I finally watched Skyfall...

[Broheim]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmoIDKqfY44

JESUS, I could feel the neckbeard all the way in Denmark.

 

[gorb]

I enjoyed it. Casino Royale is still the best of course.

 

[quackagator]

I liked it. It was MOVIE. It was entertaining.

 

[zinfamous]

What is AT's vote for the best Bond film? I haven't seen them and would like to start watching them.

For me, in order:

On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
Casino Royale
The Man with the Golden Gun
Live and Let Die
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Dalton flicks
Thunderball
Goldeneye


the rest are mildly entertaining, at best.

Well what do I know, I like A View to a Kill.

KT

I like the Dalton Flicks, and I think AVTAK was the first Bond film I saw in the theater, so it is somewhat special to me. I actually liked Dalton as Bond. He was a bit of a hard ass.

Oh, you mean the song? That was Duran-Duran, right?

 

[KeithTalent]

I like the Dalton Flicks, and I think AVTAK was the first Bond film I saw in the theater, so it is somewhat special to me. I actually liked Dalton as Bond. He was a bit of a hard ass.

Oh, you mean the song? That was Duran-Duran, right?

Yeah I meant the song, but I am in the exact same boat with the movie. First one I saw in the theatre and I'll always like it because of that. Probably why I still like the song so much too.

The Dalton Bonds are amazing. Tonnes of fun. :thumbsup:

KT

 

[Atomic Playboy]

What is AT's vote for the best Bond film? I haven't seen them and would like to start watching them.

This is a hard question to answer. On the one hand, my immediate response would be Goldfinger; it basically became the blueprint for every subsequent Bond movie, it introduced or expanded on every single Bond trope, and it's basically the quintessential Bond movie. Maybe not the best, but it's become such a standard that you've probably seen parodies of every single concept it introduces, so it's a great jumping off point for the series.

Then again, some of the older Bonds feel very, very dated at this point. You might have better luck with the newer Bonds, of which the two best are Casino Royale and Goldeneye, in that order. These feel like post-80s action movies (which they are), so they're easier to get into. Might not be a bad jumping off point if Goldeneye feels too old-fashioned.

Hell, let's just do a list anyway:

1. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
3. Goldfinger
4. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. Goldeneye
6. Thunderball
7. Dr. No
8. Skyfall
9. For Your Eyes Only

I'm not a fan of the Timothy Dalton Bonds (as much as I like him as an actor), I don't recall seeing OHMSS (which always gets high marks, so I need to see it again), and most of the other ones are only good if you're a completist. That being said, the James Bond series is one of my favorite all time, so even the bad ones (Moonraker, A View to a Kill, Quantum of Solace, Octopussy... there are a lot of bad ones, really) I find entertaining (maybe not so much Die Another Day). But the top 9 up there I'd argue are actually good films on their own merits, and worth watching.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

It was pretty damn lame.

 

[foghorn67]

Silva was driven by his fucked up Oedipus-esque complex, everything he did was to get back at his "mommy" who didn't love him enough. The plot wasn't about Silva being a cybervillain hellbent on world domination or anything, it was about M's past (and Bond's) and how it affected the present.

I'm wondering how many people don't get this.

This thread is making myself think I'm exceptionally smart.

 

[JBT]

I watched it some time ago. I don't remember anything about it. I guess it was pretty meh.

lol same with me. I don't remember it at all. But I remember that it wasn't very good.

 

[AdamantC]

Casino Royale is on my list of movies that I'd rather slap myself around instead of watch it a again. Daniel Craig plays Bond like a sack of bricks, and the villain was just pitiful, then there is THE FUCKING EIGHT MINUTE LONG FOOT CHASE that proceeds to jump the shark, fry the coke, and nuke the fridge. Bond even runs through a wall like the goddamned Kool-Aid Man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZxNbAwY_rk
The entire scene would have looked overblown in a Spider-Man or Batman movie.

