It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
I would say they definitely hinder the overall film but the biggest crime overall is how flat and dull the films are in general. It's why something like OP, with the Tarzan yell and the clown stuff, doesn't fall as low as either TMWTGG or SP. It's got great energy and vibrancy that constantly draws me in.
The same could be said for MR, which is not a favourite of mine either but it's so self-aware of its own nonsense that I can't help but get swept up in it.
Some have them in the bottom 5 (or lower), which I think is totally unjustified. At worst, they are pretty mid-tier as they feature Bond following the bread crumbs from one place to the next, doing very Bondian things, and looking cool while doing it. These are what I'd consider Bond "hangout" films. They're a vibe.
I'm tempted to put QOS as it ranks very highly for me, but can easily understand why many are not fans.
Octopussy might be my overall pick for this though! It's got a killer Cold War plot, beautiful/exotic locations, brisk pacing, some of the most colorful and memorable villains, great Barry score, and excellent stunt work / action. Above all, it feels in many ways like a return to form after the full on camp / over the top plots of the 1970's followed by the abrupt course correction of FYEO. It really feels balanced between the serious and the silly in way we hadn't seen since OHMSS, and I just can't understand why some would let a few misplaced gags that last for mere seconds ruin the rest of the film. Has really grown on me over the years.
Clearly the answer.
Balanced? No, It's over the top. It's Moonraker without spaceships, It's Roger Moore's DAF.
Always felt that both were, not perfect of course, but excellent nonetheless.
I definitively agree about both.
I always thought NSNA was judged more harshly because it was not produced by Eon. Connery is quite good in it, better than in DAF. Regarding TWINE, the movie really grew on me because of its geopolitical backdrop that I find pretty unique. Two very enjoyable instalments, far more memorable in my opinion than others.
I do get it that the ending is suspenseful with the countdown, and these films are never as disappointing as you remember them at the time. And for people that never saw it at the time, I can imagine it's a fun way to spend a couple of hours.
From my memories of the early to mid eighties Bond era, I loved NSNA and as far as the official series went, I was waiting eagerly for a film like The Living Daylights.
When it comes to 'films you like but don't get the distain', then it's SPECTRE all the way. It's head and shoulders a better movie than, erm, Question of Sport, but look how much love QoS gets compared to SP!
I think because QoS is so short, and has milli-second edits, it's one of the most re-watchable. That's got to be the reason it's loved so much, because as a movie, it's a right mess!
if a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound, @DEKE_RIVERS ?
I can understand why people love Octopussy but It's not The fourth protocol. The silly jokes are there.
I don't think anyone was claiming it was The Fourth Protocol, for obvious reasons.
Anyway, agree on AVTAK. If they had recast the role at that point it would be held in much higher regard by myself. There's plenty about it that I like but unfortunately I can't get past Moore. He was distractingly unfit to play the part at that point.
Octopussy has one of my favourite jokes actually, the "no madam, I'm with the economy tour" one. If they'd have just left the Tarzan and 'sit' jokes out that sequence, it would have worked as a not bad sequence with Bond in real danger, with a quip at the end. 'Playing it for laughs' ruined a few Moore Bond movies for me. Octopussy and Moonraker were the worst offenders.
Which film is the Q branch scene with Bond zooming in on a woman's tits? That's Octopussy too I think. It was embarrassing then, heavens knows how it looks today.
Hmm. No.
OP is a lot more worse than MR, at least Bond is not doing out of character moments in there, he's still being James Bond
OP had him crossed a bridge too far with Tarzan Yell, Talking to animals, wearing the lei, zooming in woman's tits, it's so outlandish and almost cartoonish, at least MR has its moments.
I especially don't think the breast gag in OP is out of character for Bond in the slightest. In MR he spends the first half of the film poking fun at the idea that Goodhead could possibly work for NASA and be the best in her field because she's a woman. At least the boob gag in OP is kind of funny in an extremely immature way.
He's always objectified women.
💯… well said @CraigMooreOHMSS … Even the Tarzan yell… I mean it’s about one second of an entire film, whereas the niggling at Goodhead does go on a bit (and considering he worked with his “equal”, who was a woman, in the previous film, that kind of joke gets tired quickly (although I am seriously softening up to Moonraker and it’s climbing up my ranking. Saying that, Octopussy is a far superior Bond adventure).
I always took the Tarzan yell to be Bond making the sound. Are you saying you think of it as a sound effect (like the slide whistle), rather than Bond actually mimicking the Tarzan yell?
In FYEO there's a car horn sound when Bond sees the Citroen. To me, that's allowed, because it's part of the soundtrack that matches the visuals. I never thought the car was actually making that sound. This is why the slide-whistle never seems as bad as the Tarzan yell. It's part of the music soundtrack in a way, (and yes, it's still rubbish).
But I always took the Tarzan yell to be part of the movie, the same way the 007 theme played on the snake-charmer's flute is.
A very good point well made, sir. Sometimes we, as Bond fans, are guilty of not seeing the wood for the trees. The sum of a film is more than a few small isolated parts. The individual parts have to be viewed in the context of the film as a whole and what type of Bond film it really is.
But OP is a silly movie too. I mean, the plot is very silly with the fake eggs, circus, cartoon India, etc. It's Moonraker without spaceships.
Bond swinging through the trees on a vine doing a Tarzan yell isn't cool.
Was disco music playing over the jet-ski? In my mind it was the Bond theme, but I could well be miss-remembering.
If it wasn't the Bond theme, it should have been.
After joining this thread earlier, (and being laid up with flu, so all Xmas eve fun social stuff was cancelled), I re-watched OP again . . . and though I still wish the really silly humour wasn't there, it really does rock.
I'm probably going off topic here, but in the bits where Rog's Bond was pissed off, he really nailed it. There's a scene with Bond holding Orlav (sp?) at gunpoint on the train, and Rog would give even Tim or Craig a run for their money when it comes to acting chops.
I thoroughly enjoyed Octopussy tonight, after watching it in full for the first time in years. I can see where the OP lovers are coming from. The film's just bursting with fun, and is paced almost as good as TSWLM. Which I think was the pinnacle of the Moore years.
SPECTRE Island and offscreen Blofeld's Transylvanian accent and cat are completely ridiculous. As ridiculous as anything else.
Just seems weird to say a Bond movie is almost good but for a defining feature of all Bond movies.
Well. It's over the top. That's the point. It's the silliest movie.
Why forgive this one?
Excellent post, @ProfJoeButcher. The Bonds are often taken far too seriously, while their popularity is in large part due to the level of 'silly fun' to which they are committed. One or two bogus moments aren't problematic, they are part of the series' DNA. You always give the films a few concessions; in the Bonds, you have to. For while they are grounded in reality and perfectly capable of seriousness, they also flirt with the downright fantastical. And that's why we love them.
Where I personally draw the line is when the silly fun is poorly written, poorly executed and/or absolutely insulting. And yet, even such moments rarely ruin an entire Bond film for me. Statements such as "brothergate makes me hate Spectre" make zero sense to me. Let's not forget that even our beloved OHMSS sends out hypnotized girls for the big villainous plot.