Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Today's James Bond marathon lands us on the 18th official James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).

SYNOPSIS:
A British warship is sunk in Chinese waters under mysterious circumstances, and before MI6 has properly begun their investigation, the newspaper "Tomorrow" already has all the juicy details in print.  M (Judi Dench) sends James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) to investigate media mogul Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) and his new 24/7 news coverage organization.  Bond teams up with a Chinese spy, Colonel Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) and together, they uncover a plot by Carver to provoke WWIII just to have exclusive media rights to the whole event.  Can Bond stop Carver before nations go to war against each other?

REVIEW:
I think it's funny that in the previous film, M told Bond that, "Unlike the American government, we prefer not to get our bad news from CNN."  And in this very next film, they're literally learning details about an international incident from a newspaper.  No wonder they cared more about having Bond investigate the paper than the actual incident.

I also think it's kind of interesting that we're currently living in a world where our media outlets are being bought and run by political parties, pushing a biased slant to their news.  It's next to impossible to get accurate news nowadays, and so many people are so easily swayed by the slightest thing they read/hear.  So this is a very poignant film to watch at the moment.  It shows the extreme end of things; what if the journalist agencies actually created the news to report on?  I'm sure it's actually happening nowadays to some minor extent, but I don't think they're quite pushing for global war just for their ratings yet.

This film feels like it increased the action a lot more than previous Bond films. It opens with the British Royal Navy authorizing a missile strike on a terrorist weapons market, only for Bond to point out there are nukes there.  The Navy can't abort their missile strike, so Bond has to shoot up the place and steal the jet with nukes on it, all with less than 4 minutes until impact.  And the last-minute escape-type action continues throughout the film, only taking a breath here and there for some exposition.

I guess '90s action films really wanted to up the stakes.  Instead of having Bond spend the film investigating, maybe have a few close calls that lead him closer to the doomsday event/device/etc. before finding himself in a supposedly unwinnable scenario, this film decided to throw high stakes at him throughout.  There are a few scenarios where you know someone just said, "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and then set up a ridiculous setting just to have that cool last-minute escape payoff.  Over-the-top '90s action is abound, including a wide array of half-assed quips from Bond.  My wife and I joked that Pierce Brosnan's Bond is more of a fan of cheesy dad jokes for his quips than previous Bonds.

James Bond, about to suffer mutilation torture.  Someone play me a "WAH-WAAAAH" sound effect.

Q (Desmond Llewelyn) returns undercover as an AVIS rental guy, issuing Bond his new car.  I forgot to mention that Bond's personal car in GoldenEye (1995) and this film is his original 1964 Aston Martin DB5, from all the way back in Goldfinger (1964).  But for the previous film and this one, Q issues him a BMW as his "work car."  In the previous film, it was a Z3; in this film, he has the much more subtle 750iL.  But it's totally decked out with features.  It has a security system that zaps anyone who touches the handles.  Plus the glass is unbreakable by standard sledge hammers or crowbars.  It also includes missiles hidden in the roof, a tray of caltrops (sharp 4-point stars to pop tires) hidden in the rear bumper, re-inflatable tires, in case you have to run over your own caltrops, and a wire cutter hidden under the BMW logo on the hood.

New adventure, new car

Bond also gets an Ericsson JB988 cell phone (ancient tech by today's standards), but it flips open to reveal a screen and touch pad.  Bond can remotely start his car with the phone, and also drive it remotely using the touch pad.  (Also, he can tase people with his phone, and it has a fingerprint scanner)  It was really awesome tech when this movie came out, but smartphones have revolutionized the way we handle touch devices since this film's release, so it's really dated tech now.

Can't see anything on that tiny, low-def screen!

Bond also picks up some equipment from a Chinese spy safehouse, including a new Omega watch that can remotely signal a high-pitch frequency device (he uses this to shatter a jar with a primed grenade in it later) and a Walther P99 handgun.  The P99 will replace his traditional Walther PPK for the rest of the Pierce Brosnan era, including the first of the Daniel Craig films.

