The one thing that makes James Bond films so special, is that they all lead up to some of most magnificent moments and scenes ever committed to a film reel. Car chases, epic fights and vast amounts of alcohol, they’re all there, and after 50 years of them, we’re highlighting ten exceptional moments from the franchise today.
For your eyes only – THIS – IS – BOND!
After Moonraker, Roger Moore and his take on Bond were about as credible as a clown convention. The high stakes sci-fi had drifted ridiculously far from the core concepts of the character, and in For your eyes only, Moore earned some kudos back for this one scene, where he coldly dispatched with Emile Locque.
In fact, Moore was actually hesitant to film it, but thankfully, the producers managed to convince him to put aside his nice guy mannerisms and be ruthless for a change.
Goldeneye – The tank chase
After a hiatus of several years, Pierce Brosnan was chosen to bring Bond back, and he did so with style. In a film littered with great moments, villains and hench-women with thunder-thighs, the tank chase scene through St Petersburg still remains a fantastic highlight, capped off by that great part where Brosnan takes the time to adjust his tie, before carrying on with his pursuit.
Dr No – Honey Ryder emerges
No one can deny that the Bond films are sexy examples of secret agent shenanigans, and the very first film in the series highlighted this when Ursula Andress emerged from the ocean in what was then a scandalous two piece bathing suit.
It’s been an iconic image ever since then, and not even Halle Berry could match it, when she mirrored that scene in the twentieth Bond film, Die Another Day.
The Living Daylights – The cello chase
With Roger Moore finally retired from the franchise, some new blood was needed for the Bond franchise, some plasma that was young, serious and ready to steer the films in a new direction.
Even though quite a few people never liked Dalton as Bond, I kinda digged his more intense and Shakespearian approach to the role, predating the seriousness that Daniel Craig would bring with him to the role.
It wasn’t without some goofy moments though, but this race towards the border from Soviet agents while using a cello for a tobaggan was both awesome and ludicrous.
Awsicrous actually, according to Kervyn.
Goldfinger – Freakin’ lasers!
The reason why Goldfinger is regarded as such a classic by fans, is largely because it set the precedent for future Bond films. A worthy adversary, an ingenious plan, specific themes and dangerous henchpersons, this is where Bond truly emerged into the familiar design that worked well for so many years.
And in one signature scene that is still as powerful today as it was in 1964, Bond asks Auric Goldfinger is he expects him to talk.
“No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!”
From Russia with love – The fight on the orient express
There’s a reason why Kervyn chose Red Grant for our Bond themed Friday Fight Club last week. Trained and molded to be a better, more lethal anti-Bond, the Russian agent was pure cunning and savagery, with only one purpose in life, to kill 007.
And when 007 and Grant finally collided in the cramped quarters of a train, it was pure machismo that exploded, as everything from fists to gadgets were used in one manly scuffle.
Casino Royale – Parkour and brute force
With Daniel Craig arriving to steer the Bond franchise in a new direction, it was time for the action to up the stakes as well. And in one key moment in his debut film, Casino Royale, Daniel Craig matched brute force and his wit against one agile parkour expert who moved across the screen like the bastard love child of Spider-Man and a contortionist.
On her majesty’s secret service – We have all the time in the world
I know a lot of people hate George Lazenby and his sole, frilly shirt entry into the Bond universe, but it is undeserved. Long before Daniel Craig injected some humanity into the character, Lazenby was there to shed some manly tears in the swinging sixties, as his one and only outing as 007 ended not happily, but in tragedy.
Also, no embeds allowed for this clip, so enjoy the hyperlink!
The world is not enough – Goodbye Q
If there’s one staple of a Bond film that should never be removed, besides the unprotected sex and catchy one-liners, it’s Q and his division of gadgets.
While the gadget-master may have had a frosty relationship with 007, always telling him to pay attention and whatnot, it was one that was built over many years into something that had mutual respect, thanks to actor Desmond Lllewelyn staying in the role for several decades.
The World is not enough was the final time that we got to see him tell 007 to grow up, and with an exit that was almost psychic in it’s prediction, Q left the Pinewood studios in style and class, dying in a car accident a mere month after the film launched, in real life.
All the Bond films – Bond, James Bond
It’s not the shaken Martinis, the fast cars or loose women that makes Bond. It’s that matter of fact confirmation of who he is, summed up in three words. And for fifty years, the actors involves have all delivered that line with charm and style.
Last Updated: October 11, 2012
Kervyn Cloete
October 11, 2012 at 15:35
Lazenby gets such a bum rap. OHMSS was a great Bond film, much better than some of Moore’s later adventures (Moonraker anyone?) yet he he got lampooned by some for actually playing a more fleshed out character.
If he hadn’t chosen to abandon the role (coz he felt the studio was ignoring his input for the character) it would have been interesting to see where he would have taken the character.