In 2008 I saw the recent version of Casino Royale for the first time. The result was an interest in the James Bond series for me.In April 2009 I began going over the James Bond series. I began with Dr. No and concluded with A View to a Kill. Included in this was the non-Eon production Never Say Never Again.
I wrapped the series up the same month with the option of watching the rest later. Over the next few months I went over the next four films in the series The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Goldeneye, and Tomorrow Never Dies. The previous 2 weeks I have decided to finish the series by watching the uncut versions of the previously mentioned films while going back over On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me, and A View to a Kill and seeing The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Quantum of Solace, the 1954 made for tv film Casino Royale, and the 1967 parody of the priorly mentioned film. A few months went by and I decided to give the first 15 Bond films a do-over since I hadn't seen most of them in a while and I felt the Moore films weren't given a fair chance.
So here's a revised ranking of my favorite Bond films, girls, Bonds, villians, and theme songs.
Films(non EON included):
1.Licence to Kill-This is what Ian Fleming had in mind when it came to James Bond. I know fans of the series typically dislike it but Bond here is at its toughest. I'm happy to see a vengeance plot for a Bond film because it was overdue by then. Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez makes for a BAMF villain.
2.You Only Live Twice-Some criticize this as the downhill slope of the Bond series. In my view I consider this to be the pinnacle of the Connery/Lazenby/Moore era. Sean Connery does a fantastic job and the payoff is reveal of Blofeld. 1960's Japan makes it even more fun.
3.The Living Daylights-This was a turn in the right direction for the series. A View to a Kill was the pit of the series and this film brought it back from the grave it was about to hit. The plotline makes this film. What hurt is though is the lack of a strong central villain. We're presented with 3 antagonists:Brad Whitaker, Necros, and Koskov. Koskov is a pretty fun guy and a typical asshole but doesn't make for the strong antagonist. Necros is a good henchman but doesn't really do much. What throws me off is that Whitaker is supposed to be the main antagonist. Joe Don Baker for once does a great job in a film. In my opinion they should've done more with Whitaker; but the plotline, Timothy Dalton, and the very beautiful Kara Milovy save it.
4.From Russia with Love-I didn't like it the first time around. However upon second viewing I consider it to be a great edition in the series. It was a vast improvement over Dr. No. Tatiana Romanova is the best Bond girl of the Connery films hands down. Red Grant makes for a very perfect and capable antagonist to Bond and Rosa Klebb is what every Bond female villain should be modeled after.
5.On Her Majesty's Secret Service-This is another film I didn't like the first time around. However after viewing it again I've come to love it. While I dislike Blofeld's scheme I do like the story with Bond and Tracy. What hurts this film though is that the lighting is extremely poor at times and George Lazenby aside from one scene is just bad. Otherwise I enjoy the music, I enjoy the acting(not Lazneby's however), I enjoy the plotline(the Bond/Tracy one not Blofeld's scheme), and I enjoy this film. Although I don't like Lazenby his final scene makes the movie ironically enough.
6.Goldfinger-It was nice to see Bond come to America, I wish he'd done more there in the 60's. What makes this a good Bond film is that you have a good plotline, a great villain and the film wastes no time getting to the action. My issue is they throw it at an odd spot. In the first two films they were building up SPECTRE but they seem to drop it here. Another factor that hurts it is that it feels very rushed at times and is inferior to the original Fleming story. I recently heard a radio adaptation of Fleming's tale and if its as accurate as they said it is then I feel they missed the boat slightly here. Then again, MPAA censors in the 1960's would've never went for the content of the original novel. Shirley Bassey's song in the beginning helps a lot as well.
7.Goldeneye-For the first time since the Connery days they actually made 3 straight good Bond films. Goldeneye is a classic no matter what anyone says. Pierce Brosnan's Bond isn't as good as Timothy Dalton's but he still does a good job in this film. Sean Bean as 006 is a fantastic antagonist and the Bond humor is very well done here.
8.The World is Not Enough-I'll get some heat for this but I really liked this film. I consider it to be the bizzaro version of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in the sense that Elektra appears to be Tracy, a scared girl who is sad and needs Bond. The twist in the middle makes it more enjoyable. My only issues with this film is that I dislike Renard and that Denise Richards sucks at acting. Otherwise I like the plot, I like Pierce's performance, I like Elektra, and Judi Dench is at her best here.
