There isn’t a more brutal James Bond villain than Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) from Licence To Kill (1989). In this scene alone, Sanchez shows his true self: a murderer, torturer and abuser.
Unlike other Bond villains, Sanchez is intimately involved in the cruel ways he shows his power. He doesn’t sit on a throne and stroking a white cat or avoid conflict by pushing a button in an escape pod. No – without hesitation, Sanchez orders a murder and tortures a defenseless woman.
Lupe’s somber “por favor, Franz” and the unsettlingly compliant way she bows to him for punishment is just awful and an obviously regular occurrence. And it’s telling that Sanchez comes with the small whip on his person – he knew Lupe’s fate before listening to any explanation.
Although disturbing, it’s scenes like this that define a Bond villain. It distinguishes Sanchez’s darker persona from other villains that take a more hands-off approach to evil.
Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi) in Licence To Kill (1989)
You’ve gotta love Baron Samedi’s (Geoffrey Holder) menacing laugh at the end of Live and Let Die (1973). This along with a few other Baron Samedi scenes add a feeling of mystique and almost introspection to the movie, which really isn’t present in any other James Bond movie. The ever-present voodoo references in the movie also contributes to this feeling, in my opinion, and add to its overall creepy/scary vibe.
I also think this end scene also technically breaks the fourth wall of the movie, which is a rare occurrence that has only happened a few other times in the series.
Skyfall (2012) is easily the most beautiful James Bond movie. Of course, we have cinematographer Roger Deakins to thank for that. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography after all, and as most of us know, Oscar talk for James Bond movies is rare. There are several scenes in the movie that are some of the most visually appealing in all of the James Bond movies ever, but the Shangai scene takes the cake.
At over 9 minutes long with barely any dialogue, the focus is truly on the visuals for the entire sequence. From the blue-hued rooftop Bond swimming session to the seemingly “dance” of a fight set against a fluid neon advertisement in the skyscraper, it’s so easy to just sit back and enjoy this part of what many consider Daniel Craig’s best James Bond movie.
A visually stunning fight sequence from Skyfall (2012)
In Goldfinger (1964), Sean Connery’s Bond wakes up airborne and in a tranquillizer dart-induced haze. I love how an out-of-focus woman’s face comes into focus as if the movie audience recovers from Bond’s point of view.
Pussy Galore’s named introduction still elicits a guffaw reaction in me even to this day, and I’d imagine a theater-going audience would have audibly laughed at Bond’s “I must be dreaming” quip. Short scenes and exchanges like this from early Bond movies stand the test of time and fans can only hope future Bond movies are filled with gems like these.
This polarizing scene from Octopussy (1983) starts out lighthearted but ends with high tension as an undercover James Bond disguises himself as a circus clown to defuse a nuclear bomb. All in all, it is by far the dorkiest look of Roger Moore’s Bond, but looking past his costume and apparent masterful makeup artistry, I’m not sure there is a more defining “James Bond saves the world” scene in all of the movies.
Sure, Bond has defused many a bomb in his time, and even another nuclear one in Goldfinger (1964) albeit without a large audience like Bond has here. And yes, maybe they could’ve dressed Bond in something more flattering (a ringmaster with a top-hat, perhaps?), but the buildup for this scene and how an obstinate American general eventually tells everyone in the audience to shut up and let the absurdly dressed clown Bond defuse the bomb makes it all the more climactic. You can feel the tension! And I also think (to a degree) Bond’s look of desperation is made even more urgent because of his clownface makeup!
I won’t get over Bond’s look in this scene any time soon (and I wish at the end of the scene he would’ve just kept his red nose on for the full effect or took it off entirely, rather than having it hang awkwardly on his neck), but I also won’t let it take away from it significance amongst other times in the series when Bond heroically saves the world. Not many other scenes can top this one in that regard!
1. Roger Moore’s clown costume in Octopussy (1983) takes the cake…the ultimate dorkiest Bond moment!
One of the, if not *the*, most out of place sounds/music in any James Bond movie has to go to the use of the song “California Girls” from the “snowboard” scene from the opening sequence of A View To A Kill (1985). Yes, I get that Bond eventually travels to California (and meets girls there I guess?) in the movie and he is technically snowboarding with the snowmobile blade (which is like “California surfing” I guess?), but I’m still going to give the song choice a thumbs down.
I may have approved if the song chosen was the original version by the Beach Boys, but a quick Google also shows this is a cover by Gidea Park, and it sounds like an average one at that. They should have scrapped the idea. How Bond maintains his feet on the blade and gains enough momentum to surprise the skiing bad guys was puzzling enough for the chase, let alone the song choice. It’s fun for sure, but not particularly great.
I was also unfortunately reminded of this scene after watching Pierce Brosnan’s Bond’s absurd snowboarding/gliding scene from Die Another Day (2002):
*shudders*
As Bond is surveilling the Ning Po freight liner, his cover is eventually blown and he attempts to escape a throng of henchmen. Although the music is a bit happy sounding for a chase scene, the sweeping camera angle of the rooftop chase gives great context to what Bond is up against and how unlikely an escape is, which turns out to be true. Kudos for the camera angle though. In the age of heavy editing and camera shakes, a steady shot like this during an otherwise tense scene is refreshing, even for a non-Bond movie.
The opening sequence for The Living Daylights (1987) is pretty underrated and has it all: a thrilling MI6 training exercise gone wrong and a daring 007 parachute escape from a falling/exploding munitions vehicle. It ends in true James Bond fashion, on a luxury yacht with a damsel (not in distress, mind you) yearning for a “real man.” Lucky for her Bond drops in (literally) and Timothy Dalton’s James Bond delivers his coolest moment, easily a contender for coolest James Bond moment of all time as well.
It’s a shame Dalton only had a chance to portray 007 twice on-screen. Surely one or two more films and he would be more widely considered the best James Bond actor (he is in the upper echelon for me!). That look alongside the champagne glass where you can literally see him decide between work or play and choosing at least a little more play is a perfect intro to a new James Bond and cemented Dalton’s portrayal from the start!
The presence of James Bond’s daughter (eyeroll) in No Time To Die (2021) instantly reminded me of this awful, campy scene from Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Kids and James Bond movies do not mix. They instantly suck the energy out of any scene and annoy me as soon as they appear. Not only is it blatantly cringe that the kid is somehow in a Las Vegas casino (I guess they had kid friendly games in the 1970s? Regardless I would never want to bring a child to Las Vegas!), but his interaction with Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) is made even more awful with her line “Blow up your pants!” – a truly terrible one-liner on the Mount Rushmore of all bad James Bond movie one-liners.
Say no to kids in James Bond movies!
Me waiting for this awful scene to end
The end of the opening sequence of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) was just brilliant! I’m sure moviegoers were clamoring to see what a “new Bond” would bring and the fact that they decided to break the fourth wall to acknowledge the change is just awesome. I wonder if any theaters erupted in laughter or applause?
James Bond (George Lazenby) lights up at the beginning of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
