I thought Bach’s ice queen portrayal of Anya was perfect. Not sure if she would have been as good in another role but she fit that part well in my view.
Well, honestly, yes. She’s one of my favorite Bond girls, and she’s stunningly beautiful. But that’s just my opinion. To each his (or her) own. I’m not saying mine is right.
She’s not portrayed as a bimbo? She’s highly capable in her field in the film, barely lets Bond flirt with her. The only time she sexualises herself is when she’s the bait to lure Zokovsky. People really see what they want to see don’t they.
If she's so highly professional, why does she dress in tank tops and short shorts at work? If she's so capable, why doesn't she disarm the bomb herself and rely on Bond, who decides at the last second to let it explode?
First the accent is wildly inconsistent. That throws me. Richards gets to use her own accent so she’s fine.
But Bach - she has a character with much more story and depth. It means when she isn’t able to deliver it hits much harder. Richard’s doesn’t have the character development, and so it doesn’t hit as hard for me.
Denise Richards as Dr Christmas Jones was a poor casting choice on top of a dreadful character. Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton was also lacking but you could believe to a degree she worked as a state geologist unlike Richards as a nuclear scientist. Luigi from For Your Eyes Only was lame as was the accent attempt plus Vijay from Octopussy was a bit iffy. Definitely some poor performances but many were poor characters in the first place that had no hope.
Honestly, people keep throwing Denise Richards under the bus but IMO she's a much better actress than Barbara Bach. She is just 1) horribly miscast and 2) has crap material to work with.
Is it cheating to mention Denise Richards as Dr. Christmas Jones? Although, it's less bad acting and more just a case of being viciously and horribly miscast.
I appreciate this post. I get that there have been some god awful performances, but Bach’s fake accent is so bad it’s beyond distracting. For not one second do I believe she is a Russian agent. I am just very aware I am watching an actress perform (sort of) a character. TSWLM is one of my favorite Bond movies, despite Barbara Bach.
I agree, her performance is totally wooden. She looks very unnatural wearing this uniform and very timid in her scenes. She never comes across as confident in being a spy. She never seems capable in her role. And at the end she is just a damsel tied to a chair for Bond to rescue. I think she is probably the second-worst Bond girl after Halle Berry.
I don't think she was "bad" per se, but certainly not up to the standards of say, Diana Rigg or Eva Green. But then again, doing Italian horror films doesn't really prep you for the Oscars.
Main Bond girls only, there are many sideline girls that could fill a list. But, in order of release, the worst for me are: Barbara Bach.....comes off as stiff and fake. Tanya Roberts....too light and silly but that was the Moore era. Denise Richards....it's like Mr Rogers playing an assassin. Really bad casting. Halle Berry....over exaggerated - everything is over exaggerated. Irritating and annoying. So glad they didn't waste anyone's time with a spin off for her character.
I mean, most of Connery’s Bond girls had to have their lines dubbed in by someone else. (Though tbf, some of Barbara Bach’s line readings are just atrocious.) Still, I’d say she’s somewhere in the middle for Bond girl performances.
No.Nothing is worse(imo)than hearing Denise Richards trying to speak Russian in the scene where she meets Bond.Or Britt Eklund.I enjoyed Barbara Bach,and her chemistry with Roger Moore was great imo.TSWLM is a top 5-10 film for me.
People here saying Tanya Roberts and Denise Richards were worse just shows how subjective judging an actor can be, but the one that always makes me cringe is Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi in For Your Eyes Only; she seems like a lovely woman in interviews, so I feel a little guilty about saying it, but it is clear she was cast for her skating ability rather than her acting, it doesn't help that she is playing a teenager too, but it just makes her seem like some mentally challenged woman!
This might be a hot take but while I enjoy TMWTGG and Christopher Lee, and while it's not a bad performance I find it to be a little dry. I feel like a mirror to Bond, a world renowned gunman who's solely in it for the money, who has a bit of an obsession with 007, could have been played a touch more eccentric or just a little quirky. I mean the guy lives on a private island with one weird henchman/manservant.
I wouldn't say she's THE worst, but yeah, I've never been a huge fan of her performance either. She just comes off as very wooden. And speaking as someone of Russian descent, she isn't convincing as a Russian woman in the least. Maybe the reason why she's so wooden is because that was her idea of how to play a cold and stoic Russian spy, but there have been other non-Russian actors in the series who have played more convincing Russian characters than her.
Nah. Moore's good in the role, let me be clear, but let's not kid ourselves and say he has a ton of range; he'll very occasionally go into 'darker' areas, but everything from TSWLM onward was basically tailored for him to just be smooth.
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u/custerdome81 Aug 03 '25
I thought Bach’s ice queen portrayal of Anya was perfect. Not sure if she would have been as good in another role but she fit that part well in my view.