The Dopey Stuff In Your Favorite Bond Movie and Why You Love It Anyway

chrisisall

Take your favourite Bond movie and be all subjective as to why you actually enjoy the stuff other people commonly point out as flaws, mistakes or nonsense. Rationalize, I believe is the term.

The Living Daylights

Regarding Dalton being theatrical. In my world Bond is rather tightly wound. He's in strict control most of the time, but when he snaps (be it in a pleasant or non-pleasant way), it's not a small thing. I feel Dalton captured this perfectly.

Re: Kara was bland. Kara was a cellist. And she rose to the challenges to come pretty fast, considering. And her chemistry with Bond was more palpable than most. Give me more of such 'bland'.

Re: The Barry Manilow collection. Please. She doesn't even own a record of his. It was her idea of a funny come-on. And Bond did seem amused, so, mission accomplished.

RE: 'Salt corrosion'. Any old time fan will tell you that Bond and lasers go together like bacon and eggs, franks and beans, death and taxes, politics and corruption! I'm just amazed the laser missed the gas tank- that would have made a real mess.

Re: The infamous cello chase. I've used cardboard boxes smaller than that cello case to go sledding on, so do't tell me that it can't be done. Besides, it's OLD. Old stuff was made to LAST!

Re: Whitaker being a buffoon. So? My country has had freakin' PRESIDENTS just as goofy. No problem here.

Re: Necros being another Aryan henchman clone. A short, lean, milk bottle-tossing martial artist? Oh, yeah, but he was blond. Sorry, n/a IMO.

Re: Why Bond doesn't just shoot Whitaker in the knee. It's a movie. We see stuff because it's A MOVIE. In real life when the lights are out it's pretty dark, colour receptors in the eye don't have much to work with, things go black & gray. Bond couldn't have seen anything as well as the gleam off the shield. If he'd had a machine gun (like in the Brosnan movies) he could have just sprayed & prayed. It all worked out in the end, though.

Re: The warm & fuzzy pre-Taliban. The Mujahideen were only one in a very long line of questionable bedfellows the West has courted. Let me also remind you that their depiction is very much in keeping with the overall tone of Bond movies in general in the 20th Century, as well as the popularly accepted political view of the day. Bond has never been 'reality', but a stranger version of it.

To conclude: TLD reaches the perfect balance of the real & the fantastic for me, with a dash of humor tossed in. It's basically a near perfect movie.

Now, defend your favourite if you will.

James Suzuki

Excellent Thread Topic, Chrisisall!!
Favourite Film: For Your Eyes Only
Regarding Roger Moore looking too old for his co-stars. He still looks handsome and suave; being able to get out of tricky situations. Women dig that sorta stuff.
Regarding how people find Bibi annoying. She is an interesting character and her interaction with Bond is humorous and a nice light touch to the more serious side of the film.
Some people think the close up shot of Melina’s face after her parents are killed is corny and comes across really dated. I think that it is a suitable shot to show the emotions the poor girl is going through after witnessing the death of her loved ones. Also, Carole Bouquet is really gorgeous. I’m not complaining if we see a close up shot of her face.

People dislike Kristatos. Thinking he is a weak and bland villain. Just a thug. Not so. Not knowing he was the villain until much later in the film is a clever plot device. He’s cold. Pretending he is the good guy and setting up Columbo to take the fall is more evil then stroking a white cat. And remember when his own henchman falls off the side of the boat to be eaten by sharks. What does he say.
‘Uhh…Leave him.’
Other people hate the pre-title. Well it’s a nice, fitting end to a villain who was serverly botched up in the Connery films. Nice to have some sorta ending to him. And taking a comedic Point of View is clever. AS it avoids lawsuits from Mclory as well as a nice way to Segway us to the more darker areas of the film. (The ship sinking and the death of Melina’s parents).
The stainless steel joke actually makes me chuckle.

