The DRAMA FACTOR in Bond's best physical confrontations...

chrisisall

DN- Bond vs. Dr. No. Bond clearly has the physical edge here, so the drama is moderate, but the execution is top notch. 4/5
FRWL- Bond vs. Grant. Epic fight between titans. 5.1/5 (Bond vs. Kleb was just silly.)
GF- Bond vs. Oddjob. Oddjob was dumb, but the tension was definitely there anyway. 4.5/5
TB- Bond vs. Largo. Lots going on, speeded up as well... and we knew where it was headed. 2.5/5
YOLT- Bond vs. The Rock's grandfather at Osato HQ. Surprisingly dramatic because of the execution & choreography. 4/5
OHMSS- Bond vs. Beach Bastids. Moderate drama though execution was very nice. 3/5
DAF- Bond vs. Franks. Way better fight than this movie deserved, yet the end was never in doubt. 2.5/5
LALD- Bond vs. Butterhook. Very creative, drama increased by having Solitaire in jeopardy. 3.5/5
TMWTGG- Bond vs. the dojo. Lots of fun, but little drama. 2/5
TSWLM- Bond vs. Jaws. Been there done that. 2/5
MR- Bond vs. whatever... 1/5
FYEO- Bond vs. Locque. Short (one kick) but sweet. 5/5
OP- Bond vs. Gobinda. Tense, but kind of predictable. 3/5
AVTAK- Bond vs. Zorin. Drama is good thanks to Walken, but questionable choreography detracts. 2.5/5
TLD- Bond vs. Necros. High drama high up. 5/5
LTK- Bond vs. Sanchez. Whatever the choreography lacked, the two stars made up for. 5/5
GE- Bond vs. Trevelyan. Rare dramatic perfection. 5.2/5
TND- Bond vs. Stamper. As in LALD the Bond girl is in danger, but here even more so. 5/5
TWINE- Bond vs. Renard. The drama is there, but the execution is not. 2.5/5
DAD- Bond vs. Graves (pt. 1). Out of control sword fight. 4/5 (pt. 2) Robo fight was exciting but too OTT. 2.5/5
CR- Bond vs. Parkour dude. Excellent execution makes us care. 5/5
QOS- Bond vs. Greene. We know who will win, but that slimy Greene earns our hate. 5/5
SF- Bond vs. Patrice. Well done, and exciting. 4.5/5
SP- Bond vs. Hinks. Totally awesome fight, dramatically assisted by Madeline's presence (see LALD/TND). 5/5

Thoughts?

superado

I'd rather use the term "tension" because "drama" has a bad connotation for me when it comes to the Bond fights, which I roughly divide into factors of physical prowess and ham, and by "ham" I mean John Wayne style fist-a-cuffs. I consider most of Connery's fights and all of Lazenby's cool and loaded with prowess. Most of Moore's on the other hand, "ham."

As much as I love Dalton, I think he suffered from "ham" as well, with the fight with the Russian Air Base guard in TLD and the Barrelhead Bar fight in LTK as good examples. Brosnan's fights in GE were ultra-cool, channeling the Connery technique, esp. the one with 006, but I wonder why those levels have never been reached again in the following movies; I think of the fight with the Vietnamese henchmen in TND and the fight with Zao in DAD where you see Brosnan cocking back his arm for a punch like John Wayne.

Craig's fights all have the prowess and no ham, but I think we can credit that to the Bond production getting with the program with the rest of the industry, esp. the Bourne movies. Future Bonds should never bring back any "ham" into the fights lest the series become cliched and anachronistic.

Chriscoop

Your about right Chris I think, I was always impressed with Lazenbys physical prowess, Connery enjoyed fighting and his train fight with red grant has tension and grit, I never really rated Brosnan or Dalton as good hand to hand fighters but more cerebral tactician, brozzer was certainly the shoot email up bond and Dalton more the one shot man.
Craigs fights all have grit, he obviously trained up and had some decent instruction but he executes and moves well ( no one moves like SC) my personal favourites are the venice sinking house fight in CR and against stone in qos.

Operation Bedlam

superado wrote:

Brosnan's fights in GE were ultra-cool, channeling the Connery technique, esp. the one with 006, but I wonder why those levels have never been reached again in the following movies; I think of the fight with the Vietnamese henchmen in TND and the fight with Zao in DAD where you see Brosnan cocking back his arm for a punch like John Wayne.

I just rewatched all the Brosnan films recently and this is something that really stood out for me too this time. Goldeneye is the only film where Brosnan really looks believable in the fight sequences. In all the following films his movements just seem kind of awkward and slow. The exaggerated pain faces and groans certainly didn't help the situation.

superado

chrisisall wrote:

YOLT- Bond vs. The Rock's grandfather at Osato HQ. Surprisingly dramatic because of the execution & choreography. 4/5

Thanks, didn't know this bit of trivia before, re: Peter Maivia. It's too bad that Dwayne Johnson is too likable because he's more than formidable looking to play a Bond villain in the Odd Job tradition.

zaphod99

superado wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

YOLT- Bond vs. The Rock's grandfather at Osato HQ. Surprisingly dramatic because of the execution & choreography. 4/5

Thanks, didn't know this bit of trivia before, re: Peter Maivia. It's too bad that Dwayne Johnson is too likable because he's more than formidable looking to play a Bond villain in the Odd Job tradition.

Agreed. We had that opportunity with the superb Bautista but in my view squandered it at worst, and at best did not make anywhere near as much of him as there could have been. Hope he is back at some point as I think he could deliver so much more and really drive Bond to the very edge.

chrisisall

superado wrote:

I'd rather use the term "tension" because "drama" has a bad connotation for me

I mean drama as in 'dramatic'; the difference between watching a fight and appreciating its excellence (or lack thereof) as opposed to having a high level of emotional investment due to the situation, actors and story it punctuates.