Epic Gun Battles: The Best of Bond

00Beast

Just like the hand-to-hand combat fights, the epic gun battles are staples in the Bond movies. Which ones do you find as the best ones? Here is a list of several:

The gypsy camp battle in FRWL
The Fort Knox battle in GF
The Underwater battle in TB
The Kobe Docks battle in YOLT
The Volcano Lair battle in YOLT
The Piz Gloria battle in OHMSS
The Oil Rig battle in DAF
The Liparus battle in TSWLM
The battle in space in MR
The warehouse fight in FYEO
The Afghan airbase battle in TLD
The Russian Archives battle in GE
The Stealth Boat battle in TND
The battle at Zukovsky's caviar factory in TWINE
The battle at Colonel Moon's Headquarters in DAD

PrinceKamalKhan

My top 5 are as follows:

The Underwater battle in TB
The Volcano Lair battle in YOLT
The Piz Gloria battle in OHMSS
The Liparus battle in TSWLM
The battle in space in MR

DaltonCraig007

1 - Kobe Docks - YOLT
2 - Piz Gloria - OHMSS
3 - Gyspy Camp - FRWL
4 - Underwater - TB
5 - In Space - MR
6 - Liparus - TSWLM
7 - Volcano Lair - YOLT
8 - Afghan airbase - TLD
9 - Oil Rig - DAF

No competition from the rest.

GoldenGun

1. Piz Gloria - OHMSS
2. Gypsy Camp - FRWL
3. Underwater Mayhem - TB
4. St. Petersburg Archives - GE
5. The Liparus - TSWLM
6. Airbase - TLD
7. Caviar Factory - TWINE

The Fort Knox battle is more memorable on the inside (Bond vs. Oddjob) then on the outside.

thelordflasheart

I don't find the gun battles too exciting - there generally really isn't the sense of danger or excitement that a hand-to-hand fight (or say, a ski chase) has. There's sort of a "cool" factor of the bigness of it all, or as Bond and his allies slowly gain ground but I find I'm usually waiting to get through it so Bond can go after the main villian.

Having said that, the one that I did really like as a kid was the underwater battle in TB. It was so unique and different that it blew me away. We're so used to seeing people shooting each other that a battle taking place in an environment that itself was dangerous was thrilling. In addition to getting "shot" (or skewered) you could have your airline cut or your mask smashed or removed. Really ups the stakes IMHO.

DaltonCraig007

thelordflasheart said:
I don't find the gun battles too exciting

Go to 3m31s :-bd

00Beast

I see where you're coming from, since I like the hand-to-hand combat fights better myself. I still think that the gun battles are really intense and epic, especially those that take place as the main villain's base is about to blow.

dragonsky

-Piz Gloria battle in OHMSS
-Battle at Zukovsky's caviar factory in TWINE
-Volcano Lair battle in YOLT
-Afghan airbase battle in TLD

thelordflasheart

DaltonCraig007 - I always loved the "007" piece of music and thought that it was great to have a secondary piece of music that ties the Connery films together (in addition to the James Bond Theme, I mean). One of the things I was hoping for with QoS was that Arnold would reuse bits of CR's score to tie the films together - a not unreasonable idea as they had said that QoS would be a direct sequel to CR.

I liked that they used a (tiny) bit of Vesper's theme but I had really been hoping that they would use part of African Rundown or the Miami Airport music as sort of a CraigBond action theme - sort of doing for him what they did for Connery with the "007" piece of music. One could argue that they could just use a new arrangement of "007" but I don't think it would fit in with the modern films. When was it last used - Octopussy?

BAIN123

I always liked the St. Petersberg archives gun battle in GE. IMO the Eric Serra score really fits that scene:

00Beast

thelordflasheart said:
One could argue that they could just use a new arrangement of "007" but I don't think it would fit in with the modern films. When was it last used - Octopussy?

No, it was last used in Moonraker, during the boat chase between Bond and Jaws. I agree with you about the 007 Theme. It was really neat, especially when they used it in FRWL, when Bond, Kerim Bey, and Tatiana escaped the Russian Consulate with the Lektor.

thelordflasheart

Just thinking about the "epic gun battles' has made me really think about my thoughts about guns and gun battles in movies and TV shows.

Like most young boys I loved guns and thought they were amazingly cool. I didn't understand *why*, I just felt that way - as did every guy my age. As I got older I realized the appeal to a young boy - guns are a great equalizer. You can be a 98-pound weakling, but once you have a gun suddenly you can be a threat to someone the size and strength of Oddjob or Jaws. And better yet, there's an element of magic to it. Your opponent is on the other side of the room? No problem; you just pull the trigger and he's dead, even though you're nowhere near him. Part of the "wish fulfilment" aspect of films for young boys is that you're powerful and in control. Pick up a gun and you acheive that in mere seconds through no work or effort of your own.

