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Topic: The Movie Thread

Posts 821 to 840 of 8,866

mookysam

@RogerRoger No need to apologise for the long post, it's nice to find another big Bond fan and see what you think about the films! I always find it interesting to read the different reasons people like things and how certain films (or games or music) can have a big impact on us.

Zorin is an interesting villain to me, not least because he is a complete sociopath. I do think they could have gone a bit further exploring his background, but suppose it was surplus to the needs of the story. Definitely agree with Roger Moore doing well in the film despite his age - especially during the nailbiting bridge finale. Special shout-out to Moneypenny's hideous outfit at the races! It was a shame that this was Lois Maxwell's last film in the role as I don't like her replacement in the Dalton films.

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RogerRoger

@mookysam Well, it's kind of you to read my walls of text and reply with your own thoughts; I'm sure I'll have lots to say about the Brosnan era when I start it next week (will be taking a break over the weekend; places to go, people to see). I'm actually quite heartened by how much we agree on! Usually my opinions are way, way out of sync with everybody else's.

You're right about Zorin; I tend to think of him alongside Elliot Carver as one of the few truly insane Bond villains. Most are too cunning and calculating to be utterly psychotic, at least in their mannerisms even if their actions tell another story, but Zorin and Carver come across as genuinely unhinged and ruthlessly broken individuals. I love Zorin's backstory, being a Nazi genetic experiment, and agree that I'd have liked to have seen a bit more. I've always liked the little moments of the father-son relationship between him and Mortner / Glaub. There's definitely something there.

Moore's face when he notices Moneypenny's hat upon entering the office says it all. It was 1985, give her a break! At least we got a final shot of her in something more... restrained.

Speaking of, you're right, Caroline Bliss's Moneypenny is weak, possibly the weakest part of the Dalton era. Having watched both The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill last night and today respectively, most of the component parts of these films hold up on their own and as part of the larger narrative, but she unfortunately doesn't.

I prefer the first one. It's a more balanced picture overall. Parts of it feel like a hold-over from the Moore era but they had to transition away and soften the blow for audiences before going totally dark. It features one of my favourite Bond cars, the Aston Martin V8 Volante, with some fantastic gadgets; that whole chase sequence is a franchise highlight for me, especially with John Barry's score blaring in the background (his final contribution to the franchise, if you don't count recommending David Arnold to the producers down the line). I also like how Bond's relationship with Kara develops; it's one of the most romantic Bond films, for sure. There's a genuine affection there. She also may start out timid, but by the end of the film she's toughened up and isn't just hanging around to scream on cue. Finally, the storyline is a timely reminder that yesterday's friend is tomorrow's enemy, given that the heroes of the finale are the Mujahideen (blimey, the modern age has really screwed the Middle East over, hasn't it?).

Licence to Kill is great at what it does, namely delivering a darker, more personal Bond story. Dalton carries it well, and I'm glad the film exists in the franchise, because there are times when I'm really gripped by his revenge story. Unfortunately, when it suddenly remembers it's a Bond film and delivers something like the waterski sequence or Q dropping by to help out, it feels a little disjointed. Can you imagine if John Cleese had stayed on for Casino Royale? It's kinda like that. The stunts are top-notch, though (who doesn't wanna see an eighteen-wheeler tanker up on nine wheels?) and I can't fault any of the cast, save the aforementioned Caroline Bliss.

I'm glad Dalton didn't do a third. That's nothing against him; I just think that, after such a long gap, he wouldn't have made a decent comeback in 1995. Roll on GoldenEye!

Edited on by RogerRoger

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

mookysam

@RogerRoger The Living Daylights is a very strong entry - you pretty much nailed my thoughts on it! I really like the darker tone at the beginning, although there are of course still moments of camp well balanced throughout. I like Necros, he's one of my favourite evil henchman. The relationship between Bond and Kara is a highlight of the film as it's very natural. Timothy Dalton is likeable and the producers seemed to have taken advantage of having a younger, more athletic actor in the role. Afghanistan must have been very topical as a setting at the time. Bond's relationship with the mujahideen isn't remotely strange given the time period. Many people nowadays don't seem to realise that which is odd.

License to Kill is definitely an atypical Bond film. It would have worked perfectly fine as a straight revenge movie, but certain elements confuse that a little, which is a shame. A weaker entry for me.

