Although short, this little scene from Casino Royale (2006) was a missed opportunity, in my opinion. Any changes wouldn’t be super significant, but it puzzled me as to why the writers didn’t inject a little more humor or sex appeal for Daniel Craig’s Bond in this interaction.
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I’ve always enjoyed this two scene sequence from Casino Royale (2006), a few issues notwithstanding.
Starting off at a celebratory meal between James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), they continue from previous scenes in flirtatiously building a friendly rapport. Bond is so satisfied with his poker win that he can hardly stop smiling. His tried-and-true shaken, not stirred vodka martini tastes so good he also decides to call it a Vesper in honor of his company.
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This Guinness record-holding explosion from Spectre (2015) is just great. The filmmakers could have easily glossed over Swann and Bond’s exit or CGI’ed this explosion at Spectre headquarters, but instead they went above and beyond and made an absolutely memorable scene. Imagine the heat felt while filming!
Kudos to them for investing in a long setup process and a one-time payoff shot that continues the awesome legacy of the James Bond movie franchise!
Madeleine Swann and James Bond make their final explosive escape from Spectre headquarters in Spectre (2015)
After Bond saves the Skyfleet S570 airliner from destruction in Casino Royale (2006), revenge is paid to the person that tipped him off to the terrorist plot.
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Quantum Of Solace (2008) boasts one of the most brutal deaths at the hand of James Bond (Daniel Craig).
After tracking would-be assassin Edmund Slate (Neil Jackson) to Haiti, Bond visits Slate’s hotel room only to instantly jump into a fight to the death. Slate meets his end when Bond mercilessly stabs him in the neck (likely in the jugular vein) and his leg (likely in the femoral artery) only to let him bleed out on the floor.
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Agent Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) from Quantum Of Solace (2008) is underrated. Not only is she sexy, I was initially sold on her insistence that she wasn’t going to fall into James Bond’s (Daniel Craig) clutches. But alas, as we see in this scene, she even surprised herself in her collapse at the hands of Bond’s charm. There was definitely something about her short, red hair, fair skin and overcoat that was seriously attractive.
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The six actors that have portrayed 007 in the official movies have changed since their first and last on-screen appearances. Below, you can see each actor’s first and last appearances as James Bond.
Sean Connery as James Bond at the beginning of Dr. No (1962) and Sean Connery as James Bond and Jill St. John as Tiffany Case at the end of Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Here are the dorkiest moments of each Bond actor’s career:
Sean Connery tries to pull of the pink tie in Diamonds Are Forever (1971)…and fails. DORK!
George Lazenby’s Scottish get-up in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) screamed “dork.”
Roger Moore’s clown costume in Octopussy (1983) takes the cake…the ultimate dorkiest Bond moment!
Timothy Dalton’s “look” prior to fishing Franz Sanchez out of the sky in Licence To Kill (1989).
Sorry James, but not even Pierce Brosnan in The World Is Not Enough (1999) can pull off purple glasses (even x-ray ones).
Daniel Craig needed a shave and a shower as a hungover mess in Skyfall (2012)
Craig’s 007 is down on his luck after the kind of weird chase scene from No Time To Die (2021). He’s picked up by…007…(Nomi) in yet another car that should be getting more screen time in the movie, similar to Paloma. Wow, great revving of that ridiculous Aston Martin engine on the tarmac, I guess. Couldn’t have had a chase where Bond is the passenger and another 00 agent flexes their skill? Missed opportunity…and I distinctly remember these words enter my head about certain characters and parts of NTTD where screen times or parts of the movie were too short or not emphasized enough. I’d definitely say it’s one of my biggest gripes about the movie aside from (of course) the atrocious ending.
Anyways, back in this scene, Nomi does her best Mayday (O_o) impression ([]-[]) with some weird-ass (probably expensive) uncomfortable-looking sunglasses. Their conversation is interesting though: aside from his stern yet poignant “Where have you been?,” it was a little odd to hear Bond mention Swann’s (and his!) daughter and not speak up that she’s actually his child. Is he not proud of Mathilde? Is he embarrassed? Or does he just want to focus on the mission? Same goes for in the plane. M doesn’t mention that “Dr. Swann and her daughter” is actually Bond’s daughter as well, aside from telling Bond he “hopes they’re there.” If he doesn’t know, why wouldn’t Bond mention it? And if Bond has told no one, how would MI6 know to “give” the Aston Martin DB5 (which is a whole other ball of blah) at the end of the movie? It’s another scene in NTTD where a mention of Mathilde throws off the movie and detracts from its overall plot and flow. Stupid kid.
Luckily in this scene, however, Bond mentions the elephant in the room that exists whenever these two are together – namely, who is actually 007 now that Bond is back?
At the end of the car dialogue, Bond seems okay with passing the torch (“Thank you, 007.”), but getting in the plane, I think Q is about to welcome Nomi on as 007 but hesitates as Bond has passes by. Maybe Nomi can sense Bond wants 007 back or just feels it’s the right thing to do? During the movie, I enjoyed the back-and-forth and debate between them and M, but overall at the end, this small plot point wasn’t really as appealing or worthwhile. Instead, I’d have preferred Bond’s code name put on-hold (or retired?) and awarded to him on his return. Nomi would have been a better 002 or 0010 (yes, why not double-oh ten? The numbers have to go past 9, right? Could’ve put that question to bed…)
