007 Discussion

Since posting about the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise the other day, some friends have been discussing the best and worst of the movies via email.

I received this one this evening:

We need to look at the Bond franchise from the perspective of the Top 5 and the Bottom 5:

Top 5:



1. From Russia With Love – most realistic spy film. Great fight on the train.

2. Goldfinger – the laser scene is unbeatable.

3. Thunderball - Fiona Volpe – the bad girl

4. Dr. No – the original has to be in the top tier

5. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – might have been #1 if Sean Connery starred. Nevertheless, a great film



Bottom 5:



1. Moonraker – bullshit in space

2. A View to a Kill – total crap

3. Octopussy – great title, but no substance

4. Any Timothy Dalton film – so that takes #4 and #5 spot

I don't particularly disagree with the Top 5, except I'd place Goldfinger No. 1.

Likewise, I generally agree with his Bottom 5, except when it comes to the Timothy Dalton movies. I liked Dalton's Bond and while the stories could've been better, I would put "Any Pierce Brosnan film" in the #4 and #5 spots. The screenplays were horrible and I never really warmed to Brosnan as Bond.

What do you think?

By the way, Roger Moore is planning to release a new book this year in keeping with the Bond anniversary, "Bond On Bond."

Next: "The Spy Who Loved Me"

Left, the first edition paperback of "You Only Live Twice" I finished reading last night.

Yes, I finished what I thought was the last Ian Fleming James Bond book I had in my collection, "You Only Live Twice." It is the first edition paperback as shown at left.

It turns out that I have one Fleming novel left (it was misplaced on my shelf) to read: "The Spy Who Loved Me." So I'll be reading it out of publishing order.

"You Only Live Twice" novel is vastly different than the movie version. The story takes place about nine months after Ernst Stavro Blofeld murdered Bond's wife Tracy. It does not involve spacecraft, but instead a mission to assassinate a Swiss doctor who set up a suicide "clinic" in a castle near Fukuoka, Japan.

Frankly, this story would've made a more interesting movie than the one Eon Productions put out in 1967 with Sean Connery.

On "The Spy Who Loved Me," we see 007 "through the eyes of a passionate woman." We'll see how it differs from the Roger Moore feature from 1977.