You’ve gotta love Baron Samedi’s (Geoffrey Holder) menacing laugh at the end of Live and Let Die (1973). This along with a few other Baron Samedi scenes add a feeling of mystique and almost introspection to the movie, which really isn’t present in any other James Bond movie. The ever-present voodoo references in the movie also contributes to this feeling, in my opinion, and add to its overall creepy/scary vibe.
I also think this end scene also technically breaks the fourth wall of the movie, which is a rare occurrence that has only happened a few other times in the series.
This is one of those frustrating James Bond movie chases where there are a hundred different scenarios where it could have been stopped or made less dangerous by some better decision making. For starters, why did the baddies here decide to use their mode of transportation as part of their strategy to kill Bond? Surely they knew, and would of course eventually find out, they had a death wish if anything disturbs the helicopter rotors.
And why doesn’t Bond and Wai Lin just stop? Get off the bike, disappear in the crowd?
Skyfall (2012) is easily the most beautiful James Bond movie. Of course, we have cinematographer Roger Deakins to thank for that. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography after all, and as most of us know, Oscar talk for James Bond movies is rare. There are several scenes in the movie that are some of the most visually appealing in all of the James Bond movies ever, but the Shangai scene takes the cake.
At over 9 minutes long with barely any dialogue, the focus is truly on the visuals for the entire sequence. From the blue-hued rooftop Bond swimming session to the seemingly “dance” of a fight set against a fluid neon advertisement in the skyscraper, it’s so easy to just sit back and enjoy this part of what many consider Daniel Craig’s best James Bond movie.
A visually stunning fight sequence from Skyfall (2012)
