FYI: Roger Moore was scheduled to have ended his career as James Bond after Octopussy and Timothy Dalton was going to start his take as the 00 Agent in View To a Kill. Well, for whatever reason unbeknowest to me this didn't happen for Dalton until Living Daylights. Regardless, View To a Kill is a definite disappointment to the 007 series and I disliked it as much as I did Thunderball but that is an entirely different review altogether. Moving on, I have heard it said that Tanya Roberts who played the bond girl in this film "couldn't act her way out of a paper bag". Well, I seriously have to agree. She was one of the worst bond girls in the entire series of 007. In fairness to Tanya she is (or was) very good looking at the time. As for the other female lead, Grace Jones was labeled by a lot of viewers as being too masculine for her role and I also must agree with that. As for the villain, Christopher Walkin is one of my favorite actors of all time but not even his character could do much to save this film from ultimately being a stinker. Overall, the story is weak and so is the acting even on Roger Moore's part. Seriously.. it looked as if Moore was ready to throw in the towel before completion of this movie. Very seldomly do I agree with so-called professional critics but in the case of View To a Kill I have to make an exception. To be a bit fair, this might entertain viewers on the first watch yet I am very positive most will not want to see it a second time. I've sat through this movie three times and it was twice too many. While it would have been interesting to see what Timothy Dalton might have brought to View To a Kill in terms of Bond's character, I doubt very highly it would have made much difference to the overall production. One positive comment I will make is that View To a Kill has a good theme song by one of the great euro bands of the 80's Duran Duran.
Reviews
15 Reviews
Octopussy
(1983)
another fresh perspective added to the Bond series
26 March 2011
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, Roger Moore might be my least favorite version of James Bond though some of his 007 films have chalked up with the best of them. Octopussy would be included in that category. This is probably Moore's final enjoyable outing in the series but not his final outing total (I will cover that in my next review). This time Bond makes a unique journey to India with unique gadgets and a very suave Indian agent named BJ(?). The villain Kamal Kahn and his brutal turban-wearing sidekick make for entertaining and semi-believable threats to the 00 Agent. Plus, we have the return of actress Maud Adams who plays the central woman though not necessarily the bond girl of this title. As I've mentioned before, the Roger Moore Bond films have brought back returning characters for the sequels though in this case Octopussy brings back the actress (Maud Adams) versus the character she previously played in Man with the Golden Gun. I must add that her character is quite a welcomed change which added greatly to the main plot of this film. There is one very minor turn of events that I wasn't too fond of in Octopussy relating to a particular character's death though I won't spoil that for anyone and I can almost assure it hardly takes away from the overall film. Roger Moore could have gone out with a bang so to say had he ended his contract with Octopussy. This, however, was not the case as he went on to appear as 007 one more time in View To a Kill. On a final note, the theme song 'All Time High' is a good tune worthy of mention. Oh, just a bit of a trivia question: Did anyone notice the matching circus tent in Octopussy in which the character of JAWS might have "dropped on top of" during Moonraker before it? I really wonder about that...
