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Never Seen a Bond Film, Need Recommendations
- Thread starter Ryuhza
- Start date
OP, you mentioned you like camp right? You're gonna love A View To A Kill!
It's not a great movie by any stretch, but it's great fun. And Grace Jones fucking rules.
Gonna add my 2c:
From Russia With Love and Goldfinger are probably the quintessential "Classic Bond" films.
I don't like most of the Moore Bonds, but in addition to AVTAK mentioned above, The Man With The Golden Gun is ok, mainly because the format is so different and Christopher Lee is always great.
I like The Living Daylights, but I think that was mainly because it was a fresh start after watching all the Moore movies in order and just being fed up with them. I do appreciate Timothy Dalton's "Serious Bond".
GoldenEye is fucking awesome. So is On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I'd say those two and Casino Royale (which you say isn't on Prime but is worth a watch) are my favorites.
It's not a great movie by any stretch, but it's great fun. And Grace Jones fucking rules.
Gonna add my 2c:
From Russia With Love and Goldfinger are probably the quintessential "Classic Bond" films.
I don't like most of the Moore Bonds, but in addition to AVTAK mentioned above, The Man With The Golden Gun is ok, mainly because the format is so different and Christopher Lee is always great.
I like The Living Daylights, but I think that was mainly because it was a fresh start after watching all the Moore movies in order and just being fed up with them. I do appreciate Timothy Dalton's "Serious Bond".
GoldenEye is fucking awesome. So is On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I'd say those two and Casino Royale (which you say isn't on Prime but is worth a watch) are my favorites.
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Whatever you end up watching, just make sure you end with Casino Royale. The rest are no where near close, so save the best for last.
Start with GoldenEye.
That's all really. The old ones don't hold up for me except maybe Man with the Golden Gun. The new ones weren't worth my time.
If you want to see a good modern action movie see Mission Impossible (any) or Fast and the Furious (starting with 5).
Casino Royale was boring. Sorry fam.
That's all really. The old ones don't hold up for me except maybe Man with the Golden Gun. The new ones weren't worth my time.
If you want to see a good modern action movie see Mission Impossible (any) or Fast and the Furious (starting with 5).
Casino Royale was boring. Sorry fam.
Spectre is fine. Its not on the level of Skyfall or Casino Royale but it is vastly superior to Quantom of Solace.
I dont like Bond films much. But just wanted to second this list. Solid choices.
This is a good list. i'd probably throw Licence to Kill in there too (though it's been probably 20 years since I saw it so there's a good chance I'm wrong). Watch these then look into the other movies if you just want more Bond.
The best Bond movies are:
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Casino Royale (the absolute best)
People will try to tell you that Goldeneye is good, but outside of gaming enthusiasts, you won't find many who agree. It's a mediocre film (along with most Bond movies). Tomorrow Never Dies is the best Brosnan Bond.
Never understood the love for Skyfall. Is it all cinematography? The movie throws away everything that made Casino Royale great in favour of campy nostalgia.
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Casino Royale (the absolute best)
People will try to tell you that Goldeneye is good, but outside of gaming enthusiasts, you won't find many who agree. It's a mediocre film (along with most Bond movies). Tomorrow Never Dies is the best Brosnan Bond.
Never understood the love for Skyfall. Is it all cinematography? The movie throws away everything that made Casino Royale great in favour of campy nostalgia.
There are a lot of different eras with different feels. Overall best, I would go with these 5:
- From Russia With Love (The Most Classic "Spy Movie" out there basically)
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Very good Bond film despite having the Worst Bond Actor)
- The Spy Who Loved Me (The very best from the more "goofy" Roger Moore Era)
- Goldeneye (The Best Brosnan pic)
- Casino Royale (The best Craig film)
Actually good Bond movies:
Never Say Never Again is more watchable than Thunderball. And I do not say that lightly.
- The Living Daylights (#1)
- Casino Royale
- Skyfall
- (Depending on camp tolerance) Goldeneye
- (If you can look past a few of the outdated elements) From Russia With Love
Never Say Never Again is more watchable than Thunderball. And I do not say that lightly.
Thunderball is trash. Those underwater action scenes may have been impressive at the time, but they drag to a modern viewer. The plot is also forgettable. The only thing I remember is the jetpack.
