Little niggles
DieAnotherDay
Glasgow, ScotlandPosts: 460MI6 Agent
Are there any particular scenes in the Bond series that you have certain problems with, whether it just be tiny mistakes you've noticed that irks you each time you watch it or just scenes that you have personal problems with. I have many but I'll just say a few....
- in TND, the timer on Carvers stealth boat says "T- 5 minutes" and yet it takes about 9-10 minutes before the missile is set off. I know it adds suspense but it just annoys me because it takes a ridiculously long time
- in TWINE bond fires the same heat seeking missile twice while in Q's fishing boat in the PTS...irks me every time
- In GF when the Oddjob leaves the car to be crushed there is clearly nobody in it. Obviously they couldn't put a person in it
but a dummy would of done the trick
- The numerous stunt doubles for Rog. in his later films. Only annoys me when it's an obvious double for just a simple punch, kick or roll. It takes me right out of the film
I have plenty more but let's hear yours
- in TND, the timer on Carvers stealth boat says "T- 5 minutes" and yet it takes about 9-10 minutes before the missile is set off. I know it adds suspense but it just annoys me because it takes a ridiculously long time
- in TWINE bond fires the same heat seeking missile twice while in Q's fishing boat in the PTS...irks me every time
- In GF when the Oddjob leaves the car to be crushed there is clearly nobody in it. Obviously they couldn't put a person in it
but a dummy would of done the trick- The numerous stunt doubles for Rog. in his later films. Only annoys me when it's an obvious double for just a simple punch, kick or roll. It takes me right out of the film
I have plenty more but let's hear yours
....and the best he ever managed was a sermon on the mount.
Comments
In YOLT, Bond watches on an in-car television set as Tanaka’s helicopter picks up a pursuing car with a giant magnet and drops it in the ocean (yes, really). But who’s filming the helicopter?
In OHMSS several characters acknowledge that Blofeld doesn't have earlobes (thus backing up his claim to be a Bleauchamp)... except he very clearly does. They're right there hanging beneath his ears!
In DAF Bond tilts his car on two wheels and then rocks it from one set to the other . But the passageway is too narrow to allow this. That's why he had to tilt the car on two wheels in the first place!
GE - Bond bungee jumps from to the very bottom of a dam and enters a Soviet weapons facility underneath it. When he exits the facility a short time later, it is revealed to be on top of a mountain. This is geographically impossible.
11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
All very valid points. The 1st and 4th get on my nerves as well, got to be honest never even paid much attention to the 2nd. And as for the DAF one I've kind of got over that tragedy
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Hmm haven't actually noticed this. I'll look out for it the next time I re-watch these two films
and when she gets out withh towel wrapped around her she has dry hair
and leaves no wet footprints on the floor,
A good observation and something that has always been one of my minor annoyances with YOLT. I think they needed it for Bond to be able to have his one-liner 'Just a drop in the ocean'.
If I'm not mistaking Savalas' ear lobes were clipped back during OHMSS. There is a significant difference when you look at other photo's of Savalas.
True, but I didn't notice it when I saw GE for the first time. But that was because I was so exited to see a Bond movie in the cinema for the first time
The DAF sideways driving seemed more like a continuity error than Bond actually shifting from one side of the car to the other. Honestly, I don't mind continuity errors that much because it's impossible to make a film that doesn't have any.
There's another scene in Goldfinger with nobody in the car: When they leave after the golf match.
FYEO: Roger's hair seems to change color several times which is rather distracting.
OP: Kamal Kahn's escape seems to be in broad daylight, but the palace raid was at night. Or was it early morning?
GF: Leaving a small patch at base of the spin for skin to breath sounds like a bunch of bunk. Can anyone seriously verify this?
In general I don't like seeing animals get killed whether they are sharks, snakes, spiders or otherwise.
The rough treatment of women is a bit irksome: Sean with Pussy Galore in the barn, Roger in Octopussy's bedroom.
LTK: Q throwing away his broom radio after years of scolding Bond to bring equipment back in pristine condition.
TSWLM: Roger not being scared when Jaws is attacking the utility van
The virtual reality scene in D.A.D with MoneyPenny getting killed should have been left on the cutting room floor.
The end credits song on Goldeneye is dreadful.
Okay...that's a pretty random list. I'm sure I'll think of some more later.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Yes, it is bunk! See this thread:
http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/28696/
ah...i agree with the member that said Oddjob should have just killed her and then painted her gold. That would have made the most sense to me anyway.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
more enjoyable for them. -{ For years I believed that Sumos could
retract their tesicles back up in to their bodies for protection as I'd read
it in YOLT.