The self-titled theme song for this film was performed by Sheryl Crow and is pretty decent.  The entire soundtrack of this film was composed by David Arnold.  You can watch the opening title sequence here:

RECOMMENDATION:
This was a good continuation of the Bond franchise.  The villain was really cocky and full of himself, and honestly kind of annoying for a bad guy.  But Jonathan Pryce did a good job making a lasting impression as him; it's one of the roles of his that I'll always think of when I see him.  If you want some serious action porn with last-minute escapes, this film fills that void.  Enjoy!

GoldenEye (1995)

Welcome back to my James Bond marathon!  We've finally reached the Pierce Brosnan era, with the 17th official film, GoldenEye (1995).

SYNOPSIS:
A top secret Russian satellite system known as GoldenEye is designed to fire an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) at a specified location, frying all electronics within a 30-mile radius.  When Russian General Ourumov (Gottfried John) and his deadly assistant, Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) steal the GoldenEye program and launch keys, James Bond, Agent 007 (Pierce Brosnan) is sent to investigate.  He discovers the mastermind behind the theft is Alec Trevelyan, former Agent 006 (Sean Bean), long thought dead.  Alec holds a grudge against England, and James Bond for scarring his face the last time they met.  Can Bond stop his former friend before GoldenEye is used to destroy England?

REVIEW:
This is sort of a soft reboot of the James Bond series.  Albert R. Broccoli, the remaining producer who had originally bought the film rights from author Ian Fleming, was suffering from poor health and would pass away shortly after this film released.  He helped produce this film, but leaned heavily on his daughter, Barbara Broccoli, to help reinvigorate the franchise for a new generation.  Poor reviews and low ticket sales for the previous film, License to Kill (1989) meant that the franchise could be on its last legs without some changes.  Barbara Broccoli had been helping produce the franchise since Octopussy (1983), but this was her first time reinventing the series, bringing the franchise into the modern era.  The changes she brought helped to create a new successful era for James Bond through the '90s.

The GoldenEye program and keys

Desmond Llewelyn is the only returning actor, continuing his famous role as Q.  He provides Bond with a few new gadgets to play with: An exploding pen, which sets a four-second trigger when you click it three times.  A leather belt with a built-in tensile wire that can support one person's weight.  And finally, Bond's new car, a BMW Z3.  Bond also makes use of an Omega watch with a built-in laser.

Q explaining the many features of Bond's new ride

M has been replaced with a woman, played by Judi Dench.  She tells Bond that he's a "sexist, misogynistic dinosaur; a relic of the Cold War."  She doesn't approve of his womanizing ways and lets him know that despite her being viewed by her people as more of an accountant type, she knows what the job entails and has no qualms with potentially sending agents to their deaths.  This new, tough M will continue to challenge Bond through the Brosnan era, keeping him in line when he strays.

Judi Dench with her cold, judging stare.

There's a new actress playing Moneypenny too: Samantha Bond.  Rather than fawn over James Bond like previous Moneypenny roles, this Moneypenny straight up accuses him of sexual harassment in their first scene, only expressing the slightest bit of interest in him by admitting he needs to follow through on his innuendos one of these days.  "Playful banter" in the '90s comes with a harassment warning, apparently.

Moneypenny laying down the law!

It was a new era, and the age of the James Bond who could get away with forcing himself on women was over.  This first revitalized Bond film needed to set that standard.  Although Bond still gets a little forceful a couple times in this film, he also meets his match with the tenacious Xenia Onatopp, who derives sexual pleasure from killing.  Her preferred method of assassination? Crushed between her thighs during sex.  She corners Bond at a bathhouse, where even the infamously promiscuous Bond needs to tell her that no means no.  Is it female empowerment when the genders are swapped?

When even James Bond has to tell you no, you know you've gone too far

We're also introduced to Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker), Bond's new CIA counterpart.  If this is truly a continuation of the old Bond films, then you may recall that Felix Leiter, Bond's friend and CIA buddy, got maimed by a shark in the previous film, losing a leg.  It's assumed that Leiter is now out of commission and retired, so Bond gets a new CIA contact when dealing with US territories.

