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Callbacks: The good, the bad, and the ugly.
No shortage of callbacks in Bond films. Are they necessary? A good thing? Which ones succeed? Which fail? What purpose do they serve? NTTD is heavily criticized for the callbacks to OHMSS. But OHMSS recalls the Connery films with the memorabilia in Bond's office, and of course there's the man sweeping the floor while whistling Goldfinger. Opinions?
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Comments
I liked the Goldfinger whistling theme in OHMSS and Lazenby Bond gathering up mementos from the Connery Era in his drawer, even the Bullion Trade talks between Draco and M.
Tracy/Marriage reference in LTK, it fits the most because it also happened in the wedding and there's the trigger.
Elektra's reference for Paris Carver from TND in TWINE (have you ever lost a loved one?), And all of the DAD callbacks like the jetpack for example or Jinx' Honey Ryder impression, I liked all of that.
And even the DB5 appearance in both Skyfall and SPECTRE, no problem with me, because it's not representing any significance, just an icon.
I even liked the Dr. No dots in NTTD, it's a way of giving tribute to Dr. No (1962).
But the only references I'm not a fan of are the:
1. OHMSS references in NTTD - there's the significance of Bond and Tracy, that song signifies their relationship.
But the way NTTD used this song was like: 'This song represents the tragic romances in Bond's life'.
It removed the real meaning of the song which was about the relationship of Bond and Tracy.
NTTD put a bad mark on the song, so instead of people hearing WHATTIW and reminds them of Bond and Tracy romance, everytime they would hear it, they would be having some thoughts of "oh, something's tragic is happening to Bond's life again".
They've made the song full of misery, depressing and dark, instead of sweet and tender like what it really represented before.
It's a part of OHMSS' romance identity.
2. Bond visiting Tracy's grave in FYEO (and everything in the PTS of FYEO) - for me, it's a bad retconning, it's the scene that should've happened right after OHMSS, with Bond avenging Tracy's death and killing off Blofeld once and for all, but since they've put it under the rug for a campy version of DAF, now after many films, they've decided to retcon it there, and badly played for the sake of embarrassing McClory, I have no problem with the TSWLM reference, but the FYEO PTS felt like a long forgotten sequel to OHMSS and it's very disappointing.
3. The Aston Martin V8 1987 from Dalton/TLD appearance in NTTD - Underused, underutilized, just put in the film like a product placement or a design or a prop.
Judi Dench name in a star be atacked. This together with ''next in line'' lyric, be one of first moment expect Dench M going to die. Because of NTTD we know now where those black/red things and fire works in Skyfall stands for. Later in NTTD we see Bond get his Star Spot light fall of fame.
More death of Judi Dench M:
Judi Dench name with tricker sound in maintitle, She looking trow window with cross of death and Missing bullet/Bond looking to empty chair (also refer to Mr White death) and I Never left comment from Bond to her in QOS.
M looking to falling rain (Skyfall!) / Judi Dench name over graveyard / Bell of Death whyle she in the car / She behind coffins (Next in Line) / Missing bullet (Wrong M) in Skyfall.
Table of death:
Table of death in CR. Already discus before, but since NTTD that we been fooled with Bond sitting at bar.. We should known as you must first turn picture as i have done before too:
Casino Royale Original vs Skyfall vs Casino Royale flipt
Table of death in NTTD
Other favorite:
Walk a way from a rainbow (QOS vs Skyfall) vs Spectre ?
CR Lyric in Skyfall (The coldest blood runs through my veins) vs CR Lyric in NTTD (Life is Gone with the spin of the wheel)
Inception
The first type of callbacks in the series were in OHMSS where the film-makers were trying way to hard to show that this fella was the same fella, but then not the same fella.
I cringe when Bond opens the desk drawer and begins pulling out all the gadgets from the other films. But honestly how does Bond end up with Honey's rusted knife, a re-breather from TB? Grant's garrote watch is the only one that makes some marginal sense as I believe he is seen taking it from Grants body on the train. The whole thing plays like a trophy drawer in his desk. What would Bond need from these assorted items?
The callback to his wife in Spy was well done and well acted between Moore and Bach. I enjoyed the wince of Moore's Bond. It is a tender moment well acted. I don't even mind Moore visiting the grave of Tracy. Though somehow I think it would play better with a new Bond actor. However it's well acted and executed.
The more recent callbacks have been a mixed bag. I enjoy the grape eating bit from DAD that Brosnan does as an homage to TB. The walk through to the clinic that echoes Golden Gun is also well done.
I am not a fan of the Skyfall interplay between M and Bond and the Aston. How does Bond have a car with gadgets sitting in the garage. Was this the same car he won in Casino Royale? Which is another ham fisted call back. But lets stay focused on SF. Bond and the DB5 trends on the connective tissue to the series and yet, this characterization is not that Bond. So why get all bothered when Silva blows up the car? What emotional attachment does this Bond have to that car?
