It really is amazing how diverse different people's opinions can be with regards to the entire series - DAF and TMWTGG either in the Top 5 or Bottom 5 as the case in point. Whatever your own personal opinion of which are the best Bond films and which are...not, I think it's worth drawing the distinction between what is a good film and what is an enjoyable film.
To let you know where I'm coming from on this, I think TMWTGG is an awful film in so many ways, each of which should have been a strength. Some of these have been detailed in this thread already - and probably others too:
- sound effect on the great car stunt which detracted from the spectacular feat
- a dwarf causing Bond more problems than a group of ninja
- a bumbling Bond girl, completely out of place working for MI6
- the 'comical' fight with teh sumo wrestler
- one agent and 2 schoolgirls defeating a dojo full of trained martial artists
- the nonchalent discarding of the 'superfluous areola'
I would add to the already disparaging remarks on Clifton James's appearance the questionable sub-plot/event holes such as:
- why is a Louisiana sheriff, coincidentally taking a vacation in the same place Bond is working, visiting a car showroom to purchase a car thousands of miles from where he would surely be driving it?
- why does Lt. Hip not identify himself to Bond at any point during their trip to HQ?
- after aiding Bond in his escape from the dojo, why would they drive off and leave him, even if initially accidentally?
Despite these massive weaknesses, it is an enjoyable film - maybe because it's still Bond, maybe it's because it's still mindless escapism, maybe it's the overt humour, maybe it's the bikini. If you analyze, or over-analyze as I have, every Bond film, you will always find weaknesses. You'll also find strengths - Christopher Lee seems to maintain universal appreciation as one of, if not the best Bond villain, for one point.
Everyone's opinion is valid when it comes to their Top 10, especially if different criteria are being used to measure the 'Topness.' If it's how much enjoyment you get from a film, it will differ greatly from another person's judgement on what, for them, makes a good film. My favourite, for the record, is TSWLM as it satisfies both sides for me!
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deucelow
12 years ago
Going through them all in order at the moment. I've seen TMWTGG on the bottom of so many Bond afficiandos lists that I was expecting something quite awful...and it wasnt.
Dont get me wrong, it's not a great Bond by any stretch. But Christopher Lee is quite brilliant and the locations are superb. The Queen Elizabeth secret base set is so surreal, it's brilliant, and Nik Naks odd relationship with his employer adds a bit of intrigue for me.
I preferred this to DAF - except the opening scene where 007 kicks ass to get to Blofeld. And I put it on about par with LALD.
Certainly getting left behind after the dojo fight, the JW scenes {Moores one liner imitating him is brilliant though}, Goodnight and Guy Hamiltons obligatory car chase where cops crash into each other do my head in.
"I got a lawyer to keep what's in my safe...safe!"
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margin_walker2003
12 years ago
Yes, these are the reasons that this movie will always be on the bottom of any list of Bond movies.
-The slide whistle is just a ludicrous punctuation on an incredible stunt. What a horrible idea that was.
-I actually kind of liked the dwarf, at least when running the fun house, but the final fight was just stilly.
-Goodnight is just a horrible Bond girl, extremely attractive but is even worse than the ineffectual damsels in distress Bond girls in that she is a clumsy dolt. I think that originally she was supposed to be just be his assistant and not an agent, but they changed it up or just never explained why an untrained assistant is going with him.
-The one on one fights with Bond in the ninja academy were fine, even funny when he kicks the guy in the face when he bows. But aftewards with the girls defeating the entire group is bad.
-The reappearance of Sheriff JW Pepper... Who the hell wanted more of this guy?
Also, the plot about an assassin after James Bond is plenty of story for an entire movie. Adding on the solex and the solar ray gun were typical of the overboard Bond plots that just wasn't needed here.
Still Roger Moore gets a lot of credit for carrying a lot of the weight of these faults on his shoulders. Christopher Lee as well.
Other strengths are making Bond more rough and pragmatic. Strong-arming Andrea for information rather than seducing her. Then later bedding her while Goodnight waits in the closet. Reminds me of Connery shooting the unarmed professor in Dr. No and bedding the assistant while waiting for the professor to come kill him.
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