For Your Eyes Only
(1981)
it lacks here and there yet still entertains
25 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Oh where to begin with this one... Guess I should start with letting people know that while I almost never include spoilers for the courtesy of others, I really feel the need to make an exception with For Your Eyes Only. On a positive note, the spoilers I will give are few and will not ruin the viewer's experience. For those who read my previous Bond review I stated that Never Say Never roughly takes place in between Moonraker and Your Eyes Only. As a number of you know, For Your Eyes Only came out a year before Never Say Never. This is where the first spoiler comes in: In Never Say Never, we see the return of Blofeld who headed the Spectre criminal organization thought to have been killed off in Diamonds Are Forever. In Your Eyes Only, Bond finally finishes off Blofeld near the start of the film. Despite Never Say Never being an unofficial 'EON' release and a loose yet much improved remake of Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only should have come out in between Never Say Never and Octopussy as far as I'm concerned. NOW BACK TO THE INITIAL REVIEW: For Your Eyes Only delivers most of what 007 fans have come to enjoy regarding a super spy action flick. Still, having come out after Moonraker I can see how some viewers might have found this movie to be a bit of a letdown. The previous Roger Moore bond films had reached a good peak for the series at the time with supposed future technology and special effects. Your Eyes Only somewhat clumped a rehash of previous action/effect sequences used in previous 007 films going as far back to Her Majesty's Secret Service. Normally this is fine and has worked even for some of the later Bonds to come yet in this particular instance, it seems overdone and cliché. Just watch and you will see what I'm talking about. As for the villain of this 007 title, he is very mundane and uninteresting as was the villain Largo from Thunderball (Ironically, the Largo character in Never Say Never was quite improved upon). Mind you, none of the critiques above should discourage anyone from watching this movie. In fact, the bond woman in this is one of my favorites. This is because her character is not the predictable damsel in distress as we have seen in many 007 films. She is independent, a trained fighter, intelligent, and very good looking. As for the music, the theme song to Your Eyes Only is one of the tunes that stand out to me from the bond series. The other tunes I liked were from Goldfinger, Live Let Die, Man with Golden Gun, and Spy Who Loved Me. On a final note, this movie is worth viewing though I will strongly suggest watching it after Never Say Never and also watching it before Octopussy even though nothing connects it to the latter bond title. While some readers will disagree with me on this review and quite possibly Never Say Never, hopefully all readers will have found my reviews informative.
Never Say Never Again
(1983)
a welcomed return for Connery
25 March 2011
For those of you who were old enough to have seen this when it hit theaters, you might recall that Never Say Never ran along side another Roger Moore 007 film released near the same time. I will go more into that on a later review. As for Never Say Never, some critics ripped this unofficial bond title into shreds. Other critics welcomed the unofficial title as a twist on the franchise. As for myself, I agree with the latter critics. For those who don't know (hopefully IMDb won't consider this remark a spoiler), Never Say Never is a LOOSE remake of the much earlier Thunderball. I put the word 'loose' in all caps for a reason: While the plot and characters of Thunderball share some similarities with Thunderball, the overall timeline of the story takes place in between Moonraker and Your Eyes Only (I will further explain this in my review of Your Eyes Only). The reason Never Say Never is labeled an unofficial bond title is because it was produced by Warner Bros. studios with a different producer/director and not by United Artists/MGM. Still, don't let this statement gear you away from viewing this title. Never Say Never delivers greatly on the action and special effects of 007 and reminded many viewers why Sean Connery might possibly have been voted "best bond actor" as of recent. Is this to say Never Say Never is near perfect? Well, not really. Even at two hours and 30 minutes, there are some minor pacing issues that could have been trimmed a little. Regardless, the overall pacing is still acceptable especially when compared to Thunderball... have mercy!! Moving on; I have always liked the actress Kim Basinger and while she might not have been some peoples' choice for the bond girl in this film, she can act to some degree and is (or was) very good looking back in the early 80's when this was filmed. As for one of the two villains, those of you who thought Ernest Blofeld a.k.a Spectre #1 met his end on Diamonds Are Forever might be in for a shock. Overall, some James Bond purists will disregard Never Say Never simply because it is not an official Albert R. Brocolli production... and that is unfortunate because this film is definitely worthy of the 007 collection.
Moonraker
(1979)
Don't Listen To The Critics !!!
11 March 2011
My, how Moonraker has received some unfair reviews. I must have been watching a different movie because I consider this to not only be one of the best 007 films but also the peak of Roger Moore's career as Bond. I suppose I will have to make an attempt to defend the goodness of Moonraker: For one, the plot of this movie at the time was somewhat original and futuristic. Even now, it still stands out to a lesser degree. Second, the gadgets (one weapon in particular) made for a nice little battle at the end of the movie. Third, the Bond girl known as Dr. Goodhead is quite the attractive intellectual who can hold her own despite her cover. Fourth, the main villain while lacking personality is sinister and has some catchy dialog. Fifth, here it comes... the return of JAWS. Yes, the metal mouth giant played by the same actor comes back for his second and unfortunately final outing in the 007 film series. Though JAWS doesn't get quite as much screen time he got in Spy Who Loved Me, his performance suffers no less and still brings much entertainment to the action scenes that he is in. One more thing about JAWS and then I will move on... I really liked how his character turned out near the end of Moonraker. Without giving spoilers, this is one reason I wish JAWS was brought back a third time. The other reason of course being that his character is just so unique to begin with. Seriously, I don't think MGM noticed the potential franchise they could have had with this particular Bond character. To finally move on, the pacing might not have been quite up to par as it was with the Spy Who Loved Me and I think that is one problem critics had with Moonraker. As for me, the pacing didn't ruin a thing and I can't think of any major or central moment as to where the pacing lagged. Another reason critics bashed Moonraker is because of it's "over the top futuristic plot theme". I beg to differ; this is part of what made Moonraker stand out from the typical and occasionally overused 007 formula. Trust me folks, Moonraker holds up there with its predecessor that critics so dearly praised though rightfully so and as I commented at the start; this may have been a peak in the 007 series especially considering a few of the future Bond films that came after it.
