Two Weeks And Counting Down To 007

Pierce Brosnan rolls into his third outing and is having just as much fun as he did on the first two. There's an "even-ness" between all of Brosnan's films that makes itself known here. While Connery had the highs of his earlier films and lows of his later films and Moore was all over the map in terms of quality, Brosnan's movies are all pretty much on the same level. Sure "Goldeneye" is better than "Tomorrow Never Dies" but not by much. His first film is also better than his third outing, which is better than his second.

All the elements are in place for a fun film and even the oddball casting of Denise Richards as a nuclear scientist named Christmas Jones (a name whose one purpose is the film's punchline at the end) doesn't derail any of the proceedings. Richards is far from the worst Bond girl and got a bad rap from critics. Mostly she suffers from the same problems Terri Hatcher had in the previous film in that she's not given a lot to do beyond follow James around.

The saddest part is this would be the last time Desmond Llewelyn would play Q and his final scenes with Bond are bittersweet in light of what happened. While Q is training his successor (John Cleese as what Bond terms R in a joke), Llewelyn had no intention of retiring from the series but tragically died in a car accident soon after completing the film.

"The World Is Not Enough" is yet another excellent outing for Brosnan, little did he know the end was near...

"Die Another Day" continues the pattern of Brosnan's films, but ups the ante a bit in the "silly" department which we really haven't seen since the worst Roger Moore films. It's not that bad, but it gets close moving into the climax of the film which is sad because up until the movie gets to the Ice Palace, it's on pace to be the best of Brosnan's films (in spite of Madonna's horrific title song and lackluster cameo).

The dark opening (where Bond is captured and tortured by the North Koreans) continues through the title sequence and pretty much the first half of the film. Once the new Q introduces the "invisible car" you know that things are going to get a bit silly. Add in some really bad CGI and the entire sequence at the Ice Palace feels like a different film. Luckily, the climactic fight onboard the disintegrating airplane makes up for things.

There isn't much to say about Brosnan's films. They are all enjoyable entries in the series and have very few problem spots. Brosnan brings Bond into the 21st Century nicely and it would have been interesting to see where he would have taken the character next if things hadn't changed behind the scenes and cut his reign off at four films. While it is sad to see him go, what was to come next would be so much better...

Three Weeks And Counting Down To 007

Pierce Brosnan finally gets his shot at Bond and comes out of the gate running. If "The Living Daylights" was a soft reboot of the series to get back to Fleming, "Goldeneye" is another soft reboot to bring Bond out of the Cold War and into the modern era. The Soviets are gone and yet they still remain albeit changed slightly. The film is serious, action packed and yet full of wit. At times it's as if Roger Moore and Sean Connery got mixed together and came out as Brosnan. He's a good combination of everything that came before (minus that dark brooding Dalton brought to the role that everyone seemed to hate).

The film ushers in a new era of freshness behind the scenes too. Gone are the old stalwarts that had been around pretty much since the beginning. No more titles by Maurice Binder. Now we have Daniel Kleinmann paying homage to Binder's work, yet keeping it fresh with one of the most exciting title sequences in a while. John Barry's last score was for "The Living Daylights". Now we have Eric Serra bringing us what is probably the weakest link in the film (aside from the wonderful title song by Bono and the Edge as sung by Tina Turner). John Glenn, who directed the last five films, is replaced by Martin Campbell who keeps things moving fluidly from start to finish.

On screen, Bond's support system has changed a bit. Sure Desmond Llewellyn returns as Q, but we have a new Moneypenny in Samantha Bond and a new M in Judi Dench. This last casting decision is the most drastic but it works very well and brings a fresh perspective to the relationship between Bond and his boss. The rest of the supporting cast features a good villain in Sean Bean's Trevelyan (not bent on world domination, but not the most exciting either), a good femme fatale in Famke Jansen's Xenia Onnatop, a good Bond girl in Izabella Scorupco's Natalya Simonova as well as others who flesh things out like Robbie Coltrane's Russian gangster, Alan Cumming's Russian computer geek and Joe Don Baker's CIA ally (Jack Wade will become the "Felix" for the Brosnan films).

