It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
I'm happy that 007 will get into action on a train in the next film, although an Indian train might be less classy looking than the previous "Bond-trains".
Hope they will stick to a stylish action scene with 007 in a tuxedo every once in a while - so that Bond won't blend too much into "dirt" heroes like McClane and Indy (whom I like too, btw). ;)
-------
Back in 1959, a USAF colonel named Joseph Kittinger completed the world's highest parachute jump: a stratospheric jump. The military wanted to test high-altitude equipment for SR-71 Blackbird pilots, so they sent Kittinger to test them. He rode a special gondola up to the edge of space, and then jumped out for a twenty-three kilometre freefall. It was so dangerous that he had to wear a drouge parachute to extend his body surface and prevent a fatal flatspin.
I could see Bond using a stratospheric jump to infiltrate a villain's lair with a sophisticated radar system that could detect any approach from land, sea or air. But because a human body is too small to be detected by radar, Bond would use a gondola outside the range of the radar base to reach the edge of space, and then jump out, using the curvature of the earth to slingshot himself out over his target. I'd see this as the final stunt sequence of the Age of Craig, because it would be impossible to top it without getting silly.
-------
With Castle Duntrune featuring as the finale of BOND 23, this is how I'd play it:
Set in the middle of the night in the freezing cold, with Bond leading a team of commandos through gunfire and explosions and snow and mud to attack the castle - think YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (but with better editing) meets BRAVEHEART - with support from a warship off the coast. During the battle, Bond gets separated from the squadron as he goes after Javier Bardem. They end up deep in the caves under the castle as Bardem tries to escape by way of a miniature submarine moored at undersea dock carved into the caves. Due to an environemental anomaly, properties in the rocks interfere with their night-vision goggles. Although Bond can see through them, he can only see when there is movement. Bardem already knows this, leaving Bond to work it out for himself, and so they have a fight that involves the two of them alternating between standing perfectly still and moving into position to attack. In the end, the constant bombardment of shells from the warship - and possibly a self-destruct system the villain has installed - result in a fissure opening up and part of the castle and the outcrop sliding into the ocean and cutting off access to the dock. Both Bond and Bardem survive the collapse, and Bond ends up drowning him a pool of freezing-cold mud. They'd both be covered with so much mud and blood that it is difficult to tell who is actually who, and we get an extended shot of Bardem's body half-submerged in the mud, and we're all led to believe that he had killed Bond. Until, of course, Bond removes his goggles, and we finally see that he has survived.
-------
Something I'd really be interested in seeing is EON getting Australian author Matthew Reilly on-board for a few rewrites. Reilly is well-known for his action sequences, and I recently finished his latest book, SCARECROW AND THE ARMY OF THIEVES, which contiains what I think is one of my favourite sequences that he has written:
In order to prevent the end of the world, the heroes need to get to a laboratory built into spire on top of a flying saucer-like control station, which houses "red uranium", an experimental explosive compound. The station is built two hundred feet above the surrounding land, but separated from a high cliff that forms a semi-circle around it. Access to the control station is by two retractable bridges, which are controlled by the villains. With just twenty minutes on the clock, the heroes build a bridge of their own in about five seconds: they drive a truck off the cliff at speed, firing two sets of magnetic grappling hooks at the same time, suspending the truck over the chasm. The main character rides an 'ascender' up one of the arms of the improvised bridge, and makes his way up the spire. Once at the top, he secures the samples of red uranium, while the other characters fire RPGs at the base of the spire, causing it to topple like a falling tree. The main character rides it down (using mattresses to cushion his fall) and returns to the truck. By now, they have attracted the attention of the villains, who send a V-22 Osprey after them. In order to escape, the heroes disconnect one half of the truck-bridge, causing the truck to swing away from the cliff side and swatting the Osprey out of the sky.
Okay, that's a little insane. But Reilly is one of the few writers I can think of who can not only write action sequences without getting confusing, he's also very inventive. I'd love for EON to approach him and say "Okay, Matthew, we have a car chase behind. This is the scene that starts it, and this is the scene that ends it. Can you please fill in the blanks?"
However, I think they can give the foot chases a rest for a film. Both CR and QOS had extended foot chases, and towards the end of QOS's chase it got a tad repetitive. But eh, I've really liked the Craig action scenes thus far so I probably won't be disappointed.