Jack Wade, CIA - taking over for Felix Leiter for the Brosnan era

One thing to note is that this is the first James Bond film to use dynamic lighting in the famous opening gun barrel scene.  Up until this point, every opening had a static image of the inside of a gun barrel while following James Bond.  In GoldenEye (1995), they made it look like an actual gun barrel, with light reflecting in real time inside the barrel while it traced Bond across the white room.  You can view it here:

This film is another original story, not having any ties to the old James Bond novels.  It was named after Ian Fleming's own private Jamaican villa, Goldeneye, where he wrote all the original James Bond novels.  You may remember my Casino Royale (1954) review all the way back at the start of this movie marathon, where I talk a bit about Ian Fleming and his Goldeneye villa, and where he originally came up with that name.

GoldenEye (1995) was the very first James Bond film I ever saw.  Back then, I didn't realize it was an entire franchise.  I thought it was just a regular stand-alone '90s action film.  When I was around 12 years old, my close friends and I really got into spy films and I discovered a James Bond VHS collection at Best Buy with the first 16 films.  It was my first true introduction to the franchise, and I've been a huge fan ever since.

My first taste of the spy franchise was through this VHS collection

My interest in the franchise was only encouraged through the wildly popular GoldenEye 007, which released for the Nintendo 64 in 1997.  It became the most popular first-person shooter of its time, inspiring the world of multiplayer gaming.  Having re-watched this film makes me want to pull out my old N64 and play some GoldenEye 007 levels again.

Look at those cutting-edge graphics!  ...For the '90s, anyway

You may be interested to hear that GoldenEye 007 has had a high-definition fan remake in the works for years now.  It will be called GoldenEye 25, due to the fact that it's scheduled to release in 2022, the 25th anniversary of GoldenEye 007.  Check out some sweet gameplay here:

Finally, if you miss the days of GoldenEye 007 multiplayer, there's a fan-made multiplayer-only game built off the Half-Life 2 engine called GoldenEye: Source.  It's a free project - install that game on your computer and jump into an online multiplayer match in your favorite GoldenEye 007 levels, re-made with high-quality graphics.  Their website is here.

That GoldenEye Bunker level looks amazing in high-def!

The self-titled opening song of GoldenEye (1995) is performed by Tina Turner, and for a while, was one of my favorite Bond themes.  The music in general was really good throughout this film; although hearing the soundtrack now, I realize it had heavy undertones of the '90s era embedded in its style.  You can listen to/watch it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
This is the classic that got me into the James Bond franchise in the first place, as well as refreshing the character and story for a new generation.  If you watch only one James Bond film, you should seriously consider this one!

Licence to Kill (1989)

For today's James Bond marathon, we're already at the end of the short-lived Timothy Dalton era, reviewing his final film, Licence to Kill (1989).

SYNOPSIS:
On the way to Felix Leiter's (David Hedison) wedding, the DEA intercept him and his best man, James Bond (Timothy Dalton) to inform them that the notorious drug lord, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) is out of hiding.  Taking a quick detour, Bond and Leiter capture him alive, then make it to Leiter's wedding just in time.  But Sanchez escapes capture that night and goes after Leiter and his new bride, maiming them on their wedding night.  When Bond's attempt to chase down Sanchez is denied by M (Robert Brown), he resigns from the service and goes rogue, chasing Sanchez south of the border.  And so begins a revenge-fueled vendetta to avenge Felix Leiter and his wife, no matter the cost...

REVIEW:
This is the first time we've seen Bond go rogue.  It's a very dark tale of hatred and revenge, which fits nicely with the menacing look of Timothy Dalton.  He refuses to accept his next assignment from M, and so when M revokes his license to kill, Bond makes a run for it, being shot at by his very own people.  By the way, the original title of this film was "License Revoked."

M demanding Bond's gun after revoking his license to kill

Along the way, Bond finds himself so driven by his one goal of ending Sanchez that he inadvertently stumbles across other nation's secret agencies trying to infiltrate Sanchez's organization.  Bond's refusal to give up on Sanchez jeopardizes everyone else's mission and gets agents killed.  MI6 even sends an agent to collect Bond and drag him back to England, unsuccessfully.  Moneypenny (Caroline Bliss) is so distraught by Bond resigning, she authorizes a search behind M's back to help track down Bond's location.  And so, M decides that the only way to get Bond back is to help him complete his mission.  He enlists Q (Desmond Llewelyn) to go find Bond and provide him with any necessary tools he may need.

