Casino Royale - Changing of the guard

I was personally in the forefront in castigating Daniel Craig as a no-hoper after having watched Sir Sean Connery at the helm as 007 many many years back. I even refused to watch the movie when my daughter hired the DVD.
As it happened Casino Royale the movie was on the box and I had nothing else to do so I thought"Why not, could it possibly be that bad?" I'll be the first to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.
Daniel Craig is suave, stunning in a swimming trunk, tough, a good actor to boot and human all in one packaging. He has changed James Bond forever and need I say for the better. Agent 007 has a new persona and his name is Daniel Craig.
The movie dispenses with the implacable and indestructible Bond (and his cars) and replaces him with a real life boy next door who bleeds, lives and loves just like the rest of us. No mean feat indeed.

Bravo Daniel Craig!!
Bravo to the new James Bond!!

Not as different as you may be led to believe

The hype surrounding this film was that it was a dark, realisic spy film. Akin more to Bourne than previous bond. Without the usual whitty quips and traditional unrealstic stunts.

To be honest, this just isn't true. Bad guys still have a total inability to shoot straight, Bond still never feels like he's in any real danger, whether poisoned, tortured or shot at, and the action pieces are still far from realistic.

Casino Royale is a progression of the Brosnan movies, but it's not a revolution by any means.

Saying that it's still a good film. Bond, as usual, is tracking down the villain, beind double crossed at every turn and as ever under the thumb of M. There are elements that have been lost, no more Q, no more gadgets and Daniel Craig is now the eye candy.

Personally this feels like a watered down Bond film, without the gritty style or realisticness that has been touted. I do believe the Bond films needed an overhaul, but I'm not sure this was it.

Not as different as you may be led to believe

The hype surrounding this film was that it was a dark, realisic spy film. Akin more to Bourne than previous bond. Without the usual whitty quips and traditional unrealstic stunts.

To be honest, this just isn't true. Bad guys still have a total inability to shoot straight, Bond still never feels like he's in any real danger, whether poisoned, tortured or shot at, and the action pieces are still far from realistic.

Casino Royale is a progression of the Brosnan movies, but it's not a revolution by any means.

Saying that it's still a good film. Bond, as usual, is tracking down the villain, beind double crossed at every turn and as ever under the thumb of M. There are elements that have been lost, no more Q, no more gadgets and Daniel Craig is now the eye candy.

Personally this feels like a watered down Bond film, without the gritty style or realisticness that has been touted. I do believe the Bond films needed an overhaul, but I'm not sure this was it.

Sceptical at first, but turned out to be one of the best films I've ever seen! :)

Having not seen this film at the cinema, prior to DVD release I was sceptical about purchasing Casino Royale. I had heard some postive reviews but also some negative ones as well, saying that Daneil Craig just doesn't fit the bill.

I totally disagree, I think Craig has played Bond in this film beautifully. Ok - so in this film theres no gadgets as in previous films -but remember this film is set as Bond has just recieved his 00 status! Don't expect too many flashy gagdets.

Overall, a great film thats funny, packed with action. UMD Plays perfectly - no quibbles there.

Slick, enjoyable but not quite premium Bond

At once the victim of impossible expectations after years of false starts and rumors about Connery's return to Bondage and also a breath of fresh air as the Roger Moore Bond films increasingly floundered, Never Say Never Again was a welcome riposte to the worst excesses of the EON franchise in 1983, but time hasn't been that kind to it. There are certainly some horrible miscalculations, Carrera's cartoonish villainess Fatima Blush (like Faye Dunaway on steroids), Edward Fox's self-parody as M, Pamela Salem's moronic Moneypenny and an embarrassingly over-the-top Rowan Atkinson's horribly unfunny Nigel Small-Fawcett among them, not to mention that problematic and much-despised easy listening score from Michel Legrand.

A famously troubled production, with Cubby Broccoli frightening studios, investors and co-stars away through years of lawsuits and Connery taking against the film's inexperienced producer Jack Schwartzman so violently that he would reportedly hide whenever the actor came anywhere near his office, most of the scars aren't visible in the finished product. Thankfully the worst excesses of the legendary unfilmed but sadly rather silly and OTT script Connery and Len Deighton penned in the early 70s, Warhead (which climaxed with a hang-glider attack on the Statue of Liberty and boasted a villain with his own underwater lair), were also toned down, albeit largely for budget reasons. With only a watered-down version of their radio-controlled sharks remaining, this version is at least a little more grounded than the rampant silliness that had seen the Bonds stray unrecognisably far from their roots in Ian Fleming's novels. Despite uncredited co-writers Ian La Fresnais and Dick Clements pilfering their earlier movie spinoff of Porridge for some of the jokes, the more streamlined screenplay flows better than Thunderball, which was always the clunkiest of Bond scripts in its desperation to throw everything including the kitchen sink into the mix, but it's also less fun. Odder still is the very American feel to the film, with a clean, spare look that's uncomfortably at odds with Connery's previous outings.

