Two words. Terence Young.
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Craig’s physique, I have seen it as an extension of his character.
In CR he is a bulked up monster, unrefined and showy. By the end of the film putting him is a larger three piece suit with a shirt slightly oversized and a larger tie, he looks smaller and more lithe. He is being tailored into Bond rather than the special forces operative at the start.
This continues during QOS, he moves faster and more economically. In Skyfall, the suits are tighter but he is lighter and looks like someone who can hurt and think in equal measure. Spectre he is deprogrammed and definitely not bulked up. In NTTD he is appropriately relaxed as retired yet very much active man…
Craig himself has commented on how he saw his body in character devolp.over his tenure.
Connery looked like what he was, a tough street kid who knew how to fight. Dalton too. Ironically the editing of Lazenby in OHMSS made the real life martial arts expert look less real in his fight scenes.
Moore was most definitely a lover not a fighter and his physicality was hidden and exentuated through his clothing. Brosnan, for me, looked the least physically imposing of the Bonds.
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The editing guru couldn’t direct scenes that could then be edited. Definitely ironic in a big way.
Which is why I love MR so much. He is full lover in that one. When he tells Corrine she has a heart of gold is peak MooreBond for me, matched by first hurting his hand punching Jaws, and then figuring out how to use language to get the best of him and the situation. Soooooo satisfying.
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This. His physique has a narrative element and functions as a symbol of that journey.
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That was indeed ironic ! Ha !
I never thought about that, he uses love to turn Jaws - beautiful !
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Some shifts from a few years ago but the bottom two are consistent! I will say I love something about every film and enjoy all of them when I watch them. If I am hard on your favourites, I can only say that I am very glad you (and many others) love them.
1 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE - While dated, it is still a near perfect Bond film.
2 - CASINO ROYALE - Near perfect and a return to a grittier Bond.
3 - GOLDFINGER - The film that made Bond iconic.
4 - SKYFALL - Love the delicious dialogue from Silva, the reintroduction of the Bond game, the callbacks, and Bond dealing with his age.
5 - THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS - The Bond I fell in love with at 19. So wish we would have gotten more Dalton films.
6 - NO TIME TO DIE - One of my favourite Columbo episodes….Wait, wrong list. A very well made film, with appropriate call backs, and the payoff that was needed after Bond risked so much over 26 films. And yes, I was reassured to see that James Bond will return.
7 - DR. NO - Arguably number 1 just for delivery of the Bond, James Bond line.
8 - FOR YOUR EYES ONLY - The type of film I wish we would have gotten so much more of from Moore.
9 - THUNDERBALL - Solid Bond movie with the fully developed Bond movie formula.
10 - GOLDENEYE – A solid Bond movie and a great reinvigoration of the Bond franchise after being off for six years.
11 - SPECTRE – Loved Waltz’s subtle performance of Blofeld, and the nod to the past with how he first speaks into the mic. There are also some lighter moments in the movie too (e.g., Bond saying “Good evening” as he releases the parachute). The Colonel Sun inspired torture scene was excellent. Could have been a great Bond movie if the brothers story line had been dropped along with the so easily triggered biggest explosion ever and the third act were a little more solid (though I love many aspects of the third act).
12 - ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE – Excellent story, and Lazenby is good, but not great, as Bond.
13 - LICENCE TO KILL - I love Dalton’s portrayal, and the smaller scale plot. It was, at one time, my favourite Bond movie. I have come to believe the script needed more work and as a fun they were, they should not have had Wayne Newton nor the parachuting wedding scene given the overall tone.
14 - YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - The first Connery movie where he really seems to mail it in and the plot becomes what evil genious will try to take over the world this time around (which gets repeated too many times in the future).
15 - QUANTUM OF SOLACE - I like a lot of the elements of the movie but even the producers admit the script was not fully developed when they started filming. I could have also did without the shaky cam. Works in some films but not here.
16 - NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (Never say McClory Again version) - So good to have Sean back!
17 – LIVE AND LET DIE - Some very iconic moments in this movie but much of it is dated in a way that most Connery films are not.
18 – OCTOPUSSY - Re-watched this earlier in the year and it is a good Bond film in many ways but still has a 70s seventies feeling to it at times. I always loved the backgammon scene.
19 - THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN - Some iconic moments and I love Christopher Lee but this is where the 70s silliness really starts.
20 - DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER - Apologies to those who find everything right with this film… Sadly, there is just so much wrong and Sean is really mailing it in this time.
21 - THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - I need to re-watch this but my memory is that the script needed more work and the Christmas line at the end makes me think it should be ranked last for that reason alone. On the other hand, I loved the not in cold blood references and the torture scene is a bit fun and Robbie Coltrane is entertaining as always.
22 - TOMORROW NEVER DIES - Brosnan gets better, the scripts gets worse. Another film I need to re-watch. When I think back to this film, all I can really think of is the ridiculous torpedo, how much I loved Michelle Yeoh when I was youngish and the Jonathan Pryce Infiniti commercial.
23 - A VIEW TO A KILL - Re-watched this last year and enjoyed it. But this move is only a few steps away from Austin Powers.
24 THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - Lots of style, a cool car but still very silly. And Austin, I mean Bond, has become a super hero playboy.
25 - DIE ANOTHER DAY - The first half was so good… but then the silliness happened.
