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Minor But Memorable Missteps in the Bond Series

echoecho 007 in New York
in Bond Movies Posts: 6,304
What are the missteps in the series that don't ruin the films but definitely make you wince? I'm not talking about the directors, writers, or main actors; there are plenty of threads about them.

I'll kick it off with Dalton's hairdresser in LTK who made him look like Eddie Munster. Why, hairdresser, why?
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Comments

  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited September 2015 Posts: 23,883
    Jaws turning good. Terribly annoying turn of events for a great character.

    Killing some of Bond's great MI6 colleagues through the years. I'm thinking about Saunders in TLD & Mathis in QoS in particular.

    The Omega wrist shot in SF (I own a few Omega's but I'm sick of their product placement to be quite frank).

    Aston DB5

    gunbarrel in the wrong place

    not incorporating the title track into the music score,
    On a related note, something I really miss in Bond films these days is the 'learning aspect'. When I was younger, I'd always learn something from a Bond film, like the fact that saki should be drunk at a preferred temperature, that US gold was stored at Fort Knox, about Sumo wrestling, about the pyramids, etc. etc. That was one of the great things about Bond films...they were like travelogues. They really don't take the time to bring that aspect any more (well CR did with gambling I suppose) and I hope they do.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    bondjames wrote: »
    On a related note, something I really miss in Bond films these days is the 'learning aspect'. When I was younger, I'd always learn something from a Bond film, like the fact that saki should be drunk at a preferred temperature, that US gold was stored at Fort Knox, about Sumo wrestling, about the pyramids, etc. etc. That was one of the great things about Bond films...they were like travelogues.
    Yes, that's something that's been lost since... well, since they stopped filming at REAL locations and having stand-in locations instead...
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited September 2015 Posts: 4,399
    chrisisall wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    On a related note, something I really miss in Bond films these days is the 'learning aspect'. When I was younger, I'd always learn something from a Bond film, like the fact that saki should be drunk at a preferred temperature, that US gold was stored at Fort Knox, about Sumo wrestling, about the pyramids, etc. etc. That was one of the great things about Bond films...they were like travelogues.
    Yes, that's something that's been lost since... well, since they stopped filming at REAL locations and having stand-in locations instead...

    do you think though that's more from the world becoming smaller and smaller - thanks to the invention of the internet, and more people who travel now than ever before - plus the fact that it's easier to do now?.... i've kind of thought about that as well - why aren't there 1 or 2 location specific Bond movies anymore..
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited September 2015 Posts: 4,399
    what would be my minor missteps...

    rushing MR into production after TSWLM, when it was supposed to be FYEO...... and staying with MR - the whole going to space thing at the end - it's clear that they wanted to show off special effects, riding the coat tails of Star Wars.. it doesnt hurt the film - but i think a more realistic ground battle at the amazon shuttle base would've been better.

    the doubletaking Pigeon from MR - seriously?

    Tarzan yell in OP

    California Girls in AVTAK, i mean seriously, why?.. i love the Beach Boys and all - but just randomly thrown in a Bond film action sequence - why didn't they just throw "Bird is the word" in there too??

    in TND, perhaps not going with the original plan of having Carver's wife be Natalya from Goldeneye - coincidental yes, but i think Bond and her's relationship in the film and her ultimate death would've carried a bit more weight to it..... for whatever reason, they are so against bringing back female characters - no clue why.

    i feel like they really misused Valentine in TWINE.. in GE, he seemed to have a gravitas about him.. in TWINE, it seemed like they tried to make him more of a funny sidekick - that always bothered me, as i loved Zukovsky.

    killing Mathis in QOS... not sure why they did it - or if they were going to do it, at least give him a memorable death, or a death worth something.. they killed him off, and it's just like a minor footnote in the film - yeah, he's dead, moving on... whaat??... they could've given him a better and more meaningful send off.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    I assume this isn't the proper thread but not casting Monica Bellucci as Paris Carver was a serious misstep at the time.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited September 2015 Posts: 23,883
    chrisisall wrote: »
    bondjames wrote: »
    On a related note, something I really miss in Bond films these days is the 'learning aspect'. When I was younger, I'd always learn something from a Bond film, like the fact that saki should be drunk at a preferred temperature, that US gold was stored at Fort Knox, about Sumo wrestling, about the pyramids, etc. etc. That was one of the great things about Bond films...they were like travelogues.
    Yes, that's something that's been lost since... well, since they stopped filming at REAL locations and having stand-in locations instead...

