No Time to Die - Spoiler Free Reviews

I feel like I should go again (can't quite remember if I did it for CR, but QOS - SPECTRE I saw 3 times each in the cinema), but tellingly I don't seem to be in any particular hurry. Maybe if I go in knowing what unfolds, I'll find it less jarring and deflating?

trevanian wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

I cry when Sean Connery dies in UNTOUCHABLES, when Bronson dies in MAG7 (hit by magic bullets that don't even deliver squib hits or tear his clothing), and I even cry during one passage near the end of Clancy's CLEAR & PRESENT DANGER novel, when Ryan guarantees a man who is bleeding out that all of the guy's kids are going to get to go to college (I actually misted up again just writing that.)

I have justified this excess to myself by invoking that thing about Bond (maybe it is in the Pearson book), like all hard men, was easily tipped into sentiment. So I guess I can be a bastard anytime, but put me in a situation with unreal people and I'm suddenly a blubberer.

Actually, Fleming wrote that, although I don't remember in which novel/short story.

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

Oh good. You know just today I was going to log on and tell you to just go see the movie already you cheap bastard but I couldn't think of a more polite way of saying it. That and I didn't want my user account suspension mentioned in the blades section so it all worked out.
 I hope you write a bit of a detailed review of why you liked it and what clicked for you as I remember us discussing Spectre and I thought at the time we felt the same about it. You mentioned that Spectre felt cold, sterile detached or something like that and I felt the same about it. The difference here obviously I feel the same about the newest film as well and it just seemed like Spectre 2.
so either I was wrong about your thoughts on SP or you liked NTTD much better?

either way glad you enjoyed it and who knows I did hate LTK for quite some time so maybe I can dig this one at some point too

I'm going to see it again--mebbe Sunday--and then I will write a proper review.

"Enjoy," I'm not sure, is the proper word. NTtD is good in many ways, but truly enjoyable? Not so sure.

And yes, it does feel a bit like SP and a bit like QoS.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I feel like I should go again (can't quite remember if I did it for CR, but QOS - SPECTRE I saw 3 times each in the cinema), but tellingly I don't seem to be in any particular hurry. Maybe if I go in knowing what unfolds, I'll find it less jarring and deflating?  

Pretty sure I saw CR, SF and SP in the theatre at least four times, and QoS at least thrice.

You're no alone, Blunt.
Licence to Kill I only saw four times in the theatre. I always described that experience as 'enduring' rather than enjoying.
But LTK is a laugh riot compared to NTTD and yes, knowing the outcome does put a damper on the whole experience.
I expect I'll go again at some point, or I just might wait for the DVD.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

Oh good. You know just today I was going to log on and tell you to just go see the movie already you cheap bastard but I couldn't think of a more polite way of saying it. That and I didn't want my user account suspension mentioned in the blades section so it all worked out.
 I hope you write a bit of a detailed review of why you liked it and what clicked for you as I remember us discussing Spectre and I thought at the time we felt the same about it. You mentioned that Spectre felt cold, sterile detached or something like that and I felt the same about it. The difference here obviously I feel the same about the newest film as well and it just seemed like Spectre 2.
so either I was wrong about your thoughts on SP or you liked NTTD much better?

either way glad you enjoyed it and who knows I did hate LTK for quite some time so maybe I can dig this one at some point too

I'm going to see it again--mebbe Sunday--and then I will write a proper review.

"Enjoy," I'm not sure, is the proper word. NTtD is good in many ways, but truly enjoyable? Not so sure.

