Finally I am getting around to typing this up as the Blu-rays covered in this second report on Fox’s James Bond titles on Blu-ray were released in stores two weeks ago. Unfortunately a variety of pressing engagements and other work got in the way, but is it ever too late to talk James Bond?
This time around there is a smorgasbord of titles to choose from including the most recent Bond, an infrequently seen Bond and three more original Bond classics to consider. Across the five titles we will see Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig all inhabiting the iconic British spy, which one is your favorite is up to you. Personally I have found Craig’s Bond to be a highly entertaining twist. I thought Brosnan may have been best suited to play Bond, but his films didn’t exactly give me much to work with. Connery is the classic Bond and Moore has never been a favorite of mine. We’ll save comment on Dalton and Lazenby for the appropriate time.
Volume 3 of Fox’s James Bond on Blu-ray collections comes with Goldfinger, Moonraker and The World is Not Enough. Goldfinger, an obvious classic, stars Connery as Bond as he takes on Auric Goldfinger whose goal is to destroy all the gold in Fort Knox, destroying the world economy. After Goldfinger, though, there is little to talk about in terms of quality cinema. Moonraker and The World is Not Enough, in my opinion, are the two worst Bond films in Moore and Brosnan’s respective careers. Moonraker is simply absurd, ending in a goofy laser battle in space and The World is Not Enough suffers from problems such as casting Denise Richards as a nuclear chemist named Christmas Jones, which should be enough to explain how bad it is altogether. However, I will say Sophie Marceau as Elektra King, the first main female villain in the Bond series of films, is certainly a pleasure to look at.
As for the high-definition presentation, it is just as good as the first round with the three titles duplicating the supplemental material found on the 2006 Ultimate Edition DVD releases. The only difference in these releases compared to the DVD releases is a visual upgrade and while the DVD versions were digitally remastered and the majority of supplemental material was saved for the second disc, you are going to see an upgrade. However, this is one of the first times I have watched a Blu-ray and felt there was something of an artificial look to it all. Moonraker, primarily, seemed to have received a high level of digital noise reduction. The picture remains stunning, but on occasion the DNR is a bit noticeable. Goldfinger didn’t appear to have as much DNR done to it and The World is Not Enough is likely new enough they left it alone the most.
One bothersome aspect of these Blu-rays is Fox insists on releasing three-film volumes while the DVD volumes contained five films each. This, of course, is a way for the studio to price gouge the consumer as Blu-rays continue to be overpriced, but even more annoying is how after three volumes they still haven’t completely replaced one of the original four DVD sets. So, not only will you have to buy (at the least) six volumes to complete your Bond Blu-ray collection, if you are replacing your DVD volumes you still can’t give one of them to a friend since you are still missing a movie or two from each one. I know, a petty complaint, but it is rather annoying.
So, without beating a dead horse, the economical recommendation is to buy Goldfinger separate from all three films. Unlike when the Ultimate Edition DVDs were initially released Fox is allowing consumers to buy the titles separately and not only in the volume packaging. Buying Volume 3 at Amazon will run you $57.99 while Goldfinger alone runs you $23.99 and you can still buy the first two Blu-ray volumes at Amazon for $97.99. You just have to ask yourself how important it is to you to have all the films to complete your collection.
While Roger Ebert has a review of the film giving it three-and-a-half stars out of four I can’t say I agree with his opinion here. For me this film stunk from the outset, and not because the well known gun barrel introduction isn’t here, but simply because it doesn’t work and listening to director Irvin Kershner (Empire Strikes Back, RoboCop 2) in the commentary and featurettes he appears to agree with me.
The film begins with a good premise with Connery returning as an aged James Bond. He begins going through a training regimen and all the while hits on every woman aiding him. However, it no longer felt like the suave Bond was doing the bedding, it reminded me of why I have such a problem with Roger Moore as Bond — it seems like Bond has just become some creepy old man. To me this version of Bond felt as if Connery was playing Roger Moore playing James Bond. The idea of getting the original actor to reprise his role as a character he played 12 years prior is great, but when it is put together as poorly as this story was it’s pointless.
The script, which was originally written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (who you can now catch online as part of Reel Geezers), gets a rather negative reception in the featurettes included. Connery is quoted saying something to the effect of “This is not what I signed on for.” Semple mentions how his script simply wasn’t action packed enough. However, the best quote is when someone says of the script there are “two distinct problems: the story and the dialogue.” Not much left after that.
Semple’s script got an uncredited rewrite from Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement and in one of the interview pieces La Frenais and Clement comment on the opening sequence, which they admittedly loved when they first saw it as Bond is seen infiltrating some kind of enemy bunker. However, like me, they hated the fact the silly theme song was played over the entire thing. This was one of the things that immediately tipped me off and led me to believe I may be in for a long 134 minutes. The song made it all seem like a joke and this film does have a slightly lighter tone to it, but in their attempt to duplicate the satirical nature of the other Bonds they made something that came off almost as a parody.
