Bond Gadgets

[seelsa73]

Does anyone else want to see gadgets return to the Bond series? I know they want to keep the new films grounded in reality and they probably think the old style Bond gadgets would be too silly and unrealistic for the tone of the new movies. And they're right. But nowadays it seems that nothing is out of the realm of possibility, and we already have existing in the real world today some really cool stuff, from compact and nondescript recording devices to nano technology, that can be used that would fit into the new world of Bond.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Honestly? Not really, aside from the basics.

Bond proved that gadgets is a slippery slope and it got absolutely ridiculous in a few instances.

If they can use them like they did in FRWL or OHMSS then I'm happy for them to return. But the days of the "Q Branch Scene" are behind us I hope.

 

[jlee562]

I think they dealt with it well in Skyfall. Discrete GPS tracker/distress beacon and biometric encoded gun. Brilliant!

Yes, there are gadgets and little devices used in real world espionage (anyone ever check out the Spy Museum in Washington D.C.?), so it makes sense that there's some form of that included. But invisible cars and such? Too much.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

I think they dealt with it well in Skyfall. Discrete GPS tracker/distress beacon and biometric encoded gun. Brilliant!

Yes, there are gadgets and little devices used in real world espionage (anyone ever check out the Spy Museum in Washington D.C.?), so it makes sense that there's some form of that included. But invisible cars and such? Too much.

thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[seelsa73]

Exactly. I don't want stupid crap like a watch with a grappling hook. But look at thinkgeek.com in the spy section...little things like that.

 

[jlee562]

Exactly. I don't want stupid crap like a watch with a grappling hook. But look at thinkgeek.com in the spy section...little things like that.

If thinkgeek piques your interest, the CIA museum would blow your mind:
https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/

Not open to the public, unfortunately. But it is very cool.

 

[laserpistol76]

Come on, that's what made the Bond films so interesting! I'd love to see the ridiculous gadgets make a comeback.

 

[Solo4114]

Come on, that's what made the Bond films so interesting! I'd love to see the ridiculous gadgets make a comeback.

No, that's what made them formulaic and dull. That and quips.

I'll take a return of gadgets over quips, but I'd rather have fewer and more judicious uses of each.


The car with the defibrillator built in in CR was fine. The use of PDAs is fine. The palmprint gun and GPS tracker are fine, too. Even the Aston-Martin with a bunch of gadgets was fine, but more because it was an anachronistic callback to the older films and was barely used in that capacity.


But after a while, the gadgets became "This is the device that we'll issue to you which would only be useful in one limited circumstance, which, of course, you'll find yourself in." Fast forward to the climactic escape from the slow-moving death contraption built by the villain who has just told him his entire plan, and it's "Well, thankfully, I happen to have a pair of cufflinks with a built-in minaturized electromagnetic pulse device..."

Bond works better when Bond wins because of his grit, determination, and brains rather than because he happened to have just the right limited-use gadget. Otherwise, it just becomes a British spy version of the 1960s Batman show. Nananananananananananananananana--JAMES BOND!!

 

[SSgt Burton]

But after a while, the gadgets became "This is the device that we'll issue to you which would only be useful in one limited circumstance, which, of course, you'll find yourself in." Fast forward to the climactic escape from the slow-moving death contraption built by the villain who has just told him his entire plan, and it's "Well, thankfully, I happen to have a pair of cufflinks with a built-in minaturized electromagnetic pulse device..."

Bond works better when Bond wins because of his grit, determination, and brains rather than because he happened to have just the right limited-use gadget.

I agree that Bond's gadgets became his get-out-of-jail-free-card. And I agree that Bond is at his best when he does not rely upon his gadget to get him out of a life or death situation (for instance, talking his way out of a laser severing him in half, in "Goldfinger").


However I think there is still a place for gadgets when done properly-

The hand grenade pen in Goldeneye was used to great effect as a suspenseful/tense scene.

But aside from this, I like seeing a Bond film in which he is given one of those gadgets, comes upon a situation to use it... And it falls down an elevator shaft! Now (as Solo mentioned) Bond has to use his wits, and determination to succeed, not his gadget.

But no more invisible cars thank you. :lol

Kevin

 

[brandomack]

For those who haven't seen it - Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 (2012) - IMDb

This is an absolutely brilliant documentary about the business backstory behind the Bond films. Pierce Brosnan recounts that the morning of 9/11, Barbara Broccoli phoned him said that she just couldn't see Bond continuing in such a direction (paragliding a tsunami etc.) and let him go.

The gadgets became too unbelievable, and as a result (story-wise) they chose to push the capability of a man to his greatest extent without relying on gadgetry in a post- 9/11 world.

 

[Bigdaddy]

:thumbsup :cool Agreed, 100%. I asked my wife her opinion on the subject: "Isn't that what Inspector Gadget is for?" :lol :lol
Now I have to watch CR tonight!

