Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn Rank DN thru GE

These are the blokes who wrote Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang! The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion. It's an entertaining and informative if vexatious and error-strewn bit of lit. At any rate, they give ratings (1 to 100) for each film. Here's how their ranking shapes up.

1. YOLT (94)
2. OHMSS (90)
3. GF (85)
4. GE (81)
5. FRWL (76)
6. MR (75)
7. Spy (73)
8. TLD (68)
9. TB (62)
10. FYEO (61)
11. LALD (60)
12. Gun (57)
13. DN (55)
14. DAF (48)
15. OP (43)
16. LTK (33)
17. AVTAK (31)

A fairly eccentric ranking if you ask me. Thoughts?

YOLT first? Apart from that it's understandable why OHMSS, GF, GE and FRWL are high. MR and SPY above FYEO, TB and DN? I would love to see where the rest fit in. Would DAD be second? :scratch:

Not only is the ranking eccentric, but so is the points allocation - 33/100 to LTK... really? Heck, I'd give DAD a score of at least 60%.

What was the criteria for their ranking? I guess it's just their rankings and the 1-100 is means of justifying it.

To be fair YOLT does have Barry's best score and some fine cinematography from Freddie Young and great sets by Ken Adam but not much else to shout about.

YOLT's next up in my Bondathon, so I may end up with an increased/decreased liking of it, but the combination of the sets, cinematography and score make for a very sleek, classy style.

Interesting that 3 of their top 10 are debut Bond films for the actor in question.

GeneralGogol wrote:

Not only is the ranking eccentric, but so is the points allocation - 33/100 to LTK... really? Heck, I'd give DAD a score of at least 60%.

Yeah. Makes one wonder how much they really like the series, although they claim to be fans.

bondfan06 wrote:

What was the criteria for their ranking? I guess it's just their rankings and the 1-100 is means of justifying it.

To be fair YOLT does have Barry's best score and some fine cinematography from Freddie Young and great sets by Ken Adam but not much else to shout about.

Here are their criteria:

PTS
Credits
Plot
Locations
Gadgets
Girls
Villains
Fights, Chases, Explosions
Dialogue and Double Entendres
Bond
Plus/Minus Points (Miscellany)

They allot scores (1-10) to all those categories except the last, in which they either add or subtract points based upon miscellaneous stuff in the films.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

bondfan06 wrote:

What was the criteria for their ranking? I guess it's just their rankings and the 1-100 is means of justifying it.

To be fair YOLT does have Barry's best score and some fine cinematography from Freddie Young and great sets by Ken Adam but not much else to shout about.

Here are their criteria:

PTS
Credits
Plot
Locations
Gadgets
Girls
Villains
Fights, Chases, Explosions
Dialogue and Double Entendres
Bond
Plus/Minus Points (Miscellany)

They allot scores (1-10) to all those categories except the last, in which they either add or subtract points based upon miscellaneous stuff in the films.

It sounds very similar to the competition that old MI6 had a couple of years ago where we to rank the Bonds by assessing their qualities.

To be fair to them, YOLT is quite strong in all those departments with the exception of "Plot" and "Bond" as Connery is basically sleepwalking in the film.

YOLT's girls and villains don't wow me.

And they should have included a criterion for allies.

Perligau Khan wrote:

Here are their criteria:

PTS
Credits
Plot
Locations
Gadgets
Girls
Villains
Fights, Chases, Explosions
Dialogue and Double Entendres
Bond
Plus/Minus Points (Miscellany)

Alan Barnes & Marcus Hearn. One of them doesn't happen to go by the name of St. George on MI6, does he? :suspect:

Pretty sure St. George's real name is Adam Bollard. Now coincidentally (or is it?) enough, those are the same initials as Alan Barnes. Hmmmm...

Much is made of Connery's supposed apparent boredom in the role in YOLT (presumably based on what he had to say to the press during the making of it), but I must admit I've never really noticed it.

Wow. I sure have. IMO, Connery may be YOLT's greatest weakness, hard as that is to believe.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Much is made of Connery's supposed apparent boredom in the role in YOLT (presumably based on what he had to say to the press during the making of it), but I must admit I've never really noticed it.

While I tend to agree boredom is not really evident he does seem to be less focussed this time around, he also needed a longer stay at shrublands....although he still moves and fights very well and even off form delivers one of the very best Bond performances.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

Much is made of Connery's supposed apparent boredom in the role in YOLT (presumably based on what he had to say to the press during the making of it), but I must admit I've never really noticed it.

The only obvious moment of his boredom for me was during his scene with Moneypenny. "Which girl" *spotlights Moneypenny with lamp* is so lazily delivered.

He lacks a bit of his old spark in YOLT. The other end of the spectrum is GF where he's a bit too chirpy.

I think his smarminess works best in GOLDFINGER because it's the perfect foil against a guy like Goldfinger, always trying to ge a rise out of him.

In YOLT when Connery walks towards Hans in the finale with his mantits hanging out, it looks like he's about to eat a giant deep-fried Mars bar.

In the likes of the PTS dialogue with Ling and the delivery of 'Really ...' in response to 'Mr Osato believes in a healthy chest', he still sounds like he's having fun to me.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

These are the blokes who wrote Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang! The Unofficial James Bond Film Companion. It's an entertaining and informative if vexatious and error-strewn bit of lit. At any rate, they give ratings (1 to 100) for each film. Here's how their ranking shapes up.

1. YOLT (94)
2. OHMSS (90)
3. GF (85)
4. GE (81)
5. FRWL (76)
6. MR (75)
7. Spy (73)
8. TLD (68)
9. TB (62)
10. FYEO (61)
11. LALD (60)
12. Gun (57)
13. DN (55)
14. DAF (48)
15. OP (43)
16. LTK (33)
17. AVTAK (31)

A fairly eccentric ranking if you ask me. Thoughts?

YOLT at first? OHMSS, GF, and MR in the top 10? DAF, OP, LTK, and AVTAK the bottom four? Houston. we have a problem. This might be the worst 007 ranking I've ever read in my entire life.

Quote :

OHMSS, GF, and MR in the top 10?

Quite common 'round this place. I'm pretty sure those three are in my top 10, along with DAF, GE, TB, and AVTAK.

Largo's Shark wrote:

Quote :

OHMSS, GF, and MR in the top 10?

Quite common 'round this place. I'm pretty sure those three are in my top 10, along with DAF, GE, TB, and AVTAK.

OHMSS and GF are top 10 mainstays, no doubt. MR is a bit iffier, I think.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Quote :

OHMSS, GF, and MR in the top 10?

Quite common 'round this place. I'm pretty sure those three are in my top 10, along with DAF, GE, TB, and AVTAK.

OHMSS and GF are top 10 mainstays, no doubt. MR is a bit iffier, I think.

Yeah, I knew that Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service were considered Top Ten worthy by many fans, but I for one think these two are the worst in the series. They simply bore me to death!

00Beast wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Largo's Shark wrote:

Quote :

OHMSS, GF, and MR in the top 10?

Quite common 'round this place. I'm pretty sure those three are in my top 10, along with DAF, GE, TB, and AVTAK.

OHMSS and GF are top 10 mainstays, no doubt. MR is a bit iffier, I think.

Yeah, I knew that Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service were considered Top Ten worthy by many fans, but I for one think these two are the worst in the series. They simply bore me to death!

GF has never excited me overmuch, but OHMSS is perfect in every respect including thrills and suspense, IMO.