And yes, it does feel a bit like SP and a bit like QoS.

but you must have really liked it, absorbed in the story and buying into it if you were crying right?

you are a complex man

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

Oh good. You know just today I was going to log on and tell you to just go see the movie already you cheap bastard but I couldn't think of a more polite way of saying it. That and I didn't want my user account suspension mentioned in the blades section so it all worked out.
 I hope you write a bit of a detailed review of why you liked it and what clicked for you as I remember us discussing Spectre and I thought at the time we felt the same about it. You mentioned that Spectre felt cold, sterile detached or something like that and I felt the same about it. The difference here obviously I feel the same about the newest film as well and it just seemed like Spectre 2.
so either I was wrong about your thoughts on SP or you liked NTTD much better?

either way glad you enjoyed it and who knows I did hate LTK for quite some time so maybe I can dig this one at some point too

I'm going to see it again--mebbe Sunday--and then I will write a proper review.

"Enjoy," I'm not sure, is the proper word. NTtD is good in many ways, but truly enjoyable? Not so sure.

And yes, it does feel a bit like SP and a bit like QoS.

but you must have really liked it, absorbed in the story and buying into it if you were crying right?

you are a complex man

Yes, it grabbed me. And it shook me. It affected me. But it didn't necessarily please me.

It occurs to me that, beginning with DAD--and with the possible exception of CR--Bond films have been edging toward the horror genre, with all that entails.

I am fairly new to the whole Bond franchise, have never read the books and am not as familiar with the background as the rest of the members here. I decided to give the movies a shot due to their fame and was hooked before I got through Dr. No. So I watched them all in order, liked just about all of them so whenever I rewatched I did it the same way. OHMSS, Dr. No, Goldfinger are usually at the top of my list but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.
I also thought the Brosnan films got better each successive film with GoldenEye the weakest so go figure.
As far as DAD goes I still don't see the weaknesses others do or they are positives for me from the theme song down to the car chases at the end. I love Jinx, sure she's a bit comic bookish, action hero type but it works for me. She's cute, sexy, cool, stylish, kicks ass and I love every minute she is on the screen, great presence. On the other hand, while I know it's technically a much better film, the character of Tatiana in FRWL bores me to tears.
I much prefer the score to DAD over the classic John Barry and again blasphemy I know, but I do.

As far as the torture scene goes I never find it jarring with the rest of the picture nor do I view it as a dark moment in a pop corn film. I see it the same as the action scenes in other Bond intros including DAD. All the more as it's a montage over the theme song. I take that scene as 'here is Bond in action', being tortured but he is so badass he will be back on the job in no time at all and in all ways. It's believable to me and people in real life have done the same much less a hero is supposed to be over the top. So it all works for me.
I can't think of a scene in that movie I don't like. It's one of the very few I find that doesn't have a single boring moment.

I might see it again while its still in theaters. But I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to. They'll definitely get my business on the home media/streaming end, as always, but I'm not certain...thing is, I don't feel comfortable talking about it too much having only seen it once.

What I have started is a Craig era rewatch. Now that it's over I hope to kind of get the whole picture more clearly.

Perhaps after getting through those I will cave.

Sarai wrote:

but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.

I couldn't even begin to approach a ranking any other way than simply looking at which of the films I throw on most. "Actions speak louder" etc. All the rest is tawk.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

Oh good. You know just today I was going to log on and tell you to just go see the movie already you cheap bastard but I couldn't think of a more polite way of saying it. That and I didn't want my user account suspension mentioned in the blades section so it all worked out.
 I hope you write a bit of a detailed review of why you liked it and what clicked for you as I remember us discussing Spectre and I thought at the time we felt the same about it. You mentioned that Spectre felt cold, sterile detached or something like that and I felt the same about it. The difference here obviously I feel the same about the newest film as well and it just seemed like Spectre 2.
so either I was wrong about your thoughts on SP or you liked NTTD much better?

either way glad you enjoyed it and who knows I did hate LTK for quite some time so maybe I can dig this one at some point too

I'm going to see it again--mebbe Sunday--and then I will write a proper review.

"Enjoy," I'm not sure, is the proper word. NTtD is good in many ways, but truly enjoyable? Not so sure.