Bond being interrogated by fellow agents

Q checks in to Bond's hotel room, posing as his uncle, and provides Bond with a bag loaded with gadgets.  He provides Dentonite Toothpaste (plastic explosive in a tube) and a pack of cigarettes as a remote trigger.  He also has a camera that can be reassembled into a sniper gun, with an optical palm reader that only fires when it detects Bond's hand gripping it.  We also see a Polaroid camera that shoots a deadly laser from the flash and takes x-ray photos, plus an alarm clock that explodes if you use the alarm.  Neither were used in the film, though.

Q briefing Bond on his latest gadgets

Failing to take out the well-protected Sanchez from a distance, Bond instead decides to get close to him by posing as a potential ally.  He tells a partial truth, letting Sanchez know that he's a former agent of the British government.  After being captured by other foreign agents and saved by Sanchez, Sanchez starts to believe that Bond is truly an ally, and lets him in to his inner circle, where Bond can start tearing down the walls of trust among his people and destroying his drug business.

Sanchez and Bond bonding over tea

Earlier in the film, there was a scene where Felix Leiter's new wife tried to toss Bond her garter, saying it'll mean he's next for marriage.  Rejecting her offer, he turns to leave.  When she asked Felix if she said something wrong, Felix points out that Bond was married once a long time ago.  This ties Timothy Dalton's Bond to both George Lazenby and Roger Moore's Bond; the former having been married and losing his wife in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), and the latter visiting her grave in For Your Eyes Only (1981).  When George Lazenby's Bond attempts to resign from MI6 and starts cleaning out his desk, we see items from past missions that Sean Connery's Bond went on, further tying his past to that actor's films.

Felix Leiter, explaining to his new wife why Bond rejects marriage

This rejects the theory out there that "James Bond, 007" is just a code name that multiple people have used over the years.  For a long time, some fans of the series believed that each new actor was just a new person playing the persona of Bond, in order to keep a spy legacy going; a plot point that was actually brought up in the spin-off satire film, Casino Royale (1967).  But these four actors have a shared history in their Bond stories, making it impossible for them to be different agents sharing a code name.  Pierce Brosnan's Bond was a soft reboot of the franchise, which I believe doesn't have any solid ties to the previous films (we'll find out when I re-watch his films over the next week), and then Daniel Craig's Bond was a complete reboot of the franchise.  But we'll discuss all that later when we get there.

Timothy Dalton was actually signed on for three films, with his next film reportedly being called "Property of a Lady."  This is the name of a short story in Ian Fleming's 14th and final novel, "Octopussy and The Living Daylights."  Unfortunately, production was delayed so long, Timothy Dalton eventually announced his resignation from the role and moved on to other things.  It would be six years before another Bond film would be made.  The story (and title) of License to Kill (1989) is almost completely original, having practically no connection to any of Ian Fleming's work.  In Fleming's second novel, "Live and Let Die," Felix Leiter is maimed by sharks, losing an arm and a leg.  This small plot point was used as the driving factor for Bond's revenge in this film, but that's the only connection this film has to a Bond novel.

The self-titled song for this film is pretty good.  Despite being a little soft like most of the other '80s Bond songs, it has a pretty impacting theme that I like.  It was performed by Gladys Knight, the legendary "Empress of Soul."  Maybe that's why I enjoy it so much.  You can listen to it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
If you want to see Bond go on a personal vendetta to exact revenge, even going rogue from MI6 in order to complete his mission, this is the film to see.  This film is likely what inspired the video game "GoldenEye: Rogue Agent," where you play as an agent who turns on MI6 to join the villains.  This is also the first true taste of a dark, gritty Bond, before Daniel Craig reinvents the character in his gritty modern Bond films.  I enjoyed this darker film, and I'd highly recommend it!

The Living Daylights (1987)

Today the James Bond marathon continues with the 15th official film, The Living Daylights (1987).

SYNOPSIS:
James Bond (Timothy Dalton) aids in the defection of a KGB officer, General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé).  Ordered to kill the sniper preventing the defection, Bond notices she's a beautiful cellist he had just been watching perform, and chooses to shoot her rifle instead, scaring the living daylights out of her.  General Koskov is debriefed, claiming that KGB General Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies) is responsible for the latest several 00 agent deaths, having reenacted the old WWII policy of Smert Shpionam (death to spies).  Koskov is then kidnapped by the KGB, and M (Robert Brown) sends 007 to assassinate General Pushkin before any more agents are assassinated.  But Bond smells a rat, and tracks down the sniper he spared, using her to find his way to Koskov and find out what's really going on...