Count me among those who relish an extended, knockdown dragout fistfight between Craig and Bardem, with slower editing than we got in the Bond/Slate QOS so we don't miss a single fist or foot.
As soon as DC gets back, expect him to say "No more foot chases, please". ;-)
But really all I was trying to say was that I think they could have pulled it off if:
a. it moved faster
b. the editing was (much) better
c. if they tweaked some of the awkward shots
d. and if they proposed a real purpose for him to do it. I'm sure there was a flight of stairs just around the corner.
Compare this to Casino Royale's extended foot chase; it works because Bond and Mollaka are always doing something different. First they are running through a shanty town, then a jungle, then Bond chases Mollaka with a bulldozer, then they're fighting 300 feet in the air etc. Quantum of Solace's Siena chase just kind of had two characters running on the roofs of buildings with no real change in scenery. There is nothing wrong with that concept, but the scene should have been written shorter to make it a little less dragging. (NOT editing it down to make it shorter like they did in the film, mind you.)
All that being said, Quantum of Solace's foot chase isn't BAD and it isn't really BORING, but it starts to lag at the end. Same goes for something like TND's motorcycle chase; it was fun and loud and pretty, but towards the end it started to get just a tad stale. Not enough to ruin the scene or anything, but the repetitiveness was there nonetheless.
I love the idea of Bond and a baddie on a coaster not strapped in. I think it would make for a very intense action scene, but I could only see Craig's Bond doing it. Thus, I'm not sure it would fit into a Bond movie. But the way I imagine the scene isn't how you do.
To nitpick, parachutes can't open anywhere near that low successfully.
The way my scene pans out goes like this:
Its 6 am. Bond is tailing a baddie and eventually arrives at a not-so-fancy hotel next to a theme park (right next to, actually). Bond bursts into the baddies room, and they tussle. The guy runs out onto the balcony and flies over the railing. He lands on top of a maintenance building for the hotel, scales across the roof, and hops the hedged fence separating the hotel grounds from theme park. He makes his way onto a service walkway for one of the bigger rides at the park, with Bond closely tailing. Currently, the theme park is running its daily tests before the park officially opens, so the rides are going without anybody on board. As they edge the coaster track, Bond tackles the guy and he slides to the edge, hanging over the tracks. Bond runs over to finish the guy off, but the guy pulls Bond down, just as the coaster leaves the docking station. They slam into a row of seats, and throw some Craig like fight moves around while the ride slowly climbs the first advance. Bond squeezes his hands tightly around the mans neck just as they reach the top of the crest, and the ride plummets, reaching speeds of up to 60 mph. Bond and the baddie fly backwards, rolling over rows and slam down at the bottom of the hill. Bond fly's off on a sharp curve and barely catches himself, dangling off the speeding ride. The baddie climbs towards him, but the coaster goes through a loop and Bond slams belly down back on top of the ride as the baddie nearly loses his grip. They clash again, then suddenly go through a second loop. This time the baddie flies off, and Bond just barely grips, but as the coaster completes the loop the baddie slams farther down the carts. As Bond advances yet again, the coaster starts to climb yet another steep incline, slowing down. Just as Bond gets close enough to the guy, he slams him in the jaw and the ride lurches down the steep decline. By now, the operator has scene the intense situation, and pulls the emergency stop while the ride is still 200 feet up. The baddie rolls to the very front of the coaster, and catches his grip, his feet dangling towards death. Bond and the baddie climb towards each other, Bond from the back and the baddie from the front, and start duking it out again. After a tense fight scene, Bond snaps the guys arm, and kicks him, causing him to fall (the coaster is still on an incline) down a few rows. The baddie gets back up with his gun, which fell out a few whirls ago, but coincidentally is in the row he landed in, and Bond pulls his piece, which he has now just found as well, twists around and BOOM, gun barrel, theme titles.
Thoughts? And thanks if you actually read through it all :) I can only imagine Craig's Bond doing this..
However, I could see it if it were an abandoned theme park: something that the Soviets built as a part of a larger, fake city that they used to test the effects of the atmospheric detonation of nuclear devices. The villains leave Bond behind to try and kill him via radiation poisoning from the fallout. Of course, none of the "attractions" would actually work.
I meant did anybody have any feedback towards my action scene, because I personally am quite proud of myself :)
(*in desperate voice* "accept me?") :P
A few more things, why would the baddie have a parachute at a them park?
and
He could jump off and land in a pool in the water park or something. (From a lower height, of course)
Ref. your first post.