Or the delightful scene where Bond gets

Spoiler

whacked in the nuts for 4 minutes

.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_y7YEIphts

The entire movie went back and forth being boring or stupid.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Casino Royale is on my list of movies that I'd rather slap myself around instead of watch it a again. Daniel Craig plays Bond like a sack of bricks, and the villain was just pitiful, then there is THE FUCKING EIGHT MINUTE LONG FOOT CHASE that proceeds to jump the shark, fry the coke, and nuke the fridge. Bond even runs through a wall like the goddamned Kool-Aid Man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZxNbAwY_rk
The entire scene would have looked overblown in a Spider-Man or Batman movie.

Or the delightful scene where Bond gets

Spoiler

whacked in the nuts for 4 minutes

.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_y7YEIphts

The entire movie went back and forth being boring or stupid.

Well the whole point of the starting scene was to show that he didn't have the finesse of 007 yet and that he's basically a rookie.

Anyways Casino Royale was amazing.

Quantum of Solace was bad but it's excusable because it was during the writer's strike and Craig wrote like half of it, which he eventually admitted was shit.

Skyfall was awesome too but behind Royale.

 

[StrangerGuy]

It was pretty damn lame.

People panned Prometheus for it's idiot plot, yet somehow gave this turd a free pass when it fails much harder in the same respect. At the very least Prometheus gave us fantastic visuals.

 

[mikeymikec]

I agree with the 'worse than Casino Royale, better than QoS' comment.

I have to say, I'm a bit surprised by people saying that the theme was the worst though... perhaps anyone saying this should listen to ALL the Bond themes, because some of them really were bloody awful. Sheryl Crow's "Tomorrow Never Dies" was made worse by the fact that they speeded it up slightly (presumably to time it with the length of the opening sequence), so that she doesn't sound quite ready to join The Chipmunks, instead sounding more like a whiny child. What about the QoS theme as well?

I agree with AdamantC wrt Casino Royale only in one respect, that action scene near the start didn't do it any favours, mainly because of the superhuman leaps that are sometimes made.

I'd rather do something painful to myself rather than watch Skyfall's computer-related flaws again though... what's the first thing you do with a computer that should be considered hostile? Connect it to your own network of course! How should we lock up the techno-minded bad guy? In a cage controlled via the same network!

 

[Sa7aN]

The Pierce Brosnan films weren't great by any stretch but they all had that good old James Bond feel with corny jokes and old-fashioned fistacuffs aplenty. The Daniel Craig films are trying too hard to be Bourne movies imo.

this 100%

 

[WaTaGuMp]

People panned Prometheus for it's idiot plot, yet somehow gave this turd a free pass when it fails much harder in the same respect. At the very least Prometheus gave us fantastic visuals.

Prometheus was also lame.

 

[PingSpike]

Overall I felt like this movie came off kind of flat. And what is up with the "Bond is getting old" trope being pulled out already. He was a fucking rookie two movies ago and now he's two steps from wearing depends? They just rebooted the thing. And then it ends and its like "Bond got a new boss". I thought he was ready to be put out to pasture and now its "The start of a new era". I felt like there was some odd choices with the script that were just abandoned.

I still enjoyed it overall and personally I liked the theme a lot. The computer stuff was horrible but that was partially saved by the fact that there actually wasn't that much of it which is weird since it was suppose to be about an evil hacker villain. But I disagree with others saying it was better than QoS. I actually thought QoS had much better action pieces, more interesting locations and continued with the aggressive pace that Bond movies are known for. The villain was kind of lame and the water plot was hard to buy but I remember lots of exciting action scenes and visually exciting parts whereas most of the action in Skyfall was murky and dark. And the ending of skyfall sort of fizzled out instead of going bang.

 

[JackBurton]

Horrible movie. I was actually excited to watch it and came away VERY disappointed.

 

[Koing]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmoIDKqfY44

lol

I didn't like skyfall much.

Koing

 

[Zeze]

I like films that isn't over-the-top in a half-serious setting. The only exception is the blatant, in-your-face action or films that acknowledge for it. Even in Bond or Scifi or Fantasy, only the plot device element should suspend your belief. That doesn't mean suddenly Luke Skywalker can fly around spewing rainbow to cure AIDS because it was Scifi Fantasy all along. Follow me so far?