REVIEW:
This is the first of two Timothy Dalton films.  He was known for playing a much more strict and sometimes cruel James Bond.  Witty one-liners are minimal and he's more forceful and demanding with people than previous Bonds.  The classic gentleman Bond went away with Roger Moore and we're now experiencing a taste of a gritty, dark Bond.  Although I'm getting a little ahead of myself; the next film will explore a darker side of Bond than this one.

Those piercing blue eyes can make anyone feel on edge

Timothy Dalton was actually considered for the role after Sean Connery left the franchise, but turned it down twice.  Later, he was offered the role when Roger Moore decided not to return for For Your Eyes Only (1981).  But Moore changed his mind at the last minute and decided to keep the role for 3 more films.  Interestingly, Pierce Brosnan was cast as James Bond for The Living Daylights (1987), but had to turn down the role due to a commitment to the TV show, Remington Steele.  It would be 7 more years (and two more films) before Brosnan would be picked up for the role.

Caroline Bliss takes over the role of Miss Moneypenny. Up until this film, she was only the second actress to play Moneypenny since the franchise began in 1962.  She was a tall, young blonde, dressed a little nerdy for Bond's taste, although it doesn't prevent him from engaging in playful banter with her.

Cute, but a bit too bookwormish for Bond

As you may recall from my From Russia with Love (1963) review, Smert Shpionam ("death to spies" in Russian) was the full title of a real-world Soviet organization in the '40s to root out any and all spies; although the title was condensed to "SMERSH" (SMERt SHpionam) by Joseph Stalin.  SMERSH was the original evil terrorist organization that Ian Fleming used in his novels before SPECTRE; although his was a fictional version of the real-world defunct organization.  So when M finds out that Smert Shpionam is supposedly being revived by General Pushkin, it gives him motive to send Bond to assassinate him.

Q (Desmond Llewelyn) provides Bond with a keyring that beeps when you whistle, so you can find it. Whistle the first few notes of "Rule Britannia," though, and it releases a stun gas that effects anyone within 5 feet of it. Also, if you give a wolf whistle, it will explode.  Q-Branch also brought back the Aston Martin with a new model: the V8 Vantage Volante.  Decked out with missiles, lasers, rocket motor, radio scanner, and tire spikes and retractable skis for the winter.  It also featured a self-destruct button.

The return to the Aston Martin brand

We also see Q-Branch testing out a "Ghetto Blaster." It's a large '80s Boom Box with a hidden missile launcher inside.  Q excitedly exclaims, "It's for the Americans!"

Back in my day, listening to music on the go doubled as exercise!

There's an arms dealer (Brad Whitaker) in this film, played by Joe Don Baker.  The actor would return to the series later as a CIA agent (Jack Wade) to help out Bond in two films.  This would be the second time an actor has returned to the series after playing a role on the opposing side.  Charles Gray played a British agent living in Japan in You Only Live Twice (1967), and then played Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

Whitaker is guilty of Stolen Valor too, having been kicked out of West Point, yet wearing a 5-Star General rank

This is also the first time we've seen Felix Leiter (John Terry), James Bond's friend and counterpart in the CIA, since Live and Let Die (1973).  Although his role was limited, Bond finds out they're both on essentially the same mission from different countries, so they pool their resources to help each other out.

This film gets its title from the 14th and final James Bond novel, "Octopussy and The Living Daylights," by Ian Fleming.  More specifically, it takes its name from the short story within, "The Living Daylights."  It was about James Bond being assigned as a sniper to assist with Agent 272 escaping from East Berlin.  Bond is ordered to eliminate a KGB sniper by the code name "Trigger."  But when he see the sniper, he realizes she's the beautiful cellist he witnessed performing the past three nights.  Choosing not to kill her, he instead shoots her rifle, allowing Agent 272 to escape successfully.  Bond admits that despite Agent 272's successful escape, not killing the sniper will probably mark the mission as a failure, and he hopes M fires him for it.  A good chunk of this short story ended up in this film, except the agent was replaced with a defecting KGB general, and the sniper happened to be just a cellist, not an actual sniper.

