[shifuimam]

I'd never seen them before this weekend; we picked up the first two Brosnan ones from Blockbuster.

BF hasn't seen any pre-Brosnan ones, but we'll fix that.

So, which of the eleventy thousand Bond movies is your favorite?

[Gankdawg]

Goldeneye and Die Another Day. I liked Brosnan as Bond but he was short-lived.

[shifuimam]

Goldeneye is the one we just finished watching tonight. LIGHT YEARS better than Tomorrow Never Dies, which I thought was pretty mediocre, in both plot and acting. I'm looking forward to checking out more of them..

[TETENAL]

Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die (for fun), Casino Royale (the only bearable modern Bond).

I consider the Brosnan bond movies unwatchable.

[davidbk1]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is terrible.

Rent:
Connery--
Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
Thunderball
Dr. No
Moore--
For Your Eyes Only
The Man With the Golden Gun
Brosnan--
Goldeneye
Craig--
Casino Royale

But really, see them all except OHMSS.

[Spheric Harlot]

I pretty much agree with david there, except that I consider Lazenby HIGHLY underrated - I *really* like "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", and that I'd add "A View to a Kill" to the list of Moores, if not the least for Grace Jones and Christopher Walken.

If you're gonna skip any of his recommendations, throw out Brosnan first, and then Moore. "The Man with the Golden Gun" is my favorite Moore Bond.

Really dig the Craig movies (both of them) - he's up there with Connery IMO, giving the character more depth and a little more of the ruthless brutality that Bond lost a bit after "From Russia With Love"

[Andy8]

Originally Posted by davidbk1 

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is terrible.

But really, see them all except OHMSS.

Very true and the original Casino Royale is quite terrible viewing.

[Spheric Harlot]

Indeed, it is.

The soundtrack's quite cool, though.

[Doofy]

The 80s ones are best. Specifically, the two Dalton ones and the last three Moore ones (For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View To A Kill).

Brosnan is a second-hand car salesman and Craig is a complete pansy.

[turtle777]

Well, one thing's for sure, when it comes to Bond, the opinions couldn't be more diverse.

My advice: watch them all and figure out which ones you like best.

-t

[Mac User #001]

Connery and Craig are tied for best Bond.
I'd say Moore next, then Brosnan and Dalton, with Lazenby last. Dead last.

Seriously, On Her Majestys Secret Service is bad. That should be out of the Bond set with Never Say Never Again replacing it. For whatever reason, that Bond is not an official Bond.

Hmm... favorites...

Casino Royale is really darn good. GoldenEye, The Man With The Golden Gun, A View To A Kill, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice... All great ones.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by Mac User #001 

Never Say Never Again [….] For whatever reason, that Bond is not an official Bond.

It's a bad remake of "Thunderball", and despite the fact that it has (a far-too-old-to-be-convincing) Connery and Klaus-Maria Brandauer, it's really just cheesy in a bad way.

The background is that after the success of "Dr. No", a different production team snapped up the rights to "Thunderball", so that one wasn't a Broccoli/Saltzman production.

The Broccoli/Saltzman team later decided not to relinquish the story to others entirely, and produced their own, "unofficial" remake, re-activating Connery for that one movie.

[imitchellg5]

Goldfinger is my favorite. But I also like QoS and CR.

[shifuimam]

I plan on seeing all of them. I'm just curious to see what others consider to be the best of the bunch.

[phantomdragonz]

I have all the bond movies on my netflix queue... they early ones are amazingly re-mastered (on bluray) I have never seen a lot of them but I am liking them more and more as I see them.

we are about to see goldfinger... should be fun

EDIT: I remember seeing this one before... it was still good though!


-Zach

[design219]

The new Casino Royale.

[moonmonkey]

umm.... are you all mad???

Live and Let Die!
Voodoo, New Orleans Stabbing, Kananga peeling his face off, secret lairs, more voodoo, speedboats, redneck police, double-decker bus, Whisper, Sharks and sex.

I win.

