Review Of “The World Is Not Enough”

January 4, 2007 @ 7:39 am by Pressed

Bond: Pierce Brosnan
Produced by: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Directed by: Michael Apted
Date Released: 1999
Budget: $30 Million

This is the ninteenth movie in the official James Bond 007 series, but is not a movie based off of any of Ian Flemmings books. The World is not Enough is the second movie featuring Pierce Brosnan and in my personal opinion it is the best one out of the four that Pierce starred in. This was the most successful release of a James Bond film ever.
Plot: As it was from the beginning, Bond films tend to parrallel our own world. The movie is based off of the greatest oil discovery in the 20th century. There were massive oil reserves found beneath the Caspian Sea, which had to be pumped through piplines. The Western and Eastern nations fought over which direction it should be pumped. This is the basic plot of The World Is Not Enough.

Some of my favorite scenes include the 15 minute opening boat chase scene. The boat jumps, flips, and slides through streets being chased by police cars. I also love the opening scene where he leaps from the window using one of the bad guys as an anchor. In this movie Bond is back to his normal womanizing self, having his way with several different women.

Another great part is the introduction of one of my favorite actors, John Cleese, playing Q’s apprentice who is named R sarcastically by Bond. Desmond Llewelyn (in the left picture) played M16’s Q (Quartermaster) for the 16th and final time in this movie. Sadly he was killed in an automobile accident in December of 1999 at the age of 85. He was a part of the Bond series for 35 years. He was an excellent actor and was perfect for the role of Q. I’ve missed him in the new Bond films.
Review: Ok, I guess I’ll go ahead and admit it. This is one of my favorite Bond movies. It’s action packed, they took it easy on the cheese, and it was typical of many of the older Bond films which was rather refreshing. Even when the movie starts to slow down in the middle, they plop in a well needed snow ski chase scene that breaks up the bore. Really the only downside was the car. The sexy BMW given to Bond by Q had a very short lifespan. No cool chase scene, just a couple minutes of use before it is destroyed.

The way the storyline works in the movie is quite interesting as well. The first half of the movie you believe one thing while in the second half you believe something completely different. This makes it feel like your watching two different 007 movies when it switches in the middle. The plot remains the same, but everything else seems to change.

Rating: A

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A Review Of “The Living Daylights”

January 3, 2007 @ 7:00 am by Pressed

Bond: Timothy Dalton
Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
Directed by: John Glen
Date Released: 1987
Budget: $30 Million

This is the fifteeth movie in the official James Bond 007 series. This is the first movie in the series to star Timothy Datlon as James Bond. It is also known as one of the last Fleming originals, based off of one of his short stories published in 1962.

Plot: Bond attempts to prevent an assassination and the assassin ends up being a beautiful blonde cellist. This is the story of a renegade Russian general who is basically putting himself up against the Western powers.

One of the most memorable scenes is the Astin Martin car chase scene. The car has rockets and a laser that cuts cars in half. Bond manages to be chased by tanks and turns the car into a “snowmobile” before he finally gets stuck and has to “self-destruct”. A sad end to such a beautiful car.

I didn’t think I would like Timothy Dalton as Bond, but he actually works really well. Dalton brings a new face to Bond. He is a serious, hard edged, conflicted, Bond who seemed more like a real man rather than a larger than life superhero. The other significant change in Bond with Dalton is that he has a more steady relationship with a girl, rather than womanizing every girl he can find. Dalton breaths refreshing new life into Bond.

Review: I really liked the beginning scenes of this movie because it was the fast pace, action packed beginning that I am so used to and the effects and stunts were really good too. The 80’s, however, brought us a lot of things, some good and some bad. The 80’s music is definatly prevelant in this movie and I found it interesting that the big fat cheese factor showed up in the film too. The 80’s seemed to be the year that cheese was made. The earlier Bond films didn’t really have that type of appeal, but it certainly showed up in this movie in the same way that it has made it into a couple of the newer Bond releases. While I agree with Q (Desmond Llewelyn) who says that it can’t be a James Bond movie without fantasy, I believe you can have fantasy without making it silly or cheesy. Because of this I felt the movie could have been better. With that being said, I still thought it was really good and one I will watch again.

Rating: B +

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A Review of “The Man With The Golden Gun”

January 2, 2007 @ 7:00 am by Pressed

Bond: Roger Moore
Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Date Released: UK and US, December 19, 1974
Budget: $13 Million
This is the ninth movie in the 007 series. It is based on Flemmings last book that he wrote before he died.