And yes, it does feel a bit like SP and a bit like QoS.

but you must have really liked it, absorbed in the story and buying into it if you were crying right?

you are a complex man

Yes, it grabbed me. And it shook me. It affected me. But it didn't necessarily please me.

It occurs to me that, beginning with DAD--and with the possible exception of CR--Bond films have been edging toward the horror genre, with all that entails.

OK I think I see where you are coming from. The movie def worked for you, hit the nerves and emotions so you consider it a good film just not necessarily a good Bond film? I had the opposite experience in that I felt nothing really beyond boredom so I find the contrast in our experience with it interesting and maybe enough to watch it again someday. I'm not sure how I feel about the Craig films in general anymore. I really liked CR and QoS. I thought Skyfall was decent but overrated and somehow felt like it should be the last movie in that stage of the films. SP and NTTD feel like a reboot with the same actor in a way for that reason and a bloated messy unfocused last two films.

by horror I assume you mean the all around darker tone? I don't mind that all that much and think it will age well or at least much better for me if they stop doing it now. One thing I have enjoyed about the whole franchise is the changes in tone as I felt it kept it from getting monotonous like by the time I am through the Connery films I am really looking forward to the Moore flicks so I do hope they change it up. I don't want Von Trier directing the next one.

Somerset wrote:

I might see it again while its still in theaters. But I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to. They'll definitely get my business on the home media/streaming end, as always, but I'm not certain...thing is, I don't feel comfortable talking about it too much having only seen it once.

What I have started is a Craig era rewatch. Now that it's over I hope to kind of get the whole picture more clearly.

Perhaps after getting through those I will cave.

Sarai wrote:

but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.

I couldn't even begin to approach a ranking any other way than simply looking at which of the films I throw on most. "Actions speak louder" etc. All the rest is tawk.

That does make sense and I think the reason I haven't gotten it down right is that I am still pretty new to them all so don't have a ton of re-watch experience.
top of my head would then prob be something like,
DAD
TMWTGG
Moonraker
Dr.No
Octopussy
AVTAK

AMC Hornet wrote:

You're no alone, Blunt.
Licence to Kill I only saw four times in the theatre. I always described that experience as 'enduring' rather than enjoying.
But LTK is a laugh riot compared to NTTD and yes, knowing the outcome does put a damper on the whole experience.
I expect I'll go again at some point, or I just might wait for the DVD.

If I am to go again, seems I'll need to get my skates on - its last day in cinemas here is next Thursday. Not sure if a movie that had its release delayed for 18 months and was regarded as one of the year's most anticipated's run being over in the UK after 4 weeks tells us something about how its box office haul has been or not.

Sarai wrote:

  I am fairly new to the whole Bond franchise, have never read the books and am not as familiar with the background as the rest of the members here. I decided to give the movies a shot due to their fame and was hooked before I got through Dr. No. So I watched them all in order, liked just about all of them so whenever I rewatched I did it the same way. OHMSS, Dr. No, Goldfinger are usually at the top of my list but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.
I also thought the Brosnan films got better each successive film with GoldenEye the weakest so go figure.
As far as DAD goes I still don't see the weaknesses others do or they are positives for me from the theme song down to the car chases at the end. I love Jinx, sure she's a bit comic bookish, action hero type but it works for me. She's cute, sexy, cool, stylish, kicks ass and I love every minute she is on the screen, great presence. On the other hand, while I know it's technically a much better film, the character of Tatiana in FRWL bores me to tears.
I much prefer the score to DAD over the classic John Barry and again blasphemy I know, but I do.

As far as the torture scene goes I never find it jarring with the rest of the picture nor do I view it as a dark moment in a pop corn film. I see it the same as the action scenes in other Bond intros including DAD. All the more as it's a montage over the theme song. I take that scene as 'here is Bond in action', being tortured but he is so badass he will be back on the job in no time at all and in all ways. It's believable to me and people in real life have done the same much less a hero is supposed to be over the top. So it all works for me.
I can't think of a scene in that movie I don't like. It's one of the very few I find that doesn't have a single boring moment.

