This scene from Licence To Kill (1989) is easily the most bizarre and awkward of the Dalton era. On Della and Felix Leiter’s wedding day, Bond and Della cavort around the wedding reception in a drunken stupor, almost as if they’re the betrothed themselves.
It starts off innocently enough with them falling into the room with the wedding cake, but their subsequent kisses are most definitely *not* innocuous and not innocent pecks on the cheek. I’d argue they are almost passionate. Did Bond and Della have a previous fling?
Although I wasn’t married in the 1980’s when this movie was released, I’m a married American and I’ve never heard of the “custom” where the bride kisses the best man. Did I miss the memo on that? This does not sound like a great custom. Just weird.
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Craig’s 007 is down on his luck after the kind of weird chase scene from No Time To Die (2021). He’s picked up by…007…(Nomi) in yet another car that should be getting more screen time in the movie, similar to Paloma. Wow, great revving of that ridiculous Aston Martin engine on the tarmac, I guess. Couldn’t have had a chase where Bond is the passenger and another 00 agent flexes their skill? Missed opportunity…and I distinctly remember these words enter my head about certain characters and parts of NTTD where screen times or parts of the movie were too short or not emphasized enough. I’d definitely say it’s one of my biggest gripes about the movie aside from (of course) the atrocious ending.
Anyways, back in this scene, Nomi does her best Mayday (O_o) impression ([]-[]) with some weird-ass (probably expensive) uncomfortable-looking sunglasses. Their conversation is interesting though: aside from his stern yet poignant “Where have you been?,” it was a little odd to hear Bond mention Swann’s (and his!) daughter and not speak up that she’s actually his child. Is he not proud of Mathilde? Is he embarrassed? Or does he just want to focus on the mission? Same goes for in the plane. M doesn’t mention that “Dr. Swann and her daughter” is actually Bond’s daughter as well, aside from telling Bond he “hopes they’re there.” If he doesn’t know, why wouldn’t Bond mention it? And if Bond has told no one, how would MI6 know to “give” the Aston Martin DB5 (which is a whole other ball of blah) at the end of the movie? It’s another scene in NTTD where a mention of Mathilde throws off the movie and detracts from its overall plot and flow. Stupid kid.
Luckily in this scene, however, Bond mentions the elephant in the room that exists whenever these two are together – namely, who is actually 007 now that Bond is back?
At the end of the car dialogue, Bond seems okay with passing the torch (“Thank you, 007.”), but getting in the plane, I think Q is about to welcome Nomi on as 007 but hesitates as Bond has passes by. Maybe Nomi can sense Bond wants 007 back or just feels it’s the right thing to do? During the movie, I enjoyed the back-and-forth and debate between them and M, but overall at the end, this small plot point wasn’t really as appealing or worthwhile. Instead, I’d have preferred Bond’s code name put on-hold (or retired?) and awarded to him on his return. Nomi would have been a better 002 or 0010 (yes, why not double-oh ten? The numbers have to go past 9, right? Could’ve put that question to bed…)
Brosnan Bond’s first interaction with Moneypenny in GoldenEye (1995) was…interesting. Aside from Craig’s Bond’s tryst with Moneypenny, Brosnan’s Bond always had the most sexual tension and blatant innuendos with Moneypenny during his tenure. This of course after the long portrayal of the character by Lois Maxwell from the series start until the late 1980’s – in which the Bond/Moneypenny relationship was a lot more playful and tame. It continued with a naive and relatively forgettable Moneypenny (Caroline Bliss) that served with Timothy Dalton’s Bond but then took the hard turn to Brosnan’s Moneypenny we see here.
But I digress – it’s true that GoldenEye‘s Moneypenny could hold her own in spite of Brosnan’s advances and we see it in this scene, but some of his remarks elicit eye rolls at best and at worst add fuel to the misogynist 007 stereotype. I’d say that this scene wouldn’t be written in today’s post-“#metoo” era. Regardless, it was neat to see M and others scramble from their personal lives (with Moneypenny in a highly formal dress from a date) to the office to assess the issues at Severnaya.
I mean…I don’t want to hype up the end of Spectre (2015) too much, but is there *really* a better end to a James Bond movie?
I just love everything about it – starting with a quiet, unassuming, empty downtown London – the shot of the flying, steadfast Union Jack after the madness of the toppling of Blofeld. Bond can take a deep breath.
What will he do next? Where will he go?
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Whenever Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder) is onscreen in Live And Let Die (1973), you’re in for something wild.
In the case of the above scene, we get a glimpse into Samedi’s “musical extravaganza” live show, coincidentally at Bond’s (Roger Moore) hotel in San Monique. Surely Bond has no idea what he’s in for at such an establishment? Kananga’s influence and power over the island is obviously everywhere.
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The evening train sequence from Spectre (2015) is arguably one of the best sequences of any James Bond movie. It’s often compared to the train sequence in From Russia With Love (1963), but I’d argue this one has it beat.
The look and feel of the start of the evening dinner with Bond (Daniel Craig) and Swann (Lea Seydoux) is visually stunning. Cinematographically, the dim and understated lighting on the dining car gives the scene an authentic, vintage look that would transport any Bond fan to their favorite 1960’s Bond movie.
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An impromptu early morning visit by M at Bond’s home leads to a funny scene in Live And Let Die (1973). Moore’s first on-screen appearance as 007 doesn’t start out great. After bedding an Italian agent Miss Caruso at his place, he bumbles and fumbles as he tries to distract M (Bernard Lee) from running into the woman. Bond makes M some coffee, and knows his way around an espresso machine, much to M’s surprise and a test of his patience.
The personal visit by M is warranted, of course, as the murders of three MI6 agents (Baines, Dawes and Hamilton) make it an urgent matter. But who knew Bond could moonlight as a barista? And it’s pretty cool we get a glimpse into his personal home. Yes, it’s the 1970’s – and I still can’t get over the atrocious kitchen wallpaper, but Bond’s vintage orange sandwich maker on the counter looks pretty sweet!
Live and Let Die (1973) – Bond the Barista
Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James) returns in The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) for more comic relief after his first stint as the bumbling counterpart to Roger Moore’s James Bond in Live And Let Die (1973).
This time around, even a vacation in a foreign country won’t detract from his ego or sense of authority. The above short clip exemplifies this – an overzealous J.W. almost blows Bond’s element of surprise (or any remaining he had, at least) on the chase for Scaramanga. Bond’s disappointment is obvious, and his reaction one of Moore’s most animated.
Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James) in The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
This scene from Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) has to be one of the weakest a Bond villain has ever looked. Who signed off on having the end of this scene? Cringe!
I’ve always thought that Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce) Tomorrow plot in TND is one of the most realistic/plausible villain plots of the entire series – controlling information and the media is a very powerful thing (hat-tip Elon Musk/Twitter). I’ll give credit to the double-entendre anchorman quote to Carver, but his end “imitation” of Wai-Lin’s (Michelle Yeoh) fighting skills is nothing short of the “pathetic” word he elicits himself. Gross!
The above scene from You Only Live Twice (1967) is one of those moments where Blofeld makes clear that he lives up to the parts of the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion) acronym. In this case, extortion.
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