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
Just changing LTK, FYEO and DAF.
And please do feel free to comment on each others' choices...the whole point of this game is to inspire some conversation! I totally understand @Lancaster007's decision to use John Terry in LTK...but I never would have thought of it, myself! I loved seeing David Hedison back as Leiter in LTK...but then, I'm of an age that I remember Hedison fondly from TV's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea! John Terry never made a positive impression on me until many years later, with his recurring role on Lost. I think part of the reason Leiter's maiming is so powerful is because the audience has a strong affection for Hedison that may not have been there with Terry in the same role. Your opinions on this (or any other) proposed change is welcomed...
And just an agreement with CommandarRoss, the tightening up of the underwater scene hiding the Vulan would have been great - love the battle at the end so would keep that as is!
Oh there are plenty of things I would change! Moore out of AVTAK, get rid of all the stupid humor in MR, jovial Felix gone, Connery instead of Laz in OHMSS (my other strongest yearning; Sean would have been great!!). And yes, the TB underwater scenes drag for me, @Beatles; I am one of those who think that is not a plus in the movie. Some of it yes, but it is rather too much. I am not enamored of TB, except for individual performances.
However, I am leaving all of those alone for this exercise! The film I want to fix is: Die Another Day.
Yes, I realize I am taking on an impossible task (harder than MR, which would be a close second) and will not be able to magically make it a 100% superlative Bond film within the rules of your game. But I have given this thought and can make some changes that would improve the film immeasurably. Notice, I am leaving Pierce alone; he was fine in DAD and with the changes I want made, he would automatically be even better. Here I go:
DAD
1. Jinx character replaced with Michelle Yeoh in a return performance as Wai Lin.
2. Script rewrite! Changed to suit Wai Lin (so there goes all that insipid and cringeworthy Jinx dialog - ha!), which changes Bond's and other's dialog with her character as well.
3. Third choice is more with the script: a change of tone of the film to be more consistent with say, along the lines of FYEO - the change of tone would fit with the aforementioned change of character, too, but would affect a whole lot more also. For example, after Bond is released after the prisoner exchange and the hospital stay (all pretty good to that point, actually) ... he does not walk sopping wet into a hotel; that kind of OTT humor is all gone. The change of tone means that the film - although allowing lighter moments, and still keeping the great Blades sword fight - does not veer into major stupid silliness. We would still have Madonna and her crap theme song; but the overall score is not terrible. We would still have hammy Toby but Bond and Wai Lin could deal with him just fine. It would be a far more balanced film. And nice for Pierce's Bond and Wai Lin to finish his era together, as partners again.
So as much as I want all the crap CGI gone, I will not be able to specifically list that. But you can also assume that most of the heinously bad parts of DAD (and perhaps including some bad CGI) would be eliminated due to the script changes to accommodate a different tone for the whole film and the character change.
Yes, I want so much for Pierce's final film to be a good one (he did deserve far better than what he got), I am using all my 3 choices on the dreaded DAD. It would not be perfect, but it would be a far better, and all around more enjoyable, Bond film.
:-bd
Cheers!
DAD has now jumped into the lead with 3 huge points! AVTAK, DAF, & LTK are tied for second with 2 points each, while GE, FYEO, MR, TB, TND, and TMWTGG are all close behind with 1 point apiece! It's anybody's game still, folks -- so get your changes in as soon as you can!
For me, I would change aspects in the following films (I haven't included Die Another Day, as that would involve completely overhauling the film);
Thunderball - I would have had perhaps completely re-shot the finale on-board the Disco Volante. The actual fight is spot on, but the sped up rear projection, for me, ruins the scene, removing any suspense or tension from what would have been an exemplary end to the film (and would perhaps knock Thunderball a spot or two up my rankings).
You Only Live Twice - Completely get rid of the scenes involving Sean Connery dressed as a Japanese fisherman. IMO, these scenes severely damage YOLT, as it is one of those scenes where I genuinely feel myself cringing. Again, dispensing of those awful scenes would have meant that I would have held YOLT in a higher regard.
