What was I thinking?
Jarvio
EnglandPosts: 4,236MI6 Agent
Back in the day, eversince it first came out, and up until just recently, I regarded 'Die Another Day' as one of the better Bond films.
Now, after recently watching it again, I thought to myself 'what was I thinking?'
I now regard DAD as one of the worst Bond films ever. And definitely the worst Brosnan entry.
Not that I didn't enjoy it, but for Bond standards, I think it's pretty dire.
I am having a bit of a bondathon, and over the past few weeks, have watched YOLT, OP, LTK, TLD, TND (on TV), TWINE, GE, and DAD. I can DEFINITELY say that DAD is the worst out of all of those.
It has gone right down on my list, from about 6th, to 19th, beating only TB and MR (which could possibly rank higher than DAD after I re-watch them - who knows)
There is a HUGE reason why I thought DAD was bad. That is the HORRIBLE CGI... There is just too much of it. And may I add, it's really bad CGI, you can tell it's not real. It's that bad that it actually feels like I'm playing a computer game rather than watching a Bond film. For me, action sequences that are packed with CGI do not give me a thrill at all. On all the other Bond films, the action seems much more realistic, and that is what keeps me thrilled. DAD however, as I said, you can tell it's not real. The only action I enjoyed in DAD was Bond and Grave's sword fight.
Another thing that put me off DAD was those HORRIBLE slow motion sequences that kept randomly showing up in fight scenes. What is the point in those? Are they really needed? I think not. Infact, I think it spoilt it completely, nevermind benefit it!
Jinx is one of my least favourite Bond girls ever, but that is just down to my personal taste. No offence to any short-haired women here, but women with short hair do not do it for me at all. Jinx's dialogue was also unbearable, but that's a script issue, rather than an issue with her. Why was Jinx so chilled out when the plane was going to crash land? She says to Bond 'I guess we're going down together', as if everything's ok... but they are about to crash land, what the hell.
Falco - Almost unbearable to watch. But luckily, he didn't have a massive part.
Plot's also a bit uninspired too, as in, similar to DAF, with the diamonds and big satelite and all that. Plot's don't tend to bother me a great deal though, so that is only a very minor issue to me.
Finally, the invisible car. Absolutely ridiculous. Makes MR seem down-to-earth.
I think that DAD could have potentially been a good Bond film, but the CGI just completely ruins it, in my opinion. If it wasn't for the CGI, and those stupid slow-motion bits, and the invisible car, then I would live with the other (minor) faults to the film, and it would rank much higher on my list.
What's everyone else's thoughts? Do you think that the awful CGI ruined DAD?
Now, after recently watching it again, I thought to myself 'what was I thinking?'
I now regard DAD as one of the worst Bond films ever. And definitely the worst Brosnan entry.
Not that I didn't enjoy it, but for Bond standards, I think it's pretty dire.
I am having a bit of a bondathon, and over the past few weeks, have watched YOLT, OP, LTK, TLD, TND (on TV), TWINE, GE, and DAD. I can DEFINITELY say that DAD is the worst out of all of those.
It has gone right down on my list, from about 6th, to 19th, beating only TB and MR (which could possibly rank higher than DAD after I re-watch them - who knows)
There is a HUGE reason why I thought DAD was bad. That is the HORRIBLE CGI... There is just too much of it. And may I add, it's really bad CGI, you can tell it's not real. It's that bad that it actually feels like I'm playing a computer game rather than watching a Bond film. For me, action sequences that are packed with CGI do not give me a thrill at all. On all the other Bond films, the action seems much more realistic, and that is what keeps me thrilled. DAD however, as I said, you can tell it's not real. The only action I enjoyed in DAD was Bond and Grave's sword fight.
Another thing that put me off DAD was those HORRIBLE slow motion sequences that kept randomly showing up in fight scenes. What is the point in those? Are they really needed? I think not. Infact, I think it spoilt it completely, nevermind benefit it!
Jinx is one of my least favourite Bond girls ever, but that is just down to my personal taste. No offence to any short-haired women here, but women with short hair do not do it for me at all. Jinx's dialogue was also unbearable, but that's a script issue, rather than an issue with her. Why was Jinx so chilled out when the plane was going to crash land? She says to Bond 'I guess we're going down together', as if everything's ok... but they are about to crash land, what the hell.
