PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Aug 13, 2015 18:03:15 GMT -5
Yeah, Dracula nailed it. Something was lost when Craig showed up and tradition was thrown to the wind. And of course, that's when I really started enjoying these movies. |
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Aug 14, 2015 18:32:26 GMT -5
I watched Never Say Never Again this afternoon. Full thoughts coming soon, but...hoooooo boy......
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Aug 14, 2015 19:18:33 GMT -5
I watched Never Say Never Again this afternoon. Full thoughts coming soon, but...hoooooo boy......  |
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IanTheCool
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Post by IanTheCool on Aug 17, 2015 10:12:58 GMT -5
Ian's Bond EducationMoonraker This is one of the worst Bond flicks thus far. The story is wildly disconnected and it all ends with a garbage space battle. Let me explain. Why is it disconnected? This story jumps all over the place and really seems to have no ties to scenes or ideas that came before it. We start with a space shuttle getting stolen, which is cool, and Bond goes to the research facility in California to investigate. So far so good, the movie is about an evil plot in space, things are making sense. Then we start taking wild diversions and end up in Venice for some reason. Actually there is a reason, so we can have a motorized gondola chase. Then we go to Rio I guess, and we get yet another boat chase this time in the Amazon. I actually kind of liked this one. Then he starts exploring some magical garden, fights of snakes, etc. But regardless, it seemed like they just wanted Bond in as many exotic locales as possible. And thats fine, thats part of what Bond is, but it felt so blatant here that it didn't work. They should have been more focused in locations that made sense for the overall story. And by the way, when people make fun of Bond movies for having ridiculously needless plots for trying to kill him off, Moonraker is a rich source for that criticism. Okay, then we get to the space stuff. Aside from the fact that Bond going into space is stupid just as a general idea, it gets worse. The Villain plot to kill off humans and repopulate with beautiful people is taken to seriously (as accented by the music. Then the Americans come (I can't remember how they found it) and engage in a battle similar to the underwater battle from Thunderball. Except with way more lasers. Oh, the lasers! Honestly, what a crap scene. And then there's Jaws. I don't know what they heck was with his character at the end. So, so awful. 2/10
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Aug 17, 2015 10:24:03 GMT -5
Yeah, it's criminal what they do to Jaws in Moonraker. Give him a ridiculous love interest (complete with her own set of awful teeth!), make him a good guy, reduce him to a punchline. All the awesome they built for him in The Spy Who Loved Me only to reduce him to that. Moonraker is probably the worst Bond, I just generally credit that dubious honor to Die Another Day solely because I don't think anyone was actually trying to make anything coherent with Moonraker.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Aug 17, 2015 11:44:20 GMT -5
I don't know which Bond I think is worse, Moonraker or Man With The Golden Gun. I'm leaning towards Moonraker.
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Aug 17, 2015 11:57:35 GMT -5
Man With the Golden Gun is also extremely crappy and very disappointing considering the premise and Christopher Lee as the villain.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Aug 17, 2015 12:06:48 GMT -5
Speaking of Die Another Day, I've also wondered to myself which one I dislike more, that or The World is Not Enough. As ridiculous as Die Another Day is, The World is Not Enough takes itself so seriously and at the same time is so wildly unenjoyable to watch. Even when I was watching it in theaters when I was 14 or 15 I thought 'I'm not having any fun watching this.' Die Another Day is the cinematic equivalent of stepping on a mousetrap, stumbling through a window, falling 15 stories and having an ACME safe fall on your head. The World is Not Enough is like a botched root canal.
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Aug 17, 2015 12:23:33 GMT -5
I've seen Die Another Day fairly recently but haven't revisited World is Not Enough since 1999. I remember the villain being cool but wasted, and the women being hot but very cliched and unbelievable. Mediocre at best, but not the trainwreck that Die Another Day is. I recently ran through all the Bond movies I hadn't seen, so maybe I just need to watch all of them again since there's a good amount I haven't seen in ages. But yeah, World is Not Enough was pretty meh.
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Aug 17, 2015 17:59:01 GMT -5
Die Another Day is baaaaaaaaad. World is Not Enough is just bad.