Rowan Atkinson’s appearances in the film are distracting to say the least and I was never buying Pamela Salem as Miss Moneypenny. However, the film is not an entire failure. One sequence specifically involving a shark chasing Bond underwater was extremely well done considering the majority of underwater action scenes in films are typically slow and boring. This one had a certain level of tension added, which was a bit of a surprise considering the clichéd nature of it all.
Kershner has very little overtly positive comments about the film, but his audio commentary with Bond historian Steven Jay Rubin is quite entertaining and fact filled, and may be the only reason to buy this disc. The three included featurettes do add a little to the value with quotes from Kershner saying, “I don’t fault the actors in the picture. I fault what I had to work with.” Followed by his comments on Connery’s positive attitude and work ethic saying, “The only good memory was Sean. If he hadn’t been Bond I don’t think it would have been finished.”
As far as the high-definition picture goes I can’t speak for its improvement over any previous releases since I had not seen it before, but I wouldn’t consider myself bowled over. This isn’t to say the high-definition transfer isn’t top notch, it is to say I could hardly be interested to even consider it. The images are boring, for lack of a better word. Nothing about this film impresses outside of a final shot of Kim Basinger underwater with her golden hair framing her face following a climactic moment in the film — that shot is outstanding.
Unfortunately, I would never recommend anyone buy this, but giving it a rent, just to catch up on the back-story wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea. One person said to me this was better than Thunderball, which I don’t agree with, but even if it were is that really saying all that much?
I gave the film a “B+” in my review. Here’s a snippet from the opening in which I compare it to Casino Royale:
Both have a comparable amount of action, but Quantum of Solace isn’t as interested in over developing its story thus removing nearly 45 minutes of Royale’s running time, a move I applaud and welcome. As good as Casino Royale was the first time around, it does not hold up as well on repeated viewings due to a story that is far more bloated than it need be. Quantum has no such problem as action set pieces are the story and they are quite fun to watch.
Then I took some time to examine the negative reviews which includes comments from Roger Ebert saying, “James Bond is not an action hero! Leave the action to your Jason Bournes. This is a swampy old world. The deeper we sink in, the more we need James Bond to stand above it.” Again, I’ll defer to my own original commentary:
It plays very similar to an Empire Strikes Back in the middle of a trilogy. There is an obvious attempt to set up a SPECTRE-like global crime organization that could be unraveled in the 23rd Bond film or set in action for several films to come. Fortunately, none of the downer, middle-of-the-road reviews kept audiences away as the film opened to a franchise record $70+ million and could become the first film in franchise history to approach, and possible exceed, the $200 million mark domestically.
The film actually went on to make $168 million domestically, which barely places it at the top of the Bond franchise list, edging out Casino Royale by less than a million dollars. Royale, however, still holds the worldwide Bond record.
As for this Blu-ray release, the film itself is as impressive as it gets. I can’t imagine this looks any different than its theatrical presentation with a solid preservation of film grain, deep blacks and an emphasis on the impressive cinematography by Roberto Schaefer. However, the special features are more-or-less garbage.
The only feature worth a moment of your time is the 25-minute “Bond on Location” featurette, which even still is over produced and feels as if it was made for television and I wouldn’t be surprised if actually had aired somewhere prior to the film’s release. The rest of the featurettes are all around 3 minutes long and were previously seen online during promotion of the film. Other than that you get the music video of the new Bond theme song “Another Way to Die” by Alicia Keys and Jack White and teaser and theatrical trailers.
Despite the lack of supplements and absence of a commentary, which I can only assume will come when Fox gets around to releasing a special edition version, I think this is a solid buy, but only because I love the film so much. This, of course, means if you were so-so on the film and were looking to benefit from solid supplemental material you may want to hold off because this is not what you are looking for. How Fox decided to release a Bond Blu-ray without a single Blu-ray exclusive feature taking advantage of the media is beyond me. How do studios expect to get consumers to buy these things for an increased price if they don’t give them added incentive?
In summary, if you have stayed with me for this long (congratulations on that), of the five new Bond titles I would say only Goldfinger and Quantum of Solace are worth adding to your collection. I am sure completists will be torn on which way to go with the lesser titles, and I feel for you being a completist myself, but when it comes to Moonraker and The World is Not Enough, if you already own them do you really need them in high-definition? As for Never Say Never Again I can see picking that one up considering it does hold a little place in Bond and film history, but still, how many times are you really going to watch it?
To buy any of the titles mentioned here you can click here and take your pick.