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Ralizah

I'm going to drop spoilers about a 35+ year old horror film that everyone knows the plot to already, but, err, don't read if you're one of the few people who doesn't already know what The Shining is about

So, I finally watched The Shining all the way through! Despite leaving it with extremely mixed feelings, I think it was still worth watching. The sound design is absolutely amazing, especially as the film descends deeper and deeper into madness, and the "music" (if that's what it can be called) becomes a reflection of the indescribable chaos of Jack's mind. The acting, as far as that goes, seems pretty effective: Jack Nicholson has never been scarier (although, as I've said before, Jack Nicholson only ever plays Jack Nicholson... in this film, he's just doubling down the creepy aspects of his performances), and Shelley Duvall's Wendy spends most of the film seeming pretty genuinely terrified. The cinematography is really awesome during the opening scenes, with its vast, panoramic scene setting. And, even if the film eventually devolves into Steadicam: The Movie once the characters reach the hotel, there's a wonderful sense of irrationality to the set. The way it's designed is physically impossible, in certain respects, giving it an unnatural air from the beginning. I guess I should also mention that the film makes effective use of shocking imagery.

So, why did I say I left it with mixed feelings? Well... the film is close to three hours long, and the pacing kind of dies when the characters actually settle in to the hotel. It turns into a series of random creepy scenes that just kind of happen. One of Stephen King's criticisms of the film is that Jack Torrance is pretty clearly nuts from the get-go, and while he may get worse over the course of the film, there's no feeling of a 'descent into madness.'

The film also dispensed with a ton of the narrative from King's novel, which makes his inclusion of Danny's "shining" powers, and the discussion surrounding that, stand out all the more. There just doesn't seem to be a narrative function for his abilities. They exist to service a plot and character development that was filtered out of the adaptation.

The characters... kind of suck. Jack is insane and unpleasant to begin with, and that just becomes more the case over the course of the film. Wendy is a shrinking violet who exists so that the men in her life can terrify her (not necessarily uncommon in horror films, but I'd like to think something heralded as art would go beyond this; Stephen King was certainly unhappy with her portrayal in this film, which he called "misogynistic"). Hallorann is the most blatant example of the Magical Negro trope I've ever seen in a film; he's only there to dump exposition about his and Danny's psychic powers and then to be killed as a sacrifice when the film demands blood. These aren't people: they're one-dimensional abstractions brought to life. Although, I will admit, I like how subtle but unmistakably potent the theme of child abuse is in this film. They don't run it into the ground like almost any other film would, but it's clearly there, in the subtext of several scenes, of Wendy's terror when she sees marks on Danny's neck, and, most notably, in Danny's own behavior.

While I pointed out the film's effective use of imagery, and it's true, I think it does a good job showing it, without the context of a meaningful narrative to ground it, a lot of the creepy stuff happening in the film just seems more 'lol random' than anything, such as the woman in Room 237, the creepy twins, and especially the random gay furries having sex near the end of the film. I'm sure these have clear narrative functions in the original novel, but they almost feel like they're included at times so that Kubrick can market this as a horror film. I'll give the famous blood elevator imagery a pass as foreshadowing, but that's as generous as I'm being.

Oh, and the climax sucks. Wendy and Danny leave in Hallorann's car (because who wants to see the nice white woman and child get chopped up when you can summon the magical negro from hundreds of miles away to come sacrifice his property and life in their stead, as the film seems eager to do?), you get a brief flash of Jack Torrance wearing a goofy expression after freezing to death, and then the film ends with a tacky, Twilight Zone-esque twist that's not really meaningful in the context of the film it caps off.

Overall, though, I think the good overwhelms the bad... I just don't think it's the masterpiece people think it is.

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PSN: Ralizah

RogerRoger

@mookysam Glad you gave a shout-out to Necros, I forgot to mention him!

I remember when all the Bond films started coming out on DVD for the first time here in the UK, around late 2001... well, it was either first release, or some pre-Christmas offer advertised in a magazine and in store pop-up displays. The marketing boasted "all nineteen" films, but the strip image along the bottom of the adverts and displays, showing all the front covers, only had eighteen. On closer inspection, I realised that they were missing The Living Daylights. Then I thought about what had happened in September of that year. It wouldn't be until much, much later, several re-releases down the line, that the DVD and Blu-Ray covers of that film would again show a promotional image of the Mujahideen on horseback, taken from the big finale.