Casino Royale: It was the best Craig Bond bar none. The plot was solid, villain was great, action and progress was believable and stayed grounded. Everything Bond did resembled of being 'realistic'. His behavior made sense, his vulnerability made sense, so did the plot. And most of all, it was absolutely entertaining and satisfying. I'd even go far as to say it's one of the top Bond films period.

Quantum of Solace: A self-absorbed unrealistic garbage. Why would anyone rich enough to starve nations of water supply invest in such stupid scheme? You can equally make fvcktons of $$ doing any other legit business. I also remember some uber unrealistic gadget or tech gimmick that let Bond lock someone down. It was way too over the top even beyond the Bond universe. I had to roll my eyes. The overall plot was underwhelming. It was definitely self-absorbed.

Skyfall: Sucks. Not as bad as QoS, but it was both forgettable and awful. I hate films where humans don't act like humans. They act worse than dumb ass teens in slasher flicks. The opening scene had Bond that gets shot by a HIGH POWERED RIFLE in the torso. Then he falls at LEAST 100-150 yards into water. That is DEATH. The impact alone would shatter his bones and rupture his organs, nevermind the severe rifle wound.

The whole 'villain wanted to be captured all along' shtick got old immediately after The Dark Knight. So did the insiders who had no reason to be just as mad as the villain to betray Q and the entire firm.

Driving to Skyfall made no sense. It was a very poor excuse to explore Bond's childhood. Why the FVCK would you pigeon hole yourself into one house where the expecting crew will utterly demolish it? This made no sense in any way possible.

 

[zerocool84]

And yes Daniel Craig is the worst Bond ever. He totally destroys the image of Bond we've built up for 50yrs. He's expressionless, has no charisma, he just stands there and pouts his lips, he just isn't James Bond. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Casino Royale but you could have called it by any other name and it would have been fine, but as the Bond character, he's the worst.

 

[Zeze]

And yes Daniel Craig is the worst Bond ever. He totally destroys the image of Bond we've built up for 50yrs. He's expressionless, has no charisma, he just stands there and pouts his lips, he just isn't James Bond. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Casino Royale but you could have called it by any other name and it would have been fine, but as the Bond character, he's the worst.

You say that now after 2 horrible sequels.

Casino Royale breathed new life into Bond. Previously they have been degenerated into outdated 90's style cartoony junk.

 

[Broheim]

Overall I felt like this movie came off kind of flat. And what is up with the "Bond is getting old" trope being pulled out already. He was a fucking rookie two movies ago and now he's two steps from wearing depends? They just rebooted the thing. And then it ends and its like "Bond got a new boss". I thought he was ready to be put out to pasture and now its "The start of a new era". I felt like there was some odd choices with the script that were just abandoned.

Bond IS old, he's 37 in the books and just 8 years from mandatory retirement (from Moonraker), some of the stuff outside of the Flemming books put him in his 40's. He was a Naval Commander prior to joining the Civil Service so he wasn't exactly a kid when he joined and then you have to add all the years it would have taken him to get a shot at 00-status, by the time he's a "rookie" 00-agent he's not a young buck anymore, he just doesn't age in the stories.

 

[Gunbuster]

I cant even clearly remember the plot. Was Skyfall the one where they concluded the fillm by Bond playing Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone?

 

[KeithTalent]

I cant even clearly remember the plot. Was Skyfall the one where they concluded the fillm by Bond playing Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone?

Yes. And it was all about Javier Bardem being upset at his "mommy". Such nonsense.

KT

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

And yes Daniel Craig is the worst Bond ever. He totally destroys the image of Bond we've built up for 50yrs. He's expressionless, has no charisma, he just stands there and pouts his lips, he just isn't James Bond. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Casino Royale but you could have called it by any other name and it would have been fine, but as the Bond character, he's the worst.

I think he is the best actor to play Bond by a fairly large margin, and while I understand your critique I don't share your view. I like this iteration of Bond, though it is admittedly a gritter version than we are used to. Actually if you go back and watch Dr. No (the first film), it's much more reminiscent of the Craig movies - very dark and pared-down. To me, the Moore films are maybe the worst - they just got so cartoonish and goofy - so clearly I have a darker sensibility than some people.