Missed opportunities in the Bond series

Remington · April 2017

Couldn't find a thread on this.

What missed opportunities can you think of.

Mine.
.A follow-up to OHMSS. I enjoy DAF a lot but i would have loved to see Lazenby get revenge.
.More Dalton films. A more grounded version of the Bond 17 treatment would have been good. And get Liz Hurley in it. Another movie in 1993 which sees Bond being brainwashed and programmed to kill M.
.A fifth Brosnan film. Either Everything or Nothing or the Shatterhand treatment I've seen posted on here before.
.A film between QOS and SF. Either standalone or a return of Quantum. The main reasons i was disappointed with SF was because after only three films, Bond was apparently too old for his job and the fact that i was really hoping to see more of Quantum and Mr. White. Id settle for a film version of Bloodstone retitled Risico.
.A very different SP. Make it a two parter as planned. Nine Eyes in 2014 and The Death Collector in 2015. And get rid of that godawful yellow color filter. Bring back David Arnold.

Any thoughts? -{

Matt S · April 2017

Brilliant ideas!

I wish Roger Moore's Bond films did away with some of the sillier aspects and were more serious overall. Moore was fantastic at being a serious Bond when he had to be. I wish there was more of that. He never had Connery's toughness, but he was great at playing characters straight.

Barbel · April 2017

Good ideas, Remington!

Number24 · April 2017

Liv Hurley is a terrible idea. There are plenty of attractive women who can act, so why cast her?
But you have some really good suggestions, especially a "sequel" to OHMSS with Lazenby.

Dirty Punker · April 2017

Too bad the other fellow had to return for Diamonds, I also wish there was a follow up to Majesty's.
.George Martin should've returned for one more film (like Newman in SF/SP, he would be LALD/TMWGG).
.A better The Man With The Golden Gun, Goodnight not being wasted as a bimbo, better aspect ratio, not that Guy again (couldn't resist the pun) and the original locations of the novel
.Finished QoS with better script
Who do we want? ARNOLD! When do we want him? NOW!
BTW, excellent choices Steele.

Thunderpussy · April 2017

The Bee Gees should have done a 70s theme.
The Krankies should have been used as henchmen
Sir Roger should have parted his hair on the other side
The double taking pigeon should have had more screen time
More of a variation in tie knots should have been used
More mention of what damp proofing techniques were used for the volcano lair

Number24 · April 2017

A version of Casino Royale directed by Alfred Hitchcock (not made by EON, so we'll get the Daniel Craig version too)

LTK directed by Ridley Scott.

Christmas Jones played by Jennifer Connelly

PPK 7.65mm · April 2017

More Dalton films, to me he is James Bond as written by Ian Fleming.

A film released in between QOS and SF detailing what become of Quantum.

A DAF written with a serious tone, and none of the silly humor.

IcePak · April 2017

Roger Moore should have continued to play Bond into the 90s.
A direct sequel to Moonraker, with an even more outlandish tone.
Sean Connery should have continued to star in a rival Bond series.
J. W. Pepper should have appeared in more Bond films.
Jaws should have reappeared as Bond's ally with Dolly as his sidekick.
Charles Gray should have reprised his role as Blofeld.

)

Seriously, though, great suggestions, Remington, particularly the first three.

Miles Messervy · April 2017

AVTAK without Roger (the plot is actually pretty solid, but elderly Bond doesn't work).

A third Dalton Film, although it might have tanked the series given his lack of popularity.

DAD with a second half that lived up to the first.

Spectre.

Remington · April 2017

Loving the comments -{

heartbroken_mr_drax · April 2017

GL doing OHMSS and DAF - still leaving the series though to allow Moore to come through.
PB to start at TLD integrating the much darker tone and solidifying himself as a tougher Bond until early 2000s.
Ken Adam not doing TMWTGG.

Gassy Man · April 2017

In no particular order, and some in agreement with what has already been posted:

Not having George Lazenby rerturn as Bond. By his second film, he would have owned the role as much as Connery.

Not making two more films in the time between TLD and GE.

Not having Brosnan take over immediately after Moore, where he would have fit in with the lighter tone, and then Dalton taking over after that, where his more "serious" Bond approach would have been appropriate.

Taking four years to make SF.

Not having the writing or directing as strong in any of Daniel Craig's Bonds after CR.

