"..and the cable car fight, both of which are completely lacking in excitement, which then go on to climax in silly humour with the Bondola and Jaws' / Dolly meet cute moments."
Am I the only one who actually likes the cable car fight..? Okay it's a bit silly in places but it's Jaws v Bond! Roger giving his great feign smile of acknowledgement! A great John Barry action track..
Moonraker has it's faults and I would agree with commonly held views of what they are. But the cable car fight for me is not one of them.
My biggest gripe other than than the Bondola scene is the poor direction/editing? Of having Bond appear in the cowboy scene immedialy after he's just fallen out of the back of the ambulance. It just doesn't fit or work.
But, at the end of the day Moonraker is just great entertaining and escapism fun, a fantastic sountrack, great locations and some wonderful scenes. Two lovely Bond Girls too IMO. :007)
1. For Your Eyes Only - Amazing, in every way shape and form. I loved Glen's direction, and Moore's serious performance. The 80's was also my favourite Bond decade due to the seriousness and Ian Fleming back to books style. Everything is right about this film, the score by Bill Conti, the action, the cast, chemistry, Bond being more human, the beginning of the dark 80's ages, the villain and even the plot. I have no flaws for this movie. FYEO is not only my favourite Moore film, but my favourite of the entire series. 10/10
2. A View To A Kill - The most underrated 007 film, EVER. Yes, there are a 'few' silly features but they are only minimal. This film had the greatest villain of the series, and I liked it more than GF personally, the score by John Barry, the locations, the action and believableness, and the reasons of Moore hating this are the reasons I loved it. This was a dark, violent and serious Bond film that ultimately feels like a Timothy Dalton film, and got back on track after the comedic Octopussy. Bond is very human and the film just shows how serious it was heading. I really enjoy this one, and while Moore is old, that is a minor flaw. Along with FYEO, I really got the sense that we were dealing with a realistic style Bond film where you know that Bond is in great danger. I did like Tanya Roberts, and while her acting isn't great, I never had any issues with her. AVTAK is awesome. 9/10
3. The Spy Who Loved Me - I love this one a lot, but not as much as some people. While it is an awesome film with much action, a good score, great action and a definitive Bond adventure, it is only let down by last act of the movie onboard the tanker. It slows down here but it feels like a classic Bond movie with a classic villain, Bond girl and an exciting joyride. 8/10
4. Octopussy - Yes, it is a bit silly and definitely my least favourite official bond film of the 80's. It is quite campy and watching this right after FYEO was a letdown. The plot is definitely a little confusing and the pace slows right down in Germany, but the Indian locations and action were phenomenal. It ends poorly, but the overall excitement and enjoyable factors bring it above the rest on the list. It is still a John Glen film at the end of the day, and the serious elements to the film outweigh some of the negatives, it is a fun movie. 8/10
5. Live And Let Die - LALD is a good bond film, but it is also very campy, especially in the second half during the boat chases. What wins were the locations, Moore performs like a God, Jayne Seymour is still my favourite Bond girl of the RM films, only losing to Melina Havelock and it feels a lot like Dr No in my eyes. I really like it, but director Guy Hamilton's style doesn't work well with me as Moore's later directors, like Gilbert and especially Glen. 7/10
6. Moonraker - I used to love this one a lot more and there are still terrific aspects that I love it, like the first half up until the second boat chase in the Amazon. What brings it down of course, and it's rhetorical, space. Everything is over the top in this movie, and its just too much in many aspects. I am a Bond fan who prefers serious, Ian Fleming style films and performances, and I can see why an actor like Timothy Dalton wanted no part in For Your Eyes Only. It's not bad, but it is seriously flawed. 6/10
7. The Man With The Golden Gun - Always my least favourite Moore film. This film is just silly and over the top. The difference between this and Moonraker, well... a lot for the worse. I hated Moore's performance, the movie is boring, has a cheap budget feel to it, is extremely tired, has the awful Nick Nack and my least favourite Bond girl of the series - Britt Eckland who does NOTHING whatsoever. Stupid middle and second half of the movie, no outstanding villain plot, and yeah, I'm not a fan of this movie. It isn't outright bad, but it has serious problems that push me towards other bond movies. 6/10
I am a Bond fan who prefers serious, Ian Fleming style films
Most of Fleming's novels are quite over-the-top and pure fantasy. I don't find them serious or realistic. OHMSS being the prime example. Exotic locations, tons of beautiful girls, arch-villain with plans for world domination...
