A real mixed bag. Although there was what I think must surely be the worst of the series in Moonraker and then Octopussy, we also had some quality. A View to a Kill has held up surprisingly well. Licence to Kill is so good that it makes me want to visit that alternative dimension where Timothy Dalton got to make a trilogy of films where he lost Tracey and then hunted down Blofeld.
A few changes to my favourites list...
Pam Bouvier from Licence to Kill is by far the most capable Bond girl of the series. During production, all of these films come out with lines about how the Bond girl is on the same level as Bond and it’s always rubbish with them typically dribbling over themselves by the end so that Bond can save them. Pam wasn’t quite on Bond’s level but they didn’t have to ‘de-power’ her to make Bond look better.
For villain, Zorin is the perfect blend of the tones in Bond films. He’s funny, almost stupidly so, but he is absolutely mental and seriously dangerous. I’ve never really questioned the balloon’s mini bar full of dynamite at the end. What else would Zorin have in his mini bar? Walken is fantastic. I’d be very happy if they decided to bring him back as a modern day villain.
Xenia Onatopp knocks Jaws off of the top spot for henchman. I clearly like my Bond villains on the insane side which surprises me as I’d have assumed before this weekend that I like them more grounded. She feels even more dangerous than Jaws because apart from not jacking in this whole villainy game for love, she feels like she is out of control of herself every time she even gets the chance to be bad. You just wouldn’t be surprised if instead of delivering Bond to her boss, she accidentally killed him.
My memory might be a bit cloudy but I think Brosnan had the best pre-credit sequences. Goldeneye is brilliant although I could do without the one liner intro for a new Bond. Some outstanding stunts (you couldn’t pay me to jump off that dam), nice set pieces and some emotional resonance that plays out through the rest of the film. Can’t see anyone touching that.
On a side note. We’ve seen the importance of a strong support crew if you’re going to spend 3 days doing literally nothing other than sitting still and watching films. Three whole meals yesterday. Enchiladas for dinner (with chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert), pizza for lunch and blueberry pancakes shaped to spell ‘007’ for breakfast. Outstanding work support crew!
Dreading this morning. My memory of Brosnan’s films is that they just get worse and worse. I’m just hoping that all these reviews of Skyfall calling it one of the best are true!
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