66 replies to this topic

[zencat]

You know, I'm really getting tired of old guard Bond fans who pretty much feel the Bond films ended at OHMSS and "dis" the entire Roger Moore era. I'm won't say who these people are, but lets just say in the long history of 007 MAGAZINE Roger has appeared on the cover...once. Even during the Roger Moore era!

Well, guess what? I think Roger Moore was a great Bond and his movies were every bit a good (in their own way) as the Connery or current films. I'll go a step further. I think THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is right beside GOLDFINGER as the BEST film in the series...I'd rather watch MOONRAKER than THUNDERBALL any day...And I think OCTOPUSSY is one of the best Bond movies of the whole batch. Frankly, Roger Moore was just plain cool.

Whenever I'm at a Bond event I freely admit to being a fan of Roger and I always find I'm not alone. I even find a few brave soles who'll admit to liking MOONRAKER.

Roger fans, stop being ashamed! There are more (Moore?) of us than we think. I say it is time for us to rise up and cry, "Sit-taaa"!

[Jim]

Mister Asterix (17 Oct, 2001 06:30 p.m.):
(Does anybody think it's a good idea to stealthily sneak in to the enemy compound using a giant hot-air balloon blazon with the Union Jack?)

No, but it was only there for the "hot air" joke, which isn't a very good joke anyway.

Actually, Q comes in for a hell of a beating during the Roger Moore years, to whit:

* is repeatedly told to shut up in The Man with the Golden Gun
* looks utterly constipated when Bond drives off in the Lotus in TSWLM
* is responsible for the Bondola
* cannot tell a nose from a banana
* has trouble keeping it up, and probably finishes off Vijay ("He was alive when I found him" - is Q pro-euthanasia? I think we need to be told).
* has a toy dog.

He's only there for cheap laughs.

The trouble with the Roger Moore years is the pervading sense of having a jolly time and no doubt there were larks aplenty but it's all too much pantomime. Octopussy is the worst exponent of this. It's just all over the place. It has some great stuff (Berkoff, and that final click of the detonator on the bomb) and some lousy stuff (the rest of it) and ends about seven times, each time less memorable than the last.

[freemo]

Jim (02 Nov, 2001 01:46 p.m.):

Actually, Q comes in for a hell of a beating during the Roger Moore years, to whit:

* is repeatedly told to shut up in The Man with the Golden Gun
* looks utterly constipated when Bond drives off in the Lotus in TSWLM
* is responsible for the Bondola
* cannot tell a nose from a banana
* has trouble keeping it up, and probably finishes off Vijay ("He was alive when I found him" - is Q pro-euthanasia? I think we need to be told).
* has a toy dog.

Looks like the only occasion that Q had a good time of it was Live and Let Die, being left out altogether was the most fun he had during the Moore years.

[Blofeld's Cat]

freemo (02 Nov, 2001 02:07 p.m.):
Looks like the only occasion that Q had a good time of it was Live and Let Die, being left out altogether was the most fun he had during the Moore years.

Maybe he was, but they cut the poor guy out because they were still planning his various butt-of-the-joke plot points later on.

Having said that though, all of the above mentioned actually helped endear Q to the audiences to a level of, dare I say it, cult status.

[AusBond]

Hear Hear! Another Moore fan to the forum! I welcome myself!

[AusBond]

Hear Hear! Another Moore fan to the forum! I welcome myself!

[Macca]

I'll gladly admit to thinking Roger is the best bond.. I think he's gruesomely underrated!! Just as Brosnan is totally overrated.
I wish Rog never did AVTAK though - Octupussy would have been a good way to leave the series.. I think Roger UNDERSTOOD the role of Bond so well and peaked in TSWLM - which i think is the best performance by anybody as 007.

Roger rules!!!

[Simon]

Not the correct thread I know, but...

I think Brosnan could be better served by a better director. His work in Thomas Crown and Tailor of Panama shows that he can be in a better all round film. In TWINE, he was obviously directed to be more earnest and try harder and push, push - when in actual fact if he is told to relax and be more self assured in his character's ability, then I reckon he could be classed as the best Bond.

At the moment though, the potential is there, the realisation is not.

Ref. Moore, great. A cocksure son of a bitch who was a delight to watch, aided by some of the best lines delivered in the true Moore fashion. But then he was acting as Moore acting as Bond. He was more of a star status celebrity with presence and relied purely on that. Brosnan is more of an actor type chap, probably without the same presence but maybe with more acting ability.

[freemo]

Moore is a joy to watch I argee. Some say that he played Moore playing Bond but I think thats a big part of his appeal.

I admit I don't have many of his films near the top of my rankings, but I have him runnign neck and neck with Connery on best Bond stakes, both different, but both very good.

Adam, yeah, I argee that Brosnan is overrated, but I wouldn't say 'way' overrated. He's been pretty impressive and seems to have most of the right atributes, but I do get a little perplexed when people act likes hes the Second Coming.

[RossMan]

God help me, but I think that I may be subconsciously converting to Roger Moore as my fav. Bond. The past few days I've gotten into Moore Mode and watched about three of his Bond movies, enjoying them more so than usual and thinking that Roger's did better than I usually would.