Am I the only one who actually likes the cable car fight..? Okay it's a bit silly in places but it's Jaws v Bond! Roger giving his great feign smile of acknowledgement! A great John Barry action track..
Love the feigned smile :007) Also the line, "His name is Jaws. He kills people." is classic.
Only faults I can find with the cable car fight are: Why is there a chain in there? Why does Bond want to get on the roof? Jaw's jump is unrealistic, but no worse than one of Lazenby's. All easily forgivable sins in the name of entertainment.
1 Drax's plan — to annihilate the entire human race — is so insane that anyone learning about it would have notified the nearest mental hospital immediately and scheduled a pick-up.
I'm surprised any Bond fan would have an issue with this. Not that insane compared to many other plots by Blofeld, Stromberg etc…. Plus, the thought of repopulating the earth with only the finest humans sounds like an okay idea to me! Drax even took care to not harm animal and plant life. Genius.
2 We don't have the technology now to build a space station like that, let alone in 1979.
I like when Bond films are imaginative and have their own reality. Moonraker also showed space shuttles realistically being transported and launching before it was really a "thing"
3 Even if we accept the above points, Drax's behaviour on encountering Bond makes no sense.
True, but he at least tried damn hard to make Bond's death look like an accident. Drax was probably super paranoid and as you pointed out, quite insane.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I am a Bond fan who prefers serious, Ian Fleming style films
Most of Fleming's novels are quite over-the-top and pure fantasy. I don't find them serious or realistic. OHMSS being the prime example. Exotic locations, tons of beautiful girls, arch-villain with plans for world domination...
Edited. I posted on a best to worst video on YT and forgot to erase it. Regarding Ian Fleming style films, there is a difference. Campy and over the top MR style, vs FYEO and the Timothy Dalton era. I prefer the latter style.
MR and YOLT have something in common where some of the action sequences are weak and overwrought with green screen and lacking in excitement. TSWLM has tight action sequences which take advantage of the location other than the location taking advantage of the scene.
I can just imagine "Sugarloaf Mountains, got to have something there..." being discussed.
MR and YOLT have something in common where some of the action sequences are weak and overwrought with green screen and lacking in excitement. TSWLM has tight action sequences which take advantage of the location other than the location taking advantage of the scene.
I can just imagine "Sugarloaf Mountains, got to have something there..." being discussed.
I would agree with YOLT completely, but with MR, I felt that the action scenes were great and of high quality, until they got to space. X-(
MR and YOLT have something in common where some of the action sequences are weak and overwrought with green screen and lacking in excitement. TSWLM has tight action sequences which take advantage of the location other than the location taking advantage of the scene.
I can just imagine "Sugarloaf Mountains, got to have something there..." being discussed.
I would agree with YOLT completely, but with MR, I felt that the action scenes were great and of high quality, until they got to space. X-(
Haha I'm the opposite. The space scenes to me are brilliantly done. The Rio stuff is all I'm referring to though. The PTS, the centrifuge, the Bondola (before the square), the boat chase - are all well done.
While I have no problem ranking Brosnan, Craig, Dalton it is more difficult to rank Connery for me.
With Sir Rog it's a real challenge.
I have an official ranking and it's:
TSWLM - OP - FYEO - LALD - MR - AVTAK - TMWTGG
But it can change a lot.
I have three groups with Sir Rog.
Group one which always are in my Top 12: TSWLM, FYEO, OP
Group two always just outside the upper half of the ranking: LALD, MR
Group three and they are near the bottom of the ranking: TMWTGG AVTAK
I had OP as my Top Moore Bond for ages and only recently decided I like TSWLM a bit better nowadays.
Same for LALD and MR, they can change places at any time. Same for Golden Gun and View To A Kill
But even with AVTAK and TMWTGG being No 20 and 21 in my ranking I love them both and can watch them regularly.
