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Grand Finale Disappointments: What you would have fixed
In some of the Bond movies, the big "fight-to-the-finish" is slightly disappointing, especially if the movie, up to that point, suggested something really big. For instance, in The World is not Enough, I was extremely let down by the pitiful so-called battle with Renard aboard the submarine. The parts leading up to it was slow, and then the fight itself was slow, dull, and both actors seemed to be acting like wimps. If I could fix it, I would have had Christmas Jones trapped in the opposite room, and let Renard and Bond duke it out in fashion of the Red Grant fight, which means brutal, tough, and merciless. Renard could still be impaled, but let it be a spur-of-the-moment thing that Bon does at the last minute. So there's mine, now what would you do?
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Comments
The showdown with Renard should be epic as Bond is up against a man who can feel no pain so we should have him being stabbed, burnt, even having a limb crushed in a hatch as the sub tilts or something yet still coming at Bond like the Terminator.
Having Kristatos set up a demo of the ATAC for the Soviets by firing a warhead at something would be a cracking way to ratchet up the tension, although on second thoughts firing a nuclear missile would put him in the supervillain category of Drax and Stromberg, when all he is is a small time gangster interested in money so maybe its better as is - especially considering we have just had armageddon countdowns in the previous 2 films and this is supposed to be bringing Bond down to earth.
For me though it's every scene after Bond leaves the train in FRWL, the film limps along with dull helicopter and boat chases that add nothing to the plot, they are neither particularly exciting nor dramatic and being filmed in Scotland they lack the authentic feel of the earlier excellent location work, even Klebbs final scene in the Venice Hotel room is a somewhat disappointing end for such a great loathsome character.
Also, if the flight was going from Kentucky to DC, there's no major water sources in between. How did the plane manage to crash in the open water?
Frankly, it occurred to me (pretty much straight after seeing TWINE the first time) that it would have been sort of neat - and fitting with the tragic theme introduced into the Renard character that he's doomed to die and so is doing everything for his icky love of Elektra (an idea that could have worked really well if treated a little less melodramatically) - if he'd have duked it out with Bond and at the final moment, keeled over and slowly faded away, the bullet in his brain finally killing him. After all, that lodged bullet was always going to kill him, so why not feature it as how he died on-screen? If done well, it would have been an original and, again, somewhat empathy-inducing way for a Bond villain to go...
But, hey-ho, they decided to go for the nuclear rod through the guts instead... ;)
Yeah, I was slightly disappointed in Renard's death. I mean, he practically let Bond shoot the rod into him instead of moving. And, it wasn't that spectacular either.
Mind, like I said, Renard could and should have been a better character. In fact, one may argue Elektra could have been too - although, I've always felt that she gets a far worse rap on here than she deserves; but then maybe that's for another thread... :p
Renard was a total waste of the talent of the wonderful Robert Carlyle... But I dread to think if he was used to his potential acting talent, Brosnan would have looked even more pathetic and weak, if that was even possible.
Hahaha! Definately. In that final "battle", he literally looked and acted 40 years older than he was. Sometimes I wish Renard had finished him off, and then Roger Moore could have come in and taken care of business!
BLAH!
I suppose I would have dropped the SPECTRE boat 'fight' at the end of FRWL entirely. The North By Northwest homage I have little to no problems with, but after the tension builder that Bond's train fight with Grant had been, I need fairly little additional action before the film's over. Escape and shoot the helicopter, then on our way to Venice where we face Klebb. By all means, I wouldn't have been angry had she actually succeeded to poison Bond right before she took a bullet. GF could have been Bond's case to prove that he's back in shape.
By all means, I wouldn't have been angry had she actually succeeded to poison Bond right before she took a bullet. GF could have been Bond's case to prove that he's back in shape.
Yeah, it would have been interesting to see Bond weakened and not on top of things. We could have had a final scene at a hospital or something where Bond was revealed to have recovered, and maybe a little side note referring to the event in Goldfinger.
The end of FRWL never really bother me - Klebb was never going to pose the same sort of physical threat as Grant or Morzeny, and I liked how Tatiana actually did something useful rather than just being a bit of totty. I've always found the boat chase excellent, too.
The DAF ending...I don't really give a damn about the Batho-sub as long as Jill St. John keeps wearing that bikini :P
Personally, there are two final fights that really bothered me. One was Renard at the end of TWINE. He was built up to be an almost super-villian and could feel no pain, yet they never exploit that (and the fight itself was lame). I mean, he could have taken any damage that Bond inflicted on him and kept coming. I know that the Bond films shy away from graphic violence, but he could have been horribly maimed yet still coming - how frightening would that be? He could have had an arm ripped off and kept on like it was no be deal - tricky to film in a PG-13 way, admittedly.
But the all-time WTF for me was the fight at the end of LALD. As I've said before, my 13 year old self found the Moore films too silly and immature for my tastes and I'd stop watching them half an hour in. I'd flick back every once in a while to see what was happening and then get bored again pretty quickly. I caught the end of of LALD and when they guy inflated and then floated up to the ceiling (and exploded!) I felt insulted and even angry, as if the producers had slapped me across the face. Yes, I'm only 13, but you think that I'm so stupid that I'll like this? How dare you!
I've also always found the end of DN a bit of a let down, apart from when Dr No gets drowned in bubble bath there is little action to give this film the proper big finish it deserves.
I would concur in regards to FRWL. The helicopter NxNW homage and the boat chase feel just tacked on. We're not given any name to face with the villains in those scenes, which makes them seem generic.
DAF I don't have a problem with. There is still the tension built with the countdown and a panic for Bond to get out of there. Bond needs to destroy the control system, so why not kill two birds with one stone? And lastly, Kidd and Wint getting their comeuppance is a satisfying close.
And if we're extending TWINE's finale to include the tortue chair sequence, then I'd have to speak up for that. Always enjoyed it - yes, it's rather naff, but the idea's pure cinematic Bond and, for me, ain't done that badly. Valentin's death and freeing Bond of his shackles at the same time, as well as Bond shooting Elektra point-blank (aside from his moping over her corpse) are both top stuff too...
It would have required restructuring but Bond killing Elektra in cold blood should have happened AFTER Renard's death. That, plus M's reaction, is basically the climax of the film.
I also would have cut the role of Christmas Jones way back and sent Bond back to Holly Warmfla/esh for convalescence after the battle to the death with Renard.
DAD that airplanescene at the end took bloody forever and was very tiresome. It should have been 007 facing the baddie while Halle was in hospital recovering. I did not enjoy the equal strength bit of agents. It is a bloody 007 movie.
QoS is just wrong in every aspect. It is a severly failed experiment in 007 films. Perhaps not unlike TSWLM by Fleming, but there remained a fairly decent tale.
I did not enjoy the equal strength bit of agents.
Agreed! It was far too "I can do what you can do" type of scenario. I would have wanted the focus simply on Bond vs Graves in the final showdown. I liked that fight, but was marred by the Jinx vs Frost fight on the side. I personally didn't like Jinx too much. I wish Mr. Kil had lasered her head off in that earlier scene.