zen Posted April 19, 2020 Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) The grand battle for the bottom place Let me get this out of the way that All Bond films have something to like. When in the right mood, each film can appear brilliant. However, with 24 official films, there are bound to be few that do not measure up to the rest "relatively speaking". While acknowledging that these can be enjoyed in the right mood, below are what I consider to be my two least favorite Bond films. Die Another Day. A film that you would only put on to have timepass fun. Bond walking into the hotel in HK in pyjamas is epic. Has other goods moments esp. the sequences in Cuba. Background score by David Arnold is memorable. And when you raise your expectations for what's about to come, it goes downhill. The innuendos galore. The sad part is that the story is based on one of the best Bond novels - Moonraker Bond checks out and checks in: SPECTRE. When a Bond film is new, you like it. I watched it 5 times in cinemas. On repeated viewings at home, I have realized it is a big dud relatively speaking. Has one of the most boring car chases ever filmed. The car chase takes place in Rome, one of the most picturesque cities (have been there) but looks like a ghost town. In b/w the chase, Bond even finds time to call Moneypenny .... The chase sequence in Austria has a background score that can give you a headache (missed David Arnold) .... On top of all that, the C character bogs the film down, derailing or complicating the plot. The finale in London is probably the worst in Bond history. The title song is polarizing as well .... Since it is a Bond film, it has positives too such as a few sequences in Austria and Morocco ^ Could have ended the film after this. Which one of the two takes the bottom place. Is there a challenger to these two in Bond's vast arsenal? Vote and discuss. Edited April 19, 2020 by zen
zen Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) Both of the above are big hits grossing over $500M world wide. DAD has to be one of the luckiest hits of all time, while SP ($881M worldwide) probably made $$$ on the goodwill of SF and since Bond films come out every 2-3 years w/ fans eagerly waiting. SP had a huge budget too ($250M). As for positives, after DAD, we got Casino Royale (CR), one of the best Bond films. Let's hope, NTTD is good too after SP Edited April 19, 2020 by zen
coffee_rules Posted April 19, 2020 Posted April 19, 2020 For me it is live and let die, the worst than HMSS
zen Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 2 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: What is Tie? Joint winners of the wooden spoon .... will edit it for clarity
zen Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 6 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: For me it is live and let die, the worst than HMSS Both among my favorites as they are relatively different. One is stylish, fun, and among Bond's weird adventures, while other is a different type of Bond film - relatively serious and closely follows the book. One of my go to films for snow season. Both have memorable background score esp. OHMSS!
coffee_rules Posted April 19, 2020 Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, zen said: Joint winners of the wooden spoon .... will edit it for clarity ok, as I sad earlier, OHMSS is as worse as LaLD. LALD is racist in today’s stds Edited April 19, 2020 by coffee_rules zen 1
zen Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 3 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: ok, as I sad earlier, OHMSS is as worse as LaLD. LALD is racist in today’s stds A product of its time like the novel .... But I can see why people can put of by both .... Does Lazenby factor works against OHMSS for you? I have actually began to like him!
zen Posted April 19, 2020 Author Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) Adding the following to the two listed in the OP in the order of release: Moonraker (MR): The film borrows the title and characters from the excellent Fleming book - Moonraker but nothing substantial. In fact, the plot elements of the book, as discussed, were used in DAD. At best, this is a time pass film with some nice locations, funny moments, the parachute jump in the pre title sequence, and of course, the score by John Barry. I liked it a lot as a kid - who would not with "Jaws" in it. It was a big hit on its release. From what I am told, people used to line up to watch it. In fact, it is Roger Moore's third biggest Bond hit after Live and Let Die (LALD)and The Spy Who Loved Me (TSWLM). Quantum of Solace (QOS): After Casino Royale, I wanted to like this one a lot. And It does have its moments. However, it is let down by choppy editing and action inspired by the Bourne series. Like some of the other films on the list, it borrows certain elements from previous Bond films for e.g. girl in black oil (like the girl in gold in GF) and the tie scene (like the tie scene in The Spy Who Loved Me). The positives include the sequences in Austria, certain segments of the Bolivia sequences, and the background score by David Arnold, which is top notch. I do like these films to a certain degree and revisit them from time to time but not among my most watched Bond films. Edited December 25, 2020 by zen coffee_rules 1
WC2011INDIA Posted April 19, 2020 Posted April 19, 2020 I find this to be an overrated franchise especially the Daniel Craig movies. Casino Royale was the only entertaining one. Rest are pretentious nonsense. Prefer the old bond films.
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