127 replies to this topic

[Double-Oh Agent]

Licence To Kill

It's got a great plot, a fantastic villain and beautiful Bond girl (both of whom are my favorites in the series), terrific stunts (I'm particularly looking at you Wavekrest escape and tanker chase), and a very dangerous 007. What's not to like?

[S K Y F A L L]

GOLDENEYE

I made it simply, GE is the first Bond film I seen and got me into the series.

Maybe I should have named myself 'G O L D E N E Y E' but SF got me into forums.

[Golddragon71]

From Russia With Love
Daniela Bianchi is the most beautiful of all the Bond Girls IMHO
Robert Shaw as Red Grant he was like the James Bond of Spectre, cold suave and deadly.
The Music John Barry took what Monty Norman started and elevated it into a whole new class.
Q While Major Boothroyd first appeared in Dr. no played by Peter Burton the role was really polished and forever ingrained in the Bond mythos by Desmond Llewelyn
Kerim Bey I can't read the novel without picturing Pedro Armendáriz He Gave kerim such life as no actor would.
lest we forget Sean Connery as 007. This was my personal favorite of all the Connery Bond's and IMHO NOBODY has done it better than Sean did in this film.
Everyone HAS made the role their own and in each era they've all done very well but this was my defining film for the 60's Bonds and to a larger extent this is how I would come to see Bond whenever I'd read the Fleming Books.

[Double-0-Seven]

It's probably a three way tie between Casino Royale, From Russia With Love, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I'll go with Casino for the poll.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

From Russia With Love. It's head and shoulders above the rest in my top 3 only because it has Sean Connery as Bond.

[Daddy Bond]

The Spy Who Loved Me - I've watched this Bond film more than any other - I just never get tired of it.

[Iceskater101]

Goldfinger is the one I voted for. I also love the Spy Who Loved Me as well. That is a close second.

[seawolfnyy]

The Spy Who Loved Me. Sir Roger thinks so and so do I.

[killkenny kid]

This week I have been thinking a lot about my father, so it would have to be You Only Live Twice his favorite Bond film.

[thecasinoroyale]

This is a tough one, and almost all of the films are the best in their own right...BUT the defining moment that can put one above the rest is 'Licence To Kill' as it was the first James Bond film I saw.

A tough, bold performance from Timothy Dalton and he handed out the beatings as well as showing a stealthy, secret-agent side to his portrayal rather than just blazing in, shooting first and thinking later.

A tense story line with bold characters, great locations and very memorable action sequences like the plane water-ski and the amazing tanker truck finale!

[Satorious]

I can't decide between From Russia with Love or OHMSS. Aw heck - FRWL just because it's Connery vs Shaw!

[die_another_dave]

Licence to Kill!

[IcedCamaro]

Licence to Kill

[Iceskater101]

Timothy Dalton made a good James Bond in License to Kill, plus I think Carey Lowell is a really pretty bond girl.

[Pam Bouvier]

Everyone did a great job on LTK but Dalton, Davi, Lowell, and Hedison were standout. Pure Fleming smartly done.

[Jodokast]

For me its License to Kill without a doubt. It might be the film with least Bond tropes but its by far the best. Besides great action and a very clever plot I think the main thing I really like about it is Carey Lowell's portrait of Pam Bouiver she is Bond's equal in a way that very few Bond women has pulled off.

[Cruiserweight]

A View To A Kill

[elizabeth]

FRWL. It has all the elements of a classic Bond and a classic spy/Cold War thriller.

[double-oh-seven]

FRWL it was the first bond i watched but it is closely followed by GF and OHMSS, i cant believe nobody has picked moonraker, i almost picked it out of pitty. i mean the last time i saw MR it wasnt that bad not to get zero votes bad much better than TND in my opinion.

[Doctor No]

Its a cop out answer but at this point I can't choose 1. Connery's 1st 4 are untouchable, I love Craig's modern spin on it and OHMSS is an amazing one-shot(and the Christmas aspect of it is nice come holiday time).

[B5Erik]

I voted for Licence To Kill, but I also like Dr. No just as much. Those two stand above the rest for me - but not by much.

From Russia With Love, Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, and Skyfall are all in the next grouping and they are this close to being equal to the two I've got at the top.

In the end, I like ALL of the Bond movies, just some more than the others (and a couple less than the others).

[bebopfoot]

My personal favorite is License To Kill. If there was a close second runner up it would probably be GoldenEye.

[Yellow Pinky]

My favorite will always be OHMSS. I saw it opening weekend with my Dad at the age of seven and my mind was totally blown! It was also my first time to see a Bond movie upon first release. Dad had taken me to a double feature of Thunderball and YOLT when I was younger (I barely remember it). He followed up OHMSS by taking me the next year to a double feature of Dr. No and FRWL and my DNA was forever changed, making me a lifelong 007 fanatic!

