Nobody Does It Better? James Bond on Netflix [Lex]

Forgive me Ace (and others), but I am a Netflix subscriber. Have been for 20 years or so. I once told my son’s friend Netflix used to send DVDs in the mail. The little shaver was unaware Netflix existed pre-streaming. More to my bane was the inability to catch up, as easily as Netflix made it, with movies and shows I missed any given year. Though the streaming service does have older films and some TV series, it pales in comparison to what you could get via their immense DVD library.

Naturally, Netflix chooses to promote its original material, and there are some winners, but mainly the stream is not so merrily navigated—with a glut of not only original films and shows but also much dross from the last 30 years of cinema.

It was getting so bad, I had thoughts about trying another service. Enter not the dragon but 007 when, in January of 2026, Netflix added the entire James Bond catalogue. This comprises 26 movies, the first being Dr. No in 1962 and the most recent No Time to Die in 2021. With this move, Netflix succeeded in keeping me around for a little while yet.

As of this writing, I have not rewatched the 26 films. I believe I have seen them all over the years and many multiple times. Since the movies went live, I have mainly focused on the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig pictures because I had never seen any of them more than once, and, after rewatching a few, remember why; these iterations of Bond aren’t very good.

I do like Daniel Craig as James Bond. He’s certainly the most muscled actor who played 007 and believable as a bruising secret agent, but the Craig-era films don’t feel much different than Jason Bourne or John Wick or any movie where a man kills his way through an onslaught of enemies. The action sequences are oftentimes as bad as a Transformers picture: that is, I can’t tell what’s happening it’s so fast and harried. Furthermore, Craig’s Bond lacks the jocularity of the previous portrayals. A perpetually dour and scowling Bond should not be on Her Majesty’s secret service.

Still, Pierce Brosnan is easily, for me, the least enjoyable Bond to watch. He possesses the wryness Craig lacks, but he can’t quite sell it the way Roger Moore did. He’s certainly more physical than Moore, but much of the time it doesn’t wash.

In The World is Not Enough, we are told Brosnan’s Bond has a bad shoulder, and once in a while he winces, but then the injury vanishes as he leaps and tumbles and falls and fights his way through myriad bad guys to no apparent effect. This scripting might not be Brosnan’s fault, but he doesn’t have the charm Moore did to convince a viewer charisma can outpace grit.

But let’s be frank: we would not have had Brosnan, Craig, or the others if not for Sean Connery. He made the franchise possible.

Connery was equal parts debonair and tough. He had skill, attitude, humor, and good timing. I don’t think you’ll find a more delightful sequence in any James Bond movie that demonstrate Connery’s range, than 007’s golf game with Auric Goldfinger and Odd Job. Daniel Craig probably wouldn’t even play Golden Tee, let alone a real game of golf.

Connery set the standard, and Roger Moore gamely took it up. It was a daring choice to succeed Connery with Moore. Bond became more dandified, but it worked. Connery will always be the best Bond, but Moore is easily a close second.

I also liked Timothy Dalton’s two-movie turn as Bond. He brought back a ruggedness to 007 that was absent for almost two decades.

I won’t discuss the one George Lazenby film, as it was silly and featured Bond wearing a kilt for thirty minutes and feigning a Scottish burr at Telly Savalas’s alpine seraglio.

The lousy writing of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service might only be rivaled by the inane stories cooked up for Brosnan and Craig.

I have little idea what happened in The World is Not Enough, Spectre or No Time to Die. Moonraker was far-fetched no doubt, but at least it was easy to grasp, as well as featuring one of the best Bond henchmen (Richard Kiel’s ‘Jaws’. The plots of the Craig and Brosnan films are so incomprehensible they are boring and make one want to fast forward to the end.

***

It’s natural that after 20 films or so, the Bond producers would look to go in different directions. I don’t mean the actor who plays 007, but some of the familiar background parts.

Throughout much of the Bond cannon, M, Q, and Moneypenny were only seen in glimpses— to give Bond a clipped reprimand, a testy lecture or a soft moment of flirtation.

In the newer films, M, Q, and Moneypenny are flushed out, but I don’t care for it. Does the M character become more compelling because we see her drawing a bath? Is Moneypenny more interesting because we catch a glimpse of her casual sex hookup pouting in bed as she talks to Bond, who is on the other side of the world? Giving these characters more play not only adds to the run time of the movies, but also makes the plots messier.

Prior to the Craig 007 movies, one could probably drop in on any Bond film and not have to know anything inside baseball. But during the Craig years, one film bled into the next, and you felt lost if you didn’t know who Vesper was (I still don’t).

This is likely the influence of television. Bond movies, either by design or incidentally, felt as if they had to mirror their idiot box brethren by making the films semi-episodic.

But there was also a clear cinematic influence on Bond occurring as well. A 007 picture always promised a flavor of spy-craft, but the more recent movies evolved away from patient spook-work into generic action films. James Bond movies have not waivered from offering exotic locations (and women), but the early films were well paced. The latter-day Bonds became too busy, globe-hopping at breakneck speed.

***

I came of age in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, so I’m trying to divine if my appreciation for the Bond films of those decades is the product, not of objective analysis, but some unknowing attachment to and association with my youth.

Even though I’ve looked in the mirror, I reject that diagnosis. The earlier films were simply better.

Not just 007 himself and the villains but even the secondary characters such as the henchmen. In the more recent Bond movies there are some bruising killers, but they have no flare (or even interesting names that I recall) such as Odd Job, Jaws, Nick Nack and the gay duo of Mr. Kidd and Mr. Winn.

In that same vein, can a fan of the more current Bond films hum any title song? A Bond song –setting aside the iconic 007 leitmotif—once stood out. I didn’t find any of the recent Bond intro songs memorable. And even if one or two are decent, they don’t compare to ‘For Your Eyes Only,’ ‘Never Say Never Again,’ ‘Live and Let Die,’ and ‘Nobody Does it Better.’ Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ (the only Bond song to win an Oscar) is nice, but it doesn’t come close to the crème de la crème of 007 songs, ‘Goldfinger,’ which never received any of Oscar’s Midas love.

That brings us to which Bond film is second best because there is no debate that in first place is Goldfinger. The song, the style, the villains, the plan, and yeah that golf game. My top ten 007 films are ranked as such…

Goldfinger
From Russia With Love
The Man With the Golden Gun
You Only Live Twice
The Spy Who Loved Me
For Your Eyes Only
The Living Daylights
Never Say Never Again
Dr. No
A View to a Kill

Besides Connery’s rendering of Bond, any credit for the success of the franchise must also be given to the early Bond directors Guy Hamilton and Terrence Young. I don’t know much about them, but the results are plain.

There have probably been more famous directors to take the helm of Bond movies, but they haven’t handled the material as well.

Perhaps the best season of television ever was True Detective Season One, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. A star was born then, and as a result Fukunaga has been handed a lot—including 007 in No Time to Die.

But, as previously mentioned, this film is sloppy. Like many who attempted to take on Bond, he was foiled. Fukunaga clearly could not handle a sprawling, lively action piece and so we got a weak, banal action piece with a brooding, unfunny Bond.

This begs the question: where will Bond go next? I don’t pay much attention to the development of 007 films, but it has been five years. Will Bond be a women or gay, or a gay woman? Neither would surprise, though a lesbian Bond would at least make the sex scenes decent.

However, one might also ask is another Bond movie possible? 007 was a stand in for Britain, and the UK has fallen very far since 1962. England is collapsing from within, so how can we believe any of its agents can save the world or accomplish daring missions overseas?

For a long time nobody did it better when it came to producing a James Bond film, but somewhere in the early 21st century, when too many large-scale film productions ceased to be enjoyable, Bond got dragged down with the times.

Time will tell of course, but for now it seems Commander Bond may have met the one foe who could vanquish him: corporate, post-modern filmmaking. That villainous moniker doesn’t quite have the ring of Ernst Stavro Blofeld or Francisco Scaramanga, but it’s succeeded, for the moment, in putting the most suave and scrappy Englishman ever on his back.

While I wait for Bond to resurrect, I can at least enjoy (mostly) his earlier exploits via Netflix.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Nice essay Lex thank you also I agree with your assessment and rankings overall but for me Bond will always be Roger Moore. I never saw any Sean Connery until I was an adult.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 21, 2026 07:37 PM (RIvkX)

2 George Martin has a play out, "The Mad King"
tinyurl.com/d8mec56y
Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Posted by: gKWVE at February 21, 2026 07:40 PM (gKWVE)

3 The earlier films were simply better.

Yup. That was when they made movies. So many of the newer Bonds are just sequels.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 07:40 PM (2WIwB)

4 Good evening everyone

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:41 PM (Ia/+0)

5 The action sequences are oftentimes as bad as a Transformers picture: that is, I can’t tell what’s happening it’s so fast and harried.