One thing I also forgot to mention about the pre-Brosnan era was the revolving door of Felix Leiters. David Hedison (from Moore's first and only interaction with the character, Live and Let Die) was definitely my favourite and I loved him being the only Felix to return for a second performance, in Licence to Kill. If it had been another new Felix, or that awful wooden Felix from The Living Daylights, then Dalton's big revenge plot would've fallen completely flat, but Hedison sells it. He, Goldfinger's Cec Linder and our current Felix, Jeffrey Wright, are my top three; all the others have been really forgettable.

Speaking of CIA buddies, earlier this evening I watched GoldenEye. I really like Jack Wade; I'm kinda glad Brosnan's Bond got his own, original ally, rather than adding to the now-ridiculously-long list of Leiters. He's also a character created to be Bond's friend only because he calls Bond out on how outdated spycraft had become, and they develop a mutual respect on that basis. The same can be said for the new Moneypenny (who bests all of Bond's one-liners, beating him at his own game) and most definitely the new M, Judi Dench. Not to take anything away from Bernard Lee or Robert Brown, because I love them both (still not sure on Ralph Fiennes) but Judi Dench is in a class of her own. She was the only person possible to cast as Bond's new boss, calling him out as a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur" and setting the new, modern tone for 90s Bond. She's amazing.

And so is Brosnan. He steals every moment, at least for me. Even in the background of some scenes, his little mannerisms and reactions are fantastic. Whilst his performance is new at this point, it's one heck of a start; I'd say only Moore looked as comfortable in his first film. He also lucks out in being paired with Izabella Scorupco; Natalya is a great character, one we get to spend a good deal of time with before she even meets Bond (most Bond Girls are introduced to Bond, or by Bond, and are subsequently defined by their relationship with Bond throughout their adventures, but Natalya's her own character on her own separate survival story for the first half of the film). Sean Bean is perfectly fine as Trevelyan; solid, very solid even, but nothing amazing... no offence to the man, of course. I like Ourumov because Gottfried John chews the scenery exactly like he's supposed to.

Lots of parts of GoldenEye feel like The Spy Who Loved Me; both films were released after long gaps in the franchise and had a lot riding on them, so they double down on many of the iconic elements and reinforce a lot of the more outlandish stereotypes... which I've got no problem with, since I love the over-the-top comic book elements of the Bond films just as much as the gritty, serious spying. GoldenEye somehow manages to work those bits in, too, and there's a fair bit of grown-up sex, gore and violence (the only Brosnan film to have BBFC 15 stamped on the disc; all the others are rated 12, but then you watch any scene with Xenia or the final fight between Bond and Trevelyan and you realise why). There's also a much more personal note to the plot, and the aforementioned "deconstruction of Bond for the 90s and beyond" helps pick up the slack in between. I really respect that about Brosnan's Bond; he can come across as a real human being, despite having hijacked a tank in the last scene.

On that note, I'm still amazed that the entire St. Petersburg tank chase was filmed on the back lot at Pinewood Studios, in a fake city set. You can see where the budget went, for sure... and yet, the whole middle of the film, taking place in a grey, dreary St. Petersburg, makes me think back on this as the weakest of Brosnan's films. It's stylistically and thematically fundamental to the plot, and it's great when I'm actually watching, but for some reason I seem to always forget the lavish Caribbean shots or the beautiful first act in the South of France, and always think of that grey mid-section.

And yet writing this pretty soon after the credits have rolled, I'm thinking of the title sequence, with Tina Turner's song and the spectacular Cold War visuals. I was never amazingly taken with previous title sequences, but GoldenEye (and the dawn of CGI, I suppose) changes the game and delivers the first that I've really sat up and taken notice of, at least this time through. It's gorgeous.

Score one for Brosnan. Tomorrow, Tomorrow Never Dies.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

RogerRoger

@Ralizah I've never been brave enough to watch that film but, thanks to your insights, I might add it to my "things everybody's always shocked to hear I haven't seen, so I really should see them" list. Cheers!

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@RogerRoger Great! I definitely think it's a movie everyone should see. It has become a part of the DNA of Western cinematic history, so to speak.

Anyway, while there is a lot of tension, some disturbing imagery, and really effectively creepy sound design, it doesn't have much in the way of jump-scares or gore. It was probably shocking in 1980 when it came out, but, you know, modern viewers are much less sensitive in general to stuff.