When I was an action film obsessed teenager I was living through the "big guns and steroids" age of the Reagan 80's. To see Schwartzenegger or Stallone mow down 50 faceless commies (who we had been taught to hate because...well, we were good and they weren't) was the kind of thing that would make our testosterone-overloaded 15 year old selves pumps our fists and yell "HELL YEAH - TAKE THAT!" at the screen. But a combination of factors made me move away from that. Part of it was that action films changed from "big guns and steroids" to "bad white guy kung-fu". Even though the martial arts were lame by the standards of today's films the fact that a hero was succeeding on his own merits and skills was cool. Not to mention that a guy, properly motivated at the gym, could actually look like Van Damme whereas that would be impossible for 99.9% of the population if they wanted to look like Schwartzenegger.

In my personal life a couple of friends taught me how to work out and exercise and in 8 months I went from the 145 pound nerdy weakling that got teased and beat up to a 180 pound brick sh!thouse. Suddenly, girls wanted to feel my arms at parties. I could walk through any neighborhood at any time of night and feel comfortable and safe. And all of it was because of my own effort. I had been angry and upset in the past that girls didn't seem interested in me before, and I learned something really interesting. Girls might make compliments on the shape I was in, but what *really* impressed them was that I worked hard towards a goal and acheived it. And not just in terms of working out, but in any aspect of life.

This taught me to take responsibility for my actions and improve myself in many ways. I became a much more well-rounded person, and found that I had the confidence to not care what other guys thought of me. So I had no problem admitting that I read literature instead of Penthouse, listened to classical music or jazz instead of classic rock, saw art-house films instead of the latest Steven Segal film, and liked fine food instead of McDonalds. I was suprised at how angry this made a lot of guys - I could understand if these were things they weren't interested in, but they had to yell at me and call me names and point out that these things proved that I was homosexual. The great irony was that these things made me much more appealing to women. And in addition, these were traits that Bond had, and all the guys making fun of me loved Bond!

So this is all to say that I learned to appreciate, and indeed that other people appreciate, "earning" something through your own hard work and dedication. That's why an epic gun battle will never be as interesting to me as seeing Bond, on his own, tackle some formidable opponent using his own skills and knowledge rather than an army or a "magic wand" gadget from Q.

Kerim

Another Silly Top 10 listing from Kerim:

1. Bond and daddy interupts Ernie's and Tracy's poetry reading.
2. Krilencu ruins a perfectly good gypsy catfight.
3. Bond is no dummy Scaramanga.
4. Invade Albanian warehouse and kick Locque off of cliff. OK, I guess Columbo is a good guy.
5. What do you mean the soldiers at Fort Knox weren't gassed?
6. All right, who invited the ninja's to the volcano party?
7. If I knew you guys were going to turn out to be Al Qaeda...
8. Those boys with toys are destroying Russian history.
9. I hate it when the Chinese stop me from killing Latin American drug lords.
10. For the last time, I go after Greene, you go after Medrano.

00Beast

Hahaha! I like those creative titles, Kerim!

00Beast

-The Gypsy Camp
-Fort Knox
-Volcano Lair
-Liparus
-Albanian Warehouse
-Chasing Orlov
-Afghan Airbase
-Russian Archives
-Stealth Boat
-Caviar Factory

4EverBonded

I like:

Gypsy Camp
Volcano Lair
Archives Battle
Caviar Factory
FYEO battle
Albanian Warehouse
Afghan Airbase

Dr_Metz

YOLT's Volcano Lair, OHMSS's Piz Gloria, and TSWLM's Liparus are all great battle locations. The Oil Rig from DAF is also good as well, but not as good as the other three.

00Beast

Dr_Metz said:
YOLT's Volcano Lair, OHMSS's Piz Gloria, and TSWLM's Liparus are all great battle locations. The Oil Rig from DAF is also good as well, but not as good as the other three.

I don't know, the Oil Rig in DAF isn't exciting enough for me. There's too much emphasis on Bond escaping from the brig and Tiffany Case fooling around with the tape. There wasn't enough gunfire and explosions, and some of the shots during the fight are rather dull and lackluster.

Baltimore_007

Do you notice in Diamonds how Case goes from a savvy able girl when we first get introduced to the character, to a scatter brained token bimbo by the end of the Oil Rig sequence, quite a transformation

Epic Gun shootouts would include the Camp scene in FRWL, TSWLM when Moore rescues the captive crew members, I just saw Walken with a machine gun spraying randomly at people in AVTAK, I'll add that. Dalton in Afghanistan as he gets control of the cargo plane, In the archives in Saint Petersburg for Goldeneye, the teaser of Tomorrow Never Dies, and I can't quite think of any more instances right now,but they are surely out there

00Beast

Baltimore_007 said:
Do you notice in Diamonds how Case goes from a savvy able girl when we first get introduced to the character, to a scatter brained token bimbo by the end of the Oil Rig sequence, quite a transformation

Epic Gun shootouts would include the Camp scene in FRWL, TSWLM when Moore rescues the captive crew members, I just saw Walken with a machine gun spraying randomly at people in AVTAK, I'll add that. Dalton in Afghanistan as he gets control of the cargo plane, In the archives in Saint Petersburg for Goldeneye, the teaser of Tomorrow Never Dies, and I can't quite think of any more instances right now,but they are surely out there

Great list, I'm down with those as well! I love the one in TLD with Dalton and the AK-47 firing rounds into the air to scare away the soldiers. Pure epic!

