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Which film had Bond's easiest mission?
Whirlybird_Fan
Sydney, Australia
Which film(s) had Bond doing the least amount of work?
With situations where he had things easily under control?
As opposed to missions in which he had to endure considerable hardship, and had to work like hell to overcome obstacles?
I can think of GF (he was captured for much of the time, and had little to do with the final outcome of the mission), LALD and perhaps TMWTGG.
With situations where he had things easily under control?
As opposed to missions in which he had to endure considerable hardship, and had to work like hell to overcome obstacles?
I can think of GF (he was captured for much of the time, and had little to do with the final outcome of the mission), LALD and perhaps TMWTGG.
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Comments
Well, he's pretty calmed all the time, he didn't do much there, he's been with Kristatos all the time, he'd never experienced hardship for the majority of the film except maybe the third act.
Maybe also Tomorrow Never Dies too, don't remember him also going through obstacles and sufferings in that film.
There's a lot of moments in the series where Bond has bad luck, or is really against the wall, but in these moments he is commonly still acting at his best to avoid a negative outcome. Part of why GF doesn't have me in awe as it does so many is because Bond really feels asleep at the wheel for so much of it, and doesn't do as much as he should in his many situations of desperation to boldly make a better path. The sloppiness, poor thinking and indifference he sometimes displays just feels so bizarre compared to the man he was in the previous films. Which is part of why I believe that Young had a far better idea of who Bond was and how he should act than Hamilton ever did or could.
If only Nick Nack had more sway and said "Let me put this trident through his neck."
I'm actually finding it difficult to think of a mission that could answer the question fittingly.
Blowtorch to the face.
I may have forgotten that part, allow me to rethink my answer
Hardly! "Win a card game, or if you don't, I guess we'll take him in" is not the hardest mission he's had. Bond could even have given Le Chiffre the password and reminded him to keep him alive before he sees that it works. Then when Le Chiffre goes to a Swiss bank and takes the decryptor thing by force, which was apparently his plan, wait to hear of his certain death or arrest.
He does have to do a lot of punching though, but that's par for the course for this guy. Remember, he was once pushed out of an airplane with no parachute.
Anyway, I'd say Casino Royale was the easiest, given that Bond could have stayed home and everything would have turned out at least as well as did with his involvement.
That, Thunderball, or Goldfinger. Goldfinger was described at length already, but in Thunderball, as soon as Bond lands in Nassau it's completely clear that Largo is the villain, showing off his villain ring and all. I love the underwater fight, but if Largo's men won, they were never going to make it to land and set off that bomb. They were rumbled.
Runner up would be TMWTGG since he wasn't even being targeted by Scaramange and was only drawn in by Ms. Anders. Also he's up against mostly thugs and lowlifes until he finally faces off against Scaramanga himself.
I don't think there's any mission that is both easy in terms of the threat of the villain and their scheme, and where Bond doesn't have to do much, which is why we're seeing people submitting variations of what I'm expressing above. I guess that's why I am basing my thinking process on instances where Bond isn't doing much, because that to me is the sticking point. I don't much care if the villain or threat isn't that big a deal compared to other adventures as much as I do that Bond is acting as he needs to per his job and mission parameters. Because if he is acting according to what is set out for him, he's not having an easy job, since an easy job would have him not needing to do much at all. Things would just roll into his lap without him having to so much as lift a finger.
That's why missions like GF come to mind, despite how crazy the stakes are, because Bond literally sits so much of that film out. It truly is luck that leads to a positive conclusion, and he is so very absent from the mission working out favorably that it's shocking (no pun intended). It just doesn't come off right, and it's not admirable how he acts, as he should be doing more. I don't think the scripting does him any favors, and he altogether doesn't come out of the film looking all that good in any way. I'd much rather see Bond fail constantly and end up on his knees while doing his best than to just accept how things are and wait to see if things get better. It's just not who he is, as a man or an agent.
You could also argue that if it were not for Goodnight's ditziness, the mission would have been even easier.
@ProfJoeButcher, I think CR was a lot harder than that. We can't forget that what you're detailing-the card game-only starts to present itself at nearly an hour into the movie. Until then, Bond was facing a whole host of threats, including thwarting a nasty bombing, wiping out a middle man and stopping a terrorist banker from winning big from the Skyfleet prototype's destruction. Bond had to do a lot of homework and leg work, and what he did lead to the stoppage of serious terroristic damage, present and future.
But even once he gets to Montenegro, it's no easy deal. It's just a card game, sure, but a very crucial card game. MI6's concern (and the CIA's too, as Felix is there) is that if Le Chiffre wins that money is in the open and has the chance to slip through their fingers. By putting a player on site who can win the game it not only puts the pressure on Le Chiffre (who goes into the game thinking he'll clean everyone out with ease), but also puts him in a corner they're hoping he'll try to negotiate himself out of. When given the briefing on the mission, even Bond himself thinks he's just killing Le Chiffre and doing nothing more. But because of what he knows and how that information can be used, MI6 want to keep Le Chiffre alive, turn up the heat and make him run to them for protection.
