Do you enjoy or dislike watching a Bond movie with a casual viewer?

Dutchfinger · October 2015

Most of us here know a LOT about the Bond movies. We've watched all the movies probably hundreds of times, we have strong opinions on every little aspect in those and most of us not only know when each of them was released, but also know exactly what the cast and crew for each movie was like.

So, how do you feel whenever someone who barely knows anything about Bond watches the movies with you?

I personally find it really refreshing to learn how someone expierences the movies for the first times. This past few days I've watched the first three Bonds with a friend who basicly only knew: "Bond is an English secret agent with the number 007" and not much else... He did enjoy DN (of course he was laughing out loud at the car chase scene :P ) FRWL was the hardest one to follow for him. It's funny, because whenever I watch that one with someone who watches it for the first time, they seem to have trouble following along and sometimes even seem to get bored! You would never hear a dehard Bond fan say anything like that, but it's understandable as a casual viewer.
He liked GF, but did think a lot of the stuff was just so fake. (He laughed hard when Tilly's car got stationary when bummed off the road in Switserland

) )

I have also pretty much watched most of the Bonds with my girlfriend over the last few months. We watched DN up to CR so far. She definitely takes a female perspective when she watches along. And the misogyny of the early movies really had her rolling her eyes. Where I am laughing out loud when Connery uses Miss Taro for sex and then let her be taken away, she cringes. Her opinion was that they just fall for Bond to easily and too quickly, too which I usually replied: "Well, he is Bond you know! Of course they do!"

I did see a huge smile on her face when Daniel Craig walked out of the water in those tiny trunks in CR though....

So, how do you guys experience watching the movies from our beloved franchise with casuals?

chrisisall · October 2015

My Son watched a few with me & only liked DN. He too laughed at the rear projection.
Other than that I always watch them alone.

Absolutely_Cart · October 2015

I watch Bond movies with Bond fans. I did watch them with some people who weren't fans, but they didn't really care for it (so it wasn't fun for us).

hehadlotsofguts · October 2015

I watched Octopussy with my mam's boyfriend ( at the time) and he spent thd whole film saying how such and such wouldn't happen in real life.

chrisisall · October 2015

hehadlotsofguts wrote:

I watched Octopussy with my mam's boyfriend ( at the time) and he spent thd whole film saying how such and such wouldn't happen in real life.

But, umm, that's the POINT of Bond movies, isn't it?? ?:)

)

Dutchfinger · October 2015

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

I watch Bond movies with Bond fans. I did watch them with some people who weren't fans, but they didn't really care for it (so it wasn't fun for us).

Ah to bad

- I would like to watch Bond with some "real" Bond fans too one day, but here in my region I know nobody that is as much of a fan as I am.

hehadlotsofguts wrote:

I watched Octopussy with my mam's boyfriend ( at the time) and he spent thd whole film saying how such and such wouldn't happen in real life.

Haha oh yeah "those" types....

)
They just cannot see Bond is supposed to be escapism!

hehadlotsofguts · October 2015

Pretty much the reason why i prefer to watch them alone.

Absolutely_Cart · October 2015

I actually do have a question.

I'm moving to Juno Beach Florida in 2 weeks. I'm going to be seeing Spectre there. How do I find a fellow Bond fan who wants to meet a stranger and watch a Bond movie with him on short notice?

Silhouette Man · October 2015

I mostly watch them alone so I can't really comment but no doubt some "mere amateur's" ill-informed views on Bond (both literary and cinematic) would irk me somewhat!

) -{

Firemass · October 2015

Dutchfinger wrote:

FRWL was the hardest one to follow for him. It's funny, because whenever I watch that one with someone who watches it for the first time, they seem to have trouble following along and sometimes even seem to get bored! You would never hear a dehard Bond fan say anything like that, but it's understable as a casual viewer.

Haha, no actually I say stuff like that all the time. FRWL plot makes no sense whatsoever and it IS boring!

Back to your original topic: It's a gamble…it can be fun if the casual fan is really enjoying it or it could be a real drag if they're rolling their eyes and balking at this or that.

Diabolik · October 2015

hehadlotsofguts wrote:

I watched Octopussy with my mam's boyfriend ( at the time) and he spent thd whole film saying how such and such wouldn't happen in real life.

Ridiculous. One wonders why such people watch movies to begin with if they have a problem with lack of realism. I mean, there's no movie on Earth that truly reflects reality, even documentaries.

I once watched GoldenEye with a friend who did the exact same thing. I finally made him shut up by saying "What the hell? There's theme music playing in the background, that would never happen in real life!" I still recall the dumbfounded look on his face with glee.

Peppermill · October 2015

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

I actually do have a question.

