Forgive me if someone else started a similar thread in the past but here are my thoughts on the the best second Bond film.
My ranking would go:
Dalton-Licence to Kill
Connery- From Russia With Love
Craig-Quantum of Solace
Brosnan-Tomorrow Never Dies
Moore-The Man With the Golden Gun
In each of these films the actor now having had a successful debut, is able to build on the performance of the previous one. Dalton and Craig especially bring a higher level of intensity due to the circumstances. Connery is more relaxed and allows us to see Bond in more casual settings. Brosnan seems far more confident and owns the role in a way he didnât in Goldeneye. Moore is colder in The Man With the Golden Gun which I find interesting but audiences did not and a lighter approach was used henceforth.
I actually believe From Russia With Love is a superior spy thriller than Licence but Licence has highs so in tune with Daltonâs Bond that I prefer it. For all of Quantumâs flaws it shows Bond going through a grieving process. Tomorrow Never Dies is one of the more watchable Bond films. Only The Man With the Golden Gun is a disappointment.
Licence to Kill has moved very close to becoming my favorite Bond film over my last few viewings. A vastly underrated adventure of deception, violence, vengeance, and action.
Check out my musings in other threads for Tomorrow Never Dies.
From Russia With Love has many great things about it, but itâs still undone by dissecting the villainâs plan at the beginning leaving the mystery for Bond to figure out, but we as the audience know the whole time. TB has the same issue in that, it robs the film of much of its suspense. For example, we already know that Grant is impersonating Nash. Wouldnât the film work better if we hadnât known that the whole time? Also, it completely rips of North by Northwest.
Quantum of Solace needed more time in the oven before releasing. Though Craig is arguably at his best and Kurylenko and Arterton are excellent as the leading ladies.
The Man with the Golden Gun features as excellent villain and well not much else. A return of the awful JW Pepper and a slide whistle weaken a film that is already adapting a weak story.
Lazenbyâs 2nd was I dunno, maybe Universal Soldier? Or maybe an underwear ad? Either way, still better than CR 67.
I love this type of exercise and itâs helped me realise that overall Iâd say each actor generally gets a botched second entry for whatever reason!
FRWL
At times tedious and at times clunky, itâs at least a solid spy movie - maybe only TLD qualifies alongside it as a spy movie - with lovely creamy photography. Itâs the only second movie to improve on the first.
TMWTGG
A cheap, nasty and slapdash piece of work but what a hoot! Good for a laugh and effortlessly entertaining, but maybe thatâs the problem. Hamilton could do this sort of stuff in his sleep. Leaves a gross taste in your mouth. LALD has more bizarre energy and weight.
TND
Another rushjob but slick enough. Not a lot to say. A lot of the actors look miserable. The cracks start to show as soon as Bond hits the water on the HALO jump. Immediately dumber and broader than GE, but has a workmanlike appeal.
LTK
Another tired entry that leaves you wanting a big glass of water and an aspirin when itâs done. The trend seems to be rushing out a Part 2 and not having enough gas left in the tank. Dalton looks awful, the girls are repellent, and it looks like an Americaâs Most Wanted reenactment. Saved from last place in the franchise because it has a decent foundation and a few familiar faces.
QOS
The only downright unlikeable movie in the franchise. A waste of everyoneâs time. Nowhere near as cool as it thinks it is. Full of missed opportunities and botched execution. Canât imagine anyone in the mood for a Craig filming picking this one first.
Connery FRWL
Dalton LTK
Craig QoS
Brosnan TND
Moore TMWTGG
For me FRWL is the joint best Bond (with CR), so thatâs an easy win.
Itâs close between LTK and QoS. But QoSâ script issues are worse than LTKâs TV photography. Also, as much as i like QoS it was fair to expect better after the highs of CR. Whereas for all itâs downsides LTK is still an improvement on the turgid, snails pace, villian-less TLD.
