The Film Thugs Movie Show

Project: Munchiebird

The Film Thugs will return with... Die Another Day.

Up to this point, not just in our back and forth in time viewing but in the overall history of the James Bond franchise, things have been pretty hit and miss. But, at least in our viewing, there hasn't been an absolute out of the park home run. But then... Casino Royale.

Man...

Let's look at the run up to this one. 2002, Die Another Day... the Bond franchise looke like it was dead. I mean... it wasn't just a bad movie, it was a terrible movie. Had this been the first film of the series... it wouldn't have been because the entire thing would have been dead in the water (but more on that in a few weeks).

So, when 2006 rolled around, the prospect of another Bond movie, though welcome, didn't exactly hold a lot of promise. I mean... it really couldn't be worse, but that didn't mean much.

But it was going to be different. This was a total reboot. Bond in his first mission as 007. Daniel Craig, a guy who looked like he could beat your ass.

Nobody knew what to expect.

Whatever they expected, the were not prepared for what they got.

Casino Royale is not only the best Bond film, it's one of the best spy films ever, full stop. Remove James Bond completely from this, make it another agent, an unknown and this is still one of the best times you could have watching a movie.

So, join us as we discuss this amazing piece of work, and create a new TV show for Ian Flemming.

We will return next week with... You Only Live Twice.

Ok, this is a short episode, because... how do I put this... Thunderball is one of the most boring things we've ever seen. Whoever thought that underwater scuba fights were a good idea greatly misjudged things. You see, you can't move fast underwater, so every big action scene looks like its in slow motion. We really tackle this in depth in this episode. But... damn. 

Not really much else to say.

We shall return next week with... Casino Royale.

Quantum of Solace. For starters, the title means nothing. It is taken from a Ian Flemming short story. However, that story has nothing to do with this movie, and it is possibly the least "Bond" story ever written. The entire thing takes place during a dinner party. There is no action, no violence, nothing. Literally, just someone telling Bond a story about a failed marriage. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about this movie.

This thing is kind of baffling. It's not terrible, it's just not very good. It is very clear that there was a writers strike going on when this was made because the story is all over the place. There is potential for a good movie in here, but as it stands, especially following on the heels of Casino Royale, this just feels out of place.

We shall return in a few weeks with... Thunderball.

We continue our Bond odyssey with what many people consider the best Bond film ever made. What do we think?

Well... I guess nostalgia is a powerful drug. Look, we love Connery. He is without doubt the best Bond ever, it's just that, unlike his appearance, his films haven't aged well. They have aged more like his attitude on hitting women. Once upon a time it might have been ok, but now... not so much.

Look, we are Bond fans, we promise. It's just that... these old ones make it really hard.

Speaking of making it hard to like the series....

Next week we return with... Quantum of Solace.