As Bond hits Amazon Video, one essential movie from each Bond era: Connery, Craig, Moore and the other ones
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(Image credit: Getty)
(Image credit: Getty)
The argument over which Bond film is best is a hotly contested one that will never end. It’s almost as angrily debated as the question ofwhich Bond film is the worst– but don’t worry as I’ve got a definitive answer to that one: it’sDie Another Day. Soon, these arguments will rage even louder, as all of the official James Bond films start streaming onAmazon PrimeVideo from today in the UK.
There’s an episode ofI’m Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan’s sitcom about a hapless Norfolk-based radio DJ, in which he attempts to watch every James Bond film in one Bank Holiday weekend. With disastrous consequences, it must be said. With the completeJames Bond Collectionhitting Amazon Prime Video on April 15 – the start of Easter weekend, you could now attempt the same feat as Alan. However, if you are a newcomer to Bond films, you could end up in similarly dire straits if you pick the wrong ones to watch first.
• View to a kill:see all the Bond movies streaming at Amazon– Prime membership required.
Sean Connery: From Russia With Love
‘What have I told you about shleeping on my shide?'(Image credit: Getty)
‘What have I told you about shleeping on my shide?’
‘What have I told you about shleeping on my shide?’
(Image credit: Getty)
Choosing which of the Connery Bonds is best is no easy task, let me tell you.Dr Nowas the first,Thunderballthe most successful financially,Goldfingerarguably the most acclaimed.You Only Live Twiceand evenDiamonds Are Foreverrightly have their fans too, despite the latter seeing Connery don a wig so obvious, it might as well have been levitating above his head.
I don’t think anyone has a good word to say aboutNever Say Never Again, which saw Connery return to the 007 role as a paunchy 50-something in a 1983 film that is not even an ‘official’ Bond movie. Sadly, while movie technology had moved on, wig technology seemingly had not, and Sean’s hair was again about as convincing as his Irish accent inThe Untouchables.
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(Image credit: Getty)
Roger Moore: The Spy Who Loved Me
This image isn’t fromThe Spy Who Loved Me… but it is hilarious(Image credit: Getty)
This image isn’t fromThe Spy Who Loved Me… but it is hilarious
This image isn’t fromThe Spy Who Loved Me… but it is hilarious
(Image credit: Getty)
Choosing the best Roger Moore Bond is also difficult, but thankfully several of his films are absolute crap, so the pool of potential winners is substantially slimmed down from the seven that he made, to the three that are any good. Moore’s performances throughout his tenure were so charming, and the films so good-natured, that slagging them off feels like kicking a puppy, so let’s stick to the good stuff.
Moore’s first,Live And Let Diesees Bond going Blaxploitation, with an absolutely ludicrous plot involving drugs smuggling, voodoo and one particular car/boat chase that goes on for what feels like 17 hours. Roger’s arthritic ‘karate’ moves are hilarious but he manages to get through even the most preposterous moments without snickering, which can’t be said for many of his later Bond ventures.
However, Moore really reached his peak withThe Spy Who Loved Me. This features arguably the best Bond theme in Carly Simon’s swoonsomeNobody Does It Better, perhaps the ultimate villainous henchman in Richard Kiel’s dopey-yet-psychotic, metal-toothed Jaws and perhaps the best ever Bond car gimmick: a Lotus Esprit that turns into a bloodysubmarine. The plot is something to do with Bond and Russia’s top agent reluctantly joining forces to prevent a man who lives under the sea from killing everyone on Earth, then re-populating it with an ocean-dwelling master race, or something.
If you like this film, you should also like the next Bond film:Moonraker. That’s because it is exactly the same film, only this time the villain is based in space rather than under the sea.
You want my short verdicts on the other Moore movies? Okay,The Man With the Golden Gun,For Your Eyes Only,View to a KillandOctopussyare, respectively, crap, passable, crap and crap. And speaking of which…
Timothy Dalton: The Living Daylights
Timothy Dalton brought a lot of grit to the role of Bond(Image credit: Getty)
Timothy Dalton brought a lot of grit to the role of Bond
Timothy Dalton brought a lot of grit to the role of Bond
(Image credit: Getty)
Dalton, who was absolutely sensational inFlash Gordonand would subsequently find his defining role as a villainous supermarket proprietor inHot Fuzzwas only given two movies in which to strut his stuff as Bond. He never quite felt like the right man for the job. The Welsh thespian was brought in to give Bond a rawer, rougher edge, after Moore’s later Bonds had ridden deep into the desert of winking self-parody and increasingly inappropriate age gaps between the star and his love interests. However, with the best will in the world, the ideal choice of actor to make Bond into a darker, more thuggish figure was probablynota RADA-educated, posh-voiced actor named Timothy.
The Living Daylightshas a globe-trotting plot, some excellent fights and action sequences, and the slightly darker tone is a bit of a relief after ol’ man Moore. However, its main villain, a fat man who sells weapons, is possibly the least threatening in 007 history – yes, even worse than Rami Malek. Some may also question the wisdom, with hindsight, of making The Taliban Bond’s main allies in the film.
Pierce Brosnan: GoldenEye
Using your skill and judgement, try to work out where Pierce Brosnan’s invisible car is in this photo(Image credit: Future)
Using your skill and judgement, try to work out where Pierce Brosnan’s invisible car is in this photo
Using your skill and judgement, try to work out where Pierce Brosnan’s invisible car is in this photo
(Image credit: Future)
Brosnan’s first excursion as Bond felt like a return to the glory days. His 007 seemed to combine the darker edge of Connery and Dalton at their best with some of the easy charm of Moore – but without the self-parodic element. Brosnan’s relatively nuanced performance, some incredible stunts and the arrival of Judi Dench as M gave GoldenEye a much more modern feel than Moore and Dalton’s efforts, although the villains – Sean Bean at his most anonymous and Alan Cumming playing a hacker with a comedy Russian accent – let it down a bit.
Daniel Craig: Casino Royale
Daniel Craig: the chips are down(Image credit: Sony)
Daniel Craig: the chips are down
Daniel Craig: the chips are down
(Image credit: Sony)
My colleague Matthew Forde has a full rundown of all theDaniel Craig Bond films, but I will just briefly state thatCasino Royaleis narrowly my favourite of his entries in the series. Craig’s debut came hot on the heels of the aforementioned Brosnan disaster and as a result of that comparison, it felt like possibly the greatest film ever made. Certainly from the parkour chase scene at the start, through the most exciting and eventful poker game of all time, to the bit where Mads Mikkelsen is whipping Craig’s genitals with a length of knotted rope, this is a gritty, adrenaline-pumping thrill ride.
Admittedly there’s then about another hour of the film still to go and all that momentum falls away to be replaced with mild ennui, but it’s still a superb action movie overall, where the stakes feel lower – the world is not threatened and the field of battle is a poker table – and yet more real.
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