The Bond Thing Finale Part 2

Moment of truth folks. My top 5 revealed!

5) Licence To Kill

Timothy Dalton’s second and final outing as 007 has him taking on Franz Sanchez. A drug lord responsible for the maiming of his friend Felix Leiter and the death of Leiter’s wife Della. It was a certain change of pace from previous entries. Drawing it’s influences from the 80s action films that were the standard at that time, we got a much darker and violent film than expected. Dalton was ahead of his time as Bond. It would take 16 years after this film before the world was ready for a serious interpretation of 007.

4) The Living Daylights

  

After A View to a Kill, the world was ready to move on past the campy route Roger Moore took with the character. We got Timothy Dalton. I love this entry because I feel Dalton was the only actor who got close to Ian Fleming’s character as written in the novels. This is a pretty much spy/espionage/international intrigue adventure. It’s dated a bit because of the Cold War references and Joe Don Baker’s Brad Whitaker is a buffoon of a villain, but I feel this is really a strong entry in the franchise.

3) GoldenEye 

 

 Bond is made modern after a six year gap from Licence To Kill. Pierce Brosnan steps in with the humor of Roger Moore and the physical presence of Sean Connery. For the first time in the series, the Cold War is a memory. This movie just does a bang up job at reinventing 007. Plus it brought forth one the best games ever for the Nintendo 64.

2) Casino Royale 

 

After Die Another Day, Eon Productions decided to go back to the beginning. The early part of Bond’s 007 career and Ian Fleming’s initial Bond novel. Daniel Craig takes over and gives such a fine performance as a blunt instrument who is slowly transformed into an ultimate weapon. Great action sequences which include a chase through Madagascar that is one of my favorite moments in the series. Bond goes back to basics and it’s a great ride.

1) Dr. No  

 

The first Bond movie was not the first one I ever saw. It is not the best. The Bond formula is raw. But it is my favorite. It stands out as our cinematic introduction to 007. It is iconic more than anything and that is alright with me. It’s a straight forward movie with a straight forward story. It is its own thing and because it’s a first effort has no obligation to its future. Sean Connery has such presence as he travels through Jamaica to find out about a missing collegue. If there never was another Bond film, I would be happy with this as it is the only Bond entry I watch more than once in the year.

And that brings a close to The Bond Thing. James Bond may return, but I certainly had a lot of fun and I look forward to the release of Spectre on November 6th here in the U.S.