Do you have an older brother named Gustav Graves?

(He was a poster on the other site, long ago, who was notorious for his love of DAD. I think there was another one as well, but his name escapes me. He was a very amusing poster.)

Somerset wrote:

I might see it again while its still in theaters. But I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to. They'll definitely get my business on the home media/streaming end, as always, but I'm not certain...thing is, I don't feel comfortable talking about it too much having only seen it once.

What I have started is a Craig era rewatch. Now that it's over I hope to kind of get the whole picture more clearly.

Perhaps after getting through those I will cave.

Sarai wrote:

but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.

I couldn't even begin to approach a ranking any other way than simply looking at which of the films I throw on most. "Actions speak louder" etc. All the rest is tawk.

That's true. I'm far more interested in what I like than what may technically qualify as the best.

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

Oh good. You know just today I was going to log on and tell you to just go see the movie already you cheap bastard but I couldn't think of a more polite way of saying it. That and I didn't want my user account suspension mentioned in the blades section so it all worked out.
 I hope you write a bit of a detailed review of why you liked it and what clicked for you as I remember us discussing Spectre and I thought at the time we felt the same about it. You mentioned that Spectre felt cold, sterile detached or something like that and I felt the same about it. The difference here obviously I feel the same about the newest film as well and it just seemed like Spectre 2.
so either I was wrong about your thoughts on SP or you liked NTTD much better?

either way glad you enjoyed it and who knows I did hate LTK for quite some time so maybe I can dig this one at some point too

I'm going to see it again--mebbe Sunday--and then I will write a proper review.

"Enjoy," I'm not sure, is the proper word. NTtD is good in many ways, but truly enjoyable? Not so sure.

And yes, it does feel a bit like SP and a bit like QoS.

but you must have really liked it, absorbed in the story and buying into it if you were crying right?

you are a complex man

Yes, it grabbed me. And it shook me. It affected me. But it didn't necessarily please me.

It occurs to me that, beginning with DAD--and with the possible exception of CR--Bond films have been edging toward the horror genre, with all that entails.

OK I think I see where you are coming from. The movie def worked for you, hit the nerves and emotions so you consider it a good film just not necessarily a good Bond film? I had the opposite experience in that I felt nothing really beyond boredom so I find the contrast in our experience with it interesting and maybe enough to watch it again someday. I'm not sure how I feel about the Craig films in general anymore. I really liked CR and QoS. I thought Skyfall was decent but overrated and somehow felt like it should be the last movie in that stage of the films. SP and NTTD feel like a reboot with the same actor in a way for that reason and a bloated messy unfocused last two films.

by horror I assume you mean the all around darker tone? I don't mind that all that much and think it will age well or at least much better for me if they stop doing it now. One thing I have enjoyed about the whole franchise is the changes in tone as I felt it kept it from getting monotonous like by the time I am through the Connery films I am really looking forward to the Moore flicks so I do hope they change it up. I don't want Von Trier directing the next one.  

Oh, I consider NTTD to be very much a Bond film. I'm just saying that, although I think it's a good film and a good Bond film, it isn't a particularly pleasant film. (I could say much the same of Midnight Express, for example, although it obviously isn't a Bond film.) And this ties into the developing horror tone of Bond films. Until I saw The VVitch, I loved supernatural horror films. They were aesthetically and philosophically fascinating, and were thrilling in their way, but they were hardly pleasant. How could terror be pleasant unless you're a masochist, which I'm not? Now obviously, 21st-century Bond films are not terrifying, but they tend to be fairly creepy, and NTTD may be the creepiest of the bunch.

Sarai wrote:

Somerset wrote:

I might see it again while its still in theaters. But I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to. They'll definitely get my business on the home media/streaming end, as always, but I'm not certain...thing is, I don't feel comfortable talking about it too much having only seen it once.

