What do you consider the most dire moment in a Bond film?

11415161820

Comments

  • I'm not a fan of Daniel Craig. So my least favourite bits come from his films - such the bit where he says "Bond, James Bond" with a tight suit and huge machine gun. And the over sized machine gun has become an icon of his era.
  • Posts: 11,425
    I think it's a sniper rifle isn't it? But take your point. Thankfully the Craig era didn't go too machine gun heavy. I personally associate that tendency with the Brosnan films. Still remember watching Pierce in GE just shooting everything up and thinking "who the hell is this guy?"
  • It was big gun that's all I know! The classic image of Bond was with a small handgun, and promotional pictures often had a silhouette of Bond with a small gun, But for a while there were many silhouette pictures of Daniel Craig's Bond with a huge gun.
  • edited March 2020 Posts: 11,425
    Are you sure you aren't thinking about the other fella?

    James-Bond-768x507.jpg

    Pierce-Brosnan-1.jpg

    7112b0b93f42246e9cc72862978e7d32.jpg

  • Posts: 230
    Getafix wrote: »
    With hindsight I agree. But presumably at the time this was felt to be what audiences wanted. The 70s was full of slightly cheesy action/comedy flicks and I think it's this you are seeing reflected in the Bond movies of the time.

    I am less bothered by the self-aware cheese than extreme tonal-shifts and out-of-character moments.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    Getafix wrote: »
    I think it's a sniper rifle isn't it? But take your point. Thankfully the Craig era didn't go too machine gun heavy. I personally associate that tendency with the Brosnan films. Still remember watching Pierce in GE just shooting everything up and thinking "who the hell is this guy?"

    Craig is carrying a HK UMP submachine gun. Not a sniper rifle.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    edited March 2020 Posts: 12,916
    And it was likely retrieved from the bad guys at the falling house in Venice.

    http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(2006)#Heckler_.26_Koch_UMP-9
  • Posts: 1,879
    jobo wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    Q handing Bond that bag of tricks in LTK, it is just laughable considering this is supposed to be a proper Fleming flavoured revenge entry.

    I've come to the conclusion although I quite like watching this film it is one of the most uneven toned entries of the series.

    QOS definitely nailed this rogue Bond idea so much better and without coming across like a farce.

    Seems a bit exaggerated to call the film a farce simply because Q shows with some gadgets and a few good quips.

    I don't think they are good quips, it is like they are trying to put Moore type humour and scenario into a film that is supposed to Bond out for revenge.

    At that point it does turn it into a farce, LTK had stuck to its convictions rather than trying to remind people it was a Bond rather than letting it do that without ticking boxes it would have been all the better for it.

    From the moment Q steps in the film loses its edge, stupid broom gadget with Q in the field. It undermines what Dalton was trying to do.

    I think the film would have been much better if Bond had of worked out how to attempt to assassinate Sanchez without Q's assistance.

    The whole film isn't a farce but the idea of Q being in it is. Ticking boxes, although some Bond fans just want to be reminded they are watching a Bond film rather than the film just doing that anyway.


    Regarding the quality of the quips we´ll have to disagree. I regard the Q scene in LTK as one of the best and most entertaining in the series.

    I don´t think it disturbs the overall tone of the film too much, and unlike in many other gadget laden Bond films, I don´t think it significantly impacts Bond´s plan in a way that make his efforts seem lazy or not requiering intelligence or wit. Bond still has to cleverly infiltrate an organization from within and set up a cunning plan dependent on significant skill to potentially achieve his goals unlike other films were he can simply casually push buttons in his car.

    In addition I quite like the fact that Bond and Q´s relationship has developed through the years to a point where they really care for each other as friends and Q is willing to defy orders in order to help him. The fact Desmond is in such fine form in the film and puts in one of his best performances as Q, makes it alltogether one of the most enjoyable examples of Bond/Q interaction in the series for me.
    I'm a little late, but Include me in the LTK pro-Q side. Maybe he shouldn't have been in LTK, but then again neither M nor Moneypenny's cameos were essential either.