The entire Connery era except Diamonds are Forever, which is still worth watching if you want to laugh at dumb shit. OHMSS has a great script, but George Lazenby was wack. Skip the Moore era except maybe Live and Let Die. The Dalton Bonds are love-it-or-hate-it type stuff and are tonally off from the rest of them. Might be worth checking out if you go on a binge and want more.
Goldeneye is the only good Brosnan film, but Pierce himself is fun in all of them. Casino Royale and Skyfall are great. Quantum gets shit on for good reason, but honestly, hard to not watch that if you're watching Casino Royale It is a direct sequel of Casino Royale, picks up 5 minutes after the end of that movie, and resolves a lot of hanging plot threads.
Goldeneye is the only good Brosnan film, but Pierce himself is fun in all of them. Casino Royale and Skyfall are great. Quantum gets shit on for good reason, but honestly, hard to not watch that if you're watching Casino Royale It is a direct sequel of Casino Royale, picks up 5 minutes after the end of that movie, and resolves a lot of hanging plot threads.
This is a solid list. I wouldn't put any of the Moore films in the same category as the others by Spy Who Loved Me is probably the best one. That or For Your Eyes Only. Octooussy isn't bad either to be fair.
- Dr. No
- From Russia With Love
- Goldfinger
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Licence to Kill
- GoldenEye
- Casino Royale
Those are the important ones, after that you're free to pick and chose. Oh yeah, and don't watch Moonraker and Spectre. Those are terrible movies and the absolute worst in the Bond franchise.
- From Russia With Love
- Goldfinger
- On Her Majesty's Secret Service
- Licence to Kill
- GoldenEye
- Casino Royale
Those are the important ones, after that you're free to pick and chose. Oh yeah, and don't watch Moonraker and Spectre. Those are terrible movies and the absolute worst in the Bond franchise.
I would say all the Connery movies up until You Only Live Twice. Don't bother with Diamonds Are Forever. On Her Majesty's Secret Service I'd recommend, but be warned it's a very different Bond, as it embraces the 60's in a way that no other Bond film ever did. I do not recommend a lot of Moore's movies. Just go with The Spy Who Loved Me. It's the most fast paced Bond film ever narratively. Once it puts its foot on the gas, it never stops. I highly recommend the two Dalton films. They have a sense of 80's style that we sadly didn't get enough of to be honest. Only recommend one Brosnan picture. That being Goldeneye, which was originally supposed to be a Dalton film, but was pushed back after License To Kill didn't do the business they wanted. Finally I'd recommend of the Craig films, Casino Royale(which I'm sure has been highly recommended already), and Skyfall.
The clown disguise and the fact that the film is called Octopussy kill it for me.
Fuck thunderball tho.
You mean Denise Richards playing a Nuclear Physicist?
Even back when that movie came out and I was 9, I said to myself "she seems miscast."
Thunderball is the worst, even worse than the Brosnan movies -- those underwater fights, holy crap! Best ones are From Russia with Love and Casino Royale. Goldfinger, Skyfall, The Living Daylights, and The Spy Who Loved Me aren't bad either. If you like Roger Moore (I did), For Your Eyes Only, Live and Let Die, and Octopussy should be considered watchable, too.
Thunderball does have a pretty badass side-plot where the Spectre spy who got plastic surgery to look like a military pilot is pissed off with his mission, and tries to blackmail his way into a better post mission deal. I love it because you get more of an idea of how the rival spy organization works, and how they have spies who have normal justified reasons for getting pissy about things we take for granted in these movies. Closest thing I can compare it to would be dialogue from your typical Elmore Leonard criminal. The side-plot is also super long. You'd think Tarantino directed it.
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GoldenEye is the best film to start with, imo. Masterpiece of a film that is also a cutting deconstruction of the series. Casino Royale was a second reboot by the same director that falls short of GE's greatness.
Thanks!
I almost did put License to Kill on there, because it's quite great! Ultimately I felt it was perhaps a Bond film that should wait until after those listed films were seen first due to how it pushes certain elements of Bond to an extreme. Casino Royale does that too, but it marries that in a way that I think more audiences have fun watching first, plus its also the origin story film.
Because it unfortunately doesn't hold up very well.
Yep, this is a great list too.
Dr. No
From Russia with Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Live and Let Die
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Living Daylights
Licence to Kill
GoldenEye
Tomorrow Never Dies
A View to a Kill has the best music but the film itself isn't very good. Has Steed in though! Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun are pretty nuts, but have some enjoyable bits. I don't like any of the Daniel Craig films, but Casino Royale like View has a great theme.
