Best Bond film

[NumberSix]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service for me.

Why?

* Best Bond Girl.

* Renegade Bond, for the first and only time.

* Married Bond, shock.

* Telly Savalas being top.

* The ski scene where he loses a ski.

* Young Joanna Lumley.

* Hilly.

Diana Rigg is just fab. That bit where he loses one ski and just carries on is one of the best Bond scenes ever. Savalas is brilliantly sinister yet ridiculous at the same time, which is what being a bond villain is all about. Plus the fact that Bond pursues the whole thing off his own back, showing a hint of his darker side, just makes it for me.

Given that you're all going to disagree with me: what's your favourite Bond, and why?

[isogashii]

You're not alone in your opinion. OHMSS is constantly held up as the best Bond film by many people, as it's one of the darkest and most true to life-and-the books-and-junk. I seem to remember Total Film voting it the best Bond Film Ever a while back.

As for me, I couldn't even begin to choose.

[dunni]

OHMSS is actually the only bond I don't like! I just found it really boring. I find it hard to choose my favourite though, I love all the rest.

[Ivanho]

OHMSS is good, but Spy Who Loved Me is better.

Opening Sequence is one of the best ever (dodgy back projection excluded)

Moore getting the balance between serious and hammy just right

Ken Adams fantastic sets

Barbara Bach

Jaws

[Salsa Party Animal]

I think Goldeneye is the best modern Bond Films but I think HMSS is a very very good bond film. I love them all.

[Alexlotl]

To be fair, Bond's been renegade three times now - OHMSS, Licence to Kill and Die Another Day.

I'm conflicted about OHMSS. If Dalton or Connery had been playing the lead, it would probably be my favourite Bond film. But I have credibility issues with Lazenby, although he's far better than Moore.

I agree with Legendary that Goldeneye is a modern Bond classic. Pisses on the rest of the Brosnan era from extraordinary height.

Personally, I don't think Dalton (or his films) get the respect they deserve. I wish he'd made Goldeneye.

Cloney

[oli]

I like OHMSS for the ending, I think it's quite sad although i'm not a gayer

[SeanR]

I already said OHMSS in the last bond thread. for all the above plus Louis Armstrong

[Beertiger]

Licence to kill is up there but i've always loved OHMSS the best. It's superbly written and ultimately tragic.

The Spy Who Loved me is a wee bit shat special effects wise, it makes me cry. It's stupid because the tanker looks bloody real and is amazing but then they fire a little speed boat out of it goes all thunderbirds.

By the way Goldfinger, From Russia With Love and Dr. No poop on all but OHMSS.

I found it quite sad the other day when i put The Spy Who Loved me back in it's box set i didn't even need to think about where it went as i knew precisely where it went.

EDIT - Isn't it odd that everyone says OHMSS is the worse Bond film ever. Isn't it also odd that these people have never seen it.

[emjay2kay]

I agree with Legendary that Goldeneye is a modern Bond classic. Pisses on the rest of the Brosnan era from extraordinary height.

I agree yet I still think Brosnan suits the Bond role very well. It's just the script that's holding him back in my opinion.

Hopefully the Bond film in 2007 will be a classic, considered one of the best as a way to commemorate the year, not just a generic film with big explosions and some bloke called James which was Die Another Day.

[Beertiger]

I agree yet I still think Brosnan suits the Bond role very well. It's just the script that's holding him back in my opinion.

Hopefully the Bond film in 2007 will be a classic, considered one of the best as a way to commemorate the year, not just a generic film with big explosions and some bloke called James which was Die Another Day.

The modern films seem to be more of a marketing tool for whoever is lending the cars. They seem to be much more focused on the gadgets and special effects.

Bring back Blofeld i tell ya.

Bring back Jaws i tell ya.

And when was the last time the bad guy had a shark pit in his lair, this is why the modern Bonds don't feel right.

