In preparation for my last blog post,
The Top Five (5) James Bond Films Of All Time, I went back and watched the entire catalogue of Bond Films again. What struck me most was how disappointing so many of them were. I use the term "Disappointing"very consciously because, while I loved all of them when I saw them originally, and don't think any were truly bad, I was disappointed by many of them in my recent viewing. This is why I choose not to use the term "Worst" in this positing; it is too pejorative for my taste.
So what has changed from my original perspectives on the works? I think my disappointment stems from a combination of several factors; namely:
1. I have aged and, hopefully, matured and so have my tastes. The more juvenile the content of some of the Bond films, the less I connect to them . Bond started out as chauvinistic, gritty, adult themed series and devolved into a quasi-comedic, teenage action series as the films departed from the Sean Connery Era. This was disappointing.
2. I have become so much more familiar with the written word of Ian Fleming that the more a film varies from the essence and character of the source material the less I regard it;
3. In the pre-Daniel Craig era, I think, my expectations had diminished so much that I stopped holding the films out to high standards. The question became "Is this a good Bond movie?" and not "Is this a good movie?" when judging the series. The Daniel Craig films reminded me that, at its heart, the Bond films, originally, were good movies that held their own as such and that is how they should be judged.
With those fundamentals being laid out, here is my list of the most disappointing James Bond films in the
Eon Productions Era:
5. The Living Daylights (1987): The fact is that there are elements of
Timothy Dalton's portrayal of James Bond, in his first appearance as the iconic
007, that are redeeming. His edgier than Moore interpretation of the character was actually refreshing
, but not refreshing enough. I struggled over determining which of the two Dalton Bond Films was more disappointing. In the final analysis, after seeing
The Living Daylights, I was so disappointed that such a great opportunity to transform and resurrect the franchise was squandered, that it was hard to be more disappointed by subsequent films in the Dalton era. The essential defects revolve around an identity crisis for a franchise in transition. I think the move to a grittier Bond was a smart contrast to Moore's light-hearted hero, but the complexion of the rest of the film is not entirely in sync with this posture. Joe Don Baker's, over the top, campy, ridiculous performance as Brad Whitaker is among the worst in the film franchise's history. Maryam d'Abo's performance, like much of the film, is just flat as the Cellist Kara Milovy. Is this a terrible film-no; but the opportunities squandered at this critical time in the franchise's chronology is what is so disappointing.
4. License to Kill (1989): While this film is better than it's predecessor, mostly due to a grittier, more Fleming based portrayal by Timothy Dalton in the lead role, the film just never really manages to impress. The plot, with loose ties to several Fleming sources, revolves around Bond seeking revenge for a brutal attack on CIA Agent and friend, Felix Leiter and his wife, by henchman of
Robert Davi's Villain, Franz Sanchez, who's performance is one of the admirable parts of the film. Despite strong elements the film never seems to find it's own identity and, despite the minimization of the camp of earlier films, the film seems to just be moving along without any real enthusiasm. The fact is that, despite the flaws of Moore's last few Bond Films, he still brought his own charm to the character. In fact, his later films relied too much on that charm and not enough on other elements. The Dalton films lack dimension and character as films and Dalton disappoints because the foundations of his Bond portrayal lend themselves much more closely to the Fleming, Connery and, later, Craig, interpretation of the character but he never builds on that strong, fundamental attachment to the original character.
3. A View To a Kill (1985) This last installment of the series starring
Roger Moore came, at least, one film too late. Named after an
Ian Fleming short story of the same name, this film has nothing to do with that source work. Once again, the further the Bond films stray from the source material, in substance and in essence, the bigger the disappointment they are, in my humble opinion.
Christopher Walken's portrayal of Max Zorin is the most redeeming part of the film. While many critics commented on Moore's portrayal of Bond as a 57 year old as problematic, I think the real failure was not to address the aging Bond within the context of the film, rather than dismissing the obvious and having him portray Bond as much younger character with little credibility. Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, and Richard Kiel represent the epitome of bad acting and camp and do nothing to support this installment.
2. Moonraker (1979): Christopher Null of FilmCritic.com said everything that needs to be said about this film, "Most rational observers agree that Moonraker is without a doubt the most absurd James Bond movie, definitely of the Roger Moore era and possibly of all time". Once again the significant variation from Fleming's source material combined with campy, comedic gags, over the top gimmicks, and two dimensional characters really disappointed. One of the most significant criticisms of the film is that it suffers from an identity crisis. While the film was released in the Star Wars era the effort to have the film compete with that genre transformed Bond, even if only for this film, from a trendsetter to a wannabe in the film industry. Moonraker could have been an exciting, action packed Moore portrayal if it tried to stay true to what made Bond movies so beloved.
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969): This film is the greatest Bond Disappointment of all time. The source material is the second book in what has become to be known as "
The Blofed Trilogy". For many literary critics the written source is the greatest of all the Fleming Bond books, perhaps setting any film interpretation up for failure. Despite the fact that the plot is very close to the original Fleming work of the same name, the execution is where the film falls short.
George Lazenby, sandwiched between two Sean Connery appearances falls flat in his portrayal of Bond. His character does not have the grit or depth of his predecessor, and lacks the charm of his successors. The fight sequences are not well choreographed, the music is more suited to a 70's romance, and the film-making is "B-Movie" quality at best. I have tried to watch and re-watch this film over the years with an open mind but it does not improve with age. Perhaps I judge this film too harshly, but I loved the novel and I loved Connery as Bond and this installment diverges so far from either of those that it may not be the worst but it is the most disappointing, by far.
Bond on Bond includes chapters on the Gadgets, the Villains, the Bond Girls, and even, one on James Bond's style. It is light hearted, self effacing and filled with personal narratives, opinion, and touching tributes to many of the individual actors and professionals that have passed on from the long history of Bond film making. Moore provides a wealth of information and trivia in an easy to read, visually pleasing format.