On the plus side, Klaus Maria Brandauer is particularly good as Largo, Bernie Casey brings an easy familiarity to his role that makes him one of the best of the many Felix Leiters in Connery's tenure, and Alec McCowen and Max Von Sydow are fine in undemanding parts while Robert Rietty, who voiced Largo in Thunderball as well as numerous other Bond characters over the years, turns up briefly onscreen for a change. It's also thankfully light on the gadgets that got particularly out of control in the EON series during the 80s and the action scenes are for the most part well-handled, with an excellent fight with Pat Roach the standout despite a particularly lame gag ending.

Enjoyable but no enduring classic. It's worth noting that a special edition of this title will also be released some time in the future.

"You may know the right wines, but you're the one on your knees."

With an embryonic and not entirely successful Robert Brownjohn title sequence of credits projected onto body of belly dancer (some great spelling mistakes here, as `Monte' Norman and `Martin' Beswicke's agents probably pointed out!), Barry's first official Bond score and Blofeld's first (off-screen) appearance, the formula is clearly beginning to fall into place. This was also the first of the series to have a pre-title sequence, one of the few that relates directly to the film's plot, and it is still by far the most successful of any of them.

The gadgets that were to eventually get so out of hand make first appearance in form of Bond's ingenious attaché case, but at least here they are still entirely credible - nothing more extravagant than a well kitted-out briefcase and a breakaway sniper's rifle. Series regular Walter Gotell also makes his first appearance, though not as General Gogol but as the head of a S.P.E.C.T.R.E. training school. Unlike the cute and lovable old Russian bear at SMERSH in the Moore films, here he is cheerfully ruthless and businesslike, using live targets in training courses.

Bond's snobbery is much to the fore here."Red wine with fish, that should have told me something," he tells Robert Shaw's working class homicidal paranoiac, the best and most genuinely threatening of the Bond heavies ("You may know the right wines, but you're the one on your knees."). It also establishes the sexual deviancy of the villains in Rosa Klebb's lesbian tendencies (very apparent as her hand wanders onto Daniella Bianchi's knee). With Bond such an amoral figure, the villains had to be even more immoral and perverse: always bastions of authority, usually millionaires they get their kicks planning global crimes, so depravity is simply foreplay to them. Even Vladek Sheybal's chess master Kronstein, looking for all the world like Vladimir Putin with mild indigestion, seems at a remove from mere mortal pleasures.

It's still the best of the series and most convincingly plotted, an excellent crane shot of the chequered setting for a chess tournament sets the scene for the chess-like nature of the plot as factions co-existing in uneasy truces are set off against each other. Indeed, directorially this is considerably more ambitious and assured than its predecessor, evident in the skilfully handled church scene and a beautifully blocked scene as Bond is followed along a train platform by Shaw inside the train.

Sadly, while pitched as the `Ultimate Edition,' the transfer is still problematic. The picture quality is certainly improved, but rather than the original British 1.66:1 ratio, it's presented in the cropped 1.85:1, but worse still, the ending is still missing footage of Bond examining the reel of compromising 8mm film in the gondola before the end title. As with Dr No there's not a huge amount of new extra material over the extras from previous release, all of which are carried over here, but it's pretty good - extracts from Ian Fleming on radio show Desert Island Discs, a TV interview with the author and a featurette on Fleming and Raymond Chandler.

Octopussy - A Review

Well, what to say. The plot I cannot explain been one of the most complex in the series, it does however, have many Bond elements and is a brilliant thriller. It has light hearted, campy scenes in India and a gritty cold war-esque feel to it whilst in Germany. Moore should have put up his holster here beginning to show his age but at the end of the day this is a good watch.

An excellent upgrade for Roger Moore's entertaining Bond debut

Fondly remembered by many as Moore's best effort, you have to be in the right mood to see this today and willing to make a mental trip back in time to the early 70s when it was made. It's probably dated more than almost any other Bond film - even bearing in mind that the seventies was the decade that fashion forgot, the sideburns and flares on display here are pretty vicious and, as the first film since Dr No to enter Bond's flat, it is deeply distressing to note that he is a slave to Formica and has chicken-shaped pate moulds on the wall. As swell as being the first Bond film since Goldfinger not to be shot in 2.35:1 widescreen, more significantly it also marks the point at which the series started imitating other trends rather than setting them - in this case blaxploitation pictures, which is quite an achievement you're your hero is white. Beyond its voodoo trappings little of the plot of Ian Fleming's novel survives as Shaft - sorry, Bond - takes on the drug-pushing president of a small island in Jamaica, but it's certainly one of the most action-packed of the series and never outstays its welcome the way some later efforts would.

