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[Qwerty]

The Best Of Bond #1: The Stunts

PLEASE READ

Starting today is a new review series: The Best Of Bond, which is much in line with the previous Countdown: CBn Reviews The James Bond 007 Films series.

A variety of topics which relate to the James Bond films will be chosen in the upcoming weeks where fans choose their favourites (and least favourites) of the films on the basis of the current topic.

The first topic is: Stunts

Simply choose up to 3 of your favourite and 3 of your least favourite James Bond films based on the stunts of that film and please explain the reasoning behind your choices.

[Qwerty]

My favourites: The Spy Who Loved Me

Why? When it comes to stunts in the James Bond film, one sequence stands out above all others to me: the pre-credit jump in The Spy Who Loved Me. It perfectly captures the 'Biggest. Best. Bond And B-E-Y-O-N-D!' tagline of the film. Off the cliff. Seconds of waiting and waiting and waiting. And then the parachute. What a way to open up a film. 'Nobody does it better' is probably the clich

[Double-Oh Agent]

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY -- The car chase in the Citroen--the most unlikely escape vehicle in the entire series--is well done and very entertaining. Like a Timex, that car takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Another enjoyable stunt is the ski chase. It is outlandish, starting from a ski jump to a bunny slope and then to a bobsled run. Nothing but fun. The rock climibing sequence, on the other hand, is nothing but nerve-jangling suspense. Bond is in grave danger here and the viewer is (relatively) uncertain about him surviving the ordeal. Great work.

LICENCE TO KILL -- The PTS with Bond lassoing the plane in mid-air is good but better still is his escape from the Wavekrest. From shooting a killer to destroying a drug shipment to battling four frogmen, that in itself is very enjoyable. But then the escape really gets good. As soon as Bond spears the seaplane to elude the frogmen and begins waterskiing behind it, there are few--if any--better Bond moments. The rest of the scene is icing on the cake. The film concludes with a bang or two or three with the superior tanker chase--easily the best truck chase in film history. Whether Bond is crashing tanker trailers, going up on nine wheels, or battling a machete-armed Sanchez on the back of a gas-leaking trailer, the action is pedal-to-the-medal and the excitement never wanes.

GOLDENEYE -- Bond is back with a vengeance in GoldenEye. The minute 007 bungee jumps off the dam in the PTS, the viewer is in for a treat. The fall takes forever and is all the better for it. The whole scenario epitomizes Bondian coolness. Moments later we're treated to Bond hurtling himself off a cliff after a falling plane. While not quite realistic, it does look great. Then there's the tank chase. A fun piece of action from start to finish. It's great seeing Bond wreak havoc in his new war toy. A definite highlight of the film. And lastly, we come to the Bond-Trevelyan fight. Perhaps the second best hand-to-hand combat fight of the series (after FRWL's Bond-Grant duel). The battle is intense, hard-fought, and consequently, a gem.

* Honorable mention goes to The Spy Who Loved Me. However, the stunts as a whole are not as good as the three above, I believe. Regardless, it must be mentioned that THE #1 stunt of the entire series occurs in the film when 007 skis off the cliff. Danger, style, and charm. That's Bond in a nutshell. It's simply the best.

[DamnCoffee]

In no perticular order

TSWLM: The fantastic cliff jump to be remembered forever
GE: The Bunjee jump
LTK: Bond does wheelie in tanker

Least Favorites

1. TMWTGG - Barell Roll a great stunt but i think everyone will agree thatr the sound effect spoilt it

2. DAD - CGI Ice Wave

3. DAD - That utterly pap jump that Jinx does

[Qwerty]

Make sure to add in your least favourites as well if you like.

[Santa]

Favourites:

TSWLM - the ski jump, of course.

FYEO - the rock climb.

GE - the bungee jump.



Least favourites:

GE - Pierce jumping after the plane and catching up.

DAD - the tsunami surfing. Yuk. It hurts just to think about it.

TND - the motorbike chase.

[DaveBond21]

FYEO - always love the rock climb, the car chase and also the ski chase.

TSWLM - love the ski jump

TMWTGG - the car jump (although spoiled slightly by the sound effects, great stunt though).



Least favourite:-

DAD - CGI Jinx jumps backwards down into water, and the real one emerges like she just slid in a pool.

DAD - parasurfing the icy sea

Edited by DaveBond21, 24 August 2006 - 12:39 AM.

[Genrewriter]

Best:

1. FYEO-A great ski chase, a fun car chase, some nice punch-ups and a truly scary cliff fall make for one heck of a stunt spectacular.

2. TSWLM-The ski jump by itself is more than enough to make this a winner but you also get a nice ski chase preceeding it, some great fist fights and a very cool car chase.

3. AVTAK-Another nice ski chase and a fun car chase are topped off by thnat great sequence with the Golden Gate Bridge. Whatever faults the film has, the stunts are truly great.