    Consider this: the gadgets Q supplied did nothing to help Bond in the end. So what harm is there? And he also doesn't figure into the finale. It's all Bond and Pam. If a broom with a radio really harms your enjoyment of the film then you've got interesting expectations.

    I thought Dalton had an unexpectedly good rapport with Llewelyn. There was a warmth there I wasn't expecting given Dalton's intensity and it is a credit to both actors and to Glen.

    As for the Felix scene at the end, I don't have a problem with that. The guy went through hell and beyond and during his recovery gets the news his friend Bond went to this length couldn't help but give him a boost. Why do some fans think he has to continue suffering and brood to make it more effective? If anything, the sappy ending with Pam, complete with winking fish is much worse.
  • Posts: 6,728
    BT3366 wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    jobo wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    Q handing Bond that bag of tricks in LTK, it is just laughable considering this is supposed to be a proper Fleming flavoured revenge entry.

    I've come to the conclusion although I quite like watching this film it is one of the most uneven toned entries of the series.

    QOS definitely nailed this rogue Bond idea so much better and without coming across like a farce.

    Seems a bit exaggerated to call the film a farce simply because Q shows with some gadgets and a few good quips.

    I don't think they are good quips, it is like they are trying to put Moore type humour and scenario into a film that is supposed to Bond out for revenge.

    At that point it does turn it into a farce, LTK had stuck to its convictions rather than trying to remind people it was a Bond rather than letting it do that without ticking boxes it would have been all the better for it.

    From the moment Q steps in the film loses its edge, stupid broom gadget with Q in the field. It undermines what Dalton was trying to do.

    I think the film would have been much better if Bond had of worked out how to attempt to assassinate Sanchez without Q's assistance.

    The whole film isn't a farce but the idea of Q being in it is. Ticking boxes, although some Bond fans just want to be reminded they are watching a Bond film rather than the film just doing that anyway.


    Regarding the quality of the quips we´ll have to disagree. I regard the Q scene in LTK as one of the best and most entertaining in the series.

    I don´t think it disturbs the overall tone of the film too much, and unlike in many other gadget laden Bond films, I don´t think it significantly impacts Bond´s plan in a way that make his efforts seem lazy or not requiering intelligence or wit. Bond still has to cleverly infiltrate an organization from within and set up a cunning plan dependent on significant skill to potentially achieve his goals unlike other films were he can simply casually push buttons in his car.

    In addition I quite like the fact that Bond and Q´s relationship has developed through the years to a point where they really care for each other as friends and Q is willing to defy orders in order to help him. The fact Desmond is in such fine form in the film and puts in one of his best performances as Q, makes it alltogether one of the most enjoyable examples of Bond/Q interaction in the series for me.
    I'm a little late, but Include me in the LTK pro-Q side. Maybe he shouldn't have been in LTK, but then again neither M nor Moneypenny's cameos were essential either.

    Consider this: the gadgets Q supplied did nothing to help Bond in the end. So what harm is there? And he also doesn't figure into the finale. It's all Bond and Pam. If a broom with a radio really harms your enjoyment of the film then you've got interesting expectations.

    I thought Dalton had an unexpectedly good rapport with Llewelyn. There was a warmth there I wasn't expecting given Dalton's intensity and it is a credit to both actors and to Glen.

    As for the Felix scene at the end, I don't have a problem with that. The guy went through hell and beyond and during his recovery gets the news his friend Bond went to this length couldn't help but give him a boost. Why do some fans think he has to continue suffering and brood to make it more effective? If anything, the sappy ending with Pam, complete with winking fish is much worse.

    Daltons first scene with Llewellyn in the TLD when he is given the key finder is one of the best Bond/Q scenes in the series!
    ("You dont find too many normal people in this business, Q!")
  • Posts: 11,425
    Shame the lame Moneypenny spoils it a bit.

    Yes Desmond and Tim had great chemistry. Didn't Desmond also let slip that Tim was his favourite Bond?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Getafix wrote: »
    Shame the lame Moneypenny spoils it a bit.

