Project Bond: Live and Let Die

"Names is for tombstones, baby! Y'all take this honky out and waste him! Now!"

Sean Connery was out as Bond, the producers needed to find a new leading man and needed someone who could carry the franchise for the next 10+ years. They found that in the raised eyebrow and solid chin of Roger Moore. I'll be honest Roger Moore is not my favourite Bond, In fact he isn't even top 3, I haven't watched any of his Bond films for quite a while as my memories of them are that they became a parody of earlier Bond films.

The film starts with a pretty standard Bond intro, we see UK agents being assassinated at the UN in New York, at a funeral parade in New Orleans and finally via a snakebite at a Voodoo ritual in the Caribbean Island of San Monique.

This leads to the theme tune by Paul McCartney and Wings, personally I prefer the cover version of 'Live and Let Die' by Guns n Roses but the original is still pretty good.

Next we meet the new Bond who is up to his old tricks in bed with a beautiful woman who turns out to be an Italian agent he seduced on his last mission. Bond is woken up with a knock on his door and it's M (played once again by Bernard Lee) who tells Bond of his mission to investigate the assassinations and MI6 believes there is a link to Dr. Kanaga (the "Prime Minister" (really Dictator) of San Monique.

Bond heads to USA and makes contact with his old mate from the CIA Felix Leiter who is already engaged in surveillance of Dr. Kananga. Obviously Kananga gives the CIA the slip but 007 is quick on his trail and follows him to Harlem where Bond meets a Tarot card reader named Solitaire who is helping Kananga and Harlems criminal Kingpin Mr. Big.

Obviously Mr. Big has a henchman who is the Archetypal Bond villain called TeeHee who has a missing arm that has been replaced by a claw, they're not a proper Bond villain unless they have some prothesis.

Not a lot happens in the first half of the film, Bond heads to San Monique and meets his CIA contact called Rosie. There is a lot of walking around looking at stuff but not much action and I found it to be quite slow. However during Bonds rambling around the fields of San Monique he discovers a huge Poppy plantation.

It turns out Kananga and Mr. Big are the same person and he plans to release tonnes of heroin to the black market for free to but his competitors out of business and make millions of new addicts. Bond is taken to a crocodile farm where Kananga is making the heroin where he is to be killed by crocodiles but in that classic scene he escapes by running on the crocodiles back.

There is boat chase which is pretty cool and we meet a Louisiana Sherif called J W Pepper who will also pop up in the next Bond film. The second half of the film is a lot better and is really action packed however once it gets going it seems to be over really quickly. Bond fights another of Kanaga's henchmen, the Voodoo Priest, Baron Samedi. Bond quickly kills him by throwing him into a casket of venomous snakes. The most ridiculous death though is that of Dr. Kanaga who is inflated with a canister of compressed air. I know it was the 70's and SFX weren't that great but this death is truly atrocious.

Bond seemingly victorious heads off with Solitaire on a train but is attacked by TeeHee. Bond manages to get rid of him by chucking him out the window and gets down to business with Solitaire. The film end with the back of the train where we see Baron Samedi is still alive.

Despite it's pacing I really enjoyed this film and it was better than I remembered. However you clearly get the impression that this film was made solely to cash in on the Blaxploitation genre that was big at the time. There are loads of racial stereotypes like the gangsters driving pimpmobiles, the Louisiana police's overt racism and a lot of racial slurs. The bad guy all being black and the good guys all being white was a little uncomfortable and in fact I'm sure at one point Bond refers to Mr. Big and his gang as 'blackies', not cool 007, not cool.

However, with renewed optimism I'm not looking forward to the other Roger Moore film and the next film in the series is my favourite staring Moore.


Here's the trailer.

Project Bond will return with The Man With The Golden Gun.

Well, That's all for now.

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Twitter here.

Project Bond: Diamonds are Forever

"Good Evening, Mr. Bond."

As the Eon productions' James Bond Series entered the 1970's it was in disarray. The company had been taken to court over rights to intellectual property, the new star had proved to be difficult to work with and the last film had been a flop. They had to do something to get back on track and what they did was produce, in my opinion, one of the best film in the whole series, Diamonds Are Forever.