Dalton is best bond. Wish he had more films.
From Russia with Love
Goldfinger
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Live and Let Die
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Living Daylights
Licence to Kill
GoldenEye
Tomorrow Never Dies
A View to a Kill has the best music but the film itself isn't very good. Has Steed in though! Diamonds Are Forever and The Man with the Golden Gun are pretty nuts, but have some enjoyable bits. I don't like any of the Daniel Craig films, but Casino Royale like View has a great theme.
Dalton is best bond. Wish he had more films.
People in this thread showing their age.
A View to a Kill is probably my fave Bond film. I don't like Daniel Craig as Bond, the films themselves are alright but they don't feel like bond films. Moore was my fave Bond but Connery was the best Bond.
A View to a Kill is probably my fave Bond film. I don't like Daniel Craig as Bond, the films themselves are alright but they don't feel like bond films. Moore was my fave Bond but Connery was the best Bond.
My girlfriend had never seen Bond so we did a Casino Royale - Quantum - Skyfall - Spectre marathon.
She thoroughly enjoyed Casino Royale and Quantum, and thought Skyfall was the absolute best. Spectre was okay.
I'd recommend starting with Casino Royale and go from there.
She thoroughly enjoyed Casino Royale and Quantum, and thought Skyfall was the absolute best. Spectre was okay.
I'd recommend starting with Casino Royale and go from there.
From Russia with Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Spy Who Loved Me
License to Kill
Goldeneye
Casino Royale
Basically any best film of any of the actors is a good place to start. Some will argue that The Living Daylights is better than License to Kill, but those people are monsters and should not be trusted!
If you want the absolute best of the best, Casino Royale easily.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
The Spy Who Loved Me
License to Kill
Goldeneye
Casino Royale
Basically any best film of any of the actors is a good place to start. Some will argue that The Living Daylights is better than License to Kill, but those people are monsters and should not be trusted!
If you want the absolute best of the best, Casino Royale easily.
My personal favourites:
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
The Spy Who Loved Me
For Your Eyes Only
On Her Majestys Secret Service
The Living Daylights
License To Kill
Goldeneye
Honestly though, with the exception of the Daniel Craig films, I love all the Bond films and think that even at its worst it's an incredibly entertaining series. I've never been a fan of Daniel Craigs Bond but Casino Royale would be his best by far. Even then I'm still not a big fan of it.
From Russia With Love
Goldfinger
The Spy Who Loved Me
For Your Eyes Only
On Her Majestys Secret Service
The Living Daylights
License To Kill
Goldeneye
Honestly though, with the exception of the Daniel Craig films, I love all the Bond films and think that even at its worst it's an incredibly entertaining series. I've never been a fan of Daniel Craigs Bond but Casino Royale would be his best by far. Even then I'm still not a big fan of it.
ITT I learned people actually liked Skyfall. I really didn't like that one. Kinda felt like Casino Royale was the only legitimately good Daniel Craig movie, although Quantum of Solace gets better on repeat viewings once you get used to the idea that it's a direct sequel (which never happened before).
The best Bond movie by far is On Her Majesty's Secret Service, anyway. It's the one with the smoothest Blofield, the coolest Bond woman (no they ain't girls) and I just really like the story. It's actually a shame how episodic the Bond movies are because the stuff that happens in that movie should have broken Bond for several more, but Sean Connery shows up again instead and acts like it never happened.
Oh and whoever suggests Roger Moore movies is bonkers. The least terrible one is Live And Let Die and that one is all kinds of offensive. The rest are somehow even worse, whether it's submarine cars, a shootout in space or the biggest waste of Christopher Walken ever. The only good thing to come out of his movies was Jaws and they even managed to ruin him on his second of two appearances.
The best Bond movie by far is On Her Majesty's Secret Service, anyway. It's the one with the smoothest Blofield, the coolest Bond woman (no they ain't girls) and I just really like the story. It's actually a shame how episodic the Bond movies are because the stuff that happens in that movie should have broken Bond for several more, but Sean Connery shows up again instead and acts like it never happened.
Oh and whoever suggests Roger Moore movies is bonkers. The least terrible one is Live And Let Die and that one is all kinds of offensive. The rest are somehow even worse, whether it's submarine cars, a shootout in space or the biggest waste of Christopher Walken ever. The only good thing to come out of his movies was Jaws and they even managed to ruin him on his second of two appearances.