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
-In DN during the car chase between the LaSalle/Miller Hearse and the Sunbeam Alpine, their tires are squealing. On a dirt road.
-In FRWL, when the 1958 Fargo 1-Ton truck turns into a 1961 Chevrolet Apache 1-Ton Truck. Or when the THREE different Citroens are used in the Bulgars tailing Bond from the airport sequence. Or when the 1960 Ford Ranch Wagon suddenly changes color (subtly) and sprouts two extra doors (not subtly).
-In GF, the mere idea of a 1964 Ford Falcon Ranchero being able to carry a crushed Lincoln Continental. The US Military also using hopelessly outdated weaponry (note the muzzlebreaks on a few of the Thompson submachine guns, giving them away as obsolete-since-the Korean War M1928A1's).
-In TB, the very-obviously-cut-down role of the East Bloc scientist. It led my Dad to nickname him "Professor Deus ex Machina."
-In YOLT, my biggest was the already covered "who's filming the helicopter?" Another would be explosive Gyrojet projectiles. In reality, these guns reached the maximum velocity of a .45 ACP pistol cartridge (well, actually, a little bit more) and you could not fire them with anything except FMJ ammo (in theory, you could fire JHP's, but none were manufactured). Well, and Bond "turning Japanese".
-In OHMSS, when viewed as a stand-alone film or put in order before YOLT (because if you don't, then why doesn't Blofeld recognize Bond?), "this never happened to the other fellow." But a much-overlooked bit that bothered me was the dubbed-in Sir Hillary Bray voice. Seriously, I'm sure Lazenby could've gotten those lines on his own and it certainly would not have detracted from the film any. When I first saw the film, it was a bit jarring.
-In DAF, everyone mentions the Mustang Mach I. Well, by the time they shot both takes, Ford had taken possession of the car again. They therefore do have somewhat of an excuse. What I'm wondering much more about is why the incredibly-complex storyline in a camp comedy film? It seemed out of place. Also, regarding minor details, how about Dr. Metz's '71 Ford Econoline having THREE license plates?
-In LALD, I think they went a bit overboard with both Chevrolet and Dunham Coach. We see TWO non-background cars (in addition to the bus, obviously) that are neither General Motors or Dunham Coach (the Checker Marathon Taxi and the Moke that Bond rents). The 1963 Chevy Impala we see on San Monique *was* probably there by coincidence, but jeez, how many Chevys can you possibly have? Another issue was the HUGE crack in the PPK that Tee-Hee "breaks" with his arm.
-TMWTGG: The slide whistle ruining one of the best automotive stunts ever filmed. Also, the near-.45 caliber (about 11.4mm) barrel and projectile that Scaramanga's gun appear to have, yet Bond describes the obviously-much-larger bullet as coming from a "4.2mm gun".
-TSWLM: We see M16's being removed from the armory, yet never used. The Soviet sailors are also on the Liparus, but they're much fewer in a number than either the British or American sailors. Did they attempt a break-out or something? I'm guessing no, given Stromberg's reaction.
-MR: Quite possibly the entire film. But seriously, Jaws flapping his arms. But then there's one criticism I DON'T often hear of the film that bothered me to no end: in film franchises like Star Trek, there's no sound in space, period. In film franchises like Star Wars, there's sound in space (or as Dr. Curtis Saxton posited, there isn't, but in-universe, it helps everyone be acclamated to their surroundings). MR can't seem to make up its mind. There's tons of sound in space when the laser battle is going on and when the space station brakes apart, but everything is silent when the space station loses gravity.
-FYEO: The entire character of Bibi Dahl. Also, the scene with the hockey players attacking Bond. (As Dad quipped to the screen a la MST3K: "Looks like he's just walking into the middle of the average New York Rangers game.")
-OP: The distinct lack of a threat once Orlov is killed and the bomb is disarmed. Considering there's no logical way that anyone but Orlov or the Soviet hardliners got the bomb in the first place and Kamal was fleeing, why not at least make him try and do something to Bond pro-actively (a la Auric Goldfinger)?
-AVTAK: When the SFPD is clearly using a mixture of actual police cars (older and much larger Dodge Monacos) and poorly-mocked-up police cars (newer and MUCH smaller Dodge Diplomats). Another might be Grace Jones's final line. The Renault "taxi" that gets chopped to bits is also REALLY lazily mocked up. At the very least, why not just paint it the colors of an actual Paris taxi as opposed to literally sticking a metal bar on top saying "Taxi" and expecting us to believe it? With the exceptions of the Rolls-Royce and the fire truck (which I'll get to in a moment), the cars were never THAT lazily mocked up in any other film I can think of (especially on the heels of OP, where they REALLY went out of their way to mock up fake Soviet cars). The fire truck chase also seemed to be played way too much for laughs and had the potential to be quite serious.
