James Bond Official Discussion Thread

All non-Nolan related film, tv, and streaming discussions.
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Second favorite:



Every time it's on the radio volume goes all the way up to eleven.

Time to re-evaluate all of this soon, hopefully by the time new year kicks in I'll be way in Moore's era already.

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Rudinet wrote:I really enjoyed The World Is Not Enough when I first saw it (still do). Brosnan was in fine form and I thought Robert Carlyle/Renard made a very badass/creepy villain. Then the Bond girls..... Sophie Marceau was gorgeous and I loved the fact that
the main Bond girl turned out to be the main bond villain.
And even though Denise Richards was probably very miscast, at the time I thought she was incredibly hot in this.

But there are so many other things that enrich the movie for me: M's extended role, Tanner and Robinson together in the same film, Desmond Llewelyn's last appearance, and I love love Robbie Coltrane's Valentin Zukovsky.
I used to like it more, but the forced soap opera in lieu of actual drama (SF has actual drama), Brozzer's inability to really deliver in those moments that he really wanted to put into the film, and a super-limp climax... and basically no "life" in the film make it a more tiresome viewing these days.

But hey, at least it doesn't commit the cardinal sin of the film previous where you know everything about the villain's plot an hour before Bond does.

Anywhoo, I'd rank the songs thusly (discounting the three instrumentals):

NDIB
AVTAK
LALD
YOLT
FYEO
YKMN
GF
TLD
TB
DAF
SF
LTK
TWINE
GE
ATH
MR
TMWTGG
TND
DAD
AWTD

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Transferring my Bondathon updates to this thread for future reference.

Dr. No

Out of all the Bond films I've seen (which admittedly is not many) this still remains my favorite, I think. Connery pioneered the role and in turn made it absolutely his. I also think he's the best actor to portray Bond to date, but this could change as I get into the other ones later on. The third act is pretty flimsy in terms of dramatic tension, but this was a very solid start for the franchise as a whole. And I just love the atmosphere of it all, it just screams James Bond to me.

Next up: From Russia With Love

Bondathon 2K14

1. Dr. No
From Russia With Love

It's a much more mature film than it's predecessor with some really solid direction. It's difficult to determine which I favor exactly since there are some issues I had with this one despite it being a better made film than Dr. No. The film drags a bit for me in parts where it just feels like we're following this person who's following this person and so on and so forth. The stakes don't feel that massive nor does the climax. It very much reminds of North By Northwest, which I find to be the more intriguing and exciting film of the two.

Also I'm not really sure how this works so bare with me on this, but they literally copied and pasted scenes from the first into this right down to the camera angles and musical cues. Because Bond was not an established franchise at the time and this being the first sequel, could I criticize this? The airport scene is virtually identical, the hotel check in (same angle, music, everything), ending shot, etc. Do they do this for numerous Bond films past this one and it just becomes one of the franchise's "shticks"? Let me know about that one.

Anyways, I think I might keep Dr. No as my favorite for now because it just feels like a more lively film to me.

Next up: Goldfinger

Bondathon 2K14
1. Dr. No
2. From Russia With Love
Goldfinger

And now this is my favorite James Bond film. It just feels like the definitive one thus far for me personally, most likely due to it's iconic status. Fantastic score, great production design (seriously, how cool was Goldfinger's Kentucky home and the bank vault), Connery on top of his game, and slick pacing. I loved the way the film opened, I felt like I was watching a Nolan film for a moment. Obviously that is no coincidence. It's just a really fun flick, and the series feels like it has finally found it's full mold.

Next up: Thunderball

Bondathon 2K14
1. Goldfinger
2. Dr. No
3. From Russia With Love

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Very cool. Surprised you didn't mention the Bond/Red Grant train fight scene. I think it is a fantastic scene that still holds up today.

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Rudinet wrote:Very cool. Surprised you didn't mention the Bond/Red Grant train fight scene. I think it is a fantastic scene that still holds up today.
I was just thinking about that scene, funnily enough. It's a different turn to see the climax fight scene take place in such a cramped space, but the choreography works well for it. My favorite part of the entire film is briefly before the fight. That tense interaction as Bond tries to figure out a way to get the upper hand was masterfully done.

On that same note, I love the Oddjob fight scene as well in Goldfinger. No music, just the sound of the bomb ticking away in the background.

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ChristNolan wrote:
Rudinet wrote:Very cool. Surprised you didn't mention the Bond/Red Grant train fight scene. I think it is a fantastic scene that still holds up today.
I was just thinking about that scene, funnily enough. It's a different turn to see the climax fight scene take place in such a cramped space, but the choreography works well for it. My favorite part of the entire film is briefly before the fight. That tense interaction as Bond tries to figure out a way to get the upper hand was masterfully done.

On that same note, I love the Oddjob fight scene as well in Goldfinger. No music, just the sound of the bomb ticking away in the background.
Yes both those scenes are very well done.

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ChristNolan wrote:Transferring my Bondathon updates to this thread for future reference.
Thank you, really cool man, I intend to do the same once my Bondathon 2014/15 starts, hopefully in a week or so! :thumbup:

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I love the leisurely feel that Hamilton affords Goldfinger for much of the runtime, and then when he switches into high-gear it goes berserk. Shame he couldn't repeat that with his later (God-awful) trilogy.

I also really like that he got some different results from Ted Moore than what Young got.

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Great thread name. :lol:

Come oooon Mr. Postman, I'm awaiting my package! :judge:

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