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PSN: Ralizah

mookysam

@RogerRoger Goldeneye is such a memorable film to me and an incredibly strong first film for Brosnan, with many iconic moments. The entire opening act in particular is excellent. From the dam sequence (that bungee jump and toilet entrance!) to the Monaco car race and Severnaya. Whilst the films is generally well paced I have to agree that parts of the middle in St. Petersburg do drag on just a touch, but boy is that tank set-piece great. I also love the train sequence. The Cuban finale is also exciting and the bits outside make a beautiful setting. I love those tropical Bond settings!

Xenia Onatopp (nice pun, given her favoured method of killing) is surely one of the best Bond henchman ever. Famke Janssen is brilliant and absolutely steals every scene she's in. Alec is less memorable to me, but it is interesting that he is a very personal villain for Bond. I love Natalya. As you say she has her own story for much of the film, which is unusual for the series. She's very strong willed and intelligent. I guess she falls for Bond a little too quickly, but that is part and parcel for the series. And then we have Judi Dench, the best M ever! I love Judi Dench anyway (bit random, but have you seen Notes on a Scandal?), and she seems to really relish this role. The way in which she delivers her lines is brilliant.

After the end of the Cold War and demise of Bond's traditional enemy the producers must have surely wondered where to take the series next. I feel it succeeds in bringing Bond into the modern age, with a blend of old and new. The women in particular are much stronger than ever before. Brosnan is an excellent choice of casting as he is so suave. He's not the greatest actor, but he pulls off the role of James Bond with aplomb.

Tina Turner's song is excellent, too. The title sequence is one of the more memorable for me.

Special shout out to Minnie Driver and her lovely rendition of "Stand by Your Man"!

I'll write about Tomorrow Never Dies tomorrow.

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Jaz007

I watched Hacksaw Ridge a coupe days ago. It’s a great movie. What he did was absolutely amazing. He was so humble about it too; I have no doubt the hand of God with him. It was easily one of the best war movies I’ve seen.

Jaz007

WanderingBullet

Thought Infinity War was great and Thanos clearly didn't disappoint. He's definitely my most favourite MCU villain now. The others that I like are Loki, Hela, the Vulture and Killmonger. Can't wait for next year's movie!

Looking forward to watching Deadpool 2 this week and I have to say that the marketing for both Deadpool films have been pretty hilarious and great so far.

Huntin' monsters erryday.

RogerRoger

@Ralizah Yeah, I can (mostly) stomach older, tense and atmospheric horror or thriller films. It's when films revel in gore, or are designed specifically to make you jump, that I get uncomfortable. As each year ticks by, the tricks employed by older horror films become commonplace in other genres. I mean, half the stuff in an average season of 24 would've been groundbreaking back in the day.

The thing about The Shining is that I've seen THAT Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons, so many of the twists would just remind me of that. I have a safety net, so to speak, but your excellent insights genuinely got me interested, so thanks again.

@mookysam It's almost as though they deliberately made St. Petersburg seem dull in places, because it only adds to the impact of the moment the tank comes blasting through that wall. Such a fantastic, iconic moment and a brilliant sequence in a brilliant film. I haven't seen Notes on a Scandal, not yet, but I've seen Judi Dench in plenty of films over the years, each one completely owned by her presence and performance. She's a national treasure, and one of the few actors who'll make me go see a film regardless of plot or genre, simply because she's involved. Last one was Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, she led an incredibly strong cast that was a joy to behold, despite it really not being my kind of movie.

I've watched Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough since posting last. I'll try and keep my thoughts restrained, but these two do nothing but reinforce my Brosnan support. Previously, I'd noted how it was the PSone game adaptation of Tomorrow Never Dies that got me into Bond, and when I finally got to see the film itself, it was taped from a commercial channel which had edited it down to make room for advert breaks. Half the car chase was missing, as were many scene-setting moments, like Bond's arrival on the roof of Carver's printing press and his use of the cell phone's hidden skeleton key. Another family member had also randomly taped over three minutes of the bike chase with Kylie Minogue on Top of the Pops, which made for a surreal viewing experience where everything looked deadly for Double-Oh Seven, we cut to a musical number, and then back to Bond and Wai Linn going "Phew, that was close!" with flames and wreckage in the background.

