Most unique plots in the series

Absolutely_Cart

Dr No - It's literally the original plot
From Russia With Love - Totally apart from the Bond formula
The Living Daylights - Very cerebral compared to other movies with multiple villains and a defection.
License to Kill - Bond goes rogue, and takes on a totally new kind of villain.
The World Is Not Enough - Holy s***. This is so convoluted that even Brosnan himself, reportedly, said he didn't understand it.

Matt S

I'd give it to From Russia with Love. It's far more complex than Dr. No. Dr. No is extremely straight-forward.

broadshoulder

To be honest I think OP

Indian millionairess is is in cahoots with afghan crook and member of the praesedium to import stolen jewellry over the Eastern Bloc - only there a switch. The real jewellry is taken off and replaced with an atom bomb. Pure George McDonald Fraser.

Also I think The Living Daylights..

TWINE? It can be overcomplicated and kicks you out of the story..

AlphaOmegaSin

I too would say TLD and LTK -{

I would also add TB and OHMSS to your List -{

Spoff

I like the Casino Royale plot, it does not make much sense (gambling to put an enemy out of business) but is great to watch.

I always thought TLD plot was good too.

It took me a few watches of it to fully understand everything that was going on.

Thunderball is a good one too.

M 'n' M

I'm with Broadshoulder.

George Macdonald Fraser was a great writer and Octopussy seems to me one of the few later films where the story drives the picture, rather than just having CAR CHASE - FIGHT - LOVE SCENE - CAR CHASE - FIGHT - LOVE SCENE

TLD starts very well but - as with the whole film - the second half steers things seriously off course as it tries to bolt a standard BIG BOND ENDING onto what was quite a well sketched first half

MilleniumForce

LTK. No matter wether you talk about using the formula or not, every film apart from this is Bond on a mission for MI6, where's this is for him personally. Therefore, it's the most different and unique.

AlphaOmegaSin

{[]

You could say that it is the most unique Bond Story.

broadshoulder

M n M wrote:

I'm with Broadshoulder.

George Macdonald Fraser was a great writer and Octopussy seems to me one of the few later films where the story drives the picture, rather than just having CAR CHASE - FIGHT - LOVE SCENE - CAR CHASE - FIGHT - LOVE SCENE

TLD starts very well but - as with the whole film - the second half steers things seriously off course as it tries to bolt a standard BIG BOND ENDING onto what was quite a well sketched first half

What I don't understand is why GMF didn't do one for A View to a Kill?

Charmed & Dangerous

I'd have to say Skyfall. Bond "dies", is resurrected, starts a mission he's hopelessly unfit for, then virtually kidnaps his boss and heads for his ancestral home, which he watches burn to the ground... before seeing his boss die? I mean, c'mon? 8-) )

Silhouette Man

OHMSS, LTK and SF I'd wager on being the most unique. -{

Blackleiter

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

I'd have to say Skyfall. Bond "dies", is resurrected, starts a mission he's hopelessly unfit for, then virtually kidnaps his boss and heads for his ancestral home, which he watches burn to the ground... before seeing his boss die? I mean, c'mon? 8-) )

Yep! That's the one! {[]

Absolutely_Cart

Skyfall borrowed the resurrected villain trope from Goldeneye. Borrowed Silva's character and his prison escape plot from The Dark Knight and Silence of the Lambs. Borrowed the M16 being attacked, the villain's hatred toward M and M16 from The World Is Not Enough.

That said, Skyfall did it all incredibly well.

Dutchfinger

Suprised to see FYEO wasn't mentioned yet which had a really original plot. The ATAC was used as a McGuffin, there was an intresting plottwist in which they made you believe Columbo was the main villian, while it was actually Kristatos. It's very underrated and overlooked I think.

Matt S

Dutchfinger wrote:

Suprised to see FYEO wasn't mentioned yet which had a really original plot. The ATAC was used as a McGuffin, there was an intresting plottwist in which they made you believe Columbo was the main villian, while it was actually Kristatos. It's very underrated and overlooked I think.

It has many similarities to From Russia with Love. Both films have a very similar MacGuffin, and both SPECTRE and Kristatos trick Bond into thinking someone else is the villain.