The self-titled theme song was performed by "a-ha," a Norwegian pop band.  It was also the last James Bond song co-written by John Barry.  You can listen to it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
This was an entertaining film, taking you from Czechoslovakia to Vienna, to Afghanistan, to Tangier.  Lots of different climates and cultures, ending with a climactic fight scene while hanging out the back of a massive cargo plane in the air.  It was a very enjoyable, and a good start to Timothy Dalton's role as James Bond.  I'd highly recommend it!

Never Say Never Again (1983)

I got my James Bond film timeline mixed up.  I was supposed to post this review yesterday, but I powered through the final Roger Moore film before I remembered.  Oh well.  We're going to take a detour from the official James Bond films today and review the last non-official Bond film, Never Say Never Again (1983).  This film released the same year as Octopussy (1983).

SYNOPSIS:
Two test missiles were launched from a US military plane in England, but they randomly stopped responding and dropped into the ocean.  Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Max Von Sydow), supreme commander of SPECTRE, claims responsibility for stealing the nukes.  He requests 25% of the cost of annual oil purchases for each country in NATO to be donated to SPECTRE to keep him from using the nukes.  M (Edward Fox) is forced to re-activate the 00 agents, and he sends James Bond (Sean Connery) to the Bahamas to investigate a lead in Maximilian Largo (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and his girlfriend, Domino (Kim Basinger).

REVIEW:
Remember Kevin McClory from my Thunderball (1965) review?  The guy who sued Ian Fleming, the original James Bond author, and won the screenplay to Thunderball?  He finally managed to get his own movie produced using that screenplay.  Yes, he worked with EON Productions back in the day and got Thunderball (1965) made, but he wasn't allowed any control over it, just a writing credit in the film.  So, Never Say Never Again (1983) is essentially a remake of Thunderball (1965).

Why does it have this odd title?  Well, in my You Only Live Twice (1967) review, I mentioned that Sean Connery quit the role of James Bond, saying he'd never fill the role ever again.  After George Lazenby refused to continue as 007 after On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), the studio begged Sean Connery to come back for Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and he eventually agreed - for one more film - but again he said, never again!  Finally, when this film began production, he was asked to reprise his famous 007 role one more time.  Agreeing to the role yet again, his wife told him, "Never say never again."  McClory loved this phrase and it became the title of the film.  The original working title was, "James Bond of the Secret Service."

The film makes several references to James Bond getting on in years, from the 00 section being dismantled, Bond being sent to a health spa because he's getting old and slow, a porter commenting on how old Bond's car is, saying "They don't make them like this anymore," etc.  M seems to hate the 00 section, and especially hates Bond's cavalier attitude toward his job.  He claims he runs things differently than the previous M, a nod to the original M from the official Bond series.  Near the start of the film, Bond actually complains that he's stuck teaching instead of doing field work.

Still looking pretty good for a Bond in his 50s.

Bond visits Q (referred to as Algernon in this film), played by Alec McCowen.  Unlike the official Bond franchise, where Q is exasperated at Bond for constantly abusing his tech, Algernon actually seems to love Bond, fawning over him and his exploits, while complaining about loss of funding for Q-Branch.  He gives Bond a wristwatch with an embedded laser, as well as a pen that shoots an explosive round; although it's still being perfected.  Felix Leiter (Bernie Casey), Bond's CIA friend, tells Bond later that he was the first to use those pens in the field, and it blew up in his face!  Sure enough, when Bond uses it, the explosive round is delayed, almost causing Bond to be killed.  Finally, Algernon sends Bond a tricked-out motorbike later in the film, which he uses to pursue an agent of SPECTRE.

Bond about to use his pen to write a very binding contract...

The titular song was performed by Lani Hall, but not set to a title sequence like the official Bond films.  Instead, it played over the opening of the film, where Bond is infiltrating a base on a training operation.  Kevin McClory wanted to do the famous gunbarrel opening scene that the official Bond films do, but he wasn't legally allowed, so he splashed 007 across the screen as the film opened instead.  Here's the opening scene with its title song:

RECOMMENDATION:
This film was decent, and different enough from the original Thunderball (1965) that you might not realize it's a remake unless you remember a lot of details from that original film.  If you want to see Sean Connery fulfill the role of James Bond one last time, this is your chance.  Otherwise, it's basically set in an alternate universe from the official James Bond franchise, so you're not missing out by skipping this film.