Sean Connery is back one last time to save the day (as well as the entire franchise). The film starts with Bond searching for Blofeld (this time played by Charles Gray) so he can get vengeance for the death of his wife in the last film. Bond searches all over the world and immediately you know it's classic Bond as there is innuendo right from the start and Connery brings back his trademark brutality. Bond finally tracks down his nemesis and kills him so he can now get on with his life and return to MI6. Shirley Bassey is also back once again to provide one of the most iconic themes in movie history.

When Bond is back at MI6 he is put on the case of some missing diamonds and heads to Amsterdam posing as a smuggler and meets Tiffany Case the 1st of a few Bond girls in this movie. The missing diamonds are also being pursued by assassins Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd who are killing anyone who has had any contact with the diamonds. These are not your average Bond villains as for starters they appear to be openly gay.

Bond heads to Las Vegas with the diamonds and of course heads to the casino where he meets the next Bond girl, Plenty O'Toole (who came up with these names, man!). After impressing her at the craps table Bond takes her back to his room but some gangster types are waiting to cock block him. But Bond does get his end away when it turns out they are working for Tiffany and she is waiting for Bond in his bed.

The diamonds lead Bond to a reclusive billionaire called Willard Whtye who own a casino in Vegas as well as some secret research companies, the diamonds are to be used on a laser (I know, right) which is going on a satellite. Bond makes his way through Vegas trying to get to Willard Whtye and after a lot of car chases finally ends up at the penthouse of Whyte's casino but it turns out Whyte is being held hostage by none other that Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

Blofeld has had more plastic surgery but has also made others have surgery to look like him and it was one of these duplicates that Bond killed at the start. Bond is incapacitated by Blofeld and he escapes again. Bond tracks down the real Willard Whyte and goes to rescue him but is met by two female bodyguards Bambi and Thumper (again with the names?!) Bond obviously wins and with the help a Whyte discovers Blofeld is on a converted oil rig in Baja California.

Blofeld plans to auction off the use the diamond laser to the highest bidder to destroy the rest of the worlds nuclear weapons. Bond with the help of Felix Leiter and the CIA arrive and ruin Blofeld's plans.

This film doesn't hit the heights of Goldfinger or Thunderball but it is still a solid picture and has everything you want from a classic Bond movie. Sean Connery proved again that he IS James Bond but this would be his swan song (at least until the rival James Bond production 'Never Say Never Again' in 1983. But let's not mention that).

Project Bond will return with Live and Let Die.

Well, that's all for now.

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Facebook here.

Project Bond: On Her Majesty's Secret Service

"This never happened to the other fella"

Sean Connery is out and a new Bond is in. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the last Bond film of the Sixties, released on 1969 OHMSS stars George Lazenby in his only outing as 007. It also stars Diana Rigg as Contessa Teresa (Tracy) Di Vicenzo and Telly Savalas as Blofeld.

The film starts with the title sequence that show shots from the previous films to show that although there is a new actor, this is still the same man. We get a few quick glimpses of the new Bond as he heads to a beach where he watches Tracy through a telescopic lens. She is heading into the sea (for some reason) so Bond runs after her and rescues her and introduces himself in the classic Bond way. He is then jumped by some thugs but soon fights them off. Lazenby seems like a legit tough guy, he is bigger and more muscular than Connery and holds his own in the action scenes.

Next Bond is back at the Baccarat table in the Hotel he is staying at where he meets Tracy again and after some more fisticuffs with an intruder in Tracy's room, they end up back at Bond's room. When Tracy won't answer why people are after her, Bond slaps her around a bit (still 60's Bond then) and obviously beds her. We later find out the people who keep showing up are being sent by Tracy's Dad who wants Bond to make an honest woman of her as she's going off the rails a bit.

