Jan 15 movies: Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun and The Living Daylights. I've never really gotten the appeal of James Bond. I'd seen a few; some were reasonably entertaining, some were totally lame. None made me think that this should be a major movie franchise. Some cable channel (Encore I think) is showing a marathon all weekend, and I was feeling lazy yesterday, and what better time to give the series another try? I watched James Bond all afternoon and honestly, didn't see anything to change my opinion.
Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun were both Roger Moore movies, and man oh man did they stink. Awful! Nothing but bad jokes, bad car chases and bad sex. At least The Man with the Golden Gun had Christopher Lee. He's always good. And he looked so young! Well actually, not young. But young compared to Lord of the Rings. He looked so ... middle-aged. Also I finally understand why Krusty the Klown has a third nipple. I never got that joke before.
(This movie also seemed comical because I kept thinking about Woody Allen and hearing the title in my head as The Man with the Golden Gub.)
The approach to sexuality in these movies is so adolescent. All about conquest with no emotional involvement, but still heavily romanticized, with the silly fantasy settings and the PG-13 action. Everything about Bond is adolescent. Not just the sex but the super-spy thing, being better than everyone else, the silly gadgets and so forth. James Bond is like that boy you knew in junior high who kept making up ridiculous stories about his superman-like abilities. Maybe the people who like the series got into it when they were adolescent boys. Like Piers Anthony and twelve year old girls. I have never met a fan of Piers Anthony who didn't start reading him when they were a twelve year old girl. But I digress.
The Living Daylights was a little less stupid. (I guess it says something about me that I found a chase scene with two people sledding down a mountain in a cello case less stupid.) Georg opined that Timothy Dalton didn't get a fair shake at playing Bond, because the Roger Moore movies were so awful they had driven away most of the fans, and camp value was all people wanted from the series anymore. There was also that little historical awkwardness of wanting us to root for the plucky Muhajadeen in Afganistan. Well, hindsight and all that.
4 Comments
If you're eager for another Mujahadeen movie, I heartily recommend Rambo III. Okay, I've never actually seen it, but I distinctly remember seeing a publicity interview with Sylvester Stallone in 1988 where he extolled the plucky anti-Communist freedom fighters. As you say, hindsight and all that!
The books on which the James Bond movies are supposed to be based are even worse than the movies. In one of the books, Bond appears in Fort Lauderdale and meets Felix Leiter, a CIA agent with only one arm. Apparently this is an ideal way of not being recognized by the opposition. Bond then rents an inconspicuous car, a Cord! The scenes which feature in many of the movies in which Bond breaks the bank at some casino or wins the shirt off his opponent's back at cards, are based on an incident in which Ian Fleming, the author, who was in the British Secret Service in WW2, attempted to beat the pants off some German agents in Lisbon in a card game, and lost all his money!
the movies are juvenile, it's true. but i am definitely a bond fan. i was introduced to them by my first stepfather, at the time of the roger moore films, so although they are stupid, i have a fondness for them. however, don't judge the entire series by the newer ones. i still think the style of the sean connery films is pretty fabulous so long as one is willing to forgive the apalling treatment of women, or to treat it analytically. however, my absolute favorite is the single george lazenby bond film, "on her majesty's secret service". his co-star is diana rigg and her character is not just another bond girl. if you would ever like to give the bond films one more chance, i'd be happy to watch that one with you any time.
I missed On Her Majesty's Secret Service in the Encore marathon & I'd love to watch it with you!