Taking barely 11 minutes to get into some serious raised eyebrow action, there is perhaps a bit too much of Simon Templar in Moore's performance, but there is also a harder edge to his Bond that was soon smoothed away. He has a very cynical attitude towards Jane Seymour's virginal Solitaire), using her callously as bait. In a way it's a blessing that the film was not tailored specifically for Moore as later efforts would be, relying more on his rarely tapped abilities as an actor than his star persona. It doesn't hurt that director Guy Hamilton visibly raises his game from his lazy helming of Diamonds Are Forever.

This also shows the first sign of breaking up set pieces to add throwaway visual gags. This frequently detracts from the nifty and still very impressive speedboat chase, possibly the best sustained action sequence in the series until the free-running chase in Casino Royale, as Clifton James does his Deputy Dawg impersonation while the odd bit of slapstick comedy removes much of the threat. At times it is hard to tell which lines are meant to be funny and which ones aren't."Great disguise, Bond - white face in Harlem" is pretty obviously the former, but surely the unintentional dialogue high point has to be Tony Award-winning Shakespearian actor Yaphet Kotto - curiously seeming to give three performances, starting out as Marlon Brando before easing into the genial villainy - uttering the immortal"Names is for tombstones, baby. Take him out and waste him."

The extras from the original DVD release are all retained - including the documentary with amazing outtakes of the alligator stunt going wrong that prove that the filmmakers used real gators - as well as some welcome new additions. The 1964 extract from Millicent Martin's TV show with a young Moore sending up James Bond is fun, and there's an intriguing 1973 documentary shot on the set. The print may be a damaged mixture of faded color and black and white footage, but the content more than compensates, from Moore quipping"If Guy Hamilton thinks I'm doing that again, he can get the other feller back, I'm telling you" to the depressing sign of the times that even then the film industry was still partially segregated, with the Black Stuntmen's Association having to prove that you didn't need blacked-up white stuntmen to double for black actors. The trailers are among the best of the series, promising 'More excitement, more action, more danger and more - much more - Roger Moore.' Better still, the legendary Milk Marketing Board commercial that was so cruelly undermined by Moore's entertaining account of filming Roger Moore as James Bond, is also included, featuring much manufactured footage of the cast downing pints of milk after dangerous stunts!

Highly recommended

Bond matures gracefully, but could do with a trim

It is hardly possible to imagine an actor inject so much charisma into a role as Connery does here as Bond in Thunderball. Truth be told, it is really the glue that holds a movie together that otherwise might look rather frayed round the edges, despite the spectacularly tasty ingredients on display.
So what is it about? SPECTRE, Bond's arch enemies, have hatched a plan to seize two nuclear warheads from the British by capturing a Vulcan bomber on a training mission. Then, of course, a diabolical megalomaniac asks for 100 million dollars while stroking his cat. All the double-0's are brought in to get put on the case - but Bond has a lead - and of course it involves seducing a beautiful woman, in an exotic location (in this case, the ex-Miss France Claudine Auger, in Nassau, Bahamas). Can Bond seduce her in time to find the bombs before they are used?
As a general rule, the better the Bond villain, the better the Bond movie - and so it proves in this case. Adolfo Celi plays the villain efficiently enough, without being truly inspired. He comes across as a well paid hired hand, rather than an egomaniacal adversary. The villainess, on the other hand, the sexy redhead played by Luciana Paluzzi, comes across as a much more sophisticated foil for Bond's charms and wit, with a genuine sense of menace.
Another plus for the movie is the photography. On every level it is superior to its predecessors - filmed for the first time in widescreen, Ken Adams outlandish sets have room to breathe for the first time, and the groundbreaking underwater photography is surprisingly (forgive me) fluid and clear. In fact, the underwater scenes are the true draw of the movie, adding a new dimension to Bond's skills - however, they also prove to be the movies drawback, as they are drawn out far too long in the climactic underwater battle. The movie is going swimmingly though (apologies again..) until the very final scene on board the yacht which jettisons its cocoon to become a hydrofoil. This has been so ludicrously speeded up for dramatic effect, as to do exactly the opposite, and spoil the moment.
The Ultimate Edition has the usual improved picture, and sound. The sound in particular has been given better depth without anything too tricksy and obvious with surround effects. For extras, as usual the Special Edition extras are all here, including the superb documentary charting the troubled history of the production. In addition, there is an abundance of archive material which will interest the die-hards...vintage promotional featurettes and an NBC hour long special on Bond up to this point. An interesting addition is some home movie footage from the set designer Ken Adams talking about the location shooting, and the fun that went on behind the cameras.
So to summarise, with a bit of trimming and more careful use of speeded up action scenes, this could have been a 5 star classic, as it is, it is still a very respectable and enjoyable 4 star entry into the Bond franchise, with Connery at his peak. This edition is certainly the way to see it.

