Battle of the Bonds: A Comparative Analysis

    A lot can happen while watching James Bond movies. This weekend, as I was rewatching "The Man with the Golden Gun", a thought had occurred to me. Aside from the fact that that line was a favorite of that film, I also thought about how that film was alike with some elements present in "Dr. No", the series' first offering.

    Although Bond films would follow a formulaic template, there's still distinctive elements for each one. However, with the films in this list, some clear similarities are present.

    Due to their lengthy tenures as James Bond, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore are both regarded as the best ones to play the role, the classic Bonds. Also due to that lengthy tenure, Bond actors who came before and after them are often lost in the mix (George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton).

    Both Connery and Moore have seven Bond films and here are how each of their films seemed to fit one another.

1. You Only Live Twice (1967) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

    Starting off with the most obvious ones, these films were both directed by Lewis Gilbert and both featured Bond in a naval uniform. And with what they say about the Bond films of Gilbert, YOLT and Spy shared a seemingly similar premise, to instigate a war on two different countries after sabotaging space and naval operations of each countries. Blofeld was the main villain on the former, while Stromberg was on the latter.

Sean Connery as James Bond in M's office in "You Only Live Twice" from bondsuits.com

Roger Moore as James Bond from a promotional photo of "The Spy Who Loved Me" from bamfstyle.com

    Both films featured Bond pairing up with a different secret service agency other than the MI-6. Additionally, these were two of the films that featured a "Team Good" versus "Team Evil" battle by the end of the film, complete with contrasting costumes.

2. From Russia With Love (1963) and For Your Eyes Only (1981)

    It is not often that Bond films would have a McGuffin like what Ethan Hunt films tent to do, but when Bond films do, it is done quite beautifully.

Bond with the Lektor decoder in the final confrontation scene of "From Russia With Love" from screenrant.com

    From Russia With Love's "lektor" gets an update with For Your Eyes Only's "ATAC". Both items have no severe impact onto any of each film's characters, aside from helping our heroes and villains from one place into another.

ATAC Device in For Your Eyes Only from universalexports.net

3. Goldfinger (1964) and A View to A Kill (1985)

    Sir Sean Connery's most iconic outing, Goldfinger, gets to be paired with Sir Roger Moore's swan song due to the fact that these film's villains share almost identical villain goals. 

    Auric Goldfinger wants to have the monopoly of the gold deposit after securing Fort Knox's gold supply, while Max Zorin plans to supply Silicon Valley with a man-made earthquake to monopolize the deposit of microchips. With these films, the saying that "the old Bond films were just as good as their villains," can be actually taken to be a fact. Most of the memorable scenes often feature Goldfinger and Zorin.

Goldfinger's exposition scene for the Operation: Goldfinger in the film from reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com

May Day and Zorin aboard the blimp in "A View to  a Kill" for Project: Mainstrike from bondsuits.com
"Does anybody else want to drop out?"

    Do yourself a favor and watch out for the interrogation/laser scene in Goldfinger and the city hall and the mining shoot out in A View To A Kill.

    Additionally, both these films have the creepiest henchman/woman in Odd Job and May Day.

4. Thunderball (1965) and Moonraker (1979)

    The next films on this list may be good ones for some Bond fans, and these are also the bigger Bond films, big in production, a spectacle in the visuals, and higher level of stunts were made for this film to be Bond-level. 

    However, I find these films to be unwatchable and a legit snooze fest. Perhaps I just don't like watching the same plot for a third time (Moonraker is just You Only Live Twice, and The Spy Who Loved Me in space).

    Thunderball had some good scenes though, especially the Spectre meeting, and they were great with Bond's one-liners and witty quips. 

    Another similarity that these films have? The local parade in the night where terror would commence. 

The Junkanoo parade in "Thunderball" from huntingbond.com

Bond at the Carnival in Rio (Moonraker) from pinterest.com

5. Dr. No (1962) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

    Dr. No, the villain, was great as the first one to match against 007. After his death, extreme and heavily obsessive and excessive villains would face Bond in the likes of Red Grant, Goldfinger Largo, Blofeld, and even Dr. Kananga. It was only by the time of "The Man with the Golden Gun" where Bond would face a villain that was almost his equal, Francisco Scaramanga.

    Additionally, by the film's end, at the Hotel Crab Key and Hotel Scaramanga, Bond girls Honey Ryder and Mary Goodnight would be taken by the villain, awaiting Bond's rescue.

Bond and Honey Ryder having their escape in the end of "Dr. No" from chrism227.wordpress.com

Bond and Goodnight having their escape in "The Man with the Golden Gun" from 007.com

    Maybe a time at the beach after some explosions? Only to be followed by more explosions off of course, of course. 

6. Diamonds are Forever (1971) and Octopussy (1983)

    In Diamonds are Forever, Bond would have to overcome various Blofeld clones in the process of saving the world, this time from the hands of Spectre, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, and Bambi and Thumper. 

    While in Octopussy, Bond would face Kamal Kahn and General Orlov in the middle of the Fabergé Egg as this film's McGuffin. 