However, itâll always be unfair to compare QoS to other Bond movies, because of the writerâs strike (though i imagine someone will now correct me with details of strikes during other Bond productions)
TND would be higher if not for the very un-Bond Arny finale shoot out and (imo) Priceâs too-panto villain. Oh, and the introduction of slo-mo in the franchise (donât think itâd been used before). It really lowers the tone, but after DAD went to town with cringey slo-mo i donât think weâve seen it again (have we?)
EDIT: Just remembered, the barrel role car stunt in TMWTGG was slo-mo⌠which makes me hate slo-mo even more. They do an absolutely mind blowing stunt and then slo-mo it with a âCarry On movieâ swanee whistle. No more alcohol and drugs in the edit suite, please!
I quite like TMWTGG. But that swanee whistleâŚ! And i just think the other 4 are better.
George sort of had a second appearance as JB in The Man From UNCLE:The Fifteen Years Later Affair. [quote=âtheSpectre, post:2, topic:1259, full:trueâ]
Interesting ranking. For me move, TND to number 2 and that would be my ranking.
Licence to Kill has moved very close to becoming my favorite Bond film over my last few viewings. A vastly underrated adventure of deception, violence, vengeance, and action.
Check out my musings in other threads for Tomorrow Never Dies.
From Russia With Love has many great things about it, but itâs still undone by dissecting the villainâs plan at the beginning leaving the mystery for Bond to figure out, but we as the audience know the whole time. TB has the same issue in that, it robs the film of much of its suspense. For example, we already know that Grant is impersonating Nash. Wouldnât the film work better if we hadnât known that the whole time? Also, it completely rips of North by Northwest.
Quantum of Solace needed more time in the oven before releasing. Though Craig is arguably at his best and Kurylenko and Arterton are excellent as the leading ladies.
The Man with the Golden Gun features as excellent villain and well not much else. A return of the awful JW Pepper and a slide whistle weaken a film that is already adapting a weak story.
Lazenbyâs 2nd was I dunno, maybe Universal Soldier? Or maybe an underwear ad? Either way, still better than CR 67.
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He plays an anonymous British secret agent who drives an Aston Martin with the numberplate JB007.
From Russia With Love
Licence To Kill
Quantum Of Solace
The Man With The Golden Gun
Tomorrow Never Dies
I think that after Goldeneye ( a prolonged advert for what never materialised ) I expected much More than the finished product. I remember feeling it was lazy and 22 years and multiple viewings havenât changed my opinion.
Live And Let Die was a real high and the successor was not as good but it has charm
Licence To Kill and Tomorrow Never Dies are two of the three most underrated films in the canon (Octopussy is the other). LTK (my favorite 007 film) has terrific bad guys and a great plot with Bond taking the villainâs empire apart from the inside one piece at a time. TND has great action, David Arnold pulls out all the stops for the soundtrack, and Brosnan delivers arguably his best performance during his tenure. FRWL is a great spy/Cold War caperâsolid atmosphere and danger throughout. QOS is the epitome of a mixed bag. For every good thing it hasâstunts/fights and the opera house scene, itâs got just as many negatives that overshadow itâso much shaky cam that you canât tell whatâs going on and Bondâs careless treatment of Mathis that is so out of character. As a result, it ends up near the bottom of my Bond list. TMWTGG doesnât have many highs, itâs just there. They could have used another 6 months to firm up the story.
I must admit I only realy like Conneryâs second outing:
From Russia with love is a great, great movie, one of the best Bondmovies of all.
Mooreâs TMWTGG has a not realy great screenplay, putting it mildly, but at least this movie has a fast pacing, looks and feels very exotic and colourfull and has a great atmospheric Barry soundtrack. And ofcourse Lee as an excellent villian and nemesis of Mooreâs Bond.
Brosnanâs TND has a couple of great action sceneâs, but as a whole itâs not a good movie and the finale battle is more like an average American actionmovie.
Daltonâs LtK is for me a huge disappoinment, slow pacing, boring, TV quality like.
Craigâs QoS is for me the worst Bondmovie of all time. The hyper editing, probably the worst villian and his henchman in the whole series and the movie and his story doesnât look realy finished at the end.