A View to a Kill (1985)

At last, our James Bond marathon comes to the end of the Roger Moore era, with the 14th official film, A View to a Kill (1985).

SYNOPSIS:
James Bond (Roger Moore) recovers a microchip from the body of 003, found buried in an avalanche in Siberia.  Escaping KGB capture, he brings it back to MI6, where Q (Desmond Llewelyn) briefs M (Robert Brown), the Minister of Defence (Geoffrey Keen), and 007 that it's a highly advanced chip, resistant to electromagnetic pulses.  M sends Bond to investigate its creator, Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) to determine why advanced US technology is being found in the hands of the KGB.  From there, Bond uncovers a wicked plot to make Zorin Industries the leading (and only) microchip company in the world!

REVIEW:
I bet you didn't expect the legendary Christopher Walken to play a Bond villain, did you?  This was long ago, before he developed his quirky habits on film.  He's hardly recognizable, being so young and skinny and bleached-blond.  Despite Bond claiming that Max Zorin is clinically insane (literally, through genetic manipulation), he's actually the most sane Christopher Walken role I think I've ever seen.  Sure, he has no problem with murdering thousands.  But at least he talks like a normal human being.

A young, blonde, normal Christopher Walken

This is the last James Bond film for both Roger Moore, who plays 007, and Lois Maxwell, who plays Moneypenny.  Both actors were getting on in years and were starting to look like young grandparents.  Roger Moore, being 58 the year of this release, couldn't handle the vigorous role anymore and had stunt doubles doing pretty much anything physically demanding for him.

Lois Maxwell, dressed all fancy for her last role as Moneypenny, gives her last witty banter with James Bond

Similarly, this is the second film for Robert Brown as M.  I didn't mention it in the Octopussy (1983) review, but after Bernard Lee, who played M, passed away, his role in For Your Eyes Only (1981) was split between the Minister of Defence and Q, with Moneypenny making a comment about how M was on leave.  The producer felt they should leave the role vacant for a film, in honor of Bernard Lee.  Starting with Octopussy (1983), Robert Brown took over as M.

James Bond, the Minister of Defence, and M

This film was actually criticized for being a similar plot to Goldfinger (1964).  In both, you have a rich entrepreneur with Communist ties who plans to overthrow an industry so their product becomes more valuable.  Also, both had a scene where investors are being let in on the scheme, and when one decides he wants no part, he's allowed to leave, where he's then murdered away from the other investors.  But despite the overall plot being similar, the actual story and how they approach it is very different.

Q shows up at the beginning of the film to brief what he's learned about the microchip, but he doesn't personally hand off any gadgets to Bond in this film.  However, Bond does use several spy gadgets throughout this film, including a camera hidden in a ring, an electric razor that can be used to scan for listening devices in a room, sunglasses that allow one to see through tinted windows, and a Sharper Image credit card that hides a lockpick.  Q also introduces a remote-controlled robot that can be used for remote surveillance, which he later uses to track down Bond at the end of the film.

I don't know what this robot is called, but I'm calling it a Q-Bot

The title of this film was taken from the short story, "From a View to a Kill," in Ian Fleming's 8th James Bond novel, "For Your Eyes Only."  Again, the film had nothing to do with the story it borrowed its title from.  The short story was about James Bond investigating a motorcycle assassin who stole top secret documents from a motorcycle dispatch-rider and then murdered him.

The self-titled theme song for this film is a perfect representation of the '80s, and personally, one of my favorite Bond theme songs (Yes, I'm a child of the '80s).  It was performed by Duran Duran and written by them and John Barry (who wrote/performed the original James Bond theme).  You can listen to it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
I actually enjoyed this film.  It's one of my favorites from the Roger Moore era.  With a plot focusing around microchips, it's starting to delve into the technological future instead of inventing spy gadgets that weren't technologically feasible for the time.  Bond would get an overhaul in the '90s, reinventing him for modern times, but this felt like the first film to acknowledge the future of modern computing with an attempt to take a monopoly on the young market.  Plus, I enjoyed Zorin's henchwoman, May Day (Grace Jones).  She was intense and very different from most women Bond meets on his missions.  It's a shame Grace Jones didn't do more serious acting roles past the '90s.  Overall, I'd say this film was entertaining, and a great send-off for the late Roger Moore.  I'd recommend you check it out!

