007- From Greatest To Least, with Love
Everybody loves lists, so I thought in preparation for my 2011 End of
the Year list, I'd rank the James Bond series that I finally watched
(and finished) in the first half of the year. Thanks to my best bro Nick
Bland and his colossal movie collection for making this possible. (I wonder if my feelings stay the same when we rewatch them this year.)
**Post-Skyfall I wanted to update this a bit. (11-11-12)**
3. GoldenEye- 4.5 stars. Nearly a perfect film, if not for the lame car chase and music that follows the opening credits. Okay, maybe I was just nit-picking so that this wouldn't top Goldfinger.
4. The Spy Who Loved Me- 4 stars. The main villain is super weak, but hey, who cares when there's Jaws! He even bites a shark!
5. Moonraker- 4 stars. Again, Jaws. That's all you need to know. Its pretty much The Spy Who Loved Me, just in outer space.
7. Casino Royale- 4 stars. Daniel Craig makes a pretty good James Bond, once I realized the reason he wasn't the usual 007 agent that I've seen before. What hurts the movie is the lack of outstanding villains.
8. The Living Daylights- 4 stars. I loved so much about this movie from the chases to the villains, except what hurt it was that this was such a long movie.
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- 4 stars. If it weren't for the ridiculous first hour (Bond wears a kilt!), this would easily make my Top 3.
10. Diamonds are Forever- 3.5 stars. This is MY definition of shutting off your brain. I went in the first time expecting something else and disliked it. The second time I had no expectations and it turns out I fell in love with the premium cheese factor, making this my most-watched Bond movie.
The Rest
11. You Only Live Twice- 3.5 stars. It didn't create the Bond formula but it did take it to new places: inside of a volcano for a great ending battle. How can you not like that!
12. Live and Let Die- 3.5 stars. This was my first, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
13. From Russia With Love- 3.5 stars. His actual espionage mission lost me a little, but they made up for it with a brawl on a train and some excellent chases.
14. The World Is Not Enough- 3 stars. There is a lot I like about this movie, but it drags in all of the usual spots. I flipped this places with Tomorrow Never Dies.
15. The Man With the Golden Gun- 3.5 stars. While this adventure has the one of the better Bond villain/henchman combos, the movie itself is a bit weak.
16. Tomorrow Never Dies- 3.5 stars. This movie has the most "realistic" plot, as the villain is a mad media monopoly man. There are some other neat villains and the usual fun chases.
17. Thunderball- 3 stars. Bond visits a spa after brawling with a man in drag. The opening is a little wacky but the underwater finale was spectacular.
18. Quantum of Solace- 3.5 stars. My 007 preference is good, unique villains but this is like 'Casino', where its hard to tell who's who. The many double-crosses weighed it down a bit too.
19. Dr. No- 3 stars. It lacks the usual Bond formula but I can't really fault it for that since its the first of the series.
20. For Your Eyes Only- 3 stars. It has a "been there, done that" quality and also a weird Bond girl that he never clicked with.
21. Die Another Day- 2.5 stars. There's a good nugget of a plot, it was just lost underneath the endless amount of special effects.
22. Octopussy- 2.5 stars. Not much to comment on here. At least someone fell to their death, which is always a Bond movie staple.
23. A View to a Kill- 2 stars. What a turd. I can't even blame it on Roger Moore being too old.
**Post-Skyfall I wanted to update this a bit. (11-11-12)**
 |
| United Artists |
The Big Boys
1. Skyfall- I resisted for so long to put something above Goldfinger but I couldn't after seeing this movie. It has the perfect blend of signature Bond action, a return to the humor, a great film, and a dose of the dramatic.
2. Goldfinger-
5 stars. The Ultimate James Bond movie. A great villain, a great
henchman, an army of guys for Bond to fight, he also gets a car and
gadgets, and last but not least is "Operation Grandslam." It just cracks
me up thinking about it. You have to admire a villain with that kind of
planning skills.1. Skyfall- I resisted for so long to put something above Goldfinger but I couldn't after seeing this movie. It has the perfect blend of signature Bond action, a return to the humor, a great film, and a dose of the dramatic.