The central plot is that Bond is still looking for Blofeld but the trail has gone cold, M takes Bond off the case so 007 spits his dummy out and resigns from MI6. Luckily, Moneypenny changes Bonds letter of resignation to a request for 2 weeks leave. So Bond uses his leave to spend time with Tracy and possibly falling in love. He also continues looking for Blofeld and after getting a lead from Tracy's Dad, he find Blofeld is posing as a possible heir to a Counthood and trying to claim the title. 007 tracks his nemesis to a scientific institute in the Swiss Alps where he is conducting experiments into allergies.

Bond goes undercover posing as a Genealogist trying to verify Blofeld's claim to the title. Bond is soon rumbled though when he sneaks into a few of the female patient's rooms for evening liasons. I like this portrayal of Blofeld - he seems more aggressive, more powerful and more 'Hands on' than the previous incarnation He reminds me of Kingpin in the Daredevil Netflix series. However he hasn't learned from previous encounters with Bond and Blofeld proceeds to tell his entire plan (which is something ridiculous about making plants and animals infertile and demanding the UN give him a pardon for past crimes and give him the Counthood he wants. Bond escapes and there is a thrilling ski chase.

Bond is rescued by Tracy and they escape and Bond asks her to marry him. But they are tracked down by Blofeld and his goons who cause an avalanche and kidnap Tracy. Bond is told the UN will give Blofeld what he wants and that he will get no help from MI6 in rescuing Tracy so he enlists Tracy's Dad and his men for help and they attack Blofeld's base but Blofeld escapes on a Toboggan (they are in the alps after all).

Tracy is rescued, Blofeld is defeated (and seemingly killed), Bond is triumphant and marries Tracy. However, when they are on their way to their honeymoon, Blofeld shows up again with his Cronie Irma Bunt and they shoot at the Bonds' car. James is ok and realises that it's Blofeld but Tracy is shot dead and the film ends with Bond cradling Tracy in his arms with Louie Armstrong's 'We have all the time in the world' playing in the background.

This film is not as bad as it's reputation. George Lazenby is not the best actor and is a bit wooden at times but he's ok, the rest of the cast are brilliant and the story is pretty good too. Apparently Lazenby was a nightmare to work with and a bit of a dick during promotion so this along with the fact that it was the least successful Bond film to date means that it's no surprise he wasn't asked to reprise the role. My only real problem with this film was there were a lot of scenes that seemed to have been put in just to remind you that this was the same James Bond as in previous films.

Project Bond will return with Diamonds are Forever.

Well, that's all for now.

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Facebook here.

Project Bond: You Only Live Twice

"The Things I Do for England"

We're heading into the realms of parody fodder with You Only Live Twice. The obvious one being the parallels with Austin Powers and especially Blofeld and Dr Evil. You Only Live Twice was Sean Connery's 5th Bond film in five years and you can tell from his performance in the film that he was no longer happy making Bond movies and he was really just going through the motions.

The film starts with a US spaceship doing some routine mission in orbit when another mysterious spaceship approaches before the capsule opens and engulfs the US ship. The US think the Russians are to blame (it's was always the Russians to blame in the cold war). When we first see Bond he is in Hong Kong bedding a Chinese bird (obviously) but then she springs a trap and Bond is seemingly shot to death. Bond is buried at sea (he is a Commander in the Royal Navy after all) but it then turns out that he is not dead and he faked his death to get some of his enemies to stop looking for him.

Bond is sent to Japan to investigate as this is where the British think the mystery Spaceship landed back on Earth. While Bond is Investigating a shady company he is captured by a woman we find out later is Number 11 in SPECTRE. The next sequence of events for me make absolutely no sense at all. While Bond is being interrogated by Number 11 she slaps him around a little and then without much prompting from Bond suddenly succumbs to his charms and they start making out, I know bond is a ladies man but this is just ridiculous. She then frees him and they end up in bed together. After they do the do they make plans to escape together and fly back to Europe, then when they are on the plane Number 11 traps Bond again and parachutes out of the plane leaving Bond to die. This all seems entirely unnecessary as if she wanted him dead she could have just done it when he was tied to the chair at the start.

Anyway back to the film, after Bond escapes the plane he meets up with Q and gets a mini gyrocopter laden with all manner of Q Branch upgrades. Bond takes "Little Nellie" for a spin around the island he is checking out and soon an ariel battle ensure as Bond is circling an extinct volcano.