I agree with the vast majority of this 8-)
The only difference being I place LALD just above FYEO but it is very close between them. TSWLM is my favourite Moore Bond film, but OP is not far behind. I used to rate OP similarly to AVTAK but I now find OP to be one of the most entertaining Bond films. LALD is next, it maybe for nostalgic reasons but I do have a soft spot for this film. FYEO is a welcome return to a more realistic Bond film but I don't rate it as highly as some of my fellow Bond friends here. MR is so over the top, I find myself rolling my eyes through a lot of it, but guess what - I love watching this film. AVTAK is a solid Bond film and I have no problem with Moore's age. TMWTGG will always be my least favourite of Moore's seven. As my avatar suggests I love Christopher Lee and he is once again brilliant here but after a great first thirty minutes the film becomes too uneven. Still any Bond film with Roger Moore is always enjoyable stuff. So my ranking is :
1 TSWLM
2 OP
3 LALD
4 FYEO
5 MR
6 AVTAK
7 TMWTGG
I don't know if it is partly me looking at the Moore films through rose tinted glasses (I am of a certain age) but I watch all of them with a warm sense of contentment. -{
Comments
Am I the only one who actually likes the cable car fight..? Okay it's a bit silly in places but it's Jaws v Bond! Roger giving his great feign smile of acknowledgement! A great John Barry action track..
Moonraker has it's faults and I would agree with commonly held views of what they are. But the cable car fight for me is not one of them.
My biggest gripe other than than the Bondola scene is the poor direction/editing? Of having Bond appear in the cowboy scene immedialy after he's just fallen out of the back of the ambulance. It just doesn't fit or work.
But, at the end of the day Moonraker is just great entertaining and escapism fun, a fantastic sountrack, great locations and some wonderful scenes. Two lovely Bond Girls too IMO. :007)
"Better make that two."
2. A View To A Kill - The most underrated 007 film, EVER. Yes, there are a 'few' silly features but they are only minimal. This film had the greatest villain of the series, and I liked it more than GF personally, the score by John Barry, the locations, the action and believableness, and the reasons of Moore hating this are the reasons I loved it. This was a dark, violent and serious Bond film that ultimately feels like a Timothy Dalton film, and got back on track after the comedic Octopussy. Bond is very human and the film just shows how serious it was heading. I really enjoy this one, and while Moore is old, that is a minor flaw. Along with FYEO, I really got the sense that we were dealing with a realistic style Bond film where you know that Bond is in great danger. I did like Tanya Roberts, and while her acting isn't great, I never had any issues with her. AVTAK is awesome. 9/10
3. The Spy Who Loved Me - I love this one a lot, but not as much as some people. While it is an awesome film with much action, a good score, great action and a definitive Bond adventure, it is only let down by last act of the movie onboard the tanker. It slows down here but it feels like a classic Bond movie with a classic villain, Bond girl and an exciting joyride. 8/10
4. Octopussy - Yes, it is a bit silly and definitely my least favourite official bond film of the 80's. It is quite campy and watching this right after FYEO was a letdown. The plot is definitely a little confusing and the pace slows right down in Germany, but the Indian locations and action were phenomenal. It ends poorly, but the overall excitement and enjoyable factors bring it above the rest on the list. It is still a John Glen film at the end of the day, and the serious elements to the film outweigh some of the negatives, it is a fun movie. 8/10
5. Live And Let Die - LALD is a good bond film, but it is also very campy, especially in the second half during the boat chases. What wins were the locations, Moore performs like a God, Jayne Seymour is still my favourite Bond girl of the RM films, only losing to Melina Havelock and it feels a lot like Dr No in my eyes. I really like it, but director Guy Hamilton's style doesn't work well with me as Moore's later directors, like Gilbert and especially Glen. 7/10
6. Moonraker - I used to love this one a lot more and there are still terrific aspects that I love it, like the first half up until the second boat chase in the Amazon. What brings it down of course, and it's rhetorical, space. Everything is over the top in this movie, and its just too much in many aspects. I am a Bond fan who prefers serious, Ian Fleming style films and performances, and I can see why an actor like Timothy Dalton wanted no part in For Your Eyes Only. It's not bad, but it is seriously flawed. 6/10
7. The Man With The Golden Gun - Always my least favourite Moore film. This film is just silly and over the top. The difference between this and Moonraker, well... a lot for the worse. I hated Moore's performance, the movie is boring, has a cheap budget feel to it, is extremely tired, has the awful Nick Nack and my least favourite Bond girl of the series - Britt Eckland who does NOTHING whatsoever. Stupid middle and second half of the movie, no outstanding villain plot, and yeah, I'm not a fan of this movie. It isn't outright bad, but it has serious problems that push me towards other bond movies. 6/10
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Craig 5. Lazenby 6. Brosnan
Most of Fleming's novels are quite over-the-top and pure fantasy. I don't find them serious or realistic. OHMSS being the prime example. Exotic locations, tons of beautiful girls, arch-villain with plans for world domination...
