Magnum vs. James Bond

[To The Regiment]

Field Ethos Journal just posted an interesting story: Magnum P.I. vs. James Bond: https://fieldethos.com/magnum-p-i-vs-james-bond/

Also, lots of comments today weighing in on this debate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQFwzWL9ri/

So...who wins? Magnum or Bond?

Best,
To The Regiment

[80s Big Hair]

Relying on absurdly fantastical gadgets does not make for a badass. Then again I never liked the Bond books and movies. To Bond's credit, he never got beat up by two spandex clad women like Magnum did.

[NotthatRick]

I would vote Magnum every time. But in all fairness, I don't belong to a James Bond forum.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

From the link:
"Bond is half Scottish, half Swiss, according to Fleming’s You Only Live Twice. The Scottish are pretty tough (see Braveheart) but the Swiss have been pacifists since Julius Caesar routed the Helvetii at the
Battle of Bibracte in 58 BC.
Magnum is a red-blooded American, born in Detroit and raised in Virginia thanks to his father’s military service. For the record, Americans have been kicking British butts since 1775.
Advantage: Magnum
The Ruling
This wouldn’t be much of a fight, candidly. The snappy-dressing Bond is witty and great with the ladies but he’s not much of a warrior. Magnum, on the other hand, is easygoing and soft-spoken … right up until he kills you.
Winner: Magnum"

This is a good idea for an article but the author sounds like a 14 year old nitwit getting aroused by "bad asses" dealing out, in his mind, way cool violence.
He knows all about tough as he saw the movie Braveheart, thus "the Scottish are pretty tough". Wince, it should read "the Scots are pretty tough", I guess that's me being pedantic and petty but
this guy is annoying. As for the Swiss, their vaunted Pikemen were the terror of Europe during the Middle Ages, mercenaries for hire who still exist in the form of the Pope's Swiss Guard.
The Swiss aren't "pacifists" either. When Hitler at one point mused about attacking and absorbing Switzerland, his generals were appalled, it wasn't worth the candle.
The country is a mountainous armed camp, every male trained and drilled over their lifetime in defense of their local area. Every strategic tunnel and bridge is ready to be defended or blown by locals
who have practiced doing so for years. As well there is the many military facilities they have secreted in hollowed out mountains, quite an achievement, the North Koreans pale by comparison.
Pacifist? The author has no idea what he is talking about.
He describes Bond as a over dressed fop and not much of a warrior. Bond was a decorated veteran, his current job that of a trained agent and if need be ruthless killer. But Magnum
would easily dispatch Bond because he is a nice guy "right up till he kills you. Winner: Magnum." Idiotic.
Oh and he asserts that "For the record, Americans have been kicking British butts since 1775."
Really? Washington lost more battles than he won against the British.
In the War of 1812, British General Isaac Brock, with limited resources, used interior lines of communications to defeat all of our attacks on Canada, in a brilliant
campaign that should be far more celebrated. But since he did it to us, our popular press and military history channels ignore it. He literally changed world history
because Canada and it's vast resources would have become part of the US. Or at the very least we would have swiped Quebec.
And oh yeah, what about when those British firebugs burned the White House after soundly defeating the US army?
Only one of the biggest rainstorms ever recorded in that area up to that point saved the whole city from burning.
Whoa, I went off on a tangent here.
Suffice it to say our fellow posters such as T.Q. or Ivan or Little Garwood could take the premise of comparing Bond and Magnum and do something with it as opposed to this mess .

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

To Bond's credit, he never got beat up by two spandex clad women like Magnum did.

You need to watch DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971) then. You'd be surprised. Two words - Bambi and Thumper.

[Styles Bitchley]

The original article isn't available for this but it's a fun exercise. It's really and apples and oranges comparison though.

I've read a few James Bond novels recently and they are much different from the films. The character himself is much different especially. He gets beat up often and within an inch of his life. He's much more relatable and there are more similarities between Bond in the novels and Magnum, rather than the film version. They're both elite enlisted men who served during a war (WWII and Vietnam), who then went on to do intelligence work for their countries (granted, Bond was more of a civil servant than a military-type intelligence service).

I have a strong appreciation for both characters, I have to say. But for completely different reasons.

