Kev's Day One Review

Favourites so far...

Film: Live and Let Die
Song: Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey)
Hottest Bond girl: Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress)
Best Bond girl: Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)
Villain: Kananga (Yaphet Kotto)
Henchman: Mr Wint and Mr Kidd (Diamonds Are Forever)
Fight: Bond Vs Grant on the train (From Russia With Love)
Stunt: The Croc Run (Live and Let Die)
Pun: "Can you wrap it for me...lengthwise" (Live and Let Die)
Locations: Live and Let Die
Gadget: Magnet Watch (Live and Let Die)

As I wake up on the beginning of Day Two. Two things that strikes me after the 9 films yesterday...I think I’m going to die and my god I look stunning in these ‘snakes and ladders’ lounge pants this morning.

I hadn’t seen a lot of them for years and wasn’t entirely sure that I’d ever seen a couple of them. There was a lot there that were better than I remember with ‘You Only Live Twice’ being the only one I’d consider bad (and even that had some good moments). Dr No was leading for most of the day before Live and Let Die snuck in at the end to take the best of the day. Possibly nostalgia speaking there but it was a good mixture of humour, Bond being quite cold and big outlandish support characters and stunts. I generally prefer my action films ‘modern’ so I doubt it will stay as top film overall but it might still be up there at the end of today.

Hottest Bond girl might well be all over already. Although there have been a couple of close contenders (Britt Ekland and Claudine Auger), I might just be in a Ursula Andress place in my life at the moment which might make this a non-contest. That said, I know that Eva Green looms on the horizon but we’ll have to see. Ursula is likely to survive at top spot today though I reckon.

Overall Bond girls have been pretty disappointing so far. Pussy Galore is the only one who has seemed capable throughout the whole film although even she succombed to Sir Connery’s ‘if I hold you down long enough you’ll give up eventually’ charms. I’d like to say that this one is up for grabs but I seem to recall that every time we hear about a Bond girl being ‘Bond’s equal’ they always end up being disappointing.

There wasn’t much competition for best song. It was really only between Goldfinger and Live and Let Die. I’ve gone for Goldfinger as it’s less of its time and place but I can see it being topped. Probably by a worse song but one that will just resonate with me and my childhood a bit better.

Gotta go with Kananga for best villain. First big and gimmicky villain who also felt dangerous. Some of the others, particularly Goldfinger, felt a bit limp ultimately. No way he’ll keep the top spot though I’m sure.

There weren’t as many strong henchmen as I always assumed there would be. Only a couple felt genuinely dangerous. Oddjob was probably the coolest but he always felt like he was holding back a bit. Kidd and Wint won’t hold on to the top spot here. Especially bearing in mind who is on screen right now!

In terms of fights, there have only been a couple that have felt pretty knock down brutal or visually interesting. If brutality is what I’m going to judge these on then I can’t see Connery Vs Grant losing the top spot during the Roger Moore period this morning!

The stunts that Bond is now known for are about to start coming thick and fast so I reckon this will be a tough category. The croc run from Live and Let Die is a classic and one I’ve got at the top because I appreciate a stunt that has careless abandon for the safety of the performer. The car flip from Golden Gun might have nicked it if it wasn’t for that idiotic slide whistle. I’ll never understand that decision.

Not a massive amount of competition for the puns. I’m surprised that they kept them going for so long seeing as most of them hit the floor with a thud.

Some great locations but clearly I have a soft spot for the more tropical spots. I’m not sure how they managed to make Jamaica look so drab in Dr No. It was constantly overcast! The film stock of the day maybe?

Not too many interesting gadgets yet. I think the magnet watch is the only one that made me think ’that’s cool’. Most other things were just something being disguised as something else. I’ll be begging for a return to that once Brosnan gets his dirty little mitts on the franchise.