59 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

I thought the first two Austin Powers films were quite funny, but Goldmember was rubbish. They ran out of ideas by that point.

Ditto. The third is the worst.

[DLibrasnow]

TND might be the most action packed, but at the expense of plot, characterization and entertainment.

It's an unsatisfying mix of incoherant setpieces.

[Qwerty]

The underwater scenes could have been improved. A bit more colorful action beneath the sea would have been great.

I'm just glad they didn't overdo the underwater scenes for this one.

Well Roger was the best at underwater scenes. Both TSWLM and FYEO were great at underwater scenes.

Not quite sure who was the best, Connery's Thunderball is pretty good IMO.

[DLibrasnow]

The underwater battle in Thunderball is one of the big negative points about that picture. It's overlong, cluttered, confusing and all-around badly choreographed and edited.

Who is who? Where is the progression of the sequence?

[Qwerty]

We both know we disagree on this point. I like the finale and viewers can clearly see who is who.

[JackLordIsFelix]

The underwater battle in Thunderball is one of the big negative points about that picture. It's overlong, cluttered, confusing and all-around badly choreographed and edited.

Who is who? Where is the progression of the sequence?

I find it's hard to fully-appreciate Thunderball's underwater battle until you've seen the wide-screen version (mind you, I have no idea whether you've seen it or not; you might STILL think it's rubbish, lol). It really loses something in its pan-and-scan releases. To me, though, it's always just been a typical climactic battle with a twist -- and violent as hell for good measure.

[Qwerty]

I'd love to see that battle on the big screen.

[Roger Moore's Bad Facelift]

I thought the first two Austin Powers films were quite funny, but Goldmember was rubbish. They ran out of ideas by that point.

Ditto. The third is the worst.

I found the second to be painfully unfunny. There were 2-3 funny parts, at best. I recall Myers stating in an interview that part of what drove him to make 3 was his partial dissapointment in part 2. Personally, I loved the first one, saw the second one with friends and we laughed maybe 3 times, at best. We all turned to one another and said, "what the hell happened?".
Just a terribly lame movie.
Luckily Goldmember redeemed the series. Michael Caine's turn as a debonair English spy is reminsicent of Roger in it's unabashed cheekiness.
A hillarious movie all around. Danny Devito as MiniMe in the film's beggining was a stroke of inspired casting genius!

P.S. I also feel that the Thunderball climax, while epic in stature, is an incomprehensible, head ache-inducing mess to watch.

[Qwerty]

I thought the first two Austin Powers films were quite funny, but Goldmember was rubbish. They ran out of ideas by that point.

Ditto. The third is the worst.

I found the second to be painfully unfunny. There were 2-3 funny parts, at best. I recall Myers stating in an interview that part of what drove him to make 3 was his partial dissapointment in part 2. Personally, I loved the first one, saw the second one with friends and we laughed maybe 3 times, at best. We all turned to one another and said, "what the hell happened?".
Just a terribly lame movie.
Luckily Goldmember redeemed the series. Michael Caine's turn as a debonair English spy is reminsicent of Roger in it's unabashed cheekiness.
A hillarious movie all around. Danny Devito as MiniMe in the film's beggining was a stroke of inspired casting genius!

P.S. I also feel that the Thunderball climax, while epic in stature, is an incomprehensible, head ache-inducing mess to watch.

Goldmember has it's good parts, that's for sure. The dance seqeunce, Danny Devito like you said and some of the characters introduced later on.

The second one just seemed like an allaround better film for me. I loved the characters and it just seemed fresh and new in every scene.

[Blofeld's Cat]

The end on the stealth boat went on for too long. Bond looked more like Terminator than 007 in the end.

I enjoyed the ending. The only thing that bugs me is that the chain that Wai Lin is tied to is still hanging. But from what?

The underwater battle in Thunderball is one of the big negative points about that picture. It's overlong, cluttered, confusing and all-around badly choreographed and edited.

Who is who? Where is the progression of the sequence?

Something, unfortunately, that wasn't improved upon in Never Say Never Again. A missed oportunity to make it better, I thought.

[Qwerty]

Something, unfortunately, that wasn't improved upon in Never Say Never Again. A missed oportunity to make it better, I thought.

Someone who agrees with me!

[templer1972]

Whatever it is I still enjoy TND very much ,after few viewing the action sequence still keep me on the edge of my seat Brosnan register well in action department would love to see him in a non-Bond action film in future.

[Turn]

Whatever it is I still enjoy TND very much ,after few viewing the action sequence still keep me on the edge of my seat Brosnan register well in action department would love to see him in a non-Bond action film in future.

Action-packed Bond vs. what we got later -- brooding, annoyed Bond. In retrospect, some things could have been better but a lot could have also been worse.

[DLibrasnow]

Something, unfortunately, that wasn't improved upon in Never Say Never Again. A missed oportunity to make it better, I thought.

Someone who agrees with me!