vintage bond in every sense

I suppose the early Bond films made it hard for those that followed. They had a young and credible Sean Connery as Bond, better than anyone who came later (though Daniel Craig in the latest 'Casino Royale' is interesting ; he may prove to be as good if he chooses to stay with the role). The villain is genuinely sinister, partly because he is genuinely inscrutable. And the direction and pacing are excellent. There is action aplenty but not too much - too much makes the spectacular ordinary, and that is certainly a problem with some more recent Bonds. So this is vintage Bond, setting a high standard, and very enjoyable.

Moore finds his groove as Bond

By this 1977 movie, the Roger Moore era of movies had found their direction and formula. The same as Goldfinger represented the coming together of ingredients for Connery, here Moore is at his most relaxed in the role, but still young enough to get away with it, and the sets, the villain, the set pieces, all create the mood for the definitive Moore Bond movie.
Alas, the definitive Bond movie has aged badly, unless you are able to relish the campness of the massive (and still impressive) sets and the script apparently written by a three year old (GIRL: `James, I need you!'... BOND: `..so does England!'). It's a miracle that medical attention was not required to remove tongues from cheeks...
Clearly, the mood of the times was for escapism and fantasy - and this movie fit the mould well. Barbara Bach is one of the most beautiful Bond girls, and actually plays quite a strong role, even though her acting lessons seem to have been taken at a carpentry school instead of a drama school. The signature stunt at the beginning of the movie, where Bond skis off a cliff and after a few heartstopping moments the parachute bursts open to reveal the Union Jack, is sublime lunacy that raised cheers in the cinema in 1977. Curt Jurgens is inspired casting to lend a degree of gravitas to the megalomaniac Stromberg. An additional bonus is the first appearance of Jaws, played by Richard Kiel - you can't help feeling that the scenes where he keeps trying and failing to get 007 leave you rooting for Jaws more than Bond. It's obvious why they brought him back in the next movie. The music has shifted in tone from John Barry's classic riffs and stringy feel, to an electronic mood, which again exaggerates the 70's feel of the movie... and let's not start on the ladies hairstyles... And the character of Bond is changing. More one liners than ever to be sure.. but compare Connery in the very similar action scene at the end of You Only Live Twice (same director) - there, Connery moves gracefully throught the milieu almost like a dancer, dealing with the enemy only as and when he needs to to achieve his goal, leaving the fighting and blowing up to others. Here, Moore has to be at the centre of everything, and lead all the action scenes. It's a trend which takes the character into fantasy more than ever before.
The Ultimate Edition has the crystal clear picture and sound we have come to expect, and all the extras from the Special Edition, including the essential documentary Inside The Spy Who Loved Me, and the commentary of the movie - all excellent value. New features include a brand new commentary by Moore, and an abundance of minor period featurettes, such as the 007 sound stage dedication, opened by Harold Wilson, the ex -PM.
This is a movie much parodied, and obviously camp and dated, and yet that is its whole appeal - it was at the time entirely original (well, except the plot elements stolen from other Bond movies) and full of iconic items and moments - the Lotus Esprit, the Pyramids light show, the first movie appearance of a jetski, Jaws... It is a movie which in no way tries to be timeless - it is very much of the time, and as such it's a small treasure.... as long as you know what you are letting yourself in for.

The best Bond for more reasons than one....

