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I agree about everything you said, though. Kissy replacing Aki is a groaner of a move and makes YOLT a lesser film afterwards for it. Aki was awesome and I grow to really like her. I'd have much rather seen her storming the volcano with Bond than Kissy, as she actually proved many times that she could handle herself in dangerous situations. Kissy is boring and lifeless in comparison.
I've always liked Pussy, and it's a shame that the culture of the time didn't make her a character who could've been even more iconic as a strong woman who just happens to be gay and instead made her a woman who is "cured" of her homosexuality by Bond's masculinity and penis. That barn scene is a tough watch for me, because it's so of that time in a sickening way, and it only serves to sink my enjoyment of Goldfinger more and more.
Really? A gay Bond girl. That's a terrible idea. There's only a hint in the film that she's gay, and even then this is James Bond ffs. Of course he can turn women. The barn scene is great. Like the nurse in TB, it's clear that she was up for it, despite a few protests.
You sound very much of that time, Comte, but I can't say I'm surprised.
Only a hint of her homosexuality, you say? She makes it very apparent she's immune to Bond's charms many times, and her attraction to the women of her flying circus is also clear. It's only when the writers needed a way for Goldfinger's plot to knock-out the Knox guards to fail that they sought to just make her bend to Bond's will out of nowhere. The barn scene is quite an eye sore looking at it with the eyes of a more progressive and attuned culture of today. Last time I checked fighting someone off furiously doesn't mean you're "up for it."
She could have just walked out of the barn after she first threw Bond to the ground instead of having a playful fight.
Furthermore, as soon as he started kissing her she reciprocated and put her arms round him. Hardly non consensual.
There's no doubt she was written in that scene to largely be interested by the writers; like I said, they needed a way to move the plot along. My issue is from that scene to the end of the film her character is quite a far cry from who she was earlier.
Exactly! The line would have made no sense had 007's charms, confidence and charisma not persuaded Ms Galore to betray Auric. The barn fight is essentially playful foreplay that Pussy initiates and willingly partakes in. If she really wasn't into James, of all the Bond girls in the Connery era, she'd be the one that would have seriously put up a good fight. Hell, he even got his ass kicked by Bambi and Thumper! I think audiences today probably miss the point of that scene because he forces his kiss on her. Because of that the closest you'd get to that type of scene now would be the sauna in GE.
Well I am not so really sure about that barn scene but leaving that aside, Pussy is just a weird character. I mean she is supposed to be a tough woman and she does not seem to care about poisoning all the soldiers in the beginning. However I have never really been convinced that she could be this kind of evil. She never felt like a baddie to me.
Her turning to the good side is also kind of unconvincing. Even if she enjoyed having sex with Bond why the hell should she out of the sudden turn good? Keep in mind that the same character a short time earlier wanted to posion hundreds of soldiers. Therefore I like Fiona Volpe so much more. She is also a very tough and sexy character and falls for Bond's charmes but unlike Pussy she cannot be converted so easily.
Here is my take on this
Bond girls- Pierce Brosnan. while he had a few misses, the good ones were great and pretty memorable for more than good looks.
Villains- Sean Connery. Dr No is a big reason on this win, he had very little expression but yet his voice was pretty intimidating and his showdown with Bond in the dinner scene was very intense.
Scores-Sean Connery and Roger Moore. though Pierce era is a good runner up David Arnold is the best composer for modern day Bond and great succesor to Barry.
Cinematography-Daniel Craig yes his films looked really beautiful except Quantum. But most of his films had this very cinemmatic expensive look to them.
Action its a very close battle between Pierce and Daniel Craig eras. Craig because he did most of his own stunts and the action was very intense but Pierce because of the chasing sequences were the most memorable and fun to watch: Tank chase, boat chase and the bike chase.
And ofcourse the swordfight between Bond and graves in die another day.
Plots storylines- Daniel Craig he is the only one who got the arc and his films had the most depth, his films could have almost qualified for best picture at the oscars.
Scripts/Dialogue- Sean Connery is the winner here.
