Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies may be my favorite of the Brosnan films, even though i dislike all of the characters and the story. I wish that i could take the best moments of the Brosnan era and mix up the characters and story element to make one big average movie.

My excitement for Tomorrow Never Dies starts at the very beginning of the film. That's right, the famous James Bond 007 Gunbarrel Sequence. It is only like 15 second long, but is always the highlight of going to see any Bond movie in the theater. It is the film's way of saying, what you are about to watch is set in the history of the franchise. Since Goldeneye was the first 007 film i saw in the theater, you can imagine my delight hearing David Arnold's music played at the beginning as opposed to Eric Serra. David Arnold took elements of John Barry's orchestrations of the James Bond theme and did his own Gun Barrel motif. Hearing an actual orchestra play something that sounded like classic Barry was so refreshing. An i knew that this time around they were going to do things right, if not better.

The movie on the whole isn't very good. Go figure, but i do like that there isn't a ton of CG. There are some great sequences and all of the action scenes are well done, with the exception of the motorcycle chase, which feels slow and awkward. The movie also suffers from a huge lag in the third act. Not that the first two acts are fast paced, but it gets starts to get way overbearing. It doesn't help that Jonathan Price puts in a horrible performance as the main villain, Elliot Carver. On top of the shitty villain, you have two of my least favorite bond girls of all time, Michelle Yeoh and Teri Hatcher. I do not like either of them in this movie and the new characters are what usually make or break a bond film. At this point, we have already seen 007 in seventeen adventures, so a lot of the entertainment value lies in the supporting cast, which was just heinous.

Judi Dench returns in the role of "M" and once again talks about her balls. Why would they have two back to back Dench Testicle jokes? It's baffling.

Over all the movie is just so-so. So considering that this is my favorite of the Brosnan films, really shows you what you are in for on the next two outings.

Tomorrow Never Dies, although has an incredibly slick look, great action and an amazing score by David Arnold, is still forgettable and boring.

★ ★ ½

Goldeneye

After six years without a James Bond film, 007 would return with an all new actor stepping into the roll. Pierce Brosnan was the perfect choice. Years before he appeared in Goldeneye, the producers had their sights set on him. During the making of For Your Eyes Only, Brosnan would visit the set, which starred his wife Cassandra Harris. The producers even wanted to have him replace Roger Moore in A View to a Kill, but he was still under contract for Remington Steele.

In 1995, the stars finally aligned and Pierce Brosnan stepped into one of the most boring Bond films of all time. Goldeneye was the first 007 movie that i saw in the theater and i was super amped! At the beginning of the film, there is this awesome bungie jump sequence that was super badass, unfortunately it was followed up by a bluescreen jump off a cliff. This is the worse part about the Brosnan era. There is too much CG. I am fine with space stations being special fx in 007 films, but when the stunts are cg, it's just lame! The whole point of James Bond is that he is a superman, who can do amazing feats. As soon as you put him in a cg world, it is just stupid. You lose any suspension of disbelief.

The best part of Goldeneye is that tank sequence, other than that the movie has little to no excitement. The villains are bland, the acting is wooden, the love interest is boring. Everything about this film is just bland. One of the worse parts is that "Q" is obviously reading off of cue cards.

One of the best things to come out of Goldeneye is the fact that Judi Dench played "M". I really like the direction that the series took the character "M", but in this movie they tried so hard to make her a ball buster, that she became so annoying and unbearable. I am glad that her character was fleshed out a little more in subsequent Bond flicks.

I do like Famke Janssen in this film. Even though she is the most single dimensional character, at least she brought some excitement to her role. Other than her, Sean Bean, Robbie Coltrane, Izabella Scorupco (who is way hotter without her Goldeneye haircut), Allan Cumming, Pierce Brosnan and Joe Don Baker are all BORING!! Don't get me started on the Eric Serra score.

Don't let the video game fool you. This movie is not an action fest, which would be fine if the story wasn't another "laser pointed at the earth" senario!

★ ★

License to Kill

Timothy Dalton returned tougher, faster and more brutal in the first PG-13 James Bond film of the franchise. Everything that was set up in The Living Daylights was heightened in License to Kill, with the exception of the humor. James Bond was tough, unforgiving, vengeful and stripped of his 007 status.