The Man with the Golden Gun - Remove the following aspects and scenes; karate schoolgirls (anything to do with martial arts, for that matter), JW Pepper (although I do enjoy his dialogue with Goodnight via the walkie-talkie), the slide whistle (this is essential) and the scene where Lieutenant Hip leaves Bond stranded (this always bugged me). Doing so, and you have a solid Bond, IMO.
Love to see the Wai Lin love. BTW, you *do* get her name, right? ;)
Yes, DAD started out great and totally went in another direction (downhill). I would be as ruthless as possible in enforcing what "change of tone" meant. :-B
Well without the car I think I could stomach the DNA therapy. With a darker tone it would be more believable at least. A daring move, as a certain Prince would say, nontheless, to take on DAD ;-)
Take out the “comedy” Sheriff's in DAF, LALD and AVTAK? Kung fu schoolgirls in TMWTGG, or the dread slide whistle? The copious amounts of sight gags and overt humour present in MR?
1. Diamonds Are Forever -
Have Tiffany Case be a consistent character, all the way through this film. The first American Bond Girl, Tiffany Case, is played with engaging charm and playfulness by Jill St. John. Tiffany starts off an intriguing, feisty character, but it soon devolves into a bimbo. It is to John's great credit, then, that a one-note character is enliven by her performance; John bring dignity to the role, where none should exist. John and Connery have a great, mischievousness chemistry together; John really deserved a better script.
2. The Man With The Golden Gun -
Removal of Pepper. Just have Bond steal the car from the car showrooms. If Pepper was barely tolerable in Live and Let Die, he is even worse here. He ends up in a wild car chase through the streets of Bangkok. The audience is meant to believe that Pepper was buying a car in Thailand, while on holiday, which Bond promptly hijacks. The film ends up making the cardinal sin, treating the audience like idiots - implausibility heaped on implausibility.
3. Die Another Day -
I can't save DAD, but I'd have the removal of the Ice dragster chase, and the ensuing tidal wave. Bond films should never have CGI in them, not even good CGI, but certainty not the PS1-graphics crap we were severed up in DAD. Just have Bond escape in his, gulp - invisible – Aston Martin. This way the film is tighter, and, as several critics pointed out, DAD has one set piece to many, hence the removal of this scene.
Hon Mentions -
Rewrite the script to DAD
Deletion of Grave's Robosuit – just have him face Bond like a man
Removal of the “Bondola” farce and Jaws flapping in PTS, in MR
Slide whistle and kung fu schoolgirls, in GG
Mrs Bird in LALD
“Ape Woman” in DAF
Deletion of Plenty's character in DAF
Removal of the entire firetruck escape in AVTAK.
DAF tear up the whole script and make it a serious revenge flick. Have Bond moody and mouring the loss of his bride and M decides to send him on the diamond caper mission. Eliminate Blofeld in DAF (save him for a later film). Bond tangles with the Spangled mob and their hired killers Kidd and Wint.
TSWLM I may get slammed by @4EverBonded as this is her favorite film, but I liked the concept of the young Turks taking over SPECTRE and eliminating the old guard. The plot to destroy the Middle Eastern oil fields after hijacking two nuclear subs was a sound plot and could have been really well done.
TWINE the showdown with Renaud should have happened earlier and then Bond would deal with Elektra (the main villain) at the climax where conflicted Bond has to killl her in order to save the world.
DAD everyone has tried to tackle this hogwash, so I'll defer to your comments.
MR My least favorite film. Do away with the slapstick. Take out the stupid gadgets (gondolo for starters) Make Jaws more serious and menacing like he was in TSWLM.
TMWTGG Eliminate the solar agitator subplot horseshytt and concentrate on the duel between Bond and Scaramanga. Bond is drugged and kidnapped and taken to a jungle island where he has to run a gautlet of dangers from hunters to wild animals, climb mountains, and at the end of it all he has to face off with Scaramanga in a wild house of fun/terror.
Glad you are back, @OHMSS69!
Yes, I bit the bullet (CGI or no) and tackled DAD as best as I could. I would have enjoyed some other fixes, too. You have some good ones.
