Sony Ericsson C902 cellphone from Quantum of Solace Walther 2000 sniper rifle from The living daylights
My first Bond film was:
Octopussy on VHS, Tomorrow never dies in theater. I was 8 when I saw Octopussy, and it was a great excitement : action, funny gags, beautiful girls, exotic locations, scary henchman (that tall Sikh guy) ... then I was hooked and looking for more and more Bond adventures.
My favorite villains are:
Dr No (Joseph Wiseman) Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan)
My favorite henchmen are :
May Day(Grace Jones) Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen)
My favorite Bond girls are: Tatiana Romanova (From Russia with Love) Teresa "Tracy" Draco Di Vincenzo (Diana Rigg) Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell)
My ranking :
1. Casino Royale Masterpiece. The phoenix resurrected again from his own ashes. Craig's finest hour, the most refined Bond girl ever. Delightful entertainment.
2. Licence to Kill Why not a disobedient and hard-edged 007 on a vengeance quest? Dalton's (sadly) final and finest hour. A good bunch of unusual villains (the coolest and most ruthless drug baron ever portrayed + his sadistic, blood thirsty, permanently on coke henchman), a charming and kickass girl (Carey Lowell), some nice stunts, great score by Michael Kamen. Bond making the drug baron paranoid enough to destroy his own empire was a very good idea, and the producers were not afraid to add some gory violence. One of the most underrated Bond movies, if not the most.
3. On her Majesty's Secret Service A shamefully ignored movie. The villain's scheme was far fetched / silly, for sure (who cares actually? it's all about Bond confronting Blofeld). Ok, Lazenby was an Australian beginner. But he desserves credit for the saddest portrayal of 007, and he was convincing enough at fighting. The small references to 007's previous adventures were kinda useless. "We have all the time in the world." : I just CAN'T imagine Connery in that scene. And there was Diana Rigg. Nuff said.
4. Dr No Where it all began. A ruthless Connery : "That's a Smith and Wesson, and you've had your six". A memorable villain : "The successful criminal brain is always superior. It has to be !". Ursula Andress emerging from the sea like the Greek goddess of love and singing "Underneath the mango tree" ... Unforgettable.
5. Goldfinger Legendary theme and stuff ("golden" dead lady, lethal bowler hat, most useless option ever seen on a car -which finally turns useful- ... is this an Avengers episode?). First gap between spy thriller and megalomaniac fantasy plots. Gorgeous girl, with a gorgeous name, especially in the 60's (I've always been a fan of the Avengers). This time the fantasy worked well.
6. From Russia with love A genuine spy thriller. Some great moments : the portable sniper rifle, the gypsy camp, the theft of the Lektor, the train brawl, the "North by Northwest" chase with the helicopter. Naive but very charming girl. Impressive Robert Shaw.
7. Goldeneye Brosnan's finest hour, just put some character traits of the previous actors in the shaker, add some cool stuff (the most unique female killer ever -you'll love her thighs-) and a meaningful background like the end of the Soviet Union (I loved the statues graveyard), then add a staggering amount of explosives and bullets, a very unique soundtrack by Eric Serra, a very catchy song by Tina Turner and you obtain the quintessential 90's vintage. Over-the-top and somewhat silly, yet truly epic rebirth.
8. Quantum of Solace Casino Royale probably set the standard too high on every level, but Craig is still more than convincing. It's substantially more action-packed (a bit too fast paced maybe, worth multiple viewings). The Bregenz opera scene is pure gold, the best moment. Olga Kurylenko was surprisingly good. But the title song just fell flat. Mathieu Amalric was just OK. Mathis will be greatly missed.
8. The Living Daylights Laughable villains : a weapon smuggler who's also a military history nerd and a pathetic Russian general who does nothing more than warmly embracing everyone. Luckily for them there was Necros to steal the show with his Pretenders music. For his first installment, Dalton put something seriously different and deeper in his character (when he crushes that balloon), thanks to his thespian talent.