Originally titled License Revoked, Eon Productions took James Bond down a really dark path. Even though there is some humor sprinkled in this film, none of it involves 007 himself. He is a rogue agent who will stop at nothing to avenge the death of Felix Leiter's wife Della. This is only the third time since Tracy's death in OHMSS is mentioned in the series and it is a main driving force behind this story.

This movie is great because it doesn't have a huge world domination plot. It is essentially about James Bond infiltrating a drug lord's organization and creating chaos within. The downfall to this movie is yet another annoying american bond girl. Pam Bouvier is pretty obnoxious. I do not know why the Bond Franchise portrays American woman as annoying hardasses that always want to work alone. Why can't they accept that it's okay to work with Bond? Another thing that i am not fond of is Michael Kamen's score to the film, which is just to loud and obnoxious. It is pretty much a cookie cutter 80's action score.

All in all, License to Kill is a pretty good movie. It isn't the greatest, but it is true to Fleming. It's unfortunate that T-Dalt didn't get another shot at 007, but he made a pretty indelible mark on the franchise. Apparently the franchise was thought of as old and worn out. It wouldn't be another six years before 007 Returned!

"Don't worry - we gave her a nice honeyMOOOOON!"

★ ★ ★

The Living Daylights

Alright, now we're fucking talking!! After 12 old years of Roger Moore it is now time to kick things into high gear! Mr. Timothy "Prince Barin" Dalton is the new James Bond and he is here to kick as and take names, without raising a single eyebrow! T-Dalt is my third favorite actor in the role of 007 and this is the best of his two outings.

The Living Daylights marks the third time that the producers of the 007 films had decided to go back to Fleming's roots. The first act of the movie follows Ian Fleming's short story The Living Daylights, then expands on it into an awesome action adventure. Even though Timothy Dalton brought a tough edge to 007, the movie is still littered with awesome gadgets and stunts!

The pre title sequence is a great opening to a bond film, in which a training exercise at Gibraltar goes south and 007 is thrown into an epic battle that ends with him parachuting from a jeep. Yes, you heard me. He parachutes from a jeep!!

The Stunts in this movie are so fantastic and even though it is 22 years old, it still has my favorite end fight sequence of any 007 film. It involves Bond vs. Necros hanging from a giant cargo net that is swinging off the back of a huge airplane. It's so badass.

Everything about this movie is great. This also marks the final film scored by John Barry. He puts forth an incredible effort! The Living Daylights is my third favorite Bond film and even though it happens to be the first 007 movie i had ever seen, it is not a bias opinion. This movie ROCKS!!

This movie attempted to do what the Daniel Craig films did, as far as rebooting the franchise and bringing Fleming's Bond back to the big screen. I just don't think the good folks of 1987 were quite ready for it.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favor and bump it to the top of your Netflix queue and watch it!!!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A View to a Kill

For the last few 007 reviews, i have mentioned how OLD Roger Moore was. This review is no different. HOLY MOSES! This dude is like a human prune, and apparently is just as sexy as he was in 1973 when he did Live and Let Die. Even though Roger Moore is super fucking old looking, it does not compare to how fucking old Lois "Ms. Moneypenny" Maxwell looks. Watching these two interact is like watching Q's balls slapping together between his old wrinkly legs!

So anyway, James Bond is thrown into another globe trotting adventure that takes him around the world that he must save. This movie has to be, in my opinion, the worse 007 movie ever! There is only two things in this movie that actually stand out. Christopher Walken and Patrick Macnee. Walken is a total badass and Macnee is probably the greatest of Bond's sidekicks.

Everything else in the movie is pretty sucky. Grace Jones and Tanya Roberts are the shittiest pair of Bond Girls to ever be put in the same movie. Grace Jones is just too fucking weird to be hot and Tanya Roberts is absolutely ANNOYING! There is not a single stunt that stands out. The "Beach Boys" song at the beginning is atrocious.

I honestly do not want to go on about this movie, but the crappy blue-screen climax on the Golden Gate Bridge is the final nail in the boring coffin. James Bond films are great because they are escapism at their finest, but going to San Francisco is something that i can do on any given weekend.

The best thing about A View to a Kill, that it marks the 3rd time that the Bond producers decided to reevaluate the direction of the franchise. It happened after You Only Live Twice and Moonraker and i could not be happier to be saying goodbye to Roger Moore who peaked two movies prior and move on to a more grittier Fleming Bond.

So long Mr. Moore and hello Mr. Dalton!!

