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Epic Gun Battles: The Best of Bond

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  • 00130013
    Posts: 1,817
    (I found this one hidden when searching to make my own thread.)

    I'll say my ranking goes like this:

    1-The Piz Gloria battle in OHMSS
    2-The Volcano Lair battle in YOLT
    3-The gypsy camp battle in FRWL
    4-The Underwater battle in TB
    5-The Liparus battle in TSWLM
    6-The Afghan airbase battle in TLD
    7-The Fort Knox battle in GF
    8-The battle in space in MR
    9-The warehouse fight in FYEO
    10-The Oil Rig battle in DAF

    The other ones I don't consider them as battles properly speaken (in GE, TND, TWINE, DAD, nor SF).
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,830
    thelordflasheart wrote:
    Just thinking about the "epic gun battles' has made me really think about my thoughts about guns and gun battles in movies and TV shows.

    Like most young boys I loved guns and thought they were amazingly cool. I didn't understand *why*, I just felt that way - as did every guy my age. As I got older I realized the appeal to a young boy - guns are a great equalizer. You can be a 98-pound weakling, but once you have a gun suddenly you can be a threat to someone the size and strength of Oddjob or Jaws. And better yet, there's an element of magic to it. Your opponent is on the other side of the room? No problem; you just pull the trigger and he's dead, even though you're nowhere near him. Part of the "wish fulfilment" aspect of films for young boys is that you're powerful and in control. Pick up a gun and you acheive that in mere seconds through no work or effort of your own.

    When I was an action film obsessed teenager I was living through the "big guns and steroids" age of the Reagan 80's. To see Schwartzenegger or Stallone mow down 50 faceless commies (who we had been taught to hate because...well, we were good and they weren't) was the kind of thing that would make our testosterone-overloaded 15 year old selves pumps our fists and yell "HELL YEAH - TAKE THAT!" at the screen. But a combination of factors made me move away from that. Part of it was that action films changed from "big guns and steroids" to "bad white guy kung-fu". Even though the martial arts were lame by the standards of today's films the fact that a hero was succeeding on his own merits and skills was cool. Not to mention that a guy, properly motivated at the gym, could actually look like Van Damme whereas that would be impossible for 99.9% of the population if they wanted to look like Schwartzenegger.

    In my personal life a couple of friends taught me how to work out and exercise and in 8 months I went from the 145 pound nerdy weakling that got teased and beat up to a 180 pound brick sh!thouse. Suddenly, girls wanted to feel my arms at parties. I could walk through any neighborhood at any time of night and feel comfortable and safe. And all of it was because of my own effort. I had been angry and upset in the past that girls didn't seem interested in me before, and I learned something really interesting. Girls might make compliments on the shape I was in, but what *really* impressed them was that I worked hard towards a goal and acheived it. And not just in terms of working out, but in any aspect of life.

    This taught me to take responsibility for my actions and improve myself in many ways. I became a much more well-rounded person, and found that I had the confidence to not care what other guys thought of me. So I had no problem admitting that I read literature instead of Penthouse, listened to classical music or jazz instead of classic rock, saw art-house films instead of the latest Steven Segal film, and liked fine food instead of McDonalds. I was suprised at how angry this made a lot of guys - I could understand if these were things they weren't interested in, but they had to yell at me and call me names and point out that these things proved that I was homosexual. The great irony was that these things made me much more appealing to women. And in addition, these were traits that Bond had, and all the guys making fun of me loved Bond!

    So this is all to say that I learned to appreciate, and indeed that other people appreciate, "earning" something through your own hard work and dedication. That's why an epic gun battle will never be as interesting to me as seeing Bond, on his own, tackle some formidable opponent using his own skills and knowledge rather than an army or a "magic wand" gadget from Q.

    I just had to say I love this whole post. L-)
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.
  • DrNoDrNo North Hollywood, California, USA
    Posts: 81
    Piz Gloria attack in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Lazenby is awesome in it. I love the shot of him sliding on his belly on the ice shooting.
  • 00130013
    edited January 2013 Posts: 1,817
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Don't get me wrong. I love that scene, but I just consider it more like a fight than an "epic battle" because Bond didn't have a group of allies behind him. That's why in TND even if Bond is with Wei Lin there's not a battle.

    I may add another category: duel, Bond vs. an enemy (Grant, Scaramanga, ecc.)
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,011
    The archives battle in GE has to be one of my favorites. So intense and Bond is spot on throughout.
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    Perhaps we will see an epic battle with the demise of Quantum over the next 2 remaining Craig Bond films?!!! [-O<
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Creasy47 wrote:
    The archives battle in GE has to be one of my favorites. So intense and Bond is spot on throughout.

    Especially when he slides on the ground across the hallway and fires through his AK-47 rounds, taking down some nasty Russians! Epic Brosnan cool!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,011
    00Beast wrote:
    Creasy47 wrote:
    The archives battle in GE has to be one of my favorites. So intense and Bond is spot on throughout.

    Especially when he slides on the ground across the hallway and fires through his AK-47 rounds, taking down some nasty Russians! Epic Brosnan cool!