[Commander Jameson]

I agree with Legendary that Goldeneye is a modern Bond classic. Pisses on the rest of the Brosnan era from extraordinary height.

Personally, I don't think Dalton (or his films) get the respect they deserve. I wish he'd made Goldeneye.

Blimey! I thought I was the only person that thought like this.

I thought "Goldeneye" was fantastic. One of the best opening stunts (the dam jump) I have seen, especially as it was done for real. It was breathtaking seeing that in the cinema after not having seen a Bond film for many years. All of the films since then have been pretty poor, to be honest (apart from Brosnan himself). No-one seems to be able to pull off those double entendres subtley enough. The worst was the "cunning linguist" one from Moneypenny.

I am a great fan of the Dalton films, with "Licence to Kill" ranking right up there with "Goldfinger" as my favourites. The end tanker sequence is an awesome climax. I liked the way that Dalton (like Lazenby before him) did a lot of his own stunt work, adding a layer of realism to the Bond films.

I went through a stage of disliking all the Roger Moore films (apart from "For Your Eyes Only"), but have recently started to like them again, for what they are. "The Spy Who Loved Me" (as has been mentioned previously) looks fantastic. The tanker interior set was great, as was the battle to take it over.

Hopefully, the next Bond film will be better, but having seen the results of the last few, I am not hopeful.

CJ

[SeanR]

"I always wanted to open a door into a room full of ninjas"

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Watching The Living Daylights yesterday, I couldn't help but feel that Timothy Dalton got a raw deal from everyone. He was like how you'd imagine Bond really would be, a guy handling defections, investigating arms deals, etc, not some invunreable ubermensch saving the world from stolen nukes/orbital cannons/poison gas/madmen in massive secret bases on a weekly basis.

Sadly, it seems all audiences want these days are bad quips, double entendres, increasingly ludicrous cars and guaranteed annihilation unless James saves the day. No wonder Dalton's more grounded (yet still action packed) small scale efforts weren't so popular...

That said, I'm going to go against all I've said above and pick You Only Live Twice - I love it to bits.

[RaoulSilva]

My favouite Bond film is Goldeneye, although The Living Daylights is a close second. The "why couldn't you learn the violin" gag is often used on a friend of mine who plays the cello

[Rex Grossman]

My brother is an absolute Bond freak and collects so much stuff it's not funny. The main things I learned from him is that OHMSS is the best film and people that slag off Dalton should stick to Arnie's films and leave Bond well alone.

[Paradigm]

I thought both The Living Daylights and License to Kill were really good. I really liked Timothy Dalton as Bond. However, GoldenEye is just sooooooo good that for me it wins.

I also like Moonraker

[Nick_L]

I loved the Dalton films too - Living Daylights and License to Kill are deffo my favorites. Living Daylights has the best theme tune of all the bonds too

Liked the Moore films too, just for him coming across as the perfect gentleman

[McFly]

Goldfinger, Goldeneye and Dr No is my top 3.

Honourbale mention to a view to a kill which has the best theme tune by far and was the first one i saw.

[Vemsie]

Goldeneye because is it damn good (the only good Brosnan one in fact) and unlike the Connery ones (good as most of them are) isn't dated.

[Looper]

Goldeneye is my favourite. Great everything in it

[Luke]

The only Bond films I've seen all the way through are the first to Peice Brosnan ones I got drag to see at the cinema.

Sorry.

[McCoy]

With the recent rumours that MGM is dropping Brosnan for the next film and getting a younger actor instead you have to wonder what they are trying to do. Brosnan has consistently been the best thing in his Bond movies whilst working with quite dodgy script matrial. If MGM get rid of Brosnan it will be to thier loss...

[jcafarley]

I really liked OHMSS, although the odd fight sequences (were they speeded up?) did taint the film slightly. Rigg was fantastic, my favourite Bond girl ever.

I liked the Dalton era, Connery and regard Brosnan probably as my favourite Bond (on the strength of Goldeneye).