The Spy Who Loved Me
(1977)
worth viewing several times over
11 March 2011
Spy Who Loved Me easily gets a high rating for several reasons. Now before I get on with those reasons, let me state as I did in a previous James Bond review that Roger Moore is the least of my preferred portrayals of the character. Still, this particular film is not only one of Moore's best outings as the 00 Agent it is also one of the best Bond films period. Moving on to why I like Spy Who Loved Me so much: For one, the pacing of the film is near perfect. I wasn't bored for a minute. Secondly, The Russian Agent known as 'Tripple X' (ha ha) is Bond's equal in just about every way. Third, one of my few all time favorite Bond villains makes his first appearance in the series... JAWS. This guy is so unique that the movie is almost worth seeing just for him (and for Tripple X too). Fourth, Moore's character of Bond is more humanist and less egotistical. Fifth, the opening song to Spy Who Loved Me is the fourth song that I really like in the 007 series with the others being Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, and Man with the Golden Gun. Moving on to the plot of the film... To be honest, it is nothing unique. In fact, the only minor complaint I have is that the lesser Bond villain is very bland and fortunately doesn't get much screen time unlike the bland villain of Thunderball who got way too much screen time. OK, back to Spy Who Loved Me... JAWS gets a good portion of screen time as he should and interestingly enough JAWS doesn't speak a word throughout his entire presence. Well truth be told, he doesn't really need to say anything. I could possibly be overrating Spy Who Loved Me but I don't care. It delivers good thrills and is top notch in the 007 library.
The Man with the Golden Gun
(1974)
Roger Moore VS. Christopher Lee
2 March 2011
Moore is back for his second outing as James Bond. How does he fare from his first outing? Well, pretty much the same. For those who read my review of Live and Let Die, I wrote that I would further get into the character that Roger Moore brought to Bond. Before I get on with reviewing Man with the Golden Gun, let me state that Moore's portrayal of 007 is more comedic and cocky than what Connery brought. This works to some degree yet I have also found it to be somewhat overused as well. You see much of Bond's arrogance in Man with the Golden Gun probably more so than the future bond films that follow. Does this ruin the overall experience? No, it doesn't. However, it does affect my rating for this movie in particular. This is especially the case with the character of the British Agent known as Goodnight. This was her only appearance and I'm glad. Her character while certainly attractive was simply annoying to me for reasons that I won't go into because it would somewhat give spoilers for those who haven't seen this. All that being said, there is much to like about Man with the Golden Gun which is why I generously give it 8 out of 10 stars. For one, a trend that we see in the Roger Moore series is the return of certain characters for later films other than Felix Lighter and the British secret service. In Golden Gun, we get the return of J.W. Pepper from Live and Let Die. Now some reviewers and critics have stated that Pepper's return wasn't needed. While that might be true, I still found him enjoyable especially when he and Bond play off each other. Now getting to the other main character and memorable villain of the Bond franchise... Christopher Lee as Scaramanga. To me, this character is part of why I generously give Golden Gun my preferred rating. If I may go off subject for a moment, Christopher Lee was outstanding as the villains he played; mainly Dracula from the Hammer series. For him to have played Dracula eight times says something about the performance he put into that character. OK, now back to the subject at hand... The famous duel near the end of Golden Gun is still exciting as when I first viewed it. As for the other characters in Man with the Golden Gun, most are somewhat interesting except for Agent Goodnight. While some will not agree with me on this, they can at least agree that her character did not add anything significant to the franchise although it could be argued that a number of Bond girls were no different in that aspect. Despite the minor flaws, the major attributes are what make Man with the Golden Gun worthy of the 007 series. In fact, Man with the Golden Gun contains the second of the James Bond theme songs that I really like with the first being the theme song from Goldfinger. I will include preferences to other Bond theme songs in my future reviews of the 007 franchise.