★ ½

Octopussy

In 1983 Warner Bros. was going to release a remake of Thunderball, starring Sean Connery as James Bond. With EON productions feeling threatened by having a lesser product out, they decided to keep their established 007 actor in the role opposed to casting a new one. 1983 became the year of the Double Old Farts!

Octopussy just may be one of the least memorable outings in the entire franchise. Every time i go to watch Octopussy, i think, "Oh that's this one". Octopussy isn't that bad of a film, there is just some really questionable moments sprinkled throughout, which is strange because of how much work they did in the previous film to ground 007 in reality. Some of the most insane moments from the whole franchise happen in Octopussy, including James Bond driving a mechanical aligator, a buzzsaw yo-yo, a mechanical horse's ass, a Tarzan yell and James Bond dressed as a circus clown.

So it had been 11 years since Roger Moore had begun portraying 007 and this dude aged as poorly as a jack o' lantern. He is so gross and wrinkly that they had to recast old Maud Adams to play his love interest. He is all hunched over and it doesn't help that they put him in old people's clothes. I could be wrong, but i am pretty sure there is a point in the film where Roger Moore is wearing a Fort Lauderdale retiree one piece suit. I think that every time he throws a punch he also throws out his back. It is really embarrassing watching a "Panti-Hose Doll" trying to run around on top a train while chasing bad guys.

There is not much to say about the other characters in Octopussy. The only real stand out in the film is Vijay Amritraj, James Bond's contact in India. He is probably the most likable sidekick in any of the Bond Films and his death is probably the most heartbreaking. The girls are really 80's looking, especially Octopussy's henchwoman played by Kristina Wayborn. She is super 80's looking.

Octopussy is not a good film, but it is a hundred times better than the Sean Connery film Never Say Never Again! Thank God that Roger Moore finally stepped down from the role of 007 after Octopussy, because he was getting WAY TO FREAKING OLD!!!

Wait, what? Roger Moore will Return in A View to a Kill??

★ ★ ½

For Your Eyes Only

After Moonraker shot James Bond into outer space, there was only one place for 007 to go next. Greece! For Your Eyes Only would mark the second time in the Eon Productions franchise in which they decided to bring Bond out of the world of fantasy and back into the world of Ian Fleming. FYEO took elements from the Ian Fleming short stories "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico" to create a down to Earth approach 007.

Old ass Roger Moore would once again portray the super sexy secret agent. In this installment, Roger Moore plays 007 with less tongue in cheek, which i don't think is an entirely good thing. There are some points where Moore is too serious and it does not work as well for him as say a Connery or Lazenby. I think that Roger Moore's lighter take on Bond works just fine.

Of all of the "Back to Fleming's Roots" films, this is my least favorite of the four, but it is still a great movie. The action is really good and locations are amazing. When i was younger i kept hearing about how one of the bond girls in FYEO was actually a man so for a long time i swore that the main lead, Carole Bouquet was actually a man. I think because she had such a stone cold face and was dubbed that i just decided that was enough for me. I later found out that she is not a dude, but a lady! That's good to know.

I am not a fan of Bibi Dhal in the film, but mostly because American Bond girls are annoying and Lynn-Holly Johnson was just to young for Roger Moore, who was seriously Fifty Four at the time. I think there was a 36 year age gap between the two of them. Luckily Bond was supposed to be annoyed with her and not be into banging away on her.

Probably my favorite part about the movie is the hilarious score by Bill Conti. It has to be heard to believed.

All in all i like For Your Eyes Only. It doesn't blow me away, but at least it isn't as heinous as the next few 007 outtings!

★ ★ ★½

Moonraker

I don't care what you say, Moonraker is awesome! Ok, you probably know my love for the more serious respectful Bond films and you probably already know that Moonraker is the biggest whore of a movie ever. Obviously trying to ride the coattails of Star Wars 1979's Bond adventure actually takes 007 into outer space with laser guns!!

Moonraker is the definition of guilty pleasure. It is everything that is wrong with the series, as far as bringing Ian Fleming's character to life on the big screen, but it is so over the top and ridiculous that you cant help but have fun. Rarely does a character continue on to the next film in the series, There was Sylvia Trench, JW Pepper and now Jaws. Richard Kiel is probably the greatest of all the Bond Henchmen and he was really deserving of the return. This time he even gets to the point in which he becomes an ally to 007.