Soon after a Russian spaceship is taken by the same mystery spaceship and this time we see that SPECTRE is behind it. we see Number 1 stroking his white Persian Cat, he is not happy with Number 11 as she let Bond escape and dispatches her by setting off a trapdoor on a bridge over a pool of Piranha.

Bond is told he will be trained as a ninja, because why not, and for some reason needs to wear prosthetics to look Japanese. While Bond is sleeping an assassin tries to poison him but the woman he's been knobbing gets it instead. We now find out Bond is disguised so he can sneak onto the island SPECTRE is working from. As Bond is snooping around he finds that SPECTRE is based in a frickin' secret lair in a frickin' hollowed out volcano. Bond infiltrates the base but is spotted by Number one who finally introduces himself as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the scar-faced, bald headed, Nehru jacket wearing head of SPECTRE played by Donald Pleasance. We are told that SPECTRE wants USA and Russia to go to war so SPECTRE can rise up and take over the world.

Blofeld proceeds with their plan to steal another US spaceship but the ninja's Bond has been training with arrive and Bond escapes and manages to blow up SPECTRE's spaceship but Blofeld escapes and sets off a self destruct mechanism in the volcano (because all secret lairs need a self destruct mechanism).

The is not a good bond film it's only saving grace is Donald Pleasance as Blofeld and he is only fleetingly in it for the last few minutes. You can tell from the finished film that it was a strained production with Connery and producer Cubby Broccoli having a massive falling out during the making of the film. If it weren't for the poor box office returns of the next film then this would probably have been Connery's last outing as Bond.

Project Bond will be back On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Well, that's all for now.

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Facebook here. 

Project Bond: Thunderball

"I think he got the Point".

The making of Thunderball, the fourth Bond film in 4 years, would lead to a court case over who owned the rights to many aspects of James Bond lore that would put the franchise in jeopardy. Fortunately these problems would not stop the makers from producing a great film. It was not one of my favourites growing up and, to be honest, I think I have only watched this one once or twice but it is still a really good film. Sean Connery is back as 007 along with other regulars Bernard Lee as M, Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny and Desmond Llewellyn as Q. It also stars Adolfo Celi as the main protagonist Emilio Largo.

Cue the barrel Shot...

The film opens with Bond observing a funeral, soon he slopes off to another room to wait for someone. That someone appears to be the grieving wife of the deceased. However, Bond is not convinced and proceeds to punch the widow in the face. It turns out the woman is really a man, a rival assasin. Once Bond has bested his adversary he makes his escape via the ludicrously Bond method of a Jet Pack and after a short car chase in the Aston Martin the dulcet tones of Tom Jones blare out the Thunderball theme.

When the film resumes we're introduced to the sinister looking, eye-patch clad Emilio Largo who is going to a secret meeting of SPECTRE. Number one, you know the guy with the cat, is being debriefed by members of the secret organisation about their various criminal activities. Largo explains a plan they have to replace a NATO pilot with a duplicate so they can steal some atomic bombs.

When we next meet bond he is staying at a spa, now I know it was the 60's and attitudes were different then but is amazes me how 'rapey' Bond is in these early movies. In one scene he forces a therapist at the spa to kiss him and then later he pushes her into a steam room and removes her clothes and presumably has sex with her. She seems quite happy about these events in the next scene but I still found these a little shocking.

I may have missed a plot point but it seemed a bit of a coincidence that Bond just happened to be at the same spa as the duplicate SPECTRE is planning to use to steal the atomic bombs. After a few scuffles with a fellow resident, (who is working for SPECTRE unbeknownst to Bond) he discovers the dead body of the real NATO pilot. At the same time all this is happening SPECTRE manage to steal the NATO jet and land it in the sea where Largo and some helpers retrieve the bombs. The underwater scene is a good prelude to what will come later in the film.

