Skyfall, gun barrel sequence back where it belongs?

edited April 2012 in Skyfall Posts: 2,189
I’ll admit, I was ticked off for the first few minutes of Casino Royale because the movie didn’t start off the way it was supposed to with the classic Bond gun barrel sequence, but I was overjoyed when they used the pre-title scene to give the gun barrel sequence a personal connection to Bond in his role as 007. Kudos to them for making that happen.

However, when Quantum started off the same way, I figured, maybe they’ll start a new tradition of putting the gun barrel into the end of every pre-title sequence, but that didn’t happen either, and I had to wait the whole movie to watch the dots blink across the screen. Granted, I love the gun barrel in QOS, but I don’t think I’ll be able to overlook the sequences misplacement a third time.

When I’m sitting in that iMax theater on November 9th to see Skyfall, after the MGM lion roars and the Columbia lady fades away, the first thing I want to see is a twenty foot tall white dot moving across the screen while the Bond theme blares out of every speaker in the house before Craig walks out, turns, and shoots. They NEED to put the sequence where it belongs, at the very beginning.

Does anyone disagree, or are you all as excited to see it at the beginning as I am?
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Comments

  • Posts: 11,425
    I think 99.9% will agree with you. We've had too much pointless tinkering recently. Put it back where it belongs.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited April 2012 Posts: 15,686
    Come to think of it, the last normal gunbarrel was in TWINE.... in DAD we had the bullet, in CR it was at the end of the PTS and in QOS it was at the end of the whole film. I think if for the 50th anniversary outing there isn't a return to a normal gunbarrel.... I'll feel pretty cheated. I've never seen the normal gunbarrel in theaters, as I never saw TWINE in cinemas. IMO it's long overdue that the GB gets back where it belongs... and no CGI bullet please.
  • Posts: 12,506
    yep! i want to see the tradional gun barrel sequence return to the start of the movie too! Honestly believe that this will happen!
  • Posts: 2,189
    I'd rather have something like this:

    I'm quoting here from your discussion @TopGearJB007. I really like this re-mix because I think that the gun barrel in TND was probably the best because the music was David Arnold, Brosnan did a great turn, and I like how the barrel was so shiny and three unlike all the prior ones, save Goldeneye which was the same barrel but different music, making all the difference in IMO. However, I don’t think Skyfall’s barrel will be like this, so much as it will be like the one in Quantum. I actually like the texture of the Quantum gun barrel the most, despite its CGI. I only hope that Skyfall’s gun barrel will run slower than Quantum’s did, and have a louder, even more rousing rendition of the Bond theme music.
  • Posts: 1,497
    When I’m sitting in that iMax theater on November 9th to see Skyfall, after the MGM lion roars and the Columbia lady fades away, the first thing I want to see is a twenty foot tall white dot moving across the screen while the Bond theme blares out of every speaker in the house before Craig walks out, turns, and shoots. They NEED to put the sequence where it belongs, at the very beginning.

    This will no doubt be the case, what with the 50th anniversary and all, the film-makers need to go classic.

    CR and QOS GB's were meant to be bookends--a beginning and closing to the Vesper and Quantum storylines. That's why the QOS GB was at the end. I believe Michael G. Wilson said this to be true in an interview.

  • Posts: 2,189


    Actually I take that back about TND. It used to be my favorite gunbarrel but Quantum’s is as good, if not better. Primarily, it has a better music to it because, while both have a basic, yet strong tune accompanying them, Quantum's is loud and blaring like an opening should be, unlike TND's which is a bit mellow and has too much of an Asian feel to it as it ends with a gong. Quantum’s gun barrel is flawed however as Craig isn’t very clear in it, almost as if his resolution is too low for the screen, and the whole thing goes by so quickly. In Skyfall, if they can use the same barrel as Quantum with a very similar tune, make Daniel as clear as day when he walks out, and the sequence longer so that there is time to savor every second of it, I think we’ll have the best opening gunbarrel of them all.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    I find the QOS gunbarrel to be bland, from the music to the look and Craigs pose. Brosnans pose may not be my favourite, but the TND gunbarrel has a great theme and it has that glossy CGI look introduced in GE.
  • Posts: 11,425
    I find the QOS gunbarrel to be bland, from the music to the look and Craigs pose. Brosnans pose may not be my favourite, but the TND gunbarrel has a great theme and it has that glossy CGI look introduced in GE.

