935 replies to this topic

[terminus]

Here's a concept for the Rotorua-based finale, feel free to modify it and merge it with whatever dinovelvet may have had in mind -


After Bond has dropped Sienna off at the airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, he finds himself contacted by Chun Qiao who is accompanied by Felix Leiter. The computer hacker has realised that Granger/Stahl must have had a back-up transmitter - all that Bond has done by sabotaging the transmitter in Burma is delay the commencement of the plan: Bond has twenty four hours to destroy the secondary transmitter or demolish the control centre.

Bond and Chun Qiao travel to New Zealand - the location of the control centre. The base of operations is in Tikitere, a region of high geothermal activity, the bunker is thirty metres below the surface and was concieved of as a fallout shelter in the event of a nuclear strike. Bond and Chun infiltrate the base - where they are brought before Stahl.

Bond and Chun Qiao are captured before they can plant the explosives (but, unseen to Stahl, Chun has planted a new computer virus in the system to destroy the original one that she passed to Granger) and are escorted at gunpoint to one of the hot springs in the area - and tells him the story of Hurutini, from whose death the name of the are is derived. Stahl mentions that nobody will lament Bond and Chun Qiao's death in the way that Hurutini's mother did - 'Nobody will mourn your passing, Mr Bond'

At that point - it all goes wrong for our villain. The computer virus that Chun Qiao planted comes into play - the transmission is never made, the original virus wiped from the villains computer systems. Bond lights a cigarette before Stahl has him killed - but uses the matches provided by Q that produce a flare to create a diversion.

Bond and Chun try and flee through the geothermal field - (events here segue into something much like mrblofeld's previous description - there is a final confrontation between Bond and Stahl in which the villain dies, but Chun survives in order to play out the traditional romantic denuouement with Chun elsewhere).

[Mr. Blofeld]

I'm sorry about that, terminus; completely slipped my mind. I wanted to use an image from Fleming's YOLT, figured I had a turn left... but there were no other slots. Really sorry; it wasn't intentional.

Feel free to dissect and/or use portions of it, however.

[terminus]

That is the one handicap of the new rule - it's unfortunate but true.

[Captain Tightpants]

I think that Burma and Rotarua need to be swapped around. Granger is shaping up as the main antagoinst and Stahl his connection to the criminal underworld; it seems weird that there should be a major action sequence after Granger's death. The current sequence for New Zealand also leads in nicely for Burma. And Dhaka could be a good closing location.

[terminus]

Really? I think it works quite nicely with the locations proceeding as they do now - it might require a slight reshuffle in how you're percieving Granger and Stahl, but I think Stahl works quite nicely as the master villain.

I think the problem is that, in the current outline that you posted, Stahl is virtually unmentioned (you only mention him in Rome) - but he could quite easily be written to be the person financing Granger's plan, for his own reasons. As Granger is your character, you've understandably focused on how he proceeds through the movie -

Maybe beef up the role of Stahl in the earlier segments slightly and then play the outline as you've written into the Rotorua sequence I've described above, coupled with mrblofeld's sequence.

[SamuelKevlar]

I have to say, I like what Terminus has done here. I introduced the underground base in Rotorua idea because a wish was expressed for this to be Dalton's YOLT/TSWLM. That sort of grand location for the denouement seems to fit with that. Bond films have continued after the death of their main villain (Casino Royale), and even if Granger has to be there at the end, is there any particular reason why he can't survive until then?

Incidentally, I can see that the rest of you desperately want Chun working for someone instead of her being a free agent, but can we make sure that the action sequence I submitted - him offering her clemency, them sleeping together and the pursuit that follows - isn't lost in the shuffle? As for her background, in an effort to meet halfway, can I suggest that instead of working for she's actually worked with Granger, as equal colleagues in the liberation of information? This would have been before the reveal of his dark side, and would explain how she knows about the Corinthian virus and the Rotorua base (she's helped set it up).

[terminus]

Re: Who Chun is working with/for, I've got no specific preference - and trust your input to get this sorted to your satisfaction.

Perhaps the sequence with Bond offering Chun offering immunity from prosecution etc could come at the end, as part of the traditional denuouement scenes with Bond and the lead girl in bed?

I postulated that Chun knew about the second base because of some sort of quirk in the delivery system - she's backtracked the pathways to the point of origin somehow and has figured out that, although the transmitter is in Burma, the mainframe is in the facility in Rotorua.

If CT does want to maintain Granger as the lead villain - perhaps we can make Stahl the villain who is killed in Burma and keep Granger's death to the geothermal field in New Zealand?