[ghporter]

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was a really nice film. It just wasn't like any of the other Bond films. It is worth a look because Lazenby was a very good leading man in the film, and Diana Riggs rocks in anything she's in.

I like Connery, so any Connery Bond works for me; note that his rendition is very snarky from time to time, maybe a little too "I'm Bond and you're not" in some films.

Moore was fun, but his Bond was far from serious. Oh some of the films had some great "grab the armrests" scenes (flying a BD-5 jet THROUGH a hangar, for example, or the rock climbing scenes in Greece), but instead of snarky he was often way too smug.

I really liked Brosnan. In fact I haven't seen anything he did that I didn't like. He made Bond much more serious, while the rest of the production could continue being silly and challenging our suspension of disbelief. He worked REALLY well with Halle Berry in "Die Another Day," and I'm sorry they didn't bring Jinx back for another film.

I never saw any of Dalton's Bond films, something I need to fix, I think. He was serious but not too serious, at least in the bits I've seen.

I did not see Craig's "Casino Royale," but I saw "A Quantum of Solace." Wow. Serious, gritty, solid acting throughout (how could anyone beat Judy Densch?), and a really tight story. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Craig as 007.

By the way, rent the "original" "Casino Royale." It is anything but a "serious Bond flic," but it is more fun than a paper bag full of kittens. And it features some really great names, including David Niven, Peter Sellers, John Houston, even Woody Allen. Lots of fun and worth a watch.

[Andy8]

This Bond discussion makes me daydream of Goldeneye 007 on the N64.

C'est la vie.

[SpaceMonkey]

Connery's films, before the franchise descended into self-parody, are the only ones that won't bore you out of your skull.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by Andy8 

This Bond discussion makes me daydream of Goldeneye 007 on the N64.

C'est la vie.

Throughout the movie, the BF was like "oh, this level was awesome" and "this level was so hard".

Then he found some Diablo 2 custom level set that was modeled after the game and played it for two hours.

[starman]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

Connery's films, before the franchise descended into self-parody, are the only ones that won't bore you out of your skull.

Nah, I have to disagree. I grew up with Roger Moore as Bond, started to appreciate Connery, but really, REALLY liked Timothy Dalton because they finally got rid of that stupid goofy Bond that Moore played and brought Bond back to the level he needed to be at. You could argue whether or not Dalton himself was a good Bond (I liked him), but the franchise itself was finally back on track.

I saw the world premiere of Goldeneye in NYC, pretty much every major star in town went to see it. The cast and crew presented on stage before and after the show, and it was a great experience. I wasn't a fan of the music, though. A little too synthesized for me.

[Doc HM]

Dr No. When they thought they were actually adapting the books (sort of). Everything else is <<

Until Casino Royale, which was really quite good. As good as QOS was shite.

Best bond line. Ever "You've had your six"

If you like secret base, explodey Bond then You Only Live Twice is the high point.

[Mac User #001]

Originally Posted by Andy8 

This Bond discussion makes me daydream of Goldeneye 007 on the N64.

C'est la vie.

Yeah...

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

Connery's films, before the franchise descended into self-parody, are the only ones that won't bore you out of your skull.

Not true. The reboot of the series (at least Casino Royale) is very good.

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by starman 

Nah, I have to disagree. I grew up with Roger Moore as Bond, started to appreciate Connery, but really, REALLY liked Timothy Dalton because they finally got rid of that stupid goofy Bond that Moore played and brought Bond back to the level he needed to be at. You could argue whether or not Dalton himself was a good Bond (I liked him), but the franchise itself was finally back on track.

I saw the world premiere of Goldeneye in NYC, pretty much every major star in town went to see it. The cast and crew presented on stage before and after the show, and it was a great experience. I wasn't a fan of the music, though. A little too synthesized for me.

I appreciate what Dalton brought to the role, but it just didn't work for me. If goofy Moore was one extreme, then Dalton was the other, and I thought his brooding seriousness just didn't fit the films, which maintained so many of the Bond conventions that had developed through the Moore years (the stunts, things like execution-by-shark, etc.).