Bond Performances: Pierce Brosnan.
Would you mind if i made a thread out of this: the Bond actors eras and their elements.
Well firstly she was only sending the soldiers to sleep temporarily. She wasn't embarking on mass murder.
Secondly, she probably didn't want to do it. She had a good life under Goldfinger though so she was willing to go through with it. She just needed a little nudging in the right direction to change her mind. Either that or her conscience was going to get the better of her anyway.
Has to be Pierce's for me. Halle Berry and Denise Richards in their prime alone would be enough to clench it. But then Xenia, Natalya, Paris and Miranda on top of that? The only one who doesn't really do it for me is Michelle Yeoh but still it's not like she's a bad looking girl or anything and the rest would more than make up for it.
EDIT: I didn't even mention the best of all- Elektra. Yep I think in terms of attractiveness the Brosnan era girls can't be beaten.
Villains- Sean Connery. Dr. No, Goldfinger, Largo are all top notch. Then there's also invisble Blofeld and great henchmen like Grant, Kronsteen and Oddjob.
Scores- George Lazenby. Because no score can compete with OHMSS.
Cinematography-Daniel Craig. Got to give the Craig era some credit where it's due, the films always look amazing.
Action - Timothy Dalton. Only two films but both definitely highlights in the stunt department. It all looks so convincing, partly possibly because Tim did some of the stunts himself. Top moments are the cargo fight and the incredible tanker chase finale in LTK.
Plots/storylines- Sean Connery. You've got the mystery thrillers with DN and FRWL, the outlandish epics TB and YOLT and something between the two with GF. Also pure 60's chique lures around every corner.
Scripts/Dialogue- Sean Connery. Close call definitely but Sean's era wins this one. A time when the oneliners were written pretty well most of the time is surely the winner.
Bond Performances -Timothy Dalton. This question is pretty much "Who is your favourite Bond actor?"
There should be a thread for this. I already gave my winners on these categories but a whole thread for this would be great.
Well yes but originally she intended to poison the soldiers. Only after the barn scene she changed her plan and just send the soldiers to sleep as you correctly mentioned. So one can say that Bond's most famous gadget once more prevented a mass murder.
Anyway, as I said Pussy has always been much too likable to be such a ruthless killer.
Villains- Connery. It's weird because my favourite villains are Sanchez, Silva, Elektra and Trevelayn. None of those are from the Connery era. But I think in terms of overall quality he has to take it. Dr No, Grant and Klebb, Goldfinger and Oddjob, plus Blofeld lurking in the background. Plus even the lesser villains (Largo for instance) are still iconic memorable ones
Scores- Dalton because TLD is my favourite score of the series and I'm a big fan of LTK's too
Cinematography- Lazenby. Sort of unfair because he only had the one film but I think OHMSS has the best of the series. The Craig era looks great too but it's sort of glossy and stylized looking while OHMSS is crisp, clear and stunning
Action- Dalton for sure. Land rover chase, the safe house assault (Green 4 is probably my favourite minor character of the series, the cargo net fight, plane fishing, plane water skiing, tanker chase, it's no contest imo. I think that the Dalton Bond's are honestly among the best action films ever made, and they're definitely my favourites.
Plot/storylines- Dalton again. TLD is a great cold war spy thriller which did a great job of reinventing Bond, but I'm mainly giving him the nod because of LTK. It's a fantastic violent revenge story and the plot is just so well written and (at the end) satisfying
Performances- Dalton. He's perfect as the disgruntled, world weary assassin. And I like those sort of characters. Grizzled, weathered men of action (I think that's why I never warmed to the whole Bond Begins angle) and Dalton played that to perfection. Even though TLD is basically a reboot you still get the sense that this Bond has seen it all. When he's interrogating Pushkin and he tells the girl to get in the bathroom and lock the door, it sounds like someone who's used to this kind of thing. Or when Saunders is dead and he pops the balloon in his hands and he spots more of them so he sprints and leaps over the hedge gun drawn god he's just perfect. A professional, and that's all down to Dalton's performance. The most badass, ruthless Bond, but at the same time he seems like an actual, real person. He's human in a way that only Lazenby matches. I know Connery set the standard, but when I think James Bond I still think of Dalton, and I don't think that'll ever change. The lack of a third (fourth, fifth, sixth...) Dalton film is the biggest missed opportunity in cinema history, imo.