I said I was gonna keep this short... anyway, what better way to move on from the Cold War than by basically taking on Rupert Murdoch? Tomorrow Never Dies is a timely, sharply satirical film punctuated by over-the-top action and great performances. The game (and certain scenes from its cutscenes) give me a strong bias towards it, but it's a bias I don't really want to shake. It's a smart, stylish film. Michelle Yeoh is fantastic (because she always is) and Jonathan Pryce makes Elliot Carver an incredibly memorable villain. I'd also grown up with Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane in Lois & Clark, so seeing her play a Bond Girl, one with a past and a strong impact on Bond himself, is great fun. I even love the BMW 750iL because it perfectly fits Bond's cover as an investment banker, and it has some incredible toys. Nice to see Jack Wade back, too. Can't fault it.

The World is Not Enough is a film of two halves. The action is bigger than ever and you can see parts of it steering towards the outlandish spectacle of Die Another Day, but at the core it's the most complex, character-driven Bond film ever (even beating some of the Daniel Craig scripts). What if Bond fell in love with his nemesis, and didn't know it? Renard isn't the true villain of the piece; the stunning Sophie Marceau is, who plays Elektra King to perfection. Brosnan is amazing in his scenes with her, never quite sure how to measure her and always showing the layers to his performance in just the right amounts. Give M a more personal, larger role, put Bond in the gorgeous BMW Z8 and throw in a comedic-at-the-right-moments and yet meaningful return for Zukovsky and you've got all the elements for a classic.

Okay, so I'll admit two small flaws. Firstly, as soon as Bond figures out the truth about Elektra, the film drops all pretence because Bond can't possibly be wrong... can he? There's a great edge to his confrontation of her, where you think he could've made a mistake and that the real plot is about how Bond can never get close anybody because he's always waiting to be betrayed, and then we're rushed off to the pipeline sequence where Elektra walks around smirking behind M's back, showing her hand to the audience. I'd have liked the mystery and doubt kept up a little longer; could've been really interesting. By this point, though, we've already met the second flaw; Denise Richards as Christmas Jones. I won't blast her acting ability, since I actually think she does perfectly fine in the role and quite like her character, but as soon as she appears we know she's the real Bond Girl of the piece, so we're waiting for the other shoe to drop with Elektra.

Despite those tiny niggles with the pacing and structure, The World is Not Enough remains a true favourite because of the glimpses and insights into Bond's character it gives us. All of Brosnan's films offer something above and beyond "action spy thriller" in this way, apparently because Brosnan pushed for it and wouldn't play the role without such an element, and I think this film does it best.

Also, the farewell to Desmond Llewelyn still makes me cry. So perfect.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

mookysam

@RogerRoger Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough are both strong outings, especially the former. That does sound like an odd first viewing experience for TND. It reminds me of when one of my Beauty and the Beast VHS got taped over for about 10 seconds with some random crap off the television.

Fully agree with your thoughts on Tomorrow Never Dies. Mitchell's Yeoh is pretty amazing. She's an exceptional martial artist, and it really adds to the action scenes. The motorcycle chase is a particularly great scene. Watching the film for the first time in many years, it really struck me just how relevant the "evil media overlord" plot really is - perhaps even more so than in 1997. I have to say those elements largely went over my head when I watched it as a 12 year old. Overall, the film is nicely edited, well structured and well made. A great follow up to Goldeneye. The only negative I can really think of is the Sheryl Crow song, because she sounds like a cat in a tumble dryer.

The World is Not Enough has always been memorable for me because the first time I watched it was for part of my GCSEs in 2001. The first half is good "classic Bond" and I especially love the boat chase on the Thames. In general it's very action heavy, with lots of explosions. I approve. Judi Dench's increased role is also very much appreciated. Sophie Marceau makes an excellent and complex villain. She's beautiful and gives Bond a run for his money, but I agree that he susses Elektra a little too easily, and from then the film falls into the not uncommon trap of dropping all pretence. The audience thinks she's possibly a bad'un, and so she acts like one at every opportunity.

Denise Richards is a bad actress, but I find her comedic. I don't hate her and I disagree with those who say that she "ruins the film", because she absolutely doesn't. Thumbs up to Robbie Coltrane's return and the Garbage song. Sad to say goodbye to Desmond Llewelyn.

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RogerRoger

@mookysam Of all the films to be randomly taped over, I don't think you could find two further apart! And I'm with you; not just on Sheryl Crow sounding like a cat in a tumble dryer (not that I'd wanna know what that sounds like, of course, but I really wish they'd stuck with k.d.lang's song, Surrender, which plays over the credits and was written by David Arnold, which is why you hear its melody throughout the film's score) but also on the fact that, when I was younger, I missed the clever real-world subtext of the Bond scripts and just tapped into the action, style, cars and humour.

