Forty years and twenty movies later, we still go back to the theater and watch the latest superspy flick. (Let’s leave Casino Royale, as it was “unofficial”)
People have their favorites for different reasons, of course, but what’s your pick for the worst of them all? How bout in the 80s, when the series seemed to be dying a slow death?
My least-favorite of all time is On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Bond should never, ever, ever, ever get married. And George Lazenby? Pfffffft! It was doomed from the git-go.
I thought this thread was going to be ranting about Die Another Day, and I felt obligated to come in and remind the OP about Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
I’m relieved that other people hate that godawful Lazenby as much as I do.
Gotta agree with astorian on this one. “A View to a Kill” was execrable. Tanya Roberts was the worst part about it (yes, dantheman, worse than Denise Richards), but there were no good parts, really; even Grace Jones managed to be even more of a parody of herself than usual. And just what was up with that stupid blimp finale?
At least View… was memorable, none of the Timothy Dalton ones were even memorable. But for simply bad, bad, bad, it has to be Lazenby and …Secret Service even Diana Rigg couldn’t save it.
I have rented a couple of Bond films–For Your Eyes Only and I can’t remember the other one–but both of them had interminable underwater scenes. What the heck is that all about? And are any of those older ones GOOD?
The World Is Not Enough was pathetic garbage. I truly hated it and couldn’t wait to get the fuck out of the theatre. Most of the later Roger Moore Bonds sucked out loud, as well.
My least favorite of the ones I’ve seen (which is most of 'em, but not all of 'em), is Live And Let Die. I know a lot of people disagree with me on that one, so it probably won’t win the coveted Worst Bond Film Award, but I’m sticking by it. I had to force myself to sit through to the end.
Cool theme song, though. “… to live and let die! Bam, BAM!”
These are the epitome of James Bond Glory and Wonderfulness.
I am inclined to say that any of the Roger Moore movies are the worst because I hate him so much, or The World is Not Enough, because of Vile Denise Richards, but I have never seen OHMSS, so I guess I can’t fairly judge.
Gotta agree that Moonraker was easily the worst, folowed by The Spy Who Loved Me Both were written by Christopher Wod, who should never be let near a movie again. They feature Bond at his most puerile, and both feature Richard Kiel as “Jaws”. (If you, by some chance, like Mr. Wood’s work, then rent Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, one of the funniest Bad Films ever, as proven by the fact that he Adventure Never Continued.)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is Bad!!! It’s one of the best!! - Telly Savalas as the villain, Diana Rigg as the best Bond Gir ever, Louis Armstrong music. Lazenby wasn’t a bad Bond – he just wasn’t Connery. I’d take him over Moore any day.
I’ve seen every movie at least a couple of times, and the good ones more than that. I agree with those who dislike Lazenby as Bond, but despite this think OHMSS is one of the better movies–certainly better than Moonraker (the original book would have made a much better movie) and A View to a Kill, which rank at the bottom of my list of Bond movies, with Moonraker marginally worse.
Great Bond:
Dr. No
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Tomorrow Never Dies
License to Kill
Good Bond:
Live and Let Die
For Your Eyes Only
The Living Daylights
Goldeneye
The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day
Mediocre Bond:
You Only Live Twice
Octopussy
The Spy Who Loved Me
Bad Bond:
Moonraker
A View to a Kill
The Man with the Golden Gun
Diamonds Are Forever
Bonds, best to worst:
Sean Connery
Pierce Brosnan
Timothy Dalton
George Lazenby
David Niven
Barry Nelson
Roger Moore
Interesting list, Number Six. I agree with a lot of it. Here’s mine:
Favorites:
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
From Russia With Love
The Spy Who Loved Me
Goldfinger
The Living Daylights
For Your Eyes Only
Okay, Not Great:
Goldeneye
The World is Not Enough
A View to a Kill
Tomorrow Never Dies
You Only Live Twice
Thunderball
Live and Let Die
Octopussy
I’ll Watch Them, But Only Because They’re Bond:
Dr. No
License to Kill
Diamonds Are Forever
The Man With the Golden Gun
The Unwatchable:
Moonraker
Connery is my favorite Bond, Lazenby is underrated, and I maintain that he would have gotten better once audiences got used to him, Moore is something of an ass-clown, but had some gems during his tenure, Dalton was uneven, and Brosnan’s Bond is very undefined – I can’t characterize it. After three films, he doesn’t have “his” Bond yet.
We’ll see where Die Another Day ends up in all this. I’m seeing it tomorrow.
Another OHMSS. Lazenby wasn’t much of an actor, it’s true (he never quite managed to hide his Ozzie accent, for one thing), but physically he was perfect for the role. And the rest of the movie around him was wonderful: brilliant musical score, great pacing, something resembling a real sense of danger and emotion, Diana Rigg, Diana Rigg, Diana Rigg…
Sorry, got stuck there.
Oh, but this was about the worst. Easy, had to have Roger Moore, had to have an utterly pointless plot, be grotesque beyond measure, had to lack any sense of style or flash; yep, that would be Man With the Golden Gun, then.
We all seem to be forgetting, perhaps on purpose, Never Say Never Again. How any James Bond film starring Sean Connery could be that horrible is beyond me.
