59 replies to this topic

[[dark]]

For Your Eyes Only, easily.

For a film that was supposed to be the gritty, serious antidote to Moonraker, there's a ludicrous amount of camp in it, from Q disguised as a priest to the Carry On antics of Bibi trying to seduce Codger Roger, Bond scoring ice hockey goals with goons, the goofy disposal of Blofeld, and most bizarrely, Bond getting crucial information from a parrot. That's the same parrot that later asks Margaret Thatcher for a kiss, by the way, when she thinks she's talking to Bond. Add to this the most non-threatening villain of the entire series, not one but TWO mute, dull, uninteresting henchmen, a silly anticlimax, and you have Roger's least finest hour, or two, of being Bond.

I'm tempted to agree with most of this post, though I rather like the "Détente" ending, if that's what you mean by "a silly anticlimax". Aside from a few neat bits and pieces (the death of Locque, the ski chase and best of all, the way the film skillfully cherry-picks from Fleming's stories), For Your Eyes Only is pretty darn dull.

But it's tough to overlook the mess that is The Man with the Golden Gun; at times, an enjoyable mess, but a mess all the same.

[Harmsway]

For Your Eyes Only, easily.

For a film that was supposed to be the gritty, serious antidote to Moonraker, there's a ludicrous amount of camp in it, from Q disguised as a priest to the Carry On antics of Bibi trying to seduce Codger Roger, Bond scoring ice hockey goals with goons, the goofy disposal of Blofeld, and most bizarrely, Bond getting crucial information from a parrot. That's the same parrot that later asks Margaret Thatcher for a kiss, by the way, when she thinks she's talking to Bond. Add to this the most non-threatening villain of the entire series, not one but TWO mute, dull, uninteresting henchmen, a silly anticlimax, and you have Roger's least finest hour, or two, of being Bond.

I agree. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is dire stuff.

[Loomis]

Well, it's not dire (it's far better than TWINE, for one), but it's the Moore outing I find the least entertaining. The ingredients are good, but it really does lack energy.

[Jim]

For me I think Moonraker was the worst to me. It was just too sci-fi for me. I enjoy that realism and continuity that the Bond movies normaly have.

Poll added.

[[dark]]

Well, it's not dire (it's far better than TWINE, for one), but it's the Moore outing I find the least entertaining. The ingredients are good, but it really does lack energy.

You're right: its heart is in the right place, and as an attempt to suddenly bring James Bond - literally - back down to earth, it's admirably low-key. But I agree, the energy just isn't there.

(Forgot to mention, though, it does have the brilliant keelhauling sequence.)

[DamnCoffee]

Even though I consider A View to a Kill to be his worst, I voted there's No such thing as a bad one, especially with Roger.

[Judo chop]

Anyway, it's AVTAK for me, no contest. Not that it's a bad movie, just bad by Bond standards. A younger actor would have gone a long way to solve many of my problems with it, or at least mask them.

Agree.

I have a hard time weighing the mistakes of all three of the Glen-directed Moore films.

FYEO has the problems that Dino ably brings to light. It’s not ‘gritty’. It’s lazy. Sorry… it is. You have to peel past layers of laziness to find the edge that is purportedly there. It’s a small, cheap little film that claims to improve upon Moonraker by stripping it of its camp, which it partially does, but in doing so it also strips it completely of its beauty. (And, as Dino points out, there is still plenty of residual camp left over). That being said, there are good moments, as there are in any Bond film.

OP can be a total cornfest, but again is not without merits thanks almost entirely to Roger, who is just past his prime, yet doesn’t seem to acknowledge that age as much as he did in FYEO.

AVTAK is probably the closest to being ‘real’ in terms of it being Glen’s best looking film, but can also be quite a bore, and now Roger is now much too old without even a whisper of acknowledgement. To the contrary, he’s back to bedding 20-somethings and at a rate no Bond had ever dared.

I go back and forth between my least favorite Rog film. MWTGG often qualifies, but never ‘wins’ because of the potential in its story. I love the assassin who’s not really after Bond angle. FYEO does have enough substance despite Glen overdosing on valium while he shot it, so it usually floats around the middle of the Rog pack for me. The title of loser is always between OP and AVTAK for me.

[dee-bee-five]

AVTAK for me by a long chalk.

[Qwerty]

A View to a Kill is my least favourite when ranking the official films of the Bond series.

[Safari Suit]

Well, it's not dire (it's far better than TWINE, for one), but it's the Moore outing I find the least entertaining. The ingredients are good, but it really does lack energy.

And colour! For some reason it strikes me as the "greyest" entry in the series, not that I'm even sure what that means.

[DamnCoffee]

Well, it's not dire (it's far better than TWINE, for one), but it's the Moore outing I find the least entertaining. The ingredients are good, but it really does lack energy.

And colour! For some reason it strikes me as the "greyest" entry in the series.

