Shaken, not stirred

[Ziggy]

My favorite Bond, however, is Moore, and though people complain about how camp his 007 films are, the later Brosnan films are just as campy in their own way and I enjoy them less. My favorite Moore film is probably Live and Let Die. There's an argument to be made that it's actually not a very good Bond film, but Jane Seymour is such a stunner and the action sequences are fun and frenetic. Also, I really like the strong debt the film owes to the Blaxploitation genre. For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me are also good picks. FYEO is a little more down-to-earth and TSWLM is action-packed and over the top without all the genre camp of Live and Let Die.

Moore was definitely my favorite when I was young. I guess I really don't have a favorite these days though.

I love ALL of the Roger Moore movies, even the ones that people bag on.

Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun I like to give a little bit of a pass to because they were still trying to figure out how Roger Moore would be James Bond. The George Lazenby experiment was kind of a shit show in many ways, Roger Moore was really the first true time they were trying to get a new Bond actor up and running. It took some figuring out. People like to point out the scene in Golden Gun when Bond roughs up a women for information, as if they were trying to make him more of a brute like Connery was but it just fails because Moore is more of a puppy dog. It's like trying to shove a square peg through a round hole.

The Spy Who Loved Me is definitely when Moore came into his own as Bond, and it helps that it's a pretty solid movie anyway. Just about the only thing I don't like is that Barbara Bach isn't so believable as a Russian operative. And the main villain is sort of forgettable. Maybe due to a lack of screen time or having any interesting traits or anything memorable. Or maybe because JAWS is so freaking awesome that I don't care LOL.

Moonraker is like they took TSWLM formula because it worked and injected some Star Wars into it. I already mentioned my thoughts on it above, but yeah, it's not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be.

For Your Eyes Only is "down to Earth" literally after Moonraker. They very intentionally made a less fantastical movie. So no world domination plot, or hold the world for ransom or whatever. It's definitely Moore's most "real" movie, and I love it for what it is. I didn't know until recently that a LOT of this movie is straight from Flemming's short stories.

Octopussy is kind of a mess, if I'm being honest, but I still think it's a solid Bond flick. The worst part about it is that the plot is sort of all over the place, and as many times as I've seen it the plot is still hard to remember. But purely for a spectacle, it's not at all a bad movie. It has some really great action sequences. And the pre credit sequence might actually be one of the best.

A View To A Kill was actually my favorite Moore Bond film when I was a kid, and it probably still is. The thing people hate about this movie is that Moore was really too old to be playing Bond but they went with it anyway. But you know, I never really noticed that when I use to watch the movie on VHS. I mean, I knew he looked older than he did in Live and Let Die. But it wasn't until DVD and really Blu Ray that I realized just how old he really looks. And the joke, Moore is the occasional stand in for a stunt man is kinda true LOL. But I still love the movie anyway. Christopher Walken and Grace Jones are awesome.

[Ziggy]

opa, did you watch any more Bond movies? I want your thoughts!

Talking about it made me want to watch Moonraker, so I popped it in the other night. A few things I forgot to mention about it...

Jaws is definitely a little more Wile E. Coyote in Moonraker than he is in Spy Who Loved Me. If you ever watch the behind the scenes stuff, this was intentional. Jaws is definitely more menacing and borderline horror movie antagonist in Spy Who Love Me, and more goof ball in Moonraker. I get that it's something people don't like, but either way he's such a memorable and likeable character. I don't want to have any spoilers, so I wont say more.

Moonraker has one of the best pre-credit sequences of any Bond movie. I would even argue this action sequence is one of the best of any movie, to date.

For a movie that people rip up for being too goofy and whatnot, it has one of the darkest "innocent person gets killed" scenes in any Bond movie. The "Bond in space" thing has polarizing opinions, but aside form a from a few cheesy things and a few Jaws goofball moments, I maintain that Moonraker is a solid Bond flick. If anything, those cheesy moments help to balance out the darker moments the film has. Jaws in the alley during the festival/parade, for example. There might be enough scenes from this movie to cut together to make a spoof horror movie trailer.

Oh yeah, has anyone else had the Mandela Effect with Moonraker? Concerning braces? Don't want to make any spoilers for opa, so Google it if you don't know what I mean.

[opa]

I haven't had a chance to watch any more films yet. Life has been crazy busy.

Not sure what I'll watch next. I may just jump ahead and rewatch Goldeneye.

[Ziggy]

I hear that. I put on Moonraker twice now and I don't think I've even made it halfway through yet.

[Golgo 14]

I love all the Bond movies with the possible exception of The World Is Not Enough, and that's only because I saw it in literally nightmarish circumstances on one of the worst days of my life. I should give it another try!

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of my favorites, but if you're not a big Bond-head and/or don't like older movies, it might not be your thing. It's the one with George Lazenby as Bond in his first and only outing. He's the weak link in an otherwise great film, but he's passable. It's kind of unfair to call him a bad actor because, well, he wasn't an actor. Playing Bond was an entry-level position for him and he only got the job because of his good looks and the fact that the main producer of the series was an absolute madman. It would have been great if OHMSS had starred Connery as long as he wasn't phoning it in like he did in his last 2 or 3 Bond appearances, but it was not to be. Still, Lazenby is the only Bond to definitively bat 1.000 in terms of good to, uh, not-so-good movies.