    Aside from the use of a circus setting, both films also displayed Bond's ability to disguise himself as another man, or even another living thing like an animal, or a non-living thing such as a mummy as he did in Octopussy. 

Peter Franks (left) and Bond (right) in "Diamonds are Forever" from express.co.uk

Bond (left) and Col. Toro (right) in "Octopussy" from 007museum.com
"Toro? Sounds like a load of bull."

"Small world, you're a Toro, too."

    Bond disguised himself as Peter Franks in Diamonds are Forever, complete with Franks' fingerprints (through Q), while in Octopussy, Bond disguised himself as Col. Toro in the pre-title sequence, among many other disguises he had in that film (which in itself is a topic for a different blog). 

    Another side note, these films had some of the best one-liners from both Bond actors.

7. Never Say Never Again (1983) and Live and Let Die

    Sir Sean Connery's final Bond outing is paired with Sir Roger Moore's first one. Although these are both good ones, with great Bond films, Felix Leiter's and stunts/action, these were quite hard to watch. 

    There's a certain part of these films which seemed to make them a bit dated, even as if these were made before You Only Live Twice. 

    Additionally, both films had two memorable but very lengthy chase scenes. The boat chase in Live and Let Die and the motorcycle chase scene in Never Say Never Again which was also quite hard to watch due to the cheap way of disguising a stunt double for Sir Sean, put a helmet on. A full-faced one! 

Bond in the motorcycle chase scene in "Never Say Never Again" from bmt216a.dk

Bond in the boat chase scene in "Live and Let Die" from 007museum.com

#TheList ends here, and I'd love to know about your thoughts about these! 

Keep 'em comments coming! 

#JamesBond    #007    #NoTimeToDie #SeanConnery    #RogerMoore    #PierceBrosnan    #DanielCraig    #TimothyDalton    #GeorgeLazenby

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Daniel Craig Scene (Day 6)

"Spectre" was the first film I watched in the theater. Other Bond films were watched only on TV presentations or released copies. And how I loved watching "Spectre", especially when the white dots appeared for the gun barrel sequence, the first proper one for a Craig film!

However, my favorite Bond film wouldn't be from that scene. It would have to be from the scene that led to the events of that film, the very last scene of "Skyfall"!

The scene was just perfectly built up. From the reveal of Eve as Moneypenny and Mallory as the new M to the reveal of Bond meeting M in his office. Although it was a kind of a fan service moment, it was subtle and very much not like the fan service moments sprayed all over "Die Another Day" and "Spectre" through the countless references to previous Bond films.

What made it so memorable was the fact that it was the first time we saw Bond and M talking in the traditional office since "The Living Daylights" in 1987.

In "License to Kill", only Moneypenny's office was shown, while in the Brosnan films and Craig's first two, M's office was always redecorated and changed into something new.

This scene helped build up the interaction between Bond and the new M for the coming films, what's left of Craig's contract, at least. They even have the naval painting in the wall above M to match the details making it easy to accept Mallory as the new M.

This scene was the best scene to close for a great Bond film, "Skyfall", while also transitioning it to the next entry in the series, "Spectre" which would have the established MI-6 regulars - Bill Tanner, Moneypenny, Q, and M.

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Pierce Brosnan Scene (Day 5)

Excuse the delay, here's the entry for the fifth day!

I really find the Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan eras very much alike. For the films in these eras, you suspend your disbelief high enough so that there's won't be frequent eyebrow raises. 

There was Sir Roger's "Moonraker". while there was Pierce's "Die Another Day". In terms of the action, there were "Octopussy" and "Tomorrow Never Dies". In terms of villains who were equal to Bond, there was Francisco Scaramanga for Sir Roger while there was Alec Trevelyan for Pierce. 

With that, we should go to my favorite Pierce Brosnan Bond moment and this would definitely be an action scene since the action, gunfights, brawls, and machine guns were commonly seen in this era of movies. 

My favorite would be Bond going up against Gustav Graves in a fencing match. This happened in the film "Die Another Day". Investigating what really happened in the mission in the pre-title sequence, Bond was led to Graves who was dealing counterfeited diamonds. 

Although this scene gave the Madonna cameo, I had to pick this one as my favorite since it was one of the most memorable and watchable moments of the film. "Die Another Day" was not a very good outing but it was very entertaining while having the potential of a good one. One of the reasons for the film having some rare praises would be due to this fight scene. 

Watching the fight, you would be reminded of Bond and Goldfinger's golf match and also the swordfight scene in Moonraker. Very fitting since it was a 40th-anniversary offering. 

The fight choreography was also done superbly. The actors were believable and not suspicious at all with all the stunts. It was really great to see Pierce Brosnan kicking the butt of a much younger villain who was very athletic and as tough as a Robocop. 

Gustav Graves was also good as a villain. Having a villain that could match up Bond physically every once in a while could be really great for the sake of the action scenes. 

James Bond 30-Day Challenge: Favorite Timothy Dalton Scene (Day 4)

Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond actor. His two Bond films are easily in my Top 5. Needless to say, this pick is going to be an easy one. 

