It’s surprising to see James Bond (Sean Connery) show some level-headedness in Goldfinger (1964) when Tilly Masterson (Tania Mallet) honks and aggressively passes him on the roadway. Just as 007 is about to floor it and throw into high gear, his better angels overcome the temptation and he keeps his focus on the task at hand: tracking Goldfinger. It’s a rare occurrence to see Bond show such restraint, and refer to himself as 007 in the third person, for that matter.
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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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Dalton’s Bond from Licence To Kill (1989) says COME ON aboard and vote!
Hector Lopez for President sign in Licence To Kill (1989)
No, not for Hector Lopez for President campaign from Licence To Kill (1989).
VOTE!
Hector Lopez for President sign in Licence To Kill (1989)
Here are the dorkiest moments of each Bond actor’s career:
Sean Connery tries to pull of the pink tie in Diamonds Are Forever (1971)…and fails. DORK!
George Lazenby’s Scottish get-up in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) screamed “dork.”
Roger Moore’s clown costume in Octopussy (1983) takes the cake…the ultimate dorkiest Bond moment!
Timothy Dalton’s “look” prior to fishing Franz Sanchez out of the sky in Licence To Kill (1989).
Sorry James, but not even Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough (1999) can pull off purple glasses (even x-ray ones).
Daniel Craig needed a shave and a shower as a hungover mess in Skyfall (2012)
Paris Carver, played by Teri Hatcher, slaps James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
SLAP!
Bianca (Tina Hudson) prepares James Bond (Roger Moore) to imitate Colonel Luis Toro in the opening sequence of Octopussy (1983)
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…)
The James Bond mask from the opening sequence of From Russia With Love (1963) – NOTE: Movie screenshot is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.
Red Grant kills a James Bond stand-in that wears this creepy, pale James Bond (Sean Connery) mask in a training exercise at the beginning of From Russia With Love (1963)…something a serial killer could wear!
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in The World Is Not Enough (1999)