Who exactly are you agreeing/disagreeing with?
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Love the feigned smile :007) Also the line, "His name is Jaws. He kills people." is classic.
Only faults I can find with the cable car fight are: Why is there a chain in there? Why does Bond want to get on the roof? Jaw's jump is unrealistic, but no worse than one of Lazenby's. All easily forgivable sins in the name of entertainment.
I'm surprised any Bond fan would have an issue with this. Not that insane compared to many other plots by Blofeld, Stromberg etc…. Plus, the thought of repopulating the earth with only the finest humans sounds like an okay idea to me! Drax even took care to not harm animal and plant life. Genius.
I like when Bond films are imaginative and have their own reality. Moonraker also showed space shuttles realistically being transported and launching before it was really a "thing"
True, but he at least tried damn hard to make Bond's death look like an accident. Drax was probably super paranoid and as you pointed out, quite insane.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Edited. I posted on a best to worst video on YT and forgot to erase it. Regarding Ian Fleming style films, there is a difference. Campy and over the top MR style, vs FYEO and the Timothy Dalton era. I prefer the latter style.
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Craig 5. Lazenby 6. Brosnan
I can just imagine "Sugarloaf Mountains, got to have something there..." being discussed.
"Better make that two."
I would agree with YOLT completely, but with MR, I felt that the action scenes were great and of high quality, until they got to space. X-(
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Craig 5. Lazenby 6. Brosnan
Haha I'm the opposite. The space scenes to me are brilliantly done. The Rio stuff is all I'm referring to though. The PTS, the centrifuge, the Bondola (before the square), the boat chase - are all well done.
"Better make that two."
With Sir Rog it's a real challenge.
I have an official ranking and it's:
TSWLM - OP - FYEO - LALD - MR - AVTAK - TMWTGG
But it can change a lot.
I have three groups with Sir Rog.
Group one which always are in my Top 12: TSWLM, FYEO, OP
Group two always just outside the upper half of the ranking: LALD, MR
Group three and they are near the bottom of the ranking: TMWTGG AVTAK
I had OP as my Top Moore Bond for ages and only recently decided I like TSWLM a bit better nowadays.
Same for LALD and MR, they can change places at any time. Same for Golden Gun and View To A Kill
But even with AVTAK and TMWTGG being No 20 and 21 in my ranking I love them both and can watch them regularly.
The only difference being I place LALD just above FYEO but it is very close between them. TSWLM is my favourite Moore Bond film, but OP is not far behind. I used to rate OP similarly to AVTAK but I now find OP to be one of the most entertaining Bond films. LALD is next, it maybe for nostalgic reasons but I do have a soft spot for this film. FYEO is a welcome return to a more realistic Bond film but I don't rate it as highly as some of my fellow Bond friends here. MR is so over the top, I find myself rolling my eyes through a lot of it, but guess what - I love watching this film. AVTAK is a solid Bond film and I have no problem with Moore's age. TMWTGG will always be my least favourite of Moore's seven. As my avatar suggests I love Christopher Lee and he is once again brilliant here but after a great first thirty minutes the film becomes too uneven. Still any Bond film with Roger Moore is always enjoyable stuff. So my ranking is :
1 TSWLM
2 OP
3 LALD
4 FYEO
5 MR
6 AVTAK
7 TMWTGG
2. LALD
3. OP
4. TSWLM
5. FYEO
6. TMWTGG
7. AVTAK
I'm in the minority where I think TSWLM is a good Bond film. But not in the top tier. I love LALD and MR which tend to be lower on Bond lists.
2. LALD
3. FYEO
4. OP
5. AVTAK
6. TSWLM
7. MR
The only one I really don't like is MR. And that's my favourite novel... 8-)
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
you have the ranking upside down I think
no, seriously, TMWTGG is a great film. I only watched it recently after Sir Rog has gone and he is so great in that film.