Of his two Bond outings, I liked License to Kill better. During its time, it was the one among the other previous Bonds. It was the first one not to have an Ian Fleming title. There were no megalomaniac villains, humorous reactions, and ultimately, there wasn't any mission at hand. 

"The Man with the Golden Gun" had the chance of having Bond go out on something that was not a mission. He was out to go after Scaramanga whom he thought was paid to kill him. However, there was also the conflict concerning the Solex Agitator and guess what, the man behind that conflict was also Scaramanga. 

As for "License to Kill", this film had no sub-plots. Bond was out to seek the killing of Felix Leiter's wife and Leiter's own casualty. Plain and simple. No missions, for now, M. Not until I avenge my best buddy, Felix Leiter. 

That made it stand out among the other entries. 

During the middle part of the film, Bond was in the fictional location, Isthmus City, in Franz Sanchez's casino. He posed as a very able player to catch Sanchez's attention and he was right. He was then about to meet Sanchez.

And this next scene would definitely be my favorite. Bond and Sanchez having a conversation. They even threw a very subtle "Bond. James Bond." introduction, although it was left unattended b Sanchez. 

Sanchez wanted to know what Bond does for a living, and asked if he was a "problem solver". Bond, gathering his wits, replied that he was a "problem eliminator". Timothy Dalton's delivery of that scene really caught my attention because it seemed that every aspect needed to make that scene perfectly aligned. The grit was present, the dedication to play the part too, but most of all, the hair was so overly done, it made the scene shine brightly. 

It was also during this meeting that Bond displayed some good spy stuff when he took a glimpse at Sanchez's window to gauge how much of a trouble it would be for him. 

James Bond 30 Day Challenge: Favorite Roger Moore Moment (Day 3)

My favorite Roger Moore moment as 007 would have to be the final showdown with Francisco Scaramanga in "The Man with the Golden Gun".

Although there were lots of massive Bond moments during the Roger Moore era, which gave seven films, this has to be the one for me. 

Options included the Crocodile Jump in "Live and Let Die", the meeting with Lazar in "Golden Gun", and the Union Jack moment in "The Spy Who Loved Me." Amazingly, those were just from Roger Moore's first  three Bond films. 

Ever since the Bond movies blew up big time during the Sean Connery era, fans had toyed with the idea 9f Bond being matched up with someone who could be his equal. After numerous extravagant villains from Dr. No to Blofeld, and Dr. Kana nga, it was time for Bond to face Scaramanga.

Scaramanga was Bond's equal in the sense that they were both the best in their field (an assassin versus a secret agent), their towering physique, and their ability to fight for what they'd think would be the best for them. 

Roger Moore inside Scaramanga's fun house in "The Man with the Golden Gun" from onenewspage.com

Scaramanga tried to trick Bond by giving him the advantage of having the Walther's six bullets against his Golden Gun's one. With the help of his fun house, Bond was down to his last possible shot. Thankfully, he thought of making the environment work to his advantage.

I won't spoil that for you anymore. You'd be doing yourself a favor watching that final battle between the two assassins. 

James Bond 30 Day Challenge: Favorite George Lazenby Moment (Day 2)

George Lazenby was Bond for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" after Sean Connery chose not to star as the secret agent.

My favorite moment on that film was when Bond called Draco, Tracy's father, after having some disagreements with M for the rescue of Tracy.

The conversation was set in Bond's office which was already shown earlier in the film when he has packed his spy stuff memento from previous missions. Once again, the setting was used as a place for Bond to cool down and clear his mind after a heated conversation with his boss.

George Lazenby as James Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"

Bond dropped the line "Bond. James Bond." in this scene as he was talking to Draco. It was such a cool macho moment for Lazenby's Bond because, for the second time in the film, he has shown that he can go rogue and be against M's orders.

Not that going rogue is highly recommended for subordinates, however, this proves that having a license to kill is also having the license not to kill, as M would say In Spectre. With that, it sends the message that we can still stay true to our duties and responsibilities while being discerning of which things are of high importance.

James Bond 30 Day Challenge: Favorite Sean Connery Bond Moment (Day 1)

While everybody is in quarantine and on lockdown, I thought of giving this challenge a go.

First up is Favorite Sean Connery Scene. With 7 films to choose from, there's definitely a lot to choose from.

Among all the explosive action scenes and pun-filled remarks, my favorite had to be the Moneypenny scene in From Russia With Love.

From Russia With Love started with the new threat from SPECTRE and the defector, Tatiana Romanova, that had been known to M. M.asked for 007's presence through Moneypenny.

Unaware of the tension due to the situation and of M's presence, Bond enters the room playfully.

Moneypenny (left), M (center), and Bond (right) in From Russia with Love from bamfstyle.com

"Now for my next miracle...".as he tossed his hat to the hat stand, completely shocked and quite embarassed seeing M witness his mischievous side.

The scene had nothing more than that fun entry of Bond into the mission. It showed the personality of Bond when he has not yet been handed his mission. I think I like that because it gave us a chance of humanizing Bond and not think of him as an emotionless blunt instrument for MI6.