    I love it, and the one Russian ends up flying through the window. Brosnan's AK in that scene sounds so brutal as he mows down his enemies.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    0013 wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Don't get me wrong. I love that scene, but I just consider it more like a fight than an "epic battle" because Bond didn't have a group of allies behind him. That's why in TND even if Bond is with Wei Lin there's not a battle.

    I may add another category: duel, Bond vs. an enemy (Grant, Scaramanga, ecc.)

    The fact that Bond is part of three against a dozen and more is what makes it so epic, as you so classify it. Bond has to rely on the old time strategy of booby traps to take out Silva with his technological mindset and his band of goons. That is what makes it much better than most gun battles I can think of in the series, just by the sheer danger that is posed by Silva's theatrical onslaught on Skyfall, and how we get to see Bond think on the spot when things get cocked up. It makes for a much better gun fight that the others in that respect for me.
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    0013 wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Don't get me wrong. I love that scene, but I just consider it more like a fight than an "epic battle" because Bond didn't have a group of allies behind him. That's why in TND even if Bond is with Wei Lin there's not a battle.

    I may add another category: duel, Bond vs. an enemy (Grant, Scaramanga, ecc.)

    The fact that Bond is part of three against a dozen and more is what makes it so epic, as you so classify it. Bond has to rely on the old time strategy of booby traps to take out Silva with his technological mindset and his band of goons. That is what makes it much better than most gun battles I can think of in the series, just by the sheer danger that is posed by Silva's theatrical onslaught on Skyfall, and how we get to see Bond think on the spot when things get cocked up. It makes for a much better gun fight that the others in that respect for me.

    I totally agree that Skyfall delivered on a epic gun fight. I felt tense first watching it awaiting the arrival of Silva and his goons. Even though you know Bond will be ok ultimately, the sense of danger feels greater than ever before. It's great how Bond improvises using what resources he has to hand.
  • 00130013
    Posts: 1,817
    myworldisenough wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    0013 wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Don't get me wrong. I love that scene, but I just consider it more like a fight than an "epic battle" because Bond didn't have a group of allies behind him. That's why in TND even if Bond is with Wei Lin there's not a battle.

    I may add another category: duel, Bond vs. an enemy (Grant, Scaramanga, ecc.)

    The fact that Bond is part of three against a dozen and more is what makes it so epic, as you so classify it. Bond has to rely on the old time strategy of booby traps to take out Silva with his technological mindset and his band of goons. That is what makes it much better than most gun battles I can think of in the series, just by the sheer danger that is posed by Silva's theatrical onslaught on Skyfall, and how we get to see Bond think on the spot when things get cocked up. It makes for a much better gun fight that the others in that respect for me.

    I totally agree that Skyfall delivered on a epic gun fight. I felt tense first watching it awaiting the arrival of Silva and his goons. Even though you know Bond will be ok ultimately, the sense of danger feels greater than ever before. It's great how Bond improvises using what resources he has to hand.

    Yes, an epic fight but not a battle!
    I disagree not on the appreciation of SF but in the definion of battle... I mean, Agincourt, Gaugamela, Lepanto.. Those are battles!
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 41,011
    Talking about this made me go back and watch GE on blu-ray for the first time tonight to enjoy the GE archives battle. It's so beautiful.
  • lahainelahaine
    Posts: 161
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Simply the best moment in Bond film history for me imo.Using the Animal's version of Boom Boom was ace, I was on the edge of my seat throughout that battle. Craig's Bond single handley whooping ass(okay he had a bit of help from Kincade and M) and showing us why he's such a loved character. His loyalty to M and trying to protect at any cost is shown right here, just blew me away.
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    lahaine wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Simply the best moment in Bond film history for me imo.Using the Animal's version of Boom Boom was ace, I was on the edge of my seat throughout that battle. Craig's Bond single handley whooping ass(okay he had a bit of help from Kincade and M) and showing us why he's such a loved character. His loyalty to M and trying to protect at any cost is shown right here, just blew me away.

    That's exactly how I feel about the Tennyson scene. I would go so far as to say that Bond has never made me more proud of him than in Skyfall.
  • lahainelahaine
    Posts: 161
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    lahaine wrote:
    0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 wrote:
    The Skyfall fight would be way up on my list.

    Simply the best moment in Bond film history for me imo.Using the Animal's version of Boom Boom was ace, I was on the edge of my seat throughout that battle. Craig's Bond single handley whooping ass(okay he had a bit of help from Kincade and M) and showing us why he's such a loved character. His loyalty to M and trying to protect at any cost is shown right here, just blew me away.

    That's exactly how I feel about the Tennyson scene. I would go so far as to say that Bond has never made me more proud of him than in Skyfall.

    it was a crowd pleaser moment up there with anything in Goldfinger or Thunderball. Never understood all the crap from people who were knocking it for been a Home Alone rip off. It was the best last half hour to any film i've seen in the past 20 years.

  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    I think it is definitely safe to add the gunfight in the government meeting room from SkyFall! I really enjoyed that one; it was very well put together and was highly thrilling!
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