Worst:

I'd have to go with TMWTGG for worst. The only stunt bit that really works is the barrel roll and even that is screwed up by a horrid sound effect looped in during post production.

[4 Ur Eyez Only]

1: FYEO: The Motorcycle-Ski-Bobsled Chase! amazing!

Probably the craziest stunt ever! If one guy wipes out someone/everyone dies. Yes no CGI or bluescreen

[Kara Milovy]

1. TSWLM -- The parachute jump. Also a nifty car chase.

2. GE -- The bunjee jump. Full-bore dangerous thrilling record setting; what's not to love? Okay, the plane catch is a problem but this movie has a lot of thrills. The tank chase-- done for real, without tricking out the tanks! Great stuff.

3. TLD -- The Hercules cargo net fight, fabulous stunt, just amazing.

Least favorite:

1. DAD -- CGI is evil!

2. Dr. No -- very little action and poor back-projection.

[Scottlee]

Fave
A view to a kill - Incredible finale, pretitle snowboarding, Paris leaps.
The living daylights - The jeep chase + back of the plane. Awesome
Thunderball - Simply for the amazing underwater sequences

Worst
Die Another Day - Mainly for the lack of genuine stunts.
Moonraker - Great skydiving stunt, but a shambolic effort on the cable cars.
Dr No - Barely any stunts at all.

[Double-0-7]

Best:
TSWLM - The PTS ski jump may be the best stunt in any movie - Bond or not.
TSWLM - The Lotus Esprit car chase and launch into the ocean. The stunt men were throwing that little car around like it was a go-kart, looked like they had a blast shooting those scenes.
GE - the PTS bungee jump. We had to wait waaaay too long between Bond movies and the very first thing they do is one of the highest bungee jumps ever. If you make us wait all those years make that first scene a big one!

Worst:
Dr No - what stunts?
DAD - CGI. I'm glad I have it on DVD, I just skip that part and it is a good movie again.

[tdalton]

Best:

The Living Daylights: cargo-net fight at end of film

Casino Royale: Crane jump (yes, I know that we haven't seen the film yet, but that looked extremely cool in the trailer)

The Man With The Golden Gun: The 360 degree car jump. Silly sound effect aside, it was a fantastic stunt.


Worst:
Anything in DAD

[Tiin007]

Best:

TMWTGG- The car spinning 360 degrees in midair was fantastic.

Moonraker- Bond falling out of the plane without a parachute, fighting the bad guy in midair, grabbing his parachute, and narrowly avoiding Jaws was one of the most suspenseful scenes in the series, and was also extremely well done.

Octopussy- Bond's fight with Gobinda on top of the plane at the end was great.


Worst:

Dr. No- No stunts at all.

FRWL- Ditto.

Goldfinger- Not much particularly exciting there.

[erniecureo]

Best: The fight scene in From Russia With Love. Just incredible.
Close 2nd: The Moonraker jump (if they'd done it without Jaws, and just another expendable baddie, it would be amazing).
Solid 3rd: The jeep on Gibraltar scene in TLD.

Worst: The parasailing thing in DAD with the remnants of the Jet Sled.

[00Twelve]

Best:

1. GoldenEye bungee jump. Just plain ballsy.
2. TLD Bond/Necros fight on cargo net.
3. Moonraker parachute sequence, before Jaws catches up with Bond. (

Worst:
3. DAD Jinx jump.
2. Octopussy hunt. So lame you're like, "Does that even count?"
1. DAD Windsurfing gig.

CR is bound to be a "best" contender, as realistic stunts are always the best ones.

Edited by 00Twelve, 29 September 2006 - 08:30 PM.

[CharlieBind]

Best

01 The Spy Who Loved Me - The ski jump is possibly the best stunt in the world....ever!

02 Live And Let Die - Crocodile leapfog!

03 The World Is Not Enough - The Thames chase

Worst

01 Licence To Kill - The pre-credit sequence. It probably looked great on paper, but on screen was a damp squib.

02 Die Another Day - Halle Barry's CGI back-flip

[moorebond82]

Best
Live And Let Die- crocodile farm jump and the double decker bus sequence.
The Spw Who Loved Me-The ski jump
Octopussy-The mercedes saloon railroad track scene.

Worst
Die Another Day-Wind surfing

Edited by moorebond82, 11 December 2006 - 09:57 PM.

[dodge]

The loved:
Casino Royale: The entire parkour sequence
Golden Eye: Bungee jump
The Spy Who...: Ski jump
OHMMS: The ski chase


The loathed:
DAD: What else,the surf scene
DAD: PB giving mouth to mouth to Jinx...and appearing nauseous

[00Twelve]

Qwerty, I'm changing mine in light of CR. (If that's not kosher, forget this post)

1. Parkour sequence in Casino Royale
2. Bungee jump in Goldeneye
3. Climbing fall in FYEO

Worst:

1. CG Parasurfing stunt in Die Another Day
2. Bond v Jaws on the cable car in Moonraker
3. Jinx' plummet off the cliff in Die Another Day

Thanks!