    The QoS barrels look very CGI to me - not a good thing IMO.
  • Posts: 2,341
    I like all your comments. I would like the GB sequence to open the film. I like the GE music but would like to see a very very classic GB similiar to the Thuderball, YOLT, DAF. Maybe that's too much to ask for.
  • Posts: 12,837
    I don't like the QOS barrel and I hope they redesign it for Skyfall.

    If the gunbarrel isn't at the start then I'm walking out of the film.
  • edited April 2012 Posts: 5,745
    I don't like the QOS barrel and I hope they redesign it for Skyfall.

    If the gunbarrel isn't at the start then I'm walking out of the film.

    Lets be honest, no your not.
  • edited April 2012 Posts: 12,837
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    I don't like the QOS barrel and I hope they redesign it for Skyfall.

    If the gunbarrel isn't at the start then I'm walking out of the film.

    Lets be honest, no your not.

    I might do, I've waited 4 years for this film and I want a proper gunbarrel.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    I think they should go for a proper old school GB for Skyfall, I will be very surprised and disappointed if it doesn't go back at the start, I understand the reason it was re-positioned but we're done with Bond begins and if they are looking for classic Bond then a C.G.I free GB is the way to go.

    I hope to have the hairs on the back of my neck go up when the theme kicks in and Craig walks into view.
  • Posts: 2,189
    If by old school GB you mean all of the ones before Goldeneye which were like paper cut-outtts moving over live action, I hope that this is not the case. I also don't want to see Craig walk out with a hat on or bell-bottoms, or have him drop onto his knee, or have him lock his firing arm with the other. The Bond gunbarrel sequence has defined each Bond actor, so Craig's has to be unique, but I think we can expect it to be a lot like the one in Quantum, which I would welcome.
  • Posts: 5,745
    Would we consider a roll? No? That doesn't sound good come to think of it.

    Hm.. unique.. how about CASINO ROYALE'S?! Don't see why people hate that one so.
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    edited April 2012 Posts: 1,699

    Yup, this is pretty much what I'd like to see, like many here, it seems.

    Frankly, any further tinkering with the gunbarrel (as witnessed in CR and QOS - even though what was done with it in both of those films I rather liked, must admit) is surely unnecessary in SF. After all, in this flick, it looks like the idea is to present Bond as the fully-formed 007 we've known and loved for so long, so why wouldn't the gunbarrel rightfully be in place at the very start - especially with the flick being at the heart of the series' 50th anniversary celebrations?

    Plus, I suspect Sam Mendes will put it back there and do no further tinkering, as I doubt he's a Claudio Ranieri when it comes to Bond... ;)
  • Posts: 1,497
    Getafix wrote:
    I find the QOS gunbarrel to be bland, from the music to the look and Craigs pose. Brosnans pose may not be my favourite, but the TND gunbarrel has a great theme and it has that glossy CGI look introduced in GE.

    The QoS barrels look very CGI to me - not a good thing IMO.

    Totally agree. I also don't like the sound effect of the bullet. It sounds muted to me.

    Also the camera pans out to the letter Q. I would like to see the classic camera shake left to right after the blood fills the screen.

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited April 2012 Posts: 13,882
    Compared to the gunbarel above, even though the one i'm about to post still has Craig, it's got the Brosnan era look, with an improved gun shot and a really nice rendition of the gun barrel theme...



