The Bond Effect

nobodydoesitbetter

The Bond 24 thread is getting attacked by the cgi discussion so I thought i would try and move that topic over here...

I think we can all agree that a very big part of the Bond films are the spectacular stunts and effects work (good or bad). DAD has some of the worst effects in the franchise. Bond shouldn't be riding giant cgi waves. What other things in the history of the franchise should he not have been doing when it comes to stunts/effects work. Lets discuss...

please close this thread if there is already an effects thread available. I couldn't find one

w2bond

The crap sequence which was the freefall scene in QoS which is comparable to the DAD CGI except thankfully much shorter. Whatever happened to doing the stunts for real?? There's even a documentary about stunts in one of the movies special features. This is a series that is very proud of the groundbreaking stunts...the aerials, the ski scenes.

I understand there's real life stuff like insurance etc to consider but still, as late as 2006...the Aston Martin stunt and crane jump.

nobodydoesitbetter

I never had any real issues with the freefall sequence in QoS. I think the shot when Pierce is free falling after the plane in GE is a lot worse - even if it was 13 years before QoS there is no excuse for that shot. It was rubbish in 1995 and its even worse now. I fully understand that directors/producers/studi execs/insurers do not want to be throwing their major star out of aéroplanes or leaping off cliffs. As someone mentioned over in the Bond 24 production timeline thread : if it can't be done practically then don't do it. Today with the ever increasing use of cgi in other action adventure films the cgi stunts are getting more and more elaborate. Unfortunately for a series like Bond they need to compete with these action adventure films in an over saturated market place. Therefore the stunts are going to become more and more elaborate therefore pushing the limits of the stunt team and as a result probably having to go digital. There is still no excuses though for the surfing sequence in DAD. If the stunt needs to go digital and it looks rubbish up there on the screen then all believability is lost. Digital face replacement will become the norm in the future to hide the stunt teams faces. There is nothing wrong with this as long as its done right. Or do we want to be still in the days of when you could clearly see that it wasn't Roger Moore driving the car in A View To A Kill.

w2bond

The thing about the freefall sequence is that it looks so out of place in such a serious no-nonsense film. The car chase at the beginning was more thrilling stuntwork. And I don't know how much of that Mitchell and Bond fight was CGI (I know the fall was) but at least that looked more convincing. This is just within QoS.

Comparing to the other films, the freefall is an insult to the incredible aerial work and risk involved in MR, FYEO, TSWLM, OP, TLD, and LTK

I don't think the general audience really care whether the stunts are done for real (see DAD's box office takings) but for me it's an important part of Bond's appeal

Thunderpussy

I used to take great pride in the fact that all the Bond stunts were done for real.
A real stuntman doing something incredible, gave you that jaw dropping moment
Like the croc escape from LALD, bloody brilliant, yet scary as you know a man
Had to do it, for real.

Dragonpol

I agree that things are better when they're done for real!