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Why has there never been a weather-controlling plot in a James Bond Film?

DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
edited January 2016 in Bond Movies Posts: 18,268
I see that this topic has never come up before and I've been wondering about it for a good while now so I thought that I would start a new thread to get other members' opinions on it.

I was wondering why there was never a weather-controlling plot in a James Bond film (especially during the rather silly 1970s era Bond films with Roger Moore) as the first of the Derek Flint films had one (Our Man Flint, 1966), as did The Avengers (1998) with Sean Connery as the villain August de Wynter.

I know that DAF and (especially) DAD with the Icarus satellite were kind of in this territory though.

So what do we think?
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Comments

  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    They could still go there in the future. It is totally believable and within the reach of actual science, but do we really want more dastardly satellites in the Bond films?

    Not for a while, I think.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Could be interesting. I wrote a spec script for a Thunderbirds episode that dealt with it, but that involved a lot of creative licence. It would have to be handled more delicately in the context of Bond. I could see it working in the future, though. I guess all it takes is a shred of high-profile interest that makes it to the mainstream media and they can latch onto it.
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    Could be an interesting topic. And one with real world parallels. China's been dabbling in weather modification for years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Weather_Modification_Office
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Didn't that awful film The Avengers with Sean C. and wonderful Ralph F. have some sort of weather control element in it?
  • JohnHammond73JohnHammond73 Lancashire, UK
    edited January 2016 Posts: 4,151
    The idea is good, providing it is implemented well. The Avengers was just plain awful, so I guess its never going to be as bad as that.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    When my son was a little boy, I told him that the trees make the wind by waving their branches. He totally believed it. For a while.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I think it could be a great story idea, with big special effects. With Bond fighting
    the elements as well as the villains. Bond driving / running through an earthquake
    or a boat chase through a flooded city.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    edited January 2016 Posts: 9,117
    Isn't the trouble with weather controlling plots that they come off as a parody of a Bond villain scheme?

    Fine for Dr Evil and lesser franchises but to do it credibly (by that I mean with a reasonable amount of science behind it) in a Bond film is difficult.

    I mean even the villain's schemes in YOLT and MR although far fetched were just about technically feasible with enough funding.

    In terms of why weren't weather plots explored during the excess of the Rog era; wasn't the original plan of AVTAK for Zorin to control Halley's Comet to affect the weather? Or maybe it was just a plan to divert it into a city?
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Yes, I remember reading about the Halley's Comet idea.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,583
    I think anything dealing with the manipulation of nature/natural resources makes for a good plot. This why Greene's scheming in QoS was actually very effective (though misunderstood by many).
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,715
    Given it only started raining in Bond's world in the 21st film, EON are just beginning to think about weather conditions in the films.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,268
    4EverBonded wrote: »
    Didn't that awful film The Avengers with Sean C. and wonderful Ralph F. have some sort of weather control element in it?

    Yes, it did indeed and I mentioned it as an example in the OP.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    TripAces wrote: »
    I think anything dealing with the manipulation of nature/natural resources makes for a good plot. This why Greene's scheming in QoS was actually very effective (though misunderstood by many).

    I don't think it's misunderstood, just wasted and what there is of it isn't particularly well executed. Conceptually it was great, hence the disappointment on my side.
  • daltondalton
    Posts: 1,631
    It would take an exceptional writer to pull this off without it coming across like a parody or like something that veers to far into the realm of science fiction.

    Even though it's not quite the same thing, it could come across in a similar way to the invisible car in Die Another Day. That was based on actual technology, or rather technology that governments were trying to develop, yet was ridiculed by pretty much everyone when they tried it in the film. This could come across in a similar manner, regardless of where the research and technology is in relation to whether or not such manipulation is possible.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    dalton wrote: »
    It would take an exceptional writer to pull this off without it coming across like a parody or like something that veers to far into the realm of science fiction.

    Even though it's not quite the same thing, it could come across in a similar way to the invisible car in Die Another Day. That was based on actual technology, or rather technology that governments were trying to develop, yet was ridiculed by pretty much everyone when they tried it in the film. This could come across in a similar manner, regardless of where the research and technology is in relation to whether or not such manipulation is possible.

