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[PierceConneryMoore]

Here's the final Bond films with the Brosnan and Craig eras, excluding Skyfall. My review of that is here on this site and I can't rank it until I've seen it more times. But at the bottom is my final ranking of the first 22 movies. Enjoy!

17.Goldeneye Reviewed November 2, 2012

In the six year gap between Licence To Kill and Goldeneye, many things changed. The Cold War that helped inspire Ian Fleming to write the Bond novels ended and the style of action movies of the day made Bond seem as M would say “a relic of the Cold War!” Both the box office disappointment of Licence To Kill as well as financial problems at MGM made it seem as if there might not be another Bond film. Cubby Broccoli’s health had gotten worse while old Bond stalwarts Richard Maibaum and Maurice Binder passed away during that period. The delay was also too much for Timothy Dalton, who quit the role after only two films. There was much reason to doubt the future of 007.

For Goldeneye, Cubby Broccoli handed the mantle to his stepson Michael Wilson and daughter Barbara Broccoli. A largely new production team was brought on including director Martin Campbell, but the big deal was finding an actor to play James Bond. After just missing it in 1986, Pierce Brosnan was the obvious choice and got his second chance at the role of a lifetime.

In the first couple minutes when James Bond bungee jumps off a dam, you know right away that Bond is back. Goldeneye is a spectacular film that’s entertaining from beginning to end. It acknowledges the end of the Cold War and how the way Bond himself may be viewed differently, but also has all the things that may audiences fall in love with these movies. The action is adrenaline-pumping, the villains are strong in each of their individual ways, the gadgets are cool, the women are sexy and the dialogue contains some highly memorable puns.

The plot involves the theft of a Russian defense system which emits an electro magnetic pulse knocking out anything that uses electricity. When it is stolen from a facility in Severnaya, that is when James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to St. Petersburg to track a crime syndicate believed to be involved with the theft. After tangling with the orgasmic killer Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) he gets a shock when he learns Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) former agent 006 and friend thought to be dead is the leader and is planning revenge on Britain for events in the past. It’s supposed to come as a surprise, but honestly, it’s hard to talk about the whole movie without it and the trailers in 1995 even revealed this to audiences, so F*** it.

Like all debuts in this role, the pressure is on the lead actor and Pierce Brosnan succeeds with flying colors. While Roger Moore was known for his humorous take and Timothy Dalton was a more serious, straight to business Bond, Brosnan finds the right tone in the middle and plays the role more in the mold of Sean Connery for the 90s. He nails the classic lines, the serious lines and the funny lines.

He also leads one of the best supporting casts for a Bond film. Sean Bean was a candidate to play Bond and plays a great dark side version of Bond. He has a great presence and really helps expand an interesting narrative that didn’t get explored in The Man With The Golden Gun. As the dangerous Xenia Onatopp, Famke Janssen is terrific being both sexy and terrifying to get into bed with. The good Bond girl is computer programmer Natalya Simonova, played by Izabella Scroupco. She’s a damsel in distress who actually brings her computer skills to good use and has a great scene where she questions Bond’s need to kill. A good dose of humor is brought by Alan Cumming as Boris, the bad and very geeky computer programmer and by Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky, a former KGB agent who gets one of the best lines in any Bond film. The role of M is now played by Judi Dench and she’s tough and not exactly admiring of Bond’s lifestyle while Desmond Llewelyn returns for the 15th time as Q and as always has a lab full of interesting gadgets.

But to forget the action in Goldeneye would be like forgetting to but the meat patty on a burger. The pre-title sequence opens with that wonderful bungee jump, establishes the back story with Bond and 006 and ends with an even bigger stunt with Bond freefalling to catch a plane. Only The Spy Who Loved Me had a greater opening. The rest of the action still thrills with the tank chase through the streets of St. Petersburg being a real standout. Also worth mentioning is the more techno sounding score by Eric Serra that is a real love or hate it score by most Bond fans that totally works for me in this movie.

My whole review for Goldeneye was longer because my enthusiasm for the film is much more than any Bond film since The Spy Who Loved Me. This is because everything seems to work and more. The action is bigger, better and more enthralling, the story is interesting, the dialogue has real wit, the supporting cast is strong, the score pumps up the excitement and Pierce Brosnan makes a great debut. Goldeneye brought back the franchise and showed that Cold War or not, the world still needs James Bond.