Octopussy (1983)

Continuing my James Bond marathon, today we'll discuss the 13th official film, Octopussy (1983).

SYNOPSIS:
Agent 009 shows up dead with a fake replica of a Fabergé egg.  James Bond (Roger Moore) is tasked with tracking down who made such a perfect replica and comes across a smuggling ring led by a lady named Octopussy (Maud Adams).  But there's a deeper plot afoot... a Russian general named Orlov (Steven Berkoff) plans to use the smuggling ring to sneak an atomic bomb onto a US base and set it off, kicking off WWIII!

REVIEW:
This film released while the Berlin Wall is still up, so it becomes a plot point to set off a bomb on a US base in Berlin, instigating war.  General Orlov makes his case for invading the rest of Europe, taking control of the continent, but his fellow Russians (including General Gogol (Walter Gotell)) think it's unwise.  Attempting to force their hand, he comes up with the plot of setting off a nuke on a US base, making it look like an accident with the Americans and forcing the UN to push nuclear disarmament, paving the way for Russia to just walk across borders and claim territory.

General Orlov laying out his plans for dominion over Europe

Despite being the smuggling ringleader, Octopussy wasn't the villain of the film.  She was actually grateful for James Bond's presence.  She is the daughter of a man Bond was sent to arrest for treason; however, Bond gave the man an opportunity to commit suicide rather than face trail.  For allowing him an honorable end, she is grateful and bends over backwards to accommodate Bond, despite her partner's attempts on Bond's life.  Octopussy runs an island occupied by only women, a safe haven for women who need a place to start over.  She also is the ringleader of a traveling circus, which is how she smuggles her goods from place to place.

Octopussy and Bond getting along swimmingly

Q (Desmond Llewelyn) provides Bond with a couple of gadgets.  First, a tracking microchip is inserted into the Fabergé egg so he can trace it while it's being returned to the smugglers.  Q gives Bond a watch that displays the location of the egg at all times.  Secondly, Bond is given a pen that houses corrosive acid within it.  Perfect if you need to burn your way out of a locked room.

This is the first film where Q is actually doing field work.  Normally, if he shows up in the field, it's to arm 007 with a new gadget.  But while Bond was spending the night on Octopussy's private island, Q and the Indian agent, Vijay (Vijay Amritraj) rotate shifts on the coast, waiting for him to return.  Some thugs show up and attack Vijay on his shift, which was very fortunate for the elderly Q because he wouldn't have had a fighting chance against them.  It's probably the closest we'll ever see Q to the action.

Q on recon duty

This film's title comes from Ian Fleming's 14th and final novel (released posthumously), titled "Octopussy and the Living Daylights."  It was a collection of four short stories.  This film's story, although borrowing its name from one of the shorts, is an original tale.  The short story titled "Octopussy" was about James Bond tracking down a WWII hero who had murdered his friend in order to get his hands on some Nazi gold from the war.  Some related trivia: the Fabergé egg in this film is titled "Property of a Lady," which is the name of another short story in this same novel.

This is the third film in the official James Bond franchise that has a title song with a different name than the film's title.  Octopussy's theme song is called "All Time High," and is performed by Rita Coolidge.  You can hear it here:

RECOMMENDATION:
This film has its moments.  The scenes where Bond is thrown off the circus train and has to find his way across Germany in less than an hour to get to the circus and disarm the nuke were very tense.  But overall, the film was a little bland.  The first couple times I watched this, I missed the small bit of dialogue where Octopussy describes her link to Bond.  For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why she liked him so much.  Usually, Bond has to seduce a woman before she'll turn to the side of good and do anything for him, but despite her smuggling operation, she was pretty much a good guy from the get-go.  Like I said, this film has its moments, but for the most part, it didn't keep my attention all the way through.  I guess the late '70s/early '80s Bond was pretty boring, in my opinion.