skjam | Entries tagged with james bond

The Living Daylights (1987) dir. John Glen

As part of a training exercise, several 00-class agents of British intelligence agency MI6 are assigned to infiltrate the military installation on the Rock of Gibraltar. The defenders are armed with paint-guns, but there's a ringer, a Soviet agent who is taking the opportunity to kill the British agents. He manages to assassinate two of them, leaving behind a deliberate reference to SMERSH ("death to spies"). But the third British agent is 007, James Bond (Timothy Dalton). Bond is able to eliminate the assassin in an explosion.

Shortly thereafter, Bond is assigned to assist KGB general Gerogi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) to defect to the West. He cooperates with Czechoslovakia section chief Saunders (Thomas Wheatley), but while they're setting up the scenario at a Bratislava concert hall, James notices that cellist Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo) is acting a bit oddly. Sure enough, during the extraction it turns out that she's the sniper assigned to keep Koskov from escaping. Bond notices more details, and disobeys orders to kill her, instead shooting the rifle out of her hands, then helping get Koskov through the Trans-Siberian pipeline.

Once in England, Koskov explains that his superior, General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies) has been turning hard-liner, wanting to undercut detente and eliminate opponents using SMERSH. Before he can settle in, Koskov is recaptured by Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) disguised as a milkman.

M (Robert Brown) wants Bond to head to Tangier, Morocco to deal with General Pushkin, but James takes a detour back to Czechoslovakia to check on Kara Milov. He is able to establish that she had blanks in her rifle, as part of Koslov's fake defection. She's being hassled by the KGB, and James is able to trick her into believing he's Koslov's friend and sent to bring her to her lover in Vienna. Exciting chase scene ensues.

Meanwhile, Pushkin visits Brad Whitaker (Joe Don Baker), an American arms dealer with delusions of being a great military man. Pushkin asks for the KGB's money back on an arms deal for high tech weapons, but Whitaker claims he has already spent the cash (the KGB knows otherwise). Pushkin also knows that Whitaker and Koskov are working together, and threatens the arms dealer if he can't come up with the refund.

Back in Vienna, Bond and Kara are becoming closer while Saunders and the rest of MI6 look into what 007 has discovered. They discover the connection to Whitaker, but at the cost of Saunders' life.

In Tangier, James Bond determines that he was correct and General Pushkin is not in league with General Koskov. (Not without roughing Pushkin up a bit first, of course.) They fake Pushkin's death, but Koskov uses this to trick Kara into turning against James. Bond and Kara are taken to Afghanistan for execution, but this is nowhere near the end....

This was the first Timothy Dalton Bond movie, and had a shift of focus from the Roger Moore run. Dalton's Bond was a bit harder-edged, and while the plot isn't particularly plausible, it's more "down to earth", with weapons and drug dealing rather than science fiction devices or world endangerment. Also, while it's clear that 007 is still a womanizer, he only flirts with one woman, Kara, and only consummates their relationship after the movie is over. Dalton's Bond doesn't do as many one-liners, allowing other characters and situations to provider the humor.

Krabbé and Baker do a good job as the villains, personable enough to make it plausible that they've reached their current positions, but cold-blooded enough to explain why they're the bad guys. Necros fills in as the actual combat henchman, an okay but limited role. His best bits are when dressed as a milkman. A nice touch is that Whitaker has a collection of wax figures of famous military leaders, but they look a bit off...because they all have Whitaker's face.

The theme song by A-ha! is okay, but not top ten of James Bond movie themes.

The most notable political moment in the movie is the part set in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. While the Mujahideen are the scrappy underdogs against the Russian invaders, they're not untarnished good guys. Local leader Kamran Shah (Art Malik) has to work with opium lords if he wants to continue resistance work...though he's okay with Bond blowing up the drugs after they leave the camp. Younger viewers who only remember recent Afghanistan events may want to read up on the history.