I can remember watching this film even when I was quite little. I'd refer to it by a memorable scene;"The one were the space rocket that eats the other rocksts". Now however, many years on, and knowing the title of the film (obviously) nothing's changed, and I still get the same sense of excitement watching it as I did when I was young.
To me, this is Bond ta his peak."Why?" your likely to ask, considering he had so many more outings, in many different 'bodies'. That's what i'm going to explain.
For me, Sean Connery was the perfect choice for Bond - he looked incredibly smooth and natural when firing his Walther PPK (without the scrunched up face that Roger Moore had) and in this film especially, he comes into his own. Although he was in one more Bond film,"Diamonds are Forever" (though I honestly don't class it as a Bond film!) this to me was his final true outing. And respectively, he uses all the characteristics we've seen from him in the previous films - wit, charm, careful one liners, and his invaluable Lisence to Kiss whoever he pleases!
But among all this, we have an element that makes this the most watchable Bond movie of the whole saga, and thats the fact that he is more mature in this film. And rightfully so, he's based in Japan. The plot, if you have not been informed, see's a suspicious space-craft holding hostage other space-crafts by"eating them!" (or more to the point, opening up its top section, and taking them in!). So,it's Bonds job to find out who is doing this and why? But since we already know Blowfelt is behind this scheme, we already know why - its domination.
The element of adventure makes this film so appealing if you have the kid inside you. With gorgeous locations that rival Thailands Phi Phi islands, and a beatiful soundtrack to go with it, how can you not admire this film? Another thing that adds to the relaxed manner of the screenplay is the way in which Bond is not under so much pressure as in other films, and constantly giving out suspiciously accurate facts and figures. Their is one however in this film. He is given a vodka martini, and states that its precise temperature -"98.2 degress fereheight" apparently. Very handy, he has a built in thermostat too! But this would be his only clinical observation throughout the film, as its great to see him take Japanese baths, only to discover Japanese men don't have hairy chests! His role in becoming a Japanese person is also a fun part of the film.
As you have no doubt read, i've frequently said just how 'nice' this film is. And thats what sets it apart from other Bond films. It may not be a true book adaptation, and it may lack the raw spy theme thats present in other Bond films, but this to me tops the lot on a warm summers evening when your looking for a good film.

Thunderball meets Live and Let Die

This is the sixteenth in the series and the second and last outing of Timothy Dalton as Bond. (Everyone apparently wanted and expected him to do the next one too, but delays and timetable clashes meant that Pierce Brosnan would step into the frame for"Goldeneye".) This was also the fifth and final Bond movie to be directed by John Glen, and for once he has left us with a Bond movie that suffers from no undercranking.

Dalton was a good Bond, bringing a seriousness to the role that had almost verged into self-parody under Roger Moore. It's pointed out in the accompanying commentaries and other extras that Dalton here becomes a mere citizen in this film, that we see a different Bond than normal: an angry Bond, a darker Bond, more human and self-doubting. He wears open collars and his first erotic kiss does not take place until 54 minutes into the film. The dreadful one-liners are this time spoken by the bad-guy. Dalton explains his role in this film as that of"a murderer, a killer: cold, cruel, ruthless killer. He just happens to be working for the side that's called `good'."

Filmed and set in Florida and Central America, it seemed clear to me that Colonel Noriega's control of the state of Panama was the inspiration for the tale of drug-trafficking and money laundering. This time Bond steps out of his professional role and embarks on a personal vendetta. I took the proposition with a pinch of salt that the original title was"Licence Revoked" and that it was changed to"Licence to Kill" on the studio's suggestion because many Americans would not understand it. But in an interview amongst the extras the story is confirmed by John Glen.

Because of the heavy use of underwater shots, together with the setting around the Caribbean Sea and the subject of drugs, I view this film as a cross between"Thunderball" and"Live and Let Die": indeed, it features the same actor (David Hedison) playing the same role (CIA operative Felix Leiter) in both"Live and Let Die" and"Licence to Kill".

There are two commentaries, one by the front of camera team and director, the other by the production team. Much of the commentary is obscenely full of back-slapping. There is a short documentary on location-scouting, as well as the usual `on-set with the director' kind of featurettes."Bond 89" has interviews with the key players (including Cubby Broccoli).

Classic Bond

Traumatised by my ghastly experience of watching 'Casino 'Royale', I decided to cheeer myself up by watching a really good Bond movie. Although I never thought Pierce Brosnan was all that brilliant by comparison with my favourite Bond, Roger Moore, he is a veritable prince among men compared to the dreary nonentity in 'Casino Royale'.

Among the many pleasures of this film there is an outstanding performance by Johnathan Pryce who clearly enjoys himself thoroughly playing the villain, manic media boss Eliot Carver, who bears a strong resemblance (quite coincidental I am sure) to Rupert Murdoch. There is a satisfyingly tough heroine who can do terrific karate kicks, lots of humour, wonderful gadgets, and one of the most spectacular and exciting chases in any Bond movie, with Bond and heroine handcuffed together while driving a motorcycle through crowded city streets, across rooftops etc, breathtakingly thrilling.