[dinovelvet]

We still have room for a good background girl (a stewardess on the Concorde, perhaps?) and the finale action set-piece, which I'm drawing up a few scribbles to put towards - using that facility that someone posted a link to earlier as it looks fantastic THIS IS IT - but I'm happy to hand this over to dinovelvet or work in cooperation with him to create a suitable finale.

I think I'll sit this one out as far as contributing any more to the plot (looks like it's mostly been done anyway!). This one ended up not quite going in the YOLT/TSWLM type of direction I'd hoped. But that's the 'fun' of the game, isn't it?

[terminus]

Yes - it did take a swerve away from that sort of movie. It's a shame that you're going to take a slight step-back on this round, as I'm sure your ideas to flesh out elements of the plot would have been great.

I imagine that the UB-Brosnan (and the XMas Special Event preceeding it) may turn out to be more to your liking if that sort of plot is what you're looking for, though

[Captain Tightpants]

I can see Stahl as Granger's backer, his connection to the criminal underworld. But there's a lot of emphasis on Granger and his pot to kill Bond, and I think it would be hard to top that. I'm not concentrating on Granger because he's my character, I'm concentrating on Granger because he has detail. All we know about Stahl is that a) he's German, he's a criminal and c) he was a boxer at some point. That's not a lot to work with. I know I've extolled the virtues of keeping detail down in the past, but at the same time, there has to be some level of detail if you want the villain to be the major antagonist. Right now, the level of detail we have for Stahl makes him little more than a henchman because there's nowhere to go. He has no motivation, no end objective. He just exists. And in his current state, including him in the final sequence is just going to be what I call the Necron Effect: at the end of FINAL FANTASY IX, the player defeated the villain responsible for everything in the game. But rather than get the ending sequence, there was one more incredibly difficult boss fight that you had to take part in against a villain named Necron. He'd never appeared in the game until then, and if he'd been mentioned, then it was only in passing and there was a healthly bit of specualtion going on as to exactly what he was. It was just this completely random boss fight against a villain that the player was told to fight without any explanation. I see the same thing going on here: Stahl serves his purpose to the plot, and then is no longer involved. To have Bond go through all the Italy sequences and then Burma, only to move on to New Zealand and re-encounter Stahl doesn't make sense. So until such time as you give me more to work with about Stahl, I'm moving New Zealand up to be after the Italy sequences and before Burma. Because if this were an actual film that was being made, and it was being made with the finale in New Zealand, the critical consensus would be something along the lines of "The film could have ended after Burma without making any difference to the plot".

If New Zealand has to stay as the finale, Bond cannot use the cigarette flares to create a diversion - he's already used them atop the transmitter in Burma, to draw the Russians' attention. He has to use all of them to make the target stand out. After all, the flares are tiny. One isn't going to be enough.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Maybe beef up the role of Stahl in the earlier segments slightly and then play the outline as you've written into the Rotorua sequence I've described above, coupled with mrblofeld's sequence.

Which sequence; the ski chase, or the (illegally placed) chase through the geysers and mud pools? I must admit, Granger might work a little better as a self-sacrificing type...

[terminus]

Hmmm. I'm sure we could think up a suitable alternative to the cigarettes for either the Burma or the New Zealand sequence - though it might be easier to do for Burma.

I'm not sure it's the Necron Effect. As I said before - it's easier to look that way based on your treatment simply because Stahl isn't mentioned outside of the appearance in Rome. I think that it could be quite easy to set-up the twist - there's even the hint of it in your treatment with Chun saying that she delivered the Corinthian virus to her employer. Stahl is in Rome - he could be her employer. Bond doesn't necessarily connect Stahl to the ongoing mission at the time - but by the time he has left Rome and gone through the Burma sequence, he knows that Stahl is the financial backer. And the ultimate villain of the piece. Chun leads him to Stahl by having backtracked the computer signal to the Rotorua headquarters.

I think that it would be quite easy to extrapolate a background for Stahl - in as much as he could be a sort of Luddite, someone who wants to stop the progression of industry and technology and take the world back to the stone age because it was a better, healthier, way of life. And neo-luddism exploded as a concept in the seventies/eighties, so would be relatively topical - and a compliment to the Stromberg/Drax sort of villain. We could extrapolate his wealth from somewhere. All very simple to do - imho.

Which sequence; the ski chase, or the (illegally placed) chase through the geysers and mud pools? I must admit, Granger might work a little better as a self-sacrificing type...