Bond Heads to MI6 where all '00' agents have been gathered as SPECTRE have announced their plan to extort money from Britain in return for giving the stolen weapons back. Bond head to Nassau in The Bahamas to follow up a lead and meets up with his old mate from the CIA Felix Leiter. He gets chatting to a lady called Domino who is the sister of the NATO Pilot killed by SPECTRE and who also happens to be the companion of Emilio Largo. Later at a casino (obviously) Bond comes face to face with Largo.

Later at Largo's complex we see he has a pool filled with several sharks. When Bond returns later to snoop around he ends up fighting one of Largo's goons and they end up in the shark pool, Bond escapes while the sharks are all tucking into the man he was just fighting. After more looking around Bond finds the missing NATO Jet and discovers Largo's plans for the bombs. Bond alerts MI6 to get some back up sent over.

When back up arrives a huge underwater battle ensues between the MI6 frogmen and Largo's henchmen. This battle is brilliant, daggers and harpoons are everywhere. There are mini submarines and the missing nukes. When the good guys have prevailed and the weapons recovered Largo escapes, he tries to get away on a suped-up yacht. Bond and Domino are hot on his heels and when it looks like Bond is about to be killed by Largo it is Domino who saves the day.

Even though, as I said earlier, I have only watched this film a couple of times I really don't know why. I thoroughly enjoyed Thunderball and will definitely add it to my list of Bond films to watch regularly. Here's the trailer.

Project Bond will return with You Only Live Twice.

Well, that's all for now.

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Twitter here

Project Bond: Goldfinger

"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!"

Ah, Goldfinger, The first Bond movie I ever saw. I haven't seen this one for about 10 years but, after watching it again, it is still my favourite. The Bond movies came thick and fast in the 60's as this was the third movie released in three years. Sean Connery is back again as 007, it also stars Gert Frobe as the titular Goldfinger.

The film's opening gambit sees Bond arriving at some installation via the sea in a Scuba suit. He has some plastic explosives hidden in his wetsuit and proceeds to strategically place the explosives and set the timer. He then ditches the Scuba gear and has impeccable tuxedo on underneath.

After the bomb goes off Bond makes his exit and the instantly recognisable chords of Shirley Bassey's first foray into bond themes. It is fitting that the best Bond movie would have the most iconic theme. When the film restarts Bond is asked by his old pal from the CIA, Felix Leiter, to look into Auric Goldfinger a suspicious businessman with an obsession for gold.

Goldfinger is on holiday and has been rigging a daily game of bridge with the help of a sultry vixen. Soon Bond discovers the scam, seduces Goldfinger's helper and humiliates Goldfinger. Later that night Bond is attacked in his hotel room and when he wakes up he finds his companion murdered and painted gold in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema.

Bond heads back to MI6 and is told by M that Goldfinger has been smuggling gold around the world and 007 is tasked with trying to find out how he is doing it. Bond gets his classic Aston Martin DB5 from Q for the 1st time who proceeds to show off all of the gadgets. Bond poses as someone trying to sell some Nazi gold and over a round of golf tries to question Goldfinger about his operation. Goldfinger gets annoyed when he loses the game warns bond about interfering in his business again and introduces the first proper henchman of the series, Oddjob, who proceeds to show off his unique weapon of a razor sharp bowler hat.

Bond of course ignores the warning and continues to follow Goldfinger and later discovers he has been melting his gold down and moulding it into car parts and fitting them to his Rolls Royce and this is how he is smuggling gold around the world. Soon Bond is captured (for a super spy he gets captured a lot) and is tied to a gold table to endure an elaborate death via a laser.

After Bond bargains for his life he is rendered unconscious and when he wakes up he is on a plan being piloted by the ridiculously named Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman). Bond is taken to a cell while Goldfinger holds a meeting with some mafioso type criminals where he explains his masterplan to steal all of the gold from Fort Knox. Bond escapes from his cell and learns of Goldfinger's plan. He confronts Goldfinger about the various flaws in his plan so Goldfinger reveals his real plan is to detonate a nuclear device inside Fort Knox rendering the US gold reserve worthless and making his own gold supply increase in value. Bond is taken to Fort Knox to be tied to the nuclear device during the final act but the CIA and the army are ready for Goldfinger and a battle ensues and obviously the good guys win.