    Yes Desmond and Tim had great chemistry. Didn't Desmond also let slip that Tim was his favourite Bond?

    Yes, he made that comment on some behind-the-scenes feature.
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    edited March 2020 Posts: 1,081
    Getafix wrote: »
    Shame the lame Moneypenny spoils it a bit.

    Yes Desmond and Tim had great chemistry. Didn't Desmond also let slip that Tim was his favourite Bond?

    Yes, he made that comment on some behind-the-scenes feature.



    Agree! Dalton has the worst Moneypenny, IMO. This emphasises the relationship between Bond and Q, though.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    And it was likely retrieved from the bad guys at the falling house in Venice.

    http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(2006)#Heckler_.26_Koch_UMP-9

    Good catch, that!
  • Agent7777Agent7777 England
    Posts: 37
    When Jaws falls in love in MR has always been the most cringiest moment in a Bond film for me.
  • brown7777brown7777 chelmsford
    Posts: 10
    @Shardlake I love Q in the field. Sums up why I like LTK so much actually. It manages to be ballsy and fresh and different while still feeling distinctly Bond. Desmond was a big part of that and it was sweet seeing him go out of his way to help Bond. The winking fish is poor but I liked the ending with Bond and Pam (Dalton's Bond had two quite sweet endings, he really captured the romanticism of Fleming's Bond imo) and it's a blink and you'll miss it moment that doesn't do anything to diminish all the brilliant stuff we got before it imo. LTK isn't the most consistent film of the series fair enough, but the good bits are just so so good. It's my favourite Bond film. You mentioned Dalton and Davi's final showdown in the desert, that for me is the best scene of the series. It just feels so earned and badass after watching the whole film build to that point and the brilliant finale, and then the aftermath with Bond stumbling off into the desert, dry heaving, covered in blood sand and cocaine, collapsing against a rock relieved that it's finally all over. Perfect. It really feels like he's gone through the ringer. I'd have loved a third Dalton film more than anything but at least he went out on a high and got his perfect Bond film, I can't picture anything in a third film ever beating that final showdown with Sanchez. Love that film. It doesn't have any moments that come close to the nadir but it has a fair few that come close to the peak of the series imo, and that final showdown in the desert actually is the peak of the series for me.

    @BondJason Bardem is one of the best Bond villains ever and his whole introduction scene is fantastic. I am surprised that with some of the crap we've gotten over the years that's what you picked as the nadir. What makes you hate it so much?

    Anyway I think for me it might be the TMWTGG sumo sequence (everyone talks about the slidewhistle, nobody mentions the horrific trombone/trumpet wah wah sound during the sumo fight) right through to the boat chase. The tsunami surfing I've come to enjoy, it's awful but it's part of DAD's crappy over the top B movie charm. And Bond breaking a landspeed record then escaping a falling glacier and surfing a tsunam at least sounds cool on paper. That whole section of TMWTGG is just a shambles.

    QoS will always be my least favourite but I think if I had to try and pick an objective (well as close to objective as anyone can be) worst Bond film TMWTGG would probably be it. It's just cheap and nasty and bad. The guy who directed Goldfinger, Roger Moore and Christopher Lee facing off, John Barry doing the score. That could have, should have been a top five Bond film and instead we get Bond grabbing a sumo wrestlers arse and cringey karate schoolgirls. Can't imagine how original fans must have felt watching that one in the cinema. I think TMWTGG and DAD are the only genuinely bad Bond films, but at least with DAD you get the sense that they're trying to make something good. I don't know what anyone was thinking when it came to this



    And this



    Thank god for TSWLM.

    Hi Everyone i am new to this forum i think the issue withTMWTGG is both producers were falling out and the film has a tired look to it but when the spy who loved me came along that saved it
  • Posts: 3,275
    Agent7777 wrote: »
    When Jaws falls in love in MR has always been the most cringiest moment in a Bond film for me.

    Yeah, pretty bad.