As always, excellent stunts, action sequences and special effects. Kara Milov is surprisingly more combat effective than her background would suggest. (Indeed, she does better than some Bond girls who were supposed to be combat trained.)

Content note: Murder, lots of other violence, sometimes fatal. Extramarital sex is implied, a bit of male nudity as a gag. Alcohol use, mention of opium, Bond's drugged at one point. Late teens and up should be fine.

This wouldn't be my choice as the first 007 movie for a beginner to watch, but it's still well done. Recommended to those who prefer their Bond a bit more grounded.

Current Music: Classic MPR

For Your Eyes Only (1981) dir. John Glen

James Bond (Roger Moore) is visiting his wife Tracy's grave when he's informed that a helicopter has come to take him to "the office." This turns out to be a trap, as the pilot is murdered by his own headphones so that a man who is clearly Blofeld (John Hollis), having survived the end of Diamonds Are Forever though with severe permanent injuries. The villain flies the helicopter by remote control, taunting Bond with almost-death, but gloats too long and 007 is able to disable the remote and turns the tables. Blofeld is probably really dead this time.

Meanwhile, the St. Georges, a British Navy surveillance ship disguised as a fishing trawler, is sunk in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece. It happened to have on board the ATAC, a device for controlling Britain's ballistic missiles. The Soviet Union in the person of General Gogol (Walter Gotell) would be very interested in obtaining the device, and commission "our Greek friend" to pick it up. Marine archaeologist and crossbow champion Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) witnesses her parents being assassinated by Cuban hitman Hector Gonzales (Stefan Kalipha). She does not know that this is because they were helping the British locate the sunken ship.

Bond is called in to investigate the murder of the Havelocks and find the ATAC. While he's surveilling the pool party Gonzales is hosting in Spain, he witnesses someone hand the killer a suitcase full of money. He then allows himself to be captured, but before he can learn more, Melina in disguise murders Gonzales and they're forced to escape together.

James and Melina argue about her revenge plans, as her bloodthirst has temporarily left Bond without solid leads. She's focused on her personal loss, while 007 sees a slightly larger picture, but won't at this moment tell her about it.

Using a fancy identikit-type program guided by Q (Desmond Llewellyn), Bond is able to determine that the payoff man is Belgian mercenary Locque (Michael Gothard). He jets off to Italy and the former Winter Olympics site of Cortina. There he meets with his local contact Luigi Ferrara (John Moreno), who introduces him to wealthy Greek businessman and informant Aris Kristatos (Julian Glover). James is also introduced to Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson), an aspiring figure skater sponsored by Kristatos, and her exacting coach Ms. Brink (Jill Bennett). Kristatos suspects his former partner in the Greek resistance, now his business rival and smuggler, Milos Columbo (Topol) of employing Locque.

The baddies have figured out who Melina is, and lured her to Cortina with a faked telegram from James. This sparks several winter sports-themed assassination attempts by Locque and his associates, including Eric Kriegler (John Wyman) East German bi-athlete and KGB agent. Bond and Melina survive, but Luigi does not, and that man's body has a dove pin on it, symbol of Columbo's organization.

So it's off to Corfu, Greece, where Columbo owns a casino. Columbo's mistress, Countess Lisl von Schlaf (Cassandra Harris) and Bond seduce each other for information. As they walk along the beach afterwards, the "Countess" (she's actually from Liverpool) is assassinated by Locque, and then Bond is captured by Columbo's men. The smuggler claims that Kristatos, not him, is Locque's employer!

Now James Bond must figure out who's telling the truth, recover the ATAC, and make sure that Malina's revenge doesn't kill the wrong people.

Roger Moore plays 007 with more humor than his two predecessors, not just hardboiled one-liners, but as aware of how silly some of the situations he gets in to are. By this point, his fifth or so Bond movie, he was beginning to feel his age, and James very pointedly does not sleep with Bibi, who's depicted as too young for his tastes.