This is without a doubt the best Bond movie of all. The pace of the movie is perfect, it never feels slow and none of the scenes feel like filler. All of the characters are played brilliantly, the dialogue is great and it includes so many quotable lines. If you are trying to get someone into the James Bond series this is the film to show them, here's the trailer.

Project Bond will return with Thunderball.

Well, that's all for now.

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Facebook here

Project Bond: From Russia With Love

"Red wine with fish. Well that should have told me something"

The 2nd movie in the James Bond franchise is From Russia With Love released in 1963, only a year after Dr No, it is very different from it's predecessor but still bears all the hallmarks of a Bond movie. Again it stars Sean Connery as Bond. 

The movie starts with Bond being stalked through a garden by a blond haired pursuer, when all of sudden, out of nowhere Bond's assailant strangles him with a garrotte wire hidden in his watch. I mean what the heck is going on? Bond is dead in the 1st few minutes of the movie! But wait, not all is as it seems... This is not the real Bond it's just a body double in a Bond mask. This whole thing has been a training exercise for the blond haired assassin.

The titles roll and it's classic James Bond fare with dancing ladies over the credits while a John Barry orchestral score lets you know you are truly in Bond country.

After the titles we head to Venice where there is a chess tournament happening. A dodgy looking chess player gets a secret message and quickly ends the game. He heads to meet an unseen baddie called number 1 who has a white cat on his lap (we all know who that is right?) and woman called number 3, who is really called Rosa Kleb and was a Colonel in the Russian Military but has recently defected to SPECTRE. The trio discuss plans for SPECTRE to steal a Russian decoding device called the Lektor Decoder. They need a Russian communications agent and British agent to get it, unbeknownst to the agents.

Kleb goes to meet the blond haired man who was being trained in the opening scene but 1st we see a true Bond cliche where there are a load of blokes being trained in various weapons, hand to hand combat and even flame-throwers (coz they always come in handy in a fight) and we then learn that blond haired man is called Grant (played by Robert Shaw) and he is being trained by SPECTRE to be their version of Bond and Kleb arranges to meet Grant in Istanbul where his mission will be to take the Lektor from Bond and kill him.

In Istanbul Kleb poses as her former role as a Russian Colonel to recruit Tatiana, the Russian communications agent with access to the Lektor decoder, the plan is for Tatiana to claim she is defecting to the west and bringing the Lektor with her. Kleb's interrogation of Tatiana is firm, as you would expect from a Russian character in a movie made during the height of the cold war, but I was surprised by Kleb's not so subtle undertones of lesbianism from a movie in the mid-1960's.

Finally we meet the real Bond and unsurprisingly he is making out with some woman (I think she is the same woman he picked up playing baccarat at the start of Dr No) when he gets a message from Moneypenny telling him that M wants to see him. Bond head to MI6 HQ where M gives him his mission and we meet Q for the 1st time  who gives Bond a briefcase full of gadgets.

Bond heads to Istanbul and meets his contact called Karim Bey (the whole time being followed by Grant). Bond and Bey agree that the Russian agents defection is probably a trap but go along with it in hopes that they will get the Lektor Decoder.

Soon after Bey's office is bombed and for Bonds safety he takes Bond to stay with some Turkish gypsies he uses as hired muscle however the Russians send their own operatives from Bulgaria and a mass shoot out/battle ensues. Again Grant watches from a distance but doesn't get involved.

Bond and Bey decide to take out the leader of the Bulgarians before continuing with the mission. When the Bulgarian has been dispatched Bond heads back to his hotel where he finds Tatiana in his bed and Bond is in there like swimwear.

Bond heads to the Russian Consulate where he has arranged a bomb to go off as a distraction and when has the Lektor he legs it with Tatiana in tow. Bond now has to smuggle the decoder and the Russian blond back to London unaware he is still being followed by Grant.