[zencat]

Good points my fellow Moore fans. Yes, macca_bond, I agree that Roger really UNDERSTOOD the role and understood how to play HIS Bond. And I also think TSWLM is the best Bond of the bunch. And the reason I think you're enjoying the Moore flicks lately, RossMan, is the fact that they're very well written movies. The clean plotting of all the Moore films (yes, even Moonraker) blows away the current films. They are simplistic, but not stupid.

[RossMan]

His movies are easy to follow, and flow very nicely. As much as I like The Living Daylights, it was not until I seen it the second or third that I fully understood everything that was happening it was just overly complicated for a relatively simple plot. Roger's are the most easily watchable Bond movies.

[Adam]

Roger's definitely my favorite Bond...and TSWLM is my favorite of the series (at the moment...since '95 my list has wavered--GE...TB...LALD...TSWLM)

I personally think Moore's the most enjoyable Bond to watch. However, I do like every actor who's played Bond, (though Brosnan is way overrated)

[walther]

I agree that Moore is really underrated. I for some reason loved Octopussy and TSWLM the most. My girlfriend and I invited a few people over to my house and we watched AVTAK, sadly the only Moore film in my DVD collection, and we couldn't stop laughing. It's not Roger's fault, it's just quite simply, bad acting. Hell, I could do Zorin better the Walken. And don't even get me started on Stacy (high-pitched) "JAMES!" Sutton. Don't make me go there! But I agree that Roger is one of my favorites, tied with Brosnan and Connery.

[mrmoon]

Yes. Zencat is now my best friend. I can't really say much more, other than, Roger Moore IS james bond. It's really funny I'm always having arguments with teachers at school, especially my form tutor who is scottish, I always put Rogers films on in the morning so she has to watch it. Roger Moore IS also the coolest man ever, I seriously believe that, yes Zencat lets unite, Sean was good (infact sean was great) but Roger was better, (Roger was and still is, for me, James Bond).

[Adam]

I don't know why I said "way" overrated to be quite honest--I really like him in the role...I think I get annoyed with everyone saying "He's the best since Connery!" so much that I develop a resentment...talk about too much time living in a fantasy world...

[RossMan]

Yes, good ol' Roger Moore did a fantastic job as Bond though I can't go as far as to say he's my favourite. (Sorry but timothy Dalton is my favourite and his two films will always be the best ones for me).

In fact, what is often dubbed as Roger's worst film, AVTAK, was the first of his movies that I had ever seen and I enjoyed it thinking it was pretty damn good. I really like TMWTGG despite how it is often rated.

A Moonraker fan, never. It was not Roger Moore's fault that I don't like this one but I think its just a bad film, regardless of who played in it (but I do love the pre-title sequence), I prefer my Bond to be a little more down to earth. That's why Octopussy and FYEO are the best of the Moore era for me. TSWLM a close third.

[The Admiral]

I can't say which Bond was the best, they were all great in there own ways, Daltons realism towards the Book character etc. I can't think about the others, but they were all great. Of the Moore films, I would rather watch FYEO or OP rather than TB.

[Blue Eyes]

I can't personally say Moore is my favourite. Like Dave, I like them all. I even quite like Lazenby (okay don't shoot me!). They were all different, and I like that!

But I do regard Moore quite highly. I like his interpreation of Bond. Yes there are moments where I cringe, especially in OP when we get the Tarzan noise. I hate that bit to death.

As for the TSWLM. Well Zencat, I couldn't say if it was my favourite Bond film. It is my favourite Moore film. But I don't even know which is my favourite Bond film. TSWLM is definetley a contender!

[zerozeroseven]

I'm proud to join the Roger Fans Unite! Club. I was introduced to 007 when the first vhs tapes were available to rent from the library, and they must have had more Moore tapes than Connery ones, because I saw Moonraker, Octopussy and Live and Let Die at least ten times each in those years. I eventually saw the Connery ones, and, being a kid, I couldn't stand his Bond. He seemed clumsy and too serious. Of course, I appreciate Connery now, but I guess you never forget your first Bond. Moore couldn't have existed without Connery's legacy of course, but Dalton and Brosnan couldn't have existed without Moore. I enjoy all seven of Moore's Bond's, and surprisingly find The Spy Who Loved Me to be my least favorite of his, only because it resembles You Only Live Twice (my favorite Connery film) a little too much. TMWTGG, AVTAK, MR, OP, LALD are all pure fun. FYEO is his best mature film and I love it more each year. Connery's films are all enjoyable, though I'm currently struggling to get through TB, but I also enjoy Lazenby and Dalton for their interpretations. I like Brosnan as well, who seems to be successful in my mind because he's recapturing a little of the Moore humor. Ultimately, Connery brought us Bond, and Moore made Bond eternal. After DAF, had they been in Moore's position, Dalton and Brosnan would not have been able to carry the series for 7 films; they would have had little identity after Connery and would have ended the series. Thanks to Moore we are eagerly awaiting Bond #20. Moore was cool because he was a knowledgable, stuck up, suave, smart alec who was a superhero with incredible gadgets that he'd pull from his utility belt at just the right time. He was a kid's idol to my generation. Connery was a gritty tough guy who struggled his way through adventures shouting and sweating and crashing his one good gadget, the Aston Martin, into a wall. Moore was too cool to raise his voice, to sweat, he didn't need to struggle, and his gadgets actually got him out of harms way.