9.Casino Royale(2006)-As much as I wish it had been done in the 60's, this film was worth the wait. As much as I don't like the new grittier Bond, I feel this is still a good movie. Daniel Craig plays a very good Bond here(the same can't be said for Quantum) and I feel the performances by each of the actors were very well done. Nice to see a faithful Fleming adaptation for a change. Its a very good start to the new series even if I don't like the direction of it.
10.The Man with the Golden Gun-The idea of assassin vs assassin makes this film fun. Scaramanga is a great villain and the perfect rival for Bond. China made for a good setting in this film but its not as fun as a setting as Japan was. My problem with this film is that they don't take it serious and is riddled with the camp that would haunt the series. I have no problem with Scaramanga having a sidekick but Nick Nack was just not a proper choice. I also feel that J.W. Pepper was completely unnecessary. Christopher Lee has one of his best performances here and for once I enjoyed Roger Moore's Bond. I do think however if this was a Connery or Dalton film it would've been better.
11.Diamonds Are Forever-Connery's final outing(well at least to the people at EON). What I liked about this film was the plotline for starters particularly the swerve in the middle. Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd make very good henchmen and I feel they should've been used more in this film. Charles Gray's Blofeld was really odd but I didn't mind it too much. However I take issue with the "Blofeld in drag" scene. They somehow took a threatening and dangerous villain and made him a comedic villain. This film is where we start seeing the campy Bond that plauged cinemas til A View to a Kill. I felt if they took this more serious it would've been in my Top 5. However I will say I liked the humor. Something I can't say about any of the Moore entries.
12.For Your Eyes Only-Ok, I'll admit I was very unfair to this film when I reviewed it 9 months ago. Well just like a new born baby things have changed. I really really liked this movie. Kristatos is not that bad and while I still hate Bibi that doesn't kill it dead. Roger Moore gives his best Bond here and is a total badass. I wouldn't want to mess with Bond in this one. Melina is beautiful and Sheena Easton's voice can hypnotize like a Siren.
13.The Spy Who Loved Me-I don't like saying it but...I enjoyed Roger Moore in this film. Typically I dislike the Moore films but in this case I liked it. Stromberg isn't a bad villain but I particularly don't care for him. Its nice seeing Bond actually working with the Navy for once and XXX is simply beautiful. Jaws is a great henchmen but its absurd that he survives ANYTHING. The action sequences are fun and I wish that they reverted back to being serious after this. Sadly it just got more silly. I do wonder though how different it would've been if they had gone with Blofeld as the villain once more.
14.Thunderball-I will say I liked it better but its still the same to me. It drags at times but the action can be good. Connery does a great job here overall but pacing was a massive issue.
15.Live and Let Die-The opening sequence is rather odd with African-Americans killing random white guy. The title song is good(it is all Paul McCartney so naturally its great by default). But the film suffers for the fact that it just drags at times and Mr. Big makes for a bad Bond villain simply because its obvious who he is. From a 1970's perspective it seems good but in the year 2010 I find it dreadful.
16.Dr. No-Its a start lets put it that way. To this day I'm not sure why they chose Dr. No to start the series. Its not a bad choice and it does establish the standard of Bond films. I didn't like this the 2nd time though as much as I did the first. Dr. No is not a bad villain but he's not as good as the ones who came after. I consider this the equivalent to a TV pilot.
17.Casino Royale(1954)-Yes the only James Bond film in the 50's. Its rather odd looking back as it doesn't resemble the EON series at all. There are times I get the Bond feel to it but I don't like some of the ideas they had. Bond should be British no matter what anyone says. I liked Barry Nelson's performance but I can't ever imagine him playing Bond in the EON series. He tried that's all I can say. Peter Lorre made for a great villain. I liked him as Le Chiffre and while he doesn't fit the mold of an EON Bond villain he still makes for a very capable and strong antagonist. I wonder what a 1950's Bond series would be like.
18.Quantum of Solace-I liked that it wrapped up the story to Casino Royale but I feel that its too short, too dull, and weak in comparison. Dominic Greene is not a threatening villain nor is he a smart villain. My issue with modern antagonists is that they're too weak and too much of a coward. I'm interested in the Quantum storyline but if I see anymore like this, I will cringe. Its just a very bad movie, the title song isn't good, the plotline is okish, and Dominic Greene sucks.
