CommanderBond.net

The Bond 50

[sub]The results of CBn survey of its members
to find the 50 greatest moments of
James Bond movies, books, and videogames[/sub]

29

(3 votes)

“Never mind, darling…”

Bond tells Goodnight that her ‘time will come' – what a charmer: The Man with the Golden Gun.

“Pinnacle definition of political incorrectness that only Moore could get away with. Utter bastard who doesn't care for anything other than the next lay.”

“Roger Moore is James Bond. Sometimes.”

“It’s so hilariously un-PC. Amazed he can make a choice between them.”

28

(3 votes)

“Quack”

Bond steps out of a wetsuit wearing a dinner jacket: Goldfinger.

“Effectiveness and elegance. Couldn't be more Bond!”

“Anything as copied as this must be iconic. You aren’t watching anything else and you know you’re not.”

“You know it’s wrong and you know it’s stupid but you can’t help going with it: only Bond films have this effect.”

27

(3 votes)

“Quack quack BOOM”

Later, that same evening: Goldfinger

“White tux, cigarette, watch, BOOM!”

“In a single frame - director Guy Hamilton shows us that Bond is sophisticated (Rolex) and ex-military (NATO strap on the watch) - and that all hell is about to break loose in this South American country.”

“Hardass but beautifully groomed man saunters through destruction of his own making, absolutely bombproof.”

26

(4 votes)

“The bitch is dead now.”

Bond makes a ‘phone call: Casino Royale

“Book, obviously. Film? Let's hope so. This line is brilliant and open to much misinterpretation (as all good lines are). Take it that Bond's a cold sonofabitch, or take it that he loved Vesper so deeply he'll never forgive her for offing herself - either way, it's a perfect setup for the rest of the series.”

“This ain’t invisible car driver man. This is James Bond.”

“I hope they do this. Even if it’s not quite the same.”

“Defining moment for Bond, and perhaps the best final line of any book I've ever read.”

25

(4 votes)

“…like a leedle bird…”

Bond goes from deep underwater to high up in the air in three minutes: Licence to Kill

“Amazing, but entirely believeable stunt that shows Bond as vulnerable and desperate, yet unstoppable when cornered. Bond as a man of action, not a superhero.”

“Major action high point of the Bond series for me: water-skiing, rolling, grabbing the ‘plane, climbing aboard, being shot at, throwing the pilot out, knocking someone out with millions of dollars and flying off towards the horizon with a huge grin on your face: you and me both, mate. Great, great sequence, Bond theme going ape in the background too!”

“People get this idea that the Dalton films are boring. Is this boring?”

“Loads of stunts, one after the other, all of them incredibly dangerous: you sit and gape.”

24

(4 votes)

“Suppose I were to kill you, for a thrill…?”

A not-especially-grateful Tracy says “Hi!”; Bond at his most disarming: OHMSS

“The arrogant-bastard side of Bond. The way Bond should be: women are a thrill to pass his time, guns fail to excite him anymore, and both are casually disarmed with one confident move.”

“There’s been gambling. There’s been chivalry. Now there’s Bond, woman, wit, gun. And there’ll be sex shortly. Yeah – it’s Bond.”

“Proper dialogue and proper characters. Stuff your mojitos and your mouthfuls – everyone should be made to watch this over and over.”

“You know it will end badly (and it does): about as complex a relationship as you see in what is, basically, a blockbuster action movie.”

23

(4 votes)

“Do you have a credit card, Sir?”

Bond checks in: Die Another Day

“Very cool. Very, very cool. Die Another Day may stink but it has its moments and this is the best.”

“I want to be this man. They were making a Bond film and were unafraid to say so.”

“I must be alone in liking Die Another Day; this is a scene where any man would want to be James Bond. Half-naked, unshaven and he’s still so cool; Pierce played it so well.”

“Pierce Brosnan is James Bond.”

22

(4 votes)

“…and you’ve had your six.”

Bond deals with Miss Taro and then, slightly more permanently, Professor Dent: Dr No

“The way Bond looks at his watch when in bed with Miss Taro. The absolute assurance that he is facing an unarmed man. The slow blow on the silencer."

“Really violent, ya hah hah hah!!!!”

“Walks into an obvious trap and then walks out alive; nobody does it better.”

“Miss Taro and Professor Dent getting totally owned by Bond in - more a "sequence" than a "moment", but why split hairs? This is 007 at his deadliest, most Fleming.”

21

(4 votes)

“I guess it’s time to start cutting overhead…”

Tankers do wheelies, things start exploderating: Licence to Kill

“For all LTK's flaws, the final tanker chase is one hell of an action sequence; indeed, other than a few individual stunts, I'm not sure anything's quite surpassed it since. And the tanker popping up onto its side (unless my eyes deceive me, that's a real tanker doing that) to dodge the missile makes it something special. No other film series could get away with that, and I think that proves that even Bond on an off-day still does it better!”

“Just looks really, really dangerous and really, really real. Life-or-limb stunts at their best and then they drive a burning truck over a ‘plane. Highlight of the film by miles!”

“Well worth waiting for. Satisfyingly violent – by now you really want Sanchez to die. And then he does – wow!”

“Relentless, in a good way.”

20

(5 votes)

“The girl’s dead…”

Oddjob has a big old glam time with the gold foundation: Goldfinger

“ ‘Iconic’ isn’t good enough for the Golden Girl. Not just a symbol of the film, not just a symbol of James Bond, but a symbol of the whole of the goddamn movies, ever. Bogart in the tux, Brando in The Godfather, Bruce the Shark, the start of Star Wars, and this.”

“Bond Begins. For me.”

“That weird thing the Bonds had before they became all-out action films – the macabre. What’s more macabre than this?”

“Way ahead of Fleming on this one – in the book this isn’t seen. For once, the film-makers went one better. Better make that two better! Ten better? Yeah!”

“Bond films have better acting than they’re given credit for: this is one of those “big moments” but Connery and Eaton have real chemistry so this is weirdly upsetting.”