1.The Spy Who Loved Me
2.Goldeneye
3.Goldfinger
4.Thunderball
5.From Russia With Love
6.Moonraker
7.For Your Eyes Only
8.The Living Daylights
9.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
10.Dr.No
11.Licence To Kill
12.Octopussy
13.You Only Live Twice
14.A View To A Kill
15.Live And Let Die
16.Diamonds Are Forever
17.The Man With The Golden Gun

18.Tomorrow Never Dies Reviewed November 3, 2012

Having brought back the Bond franchise with Goldeneye, Pierce Brosnan returned for the second time in Tomorrow Never Dies, a production rumored to be filled with creative differences and some bursts of anger. The advertising was also filled with product placement from BMW to AVIS being just the tip of the iceberg. It ended up just behind Goldeneye in worldwide box office, but improved on it in the U.S. while having to compete with Titanic.

Although not quite at the level of Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies is a home run of a Bond film with each element of the Bond formula at a high level. With great performances, slam bang action and a story made for the television era, the film moves at a brisk pace making it the first Bond film since You Only Live Twice to run under two hours with hardly any unnecessary fat.

A British ship ends up in Chinese waters and a stealth ship sends in a drill that sinks the ship and fires a missile destroying a Chinese mig. When the story leaks out in the newspaper Tomorrow, M (Judi Dench) sends James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) to Hamburg to investigate the media mogul Eliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) whose wife Paris (Teri Hatcher) is Bond’s former lover. After she gets involved, Bond is soon breaking into the news building and is off to find the ship that was set off course. He teams with Chinese agent Wai Lin (Hong Kong star Michelle Yeoh) to stop Carver from pitting Britain and China against each other and starting World War III.

What makes Tomorrow Never Dies interesting is the use of a media mogul as a modern day meglomaniac. Of the people who would want to rule the world in the post-Cold War era, it’s a media mogul such as Rupert Murdoch. It makes for an interesting story and Jonathan Pryce is gleefully mad as Carver, whose excitement for his plan is well compensated by his dark insanity. It’s one of the best performances of a main Bond villain and unlike many Bond villains gets the worthy screen time.

In the second time out, Pierce Brosnan seems even more comfortable in the lead role. He plays the role almost as Sean Connery would in a 90s Bond film. As the equally capable Wai Lin, Michelle Yeoh kicks ass and has more action than any previous Bond girl and handles it terriffically. The action is strong with the pre-title sequence standing out as one of the best in the entire series. The other standouts include a car chase in a parking garage, a motorcycle chase with Bond and Wai Lin handcuffed and the finale on the stealth boat which has plenty of gunfire and explosions.

The only unnecessary parts include Teri Hatcher as Bond’s ex and Carver’s wife who doesn’t really give a sense of why Bond would have been smitten with her. But that doesn’t take up a lot of screen time and the rest of the film is tightly paced. Tomorrow Never Dies is what a Bond film should be: Action packed, well-acted and fast moving. I think it’s one of the more underrated Bond films and with great action, great villans and a great Bond, it’s one of the best Bond films.

1.The Spy Who Loved Me
2.Goldeneye
3.Goldfinger
4.Tomorrow Never Dies
5.Thunderball
6.From Russia With Love
7.Moonraker
8.For Your Eyes Only
9.The Living Daylights
10.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
11.Dr.No
12.Licence To Kill
13.Octopussy
14.You Only Live Twice
15.A View To A Kill
16.Live And Let Die
17.Diamonds Are Forever
18.The Man With The Golden Gun

19.The World Is Not Enough Reviewed November 3, 2012

The World Is Not Enough is a special Bond film for me. When I was 8 years old, my Dad forced me to go watch it at a second-run theater in town. In terms of movies, I watched almost entirely kid films and was a huge fan of things such as Rugrats, Pokemon, Ninja Turtles among other things. I’d seen a few “grown up” films, but none stuck with me. That changed with my first movie. I not only thought it was totally awesome, but I started getting into movies a lot more and am have dreamed about being in movies since.

A dozen years later, I’ve watched every film many times over and my opinions of most of them have changed in some way since the first viewing. This is true with The World Is Not Enough. As has been the case in the last few years, it’s been my least favorite of the Brosnan films but it still gets the job done and is fun to watch.

After escaping a banker’s office with a load of money, James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) realizes the money is booby-trapped and just misses saving a multi-millionaire pipeline builder. When confronting M (Judi Dench) about the details related to the kidnapping of his daughter Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), she reveals that she used her as bait. Bond believes she is in danger for revenge from the terrorist Renard (Robert Carlyle). As he travels to Baku to protect her, enemies are immediately on the chase as Elektra plays it dangerously which concerns Bond. Soon, he uncovers a plot to use a nuclear missile to destroy the city of Istanbul.

