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Your Top 5 Bond film climax's and/or final moments.
I looked via Yahoo to see if this thread has been created earlier and it doesn't seem to have been,so I thought this could provoke some discussion and debate about the,often anti-climatic,endings to Bond films.
Your reasoning could be based on the climatic fight sequence or the very final moments before the end credits ,or both.
Just mention the film and the reasoning behind your choice,in any order.
For me :
1. AVTAK (I always love the fight on the Golden Gate Bridge between Bond and Zorin ,with Barry's brilliant score .)
2. LTK (Tanker chase is truly sensational,as is the end of Sanchez,this is the first time we truly see Bond bleed badly.)
3. GE (The build up and the final fight between 006 & 007 is very good,and the score actually works here.)
4. CR (Not too keen on the collapsing house scene but Bond confronting White really shows Bond is back.)
5. QOS (I actually like all the hotel scenes,and how Bond deals with Greene,and when he confronts Josef,you can feel Bond trying to keep it all together in his head).
Over to you lot,lads and lasses......
Your reasoning could be based on the climatic fight sequence or the very final moments before the end credits ,or both.
Just mention the film and the reasoning behind your choice,in any order.
For me :
1. AVTAK (I always love the fight on the Golden Gate Bridge between Bond and Zorin ,with Barry's brilliant score .)
2. LTK (Tanker chase is truly sensational,as is the end of Sanchez,this is the first time we truly see Bond bleed badly.)
3. GE (The build up and the final fight between 006 & 007 is very good,and the score actually works here.)
4. CR (Not too keen on the collapsing house scene but Bond confronting White really shows Bond is back.)
5. QOS (I actually like all the hotel scenes,and how Bond deals with Greene,and when he confronts Josef,you can feel Bond trying to keep it all together in his head).
Over to you lot,lads and lasses......
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2. GoldenEye
3. Licence to Kill
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. For Your Eyes Only
2 OHMSS (Fantastic battle at Piz Gloria and that nailbiting toboggan chase. And of course the devastating ending. No wonder this film is loved by Bond fans)
3. GF (Best bomb countdown (although OP's was also great) in that amazing Fort Knox set)
4. CR (Unusual sequence with the sinking house but such a powerful and emotional payoff and of course the coda with Mr White)
5. TSWLM (They just don't do big battles like this anymore! Great stuff even if it remakes YOLT)
1. LTK: nothing tops the spectacular stunt chase of Dalton's final outing. Ending appropriately with 007's satisfying disposal of Sanchez.
2. OHMSS: the assault on Piz Gloria, the bobsled chase, the wedding and that heartbreaking ending. OHMSS ends on several high notes.
3. GE: impressive climax fitting for an impressive Bond outing. The fisticuffs between 007 and 006 are fantastically choreographed and I love Serra's Run, Shoot and Jump.
Honourable mentions: TB and TMWTGG.
OHMSS: the best ending I have ever seen in a movie.
MR: the whole space sequence is fantastic, literally.
AVTAK: the Golden Gate scenes are breathtaking.
GE: satellite dish fight between Bond and Alec is just great.
YOLT: The set alone makes this a favourite. The scale and brilliance hasn't been outdone ever since. Then there's the action which suits the film perfectly.
OHMSS: Tracy. Need I say more?
TSWLM: (see: YOLT)
CR: The action, the score, the emotional hook... amazing.
SF: The cinematography in the finale is some of the very best imho. Craig is in alpha mode. Another emotional hook with M and it all comes full circle.
Shout out goes to TLD and GE.
FYEO great comedy
CR best and most chill inducing ending in the series
QOS different
SF optimistic set up for the future
Well done, Craig era!
(I am talking final scenes here)
1) OHMSS
Still hurts, even after fifty or so times.
2) CR
The name's Bond, James Bond... and fade to black and me looking forward to the next film.
3) GE
Great fight between two agents of like calibre.
4) QOS
Greene going nuts, swinging that axe, then Yussef... I never left either, Bond.
5) GE
Fast and energetic, with Barry's amazingly tense music guiding the plane in near free-fall down to a certain plunge of death for Bond and Pussy.
2. TSWLM - I enjoy the Liparus sequence, Stromberg kill, Anya rescue and Jaws fight at the end. The scale is impressive too.
3. MR - This film has a lot of flaws, but I really enjoy the laser fight, killing of Drax and globe shootdown from outer space (great, tense sequence). This is the film where I first learned that the angle of entry to earth can have an effect on the space craft.