Plot: Bond is sent to find a missing device that converts solar radiation to energy. In real life in 1973 there was a worldwide energy crisis and oil quadrupeled in price. At this time people were looking for alternative sources of power and in the process Broccoli and Saltzman used the current cultural crisis to make yet another socially significant James Bond film.

The villan is Scaramanga who is played by Christopher Lee. Lee has also played as count dracula and he was the white wizard on Lord of the Rings. The odd thing is that he is a villan with a bit of an abnormality…he has three nipples!

Some of my favorite scenes include the fight scene in the Far East where the young girls Bond thinks he needs to protect start kicking booty. The most unique scene is the 360 degree automobile jump. The car does an entire revolution before landing on all four wheels. The cool thing about this is that there is no computer animation involved. The car actually did this flip and in this film it was the first time it has ever been done. The stunt happened perfectly the first time so it took only one take.

Review: The Man with the Golden Gun was a fun, action packed movie with an interesting plot and an intruging relationship between Bond and his enemy Scaramanga. I remained entertained and rarely found a dull moment. I really liked Roger Moore, he brought about a lighter, fun side of James Bond. With the exotic island, Scaramanga’s fun house, the Golden Gun, and the 3 foot tall assistant this is a James Bond movie that I thouroughly enjoyed.

Rating: A

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A Review of “Diamonds Are Forever”

January 1, 2007 @ 7:00 am by Pressed

Bond: Sean Connery
Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Date Released: UK- December 30, 1971; US - December 17, 1971
Budget: $7 - $10 Million
This is the seventh movie in the 007 series and is the last Bond movie that Sean Connery is in.

Plot: The master plan for Ernst Stavro Blofeld is impersinating Willard Whyte, a billionaire recluse who hasn’t been seen in public for years. Based slightly on Howard Hughes.
Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint are two unique characters in this movie that are potrayed as being gay. They are hired hitmen who take care of anyone who come in contact with the stolen diamonds that are eventually going to be used in an ultimate death ray. They add humor and intruige to the movie.

One of the most interesting scenes is the Mustang Mach 1 car chase that takes place in the streets of Las Vegas. The chase ends with a two wheel escape down a narrow alley. The funny thing is the car comes out of the alley on the wrong two wheels. They explain what happened in the special features on the special edition DVD.

Once again we meet another one of Flemmings filthy named girls, Plenty O’Toole.

Review: Diamonds Are Forever is one of those Bond films that has all the right stuff to be a 007 movie and yet turns out just ok. For me the plot was kind of confusing and I was not impressed with the villan. It seemed to move a little slower than some of the other movies and the action, the car, and the gadgets just were not up to Bond material. I did enjoy the comic relief of Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint and there are some enjoyable moments in the movie that certainly entertain. It may not be on the top of my list as the greatest Bond movie of all time, but it is still worth watching.

Rating: B-

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A Review of “Goldfinger”

December 31, 2006 @ 7:00 am by Pressed

Bond: Sean Connery
Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
Directed by: Guy Hamilton
Date Released: UK - September 17, 1964; US - December 22, 1964
Budget: $3 Million

This is the third movie in the 007 series and is said to be one of the best. Goldfinger is the movie that brought James Bond into blockbuster status.

Plot: Goldfinger (the bad guy) plans to destroy Americas gold supply by blowing up Fort Knox. He can destroy gold and then melt it out of the scraps using his lazer in order to re-use it. This film features the normal Bond themes: exotic locations, high tech gadgets, beautiful girls, mega villans, and some humor to go along with the action.

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is the car chase scene with the Aston Martin DB-5. This car has rotating liscense plates, a smoke screen, ejector seat, oil slick, bullet proof shield, machine guns, and the wheel scythe that comes out to pop the tires of cars next to it. While it may not seem like much to our effects ladened society, in 1964 these were top notch effects. The Aston Martin DB-5 was one of the most desire cars in the 60’s, made extremely popular by the film.

The Bond series and many of the movies are based off the origional novels written by Ian Fleming. He had a way with words, especially the names he gave to the women that show up in his stories. In fact I feel dirty even thinking about the name of the girl in Goldfinger. It’s a horrible name, and yet not the first or the last of the dirty little names Fleming came up with for the girls in his stories.

Review: This is the first 007 movie that I’ve watched starring a Bond other than Pierce Brosnan and the newest one that is in theaters. While I didn’t know what to expect, I ended up really enjoying this movie. It is an excellent movie for its time period. To me the gadgets seem simple and unimpressive, but in 1964 they were state of the art effects. Sean Connery is the original Bond. The Bond that I’ve come to enjoy in these later years was most enjoyable even 40 years ago. The character is just as exciting, even though the technology has changed.

Rating: A

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