-TLD: The ending with the Mujahadin showing up to the concert. I'd understand maybe Kamran Shah and two or three body guards, but half an army? The Soviet-marked C-130 was also jarring, though I realize they didn't have anything to substitute, realistically.
-LTK: The "happy Felix" at the end of the film. In fairness, they filmed this out of order and neglected to tell David Hedison about what happened to Della, but still, isn't that unto itself a HUGE mistake? Also, why was the mercenary so underdeveloped as a character?
-GE: The aforementioned geography of the PTS. Also, Alec Trevelyan still being alive after falling off the dish. I could get it if the fall simply kills him and that's how they show it, but from the height he fell from, he literally would have disintegrated!
-TND: Dr. Kauffmann's accent. Actually, my worst criticism is of a subplot they wound up deleting from the film. In this deleted subplot, which stayed on long enough that it was actually filmed (you can see one of the deleted scenes on youtube), Paris Carver is actually informing Elliot Carver about Bond and Bond is becoming aware of it. As such, Elliot has her killed by Kauffmann (whose accent is still terrible). This explains why Bond is a bit emotional at first, but gets over it fairly quickly, and also the need for a character like Wai Lin. However, by deleting just that one subplot, you screw around with Bond's character to make him look pretty weird during the car chase and you almost make Wai Lin superfluous/somewhat of a character that seems wedged in. Just leave in that one little subplot and the film is markedly better.
-TWINE: About the half the script being cut to pieces due to worries about running time. Also depicting Azerbaijan like either a remote area of Russia or alternately Armenia (in the original script, before it got chopped up, the villagers protesting the impending destruction of their country ARE Armenians; fears of the actual BTC pipeline going through Nagorno-Karabakh probably got that subplot introduced in the first place). It's actually a lot like Turkey, culturally and religiously, though you have a lot of elements of the old USSR mixed in and the people generally look like mixtures of East Asian and Caucasian (since they technically are).
-DAD: The whole movie. Mr. Kill. Yo Mama. The invisible car (for those saying how "real" this was, just watch Top Gear's documentary using the most advanced technology they could find...). Colonel Moon's Robocop suit. But seriously, if you really want something where I was still liking it but something regardless felt wrong, the hovercraft chase, believe it or not. A hovercraft with its skirt on will still set off landmines. Ironically, had they used something more improbable but still very much real at the time like stealth helicopters with noise reduction systems flying at extremely low level, they could probably get away with it.
-CR: The improbable-bordering-on-impossible poker hands and weird decisions made by the players. Also the presence of a ZIL-117, as just one of the cars is known to exist in the former Yugoslavia. Presented to Marshal Tito, it's in a museum. There may have been a second car, but it's on record as having been sold back to the USSR for parts. He could've used a GAZ-13 Chayka and it would've gotten the job done just as well and possibly better.
-QoS: The DC-3 chase just seems out of place. Also, why not develop the main villain a little more? And have a capable, physical henchman as opposed to Elvis? Medrano also borrowed pretty much every Latin American dictator stereotype in the book, and while you can blame a lot on the writer's strike, you can't blame Medrano on the writer's strike. He was apparently meant to be that stereotypical. Also, there are no deserts in Bolivia; at least not in the "dry sand" sense.
-SF: Four words: "PUT OUT THAT LIGHT!" Also: "I dunno what your name is, but sure, you can shave me with a straight razor." Also, while most of the guns that are dropped by the bad guys at Skyfall stay almost exactly where they're dropped, Andrew Bond's SxS double rifle mysteriously disappears, yet we go over ground where it was clearly dropped in the first place, and the bad guys' weapons in relation to it haven't moved at all. To me, it's obvious they felt it was necessary to pick it up and that it cost too much to leave on the floor.
SF-When Bond jump kicks the guy in the head on his dash to the church and doesn't pick up his rifle makes absolutely no sense whatsoever other then adding suspense to the finale but it bothers me nonetheless.
SF-Bond walking into the shower with Severine (who isn't surprised or freaked out at all) to bang her after discovering Severine's rough past as a child prostitute literally an hour prior, seems kinda tacky to me.
Re-watched the scene. The gun never so much as cycles. Also, I believe it's either a Colt Series 70 or Series 80 (a type of 1911 and I'm not nitpicking, but thought you might be wondering).