8. For your eyes only A touching reference to Tracy's death, she's finally avenged. The unlikeliest car in car chases history (the French Citroën 2CV), down-to-earth and believable plot (not difficult since Moonraker came out), beautiful Mediterranean locations (Spain, Italian Alps and Greece), not to mention my favorite ski chase. My favourite from the Moore era.
11. Thunderball Wonderful stuff : Luciana Paluzzi, Claudine Auger (Miss France 1958, no less), the Bahamas, underwater fight ... As a villain, Adolfo Celi really looks the part. Classic.
12. Octopussy The first Bond I've seen. Some silly stuff (Tarzan yell, Bond in a clown disguise ..), but Maud Adams, Kristina Wayborn, the locations, and the subtle villain desserve credit. About the villain, I liked his enunciated torture methods, his very special meal, and the safari hunt for a "indeed very rare breed, soon to be made extinct" as well. Moore's age didn't bother me. 13. Moonraker It was surely made to cash on Star Wars' success. Nevertheless, the only thing in common is ... outer space. The first 3 notes of Thus spoke Zarathustra played with hunting horns, the space station and uniforms remind me more of 2001 Space Odyssey than Star Wars. The first Bond in space might look silly, but never as the first who drove an invisible car, and the space special effects were considerably better than those of DaF... I loved Lois Chiles in that one. And Richard Kiel owned every scene he was in. A childhood favourite and now still my guilty pleasure.
14. The spy who loved me It surely is a great piece of entertainment, but the plot borrowed heavily from YOLT (a predator ship which "eats" US and USSR vehicles to start WW3). I liked the disco soundtrack, but Mrs Ringo Starr annoyed me, she wasn't really a good actress. So she knew everything about the Lotus, really? so why was she suprised about the submarine option? This model trying to spy was supposed to be the best Soviet agent ...
15. A view to a kill Ok, don't shoot me, even if it was time for Sir Moore to leave (critical age of 57), he did a rather good job. There was some enjoyable stuff : worth seeing villains (a stunning amazone + a genuinely mad and genius blond result from a nazi experiment, no less), the Golden Gate final fight, Patrick Macnee (The Avengers meet Bond, again) ... There were far worse swan songs for a Bond actor.
16. You only live twice Japan was a good idea for sure, there was Roald Dahl (?!) who worked on the script and Nancy Sinatra on the soundtrack, but I just can laugh at Sean Connery in Japanese disguise.
17. Tomorrow never dies A media mogul goes on a megalomaniac scheme to set WW3 (YOLT in South China sea?) to dramatically enlarge his mediatic empire. At least, an ex-girlfriend tought Bond a small (and well desserved) lesson, not efficient enough though, she fell for him again, and died... Add a female chinese kickass agent, and the usual "Aryan-like" henchman. Entertaining enough, though not the same satisfaction as Goldeneye for me.
18. Live and let die The Saint meets Shaft and Doctor Queen. Take a cool and witty aristocrat and throw him into a blacksploitation movie mixed with some (fictionnal) voodoo stuff and a memorable soundtrack by McCartney and the Wings. Add some goofy stuff (the Southern sheriff, the very unrealistic death of the villain), some cool stuff (the Baron Samedi, I've never heard such a bizarre and haunting laugh) and some fillet of soul. Not really that bad but it seems like a 70's TV show. And I want a New-Orleans style parade for my funeral, Dixieland seriously makes your last promenade enjoyable.
19. The man with the golden gun There was Christopher Lee (wait, he's got three nipples?!), for sure. But these 70's aesthetics remind me more of an episode of Starsky and Hutch mixed with the Fantasy Island (the midget) and some minutes of Bruce Lee ripoff. Catchy tune, but stupid lyrics. Quite odd. Britt Ekland played the dumbest Bond girl ever. Too bad for Maud Adams' character, I liked her ... I think the Bond producers have grown tired of Guy Hamilton's bizarre stuff, no wonder why they had to re-hire Lewis Gilbert for the next one.