The chase through the geysers and the moonpools. If the plot works as suggested above, we can keep Stahl in Rotorua and keep the confrontation with Granger in Burma.

[SamuelKevlar]

I'll see if I can make the time later today to have a go at the synopsis, particularly to flesh out the Rotorua sequence and Chun Qiao's place in things (and maybe Stahl as well, based on Terminus' Luddite suggestion).

[terminus]

Will be awesome to see your take on the outline, Samuel

[Captain Tightpants]

Well, I'm going to post a draft of the Falklands sequence later today. I currently have a slight modification in mind - Bond interrogates the driver by hijacking the car and then hanging him out of an open door. When the Falklands War ended, there were hundreds of thousands of landmines left behind (mostly by Argentina; only one British land mine remains unaccounted for). The sequence would follow Dave's suggestion, but rather than kill the assassin, Bond dangles him out of the car over (what he claims to be) a minefield. Then he kills the assassin.

Also, reading over the Rotarua sequence, I can see Bond and Chun running through a field of geysers as they attempt to outrun Stahl. The entire sequence could be an elaborate trap set up by Granger that results in Stahl being killed by a superheated burst of geyser water and Bond being caught and taken to Burma.

[terminus]

I think the agreement as it stands is that Stahl is the ultimate villain - and Rotorua is the finale.

[Mr. Blofeld]

Yes; why does Granger have to be continually bigged up because he's your character?

As an addendum, how about Nicolas as a forename for Stahl? Barring that, how about Yevgeny?

[terminus]

I'm sure that's not the case, mrblofeld.

Not sure about the name Yevgeny - it sounds more Russian than German; And there's an actor called Nicolas Stahl (he was in Terminator 3 and Sin City). I'm sure we can come up with a good Germanic first name: Moritz, perhaps? Joachim, Ludger and Armin are also good names.

[Captain Tightpants]

Yes; why does Granger have to be continually bigged up because he's your character?

He's not bigged up because he's my character. He's bigged up because he has detail. Read these:

Gideon Granger is a world-reknown expert on serial killers, largely because he is one. When he feels the need to kill stirring within him, he takes LSD to separate himself into Gideon Granger and Dark Granger, at least in his mind. He does this to externalise his crimes. He recognises Bond as kindred spirit (of sorts) to Dark Granger, a remorseless killer who is psychologically okay with the act of killing. Granger begins to believe that if he externalises Dark Granger enough and then kills Bond (who he may believe to be another hallucination), then Dark Granger will die and he will be freed of his murderous impulses.

Stahl is a German boxer-turned-criminal.

Now, put yourself in the position of someone writing a treatment. Which one do you think is easier to write? The only reason why I'm running with Gideon Granger as the Big Bad and Stahl as a lackey is because I can actually adapt Granger to fit the plot. He can actually go somewhere. He has motivations and feelings and a way of seeing the world that can be fit into the plot like a jigsaw piece. Stahl, on the other hand, has a name and a job. He has no reason to launch the computer virus and take control of the world's armed forces. In fact, he's pretty much a carbon copy of Kraust (or whatever his name was), the villain of one of the Craig UBs, circa UB24-25: a German who likes boxing. That's it. That's the extent of the character that you have given me. Does it really come as a surprise that I want to work with the other guy when all you have basically given me with Stahl is the knowledge that he is a bad guy? I cannot build bricks without clay. What you have given me is not clay. So until such time as you give me a reason why Stahl should be the Big Bad of this treatment - other than "because we say so" - then I will continue to write it with Granger in mind as the villain and with the plot and locations ordered accordingly. Even if it's not accepted as canonical. Not because he's my character, but because he has substance. You are welcome to write your own treatment if you like.

[terminus]

Now, to me, THAT just sounds like you're stamping your feet and throwing your toys out of the pram because someone has disagreed with you.

Especially when a simple character backstory and motivation has been suggested for Stahl and you have ignored it. Yes, there are similarities to Krause from Choice of Weapons, but there are also similarities between Stromberg and Drax, to use two examples. We've done, I believe, ten treatments - so to have two villains with superficial similarities such as being German and enjoying boxing isn't that much of an issue, I think.

Here you go:

Moritz Stahl is the son of a wealthy West German Industrialist and a minor English noblewoman. The young Stahl, whose father was in a high technology business (think Amstrad, but in the fifties), rebelled against his legacy and took up with the opposite level of society - the working class - and becoming involved with, at first, backroom boxing before turning semi-professional. Much to his parents embarassment. However, upon the death of his mother and the subsequent death of his father, he found himself in control of the Stahl fortune - a fortune he has always rebelled against. Much like a certain heir to a brewing empire in nineteenth century London who championed sobriety and early closing times, Stahl began to covertly fund certain Luddite groups believing in their beliefs - but looking to bring down the establishment from the insides. And when the Corinthian virus surfaced, he decided that was the ideal method to bring about his luddite aims - financing and being in ultimate control of its theft and deployment.