[RossMan]

Roger Moore is most noted most of the time for his humor towards the role but he also had his moments where you felt he was the same cold hearted, spy from the Fleming novels. I made a long list of this over at another Roger Moore topic here so won't list them all again but a few examples would be his killing of Loque in FYEO or his confrontation with Orlov in OP, where he also shot a young Russian soldier in the head without showing any remorse. And in TSWLM when Anya confronts him about the death of her lover. I always got the impression that Moore's Bond was someone who liked joking around, making humorous comments but became dead serious when he had to. But sometimes it is nice to sit back and watch a more lighthearted Bond outing.

I also don't think that Roger Moore really overstayed his welcome as Bond, unlike how many people like to stay. Every one of his films was enjoyable in some way. I mentioned in an above post my disliking about Moonraker but it still has parts I like, the teaser, Bond's investigation of Drax's estate, and the jungle boat chase.

[Dr. Tynan]

He's not my favourite Bond, but I'm into Rog at the minute and I'm into FYEO at the minute too.

[Blofeld's Cat]

I'm a Moore fan, starting way back in the days of The Saint & The Persuaders on TV (never saw Maverick).
However, I do criticise or applaud things when I feel its required, with anything.
Rog's Bond wasn't the best or the worst, just different.
- He had Bond smoking cigars instead of cigarettes.
- His Bond was more fair complexioned, not dark.
- His Bond developed a more aristocratic bearing (less working class?).
- His Bond tended to ware mostly light coloured attire.
- His Bond tended to be more fashion conscience (as a result of Rog choosing the wardrobe himself).
- His Bond brought more humour into the series, which was the norm in his previous roles. So no surprises there then.
Any gripes? Not really.
- He just got too old for the part. Octopussy should have been his last. After that he looked like 0070.
- The humour (the movie's, not Moore's) sometimes got too childish. The camera zooming in and out on the employee's chest in Octopussy was too much for a Bond Movie.
Moore's fan base was needed at a time when EON were having troubles finding the right Bond. Lazenby didn't work out, Connery was paid a cool mil for DAF, and was offered a staggering (at the time) 5.5 mil to do LALD but turned it down. So EON were really desperate.
Then along came Roger when The Persuaders got cancelled.
And, hey presto! Instant Bond. Just add short hair.
Roger was Bond in everyone eyes for longer than any other (12 years), and probably will be for a long time.
So, he was Bond to a whole generation.

LONG LIVE ROGER MOORE AS JAMES BOND.

[RossMan]

Surely there must be more Roger Moore fans here than us.

[Blofeld's Cat]

RossMan (10 Oct, 2001 12:59 a.m.):
Surely there must be more Roger Moore fans here than us.

When Roger became Bond he hooked in a lot of parents who enjoyed his earlier work. My mother litterally drooled over him.
I pretended not to like Bond because I didn't want to agree with my parents tastes.
I think a few of us out there still don't want to admit they like him.

[freemo]

I like Roger Moore, in his own way he's great as Bond. It could be said that a few of his films weren't up their with the best, but he made them good. He was too old at the end of his tenure, yes, but I'd rather have a "too old" Roger, than a "right age" nearly anyone else. The way his Bond acted towards people, the comments he made to the villians and girls and they way he said them, stuff that nearly no one else could get away with, I'm speak and raise my eyebrows like Moores Bond in my day to day life if I thought I could get away with it.

I'm getting off track, but what I mean is that, yeah, I'm a Moore fan. My favorite ? Well, its Connery and him one and two for sure, I seem to rotate between those two as my favorite, depending on who I saw in a Bond film the most recently.

[zencat]

Favorite ROGER MOORE Bond films in order of preference:

1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. Octopussy
3. Moonraker
4. Live and Let Die
5. The Man with the Golden Gun
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. A View to a Kill

I know people may freak at how low FYEO is on my list... Don't get me wrong, I like FYEO and think it's a very good "Bond film", but I don't think it's a great "Roger Moore Bond film", if you understand what I mean.

[Jet]

Yay! Finally some people who think so!

Everytime I talk about Bond to my friends, most of them always think of Sean Connery.

IMO, I think Roger is the best Bond, always my fav.

His light-hearted, english comedic ways was just what I always thought James Bond should be.

[Blofeld's Cat]

1. TSWLM ( "It's Bond, and Beyond" )
2. LALD (the song, the music, the chases)
3. M (Star Wars after dinner mint)
4. FYEO (back down to earth , mediteranean settings)
5. O (didn't like the Indian parts)
6. AVTAK (he looked 0070 years old)
7. TMWTGG (planned too quickly, poorly conceived)

[Adam]

Yeah right AVTAK is one of the best movies in the series