    That's true (SF in China could have been so much more). It's more than just the locations though.

    I always remember learning something from the Connery Bonds in particular when much younger, but also some of the Moore ones, through the dialogue. Like about siamese betta fish in FRWL, or golf in GF, or red wine with fish, or the fact that NASA uses centrifuges to test astronauts ability to withstand 'g' . I suppose a lot of this is Fleming though. Nice if they brought some of those touches back.
    Yes, you might be right @Birdleson. Their deaths were impactful in both cases, and Bond's reactions in both films gave some insight into his character.
  • trevaniantrevanian
    Posts: 232
    jake24 wrote: »
    I assume this isn't the proper thread but not casting Monica Bellucci as Paris Carver was a serious misstep at the time.
    Still pissed about them letting Sela Ward go and picking Hatcher instead. I think that was the deciding factor for me, as TND was the first Bond film I didn't see in a theater. And I've never regretted skipping it or DAD or CR. Just wish I'd skipped SKYFALL too.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    trevanian wrote: »
    Still pissed about them letting Sela Ward go and picking Hatcher instead.
    Me too.
    [-(
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I like Teri Hatcher in the role. I seem to be alone in that.

    You aren't.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    PropertyOfALady wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I like Teri Hatcher in the role. I seem to be alone in that.

    You aren't.
    I actually like her a lot in the role, but Sela would have been WAAAY better IMHO.

  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    chrisisall wrote: »
    PropertyOfALady wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I like Teri Hatcher in the role. I seem to be alone in that.

    You aren't.
    I actually like her a lot in the role, but Sela would have been WAAAY better IMHO.

    I've never heard of her.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited September 2015 Posts: 17,801
    PropertyOfALady wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    PropertyOfALady wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I like Teri Hatcher in the role. I seem to be alone in that.

    You aren't.
    I actually like her a lot in the role, but Sela would have been WAAAY better IMHO.

    I've never heard of her.
    sela_ward_photo_50.jpg
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited September 2015 Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    She's missing arms. I'm not into the whole amputee fetish thing.
    Ease up! You're just grinding metal!
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    @birdleson

    Sela Ward, leading lady in CSI NY (later seasons). She's a classy lady I would have liked her in a Bond movie.

    full.jpg
  • TokolosheTokoloshe Under your bed
    Posts: 2,667
    The slide whistle for the car jump in TMWTGG isn't just a misstep, it's a crime against cinema .
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    BondJasonBond006 wrote: »
    @birdleson

    Sela Ward, leading lady in CSI NY (later seasons). She's a classy lady I would have liked her in a Bond movie.

    full.jpg

    Gary Sinise, too. Would have been a perfect Felix.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    If we're talking "minor," here are mine:

    1. AVTAK: The odd cut from Bond out of bed, to into bed with MayDay.
    2. LALD: In the PTS, a British agent gets bit in the neck by a snake and there isn't a spot of blood anywhere?
    3. TMWTGG: Scaramanga's gun is actually lame looking.
    4. DN: The use of "Three Blind Mice" (doesn't exactly set the mood...not only for the film but for the entire series)
    5. OP: Vijay Armitraj (why was he cast???) plays the Bond theme on the bansuri.
    6. QoS: Fields holding a bed sheet up over her breasts, while seated at the edge of the bed, as Bond kisses her back.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited September 2015 Posts: 15,718
    Pierce Brosnan puting on his x-ray glasses and looking at all the pretty women and grinning like an idiot. As a young teen I really wanted of doing the same thing, but for a man in his mid 40's it's slightly disturbing.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    TripAces wrote: »
    If we're talking "minor," here are mine:

    1. AVTAK: The odd cut from Bond out of bed, to into bed with MayDay.
    2. LALD: In the PTS, a British agent gets bit in the neck by a snake and there isn't a spot of blood anywhere?
    3. TMWTGG: Scaramanga's gun is actually lame looking.
    4. DN: The use of "Three Blind Mice" (doesn't exactly set the mood...not only for the film but for the entire series)
    5. OP: Vijay Armitraj (why was he cast???) plays the Bond theme on the bansuri.
    6. QoS: Fields holding a bed sheet up over her breasts, while seated at the edge of the bed, as Bond kisses her back.

    These are good. I've always wondered if the AVTAK cut was because she was showing too much skin?