Fabulous entertainment, they don't (alas) make Bond movies like this any more.

"No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!"

Appropriately enough the first of the series to have a really imaginative use of colour, Goldfinger is in many ways the most visually sensual of the films, the unforgettable image of Shirley Eaton's golden girl reflected in a golden glow to much of Ted Moore's cinematography. It's oozing with striking and surreal imagery, from Oddjob's menacing shadow on the hotel room wall, to the little old lady with machine gun or Bond making his entry by unzipping his wetsuit to reveal an evening one underneath. Ken Adam's production design is his possibly his finest hour, genuine architecture of the imagination that is at once both fantastic and strangely credible, maintaining a sense of scale and verisimilitude by his use of ceilings on the smaller sets.

It's also the one that set the Bond formula in stone, something that would later become more a hindrance than a help to the series before something more radical was attempted with Casino Royale. Aside from establishing the trend for irrelevant but enjoyable pretitle sequences, it is from here on that the gadgets begin to assume a more prominent role. However, unlike most of the Roger Moore efforts, they are no match for Bond's own wits - even the famed Aston Martin DB5 does not save him. After putting it through its paces, he is left to his own initiative.

There is no getting away from the overtly sexist approach here ("Dink, say goodbye to Felix - man talk."). Even Blackman's villainy seems inextricably linked to her lesbianism ("You can turn off the charm, I'm immune") but one good one from Bond and she's on the side of the angels.

As with all Bond films, many of the cast are dubbed - in this case, Frobe was dubbed by actor Michael Collins. Regardless, his Auric Goldfinger is easily the best of the Bond super-villains, and comes equipped with the best line in the series as Bond, strapped down in front of the laser beam (in the novel it was a chainsaw), asks if he expects him to talk:"No Mr Bond, I expect you to die." And for possibly the only time in the series, you think that maybe Bond really has had it. Incredibly enjoyable and one of the best-paced entries in the series, it's not hard to see why this is many people's favorite Bond film. It may be formulaic, but then the formula still worked wonders.

While all the extras from the previous release have been carried over, there are not as many new features as you might expect. Most interesting are Theodore Bikel and Tito Vandis' screen tests as Goldfinger, but there are also somewhat awkwardly presented archive interviews with Connery and Honor Blackman as well as a featurette about the Aston Martin DB5, though perhaps the most enjoyable remain the radio spots from the original release.

Moore bows out in tsyle

"I propose to end the domination of Silicon Valley" Max Zorin.
In 1985 Roger Moore's final James Bond film. A View To A Kill was released. I can actually remember watching the film in a Wrexham cinema and thinking how enjoyable it was. With the hindsight of time, the fault lines of the film have become more visible. Just as Moore's third film, Spy Who Loved Me, had an almost identical plot to You Only Live Twice, View To A Kill borrows its storyline from Goldfinger, although instead of gold, villain Max Zorin is interested in the exciting world of micro chips. in addition, a good opening sequence is slightly tarnished by the inclusion of a Beach Boys cover track. In keeping on the subject of music, both David Bowie and Sting were offered the role of Max Zorin, before it was given to former Oscar winner Christopher Walken. Walken is one of the best villains in the series, bringing an element of humour into his role as the psychopath.
Roger Moore has cited this as his least favourite of the films that he made, and likewise it is often seen as one of the weaker entries of the series. Despite this it superior to the likes of Die Another Day. The second half of the film is better with a good fire engine chase sequence and the final showdown on top of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransico.
This DVD also includes a few good deleted sequences.

Bad start for Dalton

"The Living Daylights" is a disappointment for several reasons. The biggest reason is the surprisingly unengaging plot. The second reason is that Timothy Dalton doesn't seem comfortable playing James Bond. He's not a bad actor but instead of making his own interpretation of the character (like he did in the next movie, Licence to Kill) he seems to be imitating Roger Moore. The reason is most likely that the script was written with Moore in mind. Lois Maxwell was replaced by Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny and she didn't seem right for the part at all.

"The Living Daylights" was not a good start for Dalton. Luckily the series did improve.

Moonraker? - more like The Spy Who Loved Me 2!

