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I always thought "The Man with the Golden Gun" was a solid film. I didn't realize it had so many haters until I joined ajb.
I can't quite agree on "A View to a Kill". I didn't think it was too bad, Chris Walken is one of my favorite actors and I took comfort in the fact that I'm watching Moore's last movie. But it couldn't push itself into my TOP15 even if it tried. 
Lets start from the beginning...
LALD... I though that this film is Moore best and is definatley in my top 5 of the best Bond films.
TMWTGG... I liked this movie, and though it was light-hearted and fun, with a tone of action and seriousness.
TSWLM... Great film. Jaws is one of the best and unique Bond henchmen in the franchise.
MR... The beginning was terrific. I did think that the lasers were a bit far-fetched...
FYEO... I liked the darker Bond but I didn't quite wrap my head around the plot...
OP... I liked the humor in it but I needed someone to explain the plot to me a bit more...
AVTAK... I liked the plot very much. The villian was awsome and the blimp. The lack of gadgets was bad beacause I like to see the films with them in it, mainly Moores because he has always had gadgets with him. His age didn't really bother me.
Moore was wonderful in The Saint series, but I cannot stand him as Bond. IMHO, he trivialized the part with his cartoonish "acting." I've never been able to sit through an entire Bond movie with Moore in it. I hate him. 
I think most of Roger Moore's Bond films stunk except for The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only.
I agree, perhaps LALD too
IMHO, he trivialized the part with his cartoonish "acting."
I don't think that "trivializing the role" had as much to do with Moore's acting skill as it had to do with the scripts provided. Keep in mind that Diamonds Are Forever was written as a "lighter" Bond adventure, and even with Sean Connery in the title role, it completely stank. Moore's Bond was definitely unlike Fleming's Bond in a lot of ways -- particularily with regard to humour -- but he made it work (being himself a very witty person) and continued the success of the franchise.
... Diamonds Are Forever was written as a "lighter" Bond adventure, and even with Sean Connery in the title role, it completely stank. ...
Amen to that! I keep hoping that title gets remade, especially now that Canada has a gigantic diamond mind. Bond, diamonds, hot Canadian babes, skiing 
That's right
I agree 100%.
Moore was wonderful in The Saint series, but I cannot stand him as Bond. IMHO, he trivialized the part with his cartoonish "acting." I've never been able to sit through an entire Bond movie with Moore in it. I hate him.
Moore was always a bit hit and miss with me, and definitely got a bit long in the tooth before it was over. On the whole, I think he did a decent job as Bond and lent his own unique style to it. Probably my least favorite Bond, but that's not saying I didn't like it.
- LALD - A decent, but flawed start. To his credit, he immediately made the role his own and didn't rely on imitation. The story was a bit weak, but he was fine in it.
- TMWTGG - Good fun. An enjoyable picture overall. The campy-ness of the Moore era definitely settles in the forefront here, but it works well within the story. Without Christopher Lee, however, this one might have gone off the rails.
- TSWLM - Moore's best, in my opinion. Just the right mixture of elements that played to Moore's strengths as Bond
- MR - For all of its more obvious flaws, the first 3/4 of the film still manage to put together a decent film. Everything runs astray in the latter portion, and Moore's campy approach is in full swing, which doesn't necessarily help matters. Still, not his worst Bond picture, from my perspective.
- FYEO - I liked the attempt to root Bond back in the real world, but Moore never quite seemed comfortable with the more gritty approach. I liked the movie, but it was here that I began to see Moore's run coming to an end.
- OP - Things were definitely running thin with this one. It manages to be a watchable film still, but only just barely. Moore seems to just be acting-by-numbers here and the producer/writer teams don't really seem to know what they want to do with the series during this era. Really, Moore's stretch should have ended here, if not before.
- AVTAK - Really a complete mess. The worst of the Moore era. I can find redeemable qualities in almost any Bond film, but this movie, along with Die Another Day and Diamonds Are Forever, is just one that's hard to justify.
Moore was always a bit hit and miss with me, and definitely got a bit long in the tooth before it was over. On the whole, I think he did a decent job as Bond and lent his own unique style to it. Probably my least favorite Bond, but that's not saying I didn't like it.
- LALD - A decent, but flawed start. To his credit, he immediately made the role his own and didn't rely on imitation. The story was a bit weak, but he was fine in it.
- TMWTGG - Good fun. An enjoyable picture overall. The campy-ness of the Moore era definitely settles in the forefront here, but it works well within the story. Without Christopher Lee, however, this one might have gone off the rails.