    I know some people can't stand this scene but I've always liked it because it so fit Roger Moore's Bond to go with the flow and sleep with her.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    edited September 2015 Posts: 5,080
    echo wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    If we're talking "minor," here are mine:

    1. AVTAK: The odd cut from Bond out of bed, to into bed with MayDay.
    2. LALD: In the PTS, a British agent gets bit in the neck by a snake and there isn't a spot of blood anywhere?
    3. TMWTGG: Scaramanga's gun is actually lame looking.
    4. DN: The use of "Three Blind Mice" (doesn't exactly set the mood...not only for the film but for the entire series)
    5. OP: Vijay Armitraj (why was he cast???) plays the Bond theme on the bansuri.
    6. QoS: Fields holding a bed sheet up over her breasts, while seated at the edge of the bed, as Bond kisses her back.

    These are good. I've always wondered if the AVTAK cut was because she was showing too much skin?

    I know some people can't stand this scene but I've always liked it because it so fit Roger Moore's Bond to go with the flow and sleep with her.

    Me too, @echo.

    And yes, it was edited because Jone's showed us too much nip.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    Another minor quibble that bothers me, if only because it was so avoidable:

    Using Prague to double as Miami in CR. Sorry, but anyone who's ever been to Miami will know damn well that those buildings are NOTHING like downtown Miami. It's lazy. I don't know why they didn't use some sort of location in Nassau; much easier to pass this off as downtown Miami than Prague.
  • dominicgreenedominicgreene The Eternal QOS Defender
    Posts: 1,756
    The scene in SF where M stops and sees the MI6 explosion. Very poorly shot, edited, and acted.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    DaltonCraig007 wrote: »
    Pierce Brosnan puting on his x-ray glasses and looking at all the pretty women and grinning like an idiot. As a young teen I really wanted of doing the same thing, but for a man in his mid 40's it's slightly disturbing.

    Those x-ray glasses are a special edition. You only see through the outer garments.

    The camera crew in Saida s dressing room mirror deserves a mention here. Strange thing that it survived the editing process.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,589
    TripAces wrote: »
    Another minor quibble that bothers me, if only because it was so avoidable:

    Using Prague to double as Miami in CR. Sorry, but anyone who's ever been to Miami will know damn well that those buildings are NOTHING like downtown Miami. It's lazy. I don't know why they didn't use some sort of location in Nassau; much easier to pass this off as downtown Miami than Prague.

    The airport bothered me more because I'd just been in Miami Airport a few months before CR came out and was like, it looks nothing like that.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,433
    The whole "that was stirred not shaken right?" from Henderson to Bond. Always bothers me. Was the error intentional? Was Bond too much of a gentleman to not correct him. If it was a mistake why did they overdub the line?
  • BeatlesSansEarmuffsBeatlesSansEarmuffs
    edited November 2018 Posts: 3,566
    I always read that as Henderson just making a mistake (perhaps because he was out of touch with English styles) and Bond being too much of gentleman to correct him. A small touch of humor.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited November 2018 Posts: 18,281
    BeatlesSansEarmuffs wrote: »
    I always read that as Henderson just making a mistake (perhaps because he was out of touch with English styles) and Bond being too much of gentleman to correct him. A small touch of humor.

    Exactly. Too polite to correct him, as Henderson was only trying his best to impress his guest. You can tell from Connery Bond's face it's not the way he normally likes that drink!
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Posts: 4,520
    No 5th Brosnan Bond movie
    Stairs fight in Casino Royale
    24 element/ Clown Airport scene in Casino Royale
    Bond James Bond at the end of Casino Royale.
    24/Dark Knight (Rises) / Arrow elements in Skyfall and Spectre.
    Blofeld Bond steph brother in Spectre. I think it wil be a bigger problem that Bond his steph brother brings the mi6 bulding down, then choose to bring it down.

  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,137
    It's Japanese etiquette not to correct mistakes if I recall correctly, YOLT does well to demonstrate manners whilst in Japan, removing shoes when entering a home is another example.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    Of course it's Bond just being polite,i have never seen it any other way,and Connery plays it perfectly,with a wry smile.
    M_Balje wrote: »
    No 5th Brosnan Bond movie
    Stairs fight in Casino Royale
    24 element/ Clown Airport scene in Casino Royale
    Bond James Bond at the end of Casino Royale.
    24/Dark Knight (Rises) / Arrow elements in Skyfall and Spectre.
    Blofeld Bond steph brother in Spectre. I think it wil be a bigger problem that Bond his steph brother brings the mi6 bulding down, then choose to bring it down.

    Wow......

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