What I have started is a Craig era rewatch. Now that it's over I hope to kind of get the whole picture more clearly.

Perhaps after getting through those I will cave.

Sarai wrote:

but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.

I couldn't even begin to approach a ranking any other way than simply looking at which of the films I throw on most. "Actions speak louder" etc. All the rest is tawk.

That does make sense and I think the reason I haven't gotten it down right is that I am still pretty new to them all so don't have a ton of re-watch experience.
top of my head would then prob be something like,
DAD
TMWTGG
Moonraker
Dr.No
Octopussy
AVTAK

I really like Gun. I think it may be the most underrated Bond film. I currently rank it something like No. 11.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

AMC Hornet wrote:

You're no alone, Blunt.
Licence to Kill I only saw four times in the theatre. I always described that experience as 'enduring' rather than enjoying.
But LTK is a laugh riot compared to NTTD and yes, knowing the outcome does put a damper on the whole experience.
I expect I'll go again at some point, or I just might wait for the DVD.

If I am to go again, seems I'll need to get my skates on - its last day in cinemas here is next Thursday. Not sure if a movie that had its release delayed for 18 months and was regarded as one of the year's most anticipated's run being over in the UK after 4 weeks tells us something about how its box office haul has been or not.

At my Sunday matinee viewing, there were 16 people--including myself--in attendance.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Somerset wrote:

Sarai wrote:

but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.

I couldn't even begin to approach a ranking any other way than simply looking at which of the films I throw on most. "Actions speak louder" etc. All the rest is tawk.

That's true. I'm far more interested in what I like than what may technically qualify as the best.

As one riverbank said to the other, 'my sediments exactly'.
Although I enjoy Thunderball immensely.

In the spring I like to watch Dr. No, TB, LALD, TSWLM and Octopussy, as they get me motivated to get out into the fresh air.
In December it's OHMSS, DAF, TMWTGG, NSNA and DAD, in an effort to relive those heady Christmas holidays of yore.
The rest I'll watch any time, although I think my NTTD dvd - once I have it - will collect dust until we see what #26 is about.

Found the evolution of Craig's performance interesting. He's much looser and more expressive in this film, whereas previously he was known for being very curt/short/withdrawn etc.

In many ways, he's almost unrecognizable to his earlier performances, but I interpreted it more as his Bond entering late-middle age and letting go of some of the tightness or whatever that marked his earlier years.

I liked the movie a lot. Gorgeously shot, easily has the best action sequences of the Craig years overall. Maybe not the best "scene" but pound for pound it's far and away the best of his 5.

Not my favorite of the Craig era, but probably hanging around with Skyfall right behind Casino Royale.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

  I am fairly new to the whole Bond franchise, have never read the books and am not as familiar with the background as the rest of the members here. I decided to give the movies a shot due to their fame and was hooked before I got through Dr. No. So I watched them all in order, liked just about all of them so whenever I rewatched I did it the same way. OHMSS, Dr. No, Goldfinger are usually at the top of my list but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.
I also thought the Brosnan films got better each successive film with GoldenEye the weakest so go figure.
As far as DAD goes I still don't see the weaknesses others do or they are positives for me from the theme song down to the car chases at the end. I love Jinx, sure she's a bit comic bookish, action hero type but it works for me. She's cute, sexy, cool, stylish, kicks ass and I love every minute she is on the screen, great presence. On the other hand, while I know it's technically a much better film, the character of Tatiana in FRWL bores me to tears.
I much prefer the score to DAD over the classic John Barry and again blasphemy I know, but I do.

As far as the torture scene goes I never find it jarring with the rest of the picture nor do I view it as a dark moment in a pop corn film. I see it the same as the action scenes in other Bond intros including DAD. All the more as it's a montage over the theme song. I take that scene as 'here is Bond in action', being tortured but he is so badass he will be back on the job in no time at all and in all ways. It's believable to me and people in real life have done the same much less a hero is supposed to be over the top. So it all works for me.
I can't think of a scene in that movie I don't like. It's one of the very few I find that doesn't have a single boring moment.

