Bond 007

So is anyone here is fan of the James Bond series? I have been a fan of it since my childhood, my first Bond being Moonraker. I loved Moonraker because it was such an over the top adventure. Sure, many hate it for being ridiculous, but I still enjoy it for what it is because...after all...it was the film that introduced me to the world of 007!

As the years went by, I began to appreciate the more serious entries in the series as well. For me, Sean Connery will always be the best of the Bonds since he was the first, though even his stint included a few weaker entries such as You Only Live twice and Diamonds Are Forever .

All in all, I really like all of the actors who have played Bond, even the latest in the form of Daniel Craig. My best friend and I have just spent the last half year watching the Bond series in order of release. We even watched the battle of the Bonds from 1983 back to back, when Roger Moore's Octopussy and Sean Connery's Never Say Never Again battled for the number one spot at the box office.

Tonight, my Bond marathon comes to an end. We are going to be watching Quantum of Solace, a film I wasn't too crazy about when released in theaters. I have a knack for better appreciating disappointing entries when I revisit them later. I wonder if I will like this one better after tonight's viewing?

Anyhow, I was just curious if anyone here was a 007 fan!

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Z is my codeword for murder!

LOL, LB, we're opposites! (Just like with our wardrobes... )

I love Roger Moore! Perhaps it's because he was the first Bond I knew, or perhaps it's because I love his dry wit, but he was always number one with me... until Pierce Brosnan came along. Yeah, I grew up watching him on Remington Steele, but to me he embodied the best qualities of Sean Connery (action-oriented, 'manly') with the best qualities of Roger Moore (humorous, sophisticated). I was so sad when he left the franchise.

Dont' talk to me about Timothy Dalton (a cardboard cutout could have done better) or Daniel Craig (nice body but ugly face and no personality whatsoever... just *why* are the women supposed to find him attractive?). Sad to say, I'm a bond fan, but I don't like these new movies... and that's saying a lot, since I even watched the Dalton ones multiple times.

My first movie was Live and Let Die, which i recall seeing on TV... I had to beg my parents to let me stay up late to watch it! But they made me go to bed after the part where Bond jumps on the crocodile heads to escape being eaten! I was so disappointed... took me a couple of years to catch the ending! When For Your Eyes Only came out, my brother got hooked too and we started renting the other films at the video store... but only Roger Moore. That 'other guy' was so boring!

I never saw Lazenby's film until I was an adult. It was okay, but I'm glad they didn't keep him (or we might never have had Roger Moore!).

Sorry Solar Sailor... I really like You Only Live Twice. It's probably my favorite of the Connery films...

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Love him or hate him, Daniel Craig has been afforded the opportunity to explore the character of James Bond much closer to the material that Ian Fleming wrote than any other actor since Sean Connery's early outings such as Dr. No or From Russia With Love . It took me a while to warm up to Daniel Craig to be honest. I hated the whole idea of starting the franchise over when loose continuity had served the series so well in the past and kept it alive for so long. But I am really digging the last two movies as of late and very much looking forward to the newest one that is underway now. Quantum of Solace was much better the second time around, as I feel it tied up the loose ends left by Casino Royale very nicely and thus has ended Bond's first adventure. He will now become the 007 we are all more familiar with. I also hope to see more of the organization called Quantum in some future release. They were injured by the end of this last film, but not out for the count. I really like the idea of having a new secret organization to pull strings and cause mayhem in the world much like Specter did in the old days.

I actually enjoy You Only Live Twice, but I think it is one of the weaker Connery entries when all is said and done. I loved it the best when I was a kid, but as an adult I see it as going overboard and can nitpick it apart if I so desired to. I think the previous four films are Connery's best, not only because the material was more in line with what Fleming wrote, but because Connery delivered stronger performances. His fifth outing showed signs of his becoming tired of playing 007. Now, I really like George Lazenby in the 007 role too, but I think the things that keep him from enjoying success are the simple fact that he only did it one time and the fact that they sought to have him copy Connery rather than become his own version of Bond. That is understandable, as recasting in a huge series like this had never been done before. They learned their lesson, allowing Roger Moore to do his thing rather than trying to mimic the past. I think if Lazenby had stayed with the role, people would have accepted his version better and perhaps he would have taken the reigns more rather than copying Connery. Still, I really love On Her Majesty's Secret Service and think he did well overall. He had big shoes to fill.

I love Roger Moore, as he was also my first Bond. I guess I understand folks who seem to hate Moore since his Bond is such a departure from the first one, but I think this was necessary in keeping the franchise alive, and it kept going with great success! This was Roger's strength and I really enjoy his lighter take on the 007 character. I guess my only real issue is that Roger stayed with the role a bit too long. He probably shouldn't have taken the part in Octopussy and definitely not in A View To a Kill, not that he wasn't good as always, but simply that he was getting too old to be believable at that point. BUT I suppose we should be thankful, as they were set to hire an American for the role of Bond had Moore not come back at the last minute for Octopussy. An interesting note about Live and Let Die...the alligator trick was real. The very real alligator's were tied down, but it was a real stunt none the less, one that was very dangerous. The DVD supplements show several different attempts to get it perfect, with one that scared me as it appeared that the man was about to get bitten when he stumbled.

And I happen to really like Timothy Dalton in his two adventures. Did you know that Goldeneye was written with Timothy in mind, but that he declined to return to the role since 6 years had passed? It would be interesting to see what the film may have been like with him it the lead. For me, Goldeneye is the last film to feel like the classic old school series before everything really changed. I guess one of the reasons for this is that Derek Meddings was still providing the model and miniatures effects work, plus this was the last film that somehow still felt like it was under the guidance of Cubby Broccoli. I know Cubby was sick at this time, but I think the film was made exactly like he would have handled it, as if his daughter Barbara and her husband Michael Wilson wanted to honor Cubby with the film. With that said, I enjoy the Brosnan films as well, even though they seem to change a lot. For me, the only weak entry was Die Another day, as it became too silly in the second half. The writing was weak, the innuendos were non existent in the wake of more blatantly tasteless and vulgar sex allusions. It was a disappointment after the strong first half of the film.

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Z is my codeword for murder!