| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_bond.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[https://youtu.be/U9FzgsF2T-s Cue the guitar riff.]] [[note]]James Bond actors, left to right: Creator/RogerMoore, Creator/TimothyDalton, Creator/DanielCraig, Creator/SeanConnery, Creator/GeorgeLazenby, Creator/PierceBrosnan.[[/note]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"Bond. James Bond."'' |
| 5 | |
| 6 | A [[LongRunner long-running]] [[SpyFiction spy film]] franchise based on Creator/IanFleming's [[Literature/JamesBond novel series]] about [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships Commander]] James Bond, code-named [[YouAreNumberSix 007]], British special agent of the 00 section of MI-6 (double "0" indicating his licence to kill). Over the course of sixty years, the franchise has featured [[TheOtherDarrin six different actors in the main role]], with a seventh planned, and ranged in tone from [[ToneShift lighthearted to gritty]]. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | The series founded the "TuxedoAndMartini" subgenre, and in many ways [[TropeCodifier defined]] most of modern SpyFiction and much of the ActionGenre, with Bond himself having become one of the most iconic and quintessential {{Action Hero}}es in fiction. In fact, many tropes featured in action films to this day can be traced back to the franchise, from the [[BadassInANiceSuit tuxedo]] and [[TrademarkFavoriteDrink martini]] to the [[BondOneLiner One-Liners]], StuffBlowingUp (outside of war films), the [[ShoePhone gadgets]], the {{cool|Car}} (and often {{weaponized|Car}}) car, and ActionFilmQuietDramaScene. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Like the books, the movies tend to be episodic and low on continuity, with Bond himself [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] every decade or so and little-to-no commentary made on the subject. That said, there are recurring elements: Every film has at least one "[[GirlOfTheWeek Bond Girl]]," who will provide some combination of [[LoveInterest casual romantic dalliance]] (Bond is TheCharmer), DamselInDistress, {{sidekick}} and [[StuffedInTheFridge motivator]]; while Bond ReallyGetsAround, he doesn't typically do relationships, and in over 60 years of continuity has only developed genuine emotional connections three times. However, he does have an ArchEnemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who runs the NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE, and a [[TheLancer Lancer]] in the form of CIA Agent Felix Leiter on the occasions when he drops in. He also has a CastHerd who show up in most films: M, DaChief of MI-6; Q, the Quartermaster and GadgeteerGenius who preps Bond for his next mission; and Moneypenny, M's SexySecretary whom Bond constantly flirts with [[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou for fun]]. The main constant is Bond himself: TheAce, TheCharmer, The DeadpanSnarker, The RenaissanceMan, The ManOfWealthAndTaste, The OneManArmy... The ProfessionalKiller, The SociopathicHero, TheAlcoholic, [[ParentalAbandonment The Orphan]], the man who can always find women but can never find love. Which of these traits are pushed to the forefront will depend on the tone of the movie in question. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Creator/EonProductions, the company founded by [[Creator/AlbertRBroccoli Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli]] and Harry Saltzman, has produced the film series since 1962. Cubby's daughter Creator/BarbaraBroccoli and stepson Michael G. Wilson have been in charge since 1995. Richard Maibaum co-wrote most of the scripts between 1962 and 1989, and Neal Purvis and Robert Wade fill the duty since 1999. Composer Music/JohnBarry was reponsible for carving the franchise's famous musical identity, and Maurice Binder crafted memorable {{Artistic Title}}s with {{Sexy Silhouette}}s from 1962 to 1989. The series also made the British Creator/PinewoodStudios a household name for big-budget filming. |
| 13 | ---- |
| 14 | !!Eon Productions ''James Bond'' Film Canon: |
| 15 | |
| 16 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[folder:Starring Sean Connery]] |
| 19 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sean_connery_dvd.jpg]] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Creator/SeanConnery was the first actor to play James Bond in a theatrical film production, and set the bar high: while the producers first sought the suave, elegant type (Creator/CaryGrant, Creator/DavidNiven[[note]] Niven did later play Bond in the farce, ''Film/{{Casino Royale|1967}}''[[/note]]), they instead settled on the tall, sexy and laconic Connery... and both a movie star and a franchise were born. After the pressure of five films in six years and major disagreements with Eon producers, however, Connery bowed out, returning only for an encore one film later... and a [[Film/NeverSayNeverAgain rival production]] sometime later. |
| 22 | ---- |
| 23 | [[index]] |
| 24 | * '''''Film/DrNo'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/TerenceYoung[[/note]] (1962) -- A British agent is killed in Jamaica while he was spying on the ring of the mysterious Dr. Julius No. [=MI6=] sends another agent (and the best they have), James Bond, codename 007, to investigate. |
| 25 | * '''''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'''''[[note]]Director: Terence Young (2)[[/note]] (1963) -- The SPECTRE organization sets a trap for Bond and [=MI6=], luring Bond into stealing a Soviet coding machine in Istanbul with the help of a beautiful female Soviet clerk and sending a killer after him. |
| 26 | * '''''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/GuyHamilton[[/note]] (1964) -- Bond investigates, then must stop Auric Goldfinger, a gold magnate who has a nefarious plan to increase the value of his own gold supply. |
| 27 | * '''''Film/{{Thunderball}}'''''[[note]]Director: Terence Young (3)[[/note]] (1965) -- SPECTRE steals two nuclear warheads and blackmails the US and British governments with them. Bond is sent to the Bahamas to stop them before it's too late. |
| 28 | * '''''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/LewisGilbert[[/note]] (1967) -- SPECTRE captures Soviet and American spacecrafts in order to heat up the Cold War. Bond fakes his death, then goes to Japan to investigate with the help of local allies. |
| 29 | * '''''Film/DiamondsAreForever'''''[[note]]Director: Guy Hamilton(2)[[/note]] (1971) -- After hunting down Ernst Stavro Blofeld and seemingly killing him, Bond is sent to the Netherlands and Las Vegas to investigate several mysterious deaths in a diamond smuggling ring. |
| 30 | [[/index]] |
| 31 | [[/folder]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[folder:Starring George Lazenby]] |
| 34 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/61yieimbdfl_ac_sl1050.jpg]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Chosen to replace Connery, Creator/GeorgeLazenby was a then-unknown and largely inexperienced actor; while he was offered as many as seven films, he elected to only play the role a single time. Opinions on his performance are divided; he has been described as closest to the character as Ian Fleming wrote him, but also as stiff and humorless -- probably not helped by a story which undergoes a GenreShift into romance and features a twist DownerEnding. |
| 37 | ---- |
| 38 | [[index]] |
| 39 | * '''''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'''''[[note]]Director: Peter Hunt[[/note]] (1969) -- Bond falls in love with the daughter of a Corsican crime syndicate leader, and must stop SPECTRE and its head Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Switzerland before another global threat of theirs is unleashed. |
| 40 | [[/index]] |
| 41 | [[/folder]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Starring Roger Moore]] |
| 44 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/moore_4.jpg]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | Creator/RogerMoore became the third actor to star as Bond in as many films (after Lazenby's single outing and Connery's encore); perhaps in compensation, he stayed in the role for seven films, the most of any actor, and 12 years. He had already made a name playing a charming, debonair playboy on television with ''Series/TheSaint''; to avoid getting typecast, he had the writers of his films shift in a more comedic and campier style. The result was a Bond who was a lot funnier, but somewhat less believable as an action hero. |
| 47 | ---- |
| 48 | [[index]] |
| 49 | * '''''Film/LiveAndLetDie'''''[[note]]Director: Guy Hamilton (3)[[/note]] (1973) -- Several British agents who spied on the African-American drug ring headed by one "Mr. Big" between the Caribbean, New Orleans and New York City are killed. Bond is sent to America to investigate. |
| 50 | * '''''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'''''[[note]]Director: Guy Hamilton (4)[[/note]] (1974) -- Bond goes to Southeast Asia to confront the famous hitman Francisco Scaramanga (Creator/ChristopherLee), the titular golden-gun wielder, and retrieve a piece of revolutionary solar energy tech. |
| 51 | * '''''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'''''[[note]]Director: Lewis Gilbert (2)[[/note]] (1977) -- Karl Stromberg, a shipping magnate who's enamored with the seas, captures British, Soviet and American submarines to use their nuclear missiles and heat up the Cold War. Bond and a female Soviet agent team up to stop him before he causes a nuclear holocaust. |
| 52 | * '''''Film/{{Moonraker}}'''''[[note]]Director: Lewis Gilbert (3)[[/note]] (1979) -- Aerospace magnate Hugo Drax projects to annihilate human life on Earth from his space station, then repopulate Earth with his chosen specimens. Bond teams up with a female CIA agent to stop him. |
| 53 | * '''''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/JohnGlen[[/note]] (1981) -- A British spy ship is sunk in the Mediterranean, with the ATAC (a device that can order the launch of nuclear warheads) onboard. A race between Bond and a KGB-backed gang of Greek criminals ensues to retrieve the ATAC. |
| 54 | * '''''Film/{{Octopussy}}'''''[[note]]Director: John Glen (2)[[/note]] (1983) -- Bond investigates a jewel counterfeiting ring up to India and Berlin, and uncovers a sinister conspiracy by the mad Soviet general Orlov and Afghan prince Kamal Khan to cause World War III. Along the way, he bumps into the mysterious ring leader Octopussy, a woman who has ties to Kamal Khan. |