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Aug 17, 2015 18:14:09 GMT -5
I don't know which Bond I think is worse, Moonraker or Man With The Golden Gun. I'm leaning towards Moonraker. Golden Gun for sure. Moonraker at least has some big crazy production values, and I kind of like that space battle in spite of/because of how stupid it it. It also has some of the series better innuendos like Holly Goodhead and "I believe he's attempting re-entry." Speaking of Die Another Day, I've also wondered to myself which one I dislike more, that or The World is Not Enough. As ridiculous as Die Another Day is, The World is Not Enough takes itself so seriously and at the same time is so wildly unenjoyable to watch. Even when I was watching it in theaters when I was 14 or 15 I thought 'I'm not having any fun watching this.' Die Another Day is the cinematic equivalent of stepping on a mousetrap, stumbling through a window, falling 15 stories and having an ACME safe fall on your head. The World is Not Enough is like a botched root canal. ...both of those movies are under-rated and over-bashed. I at least understand why people don't like DAD, I do not get why more people don't appreciate TWINE for what it is. |
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Jibbs
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Post by Jibbs on Aug 17, 2015 18:19:00 GMT -5
World is Not Enough is awesome.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Sept 4, 2015 15:15:11 GMT -5
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
The best thing I can say about Never Say Never Again is that at least it's not as bad as Diamonds Are Forever...but that's not a compliment. At all.
For starters, we've seen this movie before; it was called Thunderball, and it was MUCH better than this. 'Pale imitation' doesn't even begin to come close to describing what this is. Ever since I've started my full-on trek through the Bond films, I've often said that the worst kind is one that's simultaneously stupid and boring, and Never Say Never Again continues that tradition. It's boring because it simply rehashes the story of Thunderball with no energy or attempt at making something good and/or interesting, and stupid primarily because there's no reason for this movie to exist. Now, I understand how this isn't really an official Bond film, per say, but I don't care. It's still a movie featuring James Bond and it's still terrible. It's also a movie you mostly forget once it's over.
Just stick with Thunderball. Really, there's not much to say here.
*/****
*I've since watched both A View To A Kill and The Living Daylights, but I'm REALLY behind on Letterboxd reviews.
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Sept 4, 2015 15:27:54 GMT -5
Yeah, that movie sucks. You're gonna make Neverending cry with that score. |
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Sept 4, 2015 15:36:38 GMT -5
Yeah, that movie sucks. You're gonna make Neverending cry with that score. I'll make him cry harder with my critique of the Harry Potter movies, which are all horrible. |
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SnoBorderZero
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Post by SnoBorderZero on Sept 4, 2015 15:38:36 GMT -5
Ooooh, shots fired. I'm gonna find my seat next to Michael Jackson and much on some popcorn for this.
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PhantomKnight
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Post by PhantomKnight on Sept 4, 2015 16:19:31 GMT -5
Ooooh, shots fired. I'm gonna find my seat next to Michael Jackson and much on some popcorn for this. Yeah, I'm just waiting for his rebuttal, lol. |
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IanTheCool
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Post by IanTheCool on Sept 12, 2015 11:18:34 GMT -5
Ian's Bond Education For Your Eyes Only  So as I get further along in my Bond viewing, it feels like the original charm of the early 60's films is gradually seeping out of this franchise. The 70s saw the films turn more repetitive, less interesting, and much cheesier, and the 80s doesn't seem to be reversing that trend at all. There's something about the overall look of the Connery films that felt more authentic, which the Moore films feels like everything is... made out of cardboard or something. Its hard to explain, but I just don't like the look of these middle films. So I know I said before that I liked the skiing scenes, but now it feels gratuitous. I mean, Bond already had a ski shootout just two films earlier! And without a ridiculous scene where he jumps on a bobsled track. So yeah, things are getting repetitive. Nothing in this film is as bad as parts of Moonraker or Diamonds live forever (although the figure skater girl comes pretty close), but nothing is overly interesting either. Bond is getting duller by the moment. 5/10 |
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Sept 12, 2015 11:52:36 GMT -5
So yeah, things are getting repetitive. Might be worth reminding you that these movies were originally seen years apart and that people didn't so much as have VHS players to remind them of what the last movie was like. |
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PG Cooper
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Post by PG Cooper on Sept 12, 2015 12:07:01 GMT -5
Ian's Bond Education For Your Eyes Only 5/10 Craziness. FYEO is one of the best. |
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Neverending
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Post by Neverending on Sept 12, 2015 12:40:06 GMT -5
Yeah... I'm a little surprised by Ian's criticism. This is Roger Moore's biggest departure in the franchise.
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Doomsday
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Post by Doomsday on Sept 12, 2015 14:16:21 GMT -5
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IanTheCool
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Post by IanTheCool on Sept 12, 2015 14:41:08 GMT -5
Wow, so I'm against the grain on this one?
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Dracula
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Post by Dracula on Sept 12, 2015 15:33:49 GMT -5
Wow, so I'm against the grain on this one? Decidedly. You'll probably get a better idea of why when you watch Octopussy and View to a Kill, although Moonraker should have been a hint. |
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IanTheCool
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Post by IanTheCool on Sept 12, 2015 20:31:28 GMT -5
I admit moonraker was far worse, but this was still quite mediocre.
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