278 replies to this topic

[Joey Bond]

What is, in your opinions, the most overrated and underrated Bond film?

I find Goldfiger the most overrated. True, it's got the most iconic moments, but it's more of a 'hit and run' film that makes you go 'wow' the first time you see it but doesn't really hold up on subsequent viewings. It's also the one that started the so-called 'formula' that basically culminated with Die Another Day

On the other end of the spectrum, I'd put Live and Let Die as the most underrated. The lengthy boat-chase aside it's a very entertaining film that does not go overboard the way most the other Moore films did. I'd put it second behind TSWLM as the best Moore film.

What are your thoughts?

[Orion]

Overrated probably Thunderball which has a thrilling first half but a quite frankly dull second half, then for underrated i'd agree with Joey Bond and say Live and Let Die which is actually my favourite of Rog's Bond films.

[DavidSomerset]

Overrated - OHMSS. Remove Laz and replace him with Lord Connery or Daniel and you had me at "This never happened to the other chap".
Underrated - LALD. If we had TMWTGG instead as Rog's first movie then 007 would have died as lazy death. Also the first half of DAD is one the best ever of any 007 films.

[Joey Bond]

Overrated probably Thunderball which has a thrilling first half but a quite frankly dull second half, then for underrated i'd agree with Joey Bond and say Live and Let Die which is actually my favourite of Rog's Bond films.

Whoops, I forgot Thunderball
I guess we're on the same page for both sides then. Yeah, Thunderball. I wasn't around when it came out but it took me at least 5 viewings to watch it entirely because it was so boring. In fact, I have it on VCD so there are 2 discs, I think I've only seen the second disc twice. And apparantly it was the biggest film when it was released. So yeah, Thunderball tied with Goldfinger for most overrated.

[MarkA]

Whoops, I forgot Thunderball tongue.gif
I guess we're on the same page for both sides then. Yeah, Thunderball. I wasn't around when it came out but it took me at least 5 viewings to watch it entirely because it was so boring. In fact, I have it on VCD so there are 2 discs, I think I've only seen the second disc twice. And apparantly it was the biggest film when it was released. So yeah, Thunderball tied with Goldfinger for most overrated.

Do you know what I really think it must be an age thing. Thunderball is a technicolor widescreen delight from start to finish with Connery's finest performance as Bond. But I agree with you about LALD it too is my favourite Moore. But considering I can't stand Moore as Bond that is not saying much. TSWLM being the most overated Bond of all. A inferior remake to one of Connery's lesser films.

[The Richmond Spy]

Overrated: Has to be Goldfinger. Not because it is a bad film, but because it is always talked about as being the best, or one of the best. Reasons seem to revolve around the fact that it is the most memorable Bond film and set the formula...or because well, it's Goldfinger.

2nd: For Your Eyes Only
3rd: GoldenEye (I still love it!)

Underrated: Has to be The World Is Not Enough. Hate it or love it, no Bond film deserves the intense amount of scrutiny that this film endures on CBn. There is no other film that has EVERY characteristic criticized as much as this film. There's the long PTS, the long MI6 scenes, the inferior ski chase, Denise Richards, etc... Some of which deserve the criticism, but some just happen to belong to the most underrated Bond film and face the wrath because of it.

2nd: A View To A Kill
3rd: Dr. No

[SPOTTER]

The most overrated Bond film for me is probably For Your Eyes Only or Goldeneye and I could even go so far as to say From Russia With Love. Although i'd rank the latter at around 7th in the Bond film cannon it is by no means better than Goldfinger or Thunderball.
Both FYEO and Goldeneye are good but they are far from great as Bond fans in general make them out to be.

The most underrated Bond film for me is Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun or even Thunderball. LALD has so many memorable moments and the story is great. It is an all round quality film. Moore's best. His follow up is also a great film. I was really surprised when nearly everybody on here thought that it was one of the worst. Everybody I know loves it.
Although Thunderball is the most successful of all the Bond films based on ticket sales, many fans do not rate the film. I love the feel of the movie and it has really stood the test of time.

[Jim]

Most overrated - Casino Royale. It's a very good film (and a proper film) but one would think it had cured cancer, found Atlantis and made everyone more beautiful, paid off all our mortgages and rendered our puppies immortal.

Closely followed by For Your Eyes Only, which is underwhelming piffle, and GoldenEye, in which nothing much actually happens and then it ends.

Most underrated - Tomorrow Never Dies. I've always found it pretty zippy, there are some fun jokes and it's mercifully brief. It's not that great but it seems to come with a reputation worse than its reality.

[HH007]

Overrated- FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

Underrated- LICENSE TO KILL

[MarkA]

Most underrated - Tomorrow Never Dies. I've always found it pretty zippy, there are some fun jokes and it's mercifully brief. It's not that great but it seems to come with a reputation worse than its reality.