Speaking of which, when I just opened up my homepage, BBC News, the top story was about North Korea... and I've just finished watching Die Another Day. I apologise for the two massive walls of text in such a short space of time, but I'll only have smartphone access from tomorrow until next Tuesday, so wanted to get this down before I forgot everything I wanted to say.

This was the first Bond film I felt a part of. Friends at school told me pre-production snippets and rumours. Trailers built hype. The first half of 2002 was dominated by Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, but the latter months were all about Die Another Day. It was the first Bond film I saw at the cinema, spoiler-free, on release day. It's also incredible that you mentioned your GCSEs because I sat mine in the summer of 2003, right around when the DVD came out, and I remember a couple days beforehand completing my Art final exam, which was a whole day and we were allowed to listen to music whilst we worked. I had the soundtrack CD on a loop for the entire thing, re-building the hype for the home release. In fact, being a huge fan of film, television and game soundtracks and listening to almost nothing else, I'd say Die Another Day's score is the one I've listened to the most. I think it's perfect; the bursts of techno weaving between a grand, classic orchestral composition just feel so right. There's always another layer to focus on and enjoy.

I mentioned the Star Wars prequels deliberately up there. Die Another Day came out right in the middle of them, in an era when escapist cinema was opening up to a whole new level of CGI spectacle. I cannot, will not and won't ever blame Lee Tamahori, or anybody else, for pushing the envelope. Bond films have always reflected the times and if there was ever a moment to try something so extreme with Bond, this was it. Watching it today, in 2018 on Blu-Ray on a 40" 4K television, I don't mind admitting that some of the CGI isn't amazing, but none of it is as terrible or as offensive as some would make out, and it's certainly better than when they did space laser superweapons in the 70s. It holds together, ice tsunami para-surfing and all.

You've also got to remember that Bond games dragged me into the franchise, so the complaints about parts of Die Another Day feeling "like a videogame" tend to go over my head. Either that, or I agree with them as factual observations, but not as complaints. Case in point; Bond's VR training simulation. Very deliberately shot as to feel like a game, with an over-the-shoulder camera, but I love it and, crucially, it worked with audiences at the time. The gasp in the cinema when Bond finds Moneypenny shot in the head was brilliant! The internet has a habit of retroactively judging and deciding the fate of things somewhat out of context, but I get quite defensive about this film in particular, because I was there. This film was loved, and it was financially successful, too.

Being a relatively new Bond fan at the time, I delighted at the countless references, nods and in-jokes they squeezed into this 40th Anniversary film. I still notice new parallels or prop gags to this day (the scene in Q's reliquary alone would require constant freeze-frames to count about twenty) and I'm impressed at how well the film holds up under its own weight AND under the weight of the legacy it carries. Since there was a fantastical, adventurous spirit to parts of the script, especially the second half, I'm glad they felt that they could have fun with it. A decade later, for the 50th Anniversary, Skyfall would do the duty far more seriously and that's okay, but I'm glad Die Another Day exists as an unabashed out-and-out celebration of Bond's cinematic (and literary) history.

Brosnan does it again, of course. His incredibly strong performance aside, I've also noticed that he does more of his own stunts here, in his final film, than he did in his previous three. There are obvious stunt double moments in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough, but I struggle to find any in Die Another Day. You watch sequences like the fencing duel and it's all him, and that takes some serious training, skill and commitment (trust me; watching this film made me take up fencing and it's much, much tougher than it looks). With the action quota higher every time, I've got nothing but respect for Brosnan who, at this stage, was pushing fifty. He still looks fantastic in a tuxedo, handles the darker torture sequences well (another first for the franchise) and can sell a one-liner as well as Roger Moore could. His performance in this film alone is dictionary-definition Bond... well, cinematic Bond. The literary Bond, I leave to others.