Even greyer than the Casino Royale PTS!?

[Judo chop]

Well, it's not dire (it's far better than TWINE, for one), but it's the Moore outing I find the least entertaining. The ingredients are good, but it really does lack energy.

And colour! For some reason it strikes me as the "greyest" entry in the series, not that I'm even sure what that means.

I know exactly what it means, though I won’t be able to explain it any better than you did. It’s a blue-grey pastel, sprayed with some kind of mist. It saps the spirit. Awesome scenes like the keel-hauling, Locke chasing and cliff-climbing have to try extra hard to fight through the fog.

[Diabolik]

Octopussy and AVTAK are the ones I find I least want to watch. RM is just too old, and the films feel tired and routine these days.

My thoughts exactly. The only thing that makes AVTAK worse is the leading lady (Tanya Roberts). At least OP had Maud Adams (who can act, besides being beautiful).

And it takes a true actress to say the line,"My name is Octopussy," with a straight face.

Edited by Diabolik, 06 August 2008 - 09:38 PM.

[Turn]

It's good knowing I'm bit alone in not being in awe of FYEO. I think part of the problem is taking Moore away from his strengths and trying to inject him into an early Connery movie, a polar opposite of MR just for the sake of it. It's a balance OP gets right, IMO.

Think about Kristatos as a villain and putting Moore against him, it's not a real great match. Toss in a Red Grant clone and a Vargas imitation and you really don't have much. We even get a Kerim Bey clone, although I like the Columbo character.

Nice stunts, but I think they were more necessary to detract from a completely boring plot and the fact the stunts had grown more popular in light of the reception of the PTS of TSWLM and MR, somebody must have figured let's make a whole movie centered around them. The underwater sequences with the recovery of the ATAC has my vote as the most boring stretch in any Bond film. Besides that, many of the stunts had already been done and done better.

On top of that, this is probably the least sexy of all the Bond films. Melina and Bond have no chemistry; she's a somewhat interesting character but at no time do they seem like a couple. She seems more like a character from a Saint episode. As for Bibi, she seems like a character that was left over from a draft of DAF and Lisl was nothing more than a second sacrificial lamb when one wasn't necessary as Ferrara already filled that role.

[Scottlee]

The Man With the Golden Gun is the one I voted for. I still enjoy watching it but there are so many elements to it which could have been better.

[BoogieBond]

I must admit, I can't see FYEO as Rogers Worst
I suppose the general comments are that it is dull, but if Qos has action sequences like the skiing sequence, the car chase, the climb, the Keel Hauling sequence and even the PTS, I would be pretty happy. I find the action in FYEO pretty good. Now doesn't mean I don't think it has weaknesses(Not a top 5 movie for me, but nowhere near the bottom), but the overall premise of a Bond more down to earth, no gadgets, and combining some Fleming short stories pretty skilfully in the story made it a pretty good Moore outing for me.
I gotta admit some parts do drag a bit(the discovery of the ATAC, Bond in Greece, and some parts with Topol)
Horses for courses, though. Its not for everyone

Edited by BoogieBond, 08 August 2008 - 02:23 PM.

[Fiona Volpe lover]

A View To A Kill. Just so tired. Which means for once I'm in the majority!

[ChickenStu]

Had to go with A View To A Kill it sucks.

[Satorious]

Anyone who says FYEO over AVTAK must be smoking crack!

[Licence_007]

A View To a Kill is definately the worst Moore Bond IMO.

[DR76]

For me, it's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. I thought the writing was rather shoddy.

[solace]

This was a difficult decision for me not that I dont enjoy Moores films, just that it could be flint or even a more serious version of Austin Powers Iam watching. Roger moore just isnt James Bond for me. The best is probably LALD or TSWLM.

[SecretAgentFan]

It's good knowing I'm bit alone in not being in awe of FYEO. I think part of the problem is taking Moore away from his strengths and trying to inject him into an early Connery movie, a polar opposite of MR just for the sake of it. It's a balance OP gets right, IMO.

Think about Kristatos as a villain and putting Moore against him, it's not a real great match. Toss in a Red Grant clone and a Vargas imitation and you really don't have much. We even get a Kerim Bey clone, although I like the Columbo character.

Nice stunts, but I think they were more necessary to detract from a completely boring plot and the fact the stunts had grown more popular in light of the reception of the PTS of TSWLM and MR, somebody must have figured let's make a whole movie centered around them. The underwater sequences with the recovery of the ATAC has my vote as the most boring stretch in any Bond film. Besides that, many of the stunts had already been done and done better.

On top of that, this is probably the least sexy of all the Bond films. Melina and Bond have no chemistry; she's a somewhat interesting character but at no time do they seem like a couple. She seems more like a character from a Saint episode. As for Bibi, she seems like a character that was left over from a draft of DAF and Lisl was nothing more than a second sacrificial lamb when one wasn't necessary as Ferrara already filled that role.