What started this, where all action sequences have to keep toggling between 1/10th speed and 10x speed, and jumping to a new camera angle every half-second? The Matrix, or something before that?

I don't think you even need stuntmen anymore, since it's all CGI and camera tricks now.

Posted by: mikeski at February 21, 2026 07:41 PM (VHUov)

6 As much as I esteem leading man Sean Connery as the best Bond, it's his character turns I like the best: Robin and Marion, The Man Who Would Be King, etc.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 07:42 PM (kpS4V)

7 And as suggested, the early Bonds had the best music.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 07:43 PM (2WIwB)

8 >>>daring choice to succeed Connery with Moore. Bond became more dandified
---

poofter he was

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 07:44 PM (slo2K)

9 I agree with this assessment. I don't care for either of the gay Bonds either.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 07:44 PM (vFG9F)

10 Sean was best hands down. I like Craig for whatever reason Moore less.

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:44 PM (Ia/+0)

11 "... and the gay duo of Mr. Kidd and Mr. Winn."
----

They're professionals, sure, but they inject flair and whimsy into the killing. Do the job, then take in a show.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 07:45 PM (kpS4V)

12 I know seen a couple at least in the Drive -in as a kid, my dad liked Bond movies, still might

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:46 PM (Ia/+0)

13 Thunderball is my favorite.

Posted by: Tuna at February 21, 2026 07:46 PM (lJ0H4)

14 Other than Bond, Connery, from that time frame;
A Fine Madness. Married poet can't keep his watch in the pocket.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 07:48 PM (slo2K)

15 I'm a "Goldfinger" contrarian. It's a fun film, but honestly, Bond is a sidecar at best and incompetent at worst. He gets two women killed, he's assigned to get close to Goldfinger but immediately alienates him instead, and he stumbles onto Goldfinger's plan by accident, after being taken prisoner. A less-than-impressive showing.

Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 21, 2026 07:48 PM (5YmYl)

16 The Craw could beat him!

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 21, 2026 07:48 PM (Cqx++)

17 So many beautiful women too.
My favs were Carole Bouquet and Ursala Andress.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 21, 2026 07:49 PM (2WIwB)

18 A View to a Kill

I enjoy this movie (I own all of the official Connery and Moore films) but it is difficult to get over the fact that Moore is not a good Superman.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:49 PM (EXyHK)

19 Casino Royale with Craig is my favorite.

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 07:49 PM (+nEug)

20 I started with moore's bonds, so that was original reference point, back when abc would air them on sundays, the opening to the man in the golden gun, with scary dwarf herve villechaize, I guess it was already heading toward camp, that one might say moonraker was the peak of

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 07:49 PM (bXbFr)

21 Is it just that the Cold War era lent itself more to this kind of film? Maybe it's just played out.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 07:50 PM (kpS4V)

22 What I really liked about the early Bond films (through Thunderball I guess) was the world they presented. Everything looked clean and vaguely sci-fi-ish, and everything worked. There was no grit and grimness. Even the henchman looked like they bathed regularly.

It's honestly the kind of world I'd like to live in. The Jamaican slum in Dr. No looks like a great place to live. You could hang out with Mike and watch the seas.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at February 21, 2026 07:50 PM (CHHv1)

23
I'd put Goldeneye somewhere in the top 10, probably replacing Never Say Never Again or View to a Kill (which is awful). Brosnan kind of saved Bond in Goldeneye, although the rest of the Brosnan-era films are largely dreck.

I don't have high hopes for Bond going forward now that Amazon has control.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 21, 2026 07:51 PM (kTyBw)

24 I have my own model of how to judge Bond films, and in my book, you have to compare them to how individual actors portrayed the role, then pit them against each other. I haven't reached that last bit yet, but in the meantime:

Connery (the GOAT): From Russia With Love
Moore: The Spy Who Loved Me
Dalton: The Living Daylights
Brosnan: GoldenEye
Craig: Casino Royale

Lazenby left off, purposely.

Fave Bonds: Connery, Moore, Brosnan, Dalton, Craig, Lazenby. (Moore and Brosnan are close! But I give the edge to Moore strictly out of sentiment. I grew up watching Bond movies on ABC with my father and at the time it was Connery and Moore to pick from.)

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 07:51 PM (hJH5n)

25 yeah view was more than a bit silly, walken almost walks away with the film, I didn't know patrick macnee;s backstory in the Avengers at the time, but I did recall him from the Battlestar Galactica voice over,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 07:52 PM (bXbFr)

26 Casino Royale with Craig is my favorite.

It’s a sad example of what could have been a brilliant reboot into a different kind of Bond. I remember most of Royale and nothing of its sequel.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:52 PM (EXyHK)

27 15. When you drill down on a lot of the Bond movies, he does get captured easily or make a mistake and then somehow get lucky to escape, so I understand what you are saying. But Goldfinger just seems to have the best elements of all the movies. A wild plain. A great villain. An evil henchman. Exotic women and locales. Great music. Humor. If it's not your number one it still has to be somewhat top ranked.

Posted by: Lex at February 21, 2026 07:53 PM (y4H1r)

28 About the only reason I have NetFlux still is that they stringing me along for season two of All of Us Are Dead... any day now...

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (/lPRQ)

29 Right now I'm watching "Cleopatra" on TCM. It gets slagged as an expensive studio-buster, but at least you can see every dollar up on the screen, unlike today's $300,000,000 CGI dreck.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (kpS4V)

30 I would put Diamonds are Forever above Man with the Golden Gun. That one’s got a great theme by Shirley Bassey, too.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (46za5)

31 Stephen Price Blair, I enjoy it mostly for the scenery and the poker game.

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (+nEug)

32 21 Is it just that the Cold War era lent itself more to this kind of film? Maybe it's just played out.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 07:50 PM (kpS4V)

It's played out only because this era lends itself to total uncreativity. Now I keep hearing how we need "period piece" Bond. Never mind current era Hollywood cannot be trusted to do so without screwing it up ("This was how the 1960s should have been like, not how it was.") Never mind this puts you in direct competition with the GOAT. Never mind it exposes people as being as uncreative as possible.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 07:54 PM (hJH5n)

33 Operation Kid Brother (aka Operation Double 007) Neil Connery, hypnotist.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, aka Agent Frank at February 21, 2026 07:55 PM (0aYVJ)

34 for your eyes only was the most hardboiled of the Bond, up to that point, the Villaines were lest outlandish, the henchmen like emil locque were more threatening and of course Caroline Bouquet

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 07:55 PM (bXbFr)

35 Och, lad, I canna believe you don't have Casino Royale with David Niven and Woody Allen on the list.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at February 21, 2026 07:55 PM (0sNs1)

36 26 Casino Royale with Craig is my favorite.

It’s a sad example of what could have been a brilliant reboot into a different kind of Bond. I remember most of Royale and nothing of its sequel.
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:52 PM (EXyHK)

Quantum of Solace had an absolutely unmemorable villain. That is a major mistake in the Bond franchise. The villain must be as big a deal as Bond.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 07:57 PM (hJH5n)

37 All Hail Eris, I love the first half with Rex and give the Burton half a pass. Same with "Rome". Antony is pathetic.

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 07:57 PM (+nEug)

38 it was probably a reaction to the more fanciful moonraker,

I hadn't seen enough of Julian Glover's work, to know he was the villain initially, although he had been in Empire

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 07:58 PM (bXbFr)

39 I was usually ambivalent about bond movies, but I definitely liked golden eye. I thought Brosnan did pretty good in that one. I never thought I would see bond say screw this ppk pop gun, wreck shit with an Ak47, then fuck up a town with a tank. I thought that was a good way to bring bond into the modern day.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 21, 2026 07:58 PM (snZF9)

40 I enjoy it mostly for the scenery and the poker game.

The poker game does highlight the best of a very good movie. Focused, well written, well acted, thrilling location. Among modern big budget films it stands out.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:58 PM (EXyHK)

41 The entrance into Rome / Cleopatra’s parade is an absolute marvel to watch, one of the heights of classic Hollywood filmmaking.

The way that it was supposed to have been two movies that got crammed together shows. I find the first half with Rex Harrison far more enjoyable than the half where it turns into the Richard and Liz show. The ending is still great, though.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 07:59 PM (46za5)

42 ah yes quantum had those good settings like tuscany and
bregenz, then goes off the railes with haiti and bolivia,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 07:59 PM (bXbFr)

43 I was 13 and mom and dad closing on a house
They dropped me at the big theatre in downtown Little Rock AR.
Live and Let Die.
Music
Story
Characters
Solitaire
Part of my life like yesterday.