Falco - Almost unbearable to watch. But luckily, he didn't have a massive part.
Plot's also a bit uninspired too, as in, similar to DAF, with the diamonds and big satelite and all that. Plot's don't tend to bother me a great deal though, so that is only a very minor issue to me.
Finally, the invisible car. Absolutely ridiculous. Makes MR seem down-to-earth.
I think that DAD could have potentially been a good Bond film, but the CGI just completely ruins it, in my opinion. If it wasn't for the CGI, and those stupid slow-motion bits, and the invisible car, then I would live with the other (minor) faults to the film, and it would rank much higher on my list.
What's everyone else's thoughts? Do you think that the awful CGI ruined DAD?
1 - LALD, 2 - AVTAK, 3 - LTK, 4 - OP, 5 - NTTD, 6 - FYEO, 7 - SF, 8 - DN, 9 - DAF, 10 - TSWLM, 11 - OHMSS, 12 - TMWTGG, 13 - GE, 14 - MR, 15 - TLD, 16 - YOLT, 17 - GF, 18 - DAD, 19 - TWINE, 20 - SP, 21 - TND, 22 - FRWL, 23 - TB, 24 - CR, 25 - QOS
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Comments
When you first saw DAD, had you seen any of the previous Bond films at that point?
Yep, I'd seen them all. I guess I probably just got excited because it was new and that. And I liked Gustav Graves - although I'm not sure why. Just shows how much someone can change their mind.
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
It took the invisable car, Madonna, worn out plot and all that bad CGI, too convince the producers that they had worn out old oo7! They then took a look at "The Master's" first novel, and diecided to make a reboot.
That reboot was one he** of a fine flick. It would have won Oscar's had it not been a Bond movie.
However sad, blessings upon DAD! Just don't watch the DVD.
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
Not Danny? How about Roger? He hasn't aged a bit since AVTAK....
I'll get back to you on that in December, after I've seen "Golden Compass".
Can't wait to see DC with a talking bear. Can you say "Yogi"?
Bond’s Beretta
The Handguns of Ian Fleming's James Bond
I remember there being a fuss about Halle Berry's performance and her character being Bond's equal- I thought she was one of the worst Bond girls ever, but there you go. And don't get me started on the dialogue...:#
Despite it's mis-givings (CGI, that bloody car and a terrible villain) I do think it has its merits.
The sword fight is good, the PTS is phenomenal, in fact the first third of the film would rank up there with the best 1st third of any of the films.
However the shortcomings definitely spoil it for me.
Although DAD is not on my all-time least favourite film list, I think it's a terrible Bond film, surpassed as a complete tragedy by TLD and AVTAK. Rather than list the things I dislike about it, which would take forever, I will simply say that there are only three things I like about it; Brosnan's terrific performance, the 'say goodbye to him for us' line and the fencing scene. Other than that I think it's absolutely dreadful, and in fact so bad, that I consider the first half (which I prefer to the second half) to be among the very worst halves in the history of the Bond series.
Diamonds are Forever- Sure, it's not as great as the other Connery movies, and the Charles Grey as Blofeld ruins the continuity of the entire series, but regardless of those glitches, I think it's a damn fine film. The themesong, like the movie itself, is dark and haunting. Something about the movie seems a bit eerie to me, which I fully approve of. Connery had a solid performance, despite looking like the rock singer Morrissey.
Moonraker- There's much to enjoy about this movie. Before that, though, my grievances. The film gets a bit silly at times, and the Jaws lovestory/survival from the space station is unnecessary. Hugo Drax, however, is one of the finest Bond villains, the fight scene above the opera is fantastic, and I quite like Rog in the all black outfit of just slacks and a dress shirt. Maybe people rag on it so much because it had the potential to be a stellar film.
A View to a Kill- Roger's worst picture, by far. It looks so cold and lifeless, because of the 80's film styles, and Stacy is perhaps the worst acted Bond girl this side of Denise Richards. The usally poorly acted Christopher Walken is surprisingly good in this one, and Roger turns in a nice finale to his career.
Die Another Day- complete rubbish from top to bottom. The film somehow manages to be worse than the themesong, which is horrific.