19.Tomorrow Never Dies-The title makes no sense when taken into context. I kinda wish they had gone with the original title Tomorrow Never Lies. I just don't understand EON's obsession with the words "death", "kill", or "die". Teri Hatcher is dreadful but hot. Wai Ling made for a good Bond girl in the sense that she was just as strong and just as dangerous as Bond . She doesn't bend, break, or back down. Elliot Carver is a good villain in general and the plot isn't so unrealistic. However in the end its too campy, Pierce is just bad in this, and I just find it hard to enjoy it.
20.Octopussy-Great choice for a title EON. I mean really? I understand that its the title character of the movie but it just seems like you were getting desperate and figured if it sounded like a porno that it would be more successful. This is when Roger Moore should've left as he is very awful here. Octopussy, herself is a very weak Bond girl. Maud Adams is just wrong for the part. She was great(and beautiful) in The Man with the Golden Gun but she seems out of place here and I'd prefer not to have the visual of 55 year old Roger Moore having sex with a 37 year old Maud Adams. Kamal Khan is the main antagonist but I wasn't fond of him. I'm not too keen on the plotline either as its too much Indiana Jones and too little James Bond.
21.Moonraker-It kinda grew on me. I mean its still in the bottom 5 but isn't as bad as I remember it. Sure the plotline drags and theirs camp galore but I really don't mind this movie seeing it the 3rd time around. Still isn't Top 20 material though.
22.Never Say Never Again-This film really dropped. After re-evaluating the others and this I felt this film is vastly inferior by a large margin. Sure the pacing is better than Thunderball but it doesn't quite translate into a good Bond film. I wonder if its just that or lack of Bond atmosphere. There is an edited version out there called Never Say McClory Again with edited Bond motifs, music, and themes. I'll have to try and find it sometime.
23.A View to a Kill-This film had so much potential. The first 56 minutes are great but the rest sucks so bad that this film is bottom 5 material. I'm not sure what happened but right after the film leaves Europe it drops faster than Roger Moore's facelift. Roger wasn't a bad Bond but this film exposes him and his age. Tanya Roberts is dreadful as Stacy Sutton and the only saving grace(and its not Jones) was Walken and the chemistry between Moore and Patrick MacNee. Those two are like Holmes and Watson in this movie...ironic since they both played Holmes and Watson in Sherlock Holmes in New York.
24.Die Another Day-This film is the worst possible way to honor the 40th Anniversary of the series. Its so bad that it resulted in a reboot that should've happened 15 years earlier. They went back to the plot for Diamonds Are Forever and replaced Blofeld with Gustav Graves, Wint and Kidd with Zao, and changed Las Vegas to North Korea. They screw up from the get-go with the gunbarrell sequence. The first 40 or so minutes is actually great but once Bond heads to the Caribbean it goes straight to hell with the over-the-top plot and lame action sequences. Its one of those films where if it stayed simplistic and stuck with the "Who Betrayed Bond?" plot instead of adding Graves, Zao, Halle Berry, and Gustav's Wonderful Magnificent Technicolor Dream Coat then it would've been Top 10 material. But no EON blew it and it sent the series back to where it had been at the end of A View to a Kill. Somehow though the worst Bond film did NOT come from EON.
25.Casino Royale(1967)-First off its not meant to be taken seriously as its supposed to be a parody of the EON Bond series. My problem with it though is that its not even funny. I just can't laugh at this film. The whole film just doesn't make any sense to me. I do realize this is in the middle of the "absurdest" era in film and theatre but this just isn't that absurd nor is it funny. James Bond is played by David Niven here and he doesn't do a bad job but he's rather old and rather out of placed. It has a great cast, its astonishing to see this cast list that has Orson Welles, Woody Allen, and Peter Sellers but I just don't get it. Apparently the original idea was to make this a serious adaptation of the book. They even wanted to get Sean Connery to be in it. However they realized if they tried making their own Bond series they'd get killed so they just made a parody. Its tragic watching this because Orson Welles never recovered, Peter Sellers(who is fantastic as an actor and entertainer) never recovered, and Charles K. Feldman lost a lot of money because of this film running over budget and ended up dying a year later. Its ashame because from what I read Connery wanted to do this film but demanded 1 million dollars. Feldman thought that was too much and in the end of production is quoted in saying that if they had gone with the "serious" route and got Connery it would've been cheaper. Feldman is a great producer but this is just a mess. In my opinion even if they hadn't gotten Connery a serious Bond film with either Peter Sellers or David Niven as Bond would've been just as good. It still baffles me though that EON refused to buy the rights to this until 2004. The source is the very first Bond novel and it makes for a great movie. It wouldn't be until 2006 that a proper adaptation of Casino Royale was made. The entire film is on YouTube if you want to watch.
