*THIS* is how you end a James Bond movie!
The ending of Casino Royale (2006) is nearly flawless. It’s a perfect finale to a new actor’s first James Bond movie – it’s in a beautiful setting (Lake Como in Italy – ooooh!), has the element of surprise, Bond has a badass, big machine gun (umm silencer anyone??), the traditional “Bond. James Bond.” intro (finally!) And then the piece de resistance: the blaring James Bond theme, which I will happily listen to throughout mindless scrolling end credits in a heartbeat.
It felt like an absolute triumph in the theater and I left with a pep in my step. So awesome!
James Bond (Daniel Craig) introduces himself at the end of Casino Royale (2006)
Ladislav Kutze (George Pravda), Domino Derval (Claudine Auger) and James Bond (Sean Connery) at the end of Thunderball (1965)
No glory for Ladislav Kutze – the true hero of Thunderball!
Although short, this little scene from Casino Royale (2006) was a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Any changes wouldn’t be super significant, but it puzzled me as to why the writers didn’t inject a little more humor or sex appeal for Daniel Craig’s Bond in this interaction.
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Looking at some random Bond movie clips yesterday, I saw two things that reminded me of the 90’s NBC sitcom Frasier, starring Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce.
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Well, there you have it. The character James Bond does, in fact, officially “know” the James Bond theme. 🙂
This short sequence from Octopussy (1983) is a good one, not only because Bond (Roger Moore) meets his cool India contact Vijay (Vijay Armitraj), but also because of the way they agree to identify each other. Obviously, when Bond meets a contact in a foreign country, they need to agree upon something to indicate the other that they are in fact who they say they are. Whether it be a handshake or a secret password – it really doesn’t matter. It just has to be something agreed upon during earlier communications.
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Pierce Brosnan as James Bond and presumably other 00 agents in The World Is Not Enough (1999)
So here’s an interesting shot from The World Is Not Enough. Bond and five others are being briefed about the plan to bring Robert King’s killer to justice, and are all given folders (presumably the famous “for your eyes only” folders) for their assignment for the mission. Everyone in the screenshot receives a folder, except Bond of course – as he has not been cleared by medical as a result of his broken collarbone.
So who are the others? 001 through 005? Remember – 006 (Alec Trevelyan) was killed in GoldenEye (1995) four years earlier.
Desmond Llewelyn as Q, his loud shirt as a fashion statement and Sean Connery as James Bond in Thunderball (1965)
Q and his awesome pineapple Hawaiian shirt from Thunderball (1965)
Leave it to the gadget man to make a fashion statement. The crazy pineapple shirt is fitting for a trip to Jamaica (along with his straw fedora)! I’d buy both if they were available for a good Bond themed Halloween costume…
I’ve always enjoyed this two scene sequence from Casino Royale (2006), a few issues notwithstanding.
Starting off at a celebratory meal between James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), they continue from previous scenes in flirtatiously building a friendly rapport. Bond is so satisfied with his poker win that he can hardly stop smiling. His tried-and-true shaken, not stirred vodka martini tastes so good he also decides to call it a Vesper in honor of his company.
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This Guinness record-holding explosion from Spectre (2015) is just great. The filmmakers could have easily glossed over Swann and Bond’s exit or CGI’ed this explosion at Spectre headquarters, but instead they went above and beyond and made an absolutely memorable scene. Imagine the heat felt while filming!
Kudos to them for investing in a long setup process and a one-time payoff shot that continues the awesome legacy of the James Bond movie franchise!
Madeleine Swann and James Bond make their final explosive escape from Spectre headquarters in Spectre (2015)
Adolfo Celi as Emilio Largo and Sean Connery as James Bond in Thunderball (1965)
“No it isn’t, is it?”
