Combat Film : The Reviews (Sept 2010)

Also Reviewed: Hunter Prey; Geomon; Storm Warriors; Storm Warriors 2

Combat Film : The Reviews (August 2010)

Also Reviewed: The Assasin's Blade; Robin B Hood; Day Breakers; Robo Geisha

Combat Film : The Reviews (July 2010)

Also Reviewed: Newsmakers; Killer Bitch; Armoured

Combat Film 24: Bond, James Bond… Part 2 (July 2010)

This month I continue my look at my favourite film series and pick my favourite films and Bond girls. Because, after all, what would a Bond be without his ladies?

Favourite Bond Films:

Casino Royale - After the silliness of 'Die Another Day' the Bond franchise had reached a Moonraker esk credibility low. What it needed was a reboot to bring it up to date, after all the world had moved on and Bond now had competition by a much more real and deadly Jason Bourne. Martin Campbell, one of contemporary Bond's BEST directors, was the perfect choice. His ability to balance action and character made Goldeneye great and here he repeats the feat delivering one of the most thrilling and dynamic and real Bond films ever.

License To Kill - Bond as rouge was an amazing concept, and whilst it probably never achieved the heights the concept promised, this brutal revenge movie gave Bond his most personal story since 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. 'License To Kill' showed us just how much of a fine line

007 walks between good and bad... this is Bond who would happy send you into a shark infested pit because he wants to rather than had to.

Goldeneye - When Bond returned post Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton the world had changed. AIDS meant that the days of sleeping with multiple conquests was no longer acceptable. Bond could no longer smoked, and the once deadly red threat had faded. Bond was starting a fresh in a alien world.


Director Martin Campbell delivers a knowing Bond film that gives a sly wink to the past (Tina Turner's theme is pure Shirley Bassey) whilst setting up a dynamic new future... and he did it with style. Alas the Brosnan films rarely bettered his debut movie.


Live And Let Die - Another franchise reboot, LALD is Roger Moore's strongest Bond film and the perfect antidote to Lazenby's horribly miscast incarnation. LALD is a very different Bond film, more fantastical than the films before that lays down the foundations of the films that would come in a way that avoided the later high camp and humour that would soil Moore's final few outings.


Goldfinger - The quintessential Bond film. Best Bond. Best Theme. Best Bond girl. Best villain. Best henchman. Best Maguffin and of course the best car. Nothing more needs to be said.


Favourite Bond Girls:

Money Penny (Lois Maxwell, Samantha Bond) - Sassy, demanding, Miss Moneypenny is Bond's OTHER no 1 girl who unrequited love for Bond is a continuing theme between all by Daniel Craig's incarnations of 007. Is is the fact that she's available that put's Bond off? Possibly but equally so it's possible that this is one woman that Bond respects. Either way she's the constant at the heart of the early Bond films.

M (Judi Dench)- M is contemporary Bond's greatest character (either male or female), played by one of the UK's greatest actresses. She's the ultimate Bond girl and ironically the one probably most connected with Bond after all M doesn't need the dresses, the intimate bedroom moments, the glamour because she knows that no matter who Bond sleeps with this night, he'll always come back to her in the morning. And lets face it she's probably the only person in MI6 with bigger balls than Bond...



Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) - As far as entrances go they don't get much better than this and as far as defining cinematic moments few can rival this scenes iconic status. Again sassy (aren't most of Bond's conquests?), THAT moment with THAT bikini will always be one of Bond's most defining moments.

Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) - You could never get away with that name nowadays, but Pussy is certainly one of Bond's sexiest girls and packs a mean right hook also. Duplicitous? Most probably. Trust worthy? Possibly not. Sexy? Hell yeah.

That's it for Bond.  Next time... Where are they now?


Phil Hobden
Editor – combat Film
http://www.mod-life.net/

Combat Film : The Reviews (June10)

Also Reviewed: Universal Soilder: Regeneration; Invitation Only; Fist Of legend

Combat Film : The Reviews (April 10)

Also Reviewed: A Dangerous Man; Cut; The Firm

Combat Film 23: Bond, James Bond… Part 1 (April 2010)

Bond for me is the classic British hero. Sexy, smart, dangerous and silky smooth, he’s been an icon of British cinema for over forty five years now. Over the next few issues of Combat film I’ll be taking a look back at my favourite Bonds, Bond girls and Bond gadgets.

Favourite Bonds:

There have been 5 very different Bonds, all good in their own way. Here’s my two favourites…

Timothy Dalton - Dalton was much maligned as Bond but much like Daniel Craig I felt he bought a certain rawness and vulnerability to the role. Probably as the perfect antidote to the comedy eye winking , wise cracks and karate chopping of Roger Moore, Dalton was much closer to the literary incarnation of Bond. Within that License To Kill's Bond as rouge agent saw Bond for the first time (at least until Casino Royale) as a deadly killer unbound by the rules of the state finally bringing back some of the darkness to a character tainted by too much joviality and safari suits (yes Mr Moore I’m looking at you…)

Sean Connery - Connery was the blue print for Bond, the yard stick that everyone else is and will always be, measured by. But beyond that Connery as Bond is one of cinemas greatest characters - as the cliché goes, every woman wanted to sleep with him and every man wanted to be him. Connery was the alpha male, the playboy, the deadly secret agent. It was the performance that would makes Connery a legend that even years of phoned in performances couldn't taint.

Favourite Bad Guys:

What’s 007 without a bad guy to take down. The following, for me, are four of the best.

Odd Job - When it comes to Bond's ultimate foes, they don't get much harder or intimidating than Odd Job and his deadly blade rimmed hat. Appearing as the burly bodyguard of lead villain Auric Goldfinger, Odd Job was impervious to Bonds blows. But not as it seemed electric fences. Like all good villains you just KNOW he would kill you stone dead.

Jaws - The only henchman to appear in two Bond films, Jaws was a seven foot plus towering menace who terrorised 007 in both 'The Spy Who Loved Me' and 'Moonraker'. Intimidating, you just know that even Bond will struggle taking on this behemoth It's just a shame that hard as nails lustre was lost under the high camp of 'Moonraker'.

Francisco Scaramanga - Deadly assassin, him of three nipples and the golden gun, Scaramanga wasn't just the highest paid assassin in the world, he was also the perfect foil for 007. Cultured and educated, he existed in the shadows with a fearsome reputation. In fact he was almost a mirror for Bond himself, who in the end would be undone only by his own arrogance.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld - As head the of the global criminal organization SPECTRE, Blofeld was Bond's nemesis in six different Bond films and three different Bonds. His iconic cat stroking may have given us comedy character's like Dr Evil down the road but in his day Blofeld was the hallmark for global criminals with OTT world ending schemes and has become almost as iconic as Bond himself.

Next Time: Bond, James Bond… Part 2: Girls & The Films

Phil Hobden

Editor – combat Film

www.mod-life.net   

Phil Hobden is an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. His second film TEN DEAD MEN is now available to buy in the UK and he is currently developing his third feature film through his company Modern Life?, In addition he also writes for his own review site Phil’s Quick Capsule Review as well as for various websites and magazines including Impact Magazine and fareastfilms.com. For more on Phil Hobden check out www.philhobden.co.uk or http://www.mod-life.net/