Best James Bond Moments (What are your faves?)
- Thread starter IndyFanChuck
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Serafino
Sr Member
This one?
I always read that as him turning his head slightly to protect his eyes while still staying focused on what he had to do. Moments like this one are part of what makes Martin Campbell the best director of Bond movies in the history of the franchise as far as I'm concerned.
Solo4114
Master Member
Brosnan's Bond alternated between very serious and similar to the books, and campy and over-the-top. It was always a weird balance with the Brosnan films that didn't always work. For example, there are sequences in Die Another Day that are some of the best in the franchise, in my opinion (IE: when Bond has gone rogue, when he's abandoned by his government), but there are other sequences that are undeniably the worst since Moonraker. Likewise, there are moments in Tomorrow Never Dies that are great, but others that are just ho-hum. Same with The World is Not enough. I own all the Brosnan ones except Die Another Day (which left a bad taste in my mouth), and while I generally really like his portrayal, I think he was sort of stuck in the role.
My sense is that he really didn't like ALL the campiness (a little here and there was fine, but it got pretty bad towards the end), and that he tried to bring some real depth to the character. That usually worked, because he's a pretty good actor, but it often felt out of place with some of the more outrageous aspects of his films.
My sense is that he really didn't like ALL the campiness (a little here and there was fine, but it got pretty bad towards the end), and that he tried to bring some real depth to the character. That usually worked, because he's a pretty good actor, but it often felt out of place with some of the more outrageous aspects of his films.
YenChih Lin
Master Member
Yeah Brosnan inherited the character, but had some bad script spots.... he also claimed that he wanted more the literal Bond - the gritty a-hole 
, the cold-blooded assassin.
, the cold-blooded assassin.
Capn_Jack_Savvy
Sr Member
Odd Job Tosh Togo! Why? Because he was a local boy from the Hawaiian Islands where I grew up and he was the uncle to a 2nd grade school chum of mine. Nicest man ever as I can recall from my youth. Saw him later in life in the the square circle in benefit wrestling matches many unknown wrestlers that later became WWF superstars!!!!
I tip my tophat and throw it in honor of Odd Job!! Goldfinger had nothing on you!!!
I tip my tophat and throw it in honor of Odd Job!! Goldfinger had nothing on you!!!
Solo4114
Master Member
I've heard he wanted it grittier, and, for example, pushed for the credit sequence in Die Another Day (one of the best moments in the franchise), but was also hamstrung by the other folks pushing for things like having him drive an invisible freakin' car and crack wise every time he offs someone.
I dunno, I see stuff like that and think it's merely the window dressing of Bond which eventually became what Bond "is" to people. It's like saying any dude in a deerstalker cap with a calabash pipe who says "Elementary, my dear Watson!" = Sherlock Holmes. It takes the most blatantly obvious ancillary aspects of the franchise and turns them into the centerpiece. (and yes, I know Holmes didn't smoke a calabash pipe and I think only wears a deerstalker cap once in the original stories).
Anyway, if Brosnan really did want ONLY the gritty elements and wanted to ditch the campy stuff, then he's an even better actor than I thought. He genuinely looks like he's enjoying himself when he's quipping and driving a car with a cell phone and whatnot. I'm sure that stuff's fun in the moment, but when you finally sit down and watch it, while it's fun, it's kind of...empty. Certainly when compared to the literary version of the stories (where there are consequences to Bond's actions, etc.).
In fairness, there ARE sequences even in the Roger Moore era that touch on that stuff, they're just fewer and farther between.
I dunno, I see stuff like that and think it's merely the window dressing of Bond which eventually became what Bond "is" to people. It's like saying any dude in a deerstalker cap with a calabash pipe who says "Elementary, my dear Watson!" = Sherlock Holmes. It takes the most blatantly obvious ancillary aspects of the franchise and turns them into the centerpiece. (and yes, I know Holmes didn't smoke a calabash pipe and I think only wears a deerstalker cap once in the original stories).
Anyway, if Brosnan really did want ONLY the gritty elements and wanted to ditch the campy stuff, then he's an even better actor than I thought. He genuinely looks like he's enjoying himself when he's quipping and driving a car with a cell phone and whatnot. I'm sure that stuff's fun in the moment, but when you finally sit down and watch it, while it's fun, it's kind of...empty. Certainly when compared to the literary version of the stories (where there are consequences to Bond's actions, etc.).
In fairness, there ARE sequences even in the Roger Moore era that touch on that stuff, they're just fewer and farther between.
Capn_Jack_Savvy
Sr Member
Oh yeah! Any scene with Denise Richards as a believable physicist!!! Just for the jiggle factor.........not acting chops!
PHArchivist
Master Member
IIRC, the Moore Bond actually got physical, beating a woman in (I believe) his first outing.