| 55 | * '''''Film/AViewToAKill'''''[[note]]Director: John Glen (3)[[/note]] (1985) -- Mad microchip magnate Max Zorin devises a plan to destroy Silicon Valley in order to be the uncontested leader on the new techs market. Bond is sent to investigate Zorin's empire that stretches from France to San Francisco and stop him. |
| 56 | [[/index]] |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Starring Timothy Dalton]] |
| 60 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dalton_0.jpg]] |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Following Roger Moore's retirement, the field was narrowed down to three candidates: Creator/TimothyDalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Creator/SamNeill, who divided the producers down the middle and thus was unable to secure the role. Brosnan's pre-existing commitments to ''Series/RemingtonSteele'' got in the way, and thus we got Timothy Dalton -- the obverse of Moore, focusing more on the GrayAndGreyMorality of the character. Comparisons to Creator/MichaelKeaton's performance in the contemporary ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' were made, in both positive and negative ways. |
| 63 | ---- |
| 64 | [[index]] |
| 65 | * '''''Film/TheLivingDaylights'''''[[note]]Director: John Glen (4)[[/note]] (1987) -- Bond helps smuggle defecting Soviet general Georgi Koskov (Creator/JeroenKrabbe) to the other side of the Iron Curtain. But Bond feels something is wrong, and his investigation on Koskov's cellist girlfriend (Creator/MaryamDabo) leads him to uncover a weapons and drugs smuggling ring operating from Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. |
| 66 | * '''''Film/LicenceToKill'''''[[note]]Director: John Glen (5)[[/note]] (1989) -- Bond helps his great friend from the CIA, Felix Leiter, to capture the most powerful and dangerous drug lord in the Americas, Franz Sanchez (Creator/RobertDavi), on Leiter's own wedding day in Florida. Sanchez escapes custody, maims Leiter and has his wife raped and killed, which causes Bond to go rogue on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Sanchez in his Central America hideout of Isthmus, helped by CIA agent Pam Bouvier (Creator/CareyLowell). |
| 67 | [[/index]] |
| 68 | [[/folder]] |
| 69 | |
| 70 | [[folder:Starring Pierce Brosnan]] |
| 71 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brosnan.jpg]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | Timothy Dalton's contract only lasted for six years, about half of which were eaten up by DevelopmentHell. Creator/PierceBrosnan was now free of his television commitments. Elegant, witty and handsome, he leaned more into the playboy aspects of the character. His Bond was also an occasion to modernize the franchise in a major way: his superior, M, was played by Creator/JudiDench, whose dialogue castigates Bond as "sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War". |
| 74 | ---- |
| 75 | [[index]] |
| 76 | * '''''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/MartinCampbell[[/note]] (1995) -- Following the end of the Soviet Union, a mysterious syndicate known as JANUS steals a secret Soviet satellite weapon that can destroy electric devices in a large radius and threatens the United Kingdom with it. With the help of Soviet computer engineer Natalya Simonova (Creator/IzabellaScorupco), Bond goes up against JANUS, contending with both a FemmeFatale in Xenia Onatopp (Creator/FamkeJanssen) and the one person who is unquestionably his match: a fellow Double-0 agent, Alec Trevelyan (Creator/SeanBean). |
| 77 | * '''''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'''''[[note]]Director: Roger Spottiswoode[[/note]] (1997) -- Mad media mogul Elliot Carver (Creator/JonathanPryce) is plotting to cause a global war to boost the audience of his networks. Bond is sent to investigate said networks, and soon works to stop Carver with the help of Wai Lin (Creator/MichelleYeoh), a Chinese agent. |
| 78 | * '''''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/MichaelApted[[/note]] (1999) -- Bond is tasked to protect oil heiress Elektra King (Creator/SophieMarceau) after the assassination of her father on the orders of the terrorist known as "Renard" (Creator/RobertCarlyle). Or so he thinks. |
| 79 | * '''''Film/DieAnotherDay'''''[[note]]Director: Lee Tamahori[[/note]] (2002) -- Bond thwarts the plans of a mad North Korean colonel and causes the latter's death. He gets imprisoned in North Korea, and once he's exchanged with terrorist Zao (Creator/RickYune), goes rogue to follow the trail of Zao. Once reintegrated into [=MI6=], Bond is sent to investigate the suspicious activities of billionaire Gustav Graves (Creator/TobyStephens), who built himself an ice palace in Iceland and has an unexpected connection to the North Koreans. He is aided by American NSA Agent Jinx Johnson (Creator/HalleBerry) and Graves' assistant, [=MI6=] undercover agent Miranda Frost (Creator/RosamundPike). |
| 80 | [[/index]] |
| 81 | [[/folder]] |
| 82 | |
| 83 | [[folder:Starring Daniel Craig]] |
| 84 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/craig_7.jpg]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | Creator/DanielCraig's films served as a period of major re-invention for the franchise. His first film shows Bond's {{origins|Episode}} (despite the presence of Dench's M), and the gadgets and CGI spectacle of Brosnan's era were replaced by practical stunts and CharacterDevelopment. Eschewing the NegativeContinuity of prior eras, Craig's films formed a continuous arc focused on Bond's [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]], Vesper Lynd (Creator/EvaGreen), as well as a SecondLove in Madeleine Swann (Creator/LeaSeydoux). Perhaps relatedly, the franchise began to be taken seriously from an acting perspective, with Craig nominated for a UsefulNotes/{{BAFTA}} for ''Casino Royale'', and UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winners Creator/JavierBardem, Creator/ChristophWaltz and Creator/RamiMalek portraying villains in the latter three films. Craig's 15-year tenure as Bond is the longest to date, but he starred in only five films during that time. |
| 87 | ---- |
| 88 | [[index]] |
| 89 | * '''''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'''''[[note]]Director: Martin Campbell (2)[[/note]] (2006) -- In this ContinuityReboot, Bond, newly-promoted to 00 agent, must win a high-stakes poker tournament at the Casino Royale Hotel in Montenegro against the terrorist banker known as Le Chiffre (Creator/MadsMikkelsen) so [=MI6=] can capture him, after ruining several of his terrorist attack plans. Bond is helped by Treasury agent Vesper Lynd, who becomes his FirstLove, [=MI6=] contact René Mathis (Creator/GiancarloGiannini) and CIA agent Felix Leiter (Creator/JeffreyWright). |
| 90 | * '''''Film/QuantumOfSolace'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/MarcForster[[/note]] (2008) -- From Italy to Bolivia, Bond follows the trail of the mysterious organization Quantum, which backed Le Chiffre in the previous film, and uncovers an engineered ecological disaster doing so. It's also a personal revenge affair for him, as Quantum helped orchestrate Vesper's fate. Along with appearances from Mathis and Leiter, Creator/MathieuAmalric plays Quantum leader Dominic Greene, and Creator/OlgaKurylenko plays Camille Montes, Greene's girlfriend with motivations of her own. |
| 91 | * '''''Film/{{Skyfall}}'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/SamMendes[[/note]] (2012) -- Cyberterrorist Raoul Silva (Bardem) attacks [=MI6=], and in particular M, as personal revenge. It's up to Bond to stop him and protect M, from Macau and the very heart of London to Scotland. Supporting characters include Creator/BenWhishaw as Q and Creator/NaomieHarris as Eve Moneypenny, re-introducing members of the Bond CastHerd that had not appeared since Brosnan's time, and Creator/RalphFiennes as politician and former SAS Gareth Mallory. |
| 92 | * '''''Film/{{Spectre}}'''''[[note]]Director: Sam Mendes (2)[[/note]] (2015) -- Bond follows the trail of the mysterious Spectre organization, which has connections to his past, a former enemy of his (whose daughter, Madeleine Swann, he now protects), and the British government. Supporting characters include the returning Q, Moneypenny and Mallory, now promoted to M; Franz Oberhauser (Waltz), who runs Spectre; and Spectre [[TheDragon Dragon]] Mr. Hinx (Creator/DaveBautista). |
| 93 | * '''''Film/NoTimeToDie'''''[[note]]Director: Creator/CaryFukunaga[[/note]] (2021) -- Despite having retired and a new agent, Nomi (Creator/LashanaLynch), having taken the 007 codename, Bond goes up against a new enemy, Lyutsifer Safin (Malek), who's armed with a deadly new bio-technological virus and has a past that's connected to his newfound love, Madeleine Swann. M, Q, Moneypenny, Leiter and Oberhauser all re-appear, augmented by a ten-minute guest appearance from Creator/AnaDeArmas as CIA agent Paloma. |
| 94 | [[/index]] |
| 95 | [[/folder]] |
| 96 | [[/index]] |
| 97 | |
| 98 | !!Other ''James Bond'' Films (not produced by Eon): |
| 99 | [[index]] |
| 100 | * ''Film/{{Casino Royale|1954}}'' (Barry Nelson, 1954) -- The first screen adaptation of a Bond novel. A one-hour episode of the ''Climax!'' TV anthology series starring American actor Barry Nelson as James "Jimmy" Bond. |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Casino Royale|1967}}'' (Creator/DavidNiven, 1967) -- A parodic version of the original Bond adventure... we think... |
| 102 | * ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'' (Sean Connery, 1983) -- Connery returns one last time (in live-action [[VideoGame/DoubleOhSevenFromRussiaWithLove at least]]) as Bond in a loose remake of ''Thunderball''. |
| 103 | [[/index]] |
| 104 | |
| 105 | !!The following tropes are best served shaken, not stirred: |
| 106 | |