I'm moving to Juno Beach Florida in 2 weeks. I'm going to be seeing Spectre there. How do I find a fellow Bond fan who wants to meet a stranger and watch a Bond movie with him on short notice?

Meeting up with strange men in a cinema.... tututut, this is not one on those Bonding sites!

)

chrisisall · October 2015

Diabolik wrote:

I finally made him shut up by saying "What the hell? There's theme music playing in the background, that would never happen in real life!" I still recall the dumbfounded look on his face with glee.

I carry a portable music player with me in case I get into a fight or car chase so there will be a cool soundtrack to it.

broadshoulder · October 2015

That actually happened to me. A Doctor friend of mine had never seen Skyfall. He's in his fifties and it was the first time he watched one.

He turned his nose up at Skyfall. He's Italian though lives in London. But adores the Twilight films with Robert Pattinson

Loeffelholz · October 2015

It's always interesting to watch Bond with the casual movie fan who has no particular special interest in James Bond---especially some of the ones from the 1970s, LOL.

In my case, I managed to raise two sons, and so I made my own Bond fans to watch each new one with me :007)

Gassy Man · October 2015

I'm perfectly fine with it -- in fact, it's interesting how casual viewers often will zero in on things that even fans don't. a girlfriend and I went to see Tomorrow Never Dies, for instance, and as soon as Dr. Kaufman showed up, she said, "Kaufman, coffin, I get it." She wasn't impressed, but then neither was I when I realized how obvious the naming convention was but only after she pointed it out. I will say, though, that it was tougher in those days to get a casual viewer to watch a Bond movie than it is now that Craig is Bond and the films are mainstream.

superado · October 2015

I like watching only with true believers and especially avoid others who like to talk while I'm watching.

Dutchfinger · October 2015

Firemass wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

FRWL was the hardest one to follow for him. It's funny, because whenever I watch that one with someone who watches it for the first time, they seem to have trouble following along and sometimes even seem to get bored! You would never hear a dehard Bond fan say anything like that, but it's understable as a casual viewer.

Haha, no actually I say stuff like that all the time. FRWL plot makes no sense whatsoever and it IS boring!

Haha okay, I guess the better way of putting it would have been: "You rarely see a Bond fan who finds FRWL to be boring!
But I have to admit it really took some time for it to grow on me too as I got older.

Gassy Man wrote:

I'm perfectly fine with it -- in fact, it's interesting how casual viewers often will zero in on things that even fans don't. a girlfriend and I went to see Tomorrow Never Dies, for instance, and as soon as Dr. Kaufman showed up, she said, "Kaufman, coffin, I get it." She wasn't impressed, but then neither was I when I realized how obvious the naming convention was but only after she pointed it out. I will say, though, that it was tougher in those days to get a casual viewer to watch a Bond movie than it is now that Craig is Bond and the films are mainstream.

Never even heared about that naming convention before! But yes, I agree they bring some new things to the tables! My friend pointed out how redicilous the character of Honey Ryder was when she mentioned she killed a man and puts it all dark with: "It took him a whole week to die" while 5 minutes before that she seems all shocked when Bond kills a henchman.

Loeffelholz wrote:

It's always interesting to watch Bond with the casual movie fan who has no particular special interest in James Bond---especially some of the ones from the 1970s, LOL.

In my case, I managed to raise two sons, and so I made my own Bond fans to watch each new one with me :007)

Awesome! I hope to one day bring my own breed of Bond fans into the world myself and watch the films with them

)

ToTheRight · October 2015

Sometimes a casual viewer who is aware you know a lot about Bond will ask the most obnoxious questions during the film. For example during Thunderball I was asked "What's that circle thing he's walking in?". During Dr. No - "Why is it Dr. No and not Dr. Yes?"

Seeing a new film with an audience there's ALWAYS conversations before the film starts on who was the best Bond. At risk of sounding like a stuck up Bond connoisseur that topic got old when Moore was Bond. On a forum it's fun to dissect specific performances, appearances, films, etc on the Bonds, but with casual viewers you can't compare Moore in LALD with Moore in FYEO.

I remember at a party once GoldenEye was on television and someone said "now that I've seen Craig and know what Bond is actually supposed to look like, Pierce is too pretty."
Don't remember what I said to that- probably that Craig doesn't exactly fit Fleming's description to a tee either.
Just seems like there's too much generalizing with casual viewers.

heartbroken_mr_drax · October 2015

I know non-Bond fans get annoyed with me because I have a running commentary on how things were done.

I don't like how many people don't give the old ones a chance, they just think they're boring and not similar enough to what they're used to (new ones).

