Implausibly of Bond’s capture and torture in Die Another Day
osris
Posts: 558MI6 Agent
It seems totally out of keeping with Bond for him to have been captured and tortured at the beginning of Die Another Day. Can this be the Bond who has always managed to escape unscathed from previous detentions? It belies the heroic nature of Bond later in the film, which in light of his capture and torture seems inconsistent. Had the screenwriters wanted to make him more consistently believable, they should have had him suffering and failing more during the rest of the film, instead of him being the superman that he usually is.
Comments
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
Its really about striking a balancing act.
Die Another Day was just a bad movie, from start to finish.
Same here.
The rest of the film after his capture has him being invincible, which makes his failing to escape capture seem totally bizarre and uncharacteristic. Either the filmmakers should have ditched the capture, or else shown him to be as equally vulnerable throughout the rest of the film.
They scenes up to and including the blades club were actually very good IMO. The Cuba scenes reflected the old fashioned glamour that existed in the early films (exotic beaches, shady flamboyant gangsters and Bond confidently strutting around a-la-Connery). If they had maintained this style rather than going into nintendo/comic strip mode then DAD would have held up much better.
If he died under torture he died in the line of duty, however suicide was out of the question.
On the contrary, in Goldfinger, Bond attempted commit suicide by holding his breath (seriously!) when the saw was going to cut him in half (it was a saw in the book, not a laser).
Moreover, in Live and Let Die, he and Solitaire are tied together and tethered from a boat, soon to be mauled by sharks. Bond decided that when he saw the first shark fin on the horizon, he would push her underwater to drown her, then roll her body on top of his so that he may drown as well.
I guess his upper lip wasn't all that stiff.
Anyhow, I loved the capture and torture in DAD, at the time, and a good bit after that. It was when invisible cars, holographic training simulators, and diamonds embedded in faces that the movie went sour for me. There's never been a more schizophrenic Bond film.
I'd forgotten about those bits
I stand corrected
I must be one of the few people who thought the flip of the car with the ejector seat was actually quite cool.
I am one of the few who actually like the fact he was captured - and the theme song - and the opening titles....really works with the song.... and the great scene when he arrives at the hotel, all dishevelled.....
but then it just turns into a ridiculous CGI farce..... which is a shame, as I think it could have been quite a good movie.....
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Can I ask, (as I know you are not the only one who feels this....) why is Halle Berry's character so annoying.....? Isn't her independance - cockyness attractive? Or is it that a Bond girl should be somewhat 'needy'.....
I've never understood men's (or, I should say, several men that I know) dislike of her...... when I know that woman who aren't independant seem just as annoying....
I can answer that, I think its to do with the fact that her "feistyness" and "cockiness" just seem so in-your face. It seemed the producers were maybe trying a little too hard to make her Bond's equal and satisfy the feminists. I remember at one point there was talk of a spin-off with her character
I thought Wei-Lin was a better Bond girl personally, she was still attractive and independent (although she did blow Bond's cover - twice) but not as irritating and loud as Jinx.
Didn't Bond get captured in the Casino Royale novel and in the 2006 movie? Because I read the book and I've seen the film and that's exactly what happened! Moreover Bond also got captured in the Live and Let Die novel and in the Roger Moore film.
"Stuff my orders! I only kill professionals. That woman didn't know one end of a rifle from the other. Go ahead, tell M. what you want. If he fires me, I'll thank him for it."
I agree totally that the first half-ish is actually quite good. Has great action and ideas and some cool characters to boot. But as soon as the Iceland scenes arrive it turns into a steaming turd. The director says they never were supposed to have the Antonov plane sequence but thought a climax in the sky would be fun. FUN?? Over the top and full of CGI and crap fights more like it.
I love independant, strong women. I would rather have a Pussy Galore (ahem... :v) than a Kara Milovy (
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Yes, Bond has been captured and tortured before. But not for 14 months straight. The implausibility is not in the fact that Bond was captured, but rather the duration of his incarceration. I don't think Bond would've allowed himself to be held up in prison for such a long time. He would find a way either to escape or to overcome the enemy, or otherwise kill himself.
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Thank you! Although I am beginning to see that there is a fine line between - independent and confident, to annoying, loud and 'in your face' cocky.....
And Kara Milovy? No, I didn't need to think - she is one of my least favourite Bond girls - the epitome of 'needy' and I can never imagine someone like that being taken seriously - let alone attractive, but then, I am a girl, not a man!
Is it the angle of being a 'Bond Equal' that also riles?
A Bond girl should ultimately look good, be great in bed, know enough about what Bond does to not ask stupid questions, and if needs be, kill someone if it means a quick escape..... does that sound about right
I didn't see her as 'needy'. Just an an innocent cellist who was in out of her depth, set up as a stooge by Koskov, to be killed by Bond in order to fake his defection. Only Bond turned out to be just a little less cold-blooded than Koskov expected.