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 07:59 PM (gbOdA)

44 Quantum of Solace had an absolutely unmemorable villain.

I couldn’t even remember the title!

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:59 PM (EXyHK)

45 Ah Ben Had, we agree completely!

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 08:00 PM (46za5)

46 12 I know seen a couple at least in the Drive -in as a kid, my dad liked Bond movies, still might
Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 07:46 PM (Ia/+0)

My father did not leave much of an imprint on things I am into. He hated music, putting at odds with the whole family. He never got my getting into sci-fi, referring, for instance, to Star Wars as "that fucking cartoon". However, one contribution he did make was the Bond movies. I made sure to tell him that among other things that last weekend I saw him alive.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 08:00 PM (hJH5n)

47 Live and Let Die.
----

I had the 45! Great song.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 08:01 PM (kpS4V)

48 notably the intro in Dr No, was not in the book, nor Sylvia Trench, they seem to have borrowed that from Casino

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:01 PM (bXbFr)

49 Same with "Rome". Antony is pathetic.
Posted by: Ben Had

I partially disagree about Rome. Antony is fine until he hooks up with Cleo.

Posted by: Tuna at February 21, 2026 08:03 PM (lJ0H4)

50 Nice content, Lex.

Saw Goldfinger first run and was instantly addicted. Had missed Dr. No and From Russia with Love, but when Goldfinger became a hit they were given a quick re-release on a double bill. Saw nearly all the others as they came out until Brosnan took the role.

Ranking the movies would be tough, but for my money From Russia with Love beats the rest (FRwL vs Goldfinger, though -- as John T. Chance said, 'I'd hate to have to live on the difference.'). I'd rate Never Say Never Again higher -- Connery was never smoother in the part and having fun with his age in the first half of the flick was delightful.

Ranking the Bonds? Connery, Dalton, Moore, Brosnan, Craig. Of Lazenby we will not speak.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:03 PM (q3u5l)

51 So about 40 years later at the Hard Rock in Vegas
Beautiful woman sits down beside me and ask when she can play in and they are finishing a shoe.
I say right now would you like a drink and she says yes so I throw $25 on the table and ask the dealer to get a waitress and 2 seconds later TA DA.
She says I play just the card. Meaning the odd card.
Me too.
I won about 500 and she was up around a 1000 and had to go to her event.
It was Solitaire. AKA Jane Seymore.

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:04 PM (gbOdA)

52 Connery plays M, Money Penny sends Brosnan into the office, Connery shoots him dead saying loudly,
Money Penny, we need younger recruits.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 08:04 PM (slo2K)

53 I would actually say Craig's Bond lacks the style of at least the first John Wick film. Wick seems larger than life and deadly in a way Bond never captured.

Thats actually interesting as they are both, essentially assassin's.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 08:04 PM (zZu0s)

54 47 Live and Let Die.
----

I had the 45! Great song.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 08:01 PM (kpS4V)

Great theme song. For me the best is "A View To A Kill" by Duran Duran. 'Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon is awesome. As is "For Your Eyes Only" by Sheena Easton. "The Living Daylights" by a-ha. The Shirley Bassey tunes are good as well. Gladys Knight and Tina Turner had good ones. Hell, I think the only one I did not care for was Lulu's "The Man With The Golden Gun".

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 08:04 PM (hJH5n)

55 yeah that title doesn't trip off the tongue, then again blame the writers strike

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:05 PM (bXbFr)

56 And for a terrific Bond villain, can you really do a whole lot better than Robert Shaw's Red Grant in From Russia with Love?

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:05 PM (q3u5l)

57 44 Quantum of Solace had an absolutely unmemorable villain.

I couldn’t even remember the title!
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:59 PM (EXyHK)

I think Quantum was leftover film from Casino

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:05 PM (gbOdA)

58 I see no one mentioned Woody Allen as Jimmy Bond.

Ok that was an awful mess of a movie.

Peter Sellers was supposed have been the star all the way through - but if you recall he gets pointlessly killed about 2/3 of the way in, after most of the movie was about him up to that point.

Reason? Peter Sellers had a mental breakdown during filming and stormed off cursing everyone, swearing he would never have anything to do with any of them again. They had spent too much money to reshoot, so they just killed the character and made up the rest of the plot from that point on.
It shows.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 08:06 PM (46za5)

59
But Goldfinger just seems to have the best elements of all the movies. A wild plain. A great villain. An evil henchman. Exotic women and locales. Great music. Humor. If it's not your number one it still has to be somewhat top ranked.
Posted by: Lex at February 21, 2026 07:53 PM (y4H1r)

I have no problem with Goldfinger at the head of someone's list, it's one-two with From Russia With Love as the best Bond films which I would personally put at #1. Robert Shaw's henchman is easily the scariest and most dangerous of any of SPECTRE's minions.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 21, 2026 08:06 PM (kTyBw)

60 Jaws Richard Kiel

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:07 PM (gbOdA)

61 its interesting how brosnan has been playing villains like the cockney gangster in mobland and the spymaster in black bag,
one was overrated, the other was underrated,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:07 PM (bXbFr)

62 Nice roll call, Cow Demon.

I can't think of one song from the recent films. I know Adèle, Madonna, and Sam the castrato sang them, but I can't recall a tune.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 08:08 PM (kpS4V)

63 Come on, we all know, in our hearts, Moonraker is the best Bond film, it's also the most fun Bond film.

The real deal with Bond is that the IP is worn out. Give it a 15 to 20 year rest and set the films in the 80's where there was tech but no too much tech and there was a real enemey.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 21, 2026 08:08 PM (XV/Pl)

64 35 Och, lad, I canna believe you don't have Casino Royale with David Niven and Woody Allen on the list.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at February 21, 2026 07:55 PM (0sNs1)
--------

Theme song by Herb Alpert!

Posted by: bluebell at February 21, 2026 08:09 PM (79pEw)

65 I really like Goldeneye. It is probably top 3 Bond movies for me. Depending, #1.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 08:09 PM (zZu0s)

66 yes kirilenko is described as the killer, but the likes of grant are his instrument,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:09 PM (bXbFr)

67 The only Brosnan one I have seen is "Die Another Day". Meh

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 08:09 PM (+nEug)

68 One Bond movie stands out as the best overall:

Best soundtrack by far
Best chase scenes
Best love story
Best Bond girl
Best villain
Extremely good fight scenes and cinematography
Middling Bond (neither best nor worst)
No stupid characters thrown in for comic relief

And the winner is: On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at February 21, 2026 08:10 PM (VCWz6)

69 Bluebell! Our favorite Bond villainess!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 08:10 PM (kpS4V)

70 Most of the Brosnan ones besides Goldeneye are meh, Ben Had.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 08:10 PM (zZu0s)

71 Ahoy, Eris!

Posted by: bluebell at February 21, 2026 08:10 PM (79pEw)

72 1. From Russia With Love
2. Casino Royale
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. Thunderball (remade as Never Say Never Again)
5. Goldfinger

Craig started out with a bang then fell off a cliff.

Russia wins with Lotte Lenye, Robert Shaw, and direction worthy of Hitchcock

Spy has the best song, was the intro for Richard Kiel, and the best intro sequence in movie history

Posted by: Josh Brolin's Blistered Taint at February 21, 2026 08:11 PM (4c2RO)

73 Live and Let Die
View to a Kill

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:11 PM (gbOdA)

74 And the winner is: On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
Posted by: MichiCanuck at February 21, 2026 08:10 PM (VCWz6)

Damn, someone pulling for George Lazenby.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 08:11 PM (zZu0s)

75 funny thing, herbert lom, drax's voice was actually overdubbed, there was a whole host of controversies with the portrayal of rio, the silly way that venice was depicted, etc

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:11 PM (bXbFr)

76
Goldfinger just seems to have the best elements of all the movies. A wild plain. A great villain. An evil henchman. Exotic women and locales. Great music. Humor.

And Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 21, 2026 08:11 PM (Cqx++)

77 51...for a second I thought you were going to say it was Plenty O'Toole

Posted by: Lex at February 21, 2026 08:12 PM (y4H1r)

78 One. Million. Dollars.

Posted by: Dr. Evil at February 21, 2026 08:12 PM (KW97C)

79 die another die, had some good elements, the way bond is discarded by money penny, the ruthlessness of graves, rpsamond pike's ice queen, then everything else goes awry

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:13 PM (bXbFr)

80 Hol lee fook

Skyfall

The most evil (and equal) villain.
The backstory. M Skyfall.
Old hasbeen man coming back.
Connery tried in Never Say
Remmington Steel blah

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:13 PM (gbOdA)

81 I really like Ben Whishaw so he makes "Skyfall" fun

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 08:13 PM (+nEug)

82

What about Barry Nelson?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 21, 2026 08:14 PM (Cqx++)

83 Damn, someone pulling for George Lazenby.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 08:11 PM (zZu0s)

Australia model

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:14 PM (gbOdA)

84 diamonds had an interesting controversy, in that Jimmy Dean, who played not Howard Hughes, was booked at one of Hughes hotels,

the subtext, was the actual kidnapping of Hughes by his Mormon security detail

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:15 PM (bXbFr)

85 Minority Opinion. Lazenby's OHMSS has two things, none can match. First, Diana Rigg in a short ice-skating dress. And it shows Bond actually studying for his mission, instead of just swilling brandy and knowing everything about everything.

Posted by: goatexchange at February 21, 2026 08:16 PM (hyS0X)

86 Just go youtube nobody with Carley on a dock near the water.

GREAT

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:17 PM (gbOdA)

87
Layer Cake was essentially Craig's Bond audition. In particular, when XXXX carries out an assassination. A VERY Bond sequence.

It's also a really good British crime film, one of the best.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 21, 2026 08:17 PM (kTyBw)

88 Completely forgot about Barry Nelson. Seem to recall seeing that TV production of Casino Royale eons ago, but can't really remember anything about it. Have to poke around YouTube or Archive for that one of these days...

Best Bond flick song? Oh, jeez -- that'd be almost harder to pick than movie or actor. I lean toward Never Say Never Again, mainly because I could listen to Lani Hall all day long.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:18 PM (q3u5l)

89 84 diamonds had an interesting controversy, in that Jimmy Dean, who played not Howard Hughes, was booked at one of Hughes hotels,

the subtext, was the actual kidnapping of Hughes by his Mormon security detail
Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:15 PM (bXbFr)

Best fag characters
Best use of a Mustang
Best proof moonwalk was faked

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:18 PM (gbOdA)

90 ITC, agreed. Hope you are well.

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 08:18 PM (+nEug)

91 yeah her majesty had a uneven path, seeing as lazenby had never acted before, the scenes in the alps would be echoed in the finale of kingsman, the plot seems a little threadbare, using models to spread foot and mouth, to cattle?

but the skiing was great,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:19 PM (bXbFr)

92 Theme song by Herb Alpert!
Posted by: bluebell at February 21, 2026 08:09 PM

The best part of the movie!

Posted by: Duncanthrax at February 21, 2026 08:20 PM (0sNs1)

93 91 yeah her majesty had a uneven path, seeing as lazenby had never acted before, the scenes in the alps would be echoed in the finale of kingsman, the plot seems a little threadbare, using models to spread foot and mouth, to cattle?

but the skiing was great,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:19 PM (bXbFr)

Also a Mustang

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:21 PM (gbOdA)

94 The Spy Who Loved Me is probably my favorite. The opening was amazing, Barbara Bach was a smoke show, and the story was solid. I also liked the book quite a bit. The book and the movie only have the title in common.

Lots of great songs to choose from. I guess I'll go with 'For Your Eyes Only' because Sheena Easton was hot and had that fantastic Scottish accent.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at February 21, 2026 08:21 PM (pLaQB)

95 Remember going to see Bond movies at the drive-in. Boy, did that blow. Early Roger Moore was great. By the end he got pretty long in the tooth, but don't we all. I do like Daniel Craig, but you are right. The sense of humor is definitely lacking.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at February 21, 2026 08:22 PM (MZ+PY)

96 Tracie has ca Couger.

Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:23 PM (gbOdA)

97 I find the Ralph Fiennes " The King's Man" great fun.

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 08:24 PM (+nEug)

98 78. I had a paragraph, which I cut, about how all the cliches of Bond built up so much it made Austin Powers possible. But it's clear the Connery movies were an influence on Mike Myers. Most of the gags relate to things that happen in the Connery films and not so much the Moore years.

Posted by: Lex at February 21, 2026 08:26 PM (y4H1r)

99 Better not get off my daily routine too much
Have a good night everyone

Posted by: Skip at February 21, 2026 08:26 PM (Ia/+0)

100 I liked From Russia With Love too. Daniela Bianchi was one fine busty Italian chick! I read somewhere that the director didn't like the way Bianchi looked (curvy) so hid some of her better assetts the whole film. I kind of feel ripped off! Stupid fag director!

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at February 21, 2026 08:27 PM (pLaQB)

101 I didn't quite realize view to a kill was at the time, it was probably was time for moore to bow out,

connery at 50 in never say never again (mccrorys revenge)
was probably long in the tooth as well,

although the notion he was playing a grizzled bond in the rock seems plausible,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:28 PM (bXbFr)

102 Without checking a lot of book publication dates and IMDb listings, seems to me maybe the Connery flicks jumpstarted a bunch of spy stuff. If memory serves, after Bond hit big we also got work like The Ipcress File (I seem to recall this one billed as 'The Thinking Man's Goldfinger.'), The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, and others in the theater and on the tube.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:30 PM (q3u5l)

103 kim basinger's role, was kind of cringe in that one,
\
barbara carrera on the other hand

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:30 PM (bXbFr)

104 Sean Connery, plain as the nose on your face.

Posted by: Eromero at February 21, 2026 08:30 PM (LHPAg)

105 Different Bond films appeal to me for different reasons. From Russia may be the most human, less gadgety, but was still exciting. Bond was less superhuman but still competent.

For Your Eyes Only had some real, enjoyable humor. Hard to beat an embarrassed Bond nervously saying to the young girl trying to get him in bed "You put your clothes on and I'll buy you an ice cream." Or the genuine laughter between the Bond and Melina during the car chase. Add Topol with that great voice and inflections. It also had Bond being ruthless.

Clearly, I prefer the less gadget-driven Bond movies, where the character is more important.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 08:30 PM (yTvNw)

106 harry palmer was definitely a reaction to bond, a more blue color figure,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:33 PM (bXbFr)

107 92 Theme song by Herb Alpert!
Posted by: bluebell at February 21, 2026 08:09 PM

The best part of the movie!
Posted by: Duncanthrax at February 21, 2026 08:20 PM (0sNs1)

I remember one exchange that always cracked me up, in an otherwise incomprehensible scene, a bagpiper walks up to Peter Sellers and asks “Excuse me, are you Richard Burton?” And Sellers replies “No, I’m Peter O’Toole.”
And the bagpiper replies “Then you’re the finest man who ever breathed!”
He is, of course, an uncredited Peter O’Toole.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 08:33 PM (46za5)

108 Peter Sellers had a mental breakdown during filming and stormed off cursing everyone, swearing he would never have anything to do with any of them again.
---

If you wanna it hang out
You've got to take her out
Cocaine

If you wanna get down
Get down on the ground
Cocaine

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 08:34 PM (slo2K)

109 It also had Bond being ruthless.

Yep. The way he took out that hitman. No cutesy line, just 'You left this with Ferrara, I believe.' and threw that dove pin at him. Then pushed the car over the cliff.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at February 21, 2026 08:35 PM (pLaQB)

110 yes lynn holly johnson played the same role in every film of that era,

ht it was filmed in cortina, the site of the current olympics,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:35 PM (bXbFr)

111 Nerdrotic is going to RRMartin's Play.

Posted by: Boss Moss at February 21, 2026 08:35 PM (avIFI)

112 I thoroughly enjoyed Never Say Never Again, both the movie and the theme song. But I don't include it with the rest of the Bond films. It was a one-off done tongue in cheek, playing off all the Bond cliches. But it is fun.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 08:35 PM (yTvNw)

113 I haven't seen them all, but "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker" are my faves

Posted by: Lemmiwinks at February 21, 2026 08:36 PM (Wnqw0)

114 Had dinner at Cafe Martinique mumbldy years ago. Imagined myself as 007 in Dr. No. First time I ever had chocolate souffle. It made an impression...

Posted by: Joe Kidd at February 21, 2026 08:36 PM (nbLIj)

115 I like Shirley Manson's Bond theme

Posted by: Don Black at February 21, 2026 08:37 PM (ZxPkt)

116 I'll have to pay a man card penalty but two of my favorite movies are Ice Castles and The Cutting Edge.

Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 08:37 PM (cntUY)

117 "It also had Bond being ruthless."

I like the scene in Thunderball where Bond uses the villainess as a body shield and then dumps her into a chair with the line"She just dead".