- TSWLM - Moore's best, in my opinion. Just the right mixture of elements that played to Moore's strengths as Bond
- MR - For all of its more obvious flaws, the first 3/4 of the film still manage to put together a decent film. Everything runs astray in the latter portion, and Moore's campy approach is in full swing, which doesn't necessarily help matters. Still, not his worst Bond picture, from my perspective.
- FYEO - I liked the attempt to root Bond back in the real world, but Moore never quite seemed comfortable with the more gritty approach. I liked the movie, but it was here that I began to see Moore's run coming to an end.
- OP - Things were definitely running thin with this one. It manages to be a watchable film still, but only just barely. Moore seems to just be acting-by-numbers here and the producer/writer teams don't really seem to know what they want to do with the series during this era. Really, Moore's stretch should have ended here, if not before.
- AVTAK - Really a complete mess. The worst of the Moore era. I can find redeemable qualities in almost any Bond film, but this movie, along with Die Another Day and Diamonds Are Forever, is just one that's hard to justify.
Welcome to AJB, Mortimer 
I'm pretty much with you all the way, though it looks like I enjoyed LALD more than you did...Moore was my least favourite Bond, but I still rewatch his stuff endlessly. Last weekend, my two sons (ages 12 and 14) had a friend sleep over, and we watched TMWTGG. Still a blast as far as I'm concerned 
I actually like LALD a lot. But that's about it.
Welcome to AJB, Mortimer
I'm pretty much with you all the way, though it looks like I enjoyed LALD more than you did...Moore was my least favourite Bond, but I still rewatch his stuff endlessly. Last weekend, my two sons (ages 12 and 14) had a friend sleep over, and we watched TMWTGG. Still a blast as far as I'm concerned
Thanks.
I actually liked LALD, just not as much as some of his other Bond movies. Moore made the transition between Bonds very easy to digest by eliminating comparisons between him and Connery. For me, at least. I liked LALD more when I first saw it. I think I've just become more critical of it as time goes on. Still enjoy it, though.
TMWTGG is just pure fun. It was one of my favorite ones growing up. I've come to like others more now, but I still really like that film.
I am not a huge fan but my favourite is For Your Eyes Only. It wouldn't make my top three list of Bond films but my favourite Moore film.
On the other hand The Man With the Golden Gun rates worst. Not just worst, but worst of all Bond films for some reason.
Welcome to AJB, punman That's the great thing about Bond---there's something for everyone. One man's trash is another man's treasure...
roger moore is the best he was better in fyeo and mn then tmwtgg and lald octopussy was good and he showed his age in avtak. but in all he is the best of all the bonds
i think rm was the best and i think that all the bond movies should be light hearted like his movies
Definitely not the best Bond, but he had some of the most beautiful Bond girls.
T
I have mixed views. He was my "youth" Bond and the one who made me discover the character back in the mid-eighties (thanks to ye olde video rental shop), so there are memories of Sunday afternoons with the family laughing out loud with the most outrageous stunts. But then came Dalton, Brosnan and, of course, Craig, who imho have continuously meant a step above the previous iteration for the franchise.
The Ultimate Edition DVDs have been a (sad) eye-opener: his movies haven't aged well, and I cannot say I see him as the character anymore. That being said, there is a quirky nostalgic feeling that makes them enjoyable in a half-hearted way.
Yankee Mike Bravo wrote:IMHO, he trivialized the part with his cartoonish "acting."
I don't think that "trivializing the role" had as much to do with Moore's acting skill as it had to do with the scripts provided. Keep in mind that Diamonds Are Forever was written as a "lighter" Bond adventure, and even with Sean Connery in the title role, it completely stank. Moore's Bond was definitely unlike Fleming's Bond in a lot of ways -- particularily with regard to humour -- but he made it work (being himself a very witty person) and continued the success of the franchise.
I agree with a lot that you have to say.However. I'm no lover of Moore's films, and even in the only saving grace (LALD) he always lacked the neccessarry physicality to convince for me. However the rot started in YOLT in terms of Cartoon nature and the superb 'back to bascis' OHMSS provided a momentary blip before the truly poor DAF. in LALD EON did what they subsequently always do with a new actor, gone back to core principles and reconnect with the source in terms of character and produce a better film. I see this more in terms of an arc that the series takes. You can see this again as the wasted opportunity that was DAD (great first half) precedes the vastly superior CR.