After a couple of very flashy films, including outright science fiction in Moonraker, it was decided to dial back the stakes and the use of gadgets in this movie. The tricked-out car is blown up very quickly, and the climax involves Bond using standard climbing gear and improvisation to get up a mountainside. We're back to the Cold War with the Soviet Union as the larger scale villains, but they're not planning to destroy the world, even if they do get the Macguffin of the plot.

The opening song is cool, sung by Sheena Easton, who actually appears in the opening credits.

As always with the Eon series of James Bond movies, excellent action and chase scenes, with a good variety of locations. The hockey assassins are very silly, but make Luigi's death just afterwards more of a gut punch.

Oh, and there's also a silly bit with (unnamed) Margaret Thatcher, who is depicted as a housewife who just so happens also to be Prime Minister. Your mileage may vary on just how much of a mis-portrayal this is.

Content notes: Women in skimpy outfits, implied nudity. Bond and several other characters have extramarital sex. Bibi mentions she's not a virgin, but specifically doesn't do it with Bond or Kristatos. Lots of murder and violence, as per usual, some bloody. Sex trafficking is mentioned.

This isn't one of the great James Bond movies, or the most memorable. But it's still plenty interesting and

Current Music: "Ponyo"

From Russia With Love (1963) dir. Terence Young

James Bond (Sean Connery) is being stalked through a garden maze by a mysterious figure. The stalker manages to get the jump on Bond and strangle him with a wire garotte concealed in his watch. Our hero is dead! But no, we swiftly learn that this was another man disguised as Bond as a test for Donald "Red" Grant (Robert Shaw), who we will formally meet later.

A chess master named Kronsteen (Vladek Shaybel) is called away from a championship match, but stays just long enough to checkmate his opponent. His summoner, Blofeld (?) is the head of the freelance espionage group SPECTRE. He expects Kronsteen to come up with a plan to destroy James Bond in retaliation for 007's defeat of their agent Dr. No. The field commander for the operation will be Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya), formerly commander of the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH. She recruits Red Grant from SPECTRE Island as the muscle, and Tatiana "Tanya" Romanova (Daniela Bianchi), a clerical worker at the Russian embassy in Istanbul, as the bait. Tatiana is unaware that Klebb has switched allegiance, so believes she is working in the interests of the Soviet Union.

At last we see the real Bond, who's called away from a picnic with his current lady friend to confer with his boss M (Bernard Lee). Tatiana has sent a communication claiming that she has fallen in love with 007 based on his dossier and photograph, and that she wants to defect, bringing a Lektor coding device with her, but only if James himself comes to pick her up. It's clearly a trap, but the bait is excellent, and Bond is sure he can outwit the KGB. He flirts with Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) and gets a gimmicked briefcase from gadgeteer Boothroyd (Desmond Llewelyn), codename Q.

In Istanbul, Bond meets up with local spy chief Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendáriz), an affable fellow who has a relatively relaxed relationship with both Western and Eastern agents. Red Grant works behind the scenes to stir hostilities up between the various spies as part of the SPECTRE plan. bond is temporarily caught up with Kerim Bey's feud with the Bulgarian agents.

Finally, it's time for James Bond and Tatiana Romanova to meet. 007 has entered the trap--can he find a way out?

This was the second "official" James Bond movie, rushed into production to come out only a year after Dr. No. One of the biggest changes from the book version is changing the villains from SMERSH to SPECTRE, having the third party manipulate the national agencies against each other. The main plan is to have Bond steal the coding device with Tatiana's help, film their sex scenes, and then make it appear that they have killed each other in a sordid murder/suicide scandal. As a bonus, SPECTRE will be able to ransom the Lektor back to the Soviets.

Good: Lots of exciting action, excellent scenery in Istanbul, a strong base story. The cast is strong, and Blofeld is suitably sinister and mysterious. The confrontation with Grant on the Orient Express is a classic of suspense and brutal hand to hand combat.