Posted by: Tuna at February 21, 2026 08:37 PM (lJ0H4)

118 Coburn as Flint, Martin as Helm.

Posted by: davidt at February 21, 2026 08:38 PM (Q+gd/)

119 The best part of any Bond movie is the opening sequence. I found it all to be downhill from there.

Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 08:39 PM (cntUY)

120 Never Say Never, boxing scene in the rest home?
They are tearing trough the place, boxing down the hall, when they come to the open area where the old folks are watching TV they put down their hands and walk calmly past - then start fighting again. Classic.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 08:41 PM (slo2K)

121 119 -"The best part of any Bond movie is the opening sequence. I found it all to be downhill from there."

Shocking. Positively shocking.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:41 PM (q3u5l)

122 One of the best things to come out of the Bond craze was they inspired the movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint with James Coburn. Almost sixty years later and they are still fun to watch.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 08:41 PM (yTvNw)

123 yeah those were ridiculous takeoff on the characrer, with helm taking agregious liberties with hamilton's work,

and largely inspiring austin powers,

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:42 PM (bXbFr)

124 First time I ever had chocolate souffle.

-
Shaken, not stirred?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at February 21, 2026 08:42 PM (FXNzP)

125 Drove down to Boca to see my 18 year old college Junior Daughter, and ended up seeing two movies with her.

First, "Send Help," which was pretty good. Lots of interesting plot twists, typical Sam Raimi over-the-top special effects and gore. I recommend it.

Second, we saw "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die," which was unquestionably the worst movie-viewing experience of my life. I love Sam Rockwell, but this was just garbage. 90% of the dialogue was obscured by the too loud soundtrack. The "Edge of Tomorrow" aspect that was one of the main selling points of the movie (and the reason I took my 18 year old daughter, who loves that movie) never materialized, though it is repeatedly referenced.

The characters were mostly stupid and flat, though I did like Ingrid and Susan, who had at least a little personality and somewhat interesting, if implausible back stories.

And as a 62 year old man sitting next to his 18 year old Daughter, I really didn't need to see the giant horse cock pissing glitter onto Michael Péna's head in the penultimate scene. That was disgusting and completely unnecessary. What absolute shyte.

Should have seen "Mercy" instead.

Posted by: Leisure Suit Larry at February 21, 2026 08:43 PM (/RHNq)

126 Pretty much agree with all of this. Particularly the Best Bonds - Connery, Moore, then Dalton a distant third. Craig was an improvement on Brosnan, but that's a low bar.

Someone above said the cold war was the perfect context for Bond movies. I think that explains the decline over time.

I hope whomever owns the franchise now (is it still in the Broccoli family?) just lets it die a respectful death before completely turning it into a joke.

Posted by: AB at February 21, 2026 08:46 PM (ArLSQ)

127 Who did this?
Lex. Lex?
Lex scores tonight.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 08:48 PM (slo2K)

128 "Goldeneye."

Isabella Scurupco in that skirt.

Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 21, 2026 08:48 PM (5YmYl)

129 >119 The best part of any Bond movie is the opening sequence. I found it all to be downhill from there.
Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 08:39 PM (cntUY)

What are the top 5 Bond theme songs? IMO:
1. The OG Bond theme, Dr No - John Barry
2. Goldfinger - Miss Shirley Bassey
3. Skyfall - Adele
4. Another Way to Die - Jack Black, Alicia Keys
5. Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney

Best Bond theme not related to a movie - Her Majesty's Secret Service - Propellerheads

Discuss...

Posted by: Heavy Meta at February 21, 2026 08:48 PM (GTqXr)

130 Well *I* liked "Cleopatra".

I never saw it on the big screen, but my parents did. They got a thick full color program for the movie, back when they did such classy road show stuff for the audience.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 08:49 PM (kpS4V)

131 where will Bond go next?

The franchise can't stay current because everything is connected digitally. DataRepublican and Mike Benz are greater actors sitting behind keyboards in sniffing out global conspiracies than a modern Bond.

If Bond is to continue, it must be in the form of a reboot and go back to its Cold War roots. Unfortunately, the history of everything is almost purely European and the Netflix treatment would look gratuitously woke and odd - the same thing as having a Chinese General George Washington.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 21, 2026 08:49 PM (a4flb)

132 Someone above said the cold war was the perfect context for Bond movies. I think that explains the decline over time.

Posted by: AB at February 21, 2026 08:46 PM (ArLSQ)

I can see that. They could do some good GWOT Bond movies if they want to be current, but not today of course. Too many people with vayjays where their forehead should be.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 21, 2026 08:50 PM (snZF9)

133 I hope whomever owns the franchise now (is it still in the Broccoli family?) just lets it die a respectful death before completely turning it into a joke.
Posted by: AB
---

Or let it lead a revival into complete, thematic, movie story telling.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 08:51 PM (slo2K)

134 For some reason I really love the opening song and sequence in Never Say Never Again. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it might be the only Bond movie to feature the title song while he's in action. Not just the song over credits while silhouettes of Bond and women tumble across the screen. It almost has a music video feel, which was far different than the others.

Posted by: Lex at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (y4H1r)

135 >Or let it lead a revival into complete, thematic, movie story telling.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 08:51 PM (slo2K)

Add a chick, make it gay and lame.

Posted by: Cartman at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (GTqXr)

136 Best Bond theme not related to a movie - Her Majesty's Secret Service - Propellerheads

Discuss...

Posted by: Heavy Meta at February 21, 2026 08:48 PM (GTqXr)

This is about biden, isn't it?

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (snZF9)

137 they are silly fluff

Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (bXbFr)

138 John Wick and Denzel's Equalizer have taken over .

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (+nEug)

139 I watched a wooden ships, iron men movie on Tubi today, Damn the Defiant! Evil Dirk Bogarde has the captain's 12 year old midshipman son regularly caned to punish the captain for not doing what he wanted. He was the bastard son of a very influential father and essentially immune. Mutiny is brewing and the French are on the prowl. I quite enjoyed it.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (FXNzP)

140 "where will Bond go next?"

Antarctica to take down Big Penguin.

Posted by: fd at February 21, 2026 08:53 PM (vFG9F)

141 Breaking News: TJM-favorite Alexandra Daddario is filing for divorce from Andrew Form after three years.

Posted by: AoSHQ Celebrity News Bureau and Rumour Centre at February 21, 2026 08:53 PM (0sNs1)

142 134 - opening song & sequence for Never Say Never Again. Yep. Hell of an entrance for Bond there.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:54 PM (q3u5l)

143 Rewatched for the umpteenth time " Master and Commander"

Posted by: Ben Had at February 21, 2026 08:54 PM (+nEug)

144 Realworld-Toys Made Bond Watchable

BD-5J MicroJet//Actual that deployed from a horse's ass in Cuba, see it in the Santa Monica Museum of Flight

Lotus Esprit S1/Wet Nellie/Actual/Several manufactured and actual moved underwater/Bought by Elon Musk (Put down that chainsaw and listen to me--Weird Al's take on the Mollusk)

Little Nellie/WA-116/AutoGyro

La Pavonia Europiccola//Manual Expresso Machine

Others? How many have you seen?

the forgettable ones lacked these. Why?
Bond represents your life without limits which is why flamin'Craig failed -- Skyfall? coyly name it after a Russian Missile? gets no rise.

Posted by: MANFRED the Heat Seeking OBOE at February 21, 2026 08:56 PM (Pffb2)

145 >>>One of the best things to come out of the Bond craze was they inspired the movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint with James Coburn. Almost sixty years later and they are still fun to watch.

Posted by: JTB

>Honorable mention; The Eiger Sanction

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 21, 2026 08:56 PM (gVUi7)

146 Semi on topic, for a long-running series with uneven entries: I watched Predator: Badlands last night.

A teenage Predator is trapped on a planet full of monsters, and has to survive with the help of his new friends.

I will risk the wrath of the Horde and say, I liked it. It is a pale shadow of the original with Ah-nold and Carl Weathers, but I enjoyed it as an adventure movie.

Maybe next up in the Predator franchise: An aging Ah-nold and his teenage granddaughter are chased by a Predator through The Villages?

Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at February 21, 2026 08:56 PM (TVOOe)

147 Add a chick, make it gay and lame.
Posted by: Cartman at February 21, 2026 08:52 PM (GTqXr)

Put a lady in it. Make her hot. Give her massive tits.

Posted by: Anti-Kennedy at February 21, 2026 08:58 PM (zZu0s)

148 enjoy it mostly for the scenery and the poker game.

The poker game does highlight the best of a very good movie. Focused, well written, well acted, thrilling location. Among modern big budget films it stands out.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at February 21, 2026 07:58 PM (EXyHK)

I have the complete opposite opinion. Any mystique to Texas Hold 'Em had long since evaporated by the time the movie came out. The idea of playing the man and not the cards was already fairly dead and the game was already understood to be much more about proper knowledge of the stats. Online players and amateurs were making deep runs if not outright winning the world series of poker while commentary was provided on epsn. Very hard to view it as a highbrow pastime of reclusive elites.