I will say that Brosnan comes a close second, just because I find the lack of love for him on here a bit disheartening. He was just so effortlessly suave and cool, the perfect action hero Bond, and I loved how he could be a cocky playboy one minute and a wounded, brooding assassin the next. There are layers to him and a sense of vulnerability (matched only by Lazenby) that he doesn't get, or even give himself, enough credit for, imo.
You've misunderstood that part of the film mate. The soldiers at fort knox were just pretending to be intoxicated so as to fool Goldfinger and his men. The substance released was completely without effect.
Couldn't have said this better
The beach scene in GE, downing vodka shots waiting for Paris in TND, mourning Elektra in TWINE, and discussing North Korea with Miranda in DAD, those are the specific examples that come to mind. But it's also just his general manner when not in the field. In his briefings with M for instance he always come across as enigmatic and thoughtful to me, particuarly the one in Goldeneye where he's trying to size up the new boss. He did a good job of showing the wounded, brooding, vulnerable side of Bond imo.
Ok let's have a look at the plot:
Bond is transported by Goldfinger's Lockheed JetStar private jet, flown by his personal pilot, Pussy Galore, to his stud farm near Fort Knox, Kentucky. Bond escapes and witnesses Goldfinger's meeting with US mafiosi, who have brought the materials he needs for Operation Grand Slam. Whilst they are each promised $1 million, Goldfinger tempts them that they "could have the million today, or ten millions tomorrow". They listen to Goldfinger's plan to rob Fort Knox before Goldfinger kills them all using some of the "Delta 9" nerve gas he plans to release over Fort Knox.
......
Operation Grand Slam begins with Pussy Galore's Flying Circus spraying the gas over Fort Knox. However, Bond had "seduced" Galore, convincing her to replace the nerve gas with a harmless substance and alert the US government about Goldfinger's plan. The military personnel of Fort Knox convincingly play dead until they are certain that they can prevent the criminals from escaping the base with the bomb.
What I wanted to say is that the original plan was to kill the soldiers with the nerve gas. Only after Bond seduced Pussy she replaced the gas by something else.
It's a fair point. Until Bond intervenes Pussy was signed up to be part of a genocide.
However we have to wonder if she knew Delta 9 was fatal or Goldfinger kept that to himself and she also thought it just put people to sleep?
I suspect the latter.
The PPK is a stylish elegant looking gun that really suits Bond. But it's no longer the perfect gun for a professional goverment sactioned killer to carry, we shouldn't pretend that Bond's continued use of it makes sense or that it's out of anything but tradition. Practically speaking, there are probably a number of equally easy to conceal modern pistols that are more accurate, have a greater capacity, etc.
TWINE is a great Bond film with a lot of interesting ideas and some great character development that gets overlooked by fans because it doesn't fit their preconceptions of the Brosnan era. And people criticise Brosnan era for box ticking but, regardless of what you think of the execution, I think TWINE is a lot more original than a lot of beloved (or at least more popular) Bond films (TB*, TSWLM, MR, GE and SP to name a few).
*I can cut them some slack there because it was one of the first and they pretty much just followed the book but it is essentially a big bloated follow up to GF, relying on gimmicks like the ridiculously naff jetpack to be "bigger and better".
Very good points!
I really liked Spectre as well my only beef with it are the loose ends which obligates the producers to make a direct sequel and Bond has always worked better as standalone flicks but the film itself was very good and I really enjoyed fron start to finish.
The world is not enough its my favorite Brosnan film and performance as Bond.
Making Elektra the main Villain was a great twist and Brosnan looked really confident and very Bondian and on top of that he had a very good script to work with.