[Chris109]

"Magnum...Thomas Magnum"

"Old Düsseldorf. Bottle; not a can."

[eagle]

I'm a huge fan of both Magnum and Bond, and I own copies of the entire Magnum series on DVD, and all Bond movies on Blu-Ray. I really like both, but in my mind they're not really the same thing. I think a closer comparison might be Ethan Hunt vs James Bond.

Just as I watch all of the Magnum episodes, I watch all of the Bond movies -- yes, even the bad ones, and some of the Bond movies are so bad they're hard to watch. I have always liked Pierce Brosnan as Bond, but boy did they put him in terrible movies -- they were the worst of the franchise. My favorites are the Connery & Moore movies.

For me, the order would be: Magnum then Bond then Hunt.

[Styles Bitchley]

I'm a huge fan of both Magnum and Bond, and I own copies of the entire Magnum series on DVD, and all Bond movies on Blu-Ray. I really like both, but in my mind they're not really the same thing. I think a closer comparison might be Ethan Hunt vs James Bond.

Just as I watch all of the Magnum episodes, I watch all of the Bond movies -- yes, even the bad ones, and some of the Bond movies are so bad they're hard to watch. I have always liked Pierce Brosnan as Bond, but boy did they put him in terrible movies -- they were the worst of the franchise. My favorites are the Connery & Moore movies.

For me, the order would be: Magnum then Bond then Hunt.

I watched Moonraker recently after not having seen it since the 80s. Boy, it it a stinker. The novel, however, is fantastic. It has nothing to do with the movie at all.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

My favorites are the Connery & Moore movies.

Here here! There's something about those older films that the newer ones lack. There was a Bond magic there that is missing in the modern Bond films. I know many consider CASINO ROYALE to be the best in the entire series and Craig's best but I'd sooner put on something like A VIEW TO A KILL (my least favorite from Moore, though Christopher Walken is my favorite Bond villain). The old films, and especially the older actors (Connery and Moore), have this charming way about them that screams James Bond. In a way that the newer films don't. Too much melodrama and angst in the new films too. They sucked all the joy and fun out of them. Brosnan was a good Bond and while his films weren't the best I would say GOLDENEYE is a "modern-day" classic. Maybe the last Bond film to have that classic old-school feel to it. Even though that's also the film where they started pushing the PC nonsense into it.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I watched Moonraker recently after not having seen it since the 80s. Boy, it it a stinker. The novel, however, is fantastic. It has nothing to do with the movie at all.

I love MOONRAKER, especially Michael Lonsdale as the villain Hugo Drax. One of the best villains in the series and certainly with the most quotable lines of them all. "Look after Mr. Bond. See that some harm comes to him". Ha! I LOVE it! "You appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season". Come to think of it - that's a line that our very own Higgy might have said. Also there's some excellent cinematography and John Barry's score is superb, as always! I would say his space-based music puts John Williams' STAR WARS stuff to shame, which I always thought was overrated anyway. And while I'm not too crazy about Bond in space or the ensuing laser battle in space, I think the first half of the film is classic Bond territory. Everything from the initial meeting and banter with the villain, to the follow-the-clues-from-one-exotic-locale-to-the-next, to repeated attempts on Bond's life is everything that I look for in a Bond film. Love all that spy stuff! Ok, Jaws was too silly. Granted, he was better in the previous film. Still, MOONRAKER is grand escapist Bond entertainment. They don't make 'em like they used to. Sadly.

[Styles Bitchley]

I watched Moonraker recently after not having seen it since the 80s. Boy, it it a stinker. The novel, however, is fantastic. It has nothing to do with the movie at all.

I love MOONRAKER, especially Michael Lonsdale as the villain Hugo Drax. One of the best villains in the series and certainly with the most quotable lines of them all. "Look after Mr. Bond. See that some harm comes to him". Ha! I LOVE it! "You appear with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season". Come to think of it - that's a line that our very own Higgy might have said. Also there's some excellent cinematography and John Barry's score is superb, as always! I would say his space-based music puts John Williams' STAR WARS stuff to shame, which I always thought was overrated anyway. And while I'm not too crazy about Bond in space or the ensuing laser battle in space, I think the first half of the film is classic Bond territory. Everything from the initial meeting and banter with the villain, to the follow-the-clues-from-one-exotic-locale-to-the-next, to repeated attempts on Bond's life is everything that I look for in a Bond film. Love all that spy stuff! Ok, Jaws was too silly. Granted, he was better in the previous film. Still, MOONRAKER is grand escapist Bond entertainment. They don't make 'em like they used to. Sadly.