Just like Sean Connery and Roger Moore, the third time’s the charm as Pierce Brosnan gives his best performance yet solidifying him as the best Bond since Connery. He’s suave, tough and starts to show a little bit of what’s on the inside which is in a way a precursor to the Daniel Craig era. Also notable is the return of Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky, whose now a legitimate businessman and Desmond Llewelyn in his final time as gadgetmaster Q. I didn’t know how important his final scene here is, but knowing the full history and the fact that the 85 year-old died in a car crash shortly after the film’s release makes it a special and touching moment.

Other elements in The World Is Not Enough however pale noticably in comparison to Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Although the action is entertaining, it doesn’t thrill like previously. Although there are two great scenes, one with a pipeline and a ticking bomb and the other with a helicopter that totally cuts up a caviar factory, it feels like a step down from what just came before it. Robert Carlyle of The Full Monty is saddled with a rather dull and weak villain whose bullet in the brain doesn’t seem realistic at all, even for a Bond film. And while Sophie Marceau is decent as Elektra, Denise Richards is badly miscast as Dr. Christmas Jones whose supposed to be a nuclear physicist but blurts out the techno-babble in a way that reminded me a bit of Tanya Roberts in A View To A Kill.

The World Is Not Enough is the Return Of The Jedi of the 90s Bond films. It’s the weakest of the three films, but it’s still solid blockbuster entertainment. It has weak spots that are more compensated by its strong parts and a lead performance by Pierce Brosnan that’s gotten consistently better. And considering this is the weakest of his films, it’s not so bad considering how much better it is than the weakest films of Connery, Moore and Craig.

1.The Spy Who Loved Me
2.Goldeneye
3.Goldfinger
4.Tomorrow Never Dies
5.Thunderball
6.From Russia With Love
7.Moonraker
8.For Your Eyes Only
9.The Living Daylights
10.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
11.Dr.No
12.The World Is Not Enough
13.Licence To Kill
14.Octopussy
15.You Only Live Twice
16.A View To A Kill
17.Live And Let Die
18.Diamonds Are Forever
19.The Man With The Golden Gun

20.Die Another Day Reviewed November 4, 2012

2002 marked the 40th anniversary since the first James Bond film, Dr.No, was first released into theaters. To honor this occasion, the filmmakers decided to load the 20th Bond film, Die Another Day, with plenty of references to classic moments and gadgets from various films. But they also wanted to take the character of Bond further and decided to write into the plot Bond becoming a POW and wanting to find who betrayed him.

Die Another Day is in many ways, a kitchen sink of a Bond film. The film may go farther in seeing Bond at a low point, but also is chock of full of over-the-top gadgets, grandiose sets and lots of action. I saw this opening night at the age of 11 and for years, it was my favorite Bond film. Many fans have put among the worst Bond films for it’s over-the-topness and some cheesy scenes. While my tastes have changed quite a bit and there are notable weak spots, Die Another Day is a grand entertaining Bond film.

The film opens in North Korea as James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is recognized as an agent and is captured and tortured for 14 months. He is released in exchange for Zao (Rick Yune) a terrorist killer with a face scarred with diamonds. His Double-O status is taken away by M (Judi Dench) and he escapes going rouge. He follows Zao to Cuba where he meets the sexy American agent Jinx (Halle Berry) whose also after Zao. When finding diamonds that leads to the billionaire playboy Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) and a demonstration he plans to give in Iceland. Bond soon finds the Icarus sattelite is more than it seems with the ability to destroy anyone who gets in his way.

A lot of things that often have been criticized heavily about Die Another Day are some of the things I really enjoyed. From the bullet in the gunbarrel to the Aston Martin Vanquish having an invisibility cloak, some of the Bond reference are nicely put in. Yes, an invisible car is totally hokey, but it’s a Bond film and every Bond film has something unrealistic in it. But the action is heavy and although there are some bad shots such as the parasurfing scene, most of the action is really entertaining.

Also really impressive again is Pierce Brosnan in his fourth and final time as James Bond. He slips into the role without making me think about comparing him to Sean Connery or anyone else. He truly was the best Bond since Sean Connery up to that point. Casting Halle Berry just after her Oscar win was a real get and is sexy and gets plenty of action scenes. As Gustav Graves, Toby Stephens gets a great sword fight scene with Bond, but other than that is rather forgettable. Rick Yune isn’t much better as Zao, but unlike other scarred Bond villains, we get to see how he got those scars.