I'll go with that too. In fact I am all for giving Brosnan a boost, not really my favourite Bond but he has had such an undeserved rap from this site.

[Cruiserweight]

Over:Goldfinger

Under:Octopussy(Moores best IMO)

[Fiona Volpe lover]

Over-Goldfinger [good to see I'm not alone for once!]. Undountably iconic but not actually that great.
Under-You Only Live Twice or Moonraker. You Only Live Twice isn't liked much on this site but is liked slightly more generally I feel, while Moonraker generally seems to be despised but seems to be liked a little bit more on here, if still not that much. I'm a great fan of both movies.

[MkB]

Over: Goldfinger
Under: TWINE

[dinovelvet]

Over-rated : Goldeneye

After six years of absence, THIS is Bond's comeback vehicle? OK, it gets points for acknowledging that Bond is now in "the modern world", but then it loses the points for repeatedly clubbing us over the head with it. There's no risk, no thrill, no wow to the proceedings - Brosnan seems to be trying too hard to be screaming "I AM BOND!" in every scene, and Mike/Babs/Campbell seem to be rigorously sticking to their "Things that have to be in a Bond film" checklist. The film gives us one grey, dour location after another, finally threatening to give us some exoticism in the third act, only to shove everyone into one of those Bond Villain Control Rooms again. Xenia Onatopp is an absolute embarrassment of a character, the kind of puerile one-joke henchwoman who would have had even Roger Moore saying "That's it, we've gone too far". The "much loved" tank chase is a crushing bore in which stuff randomly gets smashed up before they remember there's supposed to be a plot in here somewhere. Campbell threatens to make John Glen look like Michael Bay with his pedestrian direction, and I'm wondering if the director of Casino Royale is another director entirely who just happens to be named Martin Campbell.
I do think that a lot of casual Bond fans' like for Goldeneye is blurred with their like for the videogame, which was a genuinely fun, fresh, groundbreaking game, the exact opposite of the film that inspired it.


Under-rated : Die Another Day

90% of the criticism for DAD gets directed at the same two or three moments, which make up a couple of minutes of screen time. Yes the ice-surfing, Bond and Jinx meeting, and various other bits of CGI here and there are crap, but its a pretty fun ride once you get past that. For all the criticism thrown at Tamahori, he made the most dynamic action scenes of the Brosnan era : the bravura swordfight sequence, the fun hovercraft chase, and at least, the outdoor part of the ice car chase. I also think Broz really shines in this movie. Ironically, I think he stopped caring and showed up just for the paycheck, yet its his best performance. His Bond is much more don't-give-a-damn here, recalling Connery in Thunderball (and after the Acting Masterclass we had in TWINE, aren't we all relieved?). I also enjoy Toby Stephens' performance, as a gross parody of Bond (his "Bond" might have even livened up GE and TWINE!). Yes, its a wild, uneven rollercoaster of a film, with huge highs and lows, but isn't that better than the flat, monotone going-through-the-motions of TWINE?

[Colossus]

Over: Thunderball. The talk it gets bewilders me. I've warmed to it but it's still the weakest of the 5 by-the-book Bonds (but at least it is one of them!). Connery in his prime, and Fiona Volpe (ironically EON created) are delights, but what's not is the editing, hamfisted gadgetry, dingy photography, and move from the tight plot-driven thrillers to a meandering lethargy;it lacks the freshness of the previous three.

2nd: For Your Eyes Only
3rd: Casino Royale

Under: You Only Live Twice. Gets a lot of flack since it's in between the holy 5, being the first to deviate from a book, but in comparison to the ones that came after it's pretty damn good. Someone said this was the best "Moore" movie and i would agree with it. Best epic Bond unquestionably.

2nd: Live and Let Die
3rd: Dr. No

Edited by Colossus, 10 August 2008 - 02:26 AM.

[broadshoulder]

Overratted - Goldeneye

Underratted - Licence to Kill

[Turn]

OVERRATED
FYEO and TSWLM. Both are greatest hits packages celebrating how things have been done better in the past. Both have a please the masses at all costs feel.

GE is the most overrated modern film as it has good conotations tied to it being the first new film in 6 years.

I used to think GF was overrated, but it is such a classic that is starting to fade from my opinion.

UNDERRATED
By the general public: OHMSS, but that opinion has thankfully changed a lot, but still has some way to go. It will still suffer as being that one Connery and Moore didn't do.

By the fans: Dr. No. I've noticed here on CBn it's been getting a lot of reevalutation as more than just the first film.

OP is a nice, fun mix. MR, when you strip away the sillieness and fantasy, has some brutal moments and nice stunts.

TND, although a YOLT remake, is a fast-moving one and much more entertaining than any of the other Bros films.