Gerard

The albanian warehouse in FYEO has a special significance for me due to the circumstances I saw it first. I was doing my military service at the time, and in the day, I had had a shooting session with a rifle... without earmuffs. Not something I recommand, because my ears were still ringing when I went to the theater. Add to that the fact that said theater had Dolby, and you can guess that after that scene, my ears were rigning some more. Still, I consider FYEO as one of the two best Moore's Bonds, with TSWLM. And that scene as one of the best gun battles, although not quite as good as the assault on Piz Gloria or the Liparus.

Baltimore_007

Gerard said:
The albanian warehouse in FYEO has a special significance for me due to the circumstances I saw it first. I was doing my military service at the time, and in the day, I had had a shooting session with a rifle... without earmuffs. Not something I recommand, because my ears were still ringing when I went to the theater. Add to that the fact that said theater had Dolby, and you can guess that after that scene, my ears were rigning some more. Still, I consider FYEO as one of the two best Moore's Bonds, with TSWLM. And that scene as one of the best gun battles, although not quite as good as the assault on Piz Gloria or the Liparus.

Which begs the question-

Was doing that worse than listening to the Beatles ?

00Beast

Baltimore_007 said:

Gerard said:
The albanian warehouse in FYEO has a special significance for me due to the circumstances I saw it first. I was doing my military service at the time, and in the day, I had had a shooting session with a rifle... without earmuffs. Not something I recommand, because my ears were still ringing when I went to the theater. Add to that the fact that said theater had Dolby, and you can guess that after that scene, my ears were rigning some more. Still, I consider FYEO as one of the two best Moore's Bonds, with TSWLM. And that scene as one of the best gun battles, although not quite as good as the assault on Piz Gloria or the Liparus.

Which begs the question-

Was doing that worse than listening to the Beatles ?

Haha, that's one of the better lines in Goldfinger!

Gerard

Worse, definitely worse. At least, the Beatles kew how to make music. Guns... Well, I would just say I hate Techno.

The_Reaper

Warehouse fight in FYEO
Gypsy battle in FRWL
Fort Knox in GF, inside and out :-j
Submarine battle in TSWLM
Storming Blofeld's snow fortress in OHMSS

The question is, will/should Craig ever have one?

00Beast

The_Reaper said:
Warehouse fight in FYEO
Gypsy battle in FRWL
Fort Knox in GF, inside and out :-j
Submarine battle in TSWLM
Storming Blofeld's snow fortress in OHMSS

The question is, will/should Craig ever have one?

Yes he definitely should! We should get those classic gunfights back in SkyFall, with Daniel and the MI6 agents or military storming the villain's base and tearing it up with plenty of machine gun fire!

w2bond

I'm trying to make a tribute video and in reviewing some of these battles, I can't find too many instances where Bond is using his gun, apart from the shootemup scenes post 1995

00Beast

w2bond said:
I'm trying to make a tribute video and in reviewing some of these battles, I can't find too many instances where Bond is using his gun, apart from the shootemup scenes post 1995

FYEO during the battle with Locque at the warehouse, YOLT during the Kobe Docks fight, FRWL during the gypsy camp battle, and OP when Orlov is trying to escape all come to my mind, though there might be others.

w2bond

00Beast said:

w2bond said:
I'm trying to make a tribute video and in reviewing some of these battles, I can't find too many instances where Bond is using his gun, apart from the shootemup scenes post 1995

FYEO during the battle with Locque at the warehouse, YOLT during the Kobe Docks fight, FRWL during the gypsy camp battle, and OP when Orlov is trying to escape all come to my mind, though there might be others.

True but they don't have that impact compared with say, Bond shooting at Greene at the hotel

00Beast

This has always been a favorite of mine, and I rather do like the new music that this guy put in, I love the caviar factory track!

EDIT: Well, strike that, I hate it when that happens. Anyway, it was the shoot-out in Locque's Albanian warehouse with the caviar factory track from TWINE.

OHMSS69

Gun battles or Battle Royale has been a staple in the films since GF and became part of the formula. Some of my favorites:
1. Piz Gloria battle OHMSS
2. Liparius battle TSWLM
3. Volcano battle Ninjas versus SPECTRE YOLT
Numerous others that I just can't rank. they all good except for that shytt on the oil rig in DAF

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