Getting back to basics with James Bond

lumphammer2

I confess I enjoy old school Bond films best of all ….. Goldfinger …. Thunderball ….. that kind of thing ….. right up to say The Living Daylights ….. Goldeneye …… Casino Royale …… but something got lost along the way in more recent films ….. fictionalised non-Fleming take on the iconic Blofeld ….. having Bond die ….. and die of some poor man's fictionalised sci fi version of Covid 19 of all things !!! …. and having weak villains ….. all this did not do a thing for the franchise imv ….. plus in the past you had a Bond film ever 2 years ….. the way it is going now you'd be lucky to have one every 5 !!!! …..

We need a Bond film where we have a villain like the original Blofeld …. or Goldfinger …. or Largo …. or Drax …. with a definite plot to extort money/create a new world order/etc …. with Bond taking them down ….. some people criticise the likes of A View To A Kill but that was a severely underrated film imv ….. Zorin was maybe the last really great villain ….. the type of insanity is here that is lacking in all recent villains ….

L Grey

Can't say I disagree

I think they need a villian to actually test Bond.

Maybe have a film where Bond loses and has his comeback in the next film.

Also maybe make Bond something of a throwback antihero.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123129400#Comment_123129400

Interesting ….. outside of Bond's death from 'sci fi Covid' On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the only time Bond really lost ….. his wife is murdered by the real Blofeld …… at the time the film was not well liked but it now is and rightfully regarded as one of the best …..

I think a similar film where Bond loses everything ….. his wife/girlfriend killed, his membership of the secret service, etc. ….. and then he has to come back and prove himself ….. pitted against perhaps an evil internal enemy within …..

Kaybaykwah

How about Bond fighting against the ultimate foe: TEMUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!

lumphammer2

Here's a go at a Bond film that maybe should have been ……

Film name = Pass On By

Title song sung by Charlie Rich …..

Set circa 1969-70 …..

Pretitle ….. Bond caresses his dead wife in the car in Portugal ….. then drives off and books into hotel and is seen drinking whiskey …. Bond contacts wife's father Draco and both want revenge on Blofeld/Bunt the 2 terrorists responsible for her death ….. Draco's men track down where Bunt is located ….. a hotel in Lisbon where she is guarded by 4 terrorist soldiers ….. Bond goes there and kills all 4 terrorists in a shootout and then beats up Bunt and fires her into a bath, turns on the tap and breaks her arms and legs ….. he then Goldfinger style says he will put an electric appliance into the bath …. unless she starts talking …. afraid, she talks and says she does not know where Blofeld is but talks of another terrorist who is half American half Russian who has replaced Largo as Blofeld's no. 2 and who is acting no. 1 until Blofeld recovers ….. his name is Yuri Ivanov (Russian) or George Johnson (US) ….. Bond shoots Bunt and decides not to electricute her …. as Bunt dies she said that Ivanov was the one who came up with the actual idea of targetting Bond's wedding ….. and planned the terrorist attack to deliberately kill his wife and leave Bond alive …. Blofeld had wanted to kill Bond but Ivanov talked him into backing his plan …..

Post pre-title ….. Bond struggles with alcoholism and revenge …… M gives him leave and tells him to book into a health place a la Thunderball ….. Bond refuses and resigns from the service …. but M officially signs papers to have him on leave …..

Blofeld relocates to America ….. Ivanov as the Johnson persona has substantial business interests in Las Vegas and arranges the kidnap of a Willard Whyte and replaces Whyte with Blofeld ….. Blofeld has to recuperate from injuries he got in On Her Majesty's Secret Service ….. Blofeld tells Ivanov to concentrate on the Iranian mission …..

Bond researches Ivanov and gets Felix Leiter to investigate ….. Felix tells Bond he is at present located in Dallas, Texas and runs an oil company with oil interests in Texas and the Middle East ….. sure that Ivanov only heard of and never saw Bond, Bond goes into the Texas company posing as an investor ….. the suspicious Ivanov feels something is up and has his heavies confront Bond and he is taken to a shack in a town in the Mexican desert where they beat him up and ask him who he is ….. Bond though fools the heavies when they come back to attack him by cling to the roof and jumping down on them and he kills them and makes his escape ……