 

[Bigdaddy]

Honestly? Not really, aside from the basics.

Bond proved that gadgets is a slippery slope and it got absolutely ridiculous in a few instances.

If they can use them like they did in FRWL or OHMSS then I'm happy for them to return. But the days of the "Q Branch Scene" are behind us I hope.

thumbsup:thumbsup

No, that's what made them formulaic and dull. That and quips.

I'll take a return of gadgets over quips, but I'd rather have fewer and more judicious uses of each.


The car with the defibrillator built in in CR was fine. The use of PDAs is fine. The palmprint gun and GPS tracker are fine, too. Even the Aston-Martin with a bunch of gadgets was fine, but more because it was an anachronistic callback to the older films and was barely used in that capacity.


But after a while, the gadgets became "This is the device that we'll issue to you which would only be useful in one limited circumstance, which, of course, you'll find yourself in." Fast forward to the climactic escape from the slow-moving death contraption built by the villain who has just told him his entire plan, and it's "Well, thankfully, I happen to have a pair of cufflinks with a built-in minaturized electromagnetic pulse device..."

Bond works better when Bond wins because of his grit, determination, and brains rather than because he happened to have just the right limited-use gadget. Otherwise, it just becomes a British spy version of the 1960s Batman show. Nananananananananananananananana--JAMES BOND!!

:thumbsup :cool Agreed, 100%. I asked my wife her opinion on the subject: "Isn't that what Inspector Gadget is for?" :lol :lol
Now I have to watch CR tonight!

That's what I meant to do :lol

 

[darthgordon]

Used in moderation, I think they're just fine... But no laser watches or jet packs.

Did someone say invisible car? Invisible Mercedes brings James Bond technology to life | Motoramic - Yahoo! Autos

 

[Probe Droid]

Used in moderation, I think they're just fine... But no laser watches or jet packs.

Agreed. Part of the Bond allure when the series started was the gadgets but it got way out of hand over time. Keep it simple and reasonable and it can remain a fun--not stupid--element of the films.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I really think Bond is the vehicle for the CIA cat spy to make a comeback. The Cat Who Couldn't Spy: A CIA Fail : Discovery News

 

[Michael Bergeron]

This is an absolutely brilliant documentary about the business backstory behind the Bond films. Pierce Brosnan recounts that the morning of 9/11, Barbara Broccoli phoned him said that she just couldn't see Bond continuing in such a direction (paragliding a tsunami etc.) and let him go.

Not to burst that story but "Die Another Day", the paragliding on a Tsunami one, came out over a year after 9/11.

 

[brandomack]

Meh, details...details. Still a great doc.

Here's the transcript.. Obviously would have happened following the wrap up of Die Another Day.

Barbara Broccoli: "9/11 happened, and that had had a huge impact on all of us. Michael (Broccoli) and I had struggled with the direction we were going to take bond. It didn't really seem right to have a flippancy to the films at that point."

Pierce Brosnan: "Barbara and Michael had to reposition themselves. Do they continue with me?, even though they've set sail and we've done four, and they've been successful. It was a horrible phone call for Barbara and for Michael to make....and it was a very hard phone call to receive. They just said "We don't know how to go on, we don't know what to do." I said...Alright, well.....Thank you, it was good. Good Bye....Click.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

Meh, details...details. Still a great doc.

Here's the transcript.. Obviously would have happened following the wrap up of Die Another Day.

Barbara Broccoli: "9/11 happened, and that had had a huge impact on all of us. Michael (Broccoli) and I had struggled with the direction we were going to take bond. It didn't really seem right to have a flippancy to the films at that point."

Pierce Brosnan: "Barbara and Michael had to reposition themselves. Do they continue with me?, even though they've set sail and we've done four, and they've been successful. It was a horrible phone call for Barbara and for Michael to make....and it was a very hard phone call to receive. They just said "We don't know how to go on, we don't know what to do." I said...Alright, well.....Thank you, it was good. Good Bye....Click.

I've seen the doc and to be honest that part bugged me because it's recorded as being not true. Brosnan wasn't axed until early 2004 and he received the news from his agent. I'm sure there was a conversation with Barbara and Michael at some point after that though.

 

[laserpistol76]

Although most of the gadgets were obscure and kind of silly, I think they should at least give Bond a few practical gadgets.

 

[jlee562]

I've seen the doc and to be honest that part bugged me because it's recorded as being not true. Brosnan wasn't axed until early 2004 and he received the news from his agent. I'm sure there was a conversation with Barbara and Michael at some point after that though.

I haven't seen the doc., but from that excerpt, it does not really imply that Brosnan was called on 9/11/01. I read it as he's making a cultural reference (you know, "everything changed on 9/11").