    Something like that would be nice.
  • Posts: 39
    When I’m sitting in that iMax theater on November 9th to see Skyfall, after the MGM lion roars and the Columbia lady fades away, the first thing I want to see is a twenty foot tall white dot moving across the screen while the Bond theme blares out of every speaker in the house before Craig walks out, turns, and shoots. They NEED to put the sequence where it belongs, at the very beginning.

    Does anyone disagree, or are you all as excited to see it at the beginning as I am?

    I couldn't agree more and I couldn't have said it better. I am incredibly excited to see SF but I will be very disappointed for the few few minutes of the film if the "real" gunbarrel doesn't happen.

    Everyone wants it. No one doesn't want to see it. And, it's the 50-year anniversary. How can Mendes (or whomever makes the final call on this sort of detail) say no?

  • edited April 2012 Posts: 12,837
    JWESTBROOK wrote:
    Would we consider a roll? No? That doesn't sound good come to think of it.

    Hm.. unique.. how about CASINO ROYALE'S?! Don't see why people hate that one so.

    People don't like CRs because it wasn't at the start. It can be unique without being in the wrong place.

    I don't mind the CR gunbarrel for the reboot but I wouldn't like them to do it again.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,369
    I thought it was quite interesting how they managed to put the gun barrel in for CR, but with the 50-year anniversary marking Skyfall, I would appreciate the film opening up with that: the traditional gun barrel sequence.
  • Posts: 5,745
    To be honest, I wish they hadn't tried something different before the 50th.

    I agree, it should be traditional for the anniversary, but I would love to see them continue what they did with the GB in Casino. I wish they had waited, though :/ I fear it will stick to the tradition from now on.

    (which isn't that bad of a thing, I just liked CR's)
  • MartinBondMartinBond Trying not to muck it up again
    edited April 2012 Posts: 858
    The one thing I do want is the music to be loud, but not to fast. As a great example, google the gunbarrel for "Nightfire". except for the "tada-tadaah"-cue x4 at the end, I think that's a great rate for the music. And one thing witch could be good as an extra all the way at the end of the credits is Danny doing one wearing a hat, as I love George's Gunbarrel.
  • Posts: 1,497
    MartinBond wrote:
    The one thing I do want is the music to be loud, but not to fast. As a great example, google the gunbarrel for "Nightfire". except for the "tada-tadaah"-cue x4 at the end, I think that's a great rate for the music. And one thing witch could be good as an extra all the way at the end of the credits is Danny doing one wearing a hat, as I love George's Gunbarrel.

    The Nightfire is quite good and well paced.

    DC though will never wear a hat.

  • MartinBondMartinBond Trying not to muck it up again
    Posts: 858
    JBFan626 wrote:
    DC though will never wear a hat.

    One can always hope...

    Or if all else fails, bring on After Effects :D
  • Greetings Gentlemen and Ladies,

    This is my first post, but hopefully more will follow to share with you fine folks.

    On this topic, I must agree with most of you in that I have a strong feeling the gun barrel will officially kick off Skyfall, and in essence, be back in its rightful place. That said, I would personally prefer it if Craig re-shot it and did a different take. I've never been a fan of the QoS gun barrel, partially because Craig looks as if he's walking too quickly and lacking grace (something Dalton, Moore and Lazenby did well in theirs respectively), though i do like Craig's "turn." Perhaps this is just a matter of slowing down the film to get a better effect, but either way, was not crazy at all about the one he did.

    I'd like to see something new, and hopefully smoother.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,369
    Welcome, @wildboonjive!

    I agree, but I just fear that we all feel that, given the 50th Anniversary, it's obvious that it will open up with the traditional gun barrel sequence, and then it doesn't, and we find ourselves upset. If it doesn't, the only other thing I hope for is for it to be included in the film's PTS, somehow.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,350
    Craig has even said this film will "start as they always start and end as they always end". You'd have to be mad not to realise it's coming back, just as I believe, has always been planned.
  • Posts: 39
    Samuel001 wrote:
    and end as they always end".

    ...and I hope that means, "with a girl in his arms!"
This discussion has been closed.