Essentially, it's a case of a child rallying against everything his parents represent, no matter how misguided that rallying is.

[Captain Tightpants]

Now, to me, THAT just sounds like you're stamping your feet and throwing your toys out of the pram because someone has disagreed with you.

If I am "throwing my toys out of the pram", is is because you are asking me to build a skycraper and then giving me sticks to build it with. You somehow seem to think that this will be enough to build the skyscraper and expect that it will be built, despite me asking you for something a little more solid. I haven't seen any post until yours just now that suggests a backstory for Stahl.

[coco1997]

I have a suggestion: Can we please stop hating on one another with the -1's and act a bit more civil towards each other? This is supposed to be a fun collaborative process, not a bitchfest to attack others' ideas. This is a pretty close-knit group--only six-seven of us--and for the most part, I think we're all mature enough to respect each others' ideas and contributions. I don't want to have to single anyone out, but Mr. Blofeld is really the only one who has been guilty of throwing a wrench into the machine from time to time--i.e, being curt and inconsiderate of others' submissions and flagrantly breaking the rules. I don't quite understand why this trend still continues, but he often submits some very fun and original ideas, so that's why he's an integral part of the group. Other than that, I think the Anthology series has run pretty smoothly, wouldn't you say?

Captain--You seemed to take a very berating tone towards Mr. Blofeld when talking about how there was no interesting backstory given to Stahl's character, and hence why he's been pushed to the background. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Stahl was my creation, not Mr. B's. However, as I've repeatedly stated, I'm more of an ideas man than an implementation man; that is, I can come up with good character names and casting ideas, but fleshing out backstories and characters' motives is not my forte. I suppose I should have spent more time thinking of a backstory to Stahl's character, but after UB Moore took so long to finish, I was very eager to submit my villain idea once the Dalton pro forma was posted. You've freely admitted that coming up with casting ideas for the 'older' UB films--Connery, Lazenby, and Moore--is your weakness because you're relatively unfamiliar with most actors and actresses from that era. I'm somewhat the opposite--I've had a blast researching casting ideas for the older UBs since the Anthology series began, although my weakness is and always has been developing some substance to those characters. I imagine casting for UB Brosnan will be a breeze since that's the era during which most of us grew up hence we're more conscious of actors, actresses, singers, etc. from the late 90s-00s.

The kind of writing and developing terminus has been doing since the dawn of this project, and what you, Sam, chrisno, dinovelvet and tdalton have done in the recent past? I'd never be capable of that. But I'm always happy to provide the ingredients and see what you make with them. Hence, whatever you decide to do with the character of Stahl is fine by me. I just wanted to give von Homburg a part in this little expanded universe we've created.

Also, regarding an alternative idea for his name--I favor your suggestion of Moritz Stahl, terminus. From here on out, I think any mention of him in the pro forma or revised treatment should use this name.

[Captain Tightpants]

If you want Stahl to be the main villain, then I have to pull Granger out entirely. There's simply too much detail to him to compact him into a secondary role; the scenes in Isthmus where he aids the DEA, the encounter in the catacombs, the confonrtation in the Burmese prison ... it's all too much. The entire subplot about him wanting to kill Bond to kill off Dark Granger will take up far too much time and I see no way to insert Stahl into it. I can't do Stahl justice with Granger in there, and I can't compact Granger enough to make him fit. I'm not being petty - this is the way is has to be. And if anybody has the right to pull a character or a location, it's the person who created it. There's simply too much in the story to handle both Granger and Stahl in the same level of detail. I might save him for UB-Brosnan (I very deiberately wrote him as a main villain when Stahl was lacking in detail ... and he also filled the "Villain 1" category initially, which kind of implied he woud be the main villain before I swapped them around) and promote Savatier to his place as henchman. Though I would like to know how his throat ended up so scarred, because once again, detail is kind of lacking. There's no arguing on this one: Granger has to go.