Lois Chiles' character Holly Goodhead marks a milestone in the Bond franchise by becoming the first and only American Bond Girl that is not super annoying. Many would say that her performance is bland, but i think she is probably one of the only Bond Girls that you would believe is a Rocket Scientist. She is nowhere near plain, but it is refreshing to have a Bond girl that isn't ridiculously insane looking.

My only real gripe with Moonraker is the main villain, Hugo Drax. He is so boring and has no charisma and makes me want to go home and sleep.

John Barry's score for Moonraker is amazing. There is a ton of that Barry "Space Music'' that i love so much. "Lured to Pyramid" and "Corrine Put Down" are two of my all all time favorite cues in the entire series.

Moonraker feels like an alternate reality Bond film, which feels like a What if 007 went into the fantasy world. I really like it even though it is totally retarded.

★ ★ ★ ★

The Spy Who Loved Me

Ten years after Lewis Gilbert directed my favorite Sean Connery 007 film, he returned to the series to direct the best Bond movie since On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The Spy Who Loved me was released in 1977 and kicks all kinds of ass! Even though i am not a huge fan of the over the top bond films, Lewis Gilbert some how manages to pull these off and not make them completely laughable. He pulls off tongue and cheek very very well.

This is the Bond movie that has it all and Carly Simon's title song "Nobody does it Better" is a true statement about the film. Roger Moore kicks so much ass in his see through tuxedo shirt and bellbottoms. Barbara Bach just might be my favorite Bond Girl. She is an equal to Bond, as far as spy's go and she is totally hot. Usually when Bond gets teamed up with another spy throughout the entire film, it can get annoying, but in this case it works.

The story is pretty much the same as You Only Live Twice, but instead of an evil genius stealing spaceships with bigger spaceships, this guy steals submarines with a huge oil tanker!! In this movie, Bond does not have a helicopter that fits in four suitcases, but rather a jetski that fits in one duffle bag. The main difference in this movie is the fact that it has a henchmen that is hot on Bond's trail the whole time. And this dude kicks so much ass that they put him in the next film!

Richard Kiel plays the huge ass, metal teeth killer known as JAWS! I mean, just look at that guy, he is a monster!! Hands down, my favorite henchmen of all 22 films.

This movie is easily my favorite of all the Roger Moore outtings and Marvin Hamlisch's disco infused score is actually pretty fun. There is not enough i can say about this film. From the amazing pre-title sequence (my second favorite in the series) all the way to the "Gay Sailor Choir" version of "Nobody Does it Better" during the end credits, The Spy Who Loved Me is a great movie to watch if you haven't seen any of the Roger Moore 007 films!!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The Man with the Golden Gun

In 1975 Roger Moore returned in one of my least favorite 007 film, The Man with the Golden Gun. This is the fourth and final James Bond film directed by Goldfinger's Guy Hamilton. For some reason after Diamonds are Forever and Live and Let Die, they still decided to use Hamilton.

His films were way too campy and only got worse with Roger Moore, who had already brought a lighter side to 007. This movie has one of the worse pre-title sequences. It takes place in a fun house and is not exciting in the slightest. The whole movie is pretty lackluster which sucks because it has some of my favorite characters.

Francisco Scaramanga played brilliantly by Christopher Lee is one of my favorite villains. He is the man with the golden gun and is intellectually equal to James Bond and is just as suave and sophisticated as 007. He is probably the only James Bond villain that you actually believe can take out 007 and he does so with one of the greatest henchmen of all time. Nick Nack played by Hervé Villechaize is awesome!!

As for the girls, this is one of the few times that i am not annoyed by at least one of them. Maude Adams is great, but getting slapped around by Roger Moore is a little unnerving. Britt Ekland plays the fumbling MI6 sidekick to 007 and would normally be annoying, but between the accent (which to me always makes someone sound smarter) and the bikini that she wears in the last half of the film, makes her one of my favorites.

There are some great action scenes, which include a car chase, which ends with 007 launching his car off of a ramp over a river while doing a barrel roll (as depicted in the poster image above)! Even though it is probably the coolest car stunt ever to be filmed, John Barry, who is usually amazing, decided to put in a slide whistle effect that turns it into a super ultra lame film moment.

Speaking of the music, Lulu's theme "The Man with the Golden Gun" is one of my favorite, especially when it is sung by my friend Ryan. I love when the producers feel the need to have the title of the film in the song, especially when it comes to a title as ridiculous as this one!

