The Young Man Nothing

The Bond series has been doing great so far making the first three films nearly flawless that it was only a matter of time that we'd be hitting a road block eventually. The fourth Bond movie Thunderball is still the typical Bond movie at its core. You've got Bond with the slickest spy gadgets and the hottest women in the perfect location with the baddest boss performing the evilest crime. They're all here. The main problem for me is how most of it is executed poorly. 

The story here sets itself up to be a great adventure: SPECTRE is back again to steal two atomic bombs from the soviets to destroy an unknown major city under the control of Emilio Largo (SPECTRE No. 2), but it's nowhere near as exciting as the previous Bond films. A lot of the movie is unfortunately spent underwater, whether in the middle of discovering, fighting, or seducing (yes, Bond even has the moves under the ocean), and it comes off restricting for Bond in the end. It doesn't seem to really fit for any other purpose other than to answer the hypothetical question "How would Bond save the world underwater?"

And the final fight deserves its own conversation. Maybe it was a cinematic feat for the 1960s, but boy was that final Bond vs the henchmen scuba fight goofy. Not only that, but it went on way too long and got seriously dull watching men flailing underwater barely even fighting. It was just a mess, especially by today's standards.

There are some cool parts to this movie though, for sure. The jetpack exit in the beginning of the film is easily the coolest spy gadget so far. The underwater visuals are absolutely stunning at times, and even better with this being the first Bond movie projected in a widescreen format. All the main actors are great in their roles, though nothing completely fascinating sticks out from any of the non-MI6 characters to really leave an impact on the rest of the series.

It's not a bad movie by all means, but it could very well be the least enjoyable we've seen so far from Connery if the next two hold up better. It's just a movie that doesn't give you want you want in the places James Bond is strictly regulated to. Variety is key, and this movie was less than stellar without it.

Going into this project, I was told over and over again by most people that the best Bond movie in the series was Goldfinger. Although I have yet to see the rest of the films, so far, they couldn't be more right.

I feel like I keep saying the same phrase from the past two reviews, but it really rings true here that this is the definitive, classic, and I would be too far off to say perfected Bond formula. All the pieces are here from past films, but here it is fully fleshed out. The MI6 gadgets are more prevalent here, including the fully-equipped Rolls-Royse with oil slicker, machine gun, and ejection seat and a portable two-part tracking device.

Sean Connery plays James Bond once again and continues to perfect the role. His charming style and his relentless attitude seem second nature at this point for him. His two Bond girls this time even stood out to me as more than just one-dimensional eye candy 007 helpers (which is mostly saved for a third girl, the infamously gold painted character Jill Masterson). Tilly Masterson and the memorably named Pussy Galore are satisfyingly smart and badass girls that actually take a hit and give one back and serve purpose helping Bond out to kill Goldfinger.

The villains this time are also memorable in their own rights. Goldfinger (the most intelligent bad guy thus far) and Oddjob (the most creative bad guy thus far) make an odd pairing, but both have great villainous personalities and fights with Bond than any past villains so far. And Goldfinger's death at the end is, while completely absurd, very unforgettable.

This is a Bond movie with no filler. It's just under two hours long and not a second is wasted in telling the best Bond story so far. The screenwriting might have been loosely based off of its own book, but is perfectly formed for the big screen. It is noticeable that are less action scenes than the previous Bond movie, From Russia With Love, but the amazing final one in the last twenty minutes of the film invading Fort Knox with a bomb makes up for it. It's clear that Bond is at the top of his game here with his campy one-liners and witty style in a movie that can be called no less than spy movie perfection.

In the first of many 007 sequels, we find James Bond still after the evil SPECTRE organization from the last movie, this time in Istanbul to steal a government cryptic decoder from the Soviets. SPECTRE uses the help of assassin Red Grant to stop Bond in his tracks and the centerfold sexy Tatiana Romanova as a pawn to seduce him long enough and help kill him. From here, the story evolves into Tatiana actually falling in love with Bond, and her alliance is questionable until the very end. And the tension is especially high considering he knows of her SPECTRE position, so throughout this film, his trust in her is worrying.

Compared to Dr. No, I thought From Russia With Love is an excellent Bond sequel, especially since I wasn't sure if the original incarnation could be topped strictly due to its originality and core structure, but it was. From Russia still holds the same blueprint Bond formula from the first movie, but here, as I would hope to be true for every Bond film further down the line, we see it more fleshed out and and better realized.

The biggest improvement is the amount of action in this movie. You've got the gypsy ambush, the awesome train fight scene with Grant, and a North By Northwest style helicopter shootout. All of them bigger and better and with more thought put into them than the last Bond outing. Most of all, it isn't a one-sided fight, as there are plenty of times here where Bond is looking to possibly lose for once. Luckily, his smarts and charm always saves him, and Sean Connery does it better than ever here, looking to feel more comfortable in his role this time around.

From there, everything is top notch and just as good as Dr. No. The fantastic scenic locale, the polished orchestral score, and the brilliant romantic/spy story, with all its pluses, makes From Russia that much better overall. 

What better way to start off BONDCEMBER than with the movies the started it all.

If there's one thing that Dr. No does best as the first Bond film, it successfully sets the bar for every other Bond film to be judged by. Even if your familiarly with the spy/thriller genre is minimal, it's clear to see how solid of a formula Dr. No concocts. 

The strongest element seen in the film is Sean Connery as Agent 007 James Bond. He plays the right amount of charisma, cleverness, and wit to make three women swoon over him in less than two hours while still having enough time to stop the diabolical Dr. No from destroying the American Space Program. It's not so much why Bond has to save the world that makes this movie so entertaining, but the adventures he goes through to nearly avoid death and make it out alive with a charming pun ("That's a Smith & Wesson, and you've had your six"). Being convincing can be the toughest part for an actor, but Connery makes it look so easy.

From there, you've got the other important elements such as the sexy Bond girls, the exotic locale of Kingston, Jamaica, and the ever famous James Bond theme. The music especially impressed me with how well-integrated it was throughout, like when the score played along with ever time Bond was smashing the tarantella. When that full theme pops in during the film, you know something great is going to happen.

Danger Mouse and Danielle Lupe :: Black (ft. Norah Jones) (2011)