Do you have an older brother named Gustav Graves?

(He was a poster on the other site, long ago, who was notorious for his love of DAD. I think there was another one as well, but his name escapes me. He was a very amusing poster.)

Sounds like the other fella was Bong. Chanandler Bong.

Hilly wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

  I am fairly new to the whole Bond franchise, have never read the books and am not as familiar with the background as the rest of the members here. I decided to give the movies a shot due to their fame and was hooked before I got through Dr. No. So I watched them all in order, liked just about all of them so whenever I rewatched I did it the same way. OHMSS, Dr. No, Goldfinger are usually at the top of my list but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.
I also thought the Brosnan films got better each successive film with GoldenEye the weakest so go figure.
As far as DAD goes I still don't see the weaknesses others do or they are positives for me from the theme song down to the car chases at the end. I love Jinx, sure she's a bit comic bookish, action hero type but it works for me. She's cute, sexy, cool, stylish, kicks ass and I love every minute she is on the screen, great presence. On the other hand, while I know it's technically a much better film, the character of Tatiana in FRWL bores me to tears.
I much prefer the score to DAD over the classic John Barry and again blasphemy I know, but I do.

As far as the torture scene goes I never find it jarring with the rest of the picture nor do I view it as a dark moment in a pop corn film. I see it the same as the action scenes in other Bond intros including DAD. All the more as it's a montage over the theme song. I take that scene as 'here is Bond in action', being tortured but he is so badass he will be back on the job in no time at all and in all ways. It's believable to me and people in real life have done the same much less a hero is supposed to be over the top. So it all works for me.
I can't think of a scene in that movie I don't like. It's one of the very few I find that doesn't have a single boring moment.

Do you have an older brother named Gustav Graves?

(He was a poster on the other site, long ago, who was notorious for his love of DAD. I think there was another one as well, but his name escapes me. He was a very amusing poster.)

Sounds like the other fella was Bong. Chanandler Bong.

Thank you, Hilly! That's exactly right. Your memory for posters is flawless.

I remember Bong used to write some great OTT fanfics.

no siblings but I would consider anyone with the name Bong a brother

AMC Hornet wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Somerset wrote:

Sarai wrote:

but I find when I just want to watch one or two movies I almost always come back to wanting to see DAD above the others. The Man With the Golden Gun. Moonraker and Octopussy are other examples of my favs on rewatch so if I ranked based on that my list would be quite different. I know it's sacrilege, blasphemous and perhaps even enough to get one committed for insanity but I enjoy TMWTGG more than From Russia with Love. I have a better time watching DAD than I do Thunderball and all the more on repeat viewings.

I couldn't even begin to approach a ranking any other way than simply looking at which of the films I throw on most. "Actions speak louder" etc. All the rest is tawk.

That's true. I'm far more interested in what I like than what may technically qualify as the best.

As one riverbank said to the other, 'my sediments exactly'.
Although I enjoy Thunderball immensely.

In the spring I like to watch Dr. No, TB, LALD, TSWLM and Octopussy, as they get me motivated to get out into the fresh air.
In December it's OHMSS, DAF, TMWTGG, NSNA and DAD, in an effort to relive those heady Christmas holidays of yore.
The rest I'll watch any time, although I think my NTTD dvd - once I have it - will collect dust until we see what #26 is about.

Thunderball is great overall I agree. That's cool about the seasonal viewing habits as I do the same thing and when spring rolls around is when I get thinking about Bond, Dr.No in particular and it's setting. I could watch Bond and Honey just hanging out on that island forever.

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Sarai wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

I saw NTtD after having read all the spoilers. It is still, IMHO, very much worth viewing. Not going to lie--I cried like a baby.