It's a very solid debut performance from Rosamund Pike, her discovery for this film launching a very successful career, and rightly so. Graves has always been interesting to me. In all Bond films, there's an underlying suspension of disbelief required to sit back and enjoy the ride, and so some of the twists regarding the gene therapy are just fine with me. Toby Stephens makes for an okay villain to begin with, until Graves reveals that he based himself on Bond, and then you get the gag. Bond's real mirror, however, is Halle Berry's Jinx. I love her, and not just because she emerges from the sea in slow motion (seriously, I have zero interest in women, and I still would). She's flirting with Bond as much as he is with her, and her mission throughout the entire storyline runs parallel to Bond's for almost two-thirds, with her usually one step ahead of him. At the time, she was modern, sassy and capable, and I'm glad that's reflected in the big finale, where her clash with Frost is given just as much focus and importance as Bond's fight with Graves. Zao makes for a neat henchman (with his own gadget-laden car!) and I like that the film keeps a wider focus on that cast of five. Usually, it's just Bond, a villain and a girl, with others coming and going, and yes, other cool folk pop up here (Raoul is great, nice to see Charles Robinson for a third time, and Mister Kil is worth it for his introductory one-liner and spectacular death) but it always comes back around to Bond, Jinx, Graves, Frost and Zao. They have relationships built between them, with performances reinforcing their complex character backstories through mannerisms and glances as well as exposition.

I could go on about the car duel, or the gorgeous location shoot in Iceland (parts of which I'd been on a school trip to mere months before they started filming), or the fact that the hovercraft chase was filmed on the Aldershot Military Range, fifteen minutes from my childhood home. Basically, this is my Bond. You ask me about him and I'll think of this film, and that'll then launch me into the wider franchise, but Die Another Day remains near-perfect in my eyes. My biased, nostalgia-focused misty eyes? Absolutely. Wouldn't have it any other way.

When I'm back next week, I'll run through the Daniel Craig films (in far, far shorter posts).

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@WanderingBullet Oh, is Deadpool 2 out already. I liked the first one for what it was. Although, you know, most of that movie's appeal was in Reynold's snarking. The actual movie around him... eh.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

mookysam

@RogerRoger No need to apologise for the long posts, I have enjoyed reading them.

Die Another Day. I said last week that this was one of my least favourite Bond films, though as with Moonraker there are still a few elements I liked. What has been interesting to me is that we have agreed on almost everything apart from Moonraker and Die Another Day. That's not bad, eh.

I only watched Die Another Day for the very first time last month - it was the only pre-Craig film I had never seen before - so I don't have any nostalgia attached to it. Even though our opinions differ, it's really interesting to read the big impact the film had on you. It's funny you mention the art exam, because we weren't allowed to have a Walkman when I did mine, although the radio was on in the background. Our class got moderated and everyone ended up with a C.

In many ways Die Another Day is very stylistically a film of its time. Also during that period CG was starting to be very heavily used. I do feel the green screen is overused and has aged it, but being a film from 2002 when most action films were doing exactly the same thing, it it hard to condemn Die Another Day for having contemporary production standards. I'm not a massive fan of the direction or editing compared to its direct predecessors, however.

As you say there is always a certain level of suspension of disbelief required when viewing any Bond film. For me, the plot of Die Another Day is past that level and I think that is the primary reason it just doesn't gel with me.

Bits I like are Jinx (my initial thought was is she working to destroy the Cuban Healthcare system?) and the section in the Ice hotel. Miranda Frost is hilarious!

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WanderingBullet

@Ralizah Yup, it started screening over here today. If you love his snarking, then there's more of it in the sequel.haha

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cheetahman91

Saw Black Panther last week. Thought it was alright, but definitely overrated. Paled in comparison to Thor Ragnarok.

I've also been watching Bond films for the past couple of months (not in order) so here's all the ones I've seen from favorite to least favorite (along with some brief thoughts on the films).

1. Goldfinger- This was one of my favorite movies before I re watched it for the umpteenth time and after watching it again, it still is.

2. From Russia With Love- Another outstanding film. Admittedly can't think of any specific reasons why this one's ranked so high other than the fact that it just does everything so darn well.

3. The Spy Who Loved Me- After watching this one, I can see why many people regard this one as Moore's best film. I like how Bond works with a Russian agent, Jaws is my second favorite henchmen (Oddjob has to come first), Stromberg is a great villain and the Lotus Espirit submarine car just rules.

4. Dr. No- It may be the worst and it may have a sorry budget, but it's still one of the best. Dr. No is a terrific villain and of course I don't think I need to say anything about the theme song.

5. You Only Live Twice- You would think that Bond and Japan would be a match made in heaven, and you would be right. The part where Bond is disguised as a Japanese looks pretty ridiculous, but the rest of the film is great (especially the part with the volcano base).