Actors(non EON included):
1.Sean Connery(1962-1967, 1971, 1983)-Connery in my view is the best because he epitomizes Bond. He is what Bond should be. His first five films are greatness. Diamonds Are Forever while he's nowhere near as good he's still better than anything else in the film and it still beats most of Moore's films. Never Say Never Again is not bad when you consider he's playing an aging Bond(unlike Moore who's trying to play a regular Bond). I actually would have liked to see him return to the series(either as Bond, M, or even a villain) but its unlikely now. Overall he IS James Bond.
2.Timothy Dalton(1987-1989)-I liked his grittier more intense Bond. It really fits the 1980's. He made two great films and he would've improved Goldeneye had he been in it. Its ashame though because most don't remember Dalton too well because of the lack of success of Licence to Kill. I think even Cubby Broccoli believes that Dalton is an ideal Bond when you consider he was approached for the role in 1968 for On Her Majesty's Secret Service(at the age of 21) and in 1979 for For Your Eyes Only. I do wish he had been involved in the series in the 90's rather than...
3.Pierce Brosnan(1995-2002)-While he is ranked 3rd I personally don't care too much for him. His performances in Goldeneye and The World is Not Enough are good but his performances in Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day are dreadful. I do wonder however what The Living Daylights would have been like if NBC hadn't screwed Pierce over by renewing Remington Steele costing him the part of Bond.
4.Roger Moore(1973-1985)-I'll catch even more heat here. I just don't like Roger Moore's Bond. I can't blame Roger for wearing out his welcome(the money was just too good). He was good in his first three outings but his final four really hurts him for me. I do wish he'd been less campy and comedic and more like his Simon Templar character from The Saint.
5.Barry Nelson(1954)-While I do think that Bond should be British I also think that Barry made a good Bond. He wasn't British but he was charming, smart, witty, and kinda cool and those are key characteristics when it comes to playing James Bond. My issue though with his Bond is that his name is Jimmy Bond and that just seems off in my view.
6.Daniel Craig(2006-Present)-I just don't feel Bond with this guy at least not yet. He plays a good literature Bond but he has yet to capture the Bond we saw from Connery, Moore, Dalton, or Brosnan. I think though I'll have him higher by the time his films come to an end.
7.George Lazenby(1969)-He's not a very good actor and not suited for Bond. He tries to act like Connery too much at times and he just ends up looking foolish. I do think he could've improved if he had stayed on but his one outing was just bad and his attitude on the set made it worse. I will say ironically enough his final scene as Bond is the most touching of the series.
8.David Niven(1967)-I know he shouldn't count but he still made a bad Bond. However he could've been good in an EON film. We will never know that however.
Top 5 Best Villains:
1.Ernst Stavro Blofeld(You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever)-Brilliant mastermind and a very dangerous man. He's at his best in the first two. His scheme is a little outlandish in DAF but he's still the one guy I think of when I hear "Bond villain". Its ashame that people associate his look with Dr. Evil.
2.Franz Sanchez(Licence to Kill)-Like Blofeld a brilliant mastermind and very dangerous. If you piss him off its not going to be pretty and he has all the money in the world to buy your friendship, your trust, and your life.
3.Scaramanga(The Man with the Golden Gun)-He's got a powerful weapon, he charges a million a shot. He's an assassin, second to none, he's the Man with the Golden Gun. Scaramanga is the perfect compliment to Bond. He'd be Number 1 if they had taken the character more serious.
4.Max Zorin(A View to a Kill)-He's basically an improved version of Goldfinger. While he may be a creepy albino looking evil german he's a tough and dangerous one. I was actually sadden by Zorin's death and wish he had killed Bond instead. He's the only good thing about that movie.