People think the gag at the end with Thatcher is poor taste and does not gel well with the rest of the film. It’s a nice way to show that Bond gets the girl and is able to relax after a tough assignment. It also sets the film very much in the 1980’s. Which is a nice way to increase nolstagic feelings for the viewers who look back on the film.
There you go. What do you think?

chrisisall

Good job! -{

James Suzuki

chrisisall wrote:

Good job! -{

Thanks. That was rather fun actually. Good choice of a thread.

Higgins

chrisisall wrote:

tossed

That sums TLD up quite well

chrisisall

Higgins wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

tossed

That sums TLD up quite well

Keep leaning on that tooter, Charlie, and you're gonna get a shot in the mouth.
)

77007

Higgins wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

tossed

That sums TLD up quite well

Liked!

Thunderpussy

I know it's wrong but I can't help but smile when Connery
Slaps a girls bottom or says " Man talk" )

Blackleiter

Thunderpussy wrote:

I know it's wrong but I can't help but smile when Connery
Slaps a girls bottom or says " Man talk" )

I actually cringe at that moment every time.

Thunderpussy

... as I said I know it's wrong !

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

... as I said I know it's wrong !

But you love it anyway. )

Thunderpussy

I joke with my Daughters about the early Bonds when Connery does something
Like that. They say " how sexist" etc but I jokingly say he's just being an
"Alpha Male" )

James Suzuki

Thunderpussy wrote:

I joke with my Daughters about the early Bonds when Connery does something
Like that. They say " how sexist" etc but I jokingly say he's just being an
"Alpha Male" )

A friend of mine was horrified that I like JB because they saw the Thunderball retreat scene. )

Firemass

James Suzuki wrote:

Thunderpussy wrote:

I joke with my Daughters about the early Bonds when Connery does something
Like that. They say " how sexist" etc but I jokingly say he's just being an
"Alpha Male" )

A friend of mine was horrified that I like JB because they saw the Thunderball retreat scene. )

Ha. I had a similar experience. A while back this girl knew I was a Bond fan, rented Goldfinger on her own, and then was all horrified with me. It did make me aware of the early Bond's being sexist and potentially offensive to modern audiences.

James Suzuki

Firemass wrote:

James Suzuki wrote:

Thunderpussy wrote:

I joke with my Daughters about the early Bonds when Connery does something
Like that. They say " how sexist" etc but I jokingly say he's just being an
"Alpha Male" )

A friend of mine was horrified that I like JB because they saw the Thunderball retreat scene. )

Ha. I had a similar experience. A while back this girl knew I was a Bond fan, rented Goldfinger on her own, and then was all horrified with me. It did make me aware of the early Bond's being sexist and potentially offensive to modern audiences.

It was all very innocent and did not mean anything. Just shows how much the change has happened over time. Spectre would be banned if it had that stuff in it now. -{

Thunderpussy

Although, Bond wasn't the only one doing it at the time.

Sir Hillary Bray

My favorite Bond movie is On Her Majesty's Secret Service. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it!

