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Topic: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

In the scene where Drax tells Bond "such good sport" - Bond averts being killed by seeing the sniper in the tree, shooting at him, and removing the threat.  But wouldn't you think if Drax was trying to kill him they would have all taken their bird-hunting shotguns and did away with Bond once the sniper failed to shoot him?  I guess by then they were more interested in killing Dufour by "terminating her employment."

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

I think Drax's line "You defy all my attempts to plan an amusing death for you" sums up the inability of Drax and his henchmen to actually eliminate 007. He is obviously an execution fetishist.

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

The same could be said about pretty much all the villains... like in YOLT, Blofeld waits to kill Bond until he is just about to get onto the tram, and as he aims his pistol Tanaka pre-empts him with a Ninja Star, throwing off his shot.  In Licence to Kill, Sanchez could have slashed Bond with his machete but waited just long enough for Bond to use his lighter to incinerate him. 

Getting back to Moonraker, I'm thinking that at that scene in the movie Drax felt that Dufour was more of a threat than Bond having showed him the safe.

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Railer 505, that smacks more of a bleak holocaust WWII drama than a Bond film!

This is the stage of the movie where the villain is still maintaining a vestige of civility and good breeding, esp as Drax is loosely based on Fleming's villain, where he is all about ingratiating himself in English society (arguable, as Drax in the film sends up such English fripperies with his reference to cucumber sandwiches).

So it's all about making Bond's death look like an accident during a pheasant shoot. Your alternative just wouldn't be plausible, to have Bond's body riddled with bullets when it is sent back to MI6. Of course, yes, as they're all brainwashed they could still just do it again and have Bond shot, but it would be messy. And this is Moonraker, one of the more farfetched 'don't ask' movies...

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Oh, and also, what about the driver that drives Bond both to, and from that scene in the antique car?  Wouldn't he have afterwards driven Bond somewhere other than the airport as he gets back in and drives off (immediately before you see Dufour driving up in the golf cart to (you know what))?

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Railer 505 wrote:

Oh, and also, what about the driver that drives Bond both to, and from that scene in the antique car?  Wouldn't he have afterwards driven Bond somewhere other than the airport as he gets back in and drives off (immediately before you see Dufour driving up in the golf cart to (you know what))?

Its best not to overthink these things. -  Trust me, I studied them for two years!  ajb007/biggrin


Napolian P, I agree with you. For all its outside the box elements, Michel Lonsdale's potrayal of Drax is great because he subtly takes the best aspects fo the novelised character put into the script, and then gives him subtlty, which acts as a foil to the sheer overscale of the rest of the film.   - I say this with mild irrony, - Moonraker is one of my favorite films, and Drax my favorite male Bond Villain!

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

I don't know if I could outrun a doberman in a golf cart, (what is the maximum speed, 25 Mph?), but I still say Corrine had a better chance if she tried.  Instead she runs directly past the parked cart, and into the woods!

Although, I can certainly understand emotions taking over in such as stressful situation.

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

That's it Alex, I mean when you've been fired (and again, this is another area where MR shows an odd sense of realism, like the 'You go ahead and I'll turn off the lights' moment earlier) you do get jittery and don't feel quite yourself.

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Alex wrote:

I don't know if I could outrun a doberman in a golf cart, (what is the maximum speed, 25 Mph?), but I still say Corrine had a better chance if she tried.  Instead she runs directly past the parked cart, and into the woods!

Although, I can certainly understand emotions taking over in such as stressful situation.

I thought the same thing, though its certainly imaginable that she didn't think in such a tense situation... plus she would have had to start it up and get it to speed and im sure the dogs would have caught up to her by then.

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Ummmm..because the movie - and the series - would be over???  ajb007/lol

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Regrettably, there are many such moments in Bond (YOLT, LLD, MR, AVTAK). At their worst, they damage the plot's credibility. At best, one finds in them a reflection of the extravagant character of Bond villains.
I would not agree that Sanchez's death in LTK is one such moment. Sanchez didn't conveniently pause to admire the scene before killing Bond, nor did he devise an elaborate plot to kill him when he could have simply shot him dead. Sanchez moves relatively slowly because he's carrying a machete and he can barely stand on his two feet. The extra delay is created by the way the scene is shot; it shows us Sanchez advancing with the machete, then cuts to Bond, then back to Sanchez on fire. Given all that, I thought the exchange between Bond and Sanchez was perfectly credible.

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Despite heavy leanings towards "Bond villain extravagant character", I must submit to certain extra 'amens' in above post.

Because I receive hits by counteractive mental Flemingistic forces too. ajb007/embarrassed

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

On second thought, "Counteractive" is an incorrect method of expression in this example. ajb007/embarrassed

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

It's actually a very simple explanation. If Drax had killed Bond, the British Government would have launched a full scale inquiry which would have put Drax way behind schedule. Although following this trail of logic would completely undermine why Drax tried to kill Bond in the first place...however I like the idea of both men knowing the score but that Bond can't prove anything.
I agree that the film Drax subtly adds in Fleming's characterization to great effect. Lonsdale and Moore both give great dramatic performances that aren't dulled by all the inane surroundings. The beginning of the film is actually quite credible and down to earth-and that line on the range is just sooo good. You can just see the sardonic gleam in Moore's eyes when he says: "Did I?". That is definitely a Connery Bond moment-IN MOONRAKER! HAH!

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Yes in practically every Bond movie at some moment or another 007 survives all too easily because of the villians need to try to construct elaborate death traps for him instead of just putting a bullet or a knife into him right then and there.

Added to this is how often Bond is assisted by some special Q-branch gadgetry so conveniently suited to the occasion. As if Q had the power to see into the future and know in advance exactly what 007 will need on this particular mission.

That's what makes movies of any sort so wonderful and fun. They may not necessarily make complete logical sense, but that's what makes them good stories.

Roger Moore is my favourite 007

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

as dr evil would say... 'I am going to place him in a easily escapable situation involving a over elaborate and exotic death...'

'...exceptionally fine shot...'

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Re: In Moonraker, why doesn't Drax kill Bond on the shooting range?

Why bother getting your hands dirty when you can get henchmen to do it for you?

I have wondered this, Drax had the opportunity to kill Bond then and there, maybe he didn´t realise what a thorn in the side Bond is

"Toro? Sounds like a load of bull!"