No, I don't seriously suspect the return of the crocodile mini-sub (or was that a crocodile suit with inflatable floating buoy?) would be a welcome element even for those of us craving more gadgets. As you say, a balance is necessary, but this is an extremely difficult task where audiences see certain devices as a given. ALIAS had hundreds of gadgets without a single one standing out. They serve their purpose within the plotlines but cannot generate that moment of surprise any more. Perhaps it's too much to ask for this side of the gadget department today.
I sort of agree. Though one way to tackle this would be to provide Bond with a select amount of gadgets, and have each of them memorable entities, even more so that in the past Bond films. Have Bond keep these devices throughout the film, with them breaking down, needing repair, being replaced by a Mark II etc...
Give some life to an old Bond tradition, no need to abandon it.
Fleming's own practice was to use whatever crossed his way, but actual gadgets were relatively sparse. And often he mentioned some device without actually using it later on. Take the Aston's ability to change colour and type of front and rear lights or steel-reinforced bumpers. None of that is actually used (the 'accident with Tilly's Triumph would not have needed the reinforcement). That famous long-barrelled Colt .45, a staple diet of Bond's cars, is not a single time shot in the whole canon. He's running a certain risk dragging the piece around, but has never had any use for it. It's merely mentioned to show a detail of his dangerous life as secret agent. (And apparently one that isn't even approved by the authorities, or M could simply have asked back the Colt from the police, who found such a gun in the wreck of Bond's Bentley. Instead, he had to give him a new one and become an accomplice in Bond's offence. But secret services are not typically paid for playing by the rules and neither are their heads.) The only gadget really making a difference in the books was the attache with the hidden knife.
Indeed, in fact most of the gadgets from the novels belonged to the villains. So maybe that might be an idea? Give Bond a basic "armourer", and have most of the concealed weaponry dealt out by Quantum's own Q.
For some time I thought a good 'gadget' (of sorts) would be giving Bond a handgun especially crafted for him by the Service.
Reminds me somewhat of the 'Signature Gun' in LTK, though of course that's an advanced rifle not a handgun.
Also, to make audiences aware of the significance of this particular device, one would have to re-enact a typical gadget scene.
It doesn't have to be typical or by the numbers. I'm sure a new take could be provided, more in the line with the early Young films.
Somehow I don't see that happening any more. It's dead wood, empty space, wasted time, serving no purpose but spreading the past's ashes across a film of today.
That sounds needlessly defeatist. I think you greatly underestimate the desires of most cinema-goers (though I don't claim to speak for them, mind you).
Nobody had difficulty to understand what the Aston in CR and QOS is good for, what the different compartments contain. These things are self-explaining, the audience can understand them on an intuitive level.
I think that's largely because we've become accustomed, almost conditioned to knowing that an Aston Martin in a Bond film generally means business. Even if doesn't have stinger missiles and a deflector shield, it still has some utilitarian equipment - i.e. serum containers, epi-pens, guns, silencers, defibrillators, and armour plating (basically giving carte blanche to perform the tedious 'henchmen fire at Bond's car with heavy duty machine guns and is never hit' scenario when needed).
When Bond is provided with an ordinary device, that might possibly have an ulterior function - the ordinance have no knowledge, thus it needs some kind of explaining.
While perhaps contrived, the customary Q scene provides this brilliantly. Perhaps more importantly though, it can also help give some insight into Bond's work life at the HQ, and begins to explore the world that Fleming crafted.
I can think of no way to explain the significance of a custom handgun in the same way and it would be a dangerous item threatening Bond's cover and ability to move.
If depends how large and cumbersome this theoretical firearm is. I was thinking of a miniature gun firing lethal pellets, which could be hidden in any number of ordinary objects - i-pods, phones, key-rings, padlocks, books, pens, cloths etc...
Other things, micro-camera, tracking devices and so on, are not dwelled upon any more. It's no big deal, Bond has a homing card, his mobile is probably encrypted beyond my own model and the pics it shoots are really remarkable.
Quite, though I'm talking about devices other than phones and tracking devices.
But there would be no reason to boast with that stuff. Where would be the beef? You see, the little helpers are still there, we just don't get a commercial for them in the bargain.
I'm not talking about those particular helpers, they're already covered for relatively well.