[starman]

True, but Bond had to change with the times. We didn't need shark tanks and (unbelievable) ski jumps anymore. Starting with the Dalton films, things started to tip towards more realism and less goofiness.

[Mac User #001]

Except for Die Another Day. Huge laser of doom. Invisible cars. And glacial tsunami surfing...

Let me get this out of the way though. I enjoyed the movie. More-so than The World Is Not Enough. The first half especially, as it was gritty and real. The second half, where the tech toys came in, just got ridiculous. The power suit and goggles on Gustav? Really?

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Well, one thing's for sure, when it comes to Bond, the opinions couldn't be more diverse.

That's why the series appeals to so many; There's bound to be a few that appeal.

Personally, I find Craig too wooden. I really loved Brosnan, but in retrospect the movies got quite silly.

[SpaceMonkey]

I just dislike giving Bond an "edge" for the sake of an edge, without some other explanatory plot element, which is why I didn't make an exception for the recent "Casino Royale" in my sweeping generalization. Craig played a moody sociopath, which is fine, but it's boring (to me, anyway).

Connery's portrayal had a balance that everyone else has missed to varying degrees.

[starman]

I'll just say that I'm not a fan of the goofy Moore. So long as we never go back to THAT, I'll be happy.

Oh, and as far as TWiNE: Best. Opening. Ever.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by starman 

Oh, and as far as TWiNE: Best. Opening. Ever.

Agreed. Quite a fan of the score and title too.

[davidbk1]

The edge is from the books, he's a much darker person than anyone has really played him. For added information for the OP, actors in order of darkness of Bond;

Darkest
-Craig
-Dalton
-Connery
-Moore
-Brosnan
Cheekiest

I really don't remember Lazenby so I left him out.

[starman]

Brosnan the cheekiest? Oh, hell no.

[Jim Paradise]

I'm surprised no one had mentioned The Spy Who Loved Me. That was Moore's best work and had gorgeous sets, neat-o villains (Jaws), and Barbara Bach.

[The Final Dakar]

Definitely one of my favorite as far as Moore is concerned. The soundtrack is laughably disco and I mean laughably. I suspect some of David Arnold's more electronic tracks may be similarly reviled in 20-odd years.

[starman]

Spy was good, but I haven't seen it in a while. I should watch it again soon.

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by davidbk1 

The edge is from the books, he's a much darker person than anyone has really played him.

I suppose I meant to say angsty, as opposed to simply being portrayed as "dark." He's a stone cold killer, I understand, but Craig and Dalton gave him emotional crises that I thought were severely overplayed.

[Mac User #001]

Originally Posted by starman 

I'll just say that I'm not a fan of the goofy Moore. So long as we never go back to THAT, I'll be happy.

Oh, and as far as TWiNE: Best. Opening. Ever.

Ever? Maybe not. But it is darn good.

Originally Posted by davidbk1 

The edge is from the books, he's a much darker person than anyone has really played him. For added information for the OP, actors in order of darkness of Bond;

Darkest
-Craig
-Dalton
-Connery
-Moore
-Brosnan
Cheekiest

I really don't remember Lazenby so I left him out.

No. Brosnan is not the "cheekiest".

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

By the way, rent the "original" "Casino Royale." It is anything but a "serious Bond flic," but it is more fun than a paper bag full of kittens. And it features some really great names, including David Niven, Peter Sellers, John Houston, even Woody Allen. Lots of fun and worth a watch.

Backstory:

Peter Sellers was cast as James Bond. Mid-way through filming, he went off his rocker, started pulling all sorts of ridiculous diva stunts (including IIRC demanding quite a bit more money), so the script was hastily re-written to remove him from the rest of the scenes.

Plot device: To confuse the enemy, the secret service introduces a whole slew of agents named "007" - this is where the other big names come in.