Ah, so your admitting that the underwater battle in THUNDERBALL sucks.

[hrabb04]

I loved Tomorrow Never Dies. I also loved Thunderball. It's one of the best James Bond movies ever made. I loved the underwater battle at the end. I followed every moment of it, and I loved it.

[Bon-san]

the underwater battle in THUNDERBALL sucks.

I like it much better than the the Fire Engine chase in AVTAK.

[hrabb04]

Well, I guess if one has the attention span of a Michael Bay movie, then, yes, the underwater battle in Thunderball might, indeed, suck. I like it. Sue me.

[Jim]

The underwater battle in Thunderball is one of the big negative points about that picture. It's overlong, cluttered, confusing and all-around badly choreographed and edited.

Who is who? Where is the progression of the sequence?

It seems overlong because of the slow movement in the water. It isn't that long.

Clutter and confusion. It's a violent battle underwater with weird looking implements. It's going to be cluttered and confused. Frankly, it would look ridiculous if it wasn't anything else. This is the whole idea, surely? That it comes across as this is a success.

Badly choreographed and edited. Granted, it is sloppy in places, but then all the Bonds miss their mark now and again. Badly choreographed... I wouldn't know so I'm not going to venture anything there.

Who is who? The baddies are in black. The goodies are in orange. Might as well raise the same complaint about Moonraker (the goodies in silver, the baddies in yellow) or The Spy who Loved Me (the goodies in whatever they were wearing, I forget and can't really be bothered to check, the baddies in all sorts of horrible colours). They're only a bunch of anonymous stooges anyway. The only proper characters (cough) down there, Bond and Largo, are easy enough to identify. The only ones without anything on the top of their heads.

[hrabb04]

I never thought I would be in agreement with Jim on anything, but he's right on this one. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to follow Thunderball's final battle. There isn't anything complicated about it. The only screw up I can recall was the blue goggles/black goggles gag that is in there.

[Genrewriter]

I'm with Jim too, I've always been able to follow the fight just fine. It's a pretty basic setup and execution.

[Scottlee]

I have to stick up for the underwater sequence in Thunderball....

- For a 1965 picture that's a pretty remarkable sequence.
- Compare it to the Moonraker laser battle 14 years later, which sucks in comparison.
- The music perfectly paced.
- Love the shots of the various bits of sealife halfway through
- Bond typically (and brilliantly) kills many of his opponents using unorthodox tactics, which are fun.
- It isn't overlong JUST because it's "long". This sequence was the main culmination of the past two hours of plot. It isn't meant to be over in two seconds flat.
- Anything in that attrocious NSNA is utter tripe by comparison, IMO.

[Qwerty]

Ah, so your admitting that the underwater battle in THUNDERBALL sucks.

I am not, you must be taking my statement the wrong way. I was merely joking around that in this thread another person had then voiced their opinion on the matter which agreed with mine.

[DLibrasnow]

Ah, so your admitting that the underwater battle in THUNDERBALL sucks.

I am not, you must be taking my statement the wrong way. I was merely joking around that in this thread another person had then voiced their opinion on the matter which agreed with mine.

But Brett was saying that the underwater battle in THUNDERBALL sucked. And you said you agreed with him.

[Qwerty]

Perhaps I was unclear in the first reply then. I was siding with his ideas on the Never Say Never Again battle.

[Turn]

Perhaps I was unclear in the first reply then. I was siding with his ideas on the Never Say Never Again battle.

There was a battle? I thought it was just a struggle between Bond and Largo while Domino and a bunch of aquaparas lingered in the background.

[Qwerty]

Perhaps I was unclear in the first reply then. I was siding with his ideas on the Never Say Never Again battle.

There was a battle? I thought it was just a struggle between Bond and Largo while Domino and a bunch of aquaparas lingered in the background.

Basically, you're quite right Turn.

[Scottlee]

That was an awful climax. I'd even take the dodgy back projection from the TB-Largo-death-scene over that garbage. Apart from the odd decent one-liner from Connery and Atkinson, plus the fight in the health clinic near the beginning, I really don't see the attraction to that film.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Something, unfortunately, that wasn't improved upon in Never Say Never Again. A missed oportunity to make it better, I thought.

Someone who agrees with me!

Ah, so your admitting that the underwater battle in THUNDERBALL sucks.

Yes. I usually end up falling asleep (or hit the fast-forward button) during that part of BOTH movies.

The underwater action in Licence To Kill was much, much better.

[Qwerty]

That was an awful climax. I'd even take the dodgy back projection from the TB-Largo-death-scene over that garbage.

The Never Say Never Again climax had so much more potential to be terrific. Everything just seems to rush to the end after the death of Fatima, and the film seems to lose it's fun side that was quite evident in the first half/two-thirds.

[Bondian]

I have to say that I do the same Brett. Also, Barry's score is way over-the-top, and too strong.

I watched this movie last night, and hell, the music by John Barry never ceases, and is too much.

Thunderball=Thunderbore.