Ivanov captures Bond after a car chase/shootout and is brought back to Texas in the boot of a car ….. and then loaded onto a plane ….. Ivanov brings Bond to a villa on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran ….. and invites him to dinner and is very cordial ….. he then reveals he knows for sure he is Bond ….. he then tells Bond how he took pleasure in plotting to kill his wife ….. and tells Bond his time is now nearly up ….. in a makeshift cell in the villa Bond dreams of Tacy/Teresa his wife and she says to him in the dream to get Ivanov and Blofeld for her ….. Next day Ivanov tells Bond of how he has a nuclear bomb he is going to fire from Iran to Russia and another he is going to fire back into Iran to start a war between the 2 countries and ruin the economy ….. and drag America in ….. and cause oil havoc …. Bond is beaten up and Ivanov has him dragged to an industrial premises on the Iranian Caspian coast ….. Bond manages to escape and knocks out 4 guards before escaping via boat and then car back into Tehran ….

Bond books into a hotel in Tehran …..

After contacting his Iranian contact and Draco …… they meet at Bond's hotel ….. a plan is made to target Ivanov's industrial premises ….. a shootout takes place with all Ivanov's men killed and the bombs defused …..thus his plot is destroyed ….. Ivanov escapes and Tehran's police inform Bond he has flown to Japan to meet Blofeld …… Bond contacts Tiger Tanaka, an old friend and head of Japanese secret service who does not want Blofeld regaining any foothold in Japan again with the events of You Only Live Twice still fresh in his memory ….. Bond and Tanaka track down Ivanov and Bond has him shot and asks him where is Blofeld but he does not answer …… Bond shoots him again this time killing him ….. Tanaka has meanwhile identified Blofeld's personal security detail and has one shot as he tried to kill him ….. Tanaka informs Bond the other may know where Blofeld is ….. Tanaka lets the the henchmen enter another room ….. Bond comes into the room Tanaka is in and Tanaka tells him to go into the other room and question the henchman …..Bond asks henchman where is Blofeld ….. he does not answer …… he asks again and Bond punches him …… end of film ……

Trampas

You’ve been really waiting to post this.

Anyway I thought Brosnan films were awful for believing someone of the stuff they had in them. Moore and Moonraker was just terrible

thereiver

Films are more expensive to make now than ten years ago. There are many films now being made that feature spy's male and female . a modern bond would be using apps like telegram and zoom. I can't think of an actor in 2024 who has a good sense of humour and is also strong like Sean Connery . Gen z actors are more aware of women's rights and not being sexist . James bond seems old fashioned now .

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123150241#Comment_123150241

I haven't watched many of those Moore and Brosnan films in years ….. some are better than others ….. one I did watch recently was The Man With The Golden Gun …. Moore's 2nd …. the first half is quite good but the second culminating is a tame chase and an anti climatic finale plus a comedic fight between Bond and an elf does it no favours ….. I heard that the original idea was going to be filmed partly in Iran and was about Scaramanga restricting oil ….. but I don't think the Shah wanted that filmed in his country at the time especially since Christopher Lee as Scaramanga looked like Mohammed Reza Pahlavi !!! …. that explains perhaps why the film seems to have a stronger first half and a very weak second one ….

Have to revisit them …. but I did find Brosnan's last 2 poor …. enjoyed his first 2 but have not watched them in a while ….

Kaybaykwah

Why all the beautiful girls in Bond films?

Couldn’t they find an ordinary or somewhat ugly one to balance things out and add realism to the mix.

Also, why do the baddies always behave appallingly?

donegal_man

Scenario One: Following Bond's 'death' he wakes up in his new incarnation having been restored by the nanobots. Disoriented, he wanders around until he encounters a strange cat/human hybrid and an android who explain he is aboard a Jupiter Mining Corporation ship Red Dwarf.

Scenario Two: Bond wakes up in his new body. Disoriented, he wanders around until he encounters a woman who calls him 'Sweetie' and guides him through his previous multiple regenerations until he accepts that he is in fact the last Time Lord.

RickBlaine

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Bond. I just want him to walk into M's office at the start of the film, get a mission, and then execute that mission. There is plenty of scope to do amazing action and espionage within that formula. I don't really want another era exploring the psychology of Bond's character.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123129408#Comment_123129408

They did that in casino Royale/ Quantum of Solace. And in Skyfall too.

Casino Royale and Skyfall I really enjoyed and have rewatched them numerous times. QoS was a mess. I have watched it at least twice and still have no idea what really went on.

I agree with RickBlaine, it needs to be M to Bond: your mission is to go do something. And he goes and does it. There has been enough exploration of his history and his psychology.

