Canon-Strike X: Bond, James Bond

[QualityChimp]

Kinda related...

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[Neon Ignition]

The technicality is kind of sound in terms of protecting false advertising but that woman blatantly knew what she was doing and shouldn't have recieved a penny. Such a blatant cash grab attempt.

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 09 - The Man With the Golden Gun
The second outing for Moore aimed to be so exciting that it could perk your nipples, all three of them! Christopher Lee proved a bright element in a film that was at the time considered the low point of the franchise and performed poorly enough that questions were asked over whether the franchise should continue further. It's notable for Maud Adams appearance also, the first of three Roger Moore Bond movies she appears in though never playing the same character twice. The film had been in the works since the days of Thunderball but perhaps the most notable accomplishment of the film was the Guinness World Record it achieved for barrel rolling a car across a jump.






Do you feel like Golden Gun was a worthwhile follow up effort for Moore or did the Gun fire a blank?

[Asura]

Although I always liked TMWTGG, I must admit...

I went into it years later, from the premise - Bond is pitched against a world-class assassin, played by Christopher Lee.

I don't think the film could possibly live-up to what that premise promises.

[QualityChimp]

Bloody LOVE TMWTGG!

I think it helps watching it at an impressionable age, but I think it's got so much going for it.

Fave bits: Triple-nipple, ridiculous Lulu theme and lyrics ("he has a powerful weapon..."), funhouse opening (with honky tonk version of ridiculous theme), amazing henchman, amazing aloof antagonist, exotic locations, fanciful scientific McGuffin, pretty lady 50 baht, Phu Yuck, belly dancer's lucky charm, half sunken secret MI6 boat base, fake triple-nipple, karate CHOP! plus Yuen Qiu from Kung Fu Hustle, "I sure am, boy!" and THAT jump, car turns into ze plane (boss), weird tall islands, funhouse finale and Nick Nack surprise attack!

I remember an excellent episode of Wac-A-Day where Timmy Mallett visited the locations in Thailand as The Man With The Golden Mallett.

That bloody bridge jump, though. Amazing (despite the stupid whistle sound effect).

Excellent article on how they made the stunt and the extensive preparation that went into it:

https://jalopnik.com/the-james-bond-corkscrew-jump-was-the-first-computer-mo-1711459704

Wiki: "A 1974 AMC Hornet X was used for the "corkscrew" stunt which was first tested as a computer-simulation (the first of its kind) by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory. It was then performed as a live-action stunt, successfully filmed in one take.
The stunt was performed by Loren "Bumps" Willert (as James Bond) driving an AMC Hornet leaping a broken bridge and spinning around 360 degrees in mid-air about the longitudinal axis, doing an "aerial twist"; Willert successfully completed the jump on the first take, and was given a $30,000 bonus on the spot. The stunt was shown in slow motion, for the scene was otherwise too fast."

Normal speed footage from a crew member:


Also, another reason why I love the Stuntman series...

[QualityChimp]

I'm sure you've probably seen this before, but it's brilliant!

[Neon Ignition]

Given how often people recount how meeting their heroes turns out to be an experience they regret it's always great when someone properly embraces the thing that made them a famous name. It's understandable that being approached by strangers all the time would be annoying, but says a lot about someone that they'd endulge it in a nice way

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 10 - The Spy Who Loved Me
Moore's own favourite entry out of the ones he made, this third entry alters the approach of the series to bring it back more in line with the fantastical supervillain style that would become the hallmark of Moore's era. Originally lined up for Steven Spielberg to direct, several changes of hand later would see Lewis Gilbert return for a script that would need retooling as this was the point where EON lost the rights to Blofeld and Spectre. The submarine version of the Lotus is now owned by Elon Musk who plans to butcher it to convert it to a full car/submarine working vehicle. In terms of the canon of the franchise, this is also the first film in several to contain an element of continuation to the previous entries delivered via a bar scene where Bond loses his cool momentarily when the sore subject is raised of Tracy, his deceased wife from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.







Is TPWLM one of the greats within the franchise or does it make you scream at the TV...




"Stop Getting Bond Wrong!"

[QualityChimp]

Yes, TSWLM is a real pinnacle of the Bond series.

Fave bits:

->Open Spoiler<-

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 11 - Moonraker
Breaking from the promise at the end of Spy Who Loved Me, audiences were instead delivered the insanity of the space bound fourth Moore entry that saw Jaws return in a tale where Bond is aided by Holly Goodhead in stopping the villains plan to create a master race. Inspired by Star Wars, the race to make a space film led to this. Despite the bizarreness of the film and mixed reviews it was the franchises most successful entry up to that point and for almost another two decades after.






Was Moonraker a worthwhile detour for the franchise or a step too close to parody?

[Neon Ignition]

There's fun to be had with Moonraker but it feels like it's one of those films where it kind of is what it is. The film was a shameless cash in on Star Wars and that's exactly what it comes across as as well.

[QualityChimp]

I'd not seen Moonraker for years and rewatched it a year or so back.

In my mind, it was a pretty dark tale with a genocidal despot willing to cull vast numbers of humanity to leave whom he deemed valuable. The scene where his lover cheats on him with Bond and he sets his dogs on her really stuck in my mind.

However, upon rewatch, I couldn't believe how comedic it was!
That one scene with the dogs was the only one not played for laughs, it felt like.
I think the scene that killed it for me was the gondola hovercraft and the pigeon doing a double-take. Awful.

There are still things to like, such as the return of Richard Kiel who finds love and redemption, the excellent sets, the tense finale, the memorably pathological mastermind, the centrifugal training simulation, close encounters keypad, the cable car fight and that excellent opening stunt where Jaws throws Bond from a plane with no parachute.

It would be interesting if Cubby Broccoli had taken up Spielberg's offer to direct and see what would have resulted!

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 12 - For Your Eyes Only
Inspired by elements of three novels that had already been adapted into film, For Your Eyes Only saw Moore return and in doing so become the longest serving Bond - a title he still retains to this day, though he came close to stepping out after finding out the producers were screen testing replacements. After the financial success that Moonraker met, the film surprised by veering the tone back toward a grounded and more realistic one as Bond searched for a missile command station, aided by a woman seeking revenge for the death of her parents. The film is also notable as despite the rights being out of the film makers reach they open the film with Bond pursuing and finally killing Blofeld, by dropping him down a chimney stack and avoiding directly referring to him by name. The link is highlighted by the sequence beginning with Bond visiting the grave of Tracey, who has been dead for six films and three actors by now as we get another small piece of connective canon across the twelve films.








Was this entry a worthwhile course correction for the franchise or a veer in the wrong direction?

[QualityChimp]

[wheelaa]

I've always rated the first three Moore efforts a lot. After that, utter dross, with just a slight uptick in the next film on the list (still not sure why...it's pants).

Still 3/7 isn't bad...when one looks ahead...not so much when looking back.