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"I could do with some plastic."


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#1 iBond

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Posted 16 March 2011 - 11:49 PM

In Licence to Kill after Q tells Bond about the plastic explosive toothpaste, what does Bond mean when he replies, "I could do with some plastic."? I didn't get the joke. My first assumption was that maybe he was referring to condoms. It that right? This is one, out of his small amount of quips, that still boggles me.

Edited by iBond, 16 March 2011 - 11:50 PM.


#2 jaguar007

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Posted 16 March 2011 - 11:53 PM

You are looking for something that is not there. It is not a joke, he meant he could use some plastic explosive to get past the thick window to shoot Sanchez.

#3 iBond

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Posted 16 March 2011 - 11:55 PM

Well, it was shot in a way that there would be a double meaning to it.

#4 zencat

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 01:42 AM

I've always taken it to mean plastic explosive. I always liked that line and Dalton's delivery.

#5 Bryce (003)

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 04:30 AM

Although it is often pronounced as "palastic" by Brits and Americans, officially it is called plastique. The variations go back to the late 30's. Today, Semtex 7 and C-4 and C-5 are the most stable and used along with detonite chords for shaped charges. A measure the size of a sugar cube can blow a standard car off it's wheels.

Whatever Q cooked up was probably a combination of what used to be called gelignite (or nitrogel) and one of the above. I remember laughing when I saw the name on the tube.

I've got some experience with explosives. My uncle was a chemical engineer. Gave me first exploding pen and a friend of mine's cousin works for a police bomb squad.

Now BOT - The line always made sense to me..But that's just me.

#6 Bondian

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 05:42 AM

Oh, he wasn't referring to American Express ?

Don't leave MI6 without it.

That's how I took it. He had all this cash, and it would have been less of a burden to pay by card. :)

#7 sthgilyadgnivileht

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 11:18 AM


Oh, he wasn't referring to American Express ?

Don't leave MI6 without it.

That's how I took it. He had all this cash, and it would have been less of a burden to pay by card. :)

Yes agreed. If I remember correctly credit card ads, particularly American Express, were all over in the late 80's telling everyone about the advantages of a plastic card over cash. There is a definite tongue in cheek to Daltons delivery.
For what it's worth around TLD time I think Dalton was offered to front an American Express ad in the states as well. He (allegedly) turned this down which makes the line even more ironic.

#8 hilly

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 02:31 PM



Oh, he wasn't referring to American Express ?

Don't leave MI6 without it.

That's how I took it. He had all this cash, and it would have been less of a burden to pay by card. :)

Yes agreed. If I remember correctly credit card ads, particularly American Express, were all over in the late 80's telling everyone about the advantages of a plastic card over cash. There is a definite tongue in cheek to Daltons delivery.
For what it's worth around TLD time I think Dalton was offered to front an American Express ad in the states as well. He (allegedly) turned this down which makes the line even more ironic.


Agreed. I've always assumed that this refers to credit cards too, particularly as he has cash by the suitcase-load.

#9 Royal Dalton

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:07 PM

It's plastique, as in plastique explosive. In the shooting script itself Bond's dialogue is written as: "I could do with some plastique."

#10 sthgilyadgnivileht

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:15 PM

It's plastique, as in plastique explosive. In the shooting script itself Bond's dialogue is written as: "I could do with some plastique."

No doubt, but I would argue Dalton is clearly having fun with the line, in spite of how it's written. There's no way Dalton wasn't thinking about credit cards when he said it.

#11 Royal Dalton

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:20 PM

Well, obviously. That's the joke, ain't it.

#12 sthgilyadgnivileht

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:23 PM

Well, obviously. That's joke, ain't it.

Yeah, and a good actor making the best of his script.

#13 Royal Dalton

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:35 PM

He's very underrated in the humour stakes. When he deadpans lines like "salt corrosion" or "I hope you don't snore, Q" he's pitch perfect. But you'll still get people saying his delivery's wooden and he can't do comedy.

#14 sthgilyadgnivileht

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:43 PM

I agree. Some of it is not obvious but it's there alright. The snoring Q line has always been a favourite of mine, and fits perfectly with the tone of LTK.
Dalton suffered in this respect I think because he followed Moore, who would probably say himself he let the audience know before a joke was coming.

#15 marktmurphy

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:45 PM

Well, obviously. That's the joke, ain't it.


I think you're reading a bit too much into it!

#16 Royal Dalton

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 03:54 PM

:D

#17 iBond

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Posted 17 March 2011 - 05:09 PM



Oh, he wasn't referring to American Express ?

Don't leave MI6 without it.

That's how I took it. He had all this cash, and it would have been less of a burden to pay by card. :)

Yes agreed. If I remember correctly credit card ads, particularly American Express, were all over in the late 80's telling everyone about the advantages of a plastic card over cash. There is a definite tongue in cheek to Daltons delivery...


Yeah, I knew there was something in that delivery. Definitely tongue in cheek.

#18 JimmyBond

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Posted 25 March 2011 - 02:02 AM


Well, obviously. That's the joke, ain't it.


I think you're reading a bit too much into it!


Yeah, I'm with you, I never saw it as a joke. To me it was just Bond commenting on the fact that he could use the plastic explosives.