[coco1997]

If you want Stahl to be the main villain, then I have to pull Granger out entirely. There's simply too much detail to him to compact him into a secondary role; the scenes in Isthmus where he aids the DEA, the encounter in the catacombs, the confonrtation in the Burmese prison ... it's all too much. The entire subplot about him wanting to kill Bond to kill off Dark Granger will take up far too much time and I see no way to insert Stahl into it. I can't do Stahl justice with Granger in there, and I can't compact Granger enough to make him fit. I'm not being petty - this is the way is has to be. And if anybody has the right to pull a character or a location, it's the person who created it. There's simply too much in the story to handle both Granger and Stahl in the same level of detail. I might save him for UB-Brosnan (I very deiberately wrote him as a main villain when Stahl was lacking in detail ... and he also filled the "Villain 1" category initially, which kind of implied he woud be the main villain before I swapped them around) and promote Savatier to his place as henchman. Though I would like to know how his throat ended up so scarred, because once again, detail is kind of lacking. There's no arguing on this one: Granger has to go.

Don't do that. Remember, I was the one who originally placed Stahl in the secondary villain field. To be honest, I had originally planned on making him the henchman. However, Granger is a much more compelling character and I think that, since this follows on the heels of "LTK", we'd be missing out on a lot if you decided to remove the character completely, considering how Granger's 'dark side' reflects Bond's murderous side that we saw in "LTK". After all the compelling discussion between yourself, terminus, and tdalton especially, it would seem like a total waste to lose all that now. I give you my full support to keep Granger as the main villain and minimize Stahl's role if you must. It won't hurt my feelings. I never demanded that Stahl be given the same level of detail and treatment as Granger--in fact, it's quite the opposite, hence why I made him the secondary villain and left the main villain spot open to whoever wanted to fill in that one. Like I said, I don't usually develop my characters as much as I probably should, and hence I don't have any 'personal connection' with them.

[Captain Tightpants]

Okay, well, the way I see it, we can have one of two scenarios:

1) Granger is the primary villain in UB-Dalton, whilst Stahl is a henchman or associate

OR

2) Stahl is the primary villain in UB-Dalton, in which case Granger is moved back to UB-Brosnan

As you created Stahl and you were the first one in, you get to decide. You already know what I think and want, but the choice is yours.

[coco1997]

Okay, well, the way I see it, we can have one of two scenarios:

1) Granger is the primary villain in UB-Dalton, whilst Stahl is a henchman or associate

OR

2) Stahl is the primary villain in UB-Dalton, in which case Granger is moved back to UB-Brosnan

As you created Stahl and you were the first one in, you get to decide. You already know what I think and want, but the choice is yours.

Simple: I choose option #1.

[Captain Tightpants]

Okay, then. That's what I'll do. I'll also swap Granger and Stahl about in the Bruma and Rotarua sequences if that's okay with everyone; Stahl will die in Burma, whilst Granger will be killed in New Zealand.

[terminus]

Okay, well, the way I see it, we can have one of two scenarios:

1) Granger is the primary villain in UB-Dalton, whilst Stahl is a henchman or associate

OR

2) Stahl is the primary villain in UB-Dalton, in which case Granger is moved back to UB-Brosnan

As you created Stahl and you were the first one in, you get to decide. You already know what I think and want, but the choice is yours.

I'm sorry? There is completely enough room to insert Stahl in the capacity that I've been describing - and which other posters appear to have supported - without disrupting the flow of the treatment that you have described. Look at the options you've given - either Granger is used exactly as you want him to be, or he's not used at all. If that isn't the aforementioned toys being thrown out of the pram, I don't know what is.

I understand that coco1997 wants the heated debate to calm, but I can't give in just to placate you. I'm sorry.

I think the previously suggested route of writing Stahl's initial appearance into Rome (which you've already inserted) and beefing that appearance up a bit more, then having him reappear in New Zealand for the finale would be perfectly acceptable. It would be no more different to The Living Daylights with Brad Whitaker appearing early in the film in Tangier - and then reappearing for the battle at his villa at the end of the movie. In fact, the Whitaker/Koskov dynamic is perfectly in keeping with how I'm picturing the dynamic between Stahl and Granger - they're two men with very different aims who realise that it would be beneficial for them to work together in order to achieve those aims.

So - it's simple, just beef up Stahl's appearance in Rome slightly (have Bond learn that Stahl was the one who Chun was working with) and use the Rotorua sequence as described in my pitch for it. Of course, the villainous through-line is still Grangers (just as the villainous through-line was Koskov's in TLD - the movie was about HIM and his relation to Bond, just as here the movie would be about Granger and HIS relation to Bond) but the financial backer is Stahl, who just happens to die last.

It's no more different to having the henchman die after the villain, as has happened multiple times. Except here it's primary and secondary villains, a la The Living Daylights.