    The top 5 list for me is -

    1. DAD - the surfing CGI, the ultimate worst scene ever
    2. DAF - `you just killed James Bond!'
    3. MR - double taking pigeons and Jaws falling in love
    4. OP - Tarzan yells
    5. TWINE - `he knew about my shoulder, knew where to hurt me...'
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 230
    Agent7777 wrote: »
    When Jaws falls in love in MR has always been the most cringiest moment in a Bond film for me.

    Yeah, pretty bad.

    The top 5 list for me is -

    1. DAD - the surfing CGI, the ultimate worst scene ever
    2. DAF - `you just killed James Bond!'
    3. MR - double taking pigeons and Jaws falling in love
    4. OP - Tarzan yells
    5. TWINE - `he knew about my shoulder, knew where to hurt me...'

    We could probably fill a top-5 list with nothing but Jinx quotes.
  • Posts: 11,425
    Yo mama!
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,378
    The double taking pigeons don't bother me at all. BUT Jaws falling in love is very painful to watch. Very embarrassing.
  • Agent_47Agent_47 Canada
    Posts: 330
    Getafix wrote: »
    Yo mama!

    Probably my favourite line of dialogue in the film.

    <:-P
  • OctopussyOctopussy Piz Gloria, Schilthorn, Switzerland.
    Posts: 1,081
    Stockholm Syndrome. Oh dear.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 5,921
    "My connecting box is outside my bedroom window."
  • Posts: 787
    Surely the kitesurfing tsunami is right up there; the only contender for me is the double-taking pigeon.

    Here's why: both have become iconic in terms of how dire they are. Both are practically mononyms that stand for so much more than themselves. If you simply say to a bond fan, "kitesurfing" or "pigeon," they immediately know what you mean. It's not just the moment in the film, but the problems with a whole actor, director, era, or writer.

    There are a lot of other moments in Bond films that are cheesy or cringe-inducing, but those two . . . they're transcendent.
  • Posts: 230
    Octopussy wrote: »
    Stockholm Syndrome. Oh dear.

    Why? Do you feel they dealt with such a serious topic too casually?
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,382
    The forced love scene right after the train fight in Spectre. First time I've ever cringed in a theater during a Bond film
  • Posts: 7,500
    Every scene Boris is in in Goldeneye
  • Posts: 11,425
    The forced love scene right after the train fight in Spectre. First time I've ever cringed in a theater during a Bond film

    That's actually one of the best moments in the film and genuinely quite funny.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,382
    Getafix wrote: »
    The forced love scene right after the train fight in Spectre. First time I've ever cringed in a theater during a Bond film

    That's actually one of the best moments in the film and genuinely quite funny.

    It just seemed so abrupt and unexpected. Perhaps I was on the previous Craig train of thinking and he pours himself a drink or something. I'd be fine with something like after the stairwell fight in CR then Madeline comes in and the love scene starts.
  • edited April 2020 Posts: 7,500
    Getafix wrote: »
    The forced love scene right after the train fight in Spectre. First time I've ever cringed in a theater during a Bond film

    That's actually one of the best moments in the film and genuinely quite funny.

    It just seemed so abrupt and unexpected. Perhaps I was on the previous Craig train of thinking and he pours himself a drink or something. I'd be fine with something like after the stairwell fight in CR then Madeline comes in and the love scene starts.


    I would not go as far as saying that it makes sense, but it is not that unnatural. They had been eyeing each other up for some time and probably both consciously and unconsciously considered the idea. (We for sure know Bond would anyway, and it´s, well, a mysterious, ultra masculin bloke looking like Daniel Craig on the other side, so yeah, she would be doing it as well). Then on the train, they bond further together and on top of that something very dramatic happens which forces them to fight for their lives, reminds them how they both could be dead very soon, gets their adrenalin pumping and which result in making them drop their guard and yield in.
  • Posts: 3,275
    jobo wrote: »
    Every scene Boris is in in Goldeneye

    Oh yes, I forgot about that irritating twat. Utterly embarrassing, every scene he appears in.
Sign In or Register to comment.