Canon-Strike X: Bond, James Bond

[Neon Ignition]

I don't really remember much from FYEO in a very strong light barring the theme, if I'm right it's the one with the creepy underaged girl trying it on with Bond - I think he resists...

Movie 13 - Octopussy
Maud Adams returns again, this time as the title character in an adventure that saw Moore tackling his sixth film, up against a corrupt Russian General and an attempt to disarm the West. This is a rare occasion where we briefly meet another 00-Agent with 009 being killed off. Yet again the producers had courted Timothy Dalton to play the role amongst others in an attempt to tempt Moore back to the role, a move that eventually worked as they increased their efforts to retain Moore due to worry about Connery returning to the role for Never Say Never Again.






Did Moore outstay his welcome for this film and was it a worthwhile addition?

[QualityChimp]

Not seen Octopussy for ages, but I'm pretty sure that it's my first Bond, so I've got a soft spot for it .

There's plenty to remember and love about it though.
Tuk tuk chase, secret wall, circular saw yo-yo, croc submarine and the gymnastic Octopussy squad.
Thought Maude Adams was a great Bond girl, slightly less swoony that predecessors.
Decent, but not top-tier theme.
minus points for no Lotus.

Pretty decent mix of light and dark in this. Some scary, ruthless bad guys, but some fun sequences too.
The knife throwers were brutal.

I remember the bit with the bomb at the end was nerve-shredding at the time!


Finally, how mint was that opening sequence with the Acrostar jet that's hidden in a horsebox, dodges a pursuing missle, flies into a hangar and then rolls sideways to escape the closing doors, leading the missile to blow the whole hangar up?

The whole thing is done with movie magic, with a mix of miniatures, green screen and a prop plane on a pole, but it looked amazing at the time.

[Neon Ignition]

I never really warmed overly much to Octopussy, I think it's one of those films where the hokley elements don't gel with the more grounded ones as well as they should do. Moore is very visibly creaky in the role too so the whole thing felt a little strained.


Movie 14 - A View to a Kill
Lois Maxwell and Roger Moore's final Bond movie see's James take on Christopher Walken and Grace Jones. Following the death of 003, Bond is set on the path of investigation Zorin - an owner of a major company who was working for the KGB but has now gone rogue. Walken was cast after David Bowie dropped out and Sting rejected the offer for Zorin. The same happening with Tanya Roberts, stepping in for Priscilla Presley who dropped out due to Dallas. In terms of canon, the film was supposed to be a rare occasion for continuity with Barbara Bach returning as her character from The Spy Who Loved Me but she also dropped out leading to a new character being created. Moore hated the film, finding himself at 57 to be too old for it and the scenes too bloodied for a Bond movie.







Was Moore's final entry a fitting finale or a mission too far?

[QualityChimp]

I know those other losers don't seem to be joining in, but I appreciate this thread, Neon.

I don't really remember all that much about VtaK.
Blimp, Grace Jones, Eiffel Tower base jump, brilliant theme, half a car and Christopher Walken.

Side note, I tried to get the Bond Collection after reading this thread. Argos are flogging the BR set off for £35, but nowhere near me!
Thought someone would be streaming them this week!

EDIT: Amazon price drop! BOOM!

[Asura]

I don't really remember all that much about VtaK.

And that's weird, right?

I went into View to a Kill thinking it was going to be awesome. The villains were Christopher Walken and Grace Jones!

But similarly, I don't remember it that well.

On a related topic, I know that Dolph Lundgren and Grace Jones were an item in the 80s, somewhat famous for destroying bedrooms when they had sex after extended periods apart. Sort of thing that makes me think that some people are getting more out of this "life" bull**** than others

[Neon Ignition]

Cheers, I'm sure everyone is just too caught up in the hype for the Bordersdown game

I have really strong memories of really disliking AVTAK but the last time I watched it I quite enjoyed it. Moore is definitely awkwardly old, especially when it comes to the Bond girls but Jones is always mesmerising and Walken really carries the villain element after several films where the bad guy doesn't make too much of a lasting impression. I'm kind of glad he bowed out here rather than with Octopussy

[QualityChimp]

On a related topic, I know that Dolph Lundgren and Grace Jones were an item in the 80s, somewhat famous for destroying bedrooms when they had sex after extended periods apart.