Less good: There's a lot of setup, so the main plot doesn't get going until about halfway through the movie. While all the scenes are good in and of themselves, I got a bit impatient for Tatiana and Bond to finally be on screen together, and this means the "falling in love" part is seriously rushed.

Content note: Action movie violence, often lethal, but very little blood. Rosa Klebb is implied to be sexually attracted to Tatiana (this is explicit in the book) and acts creepy about it (bad touch!) Female nudity (blurred), shirtless men. A scene at a "Gypsy" encampment has the traditional exotic dancer, and a less typical "scantily clad women's professional wrestling" bout. (In the book this is a naked wrestling bout.) Bond is implied to have extramarital sex with multiple women. Karim has a mistress, though they don't get far before action interrupts. Karim also has multiple sons but no mention of a wift. Fish are forced to fight each other to the death. Late teens and up should be able to handle it, younger viewers may need adult guidance.

This is one of the top Bond movies; the formula isn't fully settled yet, but Sean Connery has grown into his role. Lotte Lenya is awesome as Rosa Klebb, and the rest of the cast also does a good job. Highly recommended to action movie fans able to handle some outdated cultural notions.

Current Music: "From Russia with Love" theme

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) dir. Peter R. Hunt

James Bond (George Lazenby), agent of Her Majesty's Secret Service, is a bit at loose ends. He's spent the last two years trying to track down Ernst Stavros Blofeld (Telly Savalas) with no luck. M (Bernard Lee) would like 007 to move on to other threats. Happening to see a woman on a lonely beach walking into the ocean, Bond saves her from drowning, only to be attacked by men while she runs away. He runs into the woman again at a casino, saves her from a gambling debt, and they become better acquainted. But the next morning she's gone, and Bond is abducted by criminals.

It turns out they're working for Marc-Ange Draco (Gabriele Ferzetti), head of the Unione Corse crime syndicate. The woman, Contessa Therese "Tracy" Di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg), is his daughter. She was neglected growing up, and did things to spite her father, including marrying the late Count. Tracy, too, is at loose ends, and Draco thinks Bond would make a good husband. James demurs, being a confirmed horndog who doesn't like to be tied down, and also a secret agent with a dangerous job. The offer of money is scoffed at, but Bond is interested in information about the current location of rival crime syndicate SPECTRE's boss Blofeld.

Tracy sees through this, and while she actually is interested in James, insists her father give up the information rather than dangle it for weeks. After a whirlwind romance, James acts on that info, breaking into a lawyer's office and learning that Blofeld is now going by 'Count Balthazar De Bleuchamp' and is trying to get his title recognized officially. (Blofeld seems truly invested in getting his title "for real", it's never proven one way or the other.) Bond goes undercover, posing as a genealogist to get invited to the secret hideout.

This location turns out to be Piz Gloria, in the Swiss Alps, which can only be reached by helicopter or private cable car. The Count sends his right hand woman Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat) to pick up Sir Bray, and it's explained that this is a medical research institute specializing in allergy treatment. There's a dozen young women from around the world under treatment, some of whom find "Sir Bray" quite tantalizing. Turns out that Blofeld is actually brainwashing these women to spread biological weapons to targeted animals and crops to destroy the supply. If the United Nations doesn't bow to Blofeld, he will release his weapons one by one.

Bond's cover is blown. How will he get out of this one and save the day?

This was the only George Lazenby Bond movie, after Sean Connery had done the part in five previous films. Rather than have a regeneration process ala Doctor Who, Lazenby briefly refers to "the other fellow" in the cold open, and then the movie proceeds as though he's the same character. (The opening titles show bits of the previous movies, and later we see props that had been used previously to emphasize the continuity.)

He's a perfectly acceptable Bond, and might have grown into the role if he was able to continue. Her looks good in a kilt. Diana Rigg is good as Tracy, and Telly Savalas does a decent Blofeld.