So for a central scene in a Bond movie it felt extremely lacking in both class and strategy.

A movie like Rounders ends up silly in retrospect as well, but the entire movie is focused on building up the game and most of the actual movie is showing the seedy underbelly of gambling while the main character only really has the idealized version in his head.

Posted by: Sjg at February 21, 2026 08:58 PM (aqZN1)

149 The Bond movies I've re-watched the most over the years are probably From Russia With Love, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and Goldfinger. (As I said above, I consider Never Say Never to be in its own category.) It's a combination of the action on a human level, the humor, the side characters (Kerim Bey, Kamil Khan and Rosa Klebb are a hoot), and the music.

The Craig films were action-packed but not fun. And Timothy Dalton always seems to be playing Timothy Dalton. Not lack of talent, just typecasting.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 08:58 PM (yTvNw)

150 Maybe next up in the Predator franchise: An aging Ah-nold and his teenage granddaughter are chased by a Predator through The Villages?
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at February 21, 2026 08:56 PM (TVOOe)
----

Arnold, disguised as a Hassid, chases the Predator through Crown Heights and Williamsburg.

(The Critic: "It stinks!")

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 08:59 PM (kpS4V)

151 Add a chick, make it gay and lame.
Posted by: Cartman

But enough about Starfleet Academy.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at February 21, 2026 09:00 PM (FXNzP)

152 147,

Your terms are more than acceptable. But wasn't that SOP for the female leads in Bond movies in the first place?

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:01 PM (q3u5l)

153 I wonder why there hasn't been a sequel to Rounders.

It practically writes itself...

Posted by: davidt at February 21, 2026 09:01 PM (Q+gd/)

154 Put a lady in it. Make her hot. Give her massive tits.

And name her Lara Croft

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 21, 2026 09:02 PM (a4flb)

155 Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at February 21, 2026 08:56 PM (TVOOe)

I enjoyed it almost as much as Predator and Predators.

Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 09:02 PM (cntUY)

156 Ah yes eiger was rodney whittaker parody of bond

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:04 PM (bXbFr)

157 145 ... "Honorable mention; The Eiger Sanction"

Good call. I forgot Trevanian wrote that around the early 70s as a parody of the bond movies. The Clint Eastwood movie didn't play up the spoof aspects that much but it was exciting as hell.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:05 PM (yTvNw)

158 One of my favorite spy movies is Red Sparrow which I thought was much better than Atomic Blonde.

Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 09:05 PM (cntUY)

159 I remember almost nothing from The Eiger Sanction except an exchange between George Kennedy & Clint Eastwood:

Kennedy - 'My superior wants to see you.'
Eastwood - 'Well, that doesn't narrow the field very much, does it?'

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:06 PM (q3u5l)

160 And the latters experience with film made him recoil from further projects

A stuntman died on the eiger

Although shibumi probably inspired john wick

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:06 PM (bXbFr)

161 NASA likely to delay Artemis II moon mission launch again due to helium flow problem
---

Pardon me if my schadenfreude is showing.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 21, 2026 09:07 PM (slo2K)

162 146 Semi on topic, for a long-running series with uneven entries: I watched Predator: Badlands last night.

Gadgets make this watchable too.

But they never answer how after losing every means of transport, through sheer incompetence, on the worlds most deadly planet since Pandora they suddenly travel lightyears with a massive creature in a starship constructeded only for a humanoid, and suddenly acquires the fight'n skills that would have kept him alive and competent in the first place. And then the obvious 'mother' issues: his 'mom' shows up the the last scene? OBOE has never been more CONFUSED.

What duz this mean?

Posted by: MANFRED the Heat Seeking OBOE at February 21, 2026 09:07 PM (fCf9i)

163 The film red sparrow cant really translate the book and jennifer lawrence was terribly cast

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:08 PM (bXbFr)

164 Elema satine would have been better

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:08 PM (bXbFr)

165 19 Casino Royale with Craig is my favorite.
Posted by: Ben Had

Number two to Connery in Dr No for me.

Posted by: nurse ratched at February 21, 2026 09:09 PM (A5RD0)

166 62 here. sean connery is bond. craig is acceptable. the others...not so much.

Posted by: milodad at February 21, 2026 09:10 PM (wIq6w)

167 film red sparrow cant really translate the book and jennifer lawrence was terribly cast
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:08 PM (bXbFr)

I didn't read the book and I thought Lawrence did a good job.

Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 09:10 PM (cntUY)

168 Primo engagement bait, Lex. Done with rationally expounded reasoning instead of hyperbolic misstatement. Kudos to you. You got at least one lurker out of the shadows.
Skyfall was the straw that finally broke this camel's back. James Bond the character just doesn't fit in the 21st century any more than the 19th.
Best Bond Girl is Ursula Andress. Honey Ryder is an archetype. Pure class. Hollywood feminists have been embarrassing themselves for decades trying to create a stereotypical high achiever to be "Bond's equal" in *anything* but just end up discarding femininity without even scratching the main character's plot armor.
Best movie: The Living Daylights. I call it the most entertaining. I've heard that was the end of Fleming's works and the scriptwriters just crammed together all of his short stories that hadn't been used on screen yet.
Best gadget goes to the attache case from FRWL.
Best Minion is Stamper. (Tomorrow Never Dies)
Best Bond will always be Roger Moore. SC could never have pulled off Moonraker. Because of dandification. Roger Moore's Bond just killed and quipped and adapted with alacrity. A hesitation- and conscience-free double 0 assassin.
I'm out of comment space.

Posted by: Nato at February 21, 2026 09:11 PM (tN4Dy)

169 Mission Impossible overtook the Bond franchise.

Posted by: Opinion Fact at February 21, 2026 09:12 PM (cntUY)

170 My favorite line from The Eiger Sanction

https://youtu.be/-ho5dbr9VVI

Posted by: Don Black at February 21, 2026 09:13 PM (ZxPkt)

171 Yes it did and final reckoning botched it (although there are rumors they want to bring back ethan hunt

The syndicate was a grittier quantum soectre the scenes in vienna

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:14 PM (bXbFr)

172 Thx Lex . Good summary.
I did like Goldeneye. Probably because Brosnan got to to work against Sean Bean. Izabella Skorupka and Famke Janssen were gorgeous. Alan Cumming who I usually find annoying was also good.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at February 21, 2026 09:14 PM (/PQmQ)

173 A fun side to the discussion: who were the hottest Bond girls. Ursula Andress (that might be my pre-teen self talking), Jill Saint John, and Maud Adams come to mind. I'm not counting the many non-starring roles.

Least hot: Lois Chiles. Attractive but not hot in Moonraker.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:16 PM (yTvNw)

174 Yes goldeneye was very good

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 09:16 PM (bXbFr)

175
but the skiing was great,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at February 21, 2026 08:19 PM (bXbFr)

Also a Mustang
Posted by: r hennigantx at February 21, 2026 08:21 PM (gbOdA)

The Mustang was in the rather disappointing Diamonds Are Forever. On Her Majesty's Secret Service had a Cougar.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at February 21, 2026 09:16 PM (VCWz6)

176 161 NASA likely to delay Artemis II moon mission launch again due to helium flow problem
Pardon me if my schadenfreude is showing.

Elon Musk would liken himself to Pluto Nash, but he's really BRUNO/Model 63
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eao2jzT5MeI

The slap scene replayed for every time Elon Musk (and his chain saw) dared to be st00p1d.

Posted by: MANFRED the Heat Seeking OBOE at February 21, 2026 09:16 PM (HmJNG)

177 The film red sparrow cant really translate the book and jennifer lawrence was terribly cast
Posted by: Miguel cervantes

In the book, each chapter includes a recipe related to the plot. For example, in the first chapter, the good guy is trying to escape pursuing FSB agents and hides in a small Moscow soup cafe. The recipe for their signature soup is included. I'd never seen that before.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at February 21, 2026 09:16 PM (FXNzP)

178 jeebus. i never thought this much about a book and a movie before.
i try to enjoy these things. they are escapisms. l think we need to leave them as such.
save them. keep them. pass them on.

Posted by: milodad at February 21, 2026 09:20 PM (wIq6w)

179 Hot, of course, is in the eye (or some other place maybe) of the beholder.

But I gotta admit, I always kinda wondered why Bond never seemed to give Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny a fair shake.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:21 PM (q3u5l)

180 179 Hot, of course, is in the eye (or some other place maybe) of the beholder.
But I gotta admit, I always kinda wondered why Bond never seemed to give Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny a fair shake.

Bond demonstrated real knowledge of FAFO years before it's time.

