Bond on holiday...

So, some of you might have noticed that I haven’t posted a new Bond reviews for a while. This isn’t because I’ve got bored with the world’s favourite British spy, it’s my own fault.

The last two months have been pretty big for me personally. I’ve left one job, started a new one and I’ve got Pete moving in this weekend (see my last post here). Unfortunately, this has meant that I haven’t had the spare time or brain power to watch the next Bond and write a review.

But fear not, Bond will return in September with Live and Let Die.

James Bond - My favourite Sean Connery films in order

To me, Sean Connery plays a great Bond in the majority of his films for the franchise. His cheeky smile, charm and white make you fall in love with a man who you know is going to break your heart. His fight sequences are great and he really brought Bond to life.

He was lucky enough to start so many Bond legacies that have echoed through all of the 22 films over the past 50 years.

Even though his Bond was more of a womanizer, he will always be one of my favourite Bonds.

Each of his Bond films built on the other and they weren’t afraid to try things out. You could tell that the directors got more confident with the character over time.

So, here are my favourite Sean Connery films in order:

1 - Goldfinger - With Pussy Galore and my favourite villian we are lead on one great Bond Adventure. I gave it 9/10 - Read my review here: http://bit.ly/17Daqtg

2 - You Only Live Twice - A great end to Sean Connery’s Bond and a great Bond film where East meets West. Will “Little Nelly” and ninjas, what could go wrong? I gave this film 8/10 - check out my review here: http://bit.ly/ZRBV0h

3 - Doctor No - The film that started a 22 film franchise that has lasted over 50 years. if you really want to find out the origins of the modern Bond. This is one to watch. I gave it 8/10. Check out my review here: http://bit.ly/16ucJNF

4 - Thunderball - Even with the epic voice of Mr Tom Jones singing the theme song, I found it hard to get on with this Bond. Even though he had a jetpack and fought off the villain in an underwater fight scene. This was not one of my favorites, I gave it 5/10. Check out my thoughts on it here: http://bit.ly/ZJdG30

5 - From Russia with Love - From great start with Dr. No, you can tell this is the Bond where they tried something different. It was more of a serious spy thriller than a Bond for me. I gave it 4/10. Check out my thoughts here: http://bit.ly/10NUnni

6 - Diamonds are Forever - It’s great to see Sean back after the brief stint from Geroge Lazenby. For me, it might an echo of Goldfinger, but it lacked so much for me. I gave it 3/10: Read my review here: http://bit.ly/19ixLRV

What do you think? What would your order be? Let me know in the comments below.

James Bond review - Diamonds are shiny

There might be a few spoilers in this review... you have been warned.

After the disappointment of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and finding out that Diamonds are Forever marks the return of Sean Connery, I had high expectations for this film.

Unfortunately I was left disappointed.

The 70’s had started to hit Sean Connery in this film. With his longer hair, bushy eyebrows and more relaxed dress sense, Sean had definitely lost his sparkle. Even when he seduces a woman, it still feels like he is not really there. Maybe he should have finished off his run with You Only Live Twice.

Even the Bond girl didn’t save this film. I can’t even remember her name so I’m not even going to mention her. On the other hand, Miss Moneypenny was back on form and who could forget the name of “Plenty O’Toole” the saucy mare.

The only saving grace for this film were the villains. Even though Blofeld has been used alot in the last few Bonds, each actor has played the roll slightly differently. Charles Gray has to be my favourite Blofeld. He is interesting and a little bit crazy, but not too weird, even when he is dressed as a women.

I would have loved to see more of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. Their double act saves the film in so many ways and I was more interested to see how they were involved in the story. Unfortunately you never really find out.

As you can tell, I really didn’t enjoy this Bond. It was great to see Sean Connery back, but I think it’s time for next chapter.

I give this film 3/10

What did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Steve

James Bond review - On Her Majesty’s Secret...what

First off, let me say, poor George Lazenby.

It’s very hard to take over the very iconic role of James Bond following the brilliant acting of Sean Connery. George lacked a lot of the charm and the sparkle that Sean brought to the role. His love scenes seemed very flat and he looked a bit dead behind the eyes. His fight scenes were quite impressive, and this was one of things that got him the role.

For me, this film was trying so hard to be the new Bond, to move it on from where previous films had left the character. Showing Bond fall in love and then to see his new wife die before his eyes was a hard thing to watch and very different to how we have seen Bond before.

I might be quite biased as I have just watched Diana Rigg in The Avengers as the amazing Mrs Emma Peel, in Doctor Who as the evil Victorian villain and Game of Thrones as the forthright grandmother. I would say that she was a brilliant Bond girl. She was action packed, intelligent and beautiful. She gives Honor Blackman in Goldfinger a run for her money, in my honest opinion.

Another big difference in this film is the portrayal of Blofeld. In You Only Live Twice, he comes across as the crazy, evil villain. In this film, he seems a lot more sophisticated and clever. His new lair in the Alpes is very special, but not as spectacular as his previous places.

To be honest, I wasn’t really impressed by this Bond and am not surprised that George didn’t come back for a second. He actually quit the role just before this film premiered. The overall film feels very slow to me and not one that I will be revisiting again soon. The story is ok, and the honey trap scenes in Blofeld's Alipine HQ are fun. The action sequences are very well done, and the ski chase is impressive, but not enough to save the film.

I’m going to give it 5/10.

What did you think? Is this actually your favourite Bond? Let me know if the comments below.

Thunder what? Oh... Thunderball

I’m going to be very frank from the start and say that this was not one of my favourite Bond films. After the amazing Goldfinger, I was left feeling a bit down after watching this. To me, it felt like a really, really rushed film with an excessive use of swipe cuts trying to bring the story together (my inner Media Studies student is coming out!). It was also all about the never ending fight scenes. The last scene with the scuba fight is great for the time, but it goes on and on and on....

One of my favourite moments of this film was right at the beginning when James Bond dons a Jet Pack and flies out of trouble. I mean, A BLOODY JET PACK. Another good point of this film is the fact that Sean Connery spends most of this film jumping in and out of water in a pair of blue swimming trunks. But all this jumping in and out of the water is very reminiscent of From Russia with Love and that whole section in the train carriage.

The Bond charm from the first three films has also crossed the fine line from charming to harassment. The scene in the health spa when he forces the nurse in charge of him to sleep with him made me cringe really. This is not Bond, he can charm a women, but he would never force them to bed him.

So all in all, I really didn’t like this Bond, one of the only saving graces was the great soundtrack provided by the one and only Tom Jones! Let’s hope that You Only Live Twice brings things back on track.

I give this film 5/10

Am I wrong, did I miss something? What did you think? Please add your comments below!