26 – MOONRAKER - The silliest of all. At least Drax is better than Dr. Evil.
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I’m going for it again …
So in my bar I play old movies no sound , inevitably there are Bond movies on all the time so this is my ranking of Bonds I gravitate towards like a comfort blanket sound on or off doesn’t matter.
- DAF
- LALD
- Thunderball
- Spectre
- Moonraker
- A View To A Kill
- Quantum of Solace
- From Russia With Love
- Licence To Kill
- YOLT
These have surprised me in some ways particularly YOLT and AVTAK
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Oh my. What a distinguished list.
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First, your bar sounds awesome!
Your ranking is wonderfully interesting, too. At first, I thought: no OHMSS, sure, with that ending, not so comfortable in a bar. Then again, QOS and LTK… „another round for everybody called Mathis or Leiter!“
Of course, no TSWLM? That should be remedied 
!
And inevitably your ranking allows me to rank myself again. Last year I rewatched a few Bonds and saw my opinion changed or corrected (funny, how memory can fool one into stubborn and wrong thoughts).
So this is my new ranking only of those I saw last year, with those I want to rewatch next listed afterwards:
- TSWLM (what can I say, it is my DAF, apparently)
- OHMSS (absolutely changed my opinion here)
- MR
- DAD
- DN
These I definitely need/want to go in with an open mind again soon:
- TB
- YOLT
- LTK
- AVTAK
These I think I love but should test again:
- TLD
- TMWTGG
- FYEO
- OP
- LALD
- GF
- TND
- FRWL (sure to remain my number two)
These I think I like but could love considerably more:
- DAF
- GE
- QOS
- NSNA
These I lost my love for and have less desire to test in the near future:
- SF
- TWINE
- SP
- CR
- NTTD
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Brilliant ranking system
Yeah OHMSS is a buzz kill
The bar is awesome, my Mother when she visits from Ireland, calls it Cheers
All welcome if your in Camden ! I’ll even stick on TSWLM😉
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Everyone needs a DAF in their life.
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These two will be my focus shortly. For a long time I’ve always had LTK as Dalton’s best, with the quality of Sanchez’s villainy being a large reason for that. But I’m not so sure anymore. I’ve also always preferred LALD to TMWTGG as a piece of entertainment. But when I consider TMWTGG there’s a lot I admire, and the atmosphere on Scaramanga’s island goes a long way for me.
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My ranking hasn’t really changed much over recent years. I’ve pretty much come to a point that I’m very settled on it. I’m also including the unofficial Bond films just for fun (and because they actually entertain me more than some films in the official series)
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
- Goldeneye
- From Russia with Love
- Casino Royale
- For Your Eyes Only
- Moonraker
- Goldfinger
- The World Is Not Enough
- You Only Live Twice
- Live and Let Die
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Octopussy
- Thunderball
- Dr. No
- The Living Daylights
- The Man with the Golden Gun
- Tomorrow Never Dies
- A View to a Kill
- Licence to Kill
- Spectre
- Die Another Day
- Skyfall
- Diamonds Are Forever
- Never Say Never Again
- Casino Royale 1967
- Quantum of Solace
- No Time to Die
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Let me take that back.
I am going to watch the whole Craig run and NSNA in the following days, just because this whole thing about „how I remember it and how my opinion has been influenced by that in contrast to actually forming an opinion right after watching the films again“ has often flabbergasted me.
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So, I completed my re-watch sessions.
Two things I noticed: 1) I still love them all, and even those I loved a bit less are still superior entertainment and will always remain dear to my heart. 2) I will not include NSNA in my ranking because… it´s just not a real Bond film - sorry Sir Sean.
One more thing: I was surprised to see how I rated the Dalton era much less well than I expected. And some films stormed up so many places - in my memory they had lost their power or never gained that much of it. Well, that’s the wonderful thing about time: it does change the way you look at things.
Here’s my (current) ranking, this time from the bottom to the top:
25 LTK
24 YOLT
23 TLD
22 DN
21 TMWTGG
20 GE
19 CR
18 OP
17 FYEO
16 AVTAK
15 SF
14 DAD
13 MR
12 TB
11 TND
10 DAF
9 TWINE
8 NTTD
7 OHMSS
6 FRWL
5 SP
4 GF
3 QOS
2 LALD
1 TSWLM
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I am rather sad that your marathon has come to its end and I have enjoyed reading each re-review! They have been really fascinating reads that show how our initial perceptions can be quite some distance from how we view things after time and reflection. Looking forward to reading your final thoughts on NTTD and hoping that you see it in the same light as Spectre!
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Thank you very much! I hope that you and others will pick up where I stopped and give your before/after opinions!
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I second Mr. Hinx’s appreciation for your thoughtful and entertaining re-views.
To see SP in your Top 5 and DAF rounding out the Top 10 makes the contemporary landscape seem a bit less dire.
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Same. The mental fight I have with myself is between the down to earth films (FRWL, DN, etc) and the extravaganzas (TSWLM, MR). I love both approaches equally and that can result in wildly differently film rankings based on my current mood. Strengths of one approach can become weaknesses for another, so it really is a matter of perspective. That’s what makes this a great series - the large back catalogue and variety allows you to rediscover or re-appreciate things.
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This is SO true! No other film franchise in movie history has such wide swings in style and approach. And synching up with the sensibilities of those variations is part of the joy of 007 fandom.
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