13 replies to this topic

[Miles Miservy]

What can I say about SKYFALL that hasn't already been said? So incredible, I had to see it twice to wrap my head around it. Laden with SO many surprises, I don't dare mention them here. The writers had certainly gone above and beyond to capture a genuine, Fleming-eqsue, Bond movie.

So, where are all the henchmen? Where are the larger-than-life guys who are bent on destroying OO7 even AFTER the villain is dead; even AFTER the plot is foiled? I admit that I had welcomed, even embraced the new direction that Michael & Barbara have been taking OO7 ( ...and us). But some things are just simply missed. You look for them and when they're not there.....

So many henchmen... Oddjob, Baron Samedi and Jaws not withstanding. Some others that were menacing, if not very cool were Dario, Xenia Onatopp, and Renard (he's the one we thought was the villain up untill the 3rd act.)

So until Bond 24 arrives to outshine this incredible 3rd installment of Daniel Craig's, we're just going to have to contend that the LAST henchman Bond had to face was Zao, (whom I admit was a VERY good bad guy, despite being in a movie with so many flaws in it)

[Hockey Mask]

Zao was probably the coolest looking henchman in the series.

[Double-0-Seven]

Zao was one of the highlights of Die Another Day. I sometimes wish he had been the villain.

Quantum had Elvis, but he has to be one of the most underused characters in the entire series. You could remove him from the film and it wouldn't make a difference.

[seawolfnyy]

I would probably consider Valenka in CR one, even though she and Bond only interact for a period of about 4 seconds. And what about Patrice?

[mrevans]

Zao was one of the highlights of Die Another Day. I sometimes wish he had been the villain.

Quantum had Elvis, but he has to be one of the most underused characters in the entire series. You could remove him from the film and it wouldn't make a difference.

I agree. I didn't even know Elvis was supposed to be a henchman until I heard him mentioned somewhere else. I didn't even catch that there was even a character named Elvis in the movie.

[Turn]

I would probably consider Valenka in CR one, even though she and Bond only interact for a period of about 4 seconds.

I liked her, thought she was underdeveloped. It would have been nice for Bond to have had some type of flirtation with her.

I was thinking about the loss of henchmen recently. If you have a strong enough villain like Silva you really don't need a henchman. Especially if you are just going to write one in to have one, which was the old way and doesn't apply today. Do we need yet another variation of Red Grant, Odd Job or Fiona Volpe?

[Vauxhall]

I'd say Patrice is one of the more worthy adversaries faced by Bond who has no dialogue at all. I guess even Oddjob grunted a bit.

[Solex Agitator]

I would say that the Craig era is still distancing itself from cliche characters like Mr. Kil and Bullion, while dolloping out some older familiar elements not seen in a while. Perhaps we will get a proper classic henchman next time out...

[MkB]

Patrice is definitely a henchman, IMO. A henchman with a very prominent role and lots of screentime, but still a henchman. But I find him disappointing, quite bland. He looks and dresses like the guy next door, Mr. Nobody - fitting probably for a hitman, but not larger-than-life enough for a Bond film.

[Trevelyan 006]

Perhaps it is a sign of the changing times? Villains these days seem much more sophisticated technologically as well as intellectually, usually having just enough pull to avoid having to hire an over-the-top henchman.

With that said, Patrice felt more like a Bond-stlye henchman that well all know. He was given a decent amount of screen time and he wasn't too overbearing. He is the henchman of today's Bond I believe...

Edited by Trevelyan 006, 13 November 2012 - 12:50 AM.

[Iceskater101]

I feel like Silva made up for the fact that there was no henchmen. He was excellent on his own and if they added someone it would have ruined it for me.

[seawolfnyy]

Patrice is definitely a henchman, IMO. A henchman with a very prominent role and lots of screentime, but still a henchman. But I find him disappointing, quite bland. He looks and dresses like the guy next door, Mr. Nobody - fitting probably for a hitman, but not larger-than-life enough for a Bond film.

Right, but isn't that all Patrice is meant to be?

[WasteOfScotch]

Alas, generic musclemen with blonde hair, we hardly knew ye.

[Turn]

Patrice was a worthy opponent for Bond and mysterious, but was only separate from the many other faceless thugs Silva employed because he was in more scenes. Not that he needed steel teeth or some other distinctive characteristic, but he reminded me of one of the henchman from a Mission Impossible film or something. Maybe if they'd given some sort of background on his history it ay have created a more personal connection, but it was a busy enough film.