I'll begin with saying this has always been one of my personal favourites from the golden era of Bond movies - the 70s. This film is Roger Moore, the greatest Bond IMO, at his peak and he plays him with the same charm and wit we came to expect. However, this movie always seems to get a bad press, often named as the worst Bond ever, which I think is strange considering this is very similar in style to The Spy Who Loved Me, one of the most successful Bonds of all time. Both were directed by Lewis Gilbert, both feature the metal toothed henchman Jaws, both blend action with humour perfectly, and both have two very similar villains with a view to wiping out the human race, only difference being one has his lair in the sea and the other in space. Unfortunately this movie is panned for being a copy, but I don't believe this to be true as both films have their own unique qualities. I agree that Moonraker does appear to be far fetched in places, eg the laser battle, the gigantic space station that Drax had built, but, let's face it, far fetched is what you come to expect from most Bond films. There are some very good moments in the film. The film begins with Bond fighting for a parachute in mid air after being pushed out of a plane. There's a darker moment when Drax sends killer dogs to maul a girl to death after she gives infomation to Bond. Jaws is eventually hired to kill Bond, yet he doesn't outsmart him when he pursues Bond in a cable car, which makes way for the hilarious scene when Jaws falls in love! There's a great chase full of explosions when Bond is chased to Drax's base, a haven inhabited by beautiful women. It was a nice twist to see Jaws turn good and help Bond, and in his last scene, sharing a drink with his girlfriend, we hear him say his only ever words 'here's to us'. The effects stand up very well. Obviously everything in space was model shots, but IMO I think this looks more real than CGI which is so over used today. The score from John Barry is the best I have heard from a Bond movie. Very haunting and beautiful, and I love the familiar Bond tune played on the boat chase scene. This film doesn't take itself too seriously which is how I believe Bond films should be. Wish people would give this film a break, as it is in a different league to Die Another Day, the most stupidest and far fetched Bond ever! But if you like your Bonds more Daniel Craig like gritty thrillers, then avoid this at all costs! Hope this review has been helpful.

An excellent package for an excellent Bond film - but a flawed transfer

After six years in limbo as EON and the new owners of MGM/UA found themselves and the series locked in legal action at lawsuits, Timothy Dalton decided too much time had elapsed to renew his licence to kill, ushering in the Brosnan era. At the time hailed for `saving' the series (just as Dalton and Moore had been before him), the star's own bitter feud with the producers and the success of Daniel Craig in reinventing the role seem to have combined with disappointment with some of Brosnan's subsequent Bond films to the point where it's harder and harder to find any Bond fans with a good word to say about his tenure. But in 1995 GoldenEye was certainly welcomed with open arms and blockbuster business and it holds up remarkably well.

If there's a problem with Brosnan's take on Bond, it's that there really isn't much of one. He looks good in the suits, does what's required but where every other Bond actor brought something new or of their own to the part, Brosnan is more of a composite of previous Bonds, an across-the-board demographic-pleasing but nothing radical Bond, veering more towards the unflappable suavity of Roger Moore than the danger of Connery or Lazenby or the gritty bleakness of Dalton. But then, if Brosnan brings nothing new but his face to the part, in many ways, like The Living Daylights, GoldenEye is a kind of transitional Bond film rather than anything as radical as Casino Royale, the old Bond formula recognisably in place with all the surface gloss and expected ingredients but with a post-Cold War spin to dust off some of the more clichéd aspects.

While the plot isn't exactly realistic, revolving around a scheme to use a stolen Russian electromagnetic pulse satellite weapon to wreak a lucrative revenge for past wrongs done to the villain's family, the treatment isn't as over the top or as arch as it could have been (for that, you need to see Brosnan's final outing, Die Another Day). The writing is much stronger than usual, the film plot-led and finding a good mix between the action you expect and some insights into the characters you don't, for the first time in the series' history the leading ladies really do have decent roles, and Martin Campbell's direction is particularly powerful: while it is a little short on long shots, betraying his TV background, it's got none of that going-through-the-motions feel to many of the more prolific Bond directors' efforts. Terry Rawlings' editing is also interesting and often highly effective, while even Eric Serra's much criticised score - that hideous post-title sequence car chase aside - is often stronger than it's given credit for even if it is perhaps too giant a leap from the traditional Bond sound for most purists.

If the film is still highly enjoyable, the Ultimate Edition DVD, however, is a definite mixed blessing. The new extras are particularly good - 4 deleted scenes and several new featurettes, including ones on the tank chase, car stunts, model work, pre-production, location scouting and Campbell's directing (which much footage of him in a bad mood on a particularly bad day). There's also the press conference introducing Brosnan, the original TV promo `GoldenEye - The Secret Files' and all the extras from the original release (though c Curiously the extra TV spot from the laserdisc release is still is missing). It's also uncensored in the UK this time, Xenia's headbutt restored (though the alternate shot replacing it in the UK version is now gone). All of which SHOULD make this a perfect disc - with one notable caveat. Unfortunately the new transfer is not, with the picture wildly overcropped - it's still in the 2.35:1 ratio, but top, bottom and both sides have been cropped, which is very noticeable on the computer readouts in the film. For that reason, if you aren't bothered about the extras you might want to stick with the previous special edition, which IS in the right ratio.