That said, the knot Bond ties with his shoelaces is called a Prusik, a type of friction hitch. It works by bending the rope and acting like a brake, preventing it from sliding down. To do what Bond does, He would have to manually advance the knot each time he steps up, a very difficult thing to do with a small diameter rope like a shoelace, very slow. They would tighten up too much to be able to move it. Also, the long distance shots show a motion entirely wrong for climbing using Prusiks. It looks more like he is using mechanical ascenders, which are a device that pinch the rope with metal, allowing it to only slide one way while providing a convenient handle. Just kinda bugs me a little.
In the car crushing scene ,there is no engine in the car either ?
It too has no engine in it.
The 1911 is a single action. It's a double action that can shoot from the hammer down position. Apart from that, you are right.
TB: Bond punches Leiter to prevent him from saying his codename 007 while there is a badguy in the room. Minutes later Lieter says "That's a fine way to greet the CIA" and Bond says "Sorry, but you were about to say 007" And they say these things right in front of the thug and then send him back to report to his boss!!! Talk about stupid. Largo would have been very interested to know these 2 men were from the CIA/British Secret Service. If the henchmen would have told Largo this he likely would have been spared from the shark tank.
TMWTGG: Why doesn't Scaramanga know anything about his own solar powered operation? Bond has to explain it all to him? Weird screen writing decision.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Whitaker stated the walther PPK was no match for the latest body armour. By this, I thought he was implying the clear face shield. As far as I can tell he was not wearing any other armour..just his plain uniform.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
1) Goldfinger: All the dopey Asians, from the gawky Mr. Ling to the idiot trying to steer the car wildly. I'm re-reading Goldfinger and see quite a bit of bigotry, especially against Koreans, but come on.
2) Skyfall: Craig's delivery of the Scotch line and the "cavalry" arriving seconds too late to save Severine. The bad CGI of the scorpion. Bond, I guess, trying to save M but instead taking her to her death. Moneypenny not taking a second shot after hitting Bond since she obviously had plenty of time.
3) You Only Live Twice: The awful, Frankenstein-like makeup to transform Bond into "a Japanese," with really bad posture apparently. Another Asian guy steering wildly, but this time while the car is being lifted by the helicopter.
Regarding YOLT, I always just assumed there was a second helicopter trailing the one we saw and filming. There seemed to be a lot of helicopters buzzing around in Japan in that movie, as well as video cameras tracking people.
4) On Her Majesty's Secret Service: The countdown before the destruction of Piz Gloria, which seems all over the place time-wise. The helter-skelter fight scenes and John Barry's dum-dee-dum-dee-dum music in an otherwise stunning soundtrack. The ripples in the pool reflection that are obviously out of proportion and speed to the real thing.
5) Casino Royale: The romance being given such short shrift -- ten effective minutes more, and I think the film could have been a minor masterpiece.
6) Tomorrow Never Dies: The crew in the parking garage being so heavily armed -- what exactly were they expecting to go up against considering their initial rather mundane, clueless efforts to get into Bond's car?
7) A View to a Kill: Bond creepily leering at the women so much. The split car somehow still being drive-able.
8) Goldeneye: The whole freefall thing. The computer nerd.
There's more, I know, but I'm sleepy!
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
FRWL - In the novel Grant is called Donovan Grant codename Granite. But for some reason they decided to change this to Donald Grant which is very ordinary.
TB - The whole punching Felix thing which has been mentioned already.
YOLT - M having his own submarine with an office in it. Even in a totally OTT movie like YOLT this seemed too much.
OHMSS - Blofeld trying to seduce Tracey. In the novels it is stated that Blofeld has no interest in either sex and this seems more in keeping with the cold character.
DAF - Most of the movie to be honest but as we are on 'little niggles' the white dinner jacket in the Las Vegas casino. Even Bond can't put that one off. You can see why the deleted the Sammy Davis cameo where he says something like Bond stepped off the top of a Wedding cake.
LALD - M coming to Bond's home to brief him.
TMWTGG - The previously mentioned whoop soundtrack over the car jump.
MR - Bond not carrying his Walther in the entire movie.
FYEO - The 'I'll buy you etc.' line in the PTS. For some reason this line really irritates me out of all proportion when I hear it.
AVTAK - The Beach Boys soundtrack in the PTS.
LTK - Bond getting his ass kicked by the ninja's after he takes the shot at Sanchez. Bond kicks ass not the other way round and if he does go down he makes a better fight of it.
QOS - Bond and Mr. White changing their clothes between the end of CR and the PTS in QOS.
SF - Ronson and 3 other MI6 officers being in Istanbul with a laptop containing the names of deep cover agents. Makes no sense. Would have been more logical if Ronson had gone rogue and had been double crossed trying to sell the onfo.
The split car still being driveable is absolutely realistic.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!