Top 5 James Bond Films

Autumn was very sophisticated in Toronto, what with TIFF’s mega James Bond blow out. There was the Bond Exhibit, complete with a rotating bed on which a supine gold painted lady had died and a golden typewriter! Then there as the months long, multiple screenings of all the Bond movies. And then there was the tertiary Beyond Bond: The Other Secret Agents programme. And for the love of all that is holy, don’t forget the signature Martinis on offer at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, my fav or which had gold flakes floating in it.

It was all James Bond all the time, especially for me. See, I had never actually seen a single James Bond movies before November 2012, when I was cajoled into seeing Dr. No at the Lightbox. (See, I always begin at the beginning). That cinched it and the 2012-2013 holiday season at PCF will go down in infamy as that “One Christmas when I didn’t eat too much turkey, unless you count that turkey Roger Moore.” The awesome thing about a beginning at the beginning situation as it applies to James Bond is that there is an end. And I’m at it. With the exception of Skyfall*, I’ve seen ‘em all.

*I reserve the right to reorder this list after a Skyfall viewing.

My Top 5 James Bond Films

 

Goldfinger (1964)

As much as I really did love Dr. No and To Russia with Love, I feel like Bond really hits his stride in Goldfinger. This where the James Bond on the screen caught up with the James Bond of my imagination. There’s gadgets -Aston Martin with an ejection seat and machine gun taillight! There’s Odd Job! There’s a dead gold lady! And of, course, there is a character named Pussy Galore.  Goldfinger is the stuff of a million Bond spoofs. It’s also a rocking good movie where Sean Connery comes close to getting his ‘nads lasered off and the super-villain has a bold plan to rob Fort Knox.

Thunderball (1965)

Let me stipulate from the beginning – Thunderball is kind of ridiculous. I mean, Bond has a jet pack. A jet pack! He also get himself in some underwater intrigue and sea battles that would make Jules Verne proud. But Connery’s charm is let loose and runs rampant across the screen. Bond seems to possess an endless supply of  short shorts for his sojourn in a tropical location. Best of all, Thunderball features Bond, James Bond luring a spa nurse into the sauna. We see a couple of hands against the glass and then it cuts to Bond leaving the sauna with a casual, “Thanks. See ya later” as if he’s talking to the cashier who just gave him change.

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The Man with the Golden Gun is Roger Moore’s finest entry in the Bond oeuvre. It is also, aside from being a great Bond film, just a damn good movie. I mean the bad guy has a golden gun and his sidekick is Tattoo from Fantasy Island. There’s also a fantastic car chase.

Moonraker (1979)

I thought Thunderball was kind of ridiculous and then I saw Moonraker. James Bond goes to space! We not only get rockets, we get to see the redemption of villainous henchman Jaws. Turns out even bad guys have feelings. Even though For Your Eyes Only was slated next in the Bond lineup, Moonraker was bumped up in a (lame) attempt to capitalize on the Star Wars phenomena and the launch of the new Space Shuttle Program. But here’s what delighted me most – Roger Moore plays Bond for way too long and eventually James Bond becomes a grandpa like figure trying to suave. Moonraker is the first installment where he starts look too, ahem, mature. And Moneypenny? She’s just an old lady here, so much so the filmmakers completely dispense with the flirting.

The World is Not Enough (1999)

I’ll be honest with you, Pierce Brosnan is hands down my favorite Bond. Okay, maybe it’s a toss up between him and Sean Connery, but the two are from such different eras it’s hard to choose. Suffice it to say, Pierce Brosnan is the kind the apotheosis of the Bond character. Handsome, suave, charming and tough – he’s got it all. I really could have slotted in any of the four Brosnan outings as Bond here, but I went with The World is Not Enough because you haven’t really lived until you’ve seen Denise Richards as a “scientist.”

 

GoldfingerJames BondMoonrakerPierce BrosnanRoger MooreSean ConneryThe Man with the Golden GunThe World is Not EnoughThunderball