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Box-ticking-Bond: which one has ALL the ingredients?
AceHole
Belgium, via Britain
I’m all for a good story-driven Bond film without gimmicks, and CR did this best I think - but a vacuous part of my nostalgia fueled mind is glad we have some of the classic cliches back. Now that SP has revived a few good old Bond tropes, I’m looking back to see which of the films does the most ‘box ticking’.
SP does a few things imo:
- The PTS goes balls-to-the-wall and offers the biggest stunt. TSWLM started this trend, with MR, OP, LTK and GE following suit.
- Bond & M together in the office again (finally)
- Q-lab scene
- Gadget-laden car(chase)
- A watch that goes bang…
- Villain’s ‘lair’ goes up in flames
But I also miss some of the classic stuff to be honest, such as skiing, underwater action/scenes, Bond staying in a hotel and snooping around the locales, and perhaps a shark or two…?
So, in your opinion, where are the 007 ingredients crammed in so tightly that there is barely room to breathe..?
I think there is a case for TSWLM. MR is a box-ticker, sure, but it lacked Spy’s skiing & aqua variation…
FYEO really crammed a lot of locations & terrains into one movie, although it lacked gadgets & über-villains.
TND also did a fair bit of ‘ticking’…
SP does a few things imo:
- The PTS goes balls-to-the-wall and offers the biggest stunt. TSWLM started this trend, with MR, OP, LTK and GE following suit.
- Bond & M together in the office again (finally)
- Q-lab scene
- Gadget-laden car(chase)
- A watch that goes bang…
- Villain’s ‘lair’ goes up in flames
But I also miss some of the classic stuff to be honest, such as skiing, underwater action/scenes, Bond staying in a hotel and snooping around the locales, and perhaps a shark or two…?
So, in your opinion, where are the 007 ingredients crammed in so tightly that there is barely room to breathe..?
I think there is a case for TSWLM. MR is a box-ticker, sure, but it lacked Spy’s skiing & aqua variation…
FYEO really crammed a lot of locations & terrains into one movie, although it lacked gadgets & über-villains.
TND also did a fair bit of ‘ticking’…
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Comments
It box ticked nearly everything, and executed it to perfection, so it still remains in many fan's (casual and hardcore) top 10 lists all these years later.
Nothing has come close since imho.
Although I don't hold it in as high regard as most fans (I'll comfortably put FYEO and TLD ahead of it in my favs) I'll agree that as an exercise in combining the elements that would pass as Bond tropes it is almost flawlessly executed.
Come to think of it - if 'Spy' had a John Barry score along the lines of what he came up for with MR then I'd probably hold it in much higher regard...
True. A Barry score is the one essential 'Box Tick' that it missed, regrettably.
Well OHMSS has the following...
- An Aston Martin (granted, 'sans' gadgets)
- A nemesis' base
- Plenty of skiing (although it 'started' that trend, if you like...)
- An over the top evil plan
- A big shootout ending in said lair's destruction
So still plenty of 'formula' in there I thought.
SF... well, whether it worked or not is a matter of opinion. I don't share your enthusiasm for it :D
Yes, I did know what you meant by stepping away from the formula regarding OHMSS :D
I just find it more 'formulaic' than SF, for example, especially since it used Fleming's story and actually had something to say about the character of Bond, rather than SF trying to be all psychoanalytic about it but failing miserably imho.
1. Bond is an invincible Superman
2. Bond getting captured is inevitable, possibly because he wants to get caught?
3. Bond is good at relying on other people to do the work for him.
It has everything else you would expect from what most consider the forumla. I like Goldfinger, but when you really look at it critically, it has some issues that it shared with future films in the franchise.
But GF lacks panache. It's locations and set-pieces are about as titillating as Rosa Klebs' cleavage...
Therefor I can't consider it more 'typical Bond' than TSWLM or even TND...
TSWLM and TND, arguably, did just this, though.
I don't think any film has all the ingredients, I think it's impossible.
All right then - what doesn't TSWLM have, in the way of classic Bond tropes? :-/
Perish the thought!
I agree that GF started the trend though. The trouble for it however is those tropes have been done better in countless later films, most notably TSWLM (from my perspective) and that dates both GF & YOLT in my eyes.
That's the problem with the box ticking......if it's been done better before or after, it can be an unsuccessful element for some.
I felt that way about some elements in SP to be honest (train fight, Mexico lair, Aston car chase etc.). The familiarity breeds contempt in a way...
One has to ensure such 'ticking' is done in a very fresh manner every time, and that's difficult to achieve with such a long running series. I still think Campbell knows how to do it very well. There were two Astons in CR as well, but how they were used was completely unexpected - both times.
Well, for a kick off it doesn't have Bond and M in his office, so that's a play on the tropes you mention already. I think it depends on your idea of 'ingredients' to be honest. I see there being many ingredients that become synonymous with Bond, plucked from the wider canon. Some would argue boat chases are part of the Bond cook book, in much the same way you could say alpine scenes are a significantly memorable ingredient. They're not nearly in every film, but have a level of synonymity to them.
But there are elements that I want to see addressed again - the lack of skiing/wintersport flavour and/or ocean-based action in the Craig era is something I was hoping might be dealt with in SP... hope springs eternal.
I agree. Long overdue imho. I don't count AVTAK pretitles or the shambles in TWINE as proper alpine skiing (one played for laughs, the other a borefest).
We're long overdue for oceans and SHARKS!
Seconded. And it's not just for nostalgic reasons - Alpine sports and underwater sequences really lend themselves to the big screen, they are entirely cinematic.
Imagine the cinematographic quality of Skyfall capturing a TSWLM style PTS...?? Or the underwater exploration of FYEO... YUM.
Great title song and visual sequence.
Women - Pussy Galore and all her flying circus girls
A great villain with a real plan
A great side kick with something unique
Great locations both sides of the Atlantic
Sean's suits
The famous laser scene with "No Mr Bond I expect you to die"
the DB5
The Golf Scene
Tragedy of both Masterson sisters
The tense climax
The aeroplane nerve gas scene (I reckon that had more extra's than the day of the dead).
The scenes with M "You'll draw it from Q Branch... with the rest of your equipment... in the morning" as bond goes to lift the gold bullion bar.
I think Goldfinger might have it all, as child I found it the most exciting Bond film. When going round the usual cycle of watching the whole collection it is still one I can not wait to see again and again.
I'll agree with all except the item in bold. And I wasn't crazy about the time 007 spent in captivity, but that's an old gripe.
I agree 100% the captivity aspect is a little frustrating.
But the KFC bucket really adds to the film's atmosphere! :))
This. The best Moore film and my personal favorite of all of them. To me, this is was the refined and superior Goldfinger, even though I know many would bash me for this.
Let them bash you all they want. It sure as hell doesn't plod in the middle like GF, and actually allows 007 to DO something...
Well, the scope of my post steers well clear of labeling the box-ticking 'good or bad', I merely wish to see what others here think of it and which films have the most of it. And is it quantifiable or subjective...? Who knows :)
SP
TLD
OHMSS
GF
LOL good point!