The cinematography is very good, especially the aerial shots during the ski chase scenes, which were done using a special harness for the camera operator. (A man dedicated to his job--he'd lost a leg while shooting the previous James Bond movie.) Awesome action sequences and stunts as well.

The music is also of note. The title theme is instrumental so that no one had to try to work "on her majesty's secret service" into lyrics. And Louis Armstrong gives his final film performance singing "All the Time in the World" over the romance sequence, heartbreaking if you already know how the film ends.

That ending is one of the most notable ones in the film series, and is an influence on Bond's character going forward.

Gadgets are played down, with the only important one being a combination safecracker/photocopier that Bond has to have delivered by construction equipment.

The scenes with the patients at the institute, the "Angels of Death", are rather tedious and make the film drag a bit in the middle. Blofeld's plot involving them has a lot of failure points, but Bond would prefer to just make sure it fails at Step One.

Content note: Violence, often lethal. One kill is particularly gory. Female nudity, usually in shadows or otherwise obscured. (As an in-joke, James picks up a Playboy magazine (where this novel was serialized) and looks at the centerfold rather than reading it for the articles.) As always in Bond films, extramarital sex. Some old-fashioned sexism. There's a bullfight going on in the background of one scene, but it's a Portuguese bullfight, which is specifically non-lethal to the bulls. Still could be seen as abusive to the bull.

This isn't one of the top Bond movies, but it's solid and important to the character development. (And is unusually close to the book it was adapted from!) Recommended to James Bond fans, and action movie fans who want the romance treated a bit more seriously.

Current Location: the Swiss Alps
Current Music: "All the Time in the World"--Louis Armstrong

Goldfinger (1964) dir. Guy Hamilton

On his way back from a Caribbean sabotage mission, British agent James Bond (Sean Connery) stops over in Miami Beach. He's met by his CIA contact Felix Leiter (Cec Linder) who passes on a mission from MI-6 boss M. Bond's to do some surveillance of British citizen Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe). Why? Not explained at this time.

But it's immediately obvious that Goldfinger's a rotter who cheats at cards. James quickly works out how it's done and suborns Goldfinger's accomplice Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton). Goldfinger retaliates by having Jill painted with "gold" that suffocates her to death.

Back in London, Bond is briefed on his actual assignment. It seems that Goldfinger is somehow smuggling gold out of Britain. It's gold he legally owns, but the movement is illegal. If Bond can prove how it's done, the Bank of England will be able to freeze the bullion. James is outfitted with Q Branch's latest gadgets, including a tricked-out Aston-Martin automobile. Bond plays golf with Goldfinger, learns about the wealthy man's bodyguard, the mute and deadly Korean Oddjob (Harold Sakata), and outcheats his opponent.

Then it's off to Switzerland, where Goldfinger has an industrial plant. Bond is joined in this part by Tilly Masterson (Tania Mallet), Jill's sister. James does learn how the smuggling is done, but is captured by Goldfinger, who is working with the Red Chinese agent Ling (Burt Kwouk) on a larger scheme. 007 manages to talk his way out of being bisected with an industrial laser, and is taken to Kentucky by pilot Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). Now that the true plan is revealed, can Bond stop it?

Goldfinger was the third James Bond movie, and the first to be an immediate hit, helped not least by the brassy opening theme sung by Shirley Bassey.

Good: The gradual reveal of just what Goldfinger is actually up to builds suspense throughout the movie. We know he's a baddie from the beginning, but just how much of one continues to grow with each of his actions. He may be quite mad, but he's not stupid.

Good action, especially the final fight with Oddjob.

The latest technology! Lasers were super new when this movie was made, and it's hard to remember that this is science fiction when they're so ubiquitous now.

Kentucky Fried Chicken!

Less good: Magical orientation-changing sex. (More subtle than in the book due to film censorship rules.)

The movie started and/or hit all the traditional James Bond 007 beats, and still stands up well.