I will finally state that the OHMSS call backs littered within NTTD was not required. It feel cheap to take a Bond film and "echo" it in this film. The choice of a song! Like they couldn't get someone to write a theme for this film? We must take a previous song that is so identified with another timeframe and shoe horn it in? Now when I hear that song I think of the two films and it bugs me. Should have let Louis stay attached to OHMSS and let a new artist and song attach to NTTD. The producers knew the emotional arc of the current Bond didn't compare to the previous one, so they took a lazy way out and just re-purposed a song. I wonder if a future film will see a Bond film use Goldfinger, or Nobody Does it Better.
Yes, if my memory serves, it's a reference to TND, where Judi Dench M said the same phrase: "Go, and eject me, see if I care?".
The re-breather from TB, I think was a gadget handed to him by Q, so, it kinda makes sense a bit that it would be in his office, or in the MI6.
Maybe we could safely say that Honey Ryder gave him her knife, as a remembrance, maybe because after the events happened in the Crab Key Island, Honey Ryder would quit shell hunting and opt for a new job.
I think those callbacks often makes a bit sense, it's the scene where Bond was in the midst of resigning from the service, it's a part of him reminiscing to his service life, the long time he'd dedicated to his service, there's even a picture of Queen Elizabeth which made the scene a bit poignant.
I dunno, I kinda liked it.
What I think didn't makes sense was the Bullion Trade talk between M and Draco at the wedding scene, now it's a bit questionable, because it pointed out to Goldfinger, so was Draco involved in the Goldfinger business? And how did M knew that Draco was a part of that considering that he didn't met Draco before?
But even that didn't makes sense, I still liked it, because it's showed a good relationship between M and Draco, like M having a good time with someone else, like this was M outside of MI6 life.
Different actor, but the same Bond.
Would a reference to TSWLM worked in MR, when Bond and Jaws meet again for the first time?
Maybe a line from Bond about escaping Atlantis?
I loved the choice of car and the ‘eject’ gag. For Bond and M to share a joke was a really nice character moment that allowed us to see the affection under the surface.
As a fan I enjoyed most of the callbacks; with a new Bond on the way it’s time to ditch them again though. As with CR, GE, TLD etc. a new actor needs to be allowed to stand on his own two feet. I think it’s time for everything save the gunbarrel and Bond theme to be stripped away in fact.
I like those callbacks, because they feel like they're there for us die hard fans, like them seeing we know you and we know our series. But when Bond is wearing replica suits from past films, driving old cars (DB5 not included) and they reuse old pieces of musical scores, it just feels overkill.
It leads more to comparison than it does to a nod of the cap, and it always seems to fall short in comparison (Fields covered on oil in QOS for example)
Yes, but also it became a bit of a plot hole.
If it came from the Hoffler Klinik, how come that it it's now at Moneypenny's desk in NTTD?
Like that's almost too unbelievable and too far, already stretching my sense of disbelief.
I don't know if it's that unbelievable. I suppose we can assume it was Madeleine's personal recorder, or she just had it on her person when she was abducted by Hinx and the other Spectre agents. Or maybe she had a few just like it.
That’s a great spot. Just prop recycling you think?
Great spot @QBranch, worthy of being mentioned in this thread...
https://www.mi6community.com/discussion/12160/ive-never-noticed-that-before
One can explain away anything really, through theories. I could say that Grant's garrote watch, which Bond did not take off the dead Grant's corpse, was collected by the clean-up crew, sent in an evidence bag back to MI6, analyzed, filed, sent to Q for reverse-engineering, left on the workshop table then pilfered by Bond when he needed some emergency floss for that annoying piece of grape skin stuck between his teeth. Maybe that's how the garrote watch ended up in Bond's desk drawer.
Could be, it's happened many, many times throughout the series. Things as standard as furniture and telephones, to custom bomb timers and casino chips from the Dalton films appearing in Brosnan's era.
They say 1964. It's pretty clear it's GF.
Yes, so it definitely didn't make any sense really, and more like "have we missed something?" Or yes, "how did M knew?"
Thank you @echo
I thought Madeleine carrying the Nokia 3310 remake (which was already two-years old at the time of filming) in the PTS was an odd touch. A novelty remake of a phone from the early-2000s doesn't seem like the most lucrative bit of product placement. Still, I used to have that phone so it was a bit of a kick to see it on screen.
NTTD isn’t all about the product placement: even just car-wise it features very old and no longer available models of Range Rover, Toyota and Maserati.
I just thought it was unusual that they chose that particular phone over a more standard smartphone from a few years ago.
And original release year for both movies is 1997 and media be inportent factor with all three. 19:12 also stand for 19 December, original release day and month in 1997 in Uk of Tomorrow Never Dies. In Casino Royale another hint to Bond death (Bond 25) or another Tomorrow Never Dies is coming ( ''Sand In Your Eyes'' moment. Daniel Craig return for Bond 26).
It's been said in some trivia that 'Mel' was a latin word for Honey, but in Greek, the word for it was 'Mele/Meli'.
So Melina means Honey Ryder.
So, I may be nitpicking here, but I've found another Dr. No reference in FYEO.