[DanMan]

African Rundown in CR
Bond Scaling the cliff in FYEO

[Dr. Kananga]

Favorite: TWINE


Least Favorite: DN

TWINE features many, many, many stunts of high grade that I can recall, while doctor no has slim to nill of any type of stunt.

[Vauxhall]

Best

1. Parkour chase in Madagascar in CASINO ROYALE - I feel that this stunt really shows off the more physical nature of stunts, in a great location, and bringing something new to cinema. Also, it's nice to see Bond really having to think how he can possibly chase down this superior athlete.

2. Boat chase down the River Thames in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - thinking about all the planning that must have gone into this is exciting in itself. Brings in several iconic British landmarks, and saves the movie from being the worst in my opinion. Very entertaining.

3. Ski jump in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - iconic scene; breathtaking and humorous with the unveiling of the British flag. Just a great stunt to get the movie off to a fantastic start.

Considering the worst stunts will need more thought, but I can think of a certain ice surfing scene that may get an honourable mention.

[Shadow Syndicate]

1. Parkour chase in Madagascar in CASINO ROYALE-as litsted above
2. Skiing off cliff in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
3. AMC Hornet Jump in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
4. Mustang on two wheels through alley, chase thing from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

[sharpshooter]

3 Best:
Tanker Chase in LICENCE TO KILL - Exciting scene that features two awesome uses of a tanker truck- leaning onto the side to evade a stinger, and raising the front half into the air. The truck rolling down the slope culminating in Sanchez "lightening" up. Bond is against the odds, but manages to destroy the tankers ingeniously. It is the highlight of LTK.

Free Running in CASINO ROYALE - The chase. Fast, exciting and believable. Bond using his wits and determination to keep up is fun to watch also.

Bunjee Jump in GOLDENEYE - What more can I say. A lone figure against the massive backdrop of the dam. A real stunt. The stunts in GoldenEye are all good - tank chase for instance.

Worst:
Ice Wave in DIE ANOTHER DAY - Bond prides itself on doing the stunts for real. CGI may be the future of children animation, but not Bond. A souless mark.

Edited by sharpshooter, 01 January 2007 - 06:13 AM.

[Gothamite]

Favourites:

Moonraker: Pre-credits sky-dive

The Living Daylights: The entire Aston Martin sequence (best use of a gadgetmobile in any 007 film)

Casino Royale: The fight on the crane/Free running.


Least Favourite:

Die Another Day: Ice-chase. Rewatching DAD recently, this was the point where I completely lost interest and wrote it off as a bad film. I couldn't stop thinking how disgraced all of those stunt coordinators must have been watching this CGI mockery that went against everything they did in the earlier films.

TMWTGG: The jump. Great stunt, but I cringe when I hear the sound-effect.

Dr. No - Goldfinger: Good films, but nothing much in the way of action, outside of some run-of-the-mill blue screen stuff.

[Fiona Volpe lover]

Favourites

Casino Royale-the entire 'parkour' sequence,a 15 or so min foot chase which is one of the most thrilling I've ever seen. The stair fight {people fighting as they fall down steps must have been bloody hard to do} is also outstanding

Live And Let Die-I like the crocodile jumping best,a brief but totally cool bit that defines Moore's Bond,but there's also the bus under the bridge,the airport chase,the boat chase with it's countless cool stunts {wedding cake,'car-boat',etc.}

For Your Eyes Only-another great collection-Citroen rolls,keel-hauling,ski jumps,but I like the cliff hanging best,Moore in real peril,even if you know it's not really him

Least favourites

Dr No-no stunts

Goldfinger-hardly any stunts {atleast From Russia With Love had the helicopter narrowly missing Bond by a hair's breadth!}

Die Another Day-CGI paragliding. Nuff said. I actually really like Die Another Day,and will defend it on most counts,but not this one!

[Odd Job]

The Best

1. TSWLM - The ski jump in the PTS - simply sensational

2. LALD - The boat chase - Action, humor and (at the start anyway) Crocodiles!!

3. MR - Parachute jump in the PTS - fantastic stunt - no wonder these guys (the two
stuntmen) were brought back for OP and TLD.

Honorable mention to the bungee jump in PTS of GE and cable car antics of MR

The Worst

1. DAD - the ice chase - just looks fake and that's not good enough in a Bond film

2. AVTAK - ski chase in PTS - ruined by Beach Boys on the soundtrack

3. DAF - Vegas car chase - not just because of the famous gaffe, but because it just
looks so staged as opposed to spontaneous.

Regards

Odd Job

[Safari Suit]

I'm going with the car jump in TMWTGG. Yes, there is a silly sound effect, but there is a sound-off button if it bothers you that much, you know! The stunt itself is just increadible.

Edited by Safari Suit, 13 February 2007 - 12:47 PM.

[Qwerty]

Keep the votes coming in everyone!