[SamuelKevlar]

Alright, folks. I've tried my best to satisfy everyone's ideas. I'm leaving the Falklands pre-title sequence unaltered because I am unclear as to its purpose. Who is the mysterious parachuting girl? Also CT, for all your talk of Granger being a more developed character, and I don't deny that he's got a lot of background, what is his actual motivation for wanting to use Corinthian? Stahl has the history with computers. Dark Granger just wants to kill, Granger just wants to get rid of him.

FOR TOMORROW WE DIE

Falkland Islands

Following the events of Licence To Kill, Bond is in the Falklands. His relationship with M is quite strained because he ignored orders and went rogue. M does not know what he is going to do with Bond, but certainly does not want to see him right now and so he has sent Bond to MI6's Falklands base - as far away from London as he can be - for evaluation. Bond has been off the job for a year, and is feeling rather abandoned, though he does understand what M is doing and why he is doing it. He has adopted a semi-vagrant lifestyle, living on his own with a stray dog. One day, whilst riding a motorcycle back from the MI6 facility, he spots a parachutist in the sky. He approaches her once she lands. The parachutist claims she was aiming for Argentina, but missed when she was blown off-course (Bond is living on the western end of the islands). Bond is impressed; she is clearly no amateur to have made a jump from a height where she could be blown off-course. However, dialogue implies that the girl is lying and is exactly where she wants to be.

They are rudely interrupted by the arrival of a four-wheel-drive that attempts to kill Bond. Bond is able to kill the driver - but lets the girl leave - and uncovers him as one of the drug lords entering into a business transaction with Franz Sanchez in Licence To Kill. Angry that he lost millions, he is attempting to kill Bond personally. Bond decides that enough is enough; he is tired of being forgotten by MI6 and takes a flight to Isthmus City.

Isthmus City, Honduras

In the time since Franz Sanchez's death, Isthmus City has collapsed. Without Sanchez backing him up, the President has proven weak and ineffective (Sanchez was the de facto leader of Isthmus; the President was just a puppet). The country has been absorbed into neighbouring Honduras. In the middle of all this is DEA agent Dean Soma. He was working with Felix Leiter in breaking up Franz Sanchez's cocaine empire, but Bond overthrew Sanchez. Finding the drug lord's body in the desert, Soma comes to the conclusion that it was an inside job perpertrated by Dario (as Dario was shredded, his body was obviously never found). He believes that Dario (of whom no clear photos could be found) and Bond are actually the same person, who has taken control of Sanchez's empire after overthrowing him.

Aiding Soma is Gideon Granger, one of the world's foremost experts on serial criminals. Granger is the source of most of Soma's insight into Bond/Dario (or "Bondario"), and while he at first appears incompetent, he actually has a dark secret. After consulting with Soma, he buys some LSD on the street, at which point he morphs into Dark Granger, abducts a girl and goes to work on her, dumping the body before the LSD wears off.

Also in town is rogue hacker Chun Qiao. She is there to meet with Granger, her US contact, with whom she's made a deal. She's to barter Corinthian, a computer virus made to order that can remotely access and deploy automatic weapons systems like missile bases. In exchange she wants the freedom of Sienna Lauder, a human rights activist who the US dumped in a Burmese prison through rendition. But Granger betrays Chun and she is captured by Soma (who knows only that she's a wanted cyber-terrorist, presumably in Isthmus because it's the Casablanca of the 90s).

Bond returns to Isthmus City, slipping in over the border from nearby Nicaragua. At some point along the way, he comes to the realisation that this is what M wanted him to do the entire time he was in the Falklands: to face up to the fact that he committed murder. With this in mind, he returns to the ruins of Sanchez's waterfront villa and allows himself to be caught by the DEA.

Los Angeles, California

Bond and Chun Qiao are taken to Los Angeles, where Bond awaits extradition to London via a chartered Concorde jet. Felix Leiter pulls some strings and is able to get access to Bond. He gives Bond the rosary bead explosives. When Bond meets Chun for the first time shortly afterwards, she observes wrily that he doesn't strike her as a religious man. "I don't expect absolution," he replies.

Monument Valley, Utah

The Concorde is forced to land in the middle of Monument Valley after being harried by helicopters; this sequence involves the Concorde weaving around the actual monuments before putting down on those famously-long highways. During the chase, Bond uses the rosary beads to escape the confines of his cell at the back of the plane, just as Felix intended for him to do. He fights Granger's thugs, but it becomes clear they're not really after him. Most of them set, led by the grim Savatier, set out in pursuit of Chun as she makes her way out of the plane and disappears into the wasteland. Bond is subdued and handcuffed to the seats of the Concorde as the crew resume extradition.