Posted by: MANFRED the Heat Seeking OBOE at February 21, 2026 09:24 PM (jW61b)

181 I thought A View to a Kill was Bond's worst. Christopher Walken was wasted and while Tanya Roberts was great to look at , she wasn't much of an actress

Posted by: Smell the Glove at February 21, 2026 09:26 PM (/PQmQ)

182 Speaking of government assassins, I would love to see some Matt Helm movies that actually followed the books and character. Not the farces with Dean Martin which had nothing to do with the books except a few names.

No idea who could play Helm now that Eastwood is too old but I'm not familiar with current movie leads these days.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:28 PM (yTvNw)

183 Bourne, Jason Bourne... Initials JB just a coincidence?

Posted by: davidt at February 21, 2026 09:28 PM (Q+gd/)

184 Evening, all,

The Mustang was in the rather disappointing Diamonds Are Forever. On Her Majesty's Secret Service had a Cougar.
Posted by: MichiCanuck at February 21, 2026

***
Wasn't there a race between Bond's Aston Martin and Tilly Masterton's Mustang in Goldfinger? The Mustang was brand new then and Ford owuld have wanted to have it in a big film.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:30 PM (wzUl9)

185 No idea who could play Helm now that Eastwood is too old but I'm not familiar with current movie leads these days.
Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:28 PM (yTvNw)

There are no actual stars anymore, not like in the old days..

Except for Amelia.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 09:30 PM (46za5)

186 George Lazenby was probably the most athletic Bond out of the bunch.

Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 09:30 PM (/M/4v)

187 I don't think I've rewatched any Bond past Living Daylights.
From Spy Who Loved Me, straight through to Daylights, if I stumble upon one good chance watch it again.

Since we have Netflix, starting again at the beginning would be good, there aren't any Connery or Moore Bond movies that I dislike.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at February 21, 2026 09:31 PM (KaHlS)

188 Roger Moore least athletic.

Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 09:31 PM (/M/4v)

189 I'd almost prefer him to be a libertarian Drax.

But who would be Dr Goodhead?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:31 PM (zZu0s)

190 As for me, who grew up reading the Bond novels: Connery is first, Craig second (he does display a wry sense of humor now and then), Dalton third. Al three of them had this quality: When they aim that Walther, you know they're going to use it and someone is going to get dead.

Skyfall bids fair to be my favorite Bond film after Russia and Dr. No. SF would be a grand adventure even if it weren't about someone named James Bond, and yet we also got some background on the character (straight from Fleming, take note). Bond was the living-est character in fiction since Sherlock Holmes. And part of that was his interests, his internal reactions to things, and the hints of his background that Fleming gave us.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:34 PM (wzUl9)

191 Roger Moore least athletic.
Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026

***
During the Sniffle Scare I got to see some of the early Sixties ITC productions of The Saint. There were moments where Moore's Simon Templar was a truly dangerous character. If they had cast him as Bond around that time instead of Connery, and let him play it straight, I think he might have done a fine job.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:37 PM (wzUl9)

192 If License to Kill pops up, I'll usually give that one a watch too. Don't think it was quite up to Living Daylights, but Robert Davi made a pretty good heavy in there.

I haven't rewatched the Craigs or Brosnans in a while. Brosnan's last, Die Another Day, had its best action sequences early in the flick I thought. The opener and then the fencing match in the club were the high points; downhill after.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:38 PM (q3u5l)

193 Daniel Craig was miscast. All of the Bond movies are a pleasant way to check out for a couple of hours, but Craig was just too dark and brooding. I

want swagger and someone who is cocksure with the ladies. Put some humor back into the franchise.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 21, 2026 09:38 PM (gVUi7)

194 Speaking of government assassins, I would love to see some Matt Helm movies that actually followed the books and character. Not the farces with Dean Martin which had nothing to do with the books except a few names.

No idea who could play Helm now that Eastwood is too old but I'm not familiar with current movie leads these days.
Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026

***
No, JTB, I can't think of anybody now either. The little artist's portrait on the cover of the 1960s paperbacks looked to me much like Randolph Scott in a trench coat and tie, though.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:38 PM (wzUl9)

195 131 where will Bond go next?

The franchise can't stay current because everything is connected digitally. DataRepublican and Mike Benz are greater actors sitting behind keyboards in sniffing out global conspiracies than a modern Bond.

Not really. DR and MB sniff them out, Bond is they guy sent out to off them.

Posted by: AB at February 21, 2026 09:40 PM (ArLSQ)

196 Put a lady in it. Make her hot. Give her massive tits.
Posted by: Anti-Kennedy

I'm ready for my close-up.

Posted by: Ghislaine at February 21, 2026 09:40 PM (gKWVE)

197 The author of the Eiger Sanction was mad because he meant for it to be a satire, and nobody realized. I’d say that’s what happens when you write a script that outside of a few wisecracks doesn’t have a single bit of humor in it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 09:40 PM (46za5)

198 Moore dangerous?

Yep. Check out a movie of his called ffolkes. It shows up under various titles so who knows how it's being streamed this week. But it is well worth a watch.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:41 PM (q3u5l)

199 The real deal with Bond is that the IP is worn out. Give it a 15 to 20 year rest and set the films in the 80's where there was tech but no too much tech and there was a real enemey.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 21, 2026 08:08 PM (XV/Pl)

NO

PERIOD

PIECE

BOND

EVER

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 09:42 PM (fYhK6)

200 I'm ready for my close-up.
Posted by: Ghislaine at February 21, 2026 09:40 PM (gKWVE)

She actually WOULD be a good example of an evil lady Bond bangs in order to get to the real mastermind, Epstein. Then he finds out that it's really the Jews pulling the strings!

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:43 PM (zZu0s)

201 Best movie: The Living Daylights. I call it the most entertaining. I've heard that was the end of Fleming's works and the scriptwriters just crammed together all of his short stories that hadn't been used on screen yet. . . .

Posted by: Nato at February 21, 2026

***
The film of LD opens with the setup that is the entirety of Fleming's short story "The Living Daylights": Bond is sent to kill a sniper before the sniper kills a defector. The scripters used Fleming's story as a spring board and gave us, I recall, a story about the kinds of games real intelligence agencies run on each other.

The Fleming story, which I reread recently, is one of his best, and his best short work.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:43 PM (wzUl9)

202 They need to go back to the basics with Bond. Stay away from the woke crap.

Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 09:44 PM (/M/4v)

203 Hmmm, I dunno. I think Man from Uncle remake shows you could do a period piece straight up.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:44 PM (zZu0s)

204 I thought the early Bond films had some elements of a detective story to them. Bond had to figure out what the bad guy was up to. The later were stunts and actions sequences.

The worst sequence in any Bond movie, in my opinion, was in the Brosnan one set in Asia. The scene where the helicopter flown by the bad guys tilted forward, rotor perpendicular to the street, tips chopping up things while the helicopter advanced slowly forward. I think I annoyed fellow theater goers by laughing, out loud, for about a minute.

Posted by: JB1000 at February 21, 2026 09:45 PM (kL/ln)

205 Moore dangerous?

Yep. Check out a movie of his called ffolkes. It shows up under various titles so who knows how it's being streamed this week. But it is well worth a watch.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026

***
In his Bond films, there is a moment that stands out. He has a minor spy (and killer) trapped in a car teetering on the edge of a cliff. He gets the information he needs -- then kicks out at the car and sends it, and the screaming spy, down to the rocks below. Very much like Fleming's Bond.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:45 PM (wzUl9)

206

How about Neil Connery in Operation Kid Brother?

www.imdb.com/title/tt0062078

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 21, 2026 09:46 PM (Cqx++)

207 194 ... "The little artist's portrait on the cover of the 1960s paperbacks looked to me much like Randolph Scott in a trench coat and tie, though."

Agreed. Those inserts were my idea of Helm for a long time. The covers in the 80s had him with a slightly heavier build that never seemed correct.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:46 PM (yTvNw)

208 I thought the early Bond films had some elements of a detective story to them. Bond had to figure out what the bad guy was up to. The later were stunts and actions sequences.

==

Yes! Good point.

Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 09:46 PM (/M/4v)

209 I thought the early Bond films had some elements of a detective story to them. Bond had to figure out what the bad guy was up to. The later were stunts and actions sequences.