All in all, Brosnan gets off to a good start with this film and it was exciting to see where he'd take the character next.





Brosnan's second out is a bit of a let down. Sure, everything that "Goldeneye" put in place is still there, but it's just not as good. I think most of this comes down to the writing and the supporting characters as the action and wit are still there. The film also feels a bit dated even though it's only 15 years old. I guess using a slider phone to control a car remotely isn't as cool as using an iPhone or Smart Phone which would probably do the same thing easier and better now.

Jonathan Pryce's Elliott Carver is obviously a blend of real life media moguls like Rupert Murdoch and his ilk, but he's also got that megamaniacal streak in him which puts him a bit too over the top for this series at this point that was attempting to be more grounded. Terri Hatcher isn't a bad choice as the sacrificial lamb of Carver's wife, but she isn't given much to work with script-wise. Neither is Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin a Chinese spy who winds up helping Bond after being more of a rival. It seems like they came up with the character because the actress was a hot commodity at the time (even before "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and doesn't really have much to do beyond kick ass.

The rest of the team (both on screen and off) return and hold their own for the most part. Director Roger Spottiswoode had done mostly action comedies before this (like "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot") and it shows. The film is a bit lighter than "Goldeneye" was in spots and it feels like it's straining to make the comedy work with the action.

Still, "Tomorrow Never Dies" is not as bad as the worst Bonds and Brosnan was still on target with the character. More to come.

Be seeing you.

Four Weeks And Counting Down To 007

The Bond series was getting old and tired, just like their star Roger Moore. It was time for a change of direction and a breath of fresh air. In comes Timothy Dalton and a return to Fleming (somewhat). This time an entirely new story is shaped around one of Fleming's short stories (which also serves as the title -- this will be the last time in the series that this happens until the Daniel Craig reboot). We get a fast paced action film with a brooding Bond and for the most part it all works.

The villains are a bit on the lack luster side (we no longer have maniacs trying to blow up the world, but political figures maneuvering around their own greed), but Dalton's characterization and the supporting cast more than make up for that little nitpick (and the villains are well cast). Since the script was initially written for Roger Moore (since they didn't know if he'd be returning), there are a few minor vestiges of his sensibility, but it never gets in the way as they come up Dalton disposes with them quickly.

We get a new Moneypenny played by Caroline Bliss. She makes very little impact on the proceedings. Robert Brown and Desmond Llewellyn return as M and Q respectively. Even Felix Leiter is back...not that you'd notice...he's in two brief scenes and played by John Terry (whose bigger claim to fame would come later as Jack's father on "Lost"). It's too bad because Terry probably would have made a great Felix if given something to work with (especially if he had been brought back for the following film).

This is also the last Bond film scored by John Barry. It is probably one of his best. Just watch the pre-credits sequence on mute to see how effective and important Barry's score is. This is one of the best opening scenes and it works because of Dalton's determination and Barry's music.

Dalton's Bond is right out of Fleming's novels. He's darker. He broods. He's blunt. He still has a dry wit, but he doesn't crack jokes like Roger Moore. It works well for the character and was a great way to re-energize the series (so great a way that the producers will do it again but take it even further with Daniel Craig). Luckily, Dalton has one more go around before a perfect storm of events will find him being replaced before he can really make his mark.





Dalton's second outing as Bond could be seen as a sign of things to come....almost 17 years early. "License to Kill" is a much darker Bond film than anything that has come before it. Bond goes rogue to seek revenge on the men who has done harm to his personal life (in this case feeding Felix Leiter to a shark and killing his wife on their wedding day). The plot moves in starts and stops, but Dalton is the one in the driver's seat as this is a Bond determined to get even.

Leaving almost all of Fleming behind in story (a character from a short story is lifted and worked in), the tone is all Fleming. The villains are more grounded and feel more real (we're dealing with Latin American Drug Lords). The gadgets that do come into play seem a bit more "real" as well (even though having Q on location to help seems a bit silly). The stunts are spectacular even if a bit outlandish.