I do hate the Moore era ones though, his performances were always far too hammy for my liking.

[DoctorK]

They would be bloody foolish to get rid of Brosnan, like most people are saying, he's a great Bond, let down by piss poor scripts since Goldeneye. Although I did really enjoy Die Another Day.

Licence To Kill is my personal favourite, Timothy Dalton was very underrated IMO.

[DirkCrisis]

From Russia with Love

Aces it is...

[Random]

Timothy Dalton - Easily my favourite Bond. I think that Living Daylights and Licence to Kill are awesome films and really under-rated. Much more grounded in reality and much more subterfuge, double-crossing, political machinations etc rather than ludicrous evil-guy-in-underwater-lair-plans-to-annihilate-the-world nonsense. Of course it all depends on what you want from Bond. Lots of nice touches too like the flicker of hurt that plays across Dalton's features when Felix Leiter's new wife is teasing him that maybe he'll be married next. Comes from being a classically trained actor I suppose. Carey Lowell was a fox too which helps :-) I think people unfairly compared the Dalton films to other Blockbusters of the era and also found the toned down nature of the films difficult to come to terms with (i.e. his lack of over the top womanising - most likely a reflection of the late eighties/early nineties concerns of Aids and Safe Sex, strong female leads i.e. Carey Lowell's character in Licence to Kill, the criss-crossing plot of Living Daylights, the revenge mission of Licence to Kill, the more down to earth villain of Robert Davi - i.e. he is only really in it for the cold hard cash).

Personally I never rated GoldenEye (the film not the game). Apart from the Dam sequence I found the rest of it predictable and dull. Just didn't grab me at all.

On the other hand I really, really liked Tomorrow Never Dies. Felt much more likely to happen. I.e. The power of the Media, manipulation of the news etc. Also had some great action sequences (the handcuffed together escape on the bike for example) and a great opening (the weapons sale, escape in the plane). Only weakness would be a slightly unthreatening (in the physical sense) main villain and an unremarkable henchman (the typically Aryan muscle bound thug). If only the henchman had been of OddJob or Jaws calibre then it would probably be my favourite Bond.

[Beertiger]

On the other hand I really, really liked Tomorrow Never Dies. Felt much more likely to happen. I.e. The power of the Media, manipulation of the news etc. Also had some great action sequences (the handcuffed together escape on the bike for example) and a great opening (the weapons sale, escape in the plane). Only weakness would be a slightly unthreatening (in the physical sense) main villain and an unremarkable henchman (the typically Aryan muscle bound thug). If only the henchman had been of OddJob or Jaws calibre then it would probably be my favourite Bond.

SNAP

The Dr character would've made a better henchmen, although he seemed to be an expanded version of the baddie from The Man With The Golden Gun who's name i can't spell.

[emjay2kay]

On the other hand I really, really liked Tomorrow Never Dies. Felt much more likely to happen. I.e. The power of the Media, manipulation of the news etc. Also had some great action sequences (the handcuffed together escape on the bike for example) and a great opening (the weapons sale, escape in the plane). Only weakness would be a slightly unthreatening (in the physical sense) main villain and an unremarkable henchman (the typically Aryan muscle bound thug). If only the henchman had been of OddJob or Jaws calibre then it would probably be my favourite Bond.

I really like TND as well. The whole car park sequence is brilliant in my humble opinion.

And I agree with Beertiger, the Dr would have been a much better henchman. He was very calculating and an intelligent match for Bond, unlike Stamper who was just a goon. Like Beertiger said, the Dr. was very much similar to Scarramanga (sp?) and would have been much more entertaining had he featured more prominantly in the film. I suppose he would have been too similar to Elliot Carver though.

"I could shoot you from stuttgart and still make it look like an accident."

[Beertiger]

Stamper looked like someone from a Jean Paul Gaultier perfume ad.