London, England

M is less than impressed to see Bond, but happy that Bond has come to terms with what he did. Bond reports on Chun's presence in Isthmus and the way the Concorde was attacked. M concludes as Bond did: that Chun has something that other people desperately need. In order to prove his worth to MI6, M sends Bond looking for her on a low-risk mission. Q equips Bond with the red cigarette flares and helps track Chun's previous movements. They come to the conclusion that Chun has been based out of Rome.

Rome. Italy

In Rome, Bond is able to track Chun down to an underground club where something akin to a rave is being held. Looking conspicously out of place, he is quickly noticed and ends up facing the host of the event in an illegal bare-knuckle boxing match. Bond wins the match. Chun enters the ring and introduces Bond to the blonde behemoth, who turns out to be Moritz Stahl, heir to a West German electronics fortune who rebelled against his background through boxing, turning semi-professional, and (ironically) computer espionage, where his main virtues lie in financing and supporting more talented hackers than himself. Chun Qiao is the greatest of these, and currently she is hiding out with her old compatriot. Stahl, seemingly impressed by Bond, invites both of them to a skiing trip the next morning.

Bond and Chun then move to the dancefloor, and both compliment the other on their ability to evade the authorities - as far as Chun knows Bond too is a criminal and an enemy of the US. Bond expresses an interest in joining Chun in her anarchic battle for justice, as well as an interest in her, a sentiment that is shared. Chun invites Bond to her chique top floor apartment that night, where he proposes he take her in (she's been offered amnesty or a reduced sentence if she'll reveal all she knows). She refuses, a fight develops, but with both of them disarmed and in close quarters kissing soon follows.

Bond wakes the next morning handcuffed to a bedpost, and Chun informing him she's just alerted the police to a break-in, before giving him a farewell kiss and heading out the window. Bond uses a gadget or brute strength to get out of the handcuffs and, still only half-dressed, evades the police and pursues Chun across the rooftops. Finally cornered, she explains about Corinthian and why she was expecting the attack on the plane - she has a failsafe installed in the programme that only she can access. Security against betrayal. Talk of trust brings up the subject of Stahl. He's no real friend of hers - she doesn't believe in friendship - but she needs his computers.

In the Italian Alps, Stahl does indeed betray them both, as is revealed when Savatier appears at his side. Stahl has a gun to Bond's head and threatens to fire unless Chun gives him access to Corinthian. Somewhat to Bond's surprise, Chun hands over her necklace, the pendant on which is revealed to be a data container, along the lines of a 1990 USB stick. But Stahl has no intention of letting them go. "I confess you hurt my pride," he says to Bond. "I can be petty about such things. Kill them." Despite the best efforts of Savatier and the other thugs, Bond and Chun manage to escape. On skis, they are pursued by a logging helicopter equipped with deadly sawblades that Savatier has commandeered. Having made their way down to slopes and through treacherous hazards, Bond is eventually able to destroy the helicopter and kill Savatier.

Back in Rome, and with Stahl's trail cold, Bond pursues the only lead he has left, Chun's mysterious and disturbed contact Granger. He teams up with the carabinieri when more victims of Granger turn up. He recogises the pattern from Isthmus City. Bond eventually has a confrontation with a drug-crazed Granger in the catacombs under Rome. Both survive the encounter. Chun tells Bond about the Burmese prison where her friend Sienna is being held captive, and where Granger must have had access. That night, sitting by the Trevi fountain, Chun gives Bond two old Chinese coins, "a good luck charm for you, and a bad one for our enemies".

The next morning, a Canadian missile base goes haywire and launches against Toronto. The missile is aborted in time, but it is the first test of Corinthian. A first move, and more are coming.

Burma

Bond travels to Burma, where he is arrested by the military junta. Chun Qiao slips away at this point. It is suggested she may have betrayed him to them. Actually it is all part of the plan - one of the coins is actually a homing beacon. Rerouting so as not to be caught herself, she transmits the location of the prison, and the transmitter therein, to the Chinese military, who, like everyone else, have been plagued by Corinthian.

Bond is put in prison, where he encounters Gideon Granger, now once again in his right (although it is all relative) mind. Granger explains his drug-induced split personality and the way he has come to associate Bond with Dark Granger. He believes that killing Bond will free him from his Dark Granger personality. Bond is taken to be executed at the gallows. He is able to talk Granger down, claiming that having him killed won't be enough. Granger - Gideon, not Dark - will have to do the deed himself. He also explains that killing is much easier than any man will ever tell him, but much harder to do than he can possibly imagine and that it takes a long time to be psychologically okay with killing. Granger believes him, and has him cut down and taken back to his cell.