4. SF - I actually didn't like this in the theatre but now it's one of my faves. Love the entire ranch sequence, the fight under ice, the Silva kill and the finale in the old school office. I could have done without the weeping at M's death, but it's a small price to pay for a great ending otherwise.
5. LALD - I've always enjoyed the encounter at Kananga's lair & the subsequent train fight with Tee Hee.
--
Honourable mention to LTK - quite enjoy the tanker sequence but can't stand the ending with the sappy nonsense and the fish.
Going by that reasoning, these are my top 005:
001) YOLT. My favorite. I've always found the large scale battle between Tanaka's ninjas and Blofeld's ninjas in the SPECTRE volcano/rocket base uber-cool and very exciting.
The remaining 004 in order of their releases:
002) TB. The first truly large scale battle featuring US Navy frogmen and SPECTRE frogmen.
003) OHMSS. Very well done battle between Union Corse and SPECTRE with an added personal investment since both Bond and the girl's father are involved in rescuing her and stopping Blofeld.
004) TSWLM. An excellent remake of the aforementioned YOLT battle. Lewis Gilbert's experience as a war film director aided in his final battles.
005) MR. Essentially TB's frogmen battle transported into space with touches of YOLT and TSWLM. Again, Gilbert's war film expertise helps here.
LTK: Tanker chase was superbly put together, i like Bond and Pams clinch in the pool!
CR: Vespers death after a tense showdown.
Brilliant build up to "Bond...James Bond!" and Bond theme.
2. QOS ( I Never Left )
3. OHMSS
4. Octopussy
5. Skyfall (Home Alone)
2. FRWL - The tense showdown on the train followed by the best screen fight ever filmed (I'm counting this as the end as even though the film carries on for another 20 mins that's just topping and tailing).
3. OP - The fabulous train stunts and climax in the circus tent with the best ticking bomb scene ever (as with FRWL I'm counting this as the climax as the last 20 mins although fun is a comedown after the bomb sequence).
4. YOLT - Going from the moment Bond sneaks into the volcano to the end this is spectacular cinematic Bond with everything turned up to 11. Barry and Adam on top form make it but the best big battle of the series set against a decent countdown to armageddon which gives proceedings the urgency TB lacked.
5. SF - Almost gets it for the cinematography alone. But there's plenty of other stuff to enjoy such as Bond's banter with M and Kincade, flicking the gun up with his foot, the Aston guns (although nonsensical continuity wise) is a great moment and the overall sense of impending doom before it all kicks off is really well done.
SF - I cannot sufficiently express how excited I was when Bond finally met Moneypenny, opened the double quilted doors and M's office was back to DN style. An 'eyes only' dossier handed to Bond. It still excites!
FRWL - Grant death, truck escape, sniping the helicopter, boat explosions and klebb's poisoned shoe with Tatiana making the tough decision for love over Russia. It's a terrific sequence of events.
CR - reintroducing...Bond, James Bond.
LTK - Sanchez' empire getting dismantled one tanker at a time until it's just Bond getting his poetic revenge with the lighter. I think Dalton is fantastic in this sequence and the stunt work is still thrilling.
Honourable mention to FYEO - the mountain climbing is breathless and stalemate ending with Gogol is excellent.
1. CR — Lots of suspense built up to the greatest closing line ever.
2. OHMSS — Heartbreaking scene and Lazenby's finest acting.
3. QoS — Love the way he drops the necklace in the snow and says "I never left".
4. SF — Just seeing M's traditional office and knowing that Bond is getting back to work there is
5. TSWLM — Everything from Stromberg's death afterwards is brilliant. And great closing line.
Honourable mentions to AVTAK Golden Gate fight and OP's plane showdown. Brilliant stuntwork.
For climaxes (not gonna count the ending scenes):
1. CR (Vesper's betrayal and death) — CR has a lot of really tense scenes that would easily be a match for the climaxes of other movies, but this is the biggest moment apart from the ending (which I'm not counting for this). Emotional, heartbreaking, and built with lots of tension and brilliant acting.
2. OHMSS (Bond rescuing Tracy and pursuing Blofeld) — Just good action here. The stakes are very high and you don't realize how long you've been holding your breath. Greatly helped by the score.
3. FRWL (Train fight) — Lots of suspense and unbroken action here. There's no music, just the sounds of Bond and Grant's very realistic struggle.
4. TLD (Plane fight) — I felt the fight between Bond and Whitaker was very weak, but this easily makes up for it. Brilliant score and stuntwork and the struggle feels very real and desperate, partly because the stakes are so high with the strings breaking and the bomb ticking.