1974 Entry

Following the success of Live And Let Die in 1973, which had introduced Roger Moore as James Bond, the next Bond film was quickly entered into production, emerging just a year after the previous film had hit the cinemas. Although the series finally had a new Bond for the 1970s, who was accepted by the public in the same way as Sean Connery had been in the previous decade, the stability of James Bond was under threat. Man With The Golden Gun was made under difficult circumstances, with producers Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman now barely on speaking terms, this was apparently related to Saltzman's interests outside of the Bond films. There is no doubt that the Man With The Golden Gun, was affected by the on going backstage disputes. Indeed Broccoli once claimed that if he could alter any aspect of the Bond films, he would re film segments of Golden Gun. Despite sometimes being mooted as the worst Bond film however, Man With The Golden Gun is certainly superior to Moonraker and the worst entry in the series, Die Another Day.
As with Live and Let Die, and for only the third time in the series history, Bond does not feature in the pre title sequence. Early film From Russia With Love also did not feature James Bond in the opening sequence, but rather a Spectre agent disguised as the agent. Instead the sequence introduces Scaramanga, who on his Island near China, is preparing for a duel against a gangster Rodney played by Marc Lawrence and possibly the same character as the one played by Lawrence in Diamonds Are Forever.
Scaramanga win the duel, using his famous golden gun, although as his midget servant Nik Nack comments, Rodney was a good opponent. James Bond meanwhile receives a golden bullet with his name on it, suggesting that Scaramanga is out to kill him. Bond is sent to investigate this. The energy crisis that occurred during the time that Golden Gun was made is also referred to in the film, and it becomes a part of the plotline.
Despite its premise, Golden Gun, is one of the lighter entries in the series, although Moore is probably at his toughest here. There is a sequence in which Bond hits Scaramanga's girlfriend and it does not feel right. Although Connery's Bond could get away with such an action, it does not sit Moore's lighter portrayal.
Christopher Lee as Scaramanga, a role originally offered to Jack Palance, is probably the best villain in the series. Bringing to the role, charm, sophistication and a steel ruthlessness that is always there just under the surface, Scaramanga is as often said, the dark side of James Bond. His duel with Bond is the highlight of the film. Although another key sequence is the famous car roll, in which Bond drives a car on to a broken bridge and then performs a 360 roll across a river to get it to the other side, during a pursuit of Scaramanga. Following the success of Live And Let Die in 1973, which had introduced Roger Moore as James Bond, the next Bond film was quickly entered into production, emerging just a year after the previous film had hit the cinemas. Although the series finally had a new Bond for the 1970s, who was accepted by the public in the same way as Sean Connery had been in the previous decade, the stability of James Bond was under threat. Man With The Golden Gun was made under difficult circumstances, with producers Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman now barely on speaking terms, this was apparently related to Saltzman's interests outside of the Bond films. There is no doubt that the Man With The Golden Gun, was affected by the on going backstage disputes. Indeed Broccoli once claimed that if he could alter any aspect of the Bond films, he would re film segments of Golden Gun. Despite sometimes being mooted as the worst Bond film however, Man With The Golden Gun is certainly superior to Moonraker and the worst entry in the series, Die Another Day.
Alongside Moore, director Guy Hamilton returned to the helm for the last time. In addition Q is back, having been much missed in Live And Let Die, and the stereotypical Southern Sheriff JW Pepper also makes a return having left New Orleans for a holiday in Thailand. In one of the most silly sequences in the entire series, Pepper decides whilst on holiday to test drive the incredible dull Hornet car, only for Bond to get in and promptly drive it through a window. The sequence is only made bearable by the car chase that follows and the incredible stunt mentioned above.
The film has a relatively small cast, with Scaramanga having only his henchman and one technician on his island, alongside his mistress played by Maud Adams. Adams is very good in her role, it is apparent why she was later asked back for the title character in Octopussy. In comparison, Britt Eckland is less successful as Mary Goodnight, playing a somewhat irritating and unlikely secret agent.
The title song is one of the weakest and certainly campest Bond songs and the score is not John Barry's best, something the composer has acknowledged. The energy crisis gives the film a somewhat dated feel as well, and the Hornet car that Bond drives does not quite rival the classic DB5, although it comes very close. Only joking here.
Despite the misgivings Man With The Golden Gun still has some memorable sequences and this DVD features some great extras, such as a documentary on the film and a new commentary by Roger Moore himself.