Live and Let Die
(1973)
Roger Moore's debut as Bond is a good one.
2 March 2011
I finished reviewing the first series of 007 films with Connery and will now move on to Live and Let Die. I can imagine that many viewers and maybe critics really didn't know what to expect from this one. For starters, a new actor getting contracted to appear as James Bond for the next several films posed the question of "Will Roger Moore bring changes to the character of the 00 Agent?" Well, the answer is YES. I could go into further detail on this but I will save that for my review of 'Man with the Golden Gun'. As for Live and Let Die, there is somewhat of a mixed bag here yet the overall movie is still great as far as I'm concerned. What stood out to me for this film were the villains Katanga and Baren Samedi (spelling?). Katanga is not anything extraordinary but I enjoyed seeing him get angry throughout Live and Let Die. As for Baren Samedi, "the magician who couldn't die" was a great yet short lived addition to the Bond villain legacy (Catch the irony there?). Now for the Bond girls: both were really bland in my opinion. The agent who Bond worked with in this film wasn't much of an agent at all. She was a bit cowardly and ill-prepared. Those who have seen this know what I'm talking about. As for the character of Solitare, she brought nothing in terms of of a much needed character but maybe that is why she wasn't focused on so much. Now one character that probably doesn't get much credit in this movie is the cop known as J.W. Pepper. That guy brought some good redneck humor to the main action sequence following the second half. Once thing viewers will notice about the Roger Moore 007 flicks is the comedic overtone that is often used. The theme song to Live and Let Die could be what is most remembered concerning the movie but I don't mean that to come off as a negative critique. To end with that comment, I might still have liked the theme song had I not heard it so much over the years.
Diamonds Are Forever
(1971)
Sean Connery returns and goes back out with a bang
26 February 2011
After the release of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, most people probably assumed that George Lazenby was officially the new James Bond... they were wrong. Connery returned supposedly one last time to reprise Bond in 'Diamonds Are Forever' which completed the Ernest Blofeld trilogy of the series for those who know what I'm talking about. The film picks up loosely following the events of OHMSS. What are those events one might ask? Watch it and see for yourself. Overall, I really liked Diamonds are Forever. It is on of the first Bond films I saw as a teenager so I guess it holds somewhat of a special place for me. That being said, I may fail to point out possible legit criticisms so for anyone who wonders what those criticisms could be, watch the movie or look for another review. Regardless of what "could" be wrong with Diamonds Are Forever, it definitely holds up well and is very entertaining. The movie on one or two occasions tends to make fun of itself but that really takes nothing away from it. As with the previous installments before and after Thunderball, I recommend this Bond title.
a very unique addition to the Bond series
26 February 2011
I have read some of the negative reviews for this movie and I have to say that I agree with NONE of them except for the slightly unnecessary two and a half hour length. Regardless, this doesn't ruin On Her Majesty's Secret Service in any way to warrant a serious complaint as far as I'm concerned. As with the positive reviews this film received, I agree with most all of them. For one, George Lazenby replacing Sean Connery as Bond may have displeased some but I think he did just as good of a job and would not have minded a bit if he became the next Bond for a few more films. This movie also had some enjoyable action scenes; some of which would later get mimicked in future Bond installments. The bond girl is by far one of the best. To be a little more specific, this bond girl plays a significant part in the Bond series as a whole that no other bond girl shares. However, I won't reveal why that is because I don't usually give spoilers for the courtesy of those who haven't seen the films that I review. The ending alone for this movie got several mixed reviews but I can say with certainty that had it not ended the way it did, the Bond franchise might have come to an end.
