Tag Archives: Sean Connery

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

Never Say Never Again (1983) Movie Review

January 9, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

A little over a year ago, I went on a journey through the entirety of the James Bond franchise, reviewing each film in my James Bond Retrospective.

The one film I neglected to review was the unofficial, non-Eon Productions James Bond film from 1983: Never Say Never Again.

There are a few reasons why I never reviewed this film. First off, I was recruited through my reviews to edit and contribute to a James Bond website via Fansided. With this and reviewing over 20 Bond films in the course of two months, I succumbed to Continue reading Never Say Never Again (1983) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, Lists

Ranking the James Bond Filmography

November 1, 2015 Alex Brannan 3 Comments

With Spectre just around the corner, it is only appropriate to look back at the good and the bad, the camp and the grit, the martinis and the Aston Martins. Here is a ranking of the entire James Bond franchise, not including the forthcoming 24th installment.

Note: click on the titles to read full reviews of the films.

Continue reading Ranking the James Bond Filmography →

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

Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Movie Review

October 13, 2015 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

The cold open to Diamonds Are Forever depicts an angered James Bond (Sean Connery) roughing up a series of people in his search for terrorist supervillain and now arch-nemesis Blofeld (Charles Gray). He finally does find him and, seemingly, kills him. Whatever the case, Connery feels very tired in this scene when it comes to his line delivery.

Following this exacted revenge, Bond is tapped on to impersonate a diamond smuggler. From this job, he encounters a strange cast of characters, including Continue reading Diamonds Are Forever (1971) Movie Review →

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

You Only Live Twice (1967) Movie Review

September 30, 2015 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

You Only Live Twice, the fifth James Bond film and the fifth to feature Sean Connery in the lead role, opens on space, where a manned, United States spacecraft is hovering over Earth’s orbit. As one of the two astronauts leaves the craft, a larger spacecraft starts barreling toward them. This larger, unidentified spacecraft swallows the U.S. craft whole, leaving the external astronaut for dead in open space and the U.S. government up in arms over their lost craft.

After seeing this international kerfuffle over the missing spacecraft–the U.S. blaming the Soviets and England blaming the Japanese–we meet Bond in Hong Kong, where he is Continue reading You Only Live Twice (1967) Movie Review →

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

Thunderball (1965) Movie Review

September 29, 2015 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

In the opening scene of Thunderball, James Bond (Sean Connery) attends the funeral of a man that he wishes he could have killed himself. Following the ceremony, there is an action sequence almost immediately. It is very well choreographed and fast paced–something that can’t be said about all of the action sequences in this movie. He eludes more armed baddies and escapes into the Paris day.

Oh, and he also has a jetpack. Just saying.

The opening credits sequence kicks in, and we hear Tom Jones singing the titular theme. It is a well-sung song. Perhaps it is apocryphal, but the story goes that Jones passed out in the recording studio after Continue reading Thunderball (1965) Movie Review →

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

Goldfinger (1964) Movie Review

September 24, 2015 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

The cold open of Goldfinger has in it seemingly every James Bond trope. Bond (Sean Connery) sneaks and fights his way into a guarded facility. He uses a gadget to blow something up (for God knows what reason). Then, he strips down to a white suit and diffuses into the social world, where he rendezvouses with another agent. There’s also an attractive woman dancing, just for good measure. A woman Bond then attempts to bed, only to be approached from behind by an armed assailant. And, as always, the altercation ends in a one-liner.

It is James Bond in a nutshell.

Following this cold open, we get one of the better Bond opening title sequences. A stark black background and projected film footage casts gold-painted women in shadows. All the while, Shirley Bassey’s voice erupts above the stagnant visuals. It isn’t hard to see Continue reading Goldfinger (1964) Movie Review →

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

From Russia With Love (1963) Movie Review

September 22, 2015 Alex Brannan 1 Comment

From Russia With Love, the second film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s work to depict MI6 agent James Bond, cold opens on a cat and mouse chase at night. Bond (Sean Connery) steps out of the shadows and moves silently across the grassy landscape, knowing that he is being tailed. The assailant (Robert Shaw), stalks Bond, then retreats to the cover of a nearby bush to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Surprisingly, he gets that perfect moment. Bond goes down, choked by wire at the hands of the assassin. The super spy is bested.

Or is he.

Lights go up, and an army of men are revealed. The event was a training exercise and Bond: a grunt in a Connery mask. Someone is out to get Bond. Someone very powerful.

Continue reading From Russia With Love (1963) Movie Review →

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

Dr. No (1962) Movie Review

September 21, 2015 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

1962’s Dr. No is the first adaptation of Ian Fleming’s work, bringing to the screen his iconic super spy character James Bond. The first time we see Bond (Sean Connery) in this film, the stage is already set for Connery to set the precedent for how the spy is meant to look and act on screen. He puffs casually at a cigarette as he gambles and flirts with his female competitor (Eunice Gayson). His look is suave, his mannerisms subtle and laid back. Connery immediately embodies Fleming’s sharp-witted and womanizing Bond.

The film is littered with retrospective moments in which we can see precedents being set for the franchise. The iconic score blares in right off the bat, as we stare down the barrel of a gun. This theme repeats itself many times throughout the film. Bond and M (Bernard Lee) discuss Continue reading Dr. No (1962) Movie Review →