Matt S

Absolutely_Cart wrote:

Skyfall borrowed the resurrected villain trope from Goldeneye. Borrowed Silva's character and his prison escape plot from The Dark Knight and Silence of the Lambs. Borrowed the M16 being attacked, the villain's hatred toward M and M16 from The World Is Not Enough.

That said, Skyfall did it all incredibly well.

The M16 is a rifle and was not attacked in these films.

Dutchfinger

Matt S wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

Suprised to see FYEO wasn't mentioned yet which had a really original plot. The ATAC was used as a McGuffin, there was an intresting plottwist in which they made you believe Columbo was the main villian, while it was actually Kristatos. It's very underrated and overlooked I think.

It has many similarities to From Russia with Love. Both films have a very similar MacGuffin, and both SPECTRE and Kristatos trick Bond into thinking someone else is the villain.

Yes I am aware of the similarities. In FRWL however, we as the audience are never tricked into believing who the true villians are, in FYEO we are. I think FYEO still has some unique qualities to it that make it stand out a bit more than people sometimes give it credit for.

chrisisall

Y'know, in thinking about it I guess I have to conclude that SF has the most unique plot. Never before has M not trusted Bond to work things out in the heat of battle, never before has Bond just given up so completely on his job (albeit temporarily), and never before has both competence and incompetence been so broadly assigned to protagonists & villains alike.

broadshoulder

Matt S wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

Suprised to see FYEO wasn't mentioned yet which had a really original plot. The ATAC was used as a McGuffin, there was an intresting plottwist in which they made you believe Columbo was the main villian, while it was actually Kristatos. It's very underrated and overlooked I think.

It has many similarities to From Russia with Love. Both films have a very similar MacGuffin, and both SPECTRE and Kristatos trick Bond into thinking someone else is the villain.

Actually, SPECTRE make it apparent to the audience its behind it all from the first scene

Kristatos isn't revealed as the villain until 3/4 off the way through the film

Matt S

broadshoulder wrote:

Matt S wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

Suprised to see FYEO wasn't mentioned yet which had a really original plot. The ATAC was used as a McGuffin, there was an intresting plottwist in which they made you believe Columbo was the main villian, while it was actually Kristatos. It's very underrated and overlooked I think.

It has many similarities to From Russia with Love. Both films have a very similar MacGuffin, and both SPECTRE and Kristatos trick Bond into thinking someone else is the villain.

Actually, SPECTRE make it apparent to the audience its behind it all from the first scene

Kristatos isn't revealed as the villain until 3/4 off the way through the film

I didn't say that. I said Bond is tricked.

AlphaOmegaSin

I agree with those who have mentioned FYEO -{

MilleniumForce

But the idea of the heros being villains became less unique when they did it with Koskov in TLD.

AlphaOmegaSin

You could say the same for Zorins Plan in AVTAK, which is GF's Scheme updated.

AdamOmega

From Russia With Love
Spy thriller reminiscent of Hitchcock more than anything else in Bond. Very subdued character-centric plot; only For Your Eyes Only would try a similar approach later on (the ATAC & Lektor are comparable macguffins) but not quite as evocative.

Goldfinger
The only Sean Connery era plot that has no mention/invovlement of SPECTRE.

Live And Let Die
Here, the plot is scaled down to drug cabal operations; there is no plan for "global domination" per se. This is a significant departure from the plots of previous Bond films & would not be used again until Licence to Kill.

Moonraker
First crack at a science fiction plot in Bond, although one could argue that The Spy Who Loved Me has elements of sci-fi as well (though TSWLM is a pseudo-remake of You Only Live Twice). Also, whereas the science fiction elements of TSWLM are more conceptual, Hugo Drax is able to realize his master plan much more closely.

For Your Eyes Only
First "surprise" villain reveal, which would be used again for The World is Not Enough.

Licence to Kill
Although scaled down similar to Live And Let Die, Licence to Kill is the first "revenge" plot (although it barely even touches upon the theme of revenge, hence the quotation marks).

The World is Not Enough
Only Bond film where the Bond girl is revealed to be the major villain.

Casino Royale
Only Bond film where the plot involves Bond beating the villain at cards. Most Bond movies employ a "casino scene" as a story beat; Casino Royale is the only example where Bond playing cards is tantamount to the premise.

Quantum of Solace
Plot involving control of a natural resource (water).

Skyfall
To my knowledge, the only Bond film where the plot involves the villain exacting his revenge on a central character (M).