Bond finds Sienna Lauder and together they manage to escape. He sends her off to plug in the other coin (revealed to be a computer bug) to the base's computers, while he himself climbs the transmitter array as the Chinese firebomb the prison. Granger follows him up, having decided that he has to kill Bond himself. Bond is able to destroy the transmitter array by using most of his cigarette flares to attract the Chinese attention to it. An RPG is fired, destroying the transmitter. Unfortunately, the scaffolding begins to collapse. Bond is able to make it down, but Granger is trapped. Bond then sabotages the power array that suppliers the transmitter, overloading it. Granger is electrocuted in the process and falls into the inferno.

With the Chinese withdrawing and the prison burning around them, Bond and Sienna have to find their way through the maze of cell blocks and torture chambers before the prison collapses. They narrowly escape with their lives, and Bond escorts Sienna to the nearest international airport.

Bond joins up again with Chun Qiao and Felix Leiter. The bug Sienna placed has laid Stahl's systems bare, and revealed activity in an underground base in Rotorua, New Zealand. The bunker is thirty metres below the surface. It was designed as a fallout shelter in the event of a nuclear strike. And it has a transmitter. Chun knows it well - she helped design it; an idealistic fortress that governments could not gain access to. Stahl has subverted its purpose. Granger may have been interested in small-time gain with the use of Corinthian, blackmail and the like. But Stahl has Luddite sensibilities, a desire to bring down the established order, to destroy man's technological dependency by using that technology against itself. This base, which could withstand almost anything, would be a good place from which to start anew.

Rotorua, New Zealand

Bond and Chun travel through a region of high geothermal activity and infiltrate the base, but they are captured before they can plant their explosives. Seated comfortably across from them in his control centre, computer screens flickering on the wall, Chun's pendant plugged into the mainframe, Stahl explains his extremist Neo-Luddite beliefs and tells the story of Hurutini, from whose death the name of the area is derived. Stahl mentions that nobody will lament their deaths in the way that Hurutini's mother did. "Nobody will mourn your passing, Mr Bond." He then gives the order to launch on London.

But unseen to Stahl, Chun has managed to switch the pendants, planting a new computer virus in the system to destroy Corinthian. Suddenly it all goes wrong for Stahl. The transmission is never made, and Corinthian is irretrievably corrupted. Enraged, Stahl orders Bond and Chun executed - but Bond uses the last of his Lark-brand flares ("You wouldn't begrudge a condemned man his last cigarette") to create a diversion. He and Chun then escape the underground base and flee through the geothermal field.

Here Bond has his final, bare-knuckle confrontation with Stahl, who he eventually corners. Bond urges him to give up; there's nothing left. Stahl looks behind him and smiles. "Ah, but there is. The ultimate escape." Bond is too late as Stahl throws himself into a bubbling mud pool. As he immerses himself in the boiling stuff, Stahl's insanely confident grin becomes a rictus mask of pain, projecting inhuman confidence as his lower body is being seared away beneath him. As his neck is being submerged, Stahl lifts his head back, his teeth tightly gritted, and moans. "Help... me..." Bond gets out his gun but Chun grabs his wrist, looks at him with silent intensity. No. Together they watch Stahl slowly disappear into the bubbling mud.

Later, Bond and Chun relax in a local nature spa, naked, enjoying the hot springs. "I'm still not sure I trust you," she says, embracing him. "I don't think it matters," is Bond's reply. And as they kiss, we pan up, fade out, and...

JAMES BOND WILL RETURN.

Edited by SamuelKevlar, 22 December 2010 - 01:09 PM.

[terminus]

An excellent revision of the plot, Samuel - doing justice to both of our villains, imho.

I, too, am eager to see who the woman in the PTS turns out to be - though my assumption was that she was an assassin sent by someone else to take out Bond. Perhaps after taking out the drug lord in the four-by-four, Bond could find himself in a situation with the parachuting girl that leads to them being scantily clothed - think of this a bit like the scene in TLD with Linda on the boat. Bond and the girl are enjoying a romp - the girl slips out a gun or a dagger to shoot him, but Bond turns the tables, discards the gun or the dagger and the romp resumes (with a "If only I could find a real man -", "Better make that two") - and we move into the titles.

Just an idea.