Tag Archives: James Bond

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

GoldenEye (1995) Movie Review

October 27, 2015 Alex Brannan

In the cold open to GoldenEye, spy James Bond (Pierce Brosnan, in his first outing as the franchise character) bungee jumps off of a dam in Arkhangelsk in order to covertly infiltrate a Soviet chemical weapons facility. Once inside, he rendevouses with fellow agent 006 Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean). Together they easily break into the loading dock where gasoline tankers are kept. Here we get one of my personal favorite exchanges in the Bond series:

Bond: That was too easy.

Trevelyan: Half of everything is luck.

Bond: And the other half.

Trevelyan: [alarm sounds] Fate.

Bond plants explosive charges on the tankers, but Trevelyan is Continue reading GoldenEye (1995) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Licence to Kill (1989) Movie Review

October 26, 2015 Alex Brannan

In the opening to Licence to Kill, CIA agent Felix Leiter (David Hedison) is pulled away from his own wedding in order to hunt down drug kingpin Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi). With British secret agent 007 James Bond (Timothy Dalton) in tow, Leiter tracks down the criminal, but Sanchez escapes in a plane. Fearless Bond suspends himself from a helicopter in midair in order to literally rope in Sanchez’ vehicle. Upon successfully capturing Sanchez, Bond and Leiter parachute into Leiter’s wedding.

The aircraft stunt in this opening scene is marvelous to watch. The interplay with Bond and Leiter and the fact that Leiter is holding up his wedding for the sake of work is comical. This first scene sets up the film wonderfully.

Following this scene, Sanchez is in custody. He offers Continue reading Licence to Kill (1989) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Living Daylights (1987) Movie Review

October 25, 2015 Alex Brannan

In The Living Daylights, James Bond (Timothy Dalton) allies in the escape of a defecting KGB agent, General Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe). Koskov is transported via natural gas pipeline into Austria and then taken to London, where he informs MI6 that the head of the KGB has reinstated an order to assassinate a series of international spies. The order, he believes, will bring about a world war. Concurrently to this debriefing, a KGB agent infiltrates the building and captures Koskov.

As one might guess, 007 is on the KGB hit-list. It’s a strong premise: it’s kill or be killed for Bond.

Dalton plays a moodier Bond than we are used to. He leans toward the dark as opposed to the sly. Some witty remarks and comedic moments are Continue reading The Living Daylights (1987) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

A View to a Kill (1985) Movie Review

October 23, 2015 Alex Brannan

In the cold open of A View to a Kill, James Bond (Roger Moore) is in Siberia attempting to locate the body of missing agent 003. Upon finding the body, and the microchip that the dead agent had recovered, Bond is immediately hunted down on skis and snowmobiles by Soviet military.

Moore’s stunt double skis, rides a snowmobile, and snowboards in this sequence. The stunt work is all well and good, but the ADR lines of grunts falling on the slopes is laughable. Equally laughable is how Continue reading A View to a Kill (1985) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Octopussy (1983) Movie Review

October 23, 2015 Alex Brannan

When MI6 agent 009 (Andy Bradford) arrives dying at the British Embassy with a gold Faberge egg, which turns out to be a fabrication, MI6 sends agent 007 James Bond (Roger Moore) to seek out the real egg’s owner. It turns out that the egg can be traced back to Soviet general Orlov (Steven Berkoff).

Octopussy breaks the fourth wall in the strangest way possible when Bond meets a connection in India. The agent in the field, disguised as a snake charmer, plays the Continue reading Octopussy (1983) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

For Your Eyes Only (1981) Movie Review

October 22, 2015 Alex Brannan

The cold open to For Your Eyes Only is immediate action. James Bond (Roger Moore) is taken on a helicopter ride from Hell. The pilot is inexplicably murdered and the plane becomes remotely piloted by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who commandeers the vehicle toward Bond’s demise. Or so it seems. Bond takes control of the cockpit, flies the chopper to Blofeld, picks the arch-nemesis up, and drops him from a high altitude. It seems an unfitting death for such a pivotal franchise villain, Blofeld having appeared in more Bond films than any other of the spy’s adversaries.

After this diversion, which seems to only serve as an answer to the question as to when Blofeld will return (the answer given is never), we get the real opening to the film. A British naval boat is sunk by an underwater mine, and Bond is sent to investigate. He does, and is promptly captured. The action sequence that follows is Continue reading For Your Eyes Only (1981) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Moonraker (1979) Movie Review

October 20, 2015 Alex Brannan

In the Moonraker cold open, a Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked while en route to the United Kingdom on top of a jet plane. In response to this, M (Bernard Lee, in his final outing as the MI6 head) calls for James Bond (Roger Moore). Bond, who is already on his way to London on a plane, is attacked by the plane’s crew and thrown out by assassin giant Jaws (Richard Kiel). The action scene in the air is fine, but everything surrounding it is disjointed and absurd.

Upon safely arriving in London, Bond is instructed to travel to California to meet with Drax (Michael Lonsdale), the wealthy owner of the stolen Moonraker. Our main villain for the proceedings, Drax is Continue reading Moonraker (1979) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Movie Review

October 19, 2015 Alex Brannan

When Soviet and British submarines disappear, the KGB and MI6 make moves to investigate. Super spy James Bond (Roger Moore) is led to Egypt, where plans for a submarine tracking system are apparently on the black market.

Bond’s travels turn into a cat and mouse game as he searches for contacts, only to find them murdered just prior to his arrival. The killer, Jaws (Richard Kiel), is one of the most Continue reading The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) Movie Review

October 18, 2015 Alex Brannan

Roger Moore’s second outing as super spy James Bond, The Man With the Golden Gun, opens on a strange foot chase through a fun house filled with wax figures, mirrors, and full sets. With little explanation as to why, an assassin with a terrible shot follows Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), an ex-KGB baddie with three nipples, through this house as Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize) goads both men on over an intercom. Eventually, Scaramanga comes across his signature golden gun, which he uses to shoot his pursuer dead.

Let me recap: a tri-nippled Christopher Lee is our villain. He kills people in his fun house lair with his henchman, Tattoo from Fantasy Island. If it sounds strange, that’s because it is.

Continue reading The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Live and Let Die (1973) Movie Review

October 15, 2015 Alex Brannan

At a meeting of the United Nations in New York City, a man is killed mysteriously by a strange noise emitting through his ear-piece translator. In New Orleans, a man is stabbed and tossed into the middle of a funeral parade that just happens to be for him. In the Caribbean, a man tied up by locals is tied up and bitten by a poisonous snake during a ritual. Three men dead, and all three agents of British spy organization MI6.

Enter James Bond (Roger Moore, in his first outing as the franchise spy). MI6 head M (Bernard Lee) and his assistant Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) appear at Bonds doorstep to address the issue of agents dropping like flies. The scene is a comedic game of hide and seek, as Bond steers M away from discovering the naked woman in Bond’s bed. This, and the clever use of a magnetic watch, makes the entrance of Moore as Bond light and fun.

Continue reading Live and Let Die (1973) Movie Review →