Bringing Blofeld back for what amounts to mostly a cameo in SP and then doing very little on the scale of the 60s Bonds with the film.

Not having Annie Lennox. Depeche Mode, or Amy Winehouse do a Bond theme.

Not having Basil Poledouris or Carter Burwell do a Bond soundtrack.

Not having John McTiernan or Steven Spielberg direct a Bond film.

Cutting various sequences from films -- the rooftop chase in OHMSS, the lake battle in DAF, the trimmed scenes from CR, which lacked about 10 minutes of romance.

Not getting Benedict Cumberbatch as Q, though Ben Wishaw is fine.

Not screentesting Idris Elba or Daniel Day Lewis before they got too old.

Not finding an actor and character for Bond to battle with as the villain in about half the films with menacing "weight."

MilleniumForce · April 2017

Having a non personal Bond film for Craig. All four have been focused around him personally, but he really needed a film where he was given a mission and sent on it. It's what Spectre should have been, rather than making it once again a film about Bind and his personal ties rather than Bond doing his job.

zaphod99 · April 2017

MilleniumForce wrote:

Having a non personal Bond film for Craig. All four have been focused around him personally, but he really needed a film where he was given a mission and sent on it. It's what Spectre should have been, rather than making it once again a film about Bind and his personal ties rather than Bond doing his job.

I hope that if he does another then that would be what we get

Number24 · April 2017

I agree with MF. Craig should have gutten at least one mission-centric movie, perferably between QoS and SF.
I also like Gassy Man's suggestion of Annie Lennox singing a title song. Her style might have been right for LTK.

DutchJamesBondFan · April 2017

I will always miss two extra Dalton films, same goes for a proper send-off for Brosnan or the second Lazenby film. Those things really bothers me. What used to bother me are the gunbarrels in QoS and SF.

Dutchfinger · April 2017

I think it was always a shame that they didnt bring back past Bond girls, especially when Bond encounters a supposed woman from his past, like in A View To A Kill with Paula Ivanova, which should really have been Anya Amasova. Or in Tomorrow Never Dies with Paris Carver, which I think would have worked so well had that been Natalya Simonova. I mean seeing her killed on that bed would have a much bigger impact as we actually know about her past with Bond from the previous film.

Wadsy · April 2017

IcePak wrote:

Roger Moore should have continued to play Bond into the 90s.
A direct sequel to Moonraker, with an even more outlandish tone.
J. W. Pepper should have appeared in more Bond films.
Jaws should have reappeared as Bond's ally with Dolly as his sidekick.
Charles Gray should have reprised his role as Blofeld.
)

I hope you were being sarcastic because for me, all of those suggestions would have turned out for the worse. For me, the only missed opportunity for Bond was to do with Timothy Dalton. I believe he should have done A View To A Kill as his first Bond, and at least The Property Of A Lady in 1991, so it would have been called. I have no problems with AVTAK at present, but just that I know Timothy Dalton would have made it the best Bond flick of all time had he been in it.

Honorable Mention - Maybe Roger Moore should have started with Diamonds Are Forever, if they were to keep it as campy as it was, otherwise if it were serious (like it should have been), then have George Lazenby return one last time.

Number24 · April 2017

Dutchfinger wrote:

I think it was always a shame that they didnt bring back past Bond girls, especially when Bond encounters a supposed woman from his past, like in A View To A Kill with Paula Ivanova, which should really have been Anya Amasova. Or in Tomorrow Never Dies with Paris Carver, which I think would have worked so well had that been Natalya Simonova. I mean seeing her killed on that bed would have a much bigger impact as we actually know about her past with Bond from the previous film.

And Wai Lin should have been in DAD.

Dirty Punker · April 2017

I liked Wai Lin, but I'm not sure about the spin off series that the producers initially planned for her.
One thing is sure, it would certainly beat Jinx's one.

MilleniumForce · April 2017

I've never got why anyone thinks the returning Bond girl in TND should be Natalya or even Pam Bouvier. One is a former Russian computer programmer, whilst the other is an agent. It doesn't make sense for them to end up with a media mogul.

If it were to be a past character, it makes more sense to me for it to be either Kara - a sort of opera celebrity, so it's more likely Carver would have come across her - or Lupe, a woman who is in an uncomfortable relationship with the villain.