| 107 | * AbortedArc: The NebulousEvilOrganization Quantum in the Daniel Craig films, which was there to [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute replace SPECTRE]] storywise since Eon Productions didn't have the rights to SPECTRE. It's not completely wiped out at the end of ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' as it turns out Dominic Greene is killed by someone else than Bond and Mr. White is still at large, promising more of them to fight for Bond. ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' went for an InterimVillain instead, and since Eon got the rights back, ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' brought back its namesake group and Quantum was simply [[HijackedByGanon retconned into a defunct sub-organization of it]] (and the villain of ''Skyfall'' as well as Greene and Mr. White were also retconned as being members of Spectre). |
| 108 | * ActionGirl: Has [[ActionGirl/JamesBond its own page]]. |
| 109 | * ActionPrologue: The TropeCodifier, as the series has featured dozens of openings going all the way back to the 1960s where Bond fights through a giant action set piece before the main plot is even introduced. They are all detailed [[ActionPrologue/JamesBond here]]. |
| 110 | * AdaptationDistillation: Quite a bit, as Ian Fleming was inordinately obsessed with describing Bond's food and drink, details that received much less focus in the films. |
| 111 | * AdaptationalHeroism: Tracy Di Vicenzo and Ali Kerim Bey are both portrayed as being far less ambiguous in the films, due to both being fairly close allies of Bond (his wife, for the former). Also, the NiceGirl Kara Milovy, whose equivalent was the ''antagonist'' of the original short story. |
| 112 | * AdaptedOut: In many novels by Fleming, the villain is on the payroll of SMERSH, a (real, though actually dissolved in 1946) Soviet anti-espionage organisation that seeks to undermine Western powers at every opportunity. It wasn't until the [[Literature/{{Thunderball}} ninth book]] that he introduced SPECTRE, a criminal organisation with no political ties (because he worried Soviet villains would become dated). The films either make the villains independent entrepreneurs (''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', ''Film/LiveAndLetDie''), or outright change their SMERSH allegiance to SPECTRE instead (''Film/DrNo'', ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''). The sole Soviet player in the films was the KGB until TheNineties, and its chief General Gogol (Creator/WalterGotell) was a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and advocate of the Détente policy with the West, cooperating with them when necessary. |
| 113 | * AgeGapRomance: In most films, the actor who plays James Bond is considerably older than the actresses who play the Bond Girls (George Lazenby being the only exception; his love interest, Diana Rigg, was a year older than he was). In some cases, the difference is minimal, but in other cases, it can be decades apart. This was particularly bad in the Roger Moore era, who was 45 years old when he became James Bond and 57 years old when he left the role. The worst cases were with Creator/CaroleBouquet in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' (a 30-year age gap) and Creator/TanyaRoberts in ''Film/AViewToAKill'' (a 28-year age gap). In both cases, the age difference is so painfully obvious that the relationships between them are almost paternal, with the only sex scene occurring at the end of both films. |
| 114 | * AgeLift: |
| 115 | ** One of the biggest criticisms of ''Film/AViewToAKill'' was that Creator/RogerMoore was still playing Bond at age 57 (he was 45 when he was first cast as Bond in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie''). Creator/SeanConnery himself said "Bond should be played by an actor 35, 33 years old. I'm too old. Roger's too old, too!" Even when he was first cast, Moore violated the canon of Creator/IanFleming's novels, which established that Bond faced mandatory retirement at age 45 (meaning Creator/PierceBrosnan was technically too old for the role for most of his time as Bond too, and the same about Daniel Craig for ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' and ''Film/NoTimeToDie''). |
| 116 | ** Turned on its head in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' where one of the main themes of the movie is how Bond (played by the 44-year-old Creator/DanielCraig) is getting too old to keep working in the field. |
| 117 | * AgentsDating: Happens many, many, many times in the series, if you're willing to be sufficiently loose with the [[ReallyGetsAround term]] [[TheCasanova "date."]] More details on some of the movies' pages and in the trope page. |
| 118 | * TheAllegedCar: The initially {{Cool Car}}s Bond is given almost always invariably turn into this by the time that Bond is done with them, to Q's great dismay. |
| 119 | ** The main time this is played straight is in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', where his Lotus is blown up, and he has to make do with the girl's Citroën-2cv. |
| 120 | * AllWomenAreLustful: All the female characters, whether allies or enemies, will sooner or later go to bed with Bond. |
| 121 | * AloofDarkHairedGirl: The brunette Bond Girls are the ones who have a high tendency in become the FemmeFatale or/and the DefrostingIceQueen towards Bond. |
| 122 | * AlternateContinuity: While the first twenty films in Eon's series roughly follow the same continuity with various creative liberties being taken with the time periods that the stories are set in (operating on a sliding timescale not unlike what comic books use), Daniel Craig's five movies are set in their own continuity, with ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'' serving as the ContinuityReboot. |
| 123 | * AndStarring: The actor playing M always has the "And [name] as M" billing. He or [[Creator/JudiDench She]] is usually preceded by a "With" that varies in films. |
| 124 | * AntiHero: |
| 125 | ** Bond was all over the scale since his beginnings. His probably most harmless (that is, most heroic impersonation) was probably during the Moore era, and that is saying ''a lot''. Bond has never been above killing people while they were unarmed, down, at his mercy, or with their backs turned to him (Brosnan-era Bond often even did so with a playful smirk), and had more than once been [[CombatPragmatist playing dirty]] while doing so. The films also show Bond taking pleasure in killing his opponents when [[ItsPersonal it was personal for him]], as seen in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' and ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly''. |
| 126 | ** Daniel Craig's Bond is probably the most stone-cold, although that seems to reflect the overall turn in direction of the films. In his first appearance ever, he casually admits to his target that his first kill was "difficult,"[[note]]Although Bond was probably referring to the target putting up a fight rather than any qualms about killing in cold blood[[/note]] to which the target replies "The second one will be..." (presumably [[ItGetsEasier "easier"]]) before Bond shoots him, and responds with no emotion whatsoever other than perhaps bemusement, "Yes, considerably." While playing word-association with a psychiatrist in ''Skyfall'', the psychiatrist says "murder" to which Bond replies "employment." To this Bond, [[ProfessionalKiller killing is just a job]], like filing reports. |
| 127 | * TheAtoner: This is a thread throughout the Brosnan era. Trevelyan straight up asks Bond, "...if you find forgiveness in the arms of all those willing women for all the dead ones you failed to protect." Bond's attitude throughout ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' and ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' (specifically his [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x390eac desperate attempt to resuscitate Jinx]]) indicates that this statement has left him pretty rattled. |
| 128 | * BadassInANiceSuit: Bond almost always wears a handsome suit. |
| 129 | * BatScare: A few of the DisturbedDoves in the 1980s films are this (such as in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', where Bond is climbing the mountain and the doves come out of a hole). This is a trademark of director Creator/JohnGlen, who directed all five of the Bond films in the 80s, from ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' to ''Film/LicenceToKill''. |
| 130 | * BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Both Bond and his ladies usually keep tidy despite everything they face. Exceptions for 007 are ''Dr. No'' (after he's imprisoned and beat up), ''Licence to Kill'' (he ends up covered in blood, sweat and sand), ''Die Another Day'' (after the ActionPrologue, he spends 14 months being tortured and looks like ''Film/CastAway'') and the first two Daniel Craig movies, since those are essentially a two-parter DarkerAndEdgier ContinuityReboot. |
| 131 | * BilledAboveTheTitle: The credits always pays tribute to two of the creators of the franchise first--"Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions Limited presents followed originally by "[actor] in Ian Fleming's ''[title]''", later expanded to "...as James Bond 007 in Ian Fleming's..." at the beginning of Creator/RogerMoore's tenure; this was switched around to "...as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 in..." for ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' (which was not really based on [[Literature/TheSpyWhoLovedMe the book]]), switched back for ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', and switched around again permanently from ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' onwards. |
| 132 | * BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Being a LongRunner film series, there has been a Bond Girl in every hair spectrum. [[RavenHairIvorySkin Dark]]-[[AloofDarkhairedGirl haired]] is the majority, followed by the [[EveryoneLovesBlondes blondes]]. |
| 133 | * BloodlessCarnage: |
| 134 | ** The film generally are rated PG-13. There was a famous sequence in ''A View to a Kill'' where Creator/ChristopherWalken mowed down dozens of miners with a [[GunsOfFiction/SubmachineGuns Uzi]], and they didn't even use squibs. |
| 135 | ** ''Film/LicenceToKill'' is the bloodiest and goriest film in the series yet, and got away with a PG-13 somehow. The Japanese and Dutch Laserdiscs are the uncut version with even more blood, but are in PanAndScan. |
| 136 | ** In ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'', Xenia dies when the chopper she's rappelling from is shot down. The result yanks her safety harness into the crotch of a tree, which ought to have torn her in half. Instead, she writhes about and dies beautifully. |