All in all, this film is a turd. It can be fun at points, but it is forgettable.

★ ★ ½

Live and Let Die

Hey everyone, it's Roger Moore!! Live and Let Die came out in 1973 and Roger Moore brought his own spin on the 007 character. He took what Connery and Lazenby did and flip it on it's ear. Instead of playing Bond as a steamrolling brute, Moore went the charming gentleman agent route. Not that Live and Let Die is a great movie or anything, but Roger Moore's take on the character was a fresh take on a series that had already survived seven previous films.

Live and Let Die brings 007 to the United States for the second time in a row, which means more annoying American bond girls. This time around we get Rosie Carver who makes Tiffany Case look like a delight. She is really annoying. As far as the movie goes, it is ok. There is some weird voodoo shit that goes down and a lot of racism, mostly thrown at James Bond himself. I think they call him a Cracker and a Honkey.

The cool thing about this movie, is that it is the only James Bond film that features Roger Moore as a younger person. The following 6 Roger Moore films feature a much older dude. SO MUCH OLDER. The funny thing about this movie is that they really try do distance itself from the Connery movies that had come before. Roger Moore does not smoke cigarettes, he smokes cigars. He does not drink Martinis, he drinks whiskey with branch water, whatever the fuck that is. For the first time ever, there is no Q. It is amazing that the movie was a success, but i guess in 1973 people were looking for something different.

All in all, Live and Let Die is a pretty decent movie. I like a lot of the characters, like Tee-Hee, Whisper and Baron Samedi. Jane Seymour is pretty good as Solitaire, but i am not sure i like that she gets bamboozled by James Bond in such a sleazy way. As for the main villain, Mr. Big/Kananga, i think that Yaphet Koto is really boring, but goes out in one of the funniest ways of all the James Bond baddies.

It's an alright movie and it a breath of fresh air from the super-shitty Diamonds are Forever.

★ ★ ½

Diamonds are Forever

After one of the biggest life altering events to ever happen to James Bond in OHMSS, everything gets undone with one of my least favorite of all the 007 films! In 1971, Sean Connery returned in the role that made him famous. The film, Diamonds are Forever.

Director Guy Hamilton returns to the world of James Bond for the first time since Goldfinger and with Sean Connery back as 007, you would think that it is a recipe for success. Diamonds are Forever sends James Bond into Las Vegas which means that there is going to be an annoying American Bond Girl. Jill St. John is probably my 4th least favorite Bond Girl and the other three also happen to be American as well. i just don't understand why American girls in bond movies need to be so "spunky" aka annoying as shit!?

My main gripe with Diamonds are Forever is the fact that there is no mention of Tracy Bond. In fact, Tracy isn't even eluded to until 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. I think that Charles Gray is a horrible Blofeld and Mr Wint and Mr Kidd are lame henchmen.

The action in the movie almost is a set back. None of the action scenes are memorable with the exception of the Moon Buggie chase and the only reason why it is memorable is because it is really dumb.

Not everything in Diamonds are Forever is lame, i actually like Jimmy Dean (yes, that jimmy dean) as Willard Whyte! He seems to be the only one in the whole movie that seems to be having fun. Even Connery seems to be bored.

All in all, this movie blows.

★ ½

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

In 1969, EON Productions introduced the second actor to play James Bond. George Lazenby stepped into the role in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service! This will go down as the first of four reset buttons in the franchise' history.

I don't consider it a reset just because Connery "left" the series, but rather, this is the first time that the producers decided to go back to the well and strip 007 of his gadgets and make him a detective as opposed to a super human. I mean, once you do a hollowed out volcano lair, where can you go from there?

To be honest with you, the first time i saw this movie, i was not as thrilled as i should have been. I had loved the over the top You Only Live Twice so much, that by the time i saw OHMSS, i was ready for James Bond to be hang gliding on the moon. But this movie was down to Earth and apparently follows the Ian Fleming novel more than any other 007 movie to date. It follows the book so much, that Blofeld does not recognize James Bond at first. Apparently OHMSS, the novel, is the first time the two had come face to face.

Being that this film was the longest Bond film in the franchise, there is a lot of room for character development and story, which leads 007 into every winter sport possible, including Curling.