My fav Bond Girls are probably Holly Goodhead from Moonraker and Solitaire from Live and Let Die. Although Domino, Melina, Tracy, Anya, and Tatiana were all pretty hot as well.
I love the Aston Martin DB5 and the Lotus but I'm partial to the Aston Martin from the Living Daylights. I really wanted that car as a kid!
Fav Bond Tune: Pretty much Goldfinger or a View to a Kill. OMHSS had a great intrumental opening track.
Fav Bond Composer: John Barry No question.
Fav Bond gadget: The briefcase form From Russia With Love. Practical and very cool. Although I have guilty pleasure about his magnet/spinning blade watch from Live and Let Die.
I love the Aston Martin DB5 and the Lotus but I'm partial to the Aston Martin from the Living Daylights. I really wanted that car as a kid!
Fav Bond Tune: Pretty much Goldfinger or a View to a Kill. OMHSS had a great intrumental opening track.
Fav Bond Composer: John Barry No question.
Fav Bond gadget: The briefcase form From Russia With Love. Practical and very cool. Although I have guilty pleasure about his magnet/spinning blade watch from Live and Let Die.
I'd have to say one of my fav Bond moments is that pre-titles sequence to For Your Eyes Only. I probably watched that thing 500 times as a kid and acted it out on my staircase (the bannister doubled nicely for helicoptor doors) when I was 6 years old.
"Good Afternoon Mr. Bond.... Don't Concern yourself about the pilot... one of my less useful people. You are now flying remote control airways...."
"Good Afternoon Mr. Bond.... Don't Concern yourself about the pilot... one of my less useful people. You are now flying remote control airways...."
Solo4114
Master Member
In a general sense, it's kind of entertaining as a concept. But it just struck me as incredibly stupid in the context of the film and became Bond's "nuke the fridge" moment.
Geniepants
Well-Known Member
Dang, you stole mine! :lol What really helps sell that shot is the look on Bond's face. Priceless!
PHArchivist
Master Member
Will "Nuke the 'fridge" become the next "Jumped the shark"?
I like that style of body, but they overloaded the gadgets.
Q: Now pay attention Bond. In this Aston Martin we've put rockets in the headlights, lasers in the hubcaps, steel extending studs in the tires, skis in the rocker panels, a booster rocket in the rear, and a self destruct. So try to get in a situation where all those things are useful.
The inviso-car is the worst. Freakin' Star Trek tech. And the car itself would be more valuable than any mission Bond was on. You could sell it for billions.
Lotus-sub. Great chase with the helicopter. How do you escape a helicopter? Drive it under water, then strip down to your shorts and come out amongst the tourists. Whoops. I mean turn the car into a sub and shoot a missile at it.[and why not shoot the missile on land?]
Aston Martin DB5 with fire hoses in the back?! Where does the water come from? And if the henchmen simply took a step to the side the whole thing is useless.
John Cleese as Q. FAIL.
darth_myeek
Sr Member
Solo4114
Master Member
I love the design of the Aston-Martin V8 from the Living Daylights. I'd LOVE to own that car. The DB5 is nice, too, of course. A classic look, to be sure. I don't think the DB5 is any more overloaded with gadgets than the V8, however. Let's compare:
DB5:
- Machineguns in headlights.
- extending blades in the hubcaps.
- Ejector seat for the passenger seat.
- Tracking map synced up with magnetic device.
- Oil slicks/fire hoses in the tail pipes.
- bulletproof shield in the boot.
V8:
- Rockets in the headlights (with HUD on the windscreen)
- Lasers on the hubcaps
- Skis on the running boards
- Rocket propulsion in the boot
- spiked tires
- self destruct.
If anything, the V8 seems more tailored to evade rather than to fight the way the DB5 is.
I never really liked the Lotus, myself. It turning into a sub was cool, but again, a bit campy.
I wanted to cry when the DB7 (or whatever it was) from Casino Royal was trashed.
DB5:
- Machineguns in headlights.
- extending blades in the hubcaps.
- Ejector seat for the passenger seat.
- Tracking map synced up with magnetic device.
- Oil slicks/fire hoses in the tail pipes.
- bulletproof shield in the boot.
V8:
- Rockets in the headlights (with HUD on the windscreen)
- Lasers on the hubcaps
- Skis on the running boards
- Rocket propulsion in the boot
- spiked tires
- self destruct.
If anything, the V8 seems more tailored to evade rather than to fight the way the DB5 is.
I never really liked the Lotus, myself. It turning into a sub was cool, but again, a bit campy.
I wanted to cry when the DB7 (or whatever it was) from Casino Royal was trashed.
Serafino
Sr Member
Book Bond was not always into the latest thing in cars:
http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/literature_fleming_cars.php3?t=&s=
http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/literature_fleming_cars.php3?t=&s=
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