Die Another Day is not a perfect Bond film, but it’s not a dull one either. The action scenes provide thrills and fun, Pierce Brosnan is a terrific Bond and Halle Berry is an interesting Bond girl. I will get flack for giving as much praise as I’m giving it, but I don’t mind. Like Moonraker, it’s one of those Bond films where you truly leave your brain in the other room and enjoy it.

1.The Spy Who Loved Me
2.Goldeneye
3.Goldfinger
4.Tomorrow Never Dies
5.Thunderball
6.From Russia With Love
7.Moonraker
8.For Your Eyes Only
9.Die Another Day
10.The Living Daylights
11.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
12.Dr.No
13.The World Is Not Enough
14.Licence To Kill
15.Octopussy
16.You Only Live Twice
17.A View To A Kill
18.Live And Let Die
19.Diamonds Are Forever
20.The Man With The Golden Gun

21.Casino Royale Reviewed November 5, 2012

Despite repeated box office success over the Brosnan era, the producers felt the Bond franchise got carried away with too much reliance on action and special effects, particularly for the last film Die Another Day. Having won a court battle for the rights to the first Fleming novel Casino Royale, they decided to do an adaptation of the original book going back to James Bond’s roots on his first mission as a Double-O. Although Pierce Brosnan was a popular Bond to audiences, he was let go and a new direction was chosen with a new actor to be cast.

When Daniel Craig was announced as the 6th actor to play the famous role, many people including myself were not thrilled with the choice. With his blond hair and blue eyes, there were many tabloid stories slamming him including one about him getting his teeth knocked out on the set. There was even a website made called CraigNotBond.com, which is about..... well you get the point. It was one hell of a hail mary pass considering how different he was in comparison to the previous 5 actors and also because he was following the popular Pierce Brosnan.

But by the time Craig says the character’s most famous line, any doubts in my mind were a thing of the past. Casino Royale is a masterpiece of a Bond film with a smashing debut from Craig. His debut is the most impressive of any actor (Connery included) and any nervousness he may have had taking on this big role doesn’t show up on film. He’s also helped incredibly by director Martin Campbell, who also helped introduce Pierce Brosnan in another terrific Bond film, Goldeneye. The writing is crisp thanks to a polish by Oscar winner Paul Haggis and the supporting cast is very strong. This is the longest Bond film at 144 minutes, but there’s not a scene that fails here.

After achieving his first 2 kills to achieve Double-O status, James Bond (Daniel Craig) gets into trouble after blowing up an embassy. He receives a chewing out from M (Judi Dench) and uses clues to go to the Bahamas where he believes terrorist-related villains are. Soon he is off to Montenegro to faceoff in a Poker match against Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) that can get to be as much as $150 million. He is accompanied by treasurer Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) who’s not smitten with Bond at first. As the Poker match goes on, Bond and Vesper start to become closer and his life gets into more danger as he poses a real chance at winning the tournament.

A lot of the film’s success truly does go to Daniel Craig for making James Bond both tougher and more vulnerable. He’s also has a fantastically dry sense of humor which works well in many scenes, particularly in a scene that’s very dark and painful if you’re a male. As the first Bond film to have the character in love since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Eva Green is wonderful as Vesper. Being both beautiful and mysterious, she has terrific chemistry with Craig and this makes for a more powerful ending. Probably the most undercredited role would be Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. Being a real life poker player, he’s perfectly menacing as he sits across the table and stares Bond down and delivers some priceless faces as Bond resurrects himself time after time.

Although the film has a bigger focus on story and script, Casino Royale still has it’s share of amazing action sequences. Special mention goes to the early chase scene as Bond chases a bombmaker through a construction site and ends up on a crane high in the air. It’s a fast, vigorous chase and I think it’s one of the 5 best action scenes in Bond history. Also impressive is the Miami Airport sequence that ends in a big bang off screen, but is all the more satisfactory. It’s also noticable how much more involved Daniel Craig is in the action scenes which make the audience more involved.

Although many were dismissing it before its released, Casino Royale involves the viewer from start to finish. The action scenes excite, the love story works and as a Poker fan, I really appreciate the Poker scenes alot more than when I first saw it the day it opened. Daniel Craig makes the role his own in just one outing and shows massive promise for the future. Casino Royale is one of those Bond films that isn’t just a great Bond film, it’s a great movie, period.