***
Yes. In Dr. No he seems at times like a straight intelligence officer, gathering info to find out what the guy is up to. And there's detective work involved in finding out what Goldfinger is doing.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:47 PM (wzUl9)

210 Wolfus at 205 -

Been a while since I've watched that one, but that's probably Moore's best moment as Bond.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:47 PM (q3u5l)

211 142 134 - opening song & sequence for Never Say Never Again. Yep. Hell of an entrance for Bond there.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 08:54 PM (q3u5l)

It’s not a Bond movie.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 09:47 PM (fYhK6)

212 They've done away with humor, irony too. Bring it back !

Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 09:48 PM (/M/4v)

213 Hmmm, I dunno. I think Man from Uncle remake shows you could do a period piece straight up.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026

***
It did! No, it was not *really* like the TV series I've loved since I was eleven, but in some ways (tone and style and attitude) it was very much like that. Setting it in 1963 made sense.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:48 PM (wzUl9)

214 In his Bond films, there is a moment that stands out. He has a minor spy (and killer) trapped in a car teetering on the edge of a cliff. He gets the information he needs -- then kicks out at the car and sends it, and the screaming spy, down to the rocks below. Very much like Fleming's Bond.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

'For Your Eyes Only'.

Posted by: Puddleglum at work at February 21, 2026 09:49 PM (pLaQB)

215 Wolfus at 205 -

Been a while since I've watched that one, but that's probably Moore's best moment as Bond.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026

***
A View to a Kill, or For Your Eyes Only? I'm not sure.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:49 PM (wzUl9)

216 I think the rumor of a gay Bond was because of Daniel Craig. He seems to fit that part. Discuss.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 09:49 PM (uQesX)

217 Cow Demon --

Never Say Never Again may not be official Bond Canon, but it's close enough for this kid.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:50 PM (q3u5l)

218 198 ... "Moore dangerous?

Yep. Check out a movie of his called ffolkes."

Ffolkes is a fun movie. I have the DVD. I wonder if Moore took the role partly because the character wasn't his typical suave Bond or Simon Templar.

Another one is "Sea Wolves" set during WW II. Moore has a more nuanced role.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:50 PM (yTvNw)

219 Wolfus at 215 -- For Your Eyes Only

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:51 PM (q3u5l)

220 But I gotta admit, I always kinda wondered why Bond never seemed to give Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny a fair shake.
****

Moneypenny was the last barrier to M. She had to be able to kill anyone who came through that door. Bond would be aware of playing with fire.

Posted by: clarence at February 21, 2026 09:51 PM (RU/0c)

221 128 "Goldeneye."

Isabella Scurupco in that skirt.
Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at February 21, 2026 08:48 PM (5YmYl

I thought I was the only one,…

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 09:51 PM (fYhK6)

222 I want to see Bond vs the LgBT mafia.
Terminate with Extreme Prejudice.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 09:51 PM (46za5)

223 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:48 PM (wzUl9)

I watched it for the first time a couple months ago. My mom was/is a huge fan of the series from when it first aired.

Neither Napoleon nor Ilya are at all the same characters from the series (what was the deal with the psychotic episodes?) Cavill seems far more to be playing Bond than. Solo and the cannibal? No idea there.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:51 PM (zZu0s)

224 My final word on the Bond debate- actually two words - Eva Green. This Daniel Craig fellow is a minor character.

Posted by: Ex Rex Reeder at February 21, 2026 09:52 PM (MZ+PY)

225 "The little artist's portrait on the cover of the 1960s paperbacks looked to me much like Randolph Scott in a trench coat and tie, though."
*
Agreed. Those inserts were my idea of Helm for a long time. The covers in the 80s had him with a slightly heavier build that never seemed correct.
Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026

***
Right. Helm was, what, six-four? And he had grown up in New Mexico and was happier driving a truck than he would have been with an Aston Martin. You need a tall, rangy actor who looks like he's happy on horseback.

Fawcett Gold Medal Books hired good artists. The one of Travis McGee on those John D. MacDonald paperbacks of the mid- to late Sixties were the same kind of guide.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:53 PM (wzUl9)

226 I think the rumor of a gay Bond was because of Daniel Craig. He seems to fit that part. Discuss.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at February 21, 2026 09:49 PM (uQesX)

He sucks cock by choice, sir.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:53 PM (zZu0s)

227 Clarence at 220 -- I'd think that playing with fire aspect would make Moneypenny even more tempting.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:53 PM (q3u5l)

228 Seconded on Eva Green. Smoking.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:54 PM (zZu0s)

229 Third on Eva Green.

On that note, outta here.

Lex, thanks for the thread.

Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:55 PM (q3u5l)

230 I watched it for the first time a couple months ago. My mom was/is a huge fan of the series from when it first aired.

Neither Napoleon nor Ilya are at all the same characters from the series (what was the deal with the psychotic episodes?) Cavill seems far more to be playing Bond than. Solo and the cannibal? No idea there.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026

***
But they got the tone right -- danger in the right places, leavened by humor once the danger was over. It had clever dialogue. And they got the *look* of the characters right. If you saw a poster with Cavill and Hammer alone, without "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." on it, you'd say to yourself, "Gee, those guys remind me of Solo and Illya --!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 09:56 PM (wzUl9)

231 I dumped Netflix when the went pro-pedo and anti-Christ openly. Never looked back.

As for Bond...I used to really love him, especially the Connery era, but it's become too cartoonish for me now. I liked Brosnan as Bond, Moore and Craig I ended up disliking though each had at least one good movie, good enough to wind up on my top 100 favorite list. But overall...the franchise is dead to me. I lived once but no more.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at February 21, 2026 09:56 PM (xcxpd)

232 Connery was a body builder before PEDs, he was legit strong even when he was old.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at February 21, 2026 09:57 PM (xcxpd)

233 Nominally agreed, Wolfus.

Although I think the tone was more... edgy and brutal than the series. Not bad, but not the same.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:57 PM (zZu0s)

234 Lex, thanks for a movie thread where I actually know something. A rare event.

Posted by: JTB at February 21, 2026 09:58 PM (yTvNw)

235 So far as I know, Connery only made one really bad movie. It had leprechauns in it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 21, 2026 09:59 PM (46za5)

236 203 Hmmm, I dunno. I think Man from Uncle remake shows you could do a period piece straight up.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 09:44 PM (zZu0s)

See also the HBO version of the Little Drummer Girl. Wonderful period piece.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at February 21, 2026 10:01 PM (xcxpd)

237 227 Clarence at 220 -- I'd think that playing with fire aspect would make Moneypenny even more tempting.
Posted by: Just Some Guy
****

Playing with fire is Bond's "JOB". Could be tough not having a break from that.

Posted by: clarence at February 21, 2026 10:02 PM (RU/0c)

238 Ont is nood.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026 10:02 PM (zZu0s)

239 Although I think the tone was more... edgy and brutal than the series. Not bad, but not the same.
Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 21, 2026

***
I think of the moment when the torturer with his electric chair, on which he has been trying to find a "glitch" in earlier scenes, is trapped in his own device and burns up. Solo murmurs to Illya, "I think he found the glitch. . . ." True, they would not have had such an "edgy" scene in the old how, but the remark is exactly in the old groove.

Solo calling Illya the "Red Peril" or just "Peril," Illya calling Solo "Cowboy": No, not like the old show. And yet we see in the film they work together beautifully like two parts of a well-designed machine -- very much like the original.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 21, 2026 10:03 PM (wzUl9)

240 Mummy 4 release is May 2028. Weisz and Fraser are both in it. Thank goodness. For now Fraser is in some movie about D-Day - "Pressure". Looked OK. He is playing Ike.

Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 10:03 PM (/M/4v)

241 Darby O'Gill and the Little People!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at February 21, 2026 10:04 PM (kpS4V)

242 217 Cow Demon --

Never Say Never Again may not be official Bond Canon, but it's close enough for this kid.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at February 21, 2026 09:50 PM

YMMV but if not canonical it’s not worth it. This and Casino Royale from 1967 are non starters for me.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 10:05 PM (fYhK6)

243 240 Mummy 4 release is May 2028. Weisz and Fraser are both in it. Thank goodness. For now Fraser is in some movie about D-Day - "Pressure". Looked OK. He is playing Ike.
Posted by: runner at February 21, 2026 10:03 PM (/M/

As much as I like The Mummy, I think they might have aged out there. That 1999 flick, though. The insane chemistry of Weisz and Fraser, though…

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 21, 2026 10:08 PM (fYhK6)

244 I may be all alone but I still harbor a weird fondness for the original Casino Royale with Peter Sellers, while admitting it was incredibly disjointed and probably objectively a bad movie; I just found it a lot of fun.

Posted by: Norrin Radd, sojourner of the spaceways at February 21, 2026 10:27 PM (tRYqg)

245 Fuck Netflix.

I was pissed about Pachamama.

Cuties was the last straw.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at February 21, 2026 11:24 PM (qFwJc)

Processing 0.06, elapsed 0.0473 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0119 seconds, 253 records returned.
Page size 141 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.