h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'd not seen this until ITV2 saw fit to put it on tonight.

What a load of crap! Shoddy writing, silly set pieces, homages to earlier films that look like rip-offs. An insult to Pierce Brosnan, who had done two workable films and the brilliant Goldeneye beforehand. I rank it right down there, dossing about with Moonraker and The Man With The Golden Gun, as one of the worst Bonds.

B

I'd agree with most of that, although spotting the homages to all 19 previous films (some of which are very obscure) can be quite fun.

And I'm quite fond of Moonraker...

I'd have to disagree with Goldeneye being brilliant. It's not bad, but the bodge they made of the old script could not be called brilliant. I tend to think of Die Another Day as a poorly done rehash of Diamonds Are Forever.

I reckon I spotted about 12 of the references, which was more than enough. At that point it might as well have been a Zucker film.

I can't believe anyone would believe Goldeneye is a poor relation of Diamonds Are Forever - I suggest you grab the original off the shelf and have a close look at some of the action set pieces. Yes, it was 35 years ago, but it should have been so much better.

Goldeneye still takes second place in my Bondlist, after Goldfinger and before Licence To Kill.

B

No, Die another day is a rehash of Diamond's are forever.

I can't rate Goldeneye above Licence To Kill, or Living Daylights. But then I like the book Bond and Dalton played Bond pretty much perfectly in that respect.

Quite agreed - Dalton was an excellent Bond. But Living Daylights was a lousy film in several respects.

I don't find the original books all that stirring either. The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker are my favourites, but the rest I can leave.

B

The one thing about The Living daylights, which I don't really like was the comedy evil American.

I think the thing I don't like about Goldeneye is the clunkiness of it, which I supose comes from having to redo it to fit better with it's contemporary world politics and SIS.

I do like the book The Spy Who Loved Me, the fact that it tells the story from the point of view of a character other than Bond is something I like, as you can see how he is perceived by the world he interacts with.

Ignoring the Moore films as they seemed to descend into farce much of the time, I tend to consider OHMSS the biggest waste of a movie. George Lazenby just could not cope with the role, hardly surprising really. They should have at least tried to cast someone who could act the role as well as look like Bond. Yet it has one of the best stories and could have been brilliant.

I kinda liked Goldeneye's clunkiness. Well into the nineties, there was Bond still carrying out his cold war espionage. I think the irony was played up just the right amount.

B

I must say this concerning Goldeneye...

It was adapted into THE best game for the Nintendo 64 ever. It remains my favorite first person shooter. It rewarded stealth over bloodlust. I loved the sniper rifle. And its multiplayer format was an absolute blast. My nephew used to thoroughly enjoy it when I'd walk past one of his hidden proximity mines.