35 replies to this topic

[Dustin]

No, the red outfits are Stromberg's men. The mess about the TB/McClory project was raising its ugly head at the time as WARHEAD, so EON decided to play it safe and change even the colour of the uniforms. Originally they apparently wanted to go with a conservative SPECTRE-black, but were afraid to find this also copyrighted by McClory. If you rewatch TSWLM you should find everybody shooting the red guys.

[Pussfeller]

That's pretty extreme. Wearing black is hardly distinctive in the context of henchmen. It's like having ears or breathing oxygen.

[AMC Hornet]

Bond didn't breathe oxygen though a cigar-sized gadget, or handle a jet pack again until Sony/MGM owned McClory's TB/NSNA remake rights. (I wonder if they went after Lucas for 'infringement' in SWEO:TPM? Probably not - his were slightly different, and in a different genre).

It no doubt galled Cubby to have to kowtow to demands from McClory - whom he must have considered a parasite - but you have to admire the way he got his own back:

Phase 1: "I'll buy you a delicatessen!"
Phase 2: Octopussy
Phase 3: Everything else since.

Edited by AMC Hornet, 17 May 2012 - 11:38 PM.

[glidrose]

Plot holes? Try this one on for size. This Stromberg chap wants to destroy the world. He can do it once he's captured the Yank and the Russian subs. But he doesn't, you see. He's now more concerned with locating and killing anyone who gets their hands on the submarine tracking device.

Hullo? Wouldn't destroying the world right away take care of that wee problem?

To clarify, Stromberg's plan is to destroy New York and Moscow, and he then hopes that this will be enough to trigger a nuclear war. Nothing happens "right away". The technology to track submarines is still his biggest asset, hence Jaws is sent to recover the microchip.

Read what you've written. Go on. You explained absolutely NOTHING. Ever consider a career in government?

1. Why doesn't anything happen "right away"?
2. Why is the blue print with the vital information blotted out still Stromberg's biggest asset? Stromberg still has his own copy of the technology, which let's face it, he no longer needs now that he's got those two submarines.

Back to the drawing board!

You realize that with this criticism you could derail the plot of any story.

The bad guy always makes mistakes and waits instead of getting on with his plan.

Yes, but it's painfully obvious in TSWLM where nothing much happens for much too long. Stromberg is in a race against time over nothing, i.e. the stolen blueprints, which - by the by - he never does retrieve. At least Moonraker has so much going on that it isn't as obtrusive.

[Dustin]

That's pretty extreme. Wearing black is hardly distinctive in the context of henchmen. It's like having ears or breathing oxygen.

It was probably more playing it safe than any other consideration there. At the time the pressure was as much on stalling the opponent's project as salvaging the most out of the courts. And in the end you really couldn't tell for sure what kind of ruling you would end up with. Broccoli's project was more advanced, so a forced break could have been disastrous. Going out of his way to avoid another lengthy Bond-lawsuit assured Broccoli could get his film off the ground.

[Mr_Wint]

Plot holes? Try this one on for size. This Stromberg chap wants to destroy the world. He can do it once he's captured the Yank and the Russian subs. But he doesn't, you see. He's now more concerned with locating and killing anyone who gets their hands on the submarine tracking device.

Hullo? Wouldn't destroying the world right away take care of that wee problem?

To clarify, Stromberg's plan is to destroy New York and Moscow, and he then hopes that this will be enough to trigger a nuclear war. Nothing happens "right away". The technology to track submarines is still his biggest asset, hence Jaws is sent to recover the microchip.

Read what you've written. Go on. You explained absolutely NOTHING. Ever consider a career in government?

1. Why doesn't anything happen "right away"?
2. Why is the blue print with the vital information blotted out still Stromberg's biggest asset? Stromberg still has his own copy of the technology, which let's face it, he no longer needs now that he's got those two submarines.

Well, you said that Stromberg can destroy "the world" right away if he wanted to, but "the world" is bigger than New York and Moscow. The destruction of the whole world is a long-term effect...

And Stromberg only has one scene in the beginning where he mention the tracking device and sends out Jaws to recover it, so I don't understand why this bother you so much. Possible reasons could be: 1) the microchip could be used to track him down, 2) he wants the technology for himself when a full war breaks out.

The film's narrative is, of course, more concerned with the tracking device but that's why they call it a McGuffin.