The mountain climbing scene in the finale still packs a punch. I remember seeing it on the big screen and really thinking - gee, don´t fall now!

[sharpshooter]

A View To A Kill. My least favourite in the series.

[Simon]

'No such thing' was my vote. Roger's presence will always shine above and beyond the deficiencies of any production.

That said, as with all things lasting a period of taste-changing 40 years, down-the-line reappraisals will always strive to undo what was once considered a success at its time.

So to this end they were, for me, all very enjoyable films. Looking at them now, perhaps LALD and Spy are a little clunky.

But the only two Bonds to not satisfy at the time of their release, and thereby to my mind meaning that they missed the then current perception of what would satisfy an audience, were LTK and TWODDLE.

And since then, of those two, only LTK has been more positively reappraised. TWODDLE still sits at the bottom of the pack and is digging.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

For Your Eyes Only, easily.

For a film that was supposed to be the gritty, serious antidote to Moonraker, there's a ludicrous amount of camp in it, from Q disguised as a priest to the Carry On antics of Bibi trying to seduce Codger Roger, Bond scoring ice hockey goals with goons, the goofy disposal of Blofeld, and most bizarrely, Bond getting crucial information from a parrot. That's the same parrot that later asks Margaret Thatcher for a kiss, by the way, when she thinks she's talking to Bond. Add to this the most non-threatening villain of the entire series, not one but TWO mute, dull, uninteresting henchmen, a silly anticlimax, and you have Roger's least finest hour, or two, of being Bond.

Finally someone speaks it out

I love Moonraker.

I'm glad to read I'm not alone in my preference for Moonraker to For Your Eyes Only for a lot of the reasons mentioned here. I wouldn't call FYEO Sir Rog's worst film, that would be A View to a Kill, but it's easily his most overrated film.

It's good knowing I'm bit alone in not being in awe of FYEO. I think part of the problem is taking Moore away from his strengths and trying to inject him into an early Connery movie, a polar opposite of MR just for the sake of it. It's a balance OP gets right, IMO.

Think about Kristatos as a villain and putting Moore against him, it's not a real great match. Toss in a Red Grant clone and a Vargas imitation and you really don't have much. We even get a Kerim Bey clone, although I like the Columbo character.

Nice stunts, but I think they were more necessary to detract from a completely boring plot and the fact the stunts had grown more popular in light of the reception of the PTS of TSWLM and MR, somebody must have figured let's make a whole movie centered around them. The underwater sequences with the recovery of the ATAC has my vote as the most boring stretch in any Bond film. Besides that, many of the stunts had already been done and done better.

On top of that, this is probably the least sexy of all the Bond films. Melina and Bond have no chemistry; she's a somewhat interesting character but at no time do they seem like a couple. She seems more like a character from a Saint episode. As for Bibi, she seems like a character that was left over from a draft of DAF and Lisl was nothing more than a second sacrificial lamb when one wasn't necessary as Ferrara already filled that role.

Good points, Turn. I agree with most of them. I've often called FYEO the best episode of the Saint ever filmed. It's laudable that they began to include Fleming literary source material for the first time since the vastly superior On Her Majesty’s Secret Service over 10 years earlier and after MR there was certainly no other place Bond could go but down to earth. However, FYEO tends to be so bent on overreacting against the excesses(perceived or genuine) of MR rather than focusing on being a great Bond film in its own right. The first time I saw it my reaction was "it was OK" and that tends to be my reaction whenever I revisit the film every few years to see what all the greatness its defenders proclaim it has.

This review is more or less spot on-

http://www.geocities...oryoureyes.html

FYEO's often referred to as a precursor to the Dalton films and Casino Royale. However, I think those later films do a much more satisfying job of portraying a "down-to-earth" serious Bond adventure than FYEO does.

[ChrissBond007]

Nah Roger hasn't a Bondfilm that I don't like much, like Connery with DAF, Dalton with LTK or Brosnan with DAD. But at the moment I'm not much in love with The Spy Who Loved Me. I voted not such thing as a bad one.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I can't believe all this non-love for For Your Eyes Only. It's a great Bond film with many great Bondian moments.

I like all the Bond films but, to answer this thread, my least favorite Moore film is The Man With The Golden Gun.

My ranking of Moore's films:
1. Octopussy
2. For Your Eyes Only
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. Live And Let Die
5. Moonraker
6. A View To A Kill
7. The Man With The Golden Gun

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I can't believe all this non-love for For Your Eyes Only. It's a great Bond film with many great Bondian moments.

Then you'll be happy to see it made yet another top 10 list as discussed in this thread-

http://debrief.comma...p...c=48835&hl=

Number 6 ahead of OHMSS, LTK and TLD. Not bad for an allegedly "underrated" Bond film.

[Jeff007]

For me it's AVTAK although I still watch it. There are still some very good elements within it but it is still the weakest of the Moore films IMO.