| 137 | ** The Daniel Craig films are ''very'' hard PG-13s. ColdBloodedTorture is utilised more than once, and the lack of explicit blood doesn't stop them from being absolutely brutal in their violence. |
| 138 | * BlueBlood: Bond's family is strongly hinted as coming from Scottish nobility. In ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', Bond's history is explored, and it's noted that he has a family crest and motto, evidence of noble standing. ''Skyfall'' drives this point home, with the title itself referring to Bond's ancestral home. |
| 139 | * BodyCountCompetition: Bond probably has the highest on-screen body count of any film character ever, counting all the official movies. Unsurprisingly for an action hero/government assassin, he kills at least one person in every film, and more commonly ''a lot'' of people. Roger Moore has the highest body count of the Bonds, with 121 kills, which makes sense as he appeared in the most (official) movies (even if he was supposedly a lighter-and-fluffier Bond). Pierce Brosnan gets the close second with 103, which is quite remarkable because he appeared in three fewer movies than Moore and it was noted that Brosnan's Bond tended to get his hands on automatic weapons ''a lot''. |
| 140 | * BondGunBarrel: {{Trope Maker|s}}, of course. Used to open all the movies prior to Daniel Craig's era (in the first, it precedes the credits; in the next two, it closes the movie instead). It finally returned to the opening for ''Spectre''. |
| 141 | * BondVillainStupidity: The TropeNamer. A recurring FatalFlaw for many Bond villains, they have a tendency to gloat about their {{Evil Plan}}s, but by then, 007 has already conjured a plan B to escape and defeat the baddies. Examples in chronological order: |
| 142 | ** ''Film/DrNo'': |
| 143 | *** After a dinner gone wrong, Dr. No just orders his guards to beat up Bond and get him imprisoned. 007 later escapes, nearly getting drowned in the process (however, being the first Bond film nobody knew how dangerous he could be). |
| 144 | *** In [[Literature/DrNo the book]], he also had Bond run through Dr. No's death course. Bond was close to dying through it, multiple times. As did everyone else Dr. No had "tested"; the course was designed to kill. The only difference Dr. No ever expected was how long it would take. Funny how much difference a stolen lighter and a steak knife (and Bond!) can make... |
| 145 | ** In ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', Red Grant's plan is to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shoot Bond]], and he actually manages to get the drop on his target and have him completely at his mercy, but he still fails because he can't resist indulging in some EvilGloating and a JustBetweenYouAndMe speech. In Red's defence, he still would have been fine if he hadn't fallen for Bond's bribe. At least he didn't leave the guy unattended, unlike most of the jokers on this list. |
| 146 | *** He'd also had plenty of opportunities to kill Bond before he even got on the train, but his failure to do so was his superior's fault: Red's boss' boss (Blofeld in the movie, General G in the novel) didn't just want Bond to die, he wanted him to die in a manner that would embarrass [=MI6=] and the British government, which required a more elaborate setup then just shooting him as he walked down the street. |
| 147 | ** Averted by ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', with Auric Goldfinger keeping Bond alive because if he dies, then [=MI6=] will just send in [[HeroOfAnotherStory some guy called 008]]. Goldfinger instead tricks Bond's superiors into thinking that the situation is well in hand. Also justified in the same film -- Goldfinger originally was going to have Bond sliced in half by a laser. The inversion is that this was going to work; Bond had to talk his way out of it, and was seconds away from losing his manhood when Goldfinger agreed. Goldfinger instead displays incredible stupidity (or maybe just bad writing) in dealing with his gangster accomplices. While he is showing them his plan with a miniature Fort Knox, one demands to leave and take his gold with him. They load the gold in a car and Oddjob drives him away, ostensibly to the airport. Then Oddjob kills him but instead of just dumping the body he takes the car, with the body in it, to an auto yard where it is cubed, along with the gold. He then returns to the farm where Goldfinger says they will have to extract the gold from the car and remains. This would be all too complicated as it is. However, after that gangster left, Goldfinger had the room sealed and all the other gangsters gassed to death. So why not just excuse himself for a minute, leaving that one guy with the others and kill them all at once, instead of destroying a car for no reason (and even then, attempting to separate the gold from the car ''after'' making it a three foot by three foot cube, rather than ''before'')? |
| 148 | *** Notably, in the novel, the gangster who opted out of the plan "fell down the stairs" on his way out of the meeting, and the others all agreed to join the plan and were left alive, rather than the elaborate setup from the movie. |
| 149 | ** ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'': |
| 150 | *** Fiona Volpe successfully seduces Bond -- not that it's especially difficult to do so -- and doesn't do a HighHeelFaceTurn, but then monologues about it and generally screws around until Bond escapes, killing her shortly thereafter. Helga Brandt makes almost the exact same mistake a film later, though she's instead killed by Blofeld for being a moron. |
| 151 | *** BigBad Largo himself provides a classic example. He catches Bond in his pool fighting with one of his men. The mook with him is just about to shoot Bond, while Largo stops him and instead traps Bond in there to be eaten by his sharks. Naturally, Bond uses this to escape. |
| 152 | ** In ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', Blofeld's guilty of it at least twice; first, he sends an assassin to kill Bond with an elaborate poison trick while he sleeps… you know, instead of shooting him or dropping a grenade on him or any of another ways to kill a sleeping guy from roughly the same distance. Later, he catches Bond in his base, and keeps him alive because he wants Bond to witness his success even though he really ought to know better than that by now. He even pulls an elaborate fakeout where [[BlofeldPloy he seems like he's about to shoot Bond, but shoots his own henchman instead at the last second]]. A little while after that, he finally tries to shoot Bond for real, but of course by then it's too late. |
| 153 | ** Justified in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', where just for once the villain genuinely has an actual sensible reason for keeping the captured James Bond alive and explaining the plot to him: Bond is trusted by the authorities and familiar with Blofeld's record, so his report will help convince the UN that the threat is serious. Granted, that's still a pretty dumb defence, considering M -- or anyone with access to the records of previous Blofeld cases -- could have done the job just as well… but at least it's something. |
| 154 | ** In ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd had Bond unconscious and they simply dumped him in an unfinished pipeline and left, [[SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere assuming he'd eventually die]]. Doubly stupid, as this was the ''second time'' the pair had been given an unconscious James Bond to dispose of; the first time they tried to burn him alive, and it didn't work then; Shady Tree and Morton Slumber get him out of the retort when Tree discovers that Peter Franks' remains had been stuffed with fake diamonds planted by Bond and the CIA before being transported to Slumber, Inc. to be burned, and Bond takes the opportunity to just waltz out of Slumber, Inc. when Tree tries to question him about the whereabouts of the real diamonds. |
| 155 | ** Most of ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' revolves around this, as the villains sequentially attempt an elaborate assassination involving a snake (despite having keys to his room), leave him unattended on a small island to be eaten by alligators, and finally try to have him fed to sharks -- admittedly a recurring classic -- instead of just shooting him, despite having by then having had enough experience with the guy to know better. |
| 156 | ** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': |
| 157 | *** Bond takes up Hai Fat's invitation to join him for dinner in his mansion while pretending to be Scaramanga, not knowing that the ''real'' Scaramanga had already gotten in touch with the guy. When he arrives there late at night, he's incapacitated by some guards in an ambush. As they're about to kill him, Hai Fat forbids them from doing so because he doesn't want Bond killed in his home. They'll just take him somewhere else to finish him off right? Nope. Hai Fat has Bond placed in a krabi krabong school to... get beaten up? Maybe? |
| 158 | *** Justifiably invoked by Scaramanga late in the film; he freely admits that he could have used his solar-powered laser to blow up Bond's plane before he even landed on the island, but chose not to do so because of how unsatisfying it would be. |
| 159 | ** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'': |
| 160 | *** In TheTeaser, [[LawyerFriendlyCameo "Blofeld"]] opts to zig and zag Bond around in the helicopter, instead of just crashing it as soon as he takes control. Justified in this case by the fact that he had looked forward to killing Bond for a long time and had been crippled by him -- he wanted Bond to suffer the same way he did. |
| 161 | *** BigBad Kristatos is guilty of it as well, choosing to kill Bond and the Bond Girl by dragging them behind his boat and assuming sharks ate them when they finally disappeared as opposed to shooting them and ''then'' dragging them behind his boat to let the sharks take care of the bodies. |
| 162 | ** ''Film/AViewToAKill'': |
| 163 | *** It has a pretty bad one early on, where Zorin decides to kill Bond by rolling his car into a lake. One could guess he wanted to make it look like an accident, but once he woke up it was probably his easiest escape ever. |