6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- This one would be higher, but this one takes too long to get started. Once Bond finally reaches Switzerland, the film really shows it's stuff. The main theme is quite good as well.

7. Tomorrow Never Dies- Really like the idea of Bond going up against the mass media. Carver is an great villain as well.

8. Goldeneye- Bond going up against a former MI6 agent was also a great idea.

9. For Your Eyes Only- I liked this one, although it felt more like a best-of James Bond than a new film.

10. Thunderball- This used to be one of my favorite Bond films. After rewatching it though, I honestly don't know what I was thinking. The pacing isn't the greatest, and the underwater scenes aren't all that interesting. I still think it's a decent film though.

11. Live and Let Die- This one is ok, but it has several notable flaws. The plot isn't as interesting as the
rest of the films on this list (you would think that Bond would have more important things to worry about instead of drug smugglers). Kananga/Mr. Big is also a bit of a boring villain, and the boat chase scene drags on for too long. The best part of this film is the main theme.

I really need to get back to watching more of these (I've been taking a bit of a break from movie watching). I also know that I need to watch Casino Royale, but I wanted to focus on watching the older films first.

@Ralizah You're not the only one who feels that way about The Shining (I watched it a couple of months ago along with several other horror films). I did appreciate the freakier aspects though as it made the film stand out for me (I'll also admit that I'm not of a massive horror fan, so that doesn't really help with my opinion of the film). The only real reason I saw this one was that Stanley Kubrick was supposed to be a great director that made great movies but after seeing a couple of his, the other one being 2001: A Space Odyssey which is supposedly the best science fiction film ever made (hmmmm...), I'm starting to think that people might overrate his films a wee bit too much.

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RogerRoger

I'm actually gonna walk away from Bond for now. There's some heavy stuff I'm dealing with and knowing the forthcoming Daniel Craig films so well, I'm definitely leaning more towards escapist, overblown fantasy to prop up my current mental state (part of the reason why I enjoyed re-watching Die Another Day so much, I think). With his final film confirmed for next year, I think I'll return to Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and SPECTRE a month or two ahead of its release as part of the hype. Since it's also a reboot of the franchise, it's the best place to leave things.

Yesterday I picked up Batman Ninja on Blu-Ray and I've been in a bit of a Star Wars mood lately, so those are the kinda things I'll veer towards.

@mookysam Particular thanks for responding to my Bond thoughts and chatting through our opinions. We do seem to agree on a vast majority of the franchise, which is heartening!

Ah, yes... watching Die Another Day for the first time in April 2018 would definitely create a different outcome! Large parts of it cannot hold up in a post-Craig and post-Bourne genre but, for me, that's part of the charm. It's like Raoul says to Bond in Cuba: "You'd be surprised how many come to me for little reminders of our decadent past." For me, Die Another Day is the last hurrah of a traditional cinematic Bond adventure, with everything dialled up to eleven, and I'll therefore always love it.

There's also a wildly unfair dismissal of the film for the CGI elements which, in fact, aren't in every single action sequence. The hovercraft chase, the fencing sequence, the car battle on (and inside) ice, the Icarus satellite, the Antonov plane, the destruction of the DMZ minefield... all examples of incredible practical stunt work, practical effects or beautiful miniature shoots. When they drive those cars through the immense Ice Palace set, I still get goosebumps, and I've seen this film a good twenty times. I'm glad you singled out the Ice Palace for praise; it's one of the iconic Bond sets for me, alongside Stromberg's tanker and Blofeld's volcano.

Your thought about Jinx going up against the Cuban healthcare system made me chuckle; I'd never thought of that particular geopolitical subtext before, and it's rare to find a new angle on something I've been so obsessed with for so long. Thank you!

@cheetahman91 Great rankings; we certainly disagree in some key places, but I can totally understand your perspective. We also agree on Thunderball, which gives me some comfort because it's usually such a beloved entry, yet actually watching (and, at times, comprehending) it can be a serious test of one's patience. I think, for some, there's a lot of nostalgia mixed in there (which isn't a criticism, given the role it plays in my glowing opinion of Die Another Day).

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mookysam

@RogerRoger Sorry to hear that, I hope you feel better soon. The Craig films don't have the "fun" of the classic ones and can be heavy viewing, especially in succession, so I can see why you'd put rewatching them on hold for now. I hope that with Craig's successor they find a place for some of the silliness and gadgets of the older ones.

What other film series do you like? I know you're a Star Wars and Star Trek fan.

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