LTK shows CR wasn't the first film to show Bond in a more serious light and wasn't above being personal before the Brosnan era made every film about that.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Overrated: Goldfinger. Has a lumpier pace than either Thunderball or From Russia with Love.

Underrated: Live and Let Die. The best Guy Hamilton Bond film, filled with some of the best African-American actors of the day. A real charm.

[JeffWest]

Overrated: Thunderball. Too long, too slow.

To a degree, "Goldfinger" also is overrated because the general public automatically tags it the best Bond movie and it's not. The ending is rushed, and the worst example of that sloppiness can be summed up in three words: "Soldiers falling down." Overall it's a great movie, but it's not the best. On my list, it's No. 5.

Underrated: "Octopussy." Moore's best performance, and that race across Germany to stop the bomb has a tension unmatched until "Casino Royale."

As someone else noted, "OHMSS" is the most underrated Bond by the general public.

[crheath]

What is, in your opinions, the most overrated and underrated Bond film?

I find Goldfiger the most overrated. True, it's got the most iconic moments, but it's more of a 'hit and run' film that makes you go 'wow' the first time you see it but doesn't really hold up on subsequent viewings. It's also the one that started the so-called 'formula' that basically culminated with Die Another Day

On the other end of the spectrum, I'd put Live and Let Die as the most underrated. The lengthy boat-chase aside it's a very entertaining film that does not go overboard the way most the other Moore films did. I'd put it second behind TSWLM as the best Moore film.

What are your thoughts?

I wouldn't judge a movie on repeated viewings. I myself can't sit through many of the best ones because I've seen them so many times. I wouldn't lower my judgment of them though. As for underrated, I would pick YOLT. Overrated, GE.

[MarkA]

dingy photography

Thunderball dingy photography? You need to have another look.

[DavidSomerset]

dingy photography

Thunderball dingy photography? You need to have another look.

Probably he meant photography of the dingy - and various watercraft and water nymphs in the movie. Such lovely craft, such lovely lines...

[Blofeld's Cat]

CASINO ROYALE (1967) - Most underrated.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN - Most overrated.

[Hitch]

Overrated: Goldeneye. Fun in parts, but relies too heavily on the "Bond is back so it must be good" factor. The title sequence looks laughably cheap. Sean Bean, though menacing, is hammy, especially with that accent. Among Bond fans: A View To a Kill. Say after me: Roger Moore. Much. As. We. Love. Him. Is. Far. Far. Too. Old.

Underrated: Tomorrow Never Dies. Well, sort of. There's a fantastic hard-boiled Bond film struggling to get out but it's swamped by wrong decision after wrong decision. Get rid of the idiotic stuff, such as the BMW badge saw, the crash into the Hertz shop, Bond laughing minutes after Paris has been killed, and concentrate on the "I'm just a professional doing a job - so am I" stuff, and the franchise might, just might, have retained some coolness before Casino Royale saved the day.

[dinovelvet]

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN - Most overrated.

Does anyone actually rate it to begin with?

[Mr. Blofeld]

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN - Most overrated.

Does anyone actually rate it to begin with?

Exactly; I'd say it's underrated. It certainly has a lot of merits...

[Blofeld's Cat]

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN - Most overrated.

Does anyone actually rate it to begin with?

But that's still overrating it when it comes to Never Say Never Again.

[The Richmond Spy]

Under-rated : Die Another Day

90% of the criticism for DAD gets directed at the same two or three moments, which make up a couple of minutes of screen time.

I agree with you completely. I am glad to finally hear someone else say it!

DAD is right up there with the three others I mentioned before as being underrated.

[Vanish]

Overrated: From Russia with Love. This is the kind of choice that may result in a call for me to hand in my Bond fan card, but FRWL just isn't one of my favorites.

Connery and the rest of the cast are fantastic, but parts of the film really drag (the gypsy fight sequence is interminable, as is the post-train fight boat and helicopter stuff) and there are some really strange filmmaking choices - Such as watching Connery coolly and calmly investigating his hotel room with the Bond theme BLARING.

Underrated: License to Kill or Live and Let Die. For totally different reasons, of course. But I find that they both rarely get the praise they deserve.

Edited by Vanish, 10 August 2008 - 02:27 AM.

[saint007]

most overrated bond movie is Casino Royale.
after a longer absence 4 years Bond was back with a new
actor. I am probably older than most of my 007 brothers and sisters
which may have influenced my opinion. Too much like a new spy/bourne
type movie had little 007 feel to the movie. i re-read CR before
watching the movie( first one in 25 years I did not go to the movies
to see). Daniel Craig is a very good actor but seems miscast as
Bond. even in interviews he doesn't seem to get it. he just is no
007 for me.

Moste underated would be Octopussy. great fun Moore Bond. The villian has a cool plot, great girls and Q having a blast!