| 164 | *** Zorin does try to get it done while James is still unconscious and even stays at the lake long enough to make sure Bond didn't survive. However, he and his henchwoman stand where Bond can see them watching from underwater, and Bond uses the air from one of the car's tires to stay underwater until Zorin leaves. |
| 165 | *** Later Zorin has Bond at his mercy but decides to kill him by locking him in San Francisco City Hall and setting it on fire. In this case at least he has the excuse that he wants to frame Bond for the murder of someone else and make it look like he failed to escape after setting the City Hall on fire himself. |
| 166 | ** Averted in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' as the villain's whole plan hinges on Bond killing someone on his say so and his own ability to look like the victim and/or hero. He does miss a good opportunity to kill Bond late in the film, but it's because he thinks sending Bond to jail will be better for his cover -- which he'd be right about, if Bond hadn't already outsmarted him a few scenes before. |
| 167 | ** Almost averted again in ''Film/LicenceToKill'' as the villain doesn't find out Bond's not on his side 'till very near the end, and when he does, he puts Bond into his death trap and sticks around to watch until he's forced to leave because the place is on fire and about to explode, at which point he leaves his most trusted henchman in charge of finishing the job. Naturally, that goes poorly for Sanchez, but credit to him for getting so much closer to getting it right than most. |
| 168 | ** In ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'', the villains had several opportunities to just shoot Bond, but they don't. Then Ouroumov has the chance to shoot Bond, ''announces that he is about to do it'', and then is promptly cold-cocked. What moves this into beyond-belief territory is that ''both'' have direct evidence of how dangerous Bond is when cornered. The only such opportunity that has a justified reason for not killing him is in the Statue yard, where Trevelyan is trying to frame Bond and Natalya for the theft of the helicopter. If a post-explosion examination of the bodies revealed that they had been shot beforehand, it would have raised suspicion. Also, given Trevelyan's motivations, it's not merely enough to kill Bond, and if it would be he usually has more pragmatic reasons for keeping them alive. The aforementioned frame up is just the first such example. |
| 169 | ** Elliot Carver was preparing to do this in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', leaving Mr. Stamper and his henchmen to torture Bond and Wai Lin for an ungodly amount of hours, but the heroes decide to make their escape before Carver even leaves the room. |
| 170 | ** Classic example in ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. Elektra King drops a loaded pistol for Bond to collect, before she runs up a set of stairs -- unarmed. In her case, she thought [[ChivalrousPervert Bond]] [[WouldntHitAGirl wouldn't shoot a woman he had slept with]]. [[WouldHitAGirl She was dead wrong]]. Elektra seems pretty reticent to kill Bond generally -- she seems to be waiting for him to give in to his affection for her and become her new Renard -- which is still nonsensical (Elektra has...[[SanityHasAdvantages issues]]), but trying to make him do a FaceHeelTurn is no longer this trope. |
| 171 | ** It's either {{lampshade|Hanging}}d or a spectacularly bad example, albeit not involving Bond himself: In ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', two henchmen have Jinx at their mercy, and one ''actually proposes shooting her''... but the other one wants to do it with lasers, and gets his way, allowing Bond time to arrive and rescue her. Earlier in the film, Bond gets out a Bullet-Proof Vest and Colonel Moon keeps shooting it until it falls off onto the ground. |
| 172 | ** In ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'', both Le Chiffre and Mr. White make a dumb -- and wholly unnecessary -- deal to keep Bond alive. It ends poorly for them. |
| 173 | ** Not quite averted in ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', as while the villains never really have Bond at their mercy the way they usually do at least once a movie, they do leave the oft-imperiled Bond girl alive way too many times, and she ends up having as much to do with their downfall as 007 does. |
| 174 | ** Raoul Silva in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' initially toys with Bond instead of killing him because it's all part of his plan to get caught so he can exact revenge on M. Later, however, his failure to take advantage of various opportunities to kill the heroes after said plan has already run its course is best chalked up to PlotArmour and SanityHasAdvantages. |
| 175 | ** Crops up twice in ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': |
| 176 | *** First, when Oberhauser/Blofeld has Bond at his mercy in his secret base, he then decided to go all ReasonYouSuckSpeech, EvilGloating, and BreakTheBadass on both Bond and his girl, and then he'd get to killing Bond after the ColdBloodedTorture. This gave Bond time enough to bail out. The second time, he constructs an elaborate DeathTrap, giving Bond a choice: escape now on your own but live with the guilt of not saving Madeleine in time for the rest of his life, or try to rescue [[spoiler:Swann]] and die together. In the latter case, he was playing on Bond's feelings to get him to fall, but since he was more interested in tormenting Bond rather than killing him, this gave Bond plenty of time to find [[spoiler:Swann]] and then escape. |
| 177 | *** Blofeld's henchmen aren't too bright either. When they kidnap Bond, they tie his hands in front of him, with plastic zip ties. Sure enough, Bond's able to grab one of their guns and shoot them both, then break free. |
| 178 | ** ''[[https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/bond-villain-monologues/ Empire]]'' listed the [[EvilGloating Bond Villain Monologues]], while stating on all "[[StatingTheSimpleSolution What he should have done]]: [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Shot Him]]", save ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies''. There, the villain should have "Bought Website/{{Google}}." To be fair, General Whittaker in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' only monologued to distract Bond as a remote control gun was aiming to shoot him. |
| 179 | * BroadStrokes: Essentially the only times there was strict continuity was from 1962-1967, and again the Craig era, which was a reboot.[[note]]Disregarding 50th anniversary MythologyGags like the Aston in ''Skyfall'', that is.[[/note]] Since then, it's just been getting messier. New actors, explicitly different settings and "soft" reboots are only some of the continuity problems. All fans have their own theories or lack thereof. |
| 180 | * CartwrightCurse: Getting into bed with James Bond can be fatal for women. Tracy, the only one who married him, didn't even make it to the honeymoon. Generally speaking, it's best to be the second woman Bond hooks up with during the course of a mission, or the bit character he has a fling with before the mission even starts and is only present in that one scene. As an overall statistic, as of ''No Time to Die'', having sex with Bond brings with it a 29.31% (17 out of 58) chance of dying before the end of the movie. Of course, the death rate varies from Bond to Bond: |
| 181 | ** Sean Connery: 26.67% (4 out of 15, although the first death of one of 007's conquests does not occur until the third movie) |
| 182 | ** George Lazenby: 33.33% (1 out of 3) |
| 183 | ** Roger Moore: 26.32% (5 out of 19) |
| 184 | ** Timothy Dalton: 0% (0 out of 4, but Felix's wife gets killed pretty quickly in ''Licence To Kill'') |
| 185 | ** Pierce Brosnan: 40% (4 out of 10; one in each movie) |
| 186 | ** Daniel Craig (as of ''No Time To Die''): 42.86% (3 out of 7, with this trope being taken to extremes in that the first survivor wasn't until his third film, and she didn't even have a speaking part). |
| 187 | * CatchPhrase: |
| 188 | ** "TheNameIsBondJamesBond" |
| 189 | ** "Vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred." |
| 190 | ** Just before Q explains Bond's gadgets, he'll start with, "Now, pay attention, 007..." He usually finishes the explanation with an admonition to Bond to bring his equipment back "in pristine order" (which Bond never does). And of course there's the ever-popular "Grow up, 007." |
| 191 | ** The end credits for all the films from ''Film/DrNo'' to ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' have concluded with the phrase "James Bond will return in..." followed by the title of the next film. This tradition stopped with ''Film/AViewToAKill'', in which the end credits simply say "James Bond will return." Due to the limbo-like nature of the franchise since the 80s, all subsequent films have ended with "James Bond will return". |
| 192 | * ChekhovsArmoury: The sections with Q in which the film's gadgets, weapons, and/or car are revealed and [[ChekhovsGun have their uses explained]], although it's sometimes averted when Bond ends up using features of said gadgets that Q never mentioned. Some may qualify as ChekhovsBoomerang if he uses it more than once. |
| 193 | * {{Chickification}}: Strong, independent female characters from the books often appear as bimbos in the first four films (with the exception of Pussy Galore). For example, Bond's Jamaican ally Quarrel is much more of a subordinate in ''Film/DrNo'', mirroring Honey Ryder's dependence on Bond for protection, and being transformed into her simply walking out of the sea, then shortly afterwards, needing sex. |
| 194 | * ChronicallyCrashedCar: Bond destroys nearly every CoolCar Q provides him. |
| 195 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: More often than not, you can bet that you will never see the Bond Girl again. They frequently are not even mentioned after the film they're introduced in. The few aversions are: |
| 196 | ** The first-ever movie Bond Girl Sylvia Trench. After ''Film/DrNo'', she's there again early in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''. After that, though, she's never heard from again. |