What was different with Moore was that he was never a convincing 'action man' as were Both Connerry and even more so Lazenby before him. Even in the very beggining he (Moore) was getting a bit long in the tooth for the role, and he was in place soooo long that his weaknesses by neccessity became something that the series had to deal with and incorporate by boosting the humourous aspects, and playing to his strength (his undeniable charm).
'My' Bond is charamatic, but not neccessarily charming.
This means that although for me Moore' is by far the least satisfactory Bond to date for me, all of the 'blame' should not be levelled at him as an Actor, but seen as a trajectory that the series takes. No doubt if the incumbent remains long enough (which I doubt) we would most likely see hollowed out Volcanoes and invisible cars until the next actor shows up. I think this is only unlikely with Craig as I doubt that he would be interested in continuing long enough for that to happen or make 'that' kind of Bond movie.
I actually quite enjoy the Moore Bond films, even though they are often too silly for their own good. There are a lot of really good spy movies buried under the jokes and slapstick, though, and I feel like you could remove about 10% from each Moore film (JW Pepper, Bibi Dahl, etc.) and you'd have almost perfect movies.
Live and Let Die. Half blaxploitation, half Smokey and the Bandit. A weaker entry but still fun, and I have a soft spot for it since I grew up watching it over and over (and over and over). The voodoo aspect is interesting, there are some great (if unnecessary) car stunts, Jane Seymour is an interesting and beautiful Bond girl, and Moore gives a solid debut that quickly makes him stand apart from Sean Connery. If we could just get rid of some of the unfortunate racism, JW Pepper, and Yaphet Kotto's exploding head, we'd be on our way to a much better film.
The Man with the Golden Gun. A solid espionage movie buried under bad jokes and an obsession with bums. The spy plot is solid and Christopher Lee is great, plus it has my all-time favorite Bond stunt (the car jump). Alas, we also have karate schoolgirls, sumo wrestlers with wedgies, and a godawful fight with NickNack (whose inclusion in the film is never embarassing until the end). Oh, the movie this almost is...still decent, though, for what it does have.
The Spy Who Loved Me. Everything the two prior Moore films wanted to be but didn't quite manage. It's big, over the top, silly in the right ways, with a gorgeous and capable Bond girl, stunning locales, amazing action, a menacing henchman, and a wonderful title song and sequence. The villain is a tad dull and his scheme is just You Only Live Twice underwater, but other than that it's a great flick!
Moonraker. Really an embarassment for all involved, although it's still fun in a very non-Bond sort of way and has some good moments. It's so ridiculously absurd and over the top (in a bad way), though, that it can't recover. And that chase past all the billboards is the most blatant case of product placement ever. And Jaws turning good and falling in love? Are you kidding? Ughh. I still love that pigeon-shooting scene, though.
For Your Eyes Only. A terrific espionage film, by far my favorite of the Moores and one of the best in the whole series, IMO. We have a great plot that never gets bogged down by action (even though there's a TON of it), a multi-layered Bond girl, a solid villain, stunningly gorgeous locales, great stunts, and a greater script. If not for the inclusion of Bibi Dahl, this would be in my top 3 Bond films of all time. As it stands, it's at number 5.
Octopussy. Another solid entry that gets a bit more bogged down in silliness than it needs to (the Tarzan yell, for instance). The plot is terrific, though, with some good old fashioned espionage involving betrayals and twists. Good villain, great stunts, very interesting Bond girl, and a great henchmen (the one with the sawblade, that is). The India locations aren't nearly all they could have been and some of the film is too jokey and slapsticky for its own good, but still a solid effort.
A View to a Kill. Wow, this film gets such a bad rap! I realize it has flaws, but I also feel its pros outweigh its cons. A good plot (yes, yes, I know it's just Goldfinger again, but who cares? No one seems to care that TSWLM is just YOLT rehashed), some great stunts, a perfect John Barry score, a menacing villain, and some interesting subplots (the genetics testing, the KGB rivalry). Unfortunately, it has a weak screamer of a Bond girl and a very strange villainous henchman (Mayday), and Bond's sex scene with the latter is the most embarassing moment of the series. And Roger Moore was FAR too old to be playing James Bond, and he looks it the whole way. Still, though, the PTS is great, the title song is the best of the series, and the climax is fun. I'm just going to come out and say it: I like A View to a Kill! Now I'll run and hide before I get beaten up....
i know roger was very popular (in some polls more popular than connery), but he did do the films for far too long. and Dalton had no chance in replacing him, because of this.
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