If "The Living Daylights" was Dalton's "Dr. No", this is his "From Russia With Love". It's too bad he never got his "Goldfinger". The two previous Bonds, Connery and Moore (we'll skip Lazenby for the purposes here), took three movies to really hit their strides ("The Spy Who Love Me" really nails Moore's interpretation into place in a good way). Dalton never got that chance. Partly because this wound up being the weakest in the series at the American box office and partly because financial problems at MGM would hold up production of the next film for a few years, Dalton was robbed of continuing to bring that Fleming feeling back to the character. While some say this film was the wrong path to head down, the popularity of the reboot of the series in "Casino Royale" in 2006 (which this film has a lot in common with) seems to prove that wrong. But we'd have to get through the Pierce Brosnan era to arrive at that conclusion.

Be seeing you.

Five Weeks And Counting To 007

After the successful return to Fleming, the producers tried to replicate that feel again. Not quite as successful as "For Your Eyes Only", the unfortunately titles "Octopussy" is a fun film that strikes the balance between the seriousness of 'For Your Eyes Only" and the fun of "The Spy Who Loved Me" while avoiding the blandness of "Live and Let Die" and "The Man With The Golden Gun". Unfortunately, there's a touch too much of the silliness from "Moonraker" to keep this from being at the top of the Moore Bond pictures.

What works best for Moore is the supporting cast. From the slick villain Kamal Khan (Louis Jordan) and his Oddjob-like henchman (the giant, mostly silent Gobinda who can crush dice like Oddjob crushes golf balls) to the mysterious and sexy title character (played by Maude Adams returning to the series in a different role), everyone plays their parts well. We get a new M in Robert Brown, but he's just as dry as Bernard Lee if a bit more blustery. Q returns as usual and is on location for more time than he had been in the past (he even gets involved in the final battle -- which unfortunately is a bit silly). Lois Maxwell's Miss Moneypenny gets a younger assistant for Bond to flirt with in Penelope Smallbone (played by Michaelea Clavell who is never seen or heard of again after this film).

The film moves at a good pace and is rarely boring, but there is just enough silliness during some of the action scenes as to remove the viewer from the proceedings for a moment. Bond telling a tiger to "sit", a guy who sits on a bed of nails complains when Bond throws a bad guy on it, a Tarzan yell accompanying Bond swinging through the jungle...all seem out of place and detract from the proceedings (there are more examples). But on the whole, this is far and away better than the worst Moore Bonds, but not quite up to par with his best. We get one more like this before Moore finally quits as he's too old. He was showing his age in the previous film, it gets a bit worse here (especially when you notice his stunt doubles more obviously).





Roger Moore's tenure as James Bond ends with a film that's all over the place. One of the best villains seems completely out of place going up against Bond. Maybe it's Max Zorin's psychotic tendencies (the scene where he essentially guns down his own workers with glee comes to mind). Maybe it's the age difference (Walken looks way younger than Moore). Maybe it's the game of "spot the stunt double" that is way to easy to win. Maybe it's the worst Bond girl since Britt Ekland (one more "James" out of Tanya Roberts and you're hoping he leaves her behind in the burning building).

Moore's swan song is also the last appearance of Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny. She's made it this far, but she and Roger Moore are looking much older than they actually are here...and it's not a good thing. Robert Brown settles into the role of M nicely and Q gets a bit less to do than the last film, but a bit more to do than normally. Patrick Macnee is wasted as Bond's ally in the first half of the film. Grace Jones makes an imposing "henchwoman" but seems weird and out of place.

The film moves in fits and starts. Some of the action sequences feel like they are retreads of old Keystone Studios routines. John Barry's score is serviceable with the highlight being the Duran Duran theme song. Even Maurice Binder's title sequence seems old and dated. Fourteen films in and having moved away from Ian Fleming's material, the series (and it's star) were starting to show it's age. At the time, no one knew if Roger Moore would return yet again...thankfully he didn't...but what came next is probably the most controversial change the series had brought to date.

Be seeing you.