Very screwball, very confusing, but quite entertaining.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey 

I suppose I meant to say angsty, as opposed to simply being portrayed as "dark." He's a stone cold killer, I understand, but Craig and Dalton gave him emotional crises that I thought were severely overplayed.

Dalton is completely off my radar. Saw the films and instantly deleted them from my internal list of "Bond movies". I don't remember them except for some weird ashram dissolving heroin in trucks full of gasoline or something.

Craig gives the character depth IMO, that was strongly hinted at in Dr. No - there's a couple of absolutely ruthless scenes in the first few movies, with no accompanying quip or pun - just cold-blooded murder. That got completely lost in the subsequent movies.

I'm hoping Craig will retain this depth without the films going melodramatic.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I did not see Craig's "Casino Royale," but I saw "A Quantum of Solace." Wow. Serious, gritty, solid acting throughout (how could anyone beat Judy Densch?), and a really tight story. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Craig as 007.

If you have the chance, I'd recommend watching CR and immediately follow it with QoS. QoS was intended to be an immediate sequel to CR (the scene that opens the movie is a direct continuation of how CR ends) and taken as a whole, do a very nice job of 'rebooting' Bond and giving some insight into how his character evolves from that rough sociopath (as someone phrased it) to the smooth secret agent portrayed by Connery (and Brosnan to a certain degree). Always been a big Connery fan, but quite impressed with the portrayal Daniel Craig is bringing to the role.

[Mac User #001]

If it comes from Q, it must be true.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Backstory:

Peter Sellers was cast as James Bond. Mid-way through filming, he went off his rocker, started pulling all sorts of ridiculous diva stunts (including IIRC demanding quite a bit more money), so the script was hastily re-written to remove him from the rest of the scenes.

Plot device: To confuse the enemy, the secret service introduces a whole slew of agents named "007" - this is where the other big names come in.

Very screwball, very confusing, but quite entertaining.

That's fascinating! I had known that Peter had some "issues" around that time, but I didn't know he actually had wigged out on a set. It sort of makes the movie even more fun to know how it got so screwy.

[Jim Paradise]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Backstory:

Peter Sellers was cast as James Bond. Mid-way through filming, he went off his rocker, started pulling all sorts of ridiculous diva stunts (including IIRC demanding quite a bit more money), so the script was hastily re-written to remove him from the rest of the scenes.

Plot device: To confuse the enemy, the secret service introduces a whole slew of agents named "007" - this is where the other big names come in.

Very screwball, very confusing, but quite entertaining.

Not to mention it has the very sultry tune "The Look of Love" by Dusty Springfield in it.

[downinflames68]

Originally Posted by davidbk1 

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is terrible.

It's my favorite one. He actually gets married in it. He falls for a girl, and shows sides of bond that are never shown again. Since his one true love is destroyed, he realizes he loves nobody.

Plus, the locations in this film are amazing in switzerland. The skiing scenes are awesome, and so are the bobsleds. And the babe lair filled with "controllable" hot girls on top of a mountain peak?! Stuff dreams are made off.

[Spheric Harlot]

Not to mention Telly ****in' Savalas as Blofeld.

[The Final Dakar]

I was more impressed by Dianna Rigg.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I was more impressed by Dianna Rigg.

DUH!!! Dianna has always been fun to watch.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Live and Let Die (for fun), Casino Royale (the only bearable modern Bond)..

Ditto.

I'm a Connery fan - there is only one 007 to me. I think the recent Craig films are somewhat of a continuation of that style.

I enjoyed Moore to a point - he made 007 laughable, but perhaps too laughable for the genre.
(The Final Dakar nails it with the laughable disco soundtrack... JHC what were they thinking, almost as bad as the world domination video game that shocks you lulz).

Dalton, no. Lazenby, no. Branson - somewhat entertaining, but no Connery.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Not to mention Telly ****in' Savalas as Blofeld.

That man is perhaps the cheesiest actor to have ever lived. I can't think of a single movie with him in it that he hasn't ruined. I love it.