Top 10 Fails in the James Bond Franchise
The name's Bond. James Bond. Ever since his theatrical debut in 1962 with Dr. No, he's become one of the most iconic film heroes in history. Over the course of half a century and 26 moves (24 official and 2 unofficial), it's right up there with the Harry Potter franchise. However, over this course, even the suave secret agent from MI6 is bound to make a few mistakes. This list isn't just the movies, but the franchise as a whole; tv shows, video games, whatever.
The Bond movies have been famous for their over the top stunts that only professionals can pull off and make it look easy. The infamous parasailing scene in Die Another Day wasn't one of them. Sure, we get that it might be too dangerous and impractical in real life because it wasn't attempted before, but the CGI effects were totally unconvincing. For many fans, this was where the Bond movies finally jumped the shark and believed that the series was in dire need of a reboot.
Worst film in the film franchise. Enough said!
If you thought Oddjob was broken in Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64, then you really haven't seen anything until you've played 007: Nightfire's multiplayer mode. It was bad enough that he was short in the hit N64 game, but in Nightfire, he has an instant kill weapon all his own; his steel-rimmed bowler hat. If this thing hits a player once thrown, they die instantly. It would be okay if he could only use it once per match, but he can use it again after 30 seconds. Much like Goldeneye 007, winning a multiplayer match depended on who picked the best character over actual skill.
The casting of George Lazenby as James Bond was questionable because he had little acting experience. I mean, his only roles were in I believe a shampoo commercial. Anyway, the movie opens up with Bond rescuing Tracy from drowning and again when some goons show up. But after Bond subdues them, Tracy drives Bond car to her own car and takes off, leaving her shoes behind. Bond looks at the camera and says; "This never happened to the other fellow." This was Lazenby lamenting about how Sean Connery got weekends off but Lazenby didn't. Funny, but a tad out of place when you consider the darker tone of the film.
This is considered one of the better Bond movies starring Roger Moore as 007. It basically had everything that was needed to make a great James Bond movie; a good story, excellent fight scenes, attractive women, memorable villains and definitely awesome stunts. The corkscrew bridge jump is considered one of the best stunts in the movie franchise, excellently choreographed and done in one shot. As Bond is in pursuit of Scaramanga and Nick Nack who kidnapped Goodnight, Bond is able to jump a broken bridge to gain ground in the pursuit. This was excellent except for one thing; the ridiculous sliding whistle effect thrown in. It felt really cartoonish, even for Moore-era Bond films. A blot on an otherwise superb scene.
While A View to a Kill was a good Bond movie, it definitely wasn't one of the best. While California Girls by the Beach Boys playing during the opening scenes was pretty cheesy even by Moore era standards, what really turned people off was how old James Bond looked. This was due to his actor Roger Moore aging significantly between this film and Octopussy. In fact, Moore was 57 when A View to a Kill was being filmed. In fact, Sean Connery said that Moore was too old, stating that Bond should be played by someone in their mid 30s. In an interview on Top News, Moore jokingly admitted the truth saying, "I was only about four hundred years too old for the part." Enough said.
Like I said, Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64 is regarded as a classic. It helped pave the way for first-person shooters on consoles and was fun in both single and multi-player mode. But the same can't be said for the game based on James Bond's then next outing, Tomorrow Never Dies. Much like Goldeneye 007, Tomorrow Never Dies was released almost a full two years after the release of the movie but it was a PlayStation 1 exclusive. Black Ops was hoping to match what made Goldeneye 007 a rousing success and failed miserably. It was a 3rd person shooter with lackluster levels, horrible voice acting, ugly graphics and no multiplayer at all. Needless to say, it got mixed reviews. At least The World Is Not Enough scored a bit better.
You may think that Dr. No was the first attempt to bring Ian Fleming's novels to life on a screen. While it was the first theatrical adaptation, there was another attempt that dated eight years prior that went nowhere. It starred American actor Barry Nelson as 007 and was broadcast lived on CBS's Climax! on October 21st, 1954. Needless to say, it didn't do very well. There wasn't much action and it all takes place inside one of the most boring looking casinos. It serves as the beginning of screen adaptations for the beloved MI6 agent, but one that's probably best left in the past.
Adapted from the spin-off novel The Adventures of James Bond Junior 003 1/2, this cartoon focuses on the exploits of James Bond's Nephew, James Bond Jr. The cartoon aired from September 30th, 1991 to March 2nd, 1992 with over 60 episodes and they tried to make it big. There were comic books, action figures, a board game and even video games for the NES and SNES. However, the series never caught on and is often forgotten. In fact, it still hasn't been released on DVD as of this writing, so that's saying a lot.
When we think of Bond villains, we often think of the head of Spectre, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. He's probably become more iconic than Bond himself with many villains such as Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget, Baron Silas Greenback from Danger Mouse and Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movie imitating him with features such as not seeing their face, having a pet cat of some kind or being bald with some kind of grey suit. In the opening scene of For Your Eyes Only, we see Bond getting in a helicopter after paying respects to his late wife Teresa. However, an unknown figure who looks a lot like Blofeld kills the pilot and takes Bond for a joyride via remote control. Before he can crash the chopper, Bond unplugs the remote control mechanism and gains control of the chopper, grabs the man with the chopper's skid and drops him down the chimney. Throughout the entire scene, his face is never shown. The reason for this was because McClory was claiming the sole rights to Blofeld's character. As a result, producer Albert R. Broccoli decided to kill off the character at the beginning of the film, giving only obvious hints as to who the man in the wheelchair was. Nothing ruins the magic of cinema like legal disputes now does it?
While the first movie based on Ian Flemming's novels of the same name was enjoyable, there were some issues. Probably one of the lamest stunts in the film franchise is where we see a tarantula crawling on Bond as he sleeps. If you look closely where you see Bond's face, you'll clearly notice that the tarantula is actually crawling across glass. Although kudos to Sean Connery for good acting. But the real failure is that Professor Dent tried to kill Bond with a tarantula. If you do some research, you'll find that tarantula's aren't deadly to humans by nature at all. While their venom is painful, it's similar to that of a bee sting. It's understandable because this was released in 1962 when learning information was difficult, but it definitely looks lame in hindsight.
The memorable scene in which Bond drives through a gap too narrow for his car by lifting the car such that it has only two wheels on the ground. He comes out of the gap on the opposite set of wheels to those on which he drove in.