[opa]

My wife and I watched Goldeneye last night. "I'll watch it with you if I get to make fun of all the misogynistic stuff." Deal. Little does she know I do that, too. lol

Just some quick thoughts:

This is my second go-around with Goldeneye but I didn't remember it being so straight-up goofy. I think it's MST3K worthy, to be honest.

It is required watching if you're a big fan of the game. The programmers did a good job recreating the locations from the film.

WTF was up with what's-her-name who like... orgasmed to killing people? She's so weird Bond was like "no way, ma'am."

I thought the overall plot of stealing money and then nuking London with an EMP was kinda lame. All that build-up just for money? Whatever.

KNOCKERS

[Ziggy]

Re: Goldeneye

Yes, watching the movie makes you appreciate the game so much more. They did such a great job!

They actually poke fun at that characteristic of Bond. M, who is for the first time "a lady," calls Bond a misogynistic dinosaur.

Xenia, yeah. She gets sexual pleasure for killing people.

I'm actually a little surprised you called it goofy, though, to be honest. If I were to rank the top 10 goofiest Bond movies, I don't think Goldeneye would make that list.

About setting off the EMP to cover the tracks of bank theft, that's actually something Bond brings up to Janus. "Nothing more than a common thief." And Janus explains that "sending London back to the Stone Age" is what he's doing. "All so mad little Alec can settle a score with the world," is a quote from Bond earlier in the movie. It has to do with his parents being Cossacks, which there is exposition for during Bond and Alec's talk in the statue park as well and Bond and Zukovsky in the club.

[opa]

What do you consider the "goofiest" Bond film?

I'm not really sure where to go from here, tbh. Should I just watch one of the newest ones and see if I like those more?

Also, I got to play the 60th Anniversary Limited edition pinball machine a couple of weeks back. It's a really great table. Worth checking out if you like pinball and have an arcade in your area (if you can find it).

[Ziggy]

What do you consider the "goofiest" Bond film?

My quick thoughts are that there are definitely Bond films that have way more goofier stuff in them than Goldeneye. Goofy to the point that by comparison there's nothing in Goldeneye that I would even consider goofy.

If you want a good laugh, watch Die Another Day. Some people say it's one of those movies that it's so bad it's good. For me, 007 is one of my favorite series, so I have a hard time laughing at how bad one of the movies turned out. But yeah, Die Another Day is PACKED FULL of goofy shit.

You know how one of the tropes of Bond is the funny/witty remarks he makes? Die Another Day is full of those, but they're so cringe worthy. Like bad dad jokes. And that's not even the worst part. As fantastical as some of the Q branch gadgets have been, Die Another Day crosses the line with an invisible car. Then there's facial reconstructive surgery, to the point that a North Korean becomes a white Brit. There's an ice castle. And a giant space laser. I'm talking EPIC bad movie here. There's one scene toward the end when the main antagonist is wearing some kind of laser suite thing, and there's this totally cringe worthy moment when he turns around. When I saw it in the movies for the first time, I thought to myself, "IT'S TURBO TIME!" I think laughed out loud in the theater how goofy that suite was.

But we've already talked about Moonraker...

Some people find the third act to be really goofy, being in space and all. But unfortunately, there's a really bad goofy scene smack in the middle of the movie. Bond takes a boat on land and drives it through a city square, and there's so much goofy stuff going on in that scene. A dog cocking his head, a pigeon doing a double look, a waiter pouring a beverage on a patron. And Jaws acts like a goofball pretty often in the movie, but I forgive that because the character is so damn lovable.

Die Another Day is by far the goofiest of the Bond movies. Moonraker is a DISTANT second, but second nonetheless. After that, there's still tons of goofy shit in some of the movies, but it's kind of a long list to be honest.

I'm not really sure where to go from here, tbh. Should I just watch one of the newest ones and see if I like those more?

So Dr. No is dated... But can you enjoy a movie from the 60's? From Russia With Love and Goldfinger and still solid suggestions to watch. I think Form Russia is grittier.

If you thought Goldeneye was kinda goofy, then I don't think you'd have a different opinion of Tomorrow Never Dies or The World Is Not Enough. Those are both goofier than Goldeneye, I would have to say.


The Living Daylights is a solid movie, I think. And Dalton plays a meaner Bond. He's worth a watch. By default, Dalton is by far less goofy than Moore or Brosnan. There's still a few goofy things in Daylights, though. I mean, I think it's just part of the series. They liked to inject a little comedy. License to Kill is a good movie, and worth a watch, it's just that it feels less like a Bond movie and more like a generic 80's action movie. That was the only reason I didn't suggest it more, because it isn't quintessential Bond. But it's more serious, and very light on the goof.

But if you want a Bond movie that isn't dated or goofy, then yeah, watch Casino Royale. After Die Another Day, they hard corrected with Casino Roayle and turned the goofy dial to zero.

[marurun]

Also, I got to play the 60th Anniversary Limited edition pinball machine a couple of weeks back. It's a really great table. Worth checking out if you like pinball and have an arcade in your area (if you can find it).

Yes! This is such a good table. It was at the pinball museum I visited in Chattanooga in early spring and at the huge pinball place an hour east of me here. I wish it were easier to find some of these newer tables out in the wild. I think people would really like them.