3. GoldenEye- 4.5 stars. Nearly a perfect film, if not for the lame car chase and music that follows the opening credits. Okay, maybe I was just nit-picking so that this wouldn't top Goldfinger.
4. The Spy Who Loved Me- 4 stars. The main villain is super weak, but hey, who cares when there's Jaws! He even bites a shark!
5. Moonraker- 4 stars. Again, Jaws. That's all you need to know. Its pretty much The Spy Who Loved Me, just in outer space.
 |
| MGM-Columbia Pictures |
The Next 5
6. Licence to Kill-
4 stars. Seems that a lot of fans dislike this movie because it lacks
the usual world domination plot and the villains are weak. I think
that's actually the point of the movie; its not supposed to be a typical
007 mission. He's gone rogue and goes up against a drug dealer. And
Wayne Newton is there! For some reason.7. Casino Royale- 4 stars. Daniel Craig makes a pretty good James Bond, once I realized the reason he wasn't the usual 007 agent that I've seen before. What hurts the movie is the lack of outstanding villains.
8. The Living Daylights- 4 stars. I loved so much about this movie from the chases to the villains, except what hurt it was that this was such a long movie.
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- 4 stars. If it weren't for the ridiculous first hour (Bond wears a kilt!), this would easily make my Top 3.
10. Diamonds are Forever- 3.5 stars. This is MY definition of shutting off your brain. I went in the first time expecting something else and disliked it. The second time I had no expectations and it turns out I fell in love with the premium cheese factor, making this my most-watched Bond movie.
The Rest
11. You Only Live Twice- 3.5 stars. It didn't create the Bond formula but it did take it to new places: inside of a volcano for a great ending battle. How can you not like that!
12. Live and Let Die- 3.5 stars. This was my first, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
13. From Russia With Love- 3.5 stars. His actual espionage mission lost me a little, but they made up for it with a brawl on a train and some excellent chases.
14. The World Is Not Enough- 3 stars. There is a lot I like about this movie, but it drags in all of the usual spots. I flipped this places with Tomorrow Never Dies.
15. The Man With the Golden Gun- 3.5 stars. While this adventure has the one of the better Bond villain/henchman combos, the movie itself is a bit weak.
16. Tomorrow Never Dies- 3.5 stars. This movie has the most "realistic" plot, as the villain is a mad media monopoly man. There are some other neat villains and the usual fun chases.
17. Thunderball- 3 stars. Bond visits a spa after brawling with a man in drag. The opening is a little wacky but the underwater finale was spectacular.
18. Quantum of Solace- 3.5 stars. My 007 preference is good, unique villains but this is like 'Casino', where its hard to tell who's who. The many double-crosses weighed it down a bit too.
19. Dr. No- 3 stars. It lacks the usual Bond formula but I can't really fault it for that since its the first of the series.
20. For Your Eyes Only- 3 stars. It has a "been there, done that" quality and also a weird Bond girl that he never clicked with.
21. Die Another Day- 2.5 stars. There's a good nugget of a plot, it was just lost underneath the endless amount of special effects.
22. Octopussy- 2.5 stars. Not much to comment on here. At least someone fell to their death, which is always a Bond movie staple.
23. A View to a Kill- 2 stars. What a turd. I can't even blame it on Roger Moore being too old.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting Licen to Kill high up on your list. I adore this movie and in all honesty I think it's this generation's On Her Majesty's Secret Service in that it was generally under appreciated when first released and only viewed back on in hindsight with affection. I saw it when I was five years old and thought it was the greatest Bond movie ever, it was so tough, and uncompromising and I adored the tanker chase. For that reason, Dalton will be MY Bond.
ReplyDeleteWow, holy cow. I think Dalton's movie are awesome as well, yet we seem to be in a small minority. This made my day. As Wayne Newton said, "bless your heart."
ReplyDelete