1.The Spy Who Loved Me
2.Casino Royale
3.Goldeneye
4.Goldfinger
5.Tomorrow Never Dies
6.Thunderball
7.From Russia With Love
8.Moonraker
9.For Your Eyes Only
10.Die Another Day
11.The Living Daylights
12.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
13.Dr.No
14.The World Is Not Enough
15.Licence To Kill
16.Octopussy
17.You Only Live Twice
18.A View To A Kill
19.Live And Let Die
20.Diamonds Are Forever
21.The Man With The Golden Gun

22.Quantum Of Solace Reviewed November 7, 2012

Daniel Craig truly shocked audiences with just how amazing he was as James Bond in Casino Royale. It become the highest grossing Bond film to that point. Anticipation was hot for the follow up and would have a tough time following Craig’s debut film. For Quantum Of Solace, independent film director Marc Forster was chosen for his first action movie. Although the Writer’s Strike hampered the production, it was completed in time for it’s November 14, 2008 release date.

Of course I saw it on opening night. I had come home from school waiting anxiously for my Dad to get home from work. There were plenty of times at a theater in walking distance and we walked through chilly weather to catch the 5:10 show. When it was over, I believe I was in a bit of denial. Being a huge Bond fan who had waited with great anticipation, walking home I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I didn’t want to believe it and after a second viewing in theaters, it was easier to acknowledge. Quantum Of Solace is the worst Bond film made in my lifetime and had it not been for Daniel Craig, this would easily be at the bottom of the barrel.

The film picks up right where Casino Royale ended. James Bond (Daniel Craig) is on the run after capturing the mysterious Mr.White (Jesper Christensen). He manages to escape when an agent betrays MI6 and M (Judi Dench) is wanting to know who this mysterious organization is. He follows a lead to Haiti, where he encounters Camille (Olga Kurylenko) who he believes is wanted dead by this organization. He follows her to a dock where she is wanted dead by Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), owner of a green-friendly company who really plans on making a deal with a South American general to gain land in the desert in order to cause a drought. At the same time, Bond is deep down wanting vengeance for the death of his love, Vesper.

Much about Quantum Of Solace goes wrong. Arguably the biggest thing is the action scenes, which are jumbled, poorly directed and uninspired. The quick camera cuts are so quick that they’re hard to follow and impossible to get interested in. But there’s nothing much that’s really thrilling or a stunt that one can remember with joy. Even the worst Bond films have at least a great stunt or two, this one has none. Director Marc Forster can be partly to blame for lacking the action experience of a Martin Campbell. Some blame can go to the editing for cutting the action scenes like a Jason Bourne film on steroids.

Of all the villains, Mathieu Amalric is possibly the worst Bond villain of all-time. Blame can go to being stuck with a lousy character, but his supposedly evil wide-eyed looks fail drastically and there’s not one second where you can possibly believe he can pose a physical threat to Daniel Craig’s Bond. Olga Kurylenko’s character is given a backstory to help mesh with Bond wanting vengeance and she just isn’t memorable and doesn’t have the action chops to make us care about it. Of the 4 good, but small supporting roles, 3 of them (Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini as Mathis and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter) are returning characters from Casino Royale. Only Gemma Arterton is new and gets a couple good moments as a field agent named Fields.

This is the shortest Bond film at 106 minutes, but that doesn’t make the time go by any faster. Sometimes dark works for Bond, but this one is just dreary. There’s no sense of fun or enjoyment the way a Bond film should have and the story is surprisingly dull. And after watching 21 Bond films, this one just didn’t feel like it was a movie in the same franchise. It just felt more like any regular action movie which there is plenty of every year. One heavily criticized element that I really liked is the opening credits done by MK12 with “Another Way To Die” by Jack White and Alicia Keys. When you get to the halfway point and realize the best part of the movie was the opening credits, you know your Bond movie is in trouble.

There is a saving grace in the form of Daniel Craig. He shows an incredible presence and toughness that’s easy to appreciate. Despite every Bond actor improving the second time around from the first, I think Casino Royale really let Craig shine in a way that Quantum Of Solace doesn’t making his performance not quite as good as in his debut. But it’s still strong and builds the movie up. I may have seemed harsher in my review of Quantum Of Solace than how I truly felt, but as a Bond fan who loves these movies, I expect much better. It may take a little while to think about whether this beats The Man With The Golden Gun as the worst, but this will still go down as a real disappointment of a Bond film.

1.The Spy Who Loved Me
2.Casino Royale
3.Goldeneye
4.Goldfinger
5.Tomorrow Never Dies
6.Thunderball
7.From Russia With Love
8.Moonraker
9.For Your Eyes Only
10.Die Another Day
11.The Living Daylights
12.On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
13.Dr.No
14.The World Is Not Enough
15.Licence To Kill
16.Octopussy
17.You Only Live Twice
18.A View To A Kill
19.Live And Let Die
20.Diamonds Are Forever
21.Quantum Of Solace
22.The Man With The Golden Gun