Reporting For Duty
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
Are the days of the memorable Bond henchmen over?
In Quantum of Solace, despite being my favourite Bond movie, there appeared to be a definite lack of any kind of memorable henchman. Elvis was an embarassment to put it lightly. Come to think of it Casino Royale had no real standout henchman either. Not of the likes of say Oddjob , Jaws, Xenia Onatopp, pre-turncoat Pussy Galore, Mr. Stamper or the Angels of Death.
Are they gone with the wind? An relic of the pre-Brosnanite era or do you expect them to return in future movies?
Thoughts?
Are they gone with the wind? An relic of the pre-Brosnanite era or do you expect them to return in future movies?
Thoughts?
This discussion has been closed.
^ 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
Onatopp was a great henchlady - Kind of what I expected Miranda Frost to have been but failed miserably.
Please not another kung fu expert.
Dont mind the idea of a woman but a more cerebral and sexy one like Fiona or Fatima.
For a physical henchman I dont think I could buy a woman playing it who would be able to cause Dan any real trouble. Unless Julie T Wallace comes out of retirement it should be a guy. I want a proper massive unit with no particular fighting skills other than being a big hard mother f**ker. Daniel hasnt yet had a fight where you havent thought he is the hardest - Fisher, Obanno, Slate, Patrice; all decent fights and quite close but you always had your money on Bond. I want Dans Bond to go up against a guy who could snap him in half so that he has to use his brain rather than brawn to win (although I still want an epic ruck a la Fort Knox and Oddjob).
I know Jonah Lomu was interested a while back. Not saying hes right but something in that vein. Needs to be close to 7 foot and built with it. Actually while they are at it what to we think about rebooted Jaws?
We have had steel teeth, bowler hats,claw hands,aryan giants...most ideas have been done.
If they came up with something original maybe it wor
Could still be a woman. Doesn't necessarily have to be a tough one as in hand to hand. Could just be extremely athletic / gymnastic and agile. Like McKayla Maroney or something. Attacks from a distance with throwing knives and does backflips and such. Disarms Bond with speed and then she has the upper hand, then Bond has to stop her using his quick wits, by say dropping the floorplate out from under her or something.
This might be unpopular but I could handle a reboot jaws cos they could do him Bane style - in stature and physical prowess over Bond. I think if they got rid of the really silly stuff in MR and went a bit more with a tone like at the start of TSWLM - when he kills in the pyramids it is creepy as hell.
What about having him in Bond 24 with normal teeth and then at the end Bond f**ks him up and he winds up with the whole metal jaw from Christopher Woods TSWLM novelisation in 25?
Actually thats a shocking idea - we are getting into comic book territory there. I apologise to one and all. Its a rare day the Wizard spouts such garbage. Its the end of the world as we know it. Perhaps the Mayans were right after all, just a few weeks out.
:P
Very droll sir.
While I definitely hope that the next henchman will have either a larger role or just look more memorable, I think this is the route they're going.
True, however the decision to go for no deformities on Greene was a decision by Marc Forster alone. I never really considered Medrano as a henchman, and Dimitros, Carlos and Kratt appeared to be hired guns just like Silva's guys - whereas other henchman appeare to have more of a kind of 'tie' to their respective villains. I suppose from that angle Elvis would win as he was (unofficially) Greene's cousin.
Again I wouldn't consider Patrice a henchman, in that he's essentially a sub-contractor, not like he's invested in Silva's cause in any way.
So... a henchman has to have some sort of tie to the main villain? In that case Jaws isn't an henchman either, since he's just a hired gun as well.
Yes you're quite correct that a henchman is a step above a hired gun. More like a sort of chief bodyguard to the villain. But he also has to have some physical menace and really ought to have a showdown with Bond.
In the Craig era no one fits this bill as they are either just being paid by or are business partners of the villain (Dmitrios, Obanno, Slate, Medrano, Patrice) or are pathetic and barely a character (Kratt, Elvis).
Perhaps Elvis has the same role as Stamper in terms of being head bodyguard and head of security but he can't be classed as a henchman like Stamper as he's such a joke. It's not just a job title - you actually have to kill or try to kill someone. I'm afraid mincingly welling up during an opera and falling down some stairs doesn't cut it. Mr Kil smashes him out of the park in henchman terms.
Actually I think Elvis might well be the most pathetic character in all of Bond? Can anyone suggest an alternative?
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/922/return-of-the-henchmen
http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/1790/craig-needs-a-giant-henchman-to-fight-in-skyfall-maybe-jaws
All I did was type 'henchman' into the search bar.
Look, he tries to act studly and imposing as Camille comes storming down the docks after Greene. She whacks him away and says something to the effect of "Touch me and i break your wrist"
On the plane with the CIA. He starts the conversation off... or does he? He tries to. He says something to the effect of "How much longer?" And Beam doesn't give him the time of day. Completely ignored. As the phone with Bond's picture gets passed around, it finally lands in Elvis' lap. Actually, it get chucked at him.
At the Opera. He's up there watching the play. Loving it, in fact. He turns to the other guard to share in his appreciation and his gaze is repelled by a face of iron. He turns back to watch the opera dejected but with a face that looks like he might cry from the unearthly beauty of the performance.
At Greene's party. Of course he takes the headward dive down the stairs. Only to lose his toupee at the bottom of the fall.
At the exchange between Greene and Medrano. Standing there like a buffoon with his neck collar on.
His demise: First of all, Greene says nothing. Just puts him in place... like a... PUPPET. Now notice when the flames reach his body...
THEY BLOW HIS PANTS OFF!
I kid you not. His pants go flying off with the wave of heat, and for a few frames we see him standing in his fixed position, in tighties, I believe.
Isn't he a fantastic caracther?
He's also left to soothe things between Greene and the men he was talking to before Camille ruined things with her statement at the fundraiser.
Hahaha. I had to go and check that out. Correct at exactly 1hr 30 min 55 secs you do see Elvis's pants get obliterated leaving nothing but a pair of tighty whities. Guess that's how he left the building. Thank you very much.
How anyone can even think of using the word henchman about him is ludicrous.
He's more a victim of bullying - Christ even Fields isn't afraid to have a dig at him. Can't imagine her having the nerve send Oddjob flying down the stairs. The bloke is totally out of his depth in the Bond universe.
Got to feel sorry for Taubman - imagine you get the call that you are the next Bond henchman and then you get a script where you can barely find a reference to your character and when you do it's usually with someone else making a mug of him.
I feel like EON were trying to have us as viewers sympathize with him now...I need to really look at QoS again soon.
I'm almost welling up here guys.
How about starting an Elvis appreciation thread?
The guy never wanted to go into crime it was his cousin Dominic who pulled him into the family business. He would have been much happier being an opera singer.
But appearently there were some scenes that were cut out from the film with him. One scene at the party in Bolivia where he dances.
If I remember well the interview I heard from him, Mathieu Amalric said it was him and Foster who insisted that Greene should not have any physical deformities... hinting that the producers thought he should have some. Silva's short scene about this may be the kind of little decisions by producers when the previous movie "failed" on some point, like the "please use the Bond theme again" tip they told Arnold on his first Bond.