Kaybaykwah

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123177445#Comment_123177445

Yes, and the sets weren’t all that good in those fillums either.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123177610#Comment_123177610

Casino Royale and Skyfall are by far the best Bond movies. Action, plot etc. Some of the older ones are living by a thread to nostalgia - they are not great. Even the Pierce Brosnan ones are fairly mediocre.

The last Bond film a couple of years ago was good too. I thought it wasn't great when I saw it in the cinema. But enjoyed it on a rewatch in the comfort of my living room.

Bogey Lowenstein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123176009#Comment_123176009

Why has there never been a female Bond villain? Only henchwomen like Xenia Onatop, Grace Jones and Bambi and Thumper.

Kaybaykwah

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123184727#Comment_123184727

Yep, Even a really bad girl can’t be half as bad as a bad fella.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123184727#Comment_123184727

Sophie Marceau in The World is Not Enough was half of the bad couple, with Robert Carlisle being the other half.

Bogey Lowenstein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185692#Comment_123185692

It's not enough. I want to see a dame trying to take over the world in the next Bond film. What about equality? SPECTRE should be an equal opportunities employer 😂

Bogey Lowenstein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123184916#Comment_123184916

Do you remember the hard as nails little frau with the poison blade in her shoe, and the crazy Grace Jones character? they were really bad girls. I think a female Bond villain could be a shot in the arm for the franchise if Hollywood would ever think outside the box for once.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185949#Comment_123185949

Tbh, I can't see it happening. Short of Judi Denchs evil twin sister making an appearance.

sprucemoose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123186080#Comment_123186080

there were rumours that it was going to happen (not the evil twin part) when danny boyle was still directing what would become No Time to Die

fish fingers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123185692#Comment_123185692

That was a terrible movie though.

Bogey Lowenstein

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123186080#Comment_123186080

Dench's M could be unmasked as the villain mastermind who is selling the identity of 00 agents to the highest bidder. She turned to the darkside when they forced her to retire or screwed her over somehow. It could work you know.

CalamariFritti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123177274#Comment_123177274

Agreed but you forgot one really important ingredient. Before everything begins Bond has to be dropped into the middle of a crucial mission showdown ideally in some really cool location. Car chase, motorcycles over rooftops, hanging off helicopters, parachutes, explosions, the whole works. And he barely makes it but somehow he does as always. Then after an awesome title track with some erotic undertones we go back to M's office for what this was all about and how it fits into the next 2 hours followed by some new gadgets in the basement.

Sonic the Shaghog

The only real Bond movies for me are Connery's first 5 up to You Only Live Twice.

It's like the others are entertaining but just Bond lite like Moores, enjoyable but too cringy.

Daltons were good.

I found Pierce a good Bond for maybe his first 2 even 3 as DaD made the WINE look like a masterpiece.

While I enjoyed Casino Royale I just never took to Craig fully as Bond and agree the villains etc were weak enough at times. That end scene with Sky fall I think with Mallory as the new M was the best bit.

I wouldn't mind a run of Bond films set in the cold war era a classic Bond but unfortunately would the general public bother going is the problem.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123186894#Comment_123186894

Someone asked why has there never been a female villain. They didn't ask why has there never been a female villain in a really good Bond movie.

One person's good Bond movie is another person's Die Another Day, anyway.

My two favorite Bond movies were You Only Live Twice and The Living Daylights. Very different movies at very different times.

Going back to the Cold War probably won't work as we are in the middle or the start of a second Cold War at the moment. I do agree we need to go back to basics though.

johnny_ultimate

Looks like another storied franchise has ended up in the complete creative control of a megacorp. Wilson and Broccoli 'stepping back' as the Bezos empire takes over:

https://variety.com/2025/film/global/james-bond-amazon-mgm-gain-creative-control-1236313930/

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123191526#Comment_123191526

RIP Bond.

murpho999

"No Prime to Die" confirmed as next instalment title.

ancapailldorcha

Does it make a difference? They've been awful for some time now. Casino Royale was the last properly good Bond.

Banjaxed82

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123192035#Comment_123192035

But now the awfulness will be punched down our throat in more frequent films, spin offs, TV shows, etc

Whatever anyone wants to say about Bond, at least under the Broccoli regime, there was that sense that they could take a time out and do a reset if needs be. That's gone now.

RIP Bond indeed. We'll be sick of him within 5 years.