[list=*]
[*]You can't stand the fourth wall being broken? Nonsense. Bond films had been implicitly "winking" at the audience since Goldfinger -- in the OHMSS pre-titles, the producers finally stopped pretending that wasn't the case and had Bond address us directly. Hooray for honesty! Of course, they went a little overboard 20 years later when we were literally winked at by a decorative fish.[/*]
[*]Lazenby can't act, you say? Pshaw! His physicality is perfect for the role, he expertly imitates George Baker's voice (more on that later), he looks great in his clothes (even a kilt), and he nails Bond's anguish in the final scene. And lest you complain that his facial expressions resemble nothing so much as a deer in the headlights, I ask you this: If an Emma Peel-era Diana Rigg showed up unannounced in your hotel room wearing nothing but your hotel-issued robe and L'Heure Bleu, then pointed your own gun at you...what would your facial expression resemble?[/*]
[*]The Bond-Tracy love scene montage is cheesy? Not! Bond is actually falling in love. We know from the Casino Royale novel that he has this side to him, and he falls hard here. Holding hands on the shore, going to the zoo, riding horses -- what's not to like? And come on, any excuse to have Satchmo give us one last beautiful song before his death really needs no justification.[/*]
[*]How in the hell can Blofeld not recognize Bond when just two years earlier they staged a battle royale in a hollowed-out volcano? Here's how! ...(thinking)...(still thinking)...Um, I'll have to get back to you. No, wait, wait, I've got it! He's not supposed to be Bond, he's supposed to be Bray. His eyeglasses and pitch-perfect imitation of Bray's voice are enough to fool Blofeld, who is so distracted by his intense work in the laboratory that he doesn't pay too close attention to his guest. This is a brilliant plot point, which takes the whole "films are out of sequence" argument off the table![/*]
[*]You don't like him falling in love with Tracy, then casually boffing anyone he can find up at Piz Gloria? Oh please! Bond is first and foremost a servant of the crown, and his seductions of Ruby and Nancy are convenient ways to, um, penetrate Blofeld's inner circle to find out what he's up to. In Tomorrow Never Dies, they even give such tactics a name: "pumping for information"; OHMSS never allows itself to be that crass. That Bond's efforts with the women are ultimately not successful in revealing Blofeld's plan is entirely beside the point. Besides, it must have been boring up there. Oh yeah, and Joanna Lumley was insinuating that he was gay -- take that, Patsy![/*]
[*]Bond acts like a scared wimp until Tracy skates up to save him? Rubbish! The Bond of Fleming's novels had human frailties, unlike the superhero we started to see in the Goldfinger film. In this case, he had just learned of a truly nefarious scheme, seen his buddy Campbell hanging by his ankles, and barely escaped by sliding down a trolley cable and then skiing one-legged down a treacherous Alpine slope. No wonder he was huddling and shivering on a bench. Plus, he was really cold and needed a hot chocolate, and he had that dreadful Nina song droning in his ears![/*]
[*]A man as careful as Blofeld would never be so cavalier about aircraft in the vicinity of Piz Gloria? Sure he would! Remember, he thinks he holds all the cards, including the lovely contessa to whom he offers the lateral move to Countess. His angels of death are all in place -- all that's left is to get the official word from the UN. What could possible go wrong?[/*]
[*]Tracy could never beat up Gunther on her own? Get real! Tracy has probably been prodded at by men for most of her life -- fending off unwelcome advances from people twice her size has become second nature. Martial arts training doesn't hurt, either.[/*]
[/list]

So there you have it -- a film without flaws.

chrisisall

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

Of course, they went a little overboard 20 years later when we were literally winked at by a decorative fish.

You forget 6 years earlier Connery directly winked at us in NSNA... 8-)

Good show, Sir Hillary! Nice write up! -{

Blackleiter

Sir Hillary Bray wrote:

My favorite Bond movie is On Her Majesty's Secret Service. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it!