    This is why I think they need to wait until it's something that becomes a 'thing'. If Elon Musk, or a billionaire philanthropist invests in tech in that area, which pushes it into the mainstream media and there's some sort of discourse it becomes a viable option. Like you say, if it's tech nobody is aware of it's largely intangible for the audience, regardless of whether it is a real thing.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,268
    A relevant article on the subject of the OP:

    http://io9.gizmodo.com/5815423/10-villains-who-used-bad-weather-as-a-weapon
  • gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
    Posts: 153
    I think the villain would need to have a sensible motivation other than just being Drax or Stromberg type mad. Money is flawed because you'd need money to hatch the plot. I suppose you could be power mad for its own sake. Or maybe corporate espionage - I was speaking to a chap who works in the crisis hit oil industry and when talking of the solution to oversupply of oil, he (half) jokingly said "we need a nice big war in the middle east". Maybe GM crop producers in the West would want to wipe out natural crops in certain parts of the world? But surely you'd use germ warfare rather than weather?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,964
    Speaking of weather/crops, who was it that came up with the idea to have a villain threatening the world with a toxin that would wipe out all plants/animals (or something to that effect), therefore inevitably killing off a large amount of the world's population? That'd be pretty terrifying and interesting to see. I like this weather idea, too, as you could most certainly play around with it to make it a credible and serious threat that Bond has to stop.
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Speaking of weather/crops, who was it that came up with the idea to have a villain threatening the world with a toxin that would wipe out all plants/animals (or something to that effect), therefore inevitably killing off a large amount of the world's population?

    Wouldn't that be a chap called Blofeld in OHMSS?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    edited January 2016 Posts: 40,964
    TheWizardOfIce wrote: »
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    Speaking of weather/crops, who was it that came up with the idea to have a villain threatening the world with a toxin that would wipe out all plants/animals (or something to that effect), therefore inevitably killing off a large amount of the world's population?

    Wouldn't that be a chap called Blofeld in OHMSS?

    It could be! But in all seriousness, I could've swore someone had a fleshed out plot line of their own for this and posted it elsewhere in the last week or two. I wouldn't mind seeing a new spin on a plot like this, could be very well executed if done properly.
  • gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
    Posts: 153
    I think the problem with wanting to kill all the plants and animals is the villain's motivation. Why do it? Of course in OHMSS Blofeld wanted his title as Count (curious thing, snobbery) and a pardon to prevent him unleashing infertility on the human race. They'd never do it - but imagine if the villain changed his mind at the last minute and tried to abort his own countdown - I wonder if his brainwashed subordinates would mutiny and try to finish the job off?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,964
    Why do it? Money is a pretty big motivation, holding the population of the world ransom in exchange for a stupid amount of money.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    The concept is just so silly and campy. Plus the concept has already been used in the before mentioned 1998 Avengers movie, heck even Batman and Robin had some weather controlling plot with Mr. Freeze freezing Gotham city for some dumb reason I forget. It's not suited to Bond's world. It's something a Saturday morning Cartoon villain would do.
  • gumboltgumbolt Now with in-office photocopier
    Posts: 153
    The problem with financial motivation is that the villain would surely need loads of money to hatch the plot in the first place, although admittedly that does not rule it out as a motivation entirely.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,964
    gumbolt wrote: »
    The problem with financial motivation is that the villain would surely need loads of money to hatch the plot in the first place, although admittedly that does not rule it out as a motivation entirely.

    Well the villain needs better motivation that doesn't result in having Bond be out for revenge yet again. I don't care how campy it may seem, I want the villain setting out to make a lot of money and/or a lot of destruction, just for the sake of it, and Bond has to stop him.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    " Some men, just want to watch the world burn !" ;)
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Next villain-the evil meteorologist who makes his weather forecasts turn true. Gaining a world monopoly on meteorology.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,287
    DaltonCraig007 wrote: »
    Given it only started raining in Bond's world in the 21st film, EON are just beginning to think about weather conditions in the films.

    Ha ha, that's a Forster-started urban legend.

    It rained in OHMSS.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,268
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    Next villain-the evil meteorologist who makes his weather forecasts turn true. Gaining a world monopoly on meteorology.

    Ha, he'd really have to be a good one to make that happen! :))
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Maybe just China, then. Or Bolivia.
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