On a train bound for London there is more intrigue as there are more deaths and when Karim Bey ends up dead Bond suspects Tatiana is involved and interrogates her again and slaps her around a bit (not very hero like). As the train passed through Zagreb Grant decides to make his move so kills Bonds contact and takes his place and finally Grant and Bond come face to face. Bond is immediately suspicious. Over dinner Grant drugs Tatiana and back at their cabin Bond is also knocked out. Now at this point anyone who has been through any kind of training in this sort of thing surely would kill Bond and Tatiana and take the Lektor Decoder but does Grant do this, of course not. Instead he waits for Bond to wake up and then tells him everything. Bond then bargains for his life in a ploy to get Grant to trigger one of Q's gadgets. The fight that follows is the highlight of the movie and one of the best fights in any Bond movie, Grant seems more than a match for Bond and not just another henchman. With the help of another Q gadget Bond overcomes and kills Grant.

Back in Venice Number 1, still stroking the pussy, is criticising Kleb and the Chess Guy, called Number 5, for the missions failure. He says SPECTRE won't tolerate failure and Kleb kills Number 5. Bond and Tatiana are then pursued by some SPECTRE agents but are able to evade them and arrive in Venice themselves to contact the British Government. Before they do though Rosa Kleb returns posing as maid and tries to take the decoder again but after a short and bizarre fight Tatiana shows she really has defected and shoots Kleb.

From Russia With Love is often cited by critics as one of the best movies in the James Bond series. Personally I've never really been a fan of it and have always thought it is Sean Connery's weakest film as Bond. My recollection of it was always that nothing much happens in it, however I haven't actually watched if for about 15-20 years and having now just watched it again I realise it is actually a good Bond movie, it's still not one of my favourites but it is a lot better than I remembered. I think the reason why I didn't enjoy it as a kid was that while most of the Bond movies are full on action movies From Russia with Love is the most pure spy/espionage movie of the entire Bond series and here's the trailer.

The next film in the series will be Goldfinger, so look out for my review coming soon.

Well, that's all for now

S

Follow Big Stevie Cool on Twitter here

Project Bond: Dr No

"Underneath the mango tree, me honey and me"

When you start a journey through the world of James Bond you must start at the beginning. Dr No, released in 1962, is the blueprint for all future Bond movies, from the silhouettes of dancing girls over the title sequence to the supervillain with a cool name, it all starts here. Something I did find odd though was that with all the iconic Bond themes there has been over the years the 1st one was a calypso/reggae version of Three Blind Mice?!

The movie starts with the classic gun barrel view of Bond before the title sequence starts. I assume the Three Blind Mice song was used as a segway into a shot of three blind beggars who we soon find out are actually assassins sent to kill a man called Strangways. Strangways works for the British government in Jamaica and is due to send a report back to London when he is shot dead by the assassins and his body taken away. The killers then go to Strangways office and kill Strangways' secretary. For a film usually shown on TV on a Sunday afternoon it starts off pretty brutally with 2 people murdered within a few minutes.

I don't know about you but whenever I think of James Bond I always think of Sean Connery and this is the perfect introduction to Mr...? "Bond, James Bond". Sparking up a tab while taking a break from dealing cards in a game of Bacarat (I think) Connery oozes 1960's cool. Bond is summoned to MI6 to be given his mission by M. M (played by Bernard Lee) tells Bond that Radio Waves have been disrupting US rocket launches and that a British Agent (Strangways) is missing. M doesn't like that Bond thinks he knows better than his superiors. M chastises Bond for still using his old Barretta when he should be using a newer gun, A Walther PPK. I love M's line when Bond is leaving and trying to sneak out his old gun "oh and 007, leave the Barretta" without even looking up from his paperwork.

Bond then heads to Jamaica and is picked up from airport by a chauffeur. Bond, correctly, suspects the driver is a shifty bugger and takes him for a ride before a car chase ensues and when the pair lose their pursuers Bond beats up his driver and starts to interrogate him before the driver commits suicide with the old cyanide in the fake cigarette trick.

Bond then goes off to speak to the last people to see Strangways alive. A government official, a retired army officer and a geology professor none of whom seem to know what Strangways was involved with or why he was killed, but he is pointed towards a local fisherman called Quarrel. Quarrel has been working with Bond's CIA counterpart Felix Leiter and they have worked out that the source of the radio waves have been coming from an island called Crab Quay which is owned by the mysterious Dr. No.