5. OP (Train sequences to bomb disarming) — The train sequence and car chase are just filled amazing stuntwork, while the showdown with Grischka and the actual disarming of the bomb are incredibly tense scenes.
Honourable mentions to LTK's tank chase, GE's fight between 007 and 006, and the showdown between Bond and Scaramanga in TMWTGG (easily the film's best scene).
I still find it very difficult to find out what the climax is. I find that the climax should be very close to the end and that there should not be to much action afterwards. That is one and probably the only problem I have with FRWL that it misses a real single climax. I am also not so keen on the Hamilton formular to let the villain or henchman return in the very end for another fight sequence with Bond after the real climax. So the films I mention below are also those which I find to be very climactic which means that they manage to build up to something spectecular in the very end.
1. YOLT: Just perfect cinematic Bond from the moment Bond enters the volcano lair. The best set piece in the series and everything is just so very thrilling and intense. And it is not ruined by too much action coming afterwards.
2. AVTAK: Just a perfect intense sequence on one of the most amazing landmarks in the word. Great set piece, great score. Very thrilling because of the height of the GG bridge, almost like Vertigo.
3. GE: Just a perfect ending because of this amazing fight sequence between Bond and Alec. Very intense.
4. LTK: One of my least favourite films has just one the best finals in the series. Very intense, great stunts and the amazing killing of Sanchez.
5. OHMSS: Overall very good, especially the wedding and what comes after. I am not a very big fan of the bob chase though.
Honourable Mentions: CR, MR, TLD, GF, TMWTGG,
Dishonourable Mentions: DAF, DAD, SP
climax
ˈklʌɪmaks/
noun
1.
the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; the culmination.
"she was nearing the climax of her speech"
synonyms: peak, pinnacle, height, high point, highest point, summit, top; More
I would take this to be the dramatic peak however close it is to the end. Hence in films such as FRWL and OP it is nowhere near the end of the film as the former is clearly the showdown with Grant and the latter the bomb defusing.
However with the likes of YOLT and LTK everything comes to a head in those final big action spectaculars.
The big anomaly is CR. Certainly the book suffers by having its climax too soon. The film gets round this a little by ramping up Vesper's demise a bit more than the lower key book version but both seem a little oddly structured having the card game showdown and death of Le Chiffre so early.
Then there's the likes of TB where, given the bomb threat is non existent, the climax is probably the personal face off between Domino and Largo (which would possibly be better if they had some dialogue before she shoots him) or FYEO where the climax, I guess, is either the ATAC being destroyed or Melina about to kill Kristatos.
you are right with your assessment of YOLT and LTK. What I like about these films is that the third act is building up to a particular very thrilling and intense moment (Bond entering the controll room and destroying the space ship in YOLT and Bond killing Sanchez in LTK).
I usually like these kinds of climaxes better than those where too much action is still needed afterwards. Quite often the climax is close to the moment when Bond ruins the villain's plan (GF, TB, FRWL, TSWLM, OP, TLD). However, in all those cases, the villain is still allive so that there is a necessarity for another scene in which the villain is killed. These scenes are often criticised of being a let down compared to the climax. For example, I find the killings of Goldfinger, Khan and Stromberg a bit uncreative.
1. GE (007 vs. 006)
2. TLD (Necros Fight/Bridge Collapse/Jeep Escape)
3. OP (Bomb Defusal)
4. SF (Battle at Skyfall/Ice Lake/Chapel)
5. FRWL (Boat Chase)
Good
6. TMWTGG (Duel with Scaramaga)
7. YOLT (Volcano Battle)
8. LTK (Tanker Chase)
9. AVTAK (Golden Gate Bridge Fight)
10. TND (Stealth Ship Battle)
11. GF (Battle at Fort Knox)
12. OHMSS (Battle at Piz Gloria/Bobsled Chase)
The Rest
13. QOS (Eco Hotel)
14. TSWLM (Liparus Battle)
15. MR (Space Laser Battle)
16. CR (Sinking House)
17. SP (Rescuing Madeleine/Boat Chase)
18. TWINE (Submarine Battle)
19. DN (Dr. No Fight/Meltdown)
20. FYEO (Confrontation with Kristatos)
21. TB (Underwater Battle/Disco Volante)
22. LALD (Shark Deathtrap)
23. DAF (Oil Rig Battle)
24. DAD (Plane Fights and Escape)