Oh good. You know just today I was going to log on and tell you to just go see the movie already you cheap bastard but I couldn't think of a more polite way of saying it. That and I didn't want my user account suspension mentioned in the blades section so it all worked out.
 I hope you write a bit of a detailed review of why you liked it and what clicked for you as I remember us discussing Spectre and I thought at the time we felt the same about it. You mentioned that Spectre felt cold, sterile detached or something like that and I felt the same about it. The difference here obviously I feel the same about the newest film as well and it just seemed like Spectre 2.
so either I was wrong about your thoughts on SP or you liked NTTD much better?

either way glad you enjoyed it and who knows I did hate LTK for quite some time so maybe I can dig this one at some point too

I'm going to see it again--mebbe Sunday--and then I will write a proper review.

"Enjoy," I'm not sure, is the proper word. NTtD is good in many ways, but truly enjoyable? Not so sure.

And yes, it does feel a bit like SP and a bit like QoS.

but you must have really liked it, absorbed in the story and buying into it if you were crying right?

you are a complex man

Yes, it grabbed me. And it shook me. It affected me. But it didn't necessarily please me.

It occurs to me that, beginning with DAD--and with the possible exception of CR--Bond films have been edging toward the horror genre, with all that entails.

OK I think I see where you are coming from. The movie def worked for you, hit the nerves and emotions so you consider it a good film just not necessarily a good Bond film? I had the opposite experience in that I felt nothing really beyond boredom so I find the contrast in our experience with it interesting and maybe enough to watch it again someday. I'm not sure how I feel about the Craig films in general anymore. I really liked CR and QoS. I thought Skyfall was decent but overrated and somehow felt like it should be the last movie in that stage of the films. SP and NTTD feel like a reboot with the same actor in a way for that reason and a bloated messy unfocused last two films.

by horror I assume you mean the all around darker tone? I don't mind that all that much and think it will age well or at least much better for me if they stop doing it now. One thing I have enjoyed about the whole franchise is the changes in tone as I felt it kept it from getting monotonous like by the time I am through the Connery films I am really looking forward to the Moore flicks so I do hope they change it up. I don't want Von Trier directing the next one.  

Oh, I consider NTTD to be very much a Bond film. I'm just saying that, although I think it's a good film and a good Bond film, it isn't a particularly pleasant film. (I could say much the same of Midnight Express, for example, although it obviously isn't a Bond film.) And this ties into the developing horror tone of Bond films. Until I saw The VVitch, I loved supernatural horror films. They were aesthetically and philosophically fascinating, and were thrilling in their way, but they were hardly pleasant. How could terror be pleasant unless you're a masochist, which I'm not? Now obviously, 21st-century Bond films are not terrifying, but they tend to be fairly creepy, and NTTD may be the creepiest of the bunch.

That witch really got to you man. I think we agreed it was a good movie with unpleasant characters but I didn't feel any real sense of fear in it. Their behavior creeped me out but that was offset for the most part by their environment and surroundings. I found that comforting and don't think I would have any problems surviving that situation and life. I'm the opposite and feel terror at the idea of ever having to live in a city.
Oh and terror could be pleasant if you are a sadist as well and always root for the killer.

I really am trying to feel the creepy in the new Bond but I'm just not getting that. I wish I knew what parts you were referring to or if it's just the overall mood. I agree the tone is darker but even then only in ways mostly superficial and the paint job in Goldfinger is as shocking as anything in the Craig era.
CR works for me as a tragic love story but nothing after that outing really. I was thinking about this and some of the comments KKBB has made about the unearned love stories which I mostly agree with but I am still solid on CR. I think it's because I can buy it once that he could fall in love so fast and while it's true they hardly know each other and spend half of the time arguing you do see that all the time in real life. love quite often is that fast and irrational and the charm of Eva Green in that movie doesn't hurt at all either.
but to try to do this all over again with Madeline and their total lack of chemistry...it just all feels so forced and falls flat for me
makes it difficult to care about the characters