The Best James Bond Film...

[roaduser]

view to a kill

best bond
best baddie(s)
best location(s)
best soundtrack

IMO of course

p.s golden eye is one of very few films i actually fell asleep watchin

[heavyhitter007]

Enjoyed the underwater frogman fight scene in "Thunderball".
Loved the Car chase scene with the red Mustang in "Diamonds Are Forever".
I liked the scene when James Bond runs on top of the alligators in "Live and Let Live". Saw them all at theater. Great stuff, timeless collection.
I always liked JAWS, he was a cool dude!

[theequestrian]

Since Bond first made the transition from literature to film there has been the raging discussion of 'book' Bond vs. 'film' Bond. The same can be said of 'Who is the best (film) Bond?' There is no - nor will there ever be a - definitive answer to these questions. It depends on who you ask. However I have read several posts saying, in effect that there is no real difference between the literary and cinematic versions. This is untrue. The primary - and the single biggest - difference between the two is Bonds' psychological make-up.

The literary Bond would NEVER stab a target with a pen and then spout off a lame quip like "Get the point" or "The pen is mightier than the sword". He would simply stab the target with the pen, make certain said target was assuming room temperature and then silently move on to his next objective. The 'book' Bond was NOT a nice guy. He was not the type of person most people would have felt comfortable being alone in a room with. It must be remembered that a 'double O' was an assassin, not a spy. They were part of the English governments counter-espionage branch (the Bond novels were written during the height of the Cold War) whose specific mission was to eliminate foreign agents. Nothing more, nothing less. He was a misogynist, had few friends (none outside of the service), and had very little social interaction not directly related to his job. Moreover, Bond enjoyed his job. Nowhere in the novels is there even the hint of remorse over killing someone. The 'book' Bond had no moral quams. They would only have gotten in the way of his strictly 'black and white' view of the universe. In modern terms James Bond was a sociopath. (He intrinsically knew that assassination was wrong, he just didn't care). It was Flemings' genius that transformed a conscienceless contract killer into someone you rooted for.
As to who's the best film Bond? Well, if you mean which actor played Bond closest to the literary one; as much as you don't want to hear this, Timothy Dalton. He's not my favorite, but he is the only one who played Bond with the underlying menace integral to Flemings original creation.

[Cleburne]

Originally Posted by theequestrian

As to who's the best film Bond? Well, if you mean which actor played Bond closest to the literary one; as much as you don't want to hear this, Timothy Dalton. He's not my favorite, but he is the only one who played Bond with the underlying menace integral to Flemings original creation.

Pierce Brosnan also. He seems cold-blooded most of the time, and then does that silly tie-straightening thing that makes my eyes roll back in my head.

Sean used his physical power to fight the most of the others. Roger Moore seemed to be a great believer in gadgetry. Dalton brought back the physical power to an extent. Brosnan brings the most arrogance. Hard to pick a favorite, kind of like and dislike things about each.

Favorite Bond Girl is Tiffany Case...greedy, gritty, simplistic, and a sexy redhead. Solitaire is my 2nd.

Favorite movie is the one I haven't seen in the longest time which at the moment is Thunderball. They were all great when I was a kid; they seem to have lost their appeal in my mid-life.

[monogroover]

Originally Posted by theequestrian

Moreover, Bond enjoyed his job. Nowhere in the novels is there even the hint of remorse over killing someone. The 'book' Bond had no moral quams. They would only have gotten in the way of his strictly 'black and white' view of the universe. In modern terms James Bond was a sociopath.

I very much disagree with this; see the short story The Living Daylights for example. 007 knows he has to kill a Russian sniper in cold blood and openly expresses his distaste for it. He was no sociopath, and while he was happy to kill the bad guys Fleming does explore his conscience. He's quite aware of the human cost of his profession.

You go on to say that he was a misogynist; I don't agree with that, either. He certainly doesn't have the enlightened view of a woman's role in society that we enjoy in the 21st century, but he does develop genuine respect for some of the women in the novels.

[HugoHackenbush]

Must agree with monogroover. Take the opening of "Goldfinger" (book not film) where Bond expresses distaste over the killing he has just carried out.

Next up your favorite Bond (movie) probably depends on whom you saw first. For me it was Connery. For my son, it was Roger Moore (TSWLM is still his favorite). Playing Bond is harder than it looks. You have to carry the both the macho and the throw-away lines with equal skill. Connery had both. Moore had the latter but not the former. Dalton had the former but not the latter. Brosnan was pretty good on both account, and they're writing them a lot differently for Craig.

Take this line from TWINE: "I've always wanted to have Christmas in Turkey". With Brosnan you kind of groan. Imagine Connery saying it and you'll laugh.

Best Bond: Thunderball with Goldfinger a close second.

[amwbb2]

Originally Posted by Greenman

The original of Casino Royale a muddled waste of actor's time-some of our finest actors and actresses demeaned themselves in that absolute dross-it wasted Orson Welles, David Niven and Deborag Carr, and even Sellers looked like he didn't want to be in it, and although there were some funny moments, the end result(and lets face it you are on a hiding to nothing with 6 directors) was a mess-the end sequence is so lame-brained it looks like they couldn't decide how to end it. The final straw for me was the ludicrous ending with the Indians and Cowboys-what idiot thought that up??
I bet if were alive then Ian Fleming would have been furious.

Without a doubt, "Thunderball". The redhead with the very large boobs was the best Bond Girl.

[monogroover]

Originally Posted by HugoHackenbush

Must agree with monogroover. Take the opening of "Goldfinger" (book not film) where Bond expresses distaste over the killing he has just carried out.

Yes that's a good example; I was thinking about this yesterday and there are a few instances in the novels where Bond betrays his disgust at killing people. In The Man With The Golden Gun when he finally has Scaramanga at his mercy, he mulls over the "horror" of what he has to do: to kill Scaramanga, unarmed and defenceless, in cold blood.

In the end Fleming cops out and has Scaramanga reach for a gun anyway (it's supposed to be out of reach, but Scaramanga makes Bond wait while he prays until he's nearly passed out, if I remember correctly). Quite a common ploy for authors and screenwriters to avoid having the leading man kill in cold blood, which is why I like the scene in the Doctor No film where the villain goes for his gun, but it's empty. 007 shoots him anyway, of course.

[kenshin7]

GoldenEye is my favorite. Good mix of fun and badass.

[MayfairFan]

Originally Posted by roaduser

view to a kill

best bond
best baddie(s)
best location(s)
best soundtrack

IMO of course

I think nearly everyone else thinks the exact opposite, that it was the low point of the series! Even Christopher Walken was wasted, really - he could have been so much better if only he'd been given a decent script...

Originally Posted by theequestrian

As to who's the best film Bond? Well, if you mean which actor played Bond closest to the literary one; as much as you don't want to hear this, Timothy Dalton. He's not my favorite, but he is the only one who played Bond with the underlying menace integral to Flemings original creation.

I agree about Dalton, but I think Connery had the menace too, at least in the first two films, and possibly in the next two.

Originally Posted by HugoHackenbush

Next up your favorite Bond (movie) probably depends on whom you saw first. For me it was Connery. For my son, it was Roger Moore (TSWLM is still his favorite).

It's often said, and for me that would be TSWLM as well... but although it's still my favourite Moore, my favourite Bonds overall are all the Connery ones, followed by the Dalton ones.