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Absolutely not.
The first act of MR is played straight (with the exception of Jaws landing in the circus tent.) When Bond arrives in Venice, the tone of the film shifts, and we realize we've been had.
A tal is still better than dad.
Its criminal how low LTK is! Where are all the Fleming fans...???
As for your second point, that is merely your own opinion.
Also, @TripAces, I still disagree completely. Moonraker never once presents itself as a very serious film. Levity, jokes, and fantastical spectacle from the get go. Gilbert sets the mood almost instantly: an escapist, bombastic, humorous, entertaining ride.
There are moments of great seriousness (Corinne's death, centrifuge, among others), but that does not mean Moonraker presents itself as "a serious film." Moore's performance oozes cool and confidence and suave swagger, Lonsdale's line delivery is deliciously campy, and the plot itself is absolutely absurd (in my opinion it's absurd in a good way, but I digress).
It's hard for me to see how anyone could think that Gilbert and company crafted Moonraker as "serious," which is what you're asserting. They didn't. They set out to make a film of spectacle and entertainment, full of humor, levity. There are moments of violence, darkness, suspense, and "seriousness," but that does not make it a serious movie.
Whether or not the final film and its tone sits right with you is entirely your opinion.
thanks you for these kind words.
That's right, it is. I am only discussing why I have it listed as the worst Bond film. Fans are welcome to disagree; there are plenty of fans who love MR and FYEO, two films that make me squirm. If we all agreed on these matters, what fun would that be? :)
That said, I don't think Gilbert intended the whole film to be serious, just that its first act sets us up for it to be so. For me, the first 20 minutes or so of MR are really good, and then I am let down by silliness.
Seriously though, what's this about Fleming fans? I have OHMSS, FRWL and DN all ranked highly and they are much more representative of Fleming than LTK is.
Goldfinger, for all its faults, is still in my top ten as a "classic". It has such a panache to it and is for me a "fun" bond. The Miami bit and the golf game alone make it worth watching.
Moonraker, while much maligned, mostly with good reason, still holds a place in my heart. Seeing it for the first time as a young teen, it was more spectacle to me than Star Wars.
With all due respect to those of you who like it, Quantum of Solace is literally unwatchable for me....and it has nothing to do with story, actors, etc. Rather it is that horrible, ill conceived "breakneck" editing which in the cinema gave many of us a headache, and even after a couple viewings in my home theater I still cant make out exactly what is happening in many scenes. Yea, that's right: to me its so bad I'm willing to write it off on that one point alone. Shame on Marc Foster! It is so far from intelligent movie making its a wonder Broccoli and Wilson didn't step in and veto him (then again, these are the same two who, apparently, looked at a computer generated Bond paragliding a wave in Die Another Day and were ok with it). If only someone like Frankenheimer had been been at the helm...he might have topped the action benchmark he set with Ronin. Now THAT would be something.
Also, @TripAces, I wasn't shaming you for disliking MR, merely pointing out that I disagreed with your assertions that it presented itself as a serious film. Thanks for clarifying though, as I can see where you're coming from with the opening act, more or less, although I still think it had a light tone from the get go your opinion is reasonable.
OHMSS
TB
FRWL
TLD
GF
CR
LALD
OP
DAF
SF
SP
TSWLM
FYEO
YOLT
TMWTGG
AVTAK
LTK
GE
TND
QOS
MR
DAD
TWINE
As I mentioned above, I'm not one of those "handheld camera + fast editing ruins action cinema" folks. Do I think the majority of films that use this technique use it lazily and poorly? Yes. When done right do I think it works? Yes.
Many of QOS' (namely those I mentioned above, and various parts of the speedboat chase as well) sequences are simply poorly made. There's a few videos floating about on YouTube that slow them down, split them up, freeze up frames, and objectively prove the ridiculously bad technicals on display.
On a technical level. Nothing against the actors of their performances. Craig has always been, for my money, quite convincing in action beats.
Also, I've written what I wanted to write about QOS, probably more than once, and I'm sure I've annoyed folks. Many people have said, "Love it or hate it, it is often talked about." They're right. Fortunately I don't hate it (overall, I'd even say I like it). However, I think I'm done talking about it.
That being said I'm sure I'll have something to say about it after the next time I see it, but that's a bit different.
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. From Russia With Love
4. Goldfinger
5. Goldeneye
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. Tomorrow Never Dies
8. The Living Daylights
9. Dr. No
10. Quantum Of Solace
11. Octopussy
12. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
13. Diamonds Are Forever
14. The Spy Who Loved Me
15. Thunderball
16. The World Is Not Enough
17. You Only Live Twice
18. Die Another Day
19. The Man With The Golden Gun
20. Live And Let Die
21. Moonraker
22. A View To A Kill
23. Licence To Kill
Fun Facts:
- I long considered Moonraker the worst film, but it ended up interesting me after a few watches to make a small leap forward.
- Diamonds Are Forever almost cracked my Top 10. I actually had it at 9 for a moment before weighing the critical value.
If you covered up this list and asked me to make a new one in a week I wouldn't be able to repeat these results. The further down the list goes, the more difficult it is to place films because I feel like I am insulting some of them by their placement. For example, A View To A Kill was one of the first Bond films I ever saw and parts of it have always been appealing to me, but as a whole I just can't put it any higher because there are equally as many enjoyable qualities about the films immediately above it.
Welp. So much for no details...
[-(
:))