James Bond Movie Month(s)
#12 on my Day Zero Project is to watch all of the James Bond movies. I haven't seen that many of the old ones. Thankfully, we own all of them. I insisted that we watch them chronologically with regard to release date. Originally this was going to take place during the month of January. As you can see, that just didn't happen. And so James Bond Movie January became James Bond Movie Months. Instead of full reviews of each movie, I'm just going to list, comment, and rate them. All in all, it was an enjoyable time watching Bond through the years.
- Dr. No (1962) -- Set in Jamaica. A great introduction to Bond and Mr. Connery. Of course there are cheesy lines and improbably circumstances. But I love all of it. Extra points for Dr. No's unbelievably amazing island lair. And that Ursula Andress, too perfect to look at. 5/5
- From Russia with Love (1963) -- Set in Istanbul. This one was more political and full of intrigue than the big action sequences. There are action sequences, just not as many as Dr. No. I really liked the slower pace and more twists and turns of this one. 5/5
- Goldfinger (1964) -- Ohhhh... definitely a fun movie. Great lines. A great villan. Even a great Bond girl. Definitely one of my favorites. 5/5
- Thunderball (1965) -- Not my favorite Bond movie. Two bright spots: Bond villan Fiona and the big underwater fight scene at the end. It's a bit ridiculous and not really practical, but crazy enough to fit into a Bond film. Love it! 4/5
- You Only Live Twice (1967) -- Set in Japan. Volcano lair! Awesome! And we get Blofeld. My only complaint is the women. They try to not be eye candy, but it ends badly. 4/5
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -- So incredibly cheesy. Definitely not my favorite. I doubt this is even going in the top 10. 3/5
- Diamonds are Forever (1971) -- Loving this one... Something about the plot or maybe the characters that I really enjoyed. 5/5
- Live and Let Die (1973) -- The first Roger Moore Bond movie. I love how he plays Bond, much suaver than Connery. And yes, this really is the best theme song. 5/5
- The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) -- Really loving the Roger Moore Bond. He has a way of saying the cheesiest, creepiest lines and somehow they come off sexy. Love it! This one was great mostly because of Christopher Lee as the villain. I could have done without Goodnight. 5/5
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) -- Definitely not my favorite... there's just something about it (maybe too cheesy) that didn't sit right with me. The only redeeming parts were Jaws and the giant aquarium set. 3/5
- Moonraker (1979) -- Loved it!!! So cheesy, but in a very good way. And that space battle at the end was to die for. And we get Jaws and the villan is uber evil. 5/5
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) -- This one just didn't do anything for me. No giant villain lair. No great one liners. A pretty boring Bond girl. The only bright spot in this one was Topol. Even Bond was looking a little old and tired. It was 81, so we get some horrendous fashions. The nail in the coffin: the horrible Sheena Easton theme song; definitely one of the worst. 2/5
- Octopussy (1983) -- Bond's looking a bit old, but overall I like this movie. The mystery woman is intriguing for a little while, but then she just feels flat. And the chase through the Indian marketplace is too amusing. 3/5
- A View to a Kill (1985) -- A fitting end for Roger Moore as Bond. I loved the Duran Duran theme song. Christopher Walken and Grace Jones as the villans were perfect. And the final showdown on top of the Golden Gate bridge was full of suspense. Extra bonus points for the "Bond drives an odd vehicle for the chase" scene was in a fire engine. 5/5
- The Living Daylights (1987) -- Our first Timothy Dalton. And I must agree with J on this one: I like the dialogue but the stunts are way too cheesy. Dalton plays Bond a lot harsher than Moore, more like Connery. 4/5
- License to Kill (1989) -- Uber cheesy Timothy Dalton. I just couldn't take this one at all. Glad we've moved on to something better. 2/5
- GoldenEye (1995) -- Ohhh Pierce.. Good but not quite as good as some of the others. Although I really do enjoy this one. And Sean Bean dies, who would have guessed? Although I must agree with J that 006 would never have been a double agent. 5/5
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) -- Not as awesome as GoldenEye, but a respectable showing for Bond. I love Christopher Price as a villain. He has the right mix of crazy and evil genius. And Teri Hatcher isn't bad as a Bond girl (probably because she gets killed fairly quickly in the movie). But the best part of the movie is the soundtrack. I love it! 5/5
- The World is Not Enough (1999) -- The opening action sequence is just great fun, but then the movie starts to go downhill. Once I started to suspect Elektra King, I just lost complete interest in the movie. And then we get the introduction of Christmas Jones. Ugh! 3/5
- Die Another Day (2002) -- Once again, the opening action in North Korea is just beautiful. The pacing is great. The character are fun. And more than anything, it's believable. The sword fight with Gustav (Toby Stephens -- forever my Mr. Rochester) is a lot of fun. Unfortunately the rest of the storyline is just blah. I couldn't really get into it. An invisible car! Just kill me now, please. One upside: the use of The Clash's "London Calling" was just a great bit of fun. 4/5
- Casino Royale (2006) -- Goodness I so love this one. Craig has the best mix of sauve and rugged sides. I usually don't like the Bond girls, but Vesper is a different sort of character. Overall the movie has great pacing and action sequences. The addition of Felix is a nice reminder of the old movies. And the opening credits are just amazing. But the best part is the black and white opening sequence. 5/5
- Quantum of Solace (2008) -- At first I didn't think I would like the "starting right where the last one left off" timeline, but this made sense with who Craig's Bond is. I loved seeing Matthas and Felix yet again. Fields is just annoying, but she serves her purpose and dies. I do love the idea of an out of control Bond. Very nice. 5/5
- Skyfall (2012) -- Looking forward to this one...
My Bond rankings:
- Sean Connery
- Daniel Craig
- Roger Moore
- Pierce Brosnen
- Timothy Dalton
- George Lazenby