Diana Rigg is awesome as Tracy and is still one of my all time favorite Bond Girls. Telle Savalas is my favorite actor to play Blofeld. This movie is so great, but not suggested for those who have yet to see a Bond film.

George Lazenby puts in a great performance and up until recently, he was my favorite actor in the role. On Her Majesty's Secret Service had also only recently been knocked down from my favorite Bond film of all time, into number two. I wish that George Lazenby had signed on for a 7 picture deal, which would have ended his career on For Your Eyes Only, which would have been a great way for him to become the greatest bond actor of them all. Unfortunately after OHMSS, George Lazenby did not return to play the role. Sadly, he is the only actor to play 007 only one time.

This movie is freaking awesome and for those of you wondering who was going to fill Lazenby's shoes, well...

Sean Connery will return in Diamonds are Forever.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

You Only Live Twice

In 1967 after the release of Thunderball, Sean Connery had a press conference in which he stated that the next Bond film would be his last, but remember Mr. Connery You Only Live Twice!! This movie is fucking awesome! For the longest time You Only Live Twice was my favorite 007 adventure. Over the last few years my tastes have become a little more refined, but this film is so batshit crazy over the top that i cannot help but keep it in my top 5.

The first thing that i love about this film is the screenplay written by one of my favorite writers, Roald Dahl. That's right, Willy Wonka creator himself! This movie is absolutely out of control. Bond gets killed in the opening sequence. Then soon after his body is buried out to sea, frogmen take his mummified body into a submarine where you learn that M set up the fake death in order to get some of 007's enemies off his back. He is a really popular spy after all.

Throughout the film we see space capsules being hijacked by bigger rocket ships, there is a helicopter that fits in four alligator skin suitcases, there is a sequence where James Bond gets plastic surgery to look Japanese and then there is the grand daddy of all, what the hell moments of all the bond films. SPECTRE is operating out of a HOLLOWED OUT VOLCANO!!

This movie is out of control, but nothing beats James Bond along side an army of Ninjas, fighting a war against hundreds of SPECTRE henchmen.

John Barry's score is amazing and Nancy Sinatra's title song is probably my favorite of the entire series. The movie is directed by Lewis Gilbert who will go on to direct one of my other top five favorite Bond films ten years later.

★ ★ ★ ★½

Thunderball

With the huge success of Goldfinger, EON productions released the fourth 007 film in the franchise and if you are into underwater shit, then Thunderball is for you!!! So apparently people in the 60's were not exposed to the world under the ocean, because damn. Seriously over 20% of the film takes place underwater.

The plot of Thunderball is simple. Emilio Largo, Spectre's #2, has obtained a nuclear weapon and uses it to threaten the world, but guess what, 007 is going to stop him, while wearing tiny shorts!!

I have to tell you, Thunderball looks great. It was the first 007 film shot in widescreen and all of the underwater shots, although beautiful, gets a little tedious. The girls are beautiful, the locations are exotic and Sean Connery kicks ass, but the film takes a really long time to get going. I think that Bond does not get "on the case" until about the 50 minute mark, so it takes a while for things to kick into high gear.

I really don't know what else to say about Thunderball other than the fact that it is just alright. Apparently Thunderball was a resounding success, which is good, because as the end credits of Thunderball states "James Bond will return in You Only Live Twice"!!

★ ★ ★ ½

Goldfinger

In 1964 James Bond became the biggest shit ever, with the release of Goldfinger! This is it gang, if you only watch one 007 film ever, this should probably be the one. Although it is not in my top 5, it is the quint essential James Bond film. This on has it all, but it may have too much for my tastes.

So here is the basic plot. James Bond is sent to tail Auric Goldfinger, a man who MI6 believes is smuggling gold illegally. During the chase, James Bond finds out that Goldfinger has been using his profits to start up Operation Grand Slam, which involves the detonation of an atomic device in Fort Knox, which will raise the price of his gold ten fold.

This is the first James Bond adventure that has the one night stand who gets murdered, the good girl as well as the bad girl who turns good due to the advances of 007. This film also has the first in a long line of "gimmicky" henchmen. Known as "Odd Job", this mute uses is wrestler strength and steel brimmed bowler cap to take out his victims.

This is also the first James Bond movie to introduce an pre-title sequence that acts as a mini adventure that does not affect the main plot of the film. This is also one of my favorite pre-title sequences, mostly due to John Barry's amazing cue "Bond Back in Action Again" (which is later referenced in David Arnold's Tomorrow Never Dies score).