You Only Live Twice
(1967)
an improvement over the previous installment
26 February 2011
For those who read my reviews of the earlier Bond titles, you found that I had positive reviews for all of them except Thunderball. As for 'You Only Live Twice', I noticed it has received mixed reviews. After having read both positive and negative reviews for it and being able to agree with both, I still like this movie and recommend it. The plot of You Only Live Twice takes Bond to Japan where he will eventually come to meet the head of the Spectre organization and we the viewers will finally get to observe the face of No.1 if you will (except for the viewers who skipped over this for whatever reason and watched the next two Bond installments). I notice that some reviewers didn't care for the ending of this movie. As for me, I saw nothing wrong with it. After all, what Bond film has yet to show a detailed and lengthy finale anyway? The characters, story, gadgets, and action scenes of You Only Live Twice managed to entertain well enough to a satisfactory level in my opinion.
Thunderball
(1965)
The Best of Connery's James Bond ?
26 February 2011
Apparently many viewers seem to favor Thunderball as one of the top ranking Bond films. I have seen it three times but really didn't find the movie to improve with each viewing. Is it fair to say that Thunderball is the worst of the series? Definitely not. In fact, it isn't what I would call a bad movie. So then why do I give a 4/10 rating? Well to be quite honest, most everything held up except for the pacing. The story is good, the acting is good, and some of the characters are interesting. Sadly, THE PACING IS TERRIBLE! This is what ruined Thunderball for me. My biggest complaint aside from the dull moments of this movie is the much appraised underwater climactic scene. I'm sure the scenery for it's time was deemed magnificent. To be fair, the underwater segments were shot quite well. The problem is that they went on for far too long. Moving on to the bond characters of Thunderball; three in particular. The central villain of this movie tried to come off as a fearless leader yet had the personality of a rock. The bond girl really wasn't given much to work with and between her and the female villain, I rather fancied the female villain. OK, moving on... After seeing Connery's Bond reach his peak in the superior Goldfinger, I suppose my expectations for Thunderball were not met. Final Thoughts: A number of those who read this review will probably not agree with it. In fact, I found the loose remake of this movie (Never Say Never) to be the better version of the two. Mind you, I have all the Bond films and really enjoy most of them. Still, Thunderball is one of the few that just didn't do it for me.
Goldfinger
(1964)
This really set the standard for the Bond films.
18 February 2011
If I had to pick one Bond movie in the Connery series that stands out from the rest, Goldfinger is the one. This film is just plain unique. Goldfinger adds one of the great theme songs to the franchise. It also brought about memorable Bond villains to the series such as Oddjob, Pussy Galore, and of course the character of Goldfinger. Bond's CIA partner Felix Lighter returns for this adventure but is played by a much older actor which didn't make much sense yet doesn't take anything away from the flick. Goldfinger gives us one of the most memorable scenes in movie history. For those who haven't seen this, I won't spoil it for anyone but I will say that it involves spray paint.
From Russia with Love
(1963)
James Bond returns for his second assignment.
18 February 2011
From Russia with Love continues the 007 series from Dr. No. This time Bond must travel to... you guessed it, Russia. We learn that a criminal organization known as SPECTRE is plotting to thwart the British and Russian governments in hopes to create war and profit. What exactly is this devious plot you ask? Well, watch the movie and find out. For Bond's seconding outing, From Russia with Love for the most part holds up with Dr. No. The pacing lags a bit here and there during the middle of the movie but is really nothing worth complaining over since the rest of it holds up. This is a worthy sequel to the James Bond series and is followed by'Goldfinger'.
Dr. No
(1962)
great entry to the bond series
18 February 2011
What can I say that hasn't already been said about Dr.No? To get right to the point, this is a must see for anyone who is not familiar with the Bond films and also a must see for those of my generation who are only familiar with the later Bond films (Goldeneye and beyond). The pacing may seem a little dated by today's typical action flicks but in no way ruins the movie. While Dr. No starts off a bit slow, it quickly picks up and doesn't fail to entertain in the least. It is certainly interesting to see Sean Connery in his early years playing what would would soon become his famous calling card as Agent 007. Did I mention that Dr. No is the first movie of the Bond films?
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