[list=*]
[*]You can't stand the fourth wall being broken? Nonsense. Bond films had been implicitly "winking" at the audience since Goldfinger -- in the OHMSS pre-titles, the producers finally stopped pretending that wasn't the case and had Bond address us directly. Hooray for honesty! Of course, they went a little overboard 20 years later when we were literally winked at by a decorative fish.[/*]
[*]Lazenby can't act, you say? Pshaw! His physicality is perfect for the role, he expertly imitates George Baker's voice (more on that later), he looks great in his clothes (even a kilt), and he nails Bond's anguish in the final scene. And lest you complain that his facial expressions resemble nothing so much as a deer in the headlights, I ask you this: If an Emma Peel-era Diana Rigg showed up unannounced in your hotel room wearing nothing but your hotel-issued robe and L'Heure Bleu, then pointed your own gun at you...what would your facial expression resemble?[/*]
[*]The Bond-Tracy love scene montage is cheesy? Not! Bond is actually falling in love. We know from the Casino Royale novel that he has this side to him, and he falls hard here. Holding hands on the shore, going to the zoo, riding horses -- what's not to like? And come on, any excuse to have Satchmo give us one last beautiful song before his death really needs no justification.[/*]
[*]How in the hell can Blofeld not recognize Bond when just two years earlier they staged a battle royale in a hollowed-out volcano? Here's how! ...(thinking)...(still thinking)...Um, I'll have to get back to you. No, wait, wait, I've got it! He's not supposed to be Bond, he's supposed to be Bray. His eyeglasses and pitch-perfect imitation of Bray's voice are enough to fool Blofeld, who is so distracted by his intense work in the laboratory that he doesn't pay too close attention to his guest. This is a brilliant plot point, which takes the whole "films are out of sequence" argument off the table![/*]
[*]You don't like him falling in love with Tracy, then casually boffing anyone he can find up at Piz Gloria? Oh please! Bond is first and foremost a servant of the crown, and his seductions of Ruby and Nancy are convenient ways to, um, penetrate Blofeld's inner circle to find out what he's up to. In Tomorrow Never Dies, they even give such tactics a name: "pumping for information"; OHMSS never allows itself to be that crass. That Bond's efforts with the women are ultimately not successful in revealing Blofeld's plan is entirely beside the point. Besides, it must have been boring up there. Oh yeah, and Joanna Lumley was insinuating that he was gay -- take that, Patsy![/*]
[*]Bond acts like a scared wimp until Tracy skates up to save him? Rubbish! The Bond of Fleming's novels had human frailties, unlike the superhero we started to see in the Goldfinger film. In this case, he had just learned of a truly nefarious scheme, seen his buddy Campbell hanging by his ankles, and barely escaped by sliding down a trolley cable and then skiing one-legged down a treacherous Alpine slope. No wonder he was huddling and shivering on a bench. Plus, he was really cold and needed a hot chocolate, and he had that dreadful Nina song droning in his ears![/*]
[*]A man as careful as Blofeld would never be so cavalier about aircraft in the vicinity of Piz Gloria? Sure he would! Remember, he thinks he holds all the cards, including the lovely contessa to whom he offers the lateral move to Countess. His angels of death are all in place -- all that's left is to get the official word from the UN. What could possible go wrong?[/*]
[*]Tracy could never beat up Gunther on her own? Get real! Tracy has probably been prodded at by men for most of her life -- fending off unwelcome advances from people twice her size has become second nature. Martial arts training doesn't hurt, either.[/*]
[/list]

So there you have it -- a film without flaws.

It all makes perfectly good sense to me!

chrisisall

Licence To Kill

It looked like Miami Vice.
It was filmed in part where Miami Vice was filmed, so, yeah.

Taliso Soto couldn't act.
Garbage. She played a beauty pageant airhead with clinical precision.

Dalton had Dracula hair.
During his infiltration he was trying to look like a 'bad' man, and I for one think he succeeded.

A laser in a Polaroid?
It's all about the lasers. Wherever one is worked in somehow is fine with me.

...That also takes X-ray pictures??
Ummm...uh... okay I got nuthin' for that; I don't know what they were going for- I just ignore it.

That bar fight looked so 80's.
It was, umm, the Eighties.

How exactly does one hide cocaine in gasoline?
That would be telling.

Wayne Newton takes me right out of the movie.
Genius casting doesn't work for you?

Felix is in a good mood seeing as he lost a Wife & leg...
Amazing things, these modern pain killers.

The fish winking offends my sensibilities.
Wow, you offend easy, don't you? A water-flow activated wink every other minute from a ceramic poolside statue is nothing compared to...well, most things.

James Suzuki

chrisisall wrote:

Licence To Kill

It looked like Miami Vice.
It was filmed in part where Miami Vice was filmed, so, yeah.

Taliso Soto couldn't act.
Garbage. She played a beauty pageant airhead with clinical precision.

Dalton had Dracula hair.
During his infiltration he was trying to look like a 'bad' man, and I for one think he succeeded.

A laser in a Polaroid?
It's all about the lasers. Wherever one is worked in somehow is fine with me.