But many people don't enjoy old films, it's almost as if people struggle to suspend their disbelief at different/dated styles.

chrisisall · October 2015

Many favourite films of mine were made before I was born.
Heh, but Bond came along after....

Penfold Heart · October 2015

I tend to watch them alone, unless it is a new release at the cinema, then I go with my dad and make a bit of a night out of it.

My wife has watched DN, GF, CR, QoS, SF.

She liked them apart from QoS and SF.

But that's it, she says she has seen enough to get a good idea of what they are all like.

To which I responded "But you haven't seen a Roger Moore one yet!" -{

By the way, FRWL was a grower for me too, I found it tedious when I was younger, but love it now

DutchJamesBondFan · October 2015

At home I always watch them with my dad, I've to help him with the story but he enjoyed them very much but doesn't know a lot about them. But we always have great fun. I do go with friends to the cinema, my other teenager friends just like the action of the newer films. All of my classmates did enjoy Skyfall very much, hearing a non-Bondfan being positive always makes me proud.

Diabolik · October 2015

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

But many people don't enjoy old films, it's almost as if people struggle to suspend their disbelief at different/dated styles.

I think modern films are styled and edited in a way that appeals to the current anti-intellectual and convenience-obsessed culture. Audiences these days can't stomach movies that are slow-burning or dialogue-heavy, and such films are relegated to the "indie" market. It's a terrible trend that began in the late 1970's and has only gotten worse.

Dutchfinger · October 2015

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

I know non-Bond fans get annoyed with me because I have a running commentary on how things were done.

I don't like how many people don't give the old ones a chance, they just think they're boring and not similar enough to what they're used to (new ones).

But many people don't enjoy old films, it's almost as if people struggle to suspend their disbelief at different/dated styles.

I completely agree on this. I too find myself constantly commentating on how things were done. My friend thought it was intresting and actually asks me more questions, where's my girlfriend defenitely prefers to watch the movies while i'm shutting up. (understandable! :P )

And yes, I also know a LOT of people who don't like to watch older movies that much for those reasons you stated. It was quite something that I got my friend (who is like that too) to watch the first three!

Jarvio · October 2015

It depends on the person you're watching it with. For example, some people are incapable of shutting the hell up during films.

Dutchfinger · October 2015

Jarvio wrote:

It depends on the person you're watching it with. For example, some people are incapable of shutting the hell up during films.

I can handle it if someone is pointing something out about the movie. Sometimes it helps to level me into the movie even more. But I hate it when people just go completely off topic and talk away, we might as well be listening to the radio in that case...

Jarvio · October 2015

Dutchfinger wrote:

Jarvio wrote:

It depends on the person you're watching it with. For example, some people are incapable of shutting the hell up during films.

I can handle it if someone is pointing something out about the movie. Sometimes it helps to level me into the movie even more. But I hate it when people just go completely off topic and talk away, we might as well be listening to the radio in that case...

Thinking about it, I guess with bond films I wouldn't mind AS much just because I have seen them all several times already. I suppose I was just thinking about SPECTRE, which I'm hopefully seeing tomorrow, where complete silence would be necessary for my first viewing

I remember watching a bond film with my friend and his dad. I think it was LALD. And my friend's dad kept talking about what make/model the plane is that bond is flying.... of all the things to talk about!

Loeffelholz · October 2015

Jarvio wrote:

...SPECTRE, which I'm hopefully seeing tomorrow, where complete silence would be necessary for my first viewing

...Punctuated by the occasional gasp, burst of laughter and spontaneous applause B-) There's something quite thrilling about watching a big movie for the first time with a fresh crowd :007)

Dutchfinger · October 2015

Loeffelholz wrote:

Jarvio wrote:

...SPECTRE, which I'm hopefully seeing tomorrow, where complete silence would be necessary for my first viewing

...Punctuated by the occasional gasp, burst of laughter and spontaneous applause B-) There's something quite thrilling about watching a big movie for the first time with a fresh crowd :007)

Amen to that! Can't wait

heartbroken_mr_drax · October 2015

Diabolik wrote:

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

But many people don't enjoy old films, it's almost as if people struggle to suspend their disbelief at different/dated styles.

I think modern films are styled and edited in a way that appeals to the current anti-intellectual and convenience-obsessed culture. Audiences these days can't stomach movies that are slow-burning or dialogue-heavy, and such films are relegated to the "indie" market. It's a terrible trend that began in the late 1970's and has only gotten worse.

Agree.

2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner are examples of films that so many people just do not get because they follow this slow-burning style which reveals a greater message.

James Bond is a little different, but I can imagine several people saying WTF to OHMSS, FYEO, LTK etc.

Do you enjoy or dislike watching a Bond movie with a casual viewer?

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