You're right, I would not change TSWLM in any way. It is grand fun. But I like your ideas for TWINE. And really, just changing the humor in MR affects about 90% of that ridiculous film! It is riddled with stupid and camp humor that does not work for me. Even first time in the theater, I could not believe the Bondola was supposed to be funny, great, exciting, or cool ... it was nothing positive! As for TMWTGG, I especially like your idea to have it turn into The Most Dangerous Game, simply Scaramanga vs. Bond like that. I personally cannot stand Nick Nack, but I know others do enjoy him.
@royale65, I also concur with you about Tiffany. I have always like Jill St. John (and this was my first Bond film, so I wanted to be just like her!). She did start out stronger and feisty. I think she and Sean had very good chemistry. I'd love her character to be different than what we got. I'd change more than that in DAF, too. As for that lovable Southerner JW Pepper, I would not have him in TMWTGG either. LALD was plenty for me. I found him to be annoying and stupid in the extreme in TMWTGG and I remember clearly thinking, here we go giving Americans abroad a very bad name again. Ugh! By the way, I think you could have included some of your "honorable mentions" if you used a broader category for one of your changes. And everybody I know, and including Barry from what I have read, regretted that stupid slidewhistle.
@MayDayDiVicenzo, you also have some good points. Reshooting the final fight aboard the Disco Volante would be great! I hate the speeded up filmwork there, too. For me, YOLT has several flaws but trying to turn a tall Scotsman into a Japanese fisherman is the absolute worst, you are right! Just ditch that entirely. Millions of Bond fans would be grateful.
I stand by my comments on TSWLM. Have Blofeld on ice until this film and have the young Turks dispose of him and Irma Bunt. Of course Bond would never get his revenge (can't always get what we want) he would be there to see their bodies fished out of a canal and the film would take off from here. Morbid but it would have closed the chapter on Blofeld once and it would be final.
TMWTGG Scaramanga would want proof that Bond was worthy to face him in his house of horrors and only after Bond navigated the jungle island and the many perils (and meet up with the Bond girl in the meantime) could he meet "the man with the golden gun".
Seeing Bond out of the casinos and tuxes in my version of TMWTGG would have been a refreshing change, like in DN. Substitute the tuxes for khakis and jungle (ala Indiana Jones) attire. Bond having to make weapons, booby traps to foil the blood thirsty hunters. then at the entrace of the fun house Scaramanga would leave a Walther PPK and be waiting for Bond inside.
Of course such a radical change would have some fans up in arms (like LTK and OHMSS) for a film veering so far off the formula.
:))
Um...I''m not sure what's to "get" so...maybe not. Enlighten me, please! :-/
@MayDay: Thanks for fixing my own least favorite aspect of YOLT! I'm surprised it took us so long to get around to this one...
I agree that Sean & Jill have a great chemistry together ... but I also enjoy Plenty O'Toole's presence in DAF as well! "Hey, you can't do that to me...I have friends in this town!" as she's being tossed out the window of the hotel room, a moment of real suspense as she falls for several stories before landing safely in the swimming pool; followed by "I didn't know there was a pool down there!" from the gangster, just before Bond gives him the elbow. What a classic moment! Did you really want to lose that?
Thanks for your contributions, @OHMSS69, but I'm a little confused as to how to score them. According to our rules, you can only "Fix" three films, and you 've listed six! Shall I only count your first three and consider the others as Honorable Mentions? Please get back to me on this topic...
- I think that I would give DAF a complete overhaul. First, I would magically convince George Lazenby to do one more film. Then I would change the script to make it more about a morose Bond seeking revenge on Blofled a la YOLT the novel. I could certainly live with Connery remaining in the film with my revised script but I think it would have been more satisfying to see George take Blofeld out.
- I would have also changed the focus of AVTAK to make it about an aging Bond and taking on one last mission before retirement. Personally, I think it would have worked wonders. I also could have lived with recasting Dalton as Bond here (OP was the perfect exit for Moore) but since I already went that route with DAF this would be my preferred choice.
As others have mentioned, there are countless aspects that I could change about DAD but I'm not even going to bother with that mess.