roll it up like a tube, and abuse yourself hard with it.

I understand this sentiment. You must have been standing mere hundreds of feet from my brother in law.

Barbel · October 2015

As Sir Hillary says, any more on this sensitive subject should be taken to PMs.

Gala Brand · October 2015

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

Gala Brand wrote:

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

For me, any film with a global criminal outfit like SPECTRE (with operatives known as Number 1, Number 2, etc.) disqualifies it as realistic. So, my most realistic are FYEO, LTK, TLD and OP. I'll go with Wadsy's five most ridiculous.

Because it's just not realistic to think there could be an international terrorist organization with a hierarchical structure and a billionaire leader who hides out in an underground lair in the Afghan mountains where he would direct a terror attack that kills 3,000 people.

Oh, wait a minute.

I suppose perhaps there is one, but I don't really see a parallel between SPECTRE -- who liked to cultivate a veneer of sophistication, play world powers off against one another, steal bombs for ransom and, most importantly, had no ideological agenda other than money -- and a bunch of Islamo-nazis like Al Qaeda, well-financed as they were/are.

Oh, and one other thing. Having seen the second plane fly directly over my head into the South Tower, having acquaintances who died in those buildings, and to this day having the memories seared so deeply into my brain that I can recite them literally in real time, you'll forgive me if I insist that you take your sarcasm, roll it up like a tube, and abuse yourself hard with it. PM me if you need further instructions.

I wasn't being sarcastic. I was pointing out the real world had caught up with the Bond universe, something that EON has being dealing with since 9/11.

I could otherwise respond in kind but I won't bother.

Barbel · October 2015

...and that's right of reply. No more on this unless by PM.

Realistic Bond Films and Ridiculous Bond Films

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