Remington · April 2017

What if Sylvia Trench or Tiffany Case were Carver's wife. Tiffany was a gold digger so it'd make sense

)

Number24 · April 2017

Isn't Pam Bouvier a pilot who was a. CIA informant? It would make sense if she became Carver's pilot and then his wife.
Natalya may very well have moved to the West after the events of GE. A talented computer programer could easily have worked with or for the Carver Media Group. Then she caught the eye of the boss...

Gala Brand · April 2017

QOS and Spectre were both missed opportunities.

zaphod99 · April 2017

Gala Brand wrote:

QOS and Spectre were both missed opportunities.

I agree. However both have a strong fanbase here. QoS is largely either derided or met with 'meh' in the outside non Bond obsessive world. Spectre however garnered some very positive reviews in the UK at least. I'm no fan of either, but at a push can recognise what QOS was going for even if it did not quite land.

rennervision · April 2017

Dutchfinger wrote:

I think it was always a shame that they didnt bring back past Bond girls, especially when Bond encounters a supposed woman from his past, like in A View To A Kill with Paula Ivanova, which should really have been Anya Amasova. Or in Tomorrow Never Dies with Paris Carver, which I think would have worked so well had that been Natalya Simonova. I mean seeing her killed on that bed would have a much bigger impact as we actually know about her past with Bond from the previous film.

These are great suggestions. On a similar note, I really really wish the KGB director Bond was sent to kill in TLD was Gogol. That moment where we thought Bond was about to actually assassinate him would have been so much more intense. It's actually one of my biggest complaints about the entire movie.

Barbel · April 2017

It was originally written for Gogol, but alas Walter Gotell was ill and Eon couldn't obtain insurance for him to play a leading role in the movie. The part was therefore rewritten, and Gogol only appears in a brief cameo at the end.

heartbroken_mr_drax · April 2017

rennervision wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

I think it was always a shame that they didnt bring back past Bond girls, especially when Bond encounters a supposed woman from his past, like in A View To A Kill with Paula Ivanova, which should really have been Anya Amasova. Or in Tomorrow Never Dies with Paris Carver, which I think would have worked so well had that been Natalya Simonova. I mean seeing her killed on that bed would have a much bigger impact as we actually know about her past with Bond from the previous film.

These are great suggestions. On a similar note, I really really wish the KGB director Bond was sent to kill in TLD was Gogol. That moment where we thought Bond was about to actually assassinate him would have been so much more intense. It's actually one of my biggest complaints about the entire movie.

I think the acting prowess of John Rhys Davies potentially made the role/scenes better, unsure if Walter Gotell could've played the role as well?

Dirty Punker · April 2017

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

rennervision wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

I think it was always a shame that they didnt bring back past Bond girls, especially when Bond encounters a supposed woman from his past, like in A View To A Kill with Paula Ivanova, which should really have been Anya Amasova. Or in Tomorrow Never Dies with Paris Carver, which I think would have worked so well had that been Natalya Simonova. I mean seeing her killed on that bed would have a much bigger impact as we actually know about her past with Bond from the previous film.

These are great suggestions. On a similar note, I really really wish the KGB director Bond was sent to kill in TLD was Gogol. That moment where we thought Bond was about to actually assassinate him would have been so much more intense. It's actually one of my biggest complaints about the entire movie.

I think the acting prowess of John Rhys Davies potentially made the role/scenes better, unsure if Walter Gotell could've played the role as well?

No crime in hoping

. -{

Matt S · April 2017

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

rennervision wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

I think it was always a shame that they didnt bring back past Bond girls, especially when Bond encounters a supposed woman from his past, like in A View To A Kill with Paula Ivanova, which should really have been Anya Amasova. Or in Tomorrow Never Dies with Paris Carver, which I think would have worked so well had that been Natalya Simonova. I mean seeing her killed on that bed would have a much bigger impact as we actually know about her past with Bond from the previous film.

These are great suggestions. On a similar note, I really really wish the KGB director Bond was sent to kill in TLD was Gogol. That moment where we thought Bond was about to actually assassinate him would have been so much more intense. It's actually one of my biggest complaints about the entire movie.

I think the acting prowess of John Rhys Davies potentially made the role/scenes better, unsure if Walter Gotell could've played the role as well?

I certainly think Gotell could have done it just as well. It wasn't a very difficult role, and it involved the kind of lines Gogol would have already said. I could easily picture him in the role.

Missed opportunities in the Bond series

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