Bond and Quarrel head to Crab Quay where they meet Honey Rider in of of the most famous scenes in movie history. Ursula Andres is the quintessential Bond girl. There have been many good Bond girls but Honey Rider is, in my opinion, the best. The bikini clad Rider has been coming to Crab Quay to collect seashells (by the sea shore). The trio hide when one of Dr No's patrol boats come past and the guard on the boat warns them, in what can only be described as some of the hammiest acting I have ever seen, that they will be back to kill them. Honey Rider warns Bond about a 'dragon' on the island which turns out to be a vehicle with a flame thrower on it. The dragon claims Quarrels life and Bond and Honey Rider are taken prisoner.

Bond and Rider are taken to Dr No's compound where they are decontaminated and then taken to their room. Why is it that supervillains regularly give their prisoner nice cushy rooms and fresh clothes and then invite them for dinner? Anyway when Bond and Rider go for dinner we finally meet the titular Dr No.

Dr No is one of my favourite Bond villains. He is creepily calm, has cool metal hands that can crush stone and really pulls off a nehru jacket. During dinner Dr No explains that he offered his services to the western powers during the cold war but was rejected and that the east are just as stupid so he has joined SPECTRE a global organisation determined to take over the world and they plan to use radio waves to use both the east and wests nuclear weapons to destroy any opposition. Again it is a cliche for the villain to tell the hero all of his plans but this is the film that started all of these cliches. Dr No hoped that Bond would join SPECTRE but realises that Bond is the ultimate good guy and would never turn to evil.

After dinner Dr No goes off to use his radio wave weapon and Bond is sent back to his cell, this time a proper cell with electrified grates over the air vents but Bond being Bond he soon finds a way out and nicks a radiation suit from one of Dr No's workers. He sneaks into the control room and manages to overload the radioactive system and everyone evacuates the island. Bond and Dr No do battle and and the downfall of Dr No is his metal hands as he is unable to grip a metal ladder and ends up falling into a radioactive super heated pool and presumably dies.

Bond goes off to rescue Honey Rider and escape the island before it blows up. As they make their escape they are rescued by Felix Leiter and the Royal Navy. Bond and Rider cast themselves adrift from their rescuers to be alone in the lifeboat and get down to doing what Bond likes to get down to when he has just saved world.

Sean Connery plays bond in this film as the brutish womaniser that Bond is when he is at his best. But he also comes across as a bit of a dick especially in the scene where he seduces a secretary he suspects of working for Dr No. He beds her then arranges for her to be arrested and realises he has time to bed her again before handing her over to the police. He also shows Bond to be ruthless like in the scene where he captures and interrogates Professor Dent before shooting him in cold blood. Dr No is one of the best Bond movies, definitely top 5 and here's the trailer:

Look out for the next part of Project Bond in a few weeks when I'll be reviewing From Russia With Love.

Well, that's all for now

S

You can follow Big Stevie Cool on Twitter here

Project Bond: Everything or Nothing

One of the things that got me thinking about writing a blog was was an idea I had to watch all 24 official (Eon Productions) James Bond Movies from Dr. No to Spectre and give my thoughts, opinions and a review of each film.

It was when I recently bought Spectre that I got the idea. I have all 24 movies on either DVD or Blu-ray and although the next film is a long way off I've realised if I watch one movie every few weeks I should get through them all just in time for the new film to be released and then I can do a review of that one too.

So I'd better get cracking, the biggest challenge I think I'll have in getting through all 24 films is finding time to watch them. With 5 people in our house all wanting to watch their own thing, fitting a film to watch on my own on top of the (many) TV shows I watch is going to be tricky. Especially as on my days off daytime TV is usually chosen by Sam and then after school its usually cartoons until teatime (which I don't mind, there are some really great kids shows on at the minute but I think that may be a subject for a later blog post).

Look out for the 1st post in this project in the next few weeks which, of course, will be all about Dr. No.

Well thats all for now.

S

Follow Big Stevie Cool on twitter here