So what am I missing?
I loved DAD when it came out - as much as I loved MR, yet MR's OTT elements caused it to drop in my personal ranking over time. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy MR occasionally; it's a gorgeously photographed travelogue with very well-done model effects, yet it doesn't make my top ten, whereas DAD does.
Over the last 12 years I have read so much vitriol about how DAD 'falls apart' after Bond returns to London: 'lazy' writing, bad CGI effects throughout (I count 2: Jinx's dive and the infamous parasurfing sequence), cringeworthy dialogue, Halle Berry's lack of talent, the insufferable Antonov sequence, the Robocop suit, the whole gene-replacement concept, the invisible car, etc, etc...
Yet none of this sways me. I don't see DAD as the 'mess' that others see. Perhaps it's because DAF was my first exposure to 007and I grew up with Roger Moore in the lead. Perhaps I simply have poor taste and judgement. Perhaps I'm just not interested in joining the mob that feels they have to hate Pierce Brosnan now that Daniel Craig is proving to be a critical and financial success (like Brosnan was during his tenure).
I love all the Bond films, whichever style they embrace. If they were all OTT extravaganzas that would be a bit much. On the other hand, a series of 24 relentlessly 'gritty' entries would also be more than I could stand. There are at least three Bond films to suit any mood, and I'm grateful for that.
I remember one self-styled internet critic stating his opinion:
"Lee Crapahori!!! I could direct a better Bond film with half the budget!"
Ah, to be fifteen again. Remember, every change than anyone proposes will be objected to by just as many people as disliked the original version.
So I will continue to hold DAD in high esteem, even if I do so alone (perhaps I'm just stubborn and contrary). Please don't bother trying to correct my misguided thinking - I don't want to be straightened out by any well-meaning know-it-alls, and if it hasn't worked before now it never will.
TB, YOLT, OHMSS, DAF, LALD, TMWTGG, TSWLM, OP, TLD, DAD & CR - classics all. I hope B24 ticks all my boxes too - although if it does, I'll have to read a lot more on-line criticism about how it 'falls apart', etc.