Roger Moore | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: A View to a Kill

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Darren

This post is part of James Bond January, being organised by the wonderful Paragraph Films. I will have reviews of all twenty-two official Bond films going on-line over the next month, and a treat or two every once in a while.

A View to A Kill is not fondly remembered. In fact, it frequently finds itself listed amongst the dregs of the Bond films when the time comes to rank the worst of the British secret agent’s on-screen adventures. Truth be told, I find that rather harsh – I’d argue that it’s a significantly stronger effort than The Man With The Golden Gun, at least – as well as possibly Octopussy and Moonraker. After all, both Roger Moore and Christopher Walken look like they are having such a ridiculously good time.

Not quite a towering accomplishment…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: A View to a Kill, a view to a kill (movie), arts, Bond girl, christopher walken, films, grace jones, james bond, james bond january, List of James Bond villains, Man With The Golden Gun, Max Zorin, mayday, non-review review, review, Roger Moore, San Francisco City Hall, sean connery, United States | 7 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Octopussy

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Darren

Despite having quite possibly the most awkwardly unfortunate name in the history of the English language, the most enduring image from Octopussy is Roger Moore, flailing wildly and trying to be taken seriously, while dressed as a clown. Oddly appropriate, eh?

Moore, Moore, Mo- Too Much!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: american, Bond girl, film, general orlov, George Lazenby, Hedge fund, india, james bond, james bond january, khan, Maud Adams, Movie, non-review review, Octopussy, pierce brosnan, review, Roger Moore, sam mendes, sean connery, stephen berkoff, steven berkoff, United States | 11 Comments »

Non-Review Review: For Your Eyes Only

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Darren

The Bond film also known as “the one that even people who dislike Roger Moore Bond films enjoy.”

Bond plays “Eye, Spy”…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Bibi Dahl, film, for your eyes only, George Lazenby, ian fleming, james bond, james bond january, John Glen, julian glover, MacGuffin, Movie, non-review review, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film), review, Roger Moore, sean connery, telly savalas | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Moonraker

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Darren

James Bond has always been susceptible to trends. Be it a nod to the kung-fu craze of the late seventies in The Man With The Golden Gun or the more modern focus on the Bourne film series in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, the film series has always been aware of popular tastes. While certain unions might seem a little eccentric (the fusion of the series with Miami Vice to produce Licence to Kill), there’s probably not a more bizarre blend than the attempt to emulate the success of the original Star Wars films within the framework of a film franchise based around a suave British spy.

Roger Moore’s hanging on in there…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: dolly, films, holly goodhead, Hugo Drax, james bond, james bond january, jaws, moonraker, Movies, non-review review, review, reviews, Roger Moore | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Man With The Golden Gun

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Darren

The Man With The Golden Gun is frequently derided as the worst film of the Roger Moore era, guilty of taking all the excesses of the period and turning them up to eleven. Being honest, I’m not entirely convinced. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a bad film – one of the worst Bond films – but I’m not entirely convinced that it is as universally disappointing as Moonraker or as ridiculously underwhelming as Octopussy. There is, I’d argue, very possibly one tiny little gem buried amid this trainwreck of a Bond film – the man with the golden gun himself, as played by Christopher Lee.

This foe is going to put Bond through his paces…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, britt eklund, Christopher Lee, daniel craig, Dominic Greene, films, Francisco Scaramanga, Golden Gun, Hugo Drax, james bond, james bond january, List of James Bond villains, Man With The Golden Gun, Movies, review, Roger Moore | 12 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Live and Let Die

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Darren

Who’s the ~~black private dick~~ honky secret agent who’s a sex machine to all the chicks? Bond, James Bond.

It’s blaxploitation, but with a British accent.

Strange bedfellows…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: African American, Caribbean, films, Geoffrey Holder, james bond, james bond january, List of James Bond villains, live and let die, Man With The Golden Gun, Movies, New Orleans, non-review review, racism, Raven Software, review, Roger Moore, sean connery, stereotypes, unfortunate implications, voodoo, Yaphet Kotto | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Diamonds Are Forever

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Darren

When George Lazenby refused to come back to do a follow-up to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the producers were left with a bit of a problem. Three actors playing Bond in three films would perhaps be a little bit too much for audiences to grapple with, so an emergency appeal was made to Sean Connery to return to the role which made him iconic. Charging a then-astronomical fee, which he donated entirely to charity, Connery donned the tuxedo once again. Reteaming with Guy Hamilton, the man who directed Goldfinger, once would assume that we were pretty much assured a winner – a return to the good old days. What we got was something of a flash-forward. If I didn’t know better, I would suspect that somebody had pulled a “George Lucas” on us, using wondrous new technology to digitally superimpose Sean Connery into a Roger Moore film.

Adam West was considered to play James Bond in this film. I think that tells us everything we need to know.

Sean Connery's Bond was never afraid of wetwork...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: A View to a Kill, art, camp, diamonds are forever, film, George Lazenby, james bond, james bond january, Movies, non-review review, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film), review, Roger Moore, sean connery | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Darren

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is a relatively low-key Bond adventure. The action set pieces aren’t spectacular, it’s mostly confined to one geographical locale and it features a genuinely moving love story. Coupled with the fact that George Lazenby is replacing Sean Connery, you’d be forgiven for assuming that you’d accidentally been given the wrong video at the video store. It’s not that the changes are necessarily bad (though, to be frank, some of them are), just that it doesn’t exactly feel like the smoothest possible transition.

… And I thought Bond was only married to his job….

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aston Martin, Aston Martin DB5, bond, diana rigg, ernst stavro blofeld, film, George Lazenby, james bond, List of James Bond vehicles, Movies, non-review review, on her majesty's secret service, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film), review, Roger Moore, sean connery, telly savalas | 12 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Austin Powers

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Darren

It’s a little sad to think that Austin Powers is the last true comedic character that Mike Myers brought to the screen, and he was created nearly fifteen years ago. Yes, I have seen The Love Guru.

Powers to the People!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: austin powers, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, comedy, Dr. Evil, ernst stavro blofeld, james bond, Love Guru, Mike Myers, Movies, non-review review, review, Roger Moore, sean connery, spoof | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: You Only Live Twice

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Darren

You Only Live Twice was my favourite when I was younger. It was energetic, witty, bright, colourful and adventurous. The stakes were ridiculously high – no less than the Third World War. Bond’s trip to Japan painted the country as an exotic wonderland to a mind as young as my own. The script was smart and the action was fast-paced – the movie still breezes along even today. The cost of the speed is that the movie is ultimately fairly light – it doesn’t carry anything particularly heavy or thought-provoking. This means that it ends up feeling relatively light-weight when measured against some of Sean Connery’s earlier outings like From Russia With Love or Goldfinger, which worked at least as much with suspense as with action.