Metal Reviews

I've been on a bit of a James Bond kick lately, so I thought I'd ask what everybody's favorite Bond movies are?

Personally, my favorite is Goldeneye (perhaps that's due in part to the fact that it's the first one I saw). Goldfinger would be in a close second. But I enjoy pretty much every Bond movie that I've seen. Even The World Is Not Enough (come on, you have to admit that Elektra King was a good antagonist).

Hmm, nobody else is a fan?

I like GoldenEye and some of the newer Bond films but mostly they aren't that exciting. The older ones were probably thrilling when they were made, but having seen today's films they seem kind of dull.

The new one is good, every other one is at least pretty bad and most just outright suck.

I liked the new one. I think Danial Craig did a good portrayal of Bond. I think many people couldn't accept him as Bond because of is physical appearance. All the Bonds have been tall and lanky, but Craig's pretty built and broad shouldered.

However, I still enjoy the older ones. It's fun to watch old movies with so called 'start of the art' technology. Was it Octopussy? They had Bond masquerading as a croc in the river. Classic

The first five with Sean Connery are all great, with From Russia With Love probably being my favorite of the early flicks. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is quite good too, although I don't particularly care for George Lazenby as Bond. The Roger Moore films are highly inconsistent; The Spy Who Loved Me is quite entertaining, while Moonraker is thoroughly awful. Both Timothy Dalton flicks are dispensable. Pierce Brosnan era...GoldenEye is stellar and stacks up well to the first five with Connery, the other ones are your standard run-of-the-mill Hollywood action, nothing great. Tomorrow Never Dies is quite fun, though, and has one of the series' best villains in Jonathan Pryce.

Which brings me to Casino Royale = greatest Bond flick ever. Everything just comes together so well in this one, and it has by far the best directing and overall filmmaking of any Bond Film. Daniel Craig's interpretation of Bond is also the one that stays most true to the books, which is a big plus. Yes, the concept of having Judi Dench playing M is completely absurd and fucks up the Bond timeline beyond recognition, but I don't give a fuck. Awesome movie in every single aspect.

That's the answer from a complete and utter Bond nut, mind you. Although there are ones I don't care for at all, I've watched all the movies at least five times each. The first one I've watched upwards of 15 times. GoldenEye and all the ones preceeding it are big pieces of my childhood.

Wow, you know your Bond films. I haven't even seen Casino Royale yet. I think I'll rent it some day.

Hmmm I like Sean Connery Bond films and maybe few with Roger Moore, but rest of them are crap. Newer ones are really pathetic, just banging, shooting with those gadgets = lame. I'd rather see a Chuck Norris film instead.

I think every MB thread should be required by law to have at least one Chuck Norris joke thrown in.

Anyway, I watched Dr. No yesterday (note: I own the movie on DVD, but until yesterday I hadn't watched it in almost four years). It's certainly a very prototypical Bond movie. All-out terrorist firefights are almost non-existent, Bond uses almost none of his trademarked gadgets, there seems to be more of an emphasis on plot than action, Honey Ryder is a rather generic (but cute ) Bond girl, etc. These aren't at all knocks against the movie BTW (in fact, I'd say it's one of my favorite Bond movies, and I actually prefer the more character/story-driven plot to the more action-driven plot of later Bond movies), but it's fascinating to see how the series evolved over the following 30 years.

I usually don't like James Bond movies but I though Casino Royale was good. No so many gadgets and a "à la die-hard" James Bond... Nice.

The ones I've seen, other than Casino Royale (which was good but overrated) have all been terrible, with Die Another Day being the absolute nadir.

I agree that Die Another Day was pretty weak for a Bond film. It also gets the award for "Worst Theme Song Ever In A James Bond Movie."

I pretty much hate them all. Casino Royale except the gay first part it was pretty good.

Yes, Die Another Day certainly ranks among the worst Bond flicks, although I'd argue that Moonraker is the definite bottom one.



This strength is amplified even more in From Russia With Love, my favorite with Sean Connery and possibly second favorite after Casino Royale. The one that came after it, Goldfinger, was when plentiful action scenes and gadgets started to take over and become a trademark of the Bond series (not at all a bad thing in itself, of course).

Not a fan although when I was younger I loved Moonraker, especially Jaws the 'evil' villian. Casino Royale on the other hand is pretty good.

The problem is that the action scenes, particularly when Brosnan took over as Bond, were way overdone. By the time The World Is Not Enough came out, it was difficult to tell whether this was James Bond or Die Hard (nothing against Die Hard, btw, as I love the series).

I saw, for the first time, Licence To Kill yesterday. I really don't see why people dislike this Bond movie. I thought it was actually quite enjoyable, and Timothy Dalton was a surprisingly good Bond. Probably better than Roger Moore and at least as good as Brosnan (although Brosnan's more shallow and egotistical Bond really got on my nerves after a while).

I actually really enjoy the Pierce Brosnan 007 films. The World Is Not Enough being my favorite Brosnan film because I can't enough of watching Sophie Marceau and Denise Richards in that one. Yes, a guilty pleasure but one I'm willing to admit every day of the week. I liked "Die Another Day" as well for similar reasons...Halle Berry. The action was a bit over the top but it was just fun.

Sean Connery was the original and the most charismatic of all the 007 actors. He just oozed cool. I have yet to meet a guy who would not trade up to be Sean Connery for a day. All of those early 007 films are just classics. Of the late 70's/80's Bond films I like "The Spy Who Loved Me" the most.