5.Alec Trevelyn(Goldeneye)-I liked that they went with the "Hans Gruber" model with him and I like even more that for once Bond's enemy is one of his own agents. The concept of 006 is fantastic and he makes for the perfect antagonist.
Top 5 Worst Villains:
1.Dr. Noah(1967's Casino Royale)-I really shouldn't count this film but since its ALL Bond related material I will. I like Woody Allen but a Bond villain basically being a Woody Allen character is just dumb. So if you really want the real worst Bond villain look no further than...
2.Dominic Greene(Quantum of Solace)-I understand that he is a dangerous man in the model of Blofeld but he's not intimidating and he is not even a cool villain ala Sanchez.
3.Kamal Khan(Octopussy)-He just annoys me by existing. The less said about Octopussy the better.
4.Mr. Big(Live and Let Die)-The novel version resembles Franz Sanchez heavily but the film version is just plain dumb. While he is dangerous and intimidating he's a complete idiot who could've killed Bond easily but chose to be extremely dumb and let him live too long.
5.Gustav Graves(Die Another Day)-Dull, un-intimidating, and just boring.
Top 5 Bond Theme Songs:
1.James Bond Main Theme(Dr. No) by John Barry-Its the fricken Bond theme so why the hell not?
2.You Know My Name(Casino Royale 2006) by Chris Cornell-It describes the newer Bond perfectly in the sense of him being inexperienced. You know his name but he's not the same Bond. Chris Cornell's voice also makes the song enjoyable.
3.Goldfinger Title Theme by Shirley Bassey-Its the standard for all the Bond theme songs. The sound is classic and Shirley Bassey has a beautiful voice.
4.Goldeneye by Tina Turner-U2 lyrics + The Edge on Guitar + Tina Turner's voice = WIN.
5.Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight-LTK has it all. Theirs a great plot, a great villain, a great performance by Timothy Dalton, and there's a title song that's one of the best. Gladys brings real emotion to this theme something that had been lacking in other Bond films. The vocals alone make this song.
Top 5 Bond Girls:
1.Honey Ryder(Dr. No)-The original and the standard that all Bond girls should follow.
2.Pam Bouvier(Licence to Kill)-She is a bit of a different Bond girl. She is tougher(maybe even more than Bond), dangerous, and she's very resourceful.
3.Anya Amasova(The Spy Who Loved Me)-Basically the female equivalent to Bond. She is dangerous, tough, and very sexy. I wish they had brought her back for later films.
4.Pussy Galore(Goldfinger)-I don't like the name but she's still a very well done character and is resourceful in helping Bond.
5.Kara Milovy(The Living Daylights)-While she is more of a "damsel in distress" type I tend to not like Bond films I find her to be in the Top 5 primarily because she's a very good character in the sense that she adds to the plot and isn't just some useless bimbo Bond finds. I felt sorry for her as her boyfriend is just a total tool. Beautiful, talented(musically), and enjoyable.
Top M's:
1.Bernard Lee(1962-1979)-The original and the best. Bernard Lee is the model for what M should be like.
2.Robert Brown(1983-1989)-Very good replacement. Some don't like his version of the character but I enjoyed it as he played the part properly and was strong in his stance.
3.Judi Dench(1995-Present)-She was good in the Brosnan films but I've grown tired of her all together. I wish she hadn't been brought back for the new series as she doesn't really fit anymore. I do wish they'd make "M" a male again as the gender angle annoyed me in the Brosnan series.
4.Edward Fox(1983's Never Say Never Again)-I wasn't fond of his performance. He brought no real personality to the character and M should never be younger than Bond no matter what circumstance.
5.John Huston(1967's Casino Royale)-Same reasoning why Dr. Noah is number 1.
Top Moneypenny's:
1.Lois Maxwell(1962-1985)-The original and the best. She's what the character should be modeled after. Its sad she never got her "bond girl" moment with James.
2.Caroline Bliss(1987-1989)-She's not a bad replacement and she did a good job trying to be like Maxwell's character. Its ashame she only got 2 films and had only 1 minute of screen time in LTK.
3.Samantha Bond(1995-2002)-Just inferior to the previous ones. She doesn't really become Moneypenny until Die Another Day and by then it was too late. She also isn't as resourceful as the others.
4.Pamela Salem(1983's Never Say Never Again)-She doesn't really do anything.
That concludes this edition. Feel free to go back to my earlier review for comparison sakes.