20. The world is not enough Some very good action pieces (boat chase on the Thames, ski chase, helicopter with giant buzzsaws). Q, the only guy on earth who goes fishing with a small speedboat with options such as GPS, torpedos and dive, will be greatly missed. Same for that poor Zukowksy. Average movie.
21. Diamonds are Forever Late 60's lazy and campy stuff. Judging by the special effects (cheesiest ever, even Dr No's explosions were more convincing, nuff said), I guess the majority of the budget went on Sean Connery's payroll. There's a good fight scene in the elevator, and there were some good pieces of dark humor with the gay assassins, as well as some really nice girls. But Blofeld suddenly got hair, wtf? wait, he's also a drag queen, seriously? Thank God, ridiculous villains are not forever. Connery seemed very tired. A terrible waste. Did the early 70's audiences really need such a lack of taste?
22. Die another day Early 2000's lazy and campy stuff. A very promising opening in North Korea. Then began Madonna's piece of crap and the following mess including beyond absurd gadgetry and settings (ice palace and invisible car, please ..), tasteless and pointless references to the previous movies for the 40th anniversary of Dr No's theatrical release. I guess the majority of the budget went on CGI special effects. The villain was better as a North Korean general, as an English tycoon he's just bland, annoying and definitely forgettable. A terrible waste, again. At least, Rosamund Pike was a good surprise. Did we seriously need such a lack of taste?
My Top 5 favorite Bond moments:
1. The whole poker tournament from Casino Royale "That last hand... nearly killed me" The best Texas hold'em party in cinematic history.
2. Craig's Bond as an uninvited guest in the enemy conversation at the Bregenz opera during the performance of Tosca "I really think you people should find a better place to meet" (Quantom of Solace) What is the best thing Bond can do before killing? And the answer is ... spying.
3. "You could have had everything!" "Don't you want to know why?" Dalton's Bond ignites a gas-covered Sanchez with the Leiters' gift The final act of a brilliantly executed vengeance.
4. "We have all time in the world" Lazenby's Bond embracing his dead wife, from On Her Majesty's Secret Service Forget about the super-agent, let's just contemplate the destroyed happiness, the tragedy he didn't desserve.
5. "It's a Smith and Wesson, and you've had your six" then Connery's Bond shoots Dent, twice (Dr No) You know his name, you know he's a brilliant spy, you know he's suave ... now you know he can be a cold blood killer. (did he shoot Dent in the ass the second time?)
My Top 5 opening music :
1. Casino Royale (Chris Cornell) / Licence to kill (Gladys Knight) 2. A view to a kill (Duran Duran) 3. Goldeneye (Tina Turner) / Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) 4. On her Majesty's Secret Service (composed by John Barry) 5. For your Eyes only (Sheena Easton)
My favorite cars :
1. Aston Martin DBS V12 (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace) 2. Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger, Thunderball, Goldeneye, Casino Royale) 3. BMW Z8 (The world is not enough) 4. Aston Martin V8 Vantage (The living daylights) 5. Audi A6 (Casino Royale)
My favorite stunts :
1. Licence to kill : the opening, with Bond and Leiter capturing Sanchez, "fishing" his plane with a helicopter. I like the idea of Bond risking his life to help his best friend on his wedding day even if he's not on a mission, and I love Michael Kamen's revamp of the classical theme.
2. Casino Royale : the chase with Bond managing to follow a terrorist who practices free-running. Bond uses a less subtle running method, but equally effective nonetheless. Craig definitely kicks ass.
3. Quantum of Solace : the plane sequence above the Bolivian desert with Bond and Camille. Old plane and no weapon nor gadget to save the day.
4. Licence to kill : the truck chase. Bond ruins a whole drug empire in less than 10 minutes without any gadget.
5. Goldeneye : Bond jumps from a cliff to follow a falling plane, much to Urumov's satisfaction, catches it on the fly, straightens it and escapes. Impossible in reality, but still effective on the viewers' mind.
Favorite pics & clips:
I wish they were Bond Girls
Sienna Miller :
Emily Blunt :
Carice Van Houten :
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