While I wish that Connery had been in OHMSS, I have the easiest time accepting Lazenby as the character of James Bond over all the other actors specifically because there is no other strong association with any other character or performance to compare it against.

Years later I would virtually wear out a rental copy of OHMSS from a local video rental shop. I literally must have rented it over a dozen times in a single year in the late 80s.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

GoldenEye of course! No film can or will ever beat it!

[Nick Bone]

On Her Majesty´s Secret Service. It has grown on me during the last 20 + years. As a child I loved films like Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live And Let Die... From Russia With Love is the only film that has a chance to beat OHMSS on my list. It´s a tough job to choose between those timeless classics but today it´s OHMSS.

[Colossus]

Theres one shot in OHMSS that has nothing with story, its just a shot of one of the guys in the helicopter during the final raid and the window is in back of him with the light peering through, vivid most best shot in the film.

[L4YRCAKE]

Good lord, what a question.  

 

With nods to From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, License To Kill, and Casino Royale:

 

Live And Let Die, and here's why:  best soundtrack, best stunts, the two coldest murders of the entire series ( Rosie, and the fella in the boat whom Bond throws gasoline in his face), the baddest outfit worn by Bond ever (the stealth black turtleneck and shoulder holster, probably influenced by Bullit but Moore owned it so much to his credit and that's the point, he upstaged Connery), the most underrated and emotionally both dangerous and stylish villain of the series, one of the most beautiful Bond women ever who hints at a supernatural ability that is challenged by the (arguably) existential Bond, and for once Live And Let Die transcends the original novel.  Not to mention it contains about the limit of gadgets a Bond film can shoehorn in and still get away with it before it became a parody.  Also, Tee Hee: just as dangerous as Red Grant but cooler and less silly than Jaws;  add to that Baron Samedi for a creepy and truly unique ending.  

 

Paul McCartney's theme song, which permeates the entire soundtrack, is the one Bond theme song that arguably gives the original theme a real challenge.  It is the one theme song that they could have made a case for including in future consecutive films.  Jack White wishes he could ever hope to have a single song that good in his anemic, overrated catalogue...

 

I mean, Bond walks across crocodiles and he and the villain fight over the heroine's virginity.  What other film even attempted anything like that??   

[FOX MULDER]

From Russia With Love is winning, in my interpretation. To be 2nd after 49 years is better than being 1st after 6...

 

FRWL. The best Bond film, without a doubt.

[Yellow Pinky]

Good lord, what a question.  

 

With nods to From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, License To Kill, and Casino Royale:

 

Live And Let Die, and here's why:  best soundtrack, best stunts, the two coldest murders of the entire series ( Rosie, and the fella in the boat whom Bond throws gasoline in his face), the baddest outfit worn by Bond ever (the stealth black turtleneck and shoulder holster, probably influenced by Bullit but Moore owned it so much to his credit and that's the point, he upstaged Connery), the most underrated and emotionally both dangerous and stylish villain of the series, one of the most beautiful Bond women ever who hints at a supernatural ability that is challenged by the (arguably) existential Bond, and for once Live And Let Die transcends the original novel.  Not to mention it contains about the limit of gadgets a Bond film can shoehorn in and still get away with it before it became a parody.  Also, Tee Hee: just as dangerous as Red Grant but cooler and less silly than Jaws;  add to that Baron Samedi for a creepy and truly unique ending.  

 

Paul McCartney's theme song, which permeates the entire soundtrack, is the one Bond theme song that arguably gives the original theme a real challenge.  It is the one theme song that they could have made a case for including in future consecutive films.  Jack White wishes he could ever hope to have a single song that good in his anemic, overrated catalogue...

 

I mean, Bond walks across crocodiles and he and the villain fight over the heroine's virginity.  What other film even attempted anything like that??   

While I don't necessarily agree with you, Layer Cake, I have to say, you make a good argument!  I saw LALD opening weekend at a Saturday matinee with 2 friends from my neighborhood.  We were so blown away that as soon as it was over, we called our parents from the lobby pay phone to beg them to let us sit through it a second time (they agreed!).  I finally made it home and during dinner my uncle dropped by with his date.  They said they were going to see the new James Bond movie and asked if my older sister (who was friends with his date) wanted to tag along.  Somehow I talked them into taking an 11 year old along and sat through it for the 3rd time in the same day.  Great memories!

[seawolfnyy]

From Russia With Love is winning, in my interpretation. To be 2nd after 49 years is better than being 1st after 6...

 

FRWL. The best Bond film, without a doubt.

Interesting assessment. I wonder how Casino Royale will be received by the general public in 2055.