More Overrated and Underrated

Alternative007's worldwide network of Agents were recently activated to participate in another round of overrated and underrated. An overrated film is not neccesarily disliked just deemed slightly overpraised. To give an example: GoldenEye is a fun entry in the series but is vulnerable in this experiment when placed against the superb reviews it received and its general standing. Films that are usually found at the bottom of the pile in Bond lists have the best chance of being branded underrated. The overrated and underrated tag is dictated by the mythical Bond 'pound for pound' list.






Greg Haugen

Overrated:

If you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose an overrated James Bond film I would have to plump for GoldenEye. I enjoyed the film and have it in my collection but I'm not quite sure how Martin Campbell ended up being credited as the man who saved James Bond while John Glen is about as popular as Jack the Ripper on James Bond forums. Was GoldenEye much better than The Living Daylights or Licence To Kill? I'm not sure it was.

Underrated:

Never Say Never Again is generally regarded as an ill-advised mess but I'll stand up and admit to a soft-spot for the film. The end of my Never Say Never Again review went like this:

Overall NSNA suffers distinctly from a modest budget. There simply isn't enough spectacle for even a renegade Bond film. Problems with the script are very evident in the final product. One can only imagine the rejigging that went on and there is ample evidence of whole scenes missing. Indeed some sequences originally mooted for the film were cut on the grounds of money. A shame that this and a script that never truly comes together stops this from being as good as it could have been. On the plus side Connery (in Diamonds Are Forever mode) is funny and self-deprecating. There are moments of genuine invention and Largo proves a fine villain. For all its flaws NSNA is a welcome addition to the Bond universe. Not nearly as bad as some make out. My own view is that NSNA is a few chromosones and a few dollars from being a very good film.

Klaus Maria Brandauer is excellent as Largo and Bond's fight with Pat Roach is almost worth the price of admission alone. Oh, and Edward Fox was a hoot as M.




Daniel Cervoni

Overrated:

Thus far, I think the most overrated Bond film is GoldenEye. There was so much hype, so much praise, etc, but, personally, I think that is the worst of the Brosnan movies. During the Brosnan era though, Bond was Schwarzeneggered, and by that I mean, the Bonds of the nineties had the feel of Schwarzenegger movies. Eon had already bastardized the whole idea of Bond by turning him into a macho machine gun wielding psychopath in the same line as the characters Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, and Sly Stallone played, then, all of a sudden they had to make him blonde! People only said it was so good because it had been so long since the last James Bond film. It seemed they just wanted it to be good



Underrated:

The underrated one is still The World Is Not Enough. I like that particular Brosnan Bond movie because it's interesting to see how Electra King's character fell in love with him, and yet, still seems so hell bent in harming him. She even tries to kill him several times. Also, another interesting thing about it is how the main bad guy and Bond fight over the girl. I liked it, because of all the Brosnan movies, it made it a point to say that espionage is as much about mind games and manipulating people as it is about getting one's objective finished. Also, it was tragic in how even though Electra King was in love with Bond, she was much too arrogant to admit it.



J Poirot

Overrated:

You Only Live Twice. This one's difficult, so I'll go with a wild card. It may not be regarded as one of Connery's best, but it does seem to grow in stature with each passing year. (Ign.com ranked it #4 not too long ago!) I always felt this was the weakest of Connery's efforts, as he suddenly appeared much older (and disinterested) than the vital 007 of Thunderball. It's also the true culprit for the direction the later films would take, with its deviation from Fleming and over-the-top plot/villain/lair/etc. If Goldfinger set the standard the producers would forever try to reach, this is the one they usually came closest to duplicating. The elaborate Little Nellie sequence feels tacked-on and only serves to create a plot hole ("Why bother attacking Bond when you're in a hidden base?"). Meanwhile, the 6'3" Connery attempting to pass for a Japanese might be as far-fetched as diminutive Craig trying to pass for an imposing 007. More than any other entry, I think Diamonds Are Forever is judged primarily by comparison to the film which preceded it. But I find Connery's performance in Diamonds far more interesting than YOLT, as he seems to be enjoying the role once again. It isn't Connery who is bored (ala YOLT), but Bond himself who has simply become a jaded hedonist. It may be the only EON film where an actor essentially got to portray Bond as a much older 00. He was still supremely confident, but had just seen far too much of the world by that point in his life.


Underrated:

The Man With The Golden Gun. The world's greatest hitman sets his sights on 007. If that plot were announced today, fans would be salivating at the prospect. Sure, it doesn't really reach its true potential, but it's a great premise and Christopher Lee is one of the most overlooked Bond villains. Toss in some inspired locations and you have one of the most exotic-looking in the series. This film also illustrates one major advantage Roger Moore had over all the actors who have followed him: He didn't have to be politically correct. This is one aspect in which he is closer to Fleming's Bond than any of his successors can ever hope to be. Much like Connery, he could do whatever he wanted while making no excuses for enjoying it so openly.




James Carpenter

Overrated:

I find that Thunderball drags a bit and doesn't have the appeal of the earlier Connery Bond films. Some of the underwater sequences go on for too long and Largo isn't quite up to Goldfinger. Thunderball is regarded as one of the classic Bonds but I think it ranks below From Russia With love, Goldfinger and the two films that followed.


Underrated:

Moonraker. It is quite trendy to dismiss Moonraker as the cartoon black sheep of the Bond canon but I have a big weakness for it. You can say that the humour and sci-fi element goes OTT, and it does, but it is very well made and you'd have to have a heart of stone not to glean any enjoyment from the film. Moonraker is one of the first James Bond films I can remember watching on television as a child. Perhaps that explains my fondness for it.



Skywalker

Overrated:

Although On Her Majesty's Secret Service is one of my favourites I actually watched it again recently and was slightly disappointed. I can't put my finger on one particular reason it just did not meet up to expectations. Also, does anyone agree that the opening fight scene on the beach reminded them of early 'BATMAN' fight scenes? All that was missing was the captions: POW, CLUNK etc....


Underrated:

A View To A Kill. This movie often ranks alongside Die Another Day as one of the poorer Bond entries. Is this a fair assessment? I’m inclined to say no. I feel this Bond movie is underrated and I’ll tell you why. First of all, I have to get the film’s flaws out of the way, as there are a few. The Beach Boy’s musical interlude during the PTS, Tanya Roberts acting performance and the plot, have often been criticised and they are well documented as being disappointing aspects of the film. The other point for criticism in this movie was the age of Sir Rog. He was indeed looking old in this film, but did it really affect the film and my enjoyment? The answer is no. The reason for this was that the pace of the film and the direction by Glen was well suited to Moore's Bond and I personally felt this covered the age issue quite well. The scenes with Bond and Tibbett were particularly funny and quite memorable. The supporting cast was good for this film, with Christopher Walken and Patrick Macnee deserving for particular praise. AVTAK delivers a classic Bond performance and for all the negative issues surrounding the film, I feel it is a fitting swansong from the longest serving Bond and my personal favourite.   

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