I don't think if Bond stayed at home things would be okay, as you presume. The fact is, Bond was the only person who could've won that game out of anyone there. Felix certainly wasn't going to do it, and if any of the regular players did win because lady luck kept giving Le Chiffre bad cards (and he's so damn good, he'd probably still find a way), he could just have them killed and steal the money that way. Bond needs to win the game so that the money has the guarantee of being out of Le Chiffre's hands from the offset, forcing him to act to get it, rather than it just being handed to him if he wins. If he won, MI6 would need to act to ensure that the money didn't get far, as that could fund untold levels of terrorism across the globe. Bond winning doesn't mean the job is done, as we see from what progresses following his victory, but it gives MI6 the highest chance of controlling Le Chiffre and the money, as well as what he wishes to do with it. It's a risk/benefit assessment, which is why when Bond feels he's unable to win the right way, he's prepared to just kill Le Chiffre. I have no doubts that if Bond wasn't there, Le Chiffre would've cleaned everyone out and made off with the money, one way or another, and put MI6 in a position to chase rather than be chased.
We're not even talking about the undercurrent during that mission, of Bond falling in love, which causes him trauma and pain that never leaves him and makes the job one he never forgets. Add on to that the torture he undergoes under Le Chiffre's hand who now needs to take things that far to get his money, which pushes Bond near his breaking point. He is tested not just physically and mentally, but emotionally in CR, and that's what I think makes it such a devastating mission for him. It's a triple threat, where he has to be sharp and strategic at the card table, strong and durable to fend off his enemies and emotionally strong to diminish his vulnerability of the heart. In the end, perhaps the probability of winning the card game was the easiest thing he had to face, but everything else outside of that complicated things and made it much harder than it otherwise would've been. I don't think it's his hardest mission, to be fair, but it's certainly not his easiest.
When does he struggle in TND? Not very often. He easily overpowers every goon Carver sends him, kills a professional assassin in a matter of minutes and dispatches a few henchmen via a remote control car. He rarely if ever has it rough.
My point is that it's one of the most physically-oriented films in this series due to its bombastic nature. Numerous scraps, chases, gun fights. He's absolutely battered by the end of it, as well. If TND is easy then they're all easy.
Right, but that's the thing: "Win this card game or...the status quo doesn't change at all from last week." That's a question of stakes, sure, but that is the mission. The rest is usual Bond fare (albeit more brutally portrayed), and some odd decision-making from Bond--falling for Vesper, not giving the password to Le Chiffre (who is very confused about how the decryptor works).
FRWL seems pretty easy too. Meet this girl, don't let a guy kill you. That's just stuff Bond does on normal missions anyway!
I love this topic.
Yes I get that, but he doesn't really struggle, or look like he's struggling. He does a lot of physical stuff but easily overpowers his adversaries. In the end, he just makes love to Way Lin while the Royal Navy is looking for him.
I don't agree with that at all. Stamper certainly gives him a run for his money throughout finale.
He easily took those events easily, I mean speaking for what he did in the majority of the film's scenes, he's like he's just having a good time, he's certainly calmed all the time, if there's a character whom felt more struggle than Bond, it's Wai Lin as she did most of the Physical Action scenes through Martial Arts, but Bond? He's just like, "okay".
He's just being easy, there's no feel of danger coming to him.
He's just still being cool.
Sure, Stamper was a tough henchman, but if we look into Bond's view (he didn't took him seriously), he's not threatened by him.
Think of Bond's reactions to Red Grant, Fiona Volpe and her henchmen, Oddjob, Chang and Mr. Hinx (he's taking them seriously, you feel the danger, he's threatened by these henchmen, he felt scared at times, there's some seriousness), compare that to Stamper and Bond (he easily took him).
I've watched the film and never saw any struggles from Bond, he could even make one liners after disposing some enemies, he's just calmed and cool all the time.
There's no sense of danger, it's all fun to him.
Shows just how difficult to answer/subjective the question is in that case.
With respect, I must point out in Vietnam Bond is challenged by a keyboard with Chinese characters. It did not end well. [And more seriously I genuinely felt for 007 as beaten in the soundproof room and at the hands of Dr. Kaufman and working his way out of the terrorists bazaar and other moments.)
Full disclosure, I enjoy TND greatly.
I'm fascinated by how people can see a bloody and bruised Bond in the finale and think he's having a good time, personally.
*Gets a Black Eye and Bloodied Lip*
Man that was fun, let’s go again!