...That also takes X-ray pictures??
Ummm...uh... okay I got nuthin' for that; I don't know what they were going for- I just ignore it.

That bar fight looked so 80's.
It was, umm, the Eighties.

How exactly does one hide cocaine in gasoline?
That would be telling.

Wayne Newton takes me right out of the movie.
Genius casting doesn't work for you?

Felix is in a good mood seeing as he lost a Wife & leg...
Amazing things, these modern pain killers.

The fish winking offends my sensibilities.
Wow, you offend easy, don't you? A water-flow activated wink every other minute from a ceramic poolside statue is nothing compared to...well, most things.

) ) ) {[] {[] {[]
Oh that made my day.

AlphaOmegaSin

Nice one {[]

Firemass

I actually rented a Miami Vice DVD recently just to see what all the fuss was about in regards to LTK. I honestly don't see much of a resemblance other than being filmed in the 80's and involving drugs. LTK doesn't have the flashy pastel wardrobes, popular hits soundtrack, sunglasses, and buddy-cop sensibilities. Besides, wasn't that show practically over with by 1989?

Firemass

chrisisall wrote:

...That also takes X-ray pictures??

Fans who are upset about Q's camera need to chill out.

However, I do find the ninja subplot highly questionable.

Thunderpussy

I think it was a throw away " Visual" joke, which I'm sure they never
Expected to be mused over for years to come. )

chrisisall

Firemass wrote:

I actually rented a Miami Vice DVD recently just to see what all the fuss was about in regards to LTK. I honestly don't see much of a resemblance other than being filmed in the 80's and involving drugs. LTK doesn't have the flashy pastel wardrobes, popular hits soundtrack, sunglasses, and buddy-cop sensibilities. Besides, wasn't that show practically over with by 1989?

It was on its last season when LTK came out.

Blackleiter

Firemass wrote:

I actually rented a Miami Vice DVD recently just to see what all the fuss was about in regards to LTK. I honestly don't see much of a resemblance other than being filmed in the 80's and involving drugs. LTK doesn't have the flashy pastel wardrobes, popular hits soundtrack, sunglasses, and buddy-cop sensibilities. Besides, wasn't that show practically over with by 1989?

I have always felt that the comparisons to Miami Vice are overblown. -{

broadshoulder

Blackleiter wrote:

Firemass wrote:

I actually rented a Miami Vice DVD recently just to see what all the fuss was about in regards to LTK. I honestly don't see much of a resemblance other than being filmed in the 80's and involving drugs. LTK doesn't have the flashy pastel wardrobes, popular hits soundtrack, sunglasses, and buddy-cop sensibilities. Besides, wasn't that show practically over with by 1989?

I have always felt that the comparisons to Miami Vice are overblown. -{

i don't see the reasoning. I see the Noriega reasoning with Sanchez.

Miami Vice wasn't so good in Britain.It moved to a late slot.

Jarvio

"And I'm Dick Tracey and you're still under arrest!"

Firemass

Jarvio wrote:

"And I'm Dick Tracey and you're still under arrest!"

One of the common misunderstandings about AVTAK is that "James Bond" is as famous as "Dick Tracy"

The Captain had never heard of James Bond, but he highly doubted that Bond was telling the truth about being a British agent. Stacy confirms this a few minutes later, "Is that true what you said back there, about being in the British Secret Service?"

Not "Are you really THE famous James Bond?"

Jarvio

Firemass wrote:

Jarvio wrote:

"And I'm Dick Tracey and you're still under arrest!"

One of the common misunderstandings about AVTAK is that "James Bond" is as famous as "Dick Tracy"

The Captain had never heard of James Bond, but he highly doubted that Bond was telling the truth about being a British agent. Stacy confirms this a few minutes later, "Is that true what you said back there, about being in the British Secret Service?"

Not "Are you really THE famous James Bond?"

I agree. It was more like "are you really in the secret service" as opposed to "are you really James Bond?"

DAF does the worst job of the whole 'James Bond is famous' notion