I like the light hearted bond stuff with some comic relief, but Moonraker took it too far, I think. The Jaws / little blonde love story was just over the top silly.

I enjoy the new Bond flicks, but I do miss the comic relief.

[eagle]

My favorites are Goldfinger & Dr. No, in that order. It has been a while since I watched Moonraker, but a friend of mine has never seen all of the Bond movies, so we watch one every couple months -- obviously this is a 4-year-plan to get them all viewed. lol We'll get to Moonraker before too long.

And, I think part of what you're seeing, Styles, is that today's movies in general lack the charm of 60s/70s/80s movies. Daniel Craig's Bond is different from the others, and the movies are different, but each Bond movie is a product of its time -- more than the others, you can see this with "Live & Let Die."

Daniel Craig really might be a fine Bond (I am not convinced either way), but I just don't like his movies, because they are a product of their time, and I tend to not like today's movies. The older I get, the older my movies get -- and get off my lawn! Currently I'm favoring movies that predate me by 30 years (1940s), but movies that predate me by 10 years are also good (1960s).

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Not to neglect my Bond geekiness nor my affinity for lists ... here's roughly how I would rank them:

1. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Moore - My all-time favorite! Nobody does it better!
2. Live and Let Die (1973) - Moore
3. Octopussy (1983) - Moore
4. You Only Live Twice (1967) - Connery
5. Goldfinger (1964) - Connery
6. The Living Daylights (1987) - Dalton
7. GoldenEye (1995) - Brosnan
8. For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Moore
9. Moonraker (1979) - Moore
10. The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) - Moore
11. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - Lazenby
12. Thunderball (1965) - Connery
13. Dr. No (1962) - Connery
14. From Russia With Love (1963) - Connery
15. Skyfall (2012) - Craig
-----------
16. A View to a Kill (1985) - Moore
17. Licence to Kill (1989) - Dalton
18. Casino Royale (2006) - Craig
19. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Brosnan
20. The World is Not Enough (1999) - Brosnan
21. Diamonds are Forever (1971) - Connery
-----------
22. No Time to Die (2021) - Craig
23. Die Another Day (2002) - Brosnan
24. Never Say Never Again (1983) - Connery **the unofficial entry
25. Spectre (2015) - Craig
26. Quantum of Solace (2008) - Craig

I would say I'm a huge fan of everything from #1 to #15 so many of those could be interchangeable. My mood can change from one day to the next on my preferences for these. Needless to say they get (or used to get) a lot of playtime from me.

Then there's somewhat of a step down for #16 thru #21. They're not as good as the previous set but still quite watchable. Though sometimes I find them a bit of a chore to sit through, especially during the last third of the film. Of course it doesn't help that I've seen them countless times. So the laws of diminishing returns definitely come into play.

And then there's a pretty big drop-off for #22 thru #26, meaning that I'm almost never in a mood to watch these. And if I watch any of these it's usually because there's 1 or 2 cool set pieces there that I enjoy but I just can't be bothered to go through the whole film. Of course with #22 it just came out a few weeks ago so I only saw it once in the theater but I have no interest in seeing it again. Usually I make a point of seeing it at least twice in the theater. But this one left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it. If you have you probably know what it is. Actually it's more than just one thing, but one of them is a biggie. A big NO-NO in my book.

[Styles Bitchley]

You forgot David Niven’s Bond... I remember looking at the cast of that Bond spoof and thinking how amazing it must be. No idea what happened there but they created a total turd. Not funny, not cool, not even a plot you can follow.

I like your list and I’m surprised to see The Living Daylights up there. It’s one of the few I’ve never seen. I was just too mad about Moore (my Bond as a kid) being replaced. I don’t like change - probably a common sentiment around this forum. Not to get too analytical about this, but it’s probably why Jay Hernandez never had a chance with much of the nostalgic fan base. After all, my dad couldn’t fathom how I could enjoy watching anyone but Connery in the title role of a Bond flick.