| 197 | ** Tracy Di Vicenzo gets a CallBack from time to time, being Bond's wife and greatest love in the original continuity. |
| 198 | ** Maud Adams, the actress who plays the secondary Bond Girl in ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', went on to play the primary Bond Girl in ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', but they are distinctly different characters, and no reference to the actress' first appearance is made in the second. |
| 199 | ** Wei Lin from ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' was originally scripted to return as a contact in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', but Creator/MichelleYeoh could not commit and she had to be written out. |
| 200 | ** Vesper Lynd, featured in ''[[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 Casino Royale]]'', remains a plot-relevant PosthumousCharacter in ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' and is mentioned in both ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' and ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' (Bond goes to her grave in the latter even). |
| 201 | ** "Eve" (Creator/NaomieHarris) plays a sidekick role for the majority of ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', and only at the end is it revealed that she is [[spoiler:Moneypenny]], and she comes back in ''Spectre'' and ''No Time to Die'' as such. |
| 202 | ** Madeleine Swann from ''Spectre'' returns in ''No Time to Die'', having a significant role in both movies. |
| 203 | ** Non-Bond Girl examples: |
| 204 | *** Jack Wade is seen in the first two Brosnan films and isn't mentioned afterwards. He was most likely a replacement for... |
| 205 | *** Felix Leiter, who is last seen (not counting his reboot appearances) in ''Film/LicenceToKill''. Though it can be assumed he was forced into retirement after being dismembered by a shark. His newlywed wife wasn't so lucky. |
| 206 | *** Averted with Valentin Zukovsky (Creator/RobbieColtrane) who first appeared in ''Film/GoldenEye'', but came back in ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. |
| 207 | *** There's even a non-human example. Max the parrot was in ''For Your Eyes Only'' (in which he flirted with UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher) and ''The Living Daylights''. |
| 208 | ** The books averted this. Each previous adventure was referenced in the next book and previous Bond Girls were also referenced as well. |
| 209 | * ChummyCommies: In one of the series' ultimate ironies, Bond, one of the prototypical Cold War Warriors, teams up with the USSR in an EnemyMine situation more often than working directly against them. In fact, ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', the pre-titles of ''Film/AViewToAKill'' and the pre-titles of ''Film/GoldenEye'' are the only times ''in the entire series'' where the USSR is outright antagonistic, and not a fellow UnwittingPawn that 007 must make a hasty alliance with in order to save the world. In both ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' (USSR) and ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' (China), he even [[WhenHarryMetSvetlana works together with a female communist agent]] to save the day. |
| 210 | * ClothesMakeTheLegend: James will wear a tuxedo at some point in each movie. (The gun barrel doesn't count.) The only times where it is averted are in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' and in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', the latter where Roger Moore isn't seen in a tuxedo at all (except for the gun barrel sequence, that is) to fill on the gritty look the producers wanted on Moore's debut. |
| 211 | * ComicBookTime: [[invoked]][[TheOtherDarrin Despite being portrayed by different men]], all the James Bonds from Sean Connery up to Pierce Brosnan are expected to viewed as being the very same character whereas Daniel Craig is a separate new Bond of a brand new continuity. Believe it or not though, this was actually loosely averted up until ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'' as Sean Connery, George Lazenby and Roger Moore were all of a similar age, so Bond aged consistently with real time before being effectively {{retcon}}ned with the younger-looking Timothy Dalton. |
| 212 | * ComplexityAddiction: Most Bond villains are bad enough [[BondVillainStupidity to name a whole separate trope]] -- for instance, instead of simply killing Bond, they [[Film/DrNo beat him up and leave him in a somewhat easily escapable cell]], [[Film/LiveAndLetDie leave him in the middle of an alligator farm]], and [[BlofeldPloy kill a mook that failed them instead]]. |
| 213 | * ContinuityNod: Happens a fair bit, especially after a change of actor in the lead role. It started with an early scene in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' in which it was shown that George Lazenby's Bond kept mementos from Sean Connery's adventures in his desk drawer. Since then, Roger has visited George's wife's grave, Pierce has played with Sean's old gadgets while hanging out in Q's lab, and Pierce and Daniel have both driven Sean's old car (in addition to which, Daniel also ended up behind the wheel of Timothy's old car). |
| 214 | * ContinuityReboot: |
| 215 | ** ''Casino Royale'' effectively started a new Bond continuity and had Creator/DanielCraig's Bond getting his licence to kill at the beginning. |
| 216 | ** This will be inevitable for Craig's successor considering [[spoiler:[[TheHeroDies the end]]]] of ''No Time to Die'', which is still followed by "James Bond Will Return". |
| 217 | * CoolCar: Varies from film to film, but you can usually count on at least one per film. The Aston Martin [=DB5=] is certainly the most memorable. Introduced in ''Goldfinger'' and brought back for a cameo in ''Thunderball'', the car was later featured in both the Brosnan and Craig films, with it [[spoiler:playing a major role in ''Skyfall'']]. Special mention must also go to the Moore-era Lotus Esprit and the Dalton-era Aston Martin V8 (the latter of which makes a cameo in ''No Time to Die''). |
| 218 | * CouchGag: Between the 1960s and the early 1980s, it was standard for the film to end with some variation of the on-screen message "James Bond will return in..." and the next film title announced. On several occasions, however (following ''Thunderball'' and later following ''The Spy Who Loved Me'') the ''wrong title'' was announced as EON decided to adapt a different book or story when the time came to actually make the next film. ''Octopussy'' also got it wrong, but only by one word. James Bond was said to return in ''From A View To A Kill'', which was the title of a Fleming short story. However, when the movie was actually released, the ''From'' was dropped from the title. |
| 219 | * CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: [=MI6=] has a mundane cover in "Universal Exports". |
| 220 | * CutLexLuthorACheck: Quite a few of the villains are involved in perfectly legitimate or semi-legitimate businesses which appear to turn a handsome profit without them having to resort to, well, villainy. Franz Sanchez in ''Film/LicenceToKill'' is even amused by the fact that one of his money-laundering fronts -- the televangelist racket -- is actually profitable thanks to the charisma of the televangelist. |
| 221 | * DarkerAndEdgier: After the end of the Moore era the films have been progressively getting darker and grittier. |
| 222 | ** ''Film/LicenceToKill'' is by far the darkest entry. When an AxCrazy South American drug lord brutally maims an old friend of Bond on his wedding night and murders his bride, Bond sets out on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge which sees him (with the help of tough-as-nails ActionGirl Pam Bouvier) becoming a RogueAgent and carving through the cartel in gory fashion. It's something of a ContestedSequel as a lot of viewers were put off by the sheer violence, but it comes closest to emulating the tone of the novels. |
| 223 | ** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', as a ContinuityReboot, sees a return to brutal and bloody fight scenes, gritty realism, Bond being even more of an AntiHero than usual, and the story taking on elements of a political thriller. ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' gets ''even darker'' by throwing in plenty of {{Deconstruction}}s, Bond's DentedIron status, questions on his sanity and [[spoiler:the good guys' victory over the villain being hugely [[PyrrhicVictory pyrrhic]].]] |
| 224 | * DeathByAdaptation: Several: [[spoiler: Rene Mathis in]] ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' is perhaps the most notable example. Also, [[spoiler: Dikko]] in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', [[spoiler: Kronsteen]] in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', [[spoiler: Lisl]] in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', [[spoiler: Saunders, the equivalent of Sender in the short story]] in ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', as well as the [[spoiler: agent that is transformed into the villainous General Koskov for the film, who is probably executed after the events of the movie]], Gettler in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006''. More recently, [[spoiler: the death of M in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', as no M has ever been killed off in the books, and even ''James Bond himself'' in ''Film/NoTimeToDie''.]] |
| 225 | * DeathTrap: Not the [[TropeMakers creator]], but certainly a [[TropeCodifier codifier]]. |
| 226 | * DefrostingIceQueen: |
| 227 | ** Probably the iciest of all the Bond girls is Melina Havelock in ''For Your Eyes Only''. She initially thinks only of her revenge, and treats Bond harshly, seeing him only as a government agent that she doesn't know whether or not to trust. Throughout the movie, getting to know Bond better, she begins to feel romantic feelings for him. He makes her laugh and smile at a tragic time in her life, and a deleted scene shows her failing to hide her jealousy when she learns that Bond spent the night with the Countess. In the final scene of the movie, Melina becomes the happy and optimistic woman she was before her parents' murder, and makes love to Bond. |