Well, that's an imagine I didn't need in my head this morning...

[Neon Ignition]

Why is it that in my mind I picture Lundgren lounging on a chair eating a bowl of strawberries and cream as Grace angrily trashes the room for an hour and once she's eventually tiring he looks up and says 'ready now?'

[Asura]

Why is it that in my mind I picture Lundgren lounging on a chair eating a bowl of strawberries and cream as Grace angrily trashes the room for an hour and once she's eventually tiring he looks up and says 'ready now?'

Well yeah. Dunno what [MENTION=10111]QualityChimp[/MENTION] was thinking about

[Neon Ignition]

Movie 15 - The Living Daylights
Yes, the other time that Bond was retooled to make it more serious and grounded in tone. A shift that heralded the arrival of a new Bond, Timothy Dalton finally accepting the reins of the franchise. The film was originally designed to be a prequel to the previous fourteen films but that plan was quickly shelved until much later in the franchise. Dalton won out against Sam Neill and Pierce Brosnan (for now) due to a variety of production and exec clashes. Dalton was keen to take Bond back to being closer to the books, to be more reluctant in the tasks he is required to carry out and to be more on the edge of danger.







Do you see this as a successful relaunch of Bond after the Moore era?

[CMcK]

The Living Daylights was clearly written with Moore in mind. It wasn’t until Licence to Kill we got the Bond reboot.

[QualityChimp]

One thing I really liked about The Living Daylights isn't just the Aston with missiles and skis, but also the subtler stuff like when Bond unlatches a catch on his tuxedo and covers up the shirt and bow tie to be more hidden.

Definitely love the more serious Bond, which was definitely ahead of its time when you look at the Craig-era Bonds, but without the self-loathing!

Shame he only got two bites of the Bond cherry.

[Neon Ignition]

Dalton's lack of a long tenure is one of the franchises biggest shames. I'm glad that he doesn't carry with him the same kind of 'failure' air that people seem to give Lazenby but it would have been interesting to get one or two more adventures from Dalton.

Speaking of which:

Movie 16 - License to Kill
At the time this was the first film to ditch using a title taken from Fleming and also hardly used any of his material at all. The film marked the end of franchise involvement for Dalton as well as several long standing behind the scenes staffers including Director John Glen and Producer Albert R. Broccoli. Bond goes rogue when his friend Leiter is maimed and Leiter's wife killed. The film was well received and performed well but some criticism came its way due to the darker tone the film took Bond in. Whilst it's takings were decent overall it also saw its US specific earnings fall which shook MGM and EON's confidence however in hindsight that has also been attributed to the film being released up against the release dates for Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2 as well as Ghostbusters II.







Did the franchise veer away from this direction too quickly or was this a license that needed revoking?

[Dogg Thang]

I have very little to say about Bond generally but I was a kid when Dalton took over and, for a kid, he was way less fun than Moore. And at the time that was enough for me to lose interest. I don't think I've seen any of his movies since I was an adult and I have to imagine I'd feel quite different about them now.

[QualityChimp]

That's a genuine thing where Bond, bizarrely was a family thing.
Boxing Day, Noel Edmunds up the Telecom Tower and a Bond film afterward as a big coup for ITV.

Bond blasting people with shotguns and badguys feeding henchmen to sharks is crazy dark to watch whilst eating leftover turkey.

Thanks for this thread, Neon. I'm glad I've got the boxset and I'm realising I want to re-appraise quite a few of the Bonds, so might work my way through them again.

When Edgar Wright was filming Hot Fuzz, no local cared about the filming or the cast, except for Dalton. Every time they asked for an autograph, it was just James Bond's they wanted!