Goldfinger also marks the beginning of James Bonds car of choice, the Aston Martin DB5. A gadget filled car that will launch an enemy with an ejector seat, drop a lethal oil slick in it's wake and shield any secret agent with a bulletproof partition.

There is no denying that Goldfinger is a great movie. I think that it is the most viewer friendly and very accessible to the masses. It is definitely a crowd pleaser!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

From Russia with Love

The year after Dr. No, the second James Bond adventure was released. It was 1963 and From Russia with Love set the elements in place for all future 007 films. There was the pre-title sequence, the gadgets, the tough henchman and more importantly, the action.

From Russia with Love is Sean Connery's favorite Bond film and i have to agree, it is probably Connery's best. The story revolves around Spectre, a super organization that Dr No worked for. Spectre uses a beautiful girl and the promises of a Lector decoder machine to capture James Bond. This is the first of two times in the entire series that acted as a sequel to a previous Bond film.

James Bond and M immediately realize that this beautiful woman and her promises of a Lector decoder is a trap, but think that any danger that 007 may be in would be worth getting their hands on the decoding machine.

This film has a much different look than the glossy Dr. No. The main difference in the film is the score by John Barry, who would go on to compose the scores to eleven of the twenty-two 007 films! There are some great action moments in the film such as the fight on the orient express between James Bond and Red Grant, played brilliantly by Robert Shaw. There is the shootout in the Gypsy Camp and the Helicopter chase, which ends with bond shooting the co-pilot, who drops a grenade in the cockpit. But the moment that sealed the deal for me becoming a Bond fan was the climactic boat chase, in which James Bond tosses barrels full of fuel overboard then launches a flair at the barrels, destroying the bad guys in a huge ball of fire!

Daniela Bianchi's character of Tatiana Romanova and Raobert Shaw's Red Grant are definitely highlights of the film, but the main man of the movie is Desmond Llewelyn playing "Major Boothroyd" also known as "Q". In this film Q gives 007 a briefcase full of gadgets which include a folding sniper rifle and gas canister that goes off unless you know how to open the case properly.

This movie has it all and really set the entire franchise into motion!!

★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Dr. No

In 1962 Sean Connery wore nothing but a white bikini, a knife on his hip and stepped out of the ocean and into cinema history.

I wasn't born until 15 years later, but I had eventually become a fan of the film adaptations of Ian Fleming's character James Bond. I like all 22 007 outings in one way or another and intend on giving a review of each and every last one. In this installment i will be giving you my thoughts on the first 007 film, Dr. No! I am not going to go into detail about the plot, i just want to give some commentary on what i thought. Sit back and enjoy and be sure to leave some comments on the the film and my reviews.

Back in 1995 i found out that Pierce Brosnan was going to be the next James Bond. My only exposure to 007 at that time was the two Dalton films that showed on cable when i was around 10 and 13 years old. I remember liking those two films a lot and decided to go ahead and rent every James Bond film before i went to go see Goldeneye.

At the time i watched Dr No, i had already had an idea of what James Bond should be and i was a little disappointed at the lack of action. I think the thing that sold me was the characters that surrounded James Bond. One of my favorite characters in the entire franchise is 007's is the fast talking Jamaican boatman known as Quarrel. Quarrel is the first in a long line of lovable James Bond sidekicks who meets an untimely demise.

You can't talk about James Bond without talking about the women that inhabit 007's world. Ursula Andres' Honey Ryder is the quintessential "Bond Girl". She is beautiful, strong, smart and can fend for herself. She is the Bond Girl that all others strive to be. My only problem is that towards the end her character becomes a little too dependent on 007. But i guess any girl wouldnt mind being rescued by James Bond.

Which brings me to Sean Connery. Many say that Sean Connery is the best James Bond (i will get to that in a future review). You cannot deny that Sean Connery is Bond. He set a standard in what James Bond should be for generations to come. It is just too bad that he does not get too many action scenes to show is strength.

All in all , Dr. No is a good start to a series that has been going for almost 50 years! It planted a few seeds that are still in effect today. From the opening Gun Barrel sequence all the way to the end credits which state "James Bond will Return..." Dr. No's greatest achievement was kick starting a franchise that has swept the imaginations of movie goers of all ages.

also, Monty Norman's score is not good.

★ ★ ★ ½