| 228 | ** Downplayed with Stacey Sutton in ''A View to a Kill''. In the first half of the movie, she appears to be cold and cynical when Bond flirts with her at Zorin's mansion, but in the second half of the movie, after discovering that Bond is an ally, she becomes one of the most sympathetic Bond girls in the franchise, always smiling. |
| 229 | ** Miranda Frost in ''Die Another Day'' appears to be a straight-up version of this trope, right down to her MeaningfulName, but is actually a subversion as [[spoiler:she's secretly working for the villain, and thus didn't 'melt emotionally' as she appeared to.]] |
| 230 | ** Vesper Lynd, ''Casino Royale'' (2006). Technical realities of her being a civilian, and not actual royalty, while looking down her nose at the vulgar Bond are utterly meaningless, both in the story and in this trope. |
| 231 | * DesignStudentsOrgasm: |
| 232 | ** Every movie title sequence. |
| 233 | ** And any Bond film that contains a set design credit for Ken Adam. |
| 234 | * DirtForcefield: Both Bond and his ladies usually keep tidy despite everything they face. Exceptions for 007 are ''Dr. No'' (after he's imprisoned and beat up), ''Licence to Kill'' (he ends up covered in blood, sweat and sand), ''Die Another Day'' (after the ActionPrologue, he spends 14 months being tortured and looks like ''Film/CastAway'') and the first two Daniel Craig movies, since those are essentially a two-parter DarkerAndEdgier ContinuityReboot. |
| 235 | * DisposableLoveInterest: Bond Girls. Some entries even have more than one of them. |
| 236 | * DisposableWoman: Bond's enemies kill [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService Tracy]], [[Film/TomorrowNeverDies Paris Carver]] and [[spoiler:all women with whom Daniel Craig sleeps before ''Spectre''--Vesper, Solange, Fields, and Severine; in the latter's case, it's a deconstruction]]. |
| 237 | * DistressedDude: For a badass secret agent, Bond sure ends up in sticky situations a lot. |
| 238 | * TheDon: ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' has Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Union Corse. |
| 239 | * DoubleEntendre: Expect to have at least one per movie. |
| 240 | * DownerEnding: |
| 241 | ** [[spoiler: ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', and ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', though the latter is more of a BittersweetEnding than a downer.]] |
| 242 | ** [[spoiler: A hallmark of the Craig era as a whole. Even ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' can only at best be considered a BittersweetEnding. The exception to this so far is ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', which has a [[EarnYourHappyEnding happy ending]] rather than a sad one. And then [[Film/NoTimeToDie the next one]] undid the happiness in the pretitle sequence.]] |
| 243 | * TheDragon: Several. Oddjob, Jaws and Red Grant are three of the most famous examples in cinema history. |
| 244 | * DressHitsFloor: Happens a bunch of times throughout the series--''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', etc. |
| 245 | ** In ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', we even get a gender-swapped version with Bond himself removing a kilt in such a manner. |
| 246 | * EarlyInstalmentWeirdness: |
| 247 | ** ''Film/DrNo'' lacks many of the trademarks that the franchise is known for. A [[TheTeaser Cold Open]], the CoolCar, gadgets and many others are all absent. ''Film/DrNo'' also contains the infamous scene where Bond murders Professor Dent. Even Fleming never had Bond act so cold-bloodedly in the books, and for all intents and purposes Bond wouldn't act this way again until 2006's ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', which was, like ''Film/DrNo'', the start of a new continuity. Furthermore, unlike his successors, Connery's Bond never saw action in a snowy environment. |
| 248 | ** The early films in general can come off at this, especially to younger viewers, since the series spans over 60 years. Bond is very much a man of his time, and the Connery films being rooted in Rat Pack culture must seem odd for those who grew up with Brosnan or Craig. |
| 249 | ** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' are this with the Moore era. The comedic elements that peppered Moore's run are there, but the writers at the time seemed indecisive about whether or not to make the series more humorous or to play them like the earlier films, and the action and setpieces weren't as grand in scale as the following films. |
| 250 | * EuphemisticNames: The TropeCodifier. Various female characters James Bond encounters (either as foes, love-interests, or allies) having a suggestive name of some sort. Examples include Pussy Galore, Holly Goodhead, Octopussy, Plenty O'Toole, Chew Mee, Xenia Onatopp, Honey Rider, Mary Goodnight, Miss Moneypenny, Penelope Smallbone, Dr. Molly Warmflash, Kissy Suzuki, Thumper, Dink, Solitaire, Domino, Jenny Flex, Bibi Dahl, Pan Ho and so on. |
| 251 | * EveryoneLovesBlondes: The blonde Bond Girls are usually the ones who are eager to hop on bed with Bond, sometimes more so than Bond himself. |
| 252 | * EvilCannotComprehendGood: This is a recurring flaw of many Bond villains — because they are criminally insane megalomaniacs and psychopaths who think they're {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s and {{Knight Templar}}s, so whenever they explain their motives and/or discuss their {{Evil Plan}}s, it quickly becomes clear to 007 that they're just ranting about their selfishness, as they're trying to [[HannibalLecture psychologically project their viewpoint and flaws unto him]], only for Bond to make a sarcastic but accurate remark about their insanity, [[VillainousBreakdown angering them]]. For example: |
| 253 | ** ''Film/DrNo'': [[MadScientist Dr. No]] explains his motive to join SPECTRE, claims that it's led by geniuses, and dismisses 007 as a "stupid policeman", only for Bond to sarcastically quip that SPECTRE is led by "criminal brains". |
| 254 | ** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': Francisco Scaramanga attempts to invoke the NotSoDifferentRemark on Bond, sardonically mocking that he only works for "peanuts, a hearty well done from Her Majesty the Queen, and a pittance of a pension", only for 007 to shut him down by telling that he's full of a "four-letter word". |
| 255 | ** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': When asked by Solitare about Kananga/Mr. Big's death, 007 [[BondOneLiner quips that he had an]] [[ItsAllAboutMe over-inflated opinion of himself]]. |
| 256 | ** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'': In the opening, Ernst Stavro Blofeld ''[[VillainousBreakdown pathetically]]'' [[VillainousBreakdown tries to offer Bond a delicatessen in stainless steel in an attempt to be let go]], but 007 won't have any and drops him down a smokestack, killing him for good. |
| 257 | ** ''Film/GoldenEye'': When [[spoiler:Alec Trevelyan]]/Janus explains how he plans to steal from the Bank of England and cover it up with an EMP blast from his KillSat [[spoiler:as part of his revenge against the British government for having his parents killed]], Bond retorts by saying that this still doesn't justify his crimes, it still "boils down to petty theft", and that he's nothing more than a "common thief", which does [[VillainousBreakdown infuriate]] [[spoiler:Trevelyan]]. |
| 258 | ** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': When [[spoiler:Colonel Tan-Sun Moon]]/Gustav Graves attempts to explain his EvilPlan to his father General Moon, he simply disowns him, telling that [[IHaveNoSon his son died the day]] [[spoiler:[[IHaveNoSon he plunged into the waterfall]].]] |
| 259 | ** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': |
| 260 | *** Franz Oberhauser/[[spoiler:Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] claims that he and [[spoiler:[[TheMole Max Denbigh/C]]]] are visionaries, only for Bond to mockingly say that they're not "visionaries", but insane megalomaniacs. "Psychiatric wards are full of them." |
| 261 | *** [[spoiler:After C/Max Denbigh is revealed to be TheMole within the British government and a member of SPECTRE who's in cahoots with Blofeld, he attempts to explain why DemocracyIsBad, TheEvilsOfFreeWill, that it's a CrapsackWorld out there and how the "[[BigBrotherIsWatching Nine Eyes]]" program and [[KnightTemplar total surveillance will work]] by calling M a "total moron", only for M to [[ShutUpHannibal shut him down]] by calling him "careless". At first glance, it may seem that he's ranting about M's flaws, but [[{{Understatement}} M obviously knows he's only ranting and]] [[ShutUpHannibal shuts him down]].]] |
| 262 | *** Following the FinalBattle at the end, [[spoiler:[[BigBad Ernst Stavro Blofeld]]]] is severely injured following his helicopter crashing onto the Westminster Bridge. As he crawls away from the wreckage, [[spoiler:Blofeld]] tries to goad 007 into killing him. But 007, after some initial hesitation, [[spoiler:[[NotWorthKilling refuses to do so]], stating that he's "out of bullets" and tosses away his gun, symbolically meaning that despite being a ProfessionalKiller, there are certain [[MoralEventHorizon moral lines]] that [[EveryoneHasStandards even Bond isn't willing to cross]], fully knowing that doing so will only make his problems worse and make him just as monstrous than Blofeld. This also leaves Blofeld a bit [[EvilCannotComprehendGood perplexed at 007's refusal to do so and as to why he chose to spare him]], despite acknowledging his capture and the CainAndAbel relationship between the two.]] |
| 263 | * EvilCounterpart: Many Bond villains such as Dr. No, Trevelyan, [[spoiler:Raoul Silva]], Blofeld, etc. serve as evil versions of 007. They all easily [[ShadowArchetype remind]] Bond of what he could be without his moral compass and if he allowed his feelings to control his life. Some of the villains even freely admit being [[CardCarryingVillain evil and cold-blooded megalomaniacs]], invoke the NotSoDifferentRemark on 007, and harbor no loyalty to others [[ItsAllAboutMe but to themselves]]. |
| 264 | * EvolvingMusic: The iconic theme tune has changed over the years. |
| 265 | * ExpositoryThemeTune: Most of the films' opening sequences comes with plot-relevant music (typically to go with the silhouettes {{foreshadowing}} the plot). |
| 266 | * FamousNamedForeigner: The KGB Chief is called [[Creator/NikolaiGogol Gogol]], and his sucessor's name is [[Creator/AlexanderPushkin Pushkin]]. |
| 267 | * FatalFlaw: |
| 268 | ** James Bond has two big weaknesses: |
| 269 | *** [[TheCasanova His womanizing nature]]. Bond's life is full of beautiful willing women who initially don't want relationships. And when they do, [[CartwrightCurse it ends badly]] for him. And many of the villains in the franchise have [[FlawExploitation even exploited this flaw of his]]. |
| 270 | *** [[TheAlcoholic Alcoholism]]. This is another big weakness for Bond, though more so in the novels. He's constantly guzzling down on booze, and sometimes likes to mix it with coffee or water. By the end of Fleming's run, he's consumed over [[http://thumbnails-visually.netdna-ssl.com/title-the-man-with-the-golden-liver_52aa474022381_w1500.jpg 1150 alcohol units]], including martinis, beer, whisky, bourbon, cocktails, gin and champagne. A tragic example comes in ''Literature/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', where he goes completely off the rails after [[TheLostLenore Tracy's death]], drunkenly wandering about London, [[SanitySlippage thinking irrationally]] and getting ''multiple hangovers'' on a daily basis. |
| 271 | ** Many Bond villains have two flaws: |
| 272 | *** EvilCannotComprehendGood and ItsAllAboutMe are recurring fatal weaknesses for many of them — since most of them are criminally insane megalomaniacs who think they're {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s and {{Knight Templar}}s, so whenever they explain their motives and discuss their {{Evil Plan}}s, it quickly becomes clear that they're just talking about themselves and their selfishness, as they're trying to [[PsychologicalProjection psychologically project their viewpoint by justifying their causes]] [[HannibalLecture and explain his own flaws]], only for Bond to make a sarcastic but accurate remark about their insanity, [[VillainousBreakdown angering them]]. |
| 273 | *** BondVillainStupidity. Their tendency [[EvilGloating to gloat about their plans]] and how they will kill Bond is another problem, as by then, 007 has already cooked up a plan B to escape and find a way to destroy the baddies. [[PsychologicalProjection They are determined to justify themselves and their causes to Bond]], giving him just enough time to escape and defeat the villains. |
| 274 | ** Ernst Stavro Blofeld has several major flaws: |
| 275 | *** [[ItsAllAboutMe An inflated ego]], [[GloryHound desire for recognition]] and [[{{Pride}} vanity.]] He's willing to use underhanded means to get rich quickly, even if it means condemning millions to chaos. This results in a bloated ego, as the process by which he demands to not only get acceptance in society, but also the ability to dominate and fleece it led to an increased vanity. This actually becomes a major problem for him in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', as he is notably saddled with the exploitable weakness of snobbery about his assumed nobility, indicating that he is losing his [[SanitySlippage grip on sanity]]. And in [[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice the book version of]] ''Literature/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', his ego and vanity has eaten up whatever remaining sanity he had. |
| 276 | *** [[EvilIsPetty Pettiness]]. He [[BadBoss often kills]] many of his minions for minor reasons such as insubordination or [[YouHaveFailedMe failure to complete their tasks.]] And in ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', his obsession to see 007 suffer, whether by [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] or [[TheAnticipator elaborate mind-games]] with him just because of ParentalFavouritism proves to be a major problem. |
| 277 | *** [[AGodAmI Megalomania]]. While Blofeld may not have a god-complex, he certainly has delusions of grandeur, as he wants to be very powerful regardless of [[OmnicidalManiac the countless deaths he would orchestrate]] to achieve that goal. |
| 278 | *** In the novels, apart from his inflated ego and tendency to kill minions for minor reasons, the MagicPlasticSurgery he constantly does to radically alter himself [[KarmaHoudini in order to escape justice]] in both ''Literature/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' and ''Literature/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' comes with the [[SanitySlippage price of slowly losing his grip on sanity]]. By ''You Only Live Twice'', he's completely into VillainousBreakdown mode. |
| 279 | ** [[Film/DrNo Dr. No]] and his MadScientist tendencies, and the fact that he dismisses 007 as a "stupid policeman". As Bond sums it up: |
| 280 | -->'''James Bond''': World domination. The same old dream. Our asylums are full of people who think they are Napoleon. [[AGodAmI Or God]]. |
| 281 | ** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'': |
| 282 | *** Kronsteen's [[SmugSnake arrogance]] and status as the KnowNothingKnowItAll bites him hard in the ass. When asked by Blofeld to defend his plan, he could with ease, but doesn't think it's necessary. Instead, he simply remarks, "Who is Bond, compared with Kronsteen?" That's a bunk answer and it lets Klebb off the hook. The competition wasn't between Bond and Kronsteen, it was between Bond and Grant. Kronsteen stupidly lets Klebb change the parameters of the argument and pays for it with his life. |
| 283 | *** [[BigBad Rosa Klebb's]] fatal flaw is not properly vetting her people. Kronsteen says that his plan went wrong when Klebb chose Grant as Bond's assassin, [[JerkassHasAPoint and he has a point]]. She could have investigated Grant better and possibly uncovered his fatal flaw (which happened to be {{Greed}}), even though on paper he was totally the right guy. |
| 284 | *** Donald "Red" Grant's[[note]]in the novel, his first name was Donovan[[/note]] greedy nature leads to his downfall in the film. For all the BondVillainStupidity mentioned elsewhere, none of it would actually have mattered if Bond hadn't been able to dupe him into trying to steal the fifty gold sovereigns from one of the two field equipment briefcases, which causes him to unwittingly activate a tear gas cartridge that gives Bond the opening he needs to take it down. |
| 285 | ** [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Goldfinger]] and his {{Greed}}, his obsession with all things related to gold, and a penchant for cheating. |
| 286 | ** ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'': Fiona Volpe's vanity and ego. Count Lippe and his {{Greed}}. Angelo Palazzi's SmugSnake behaviour. And when Emilio Largo decides to betray his mistress, it costs him his life. |
| 287 | ** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'': Dr. Kananga's [[{{Pride}} bloated ego]] brings him down. [[BondOneLiner As quipped by Bond]]: "[[SmallNameBigEgo He always did have an inflated opinion of himself]]." |
| 288 | ** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': Francisco Scaramanga holds 007 in too high of a regard. The novel version is opposite – Scaramanga held a dim view of James Bond and underestimated the threat 007 posed to him. |
| 289 | *** [[BigBadWannabe Hai Fat's]] fatal weakness is his [[SmugSnake smugness]], as he thinks that his [[TheDragon supposed Dragon]] Scaramanga is junior to him, but [[RedBaron the Man with the Golden Gun]] [[{{Understatement}} proves him wrong in the most painful way]]. |
| 290 | ** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'': Karl Stromberg's obsession with the sea. |
| 291 | ** ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'': Hugo Drax's tendency to gloat. |
| 292 | ** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'': Kristatos' [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder disloyalty]]. He was a member of the Greek Resistance in WWII, but was secretly working for the Nazis. When the Nazis won anyway, he switched his allegiance to the Soviets, despite the Nazis and Soviets being enemies, simply because they paid good money. And while in the Resistance, he made contacts with [=MI6=] and through them, uses Bond to try and kill his rival Columbo, another ex-Resistance fighter who found out about his treachery. When [=MI6=] and Bond found out about his treacherous nature, they were just as displeased as Columbo was when they discovered the truth and realized he intended to turn the ATAC over to Gogol. [[spoiler:Ultimately, it bites him in the ass as he gets stabbed in the back from the man he betrayed, Columbo, who ended the feud with his death and adopted Bibi as her new sponsor.]] |
| 293 | ** ''Film/NeverSayNeverAgain'': Fatima Blush and her vanity. |
| 294 | ** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'': RenegadeRussian General Orlov's HairTriggerTemper causes him to snap at people while arguing with them, seen most prominently in his confrontations with both General Gogol and James Bond. And he was also an [[TheSociopath insane psychopath]], [[LackOfEmpathy not caring]] that millions would die in the ensuing mayhem due to his plan to invade Western Europe, and had a manic fixation of the Warsaw Pact gaining full control of Europe and isolating the United States. Add in the fact that he clearly doesn't understand that [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction the United States would retaliate equally]], resulting in World War III, which would basically leave no winners. |
| 295 | ** ''Film/AViewToAKill'': Max Zorin and his AxCrazy [[TheSociopath sociopathic behaviour]]. |
| 296 | ** ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'': [[GeneralFailure Brad Whitaker]] is a SmugSnake and acts like a real military commander, but he gets outwitted by Bond. |
| 297 | *** [[spoiler:[[RenegadeRussian Georgi Koskov]] and his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. A corrupt and two-timing Russian general, he first backstabs his fellow countrymen by falsely blaming KGB head Pushkin as the mastermind of a plot to kill off American and British spies, knowing that the setup will lead to Pushkin's death, with Bond as the assassin. With Pushkin out of the way, he will then engage in a three-way arms deal with Brad Whitaker and Colonel Feyador in Afghanistan to obtain valuable opium. Once the deal ends, Koskov will return to Russia with arms from the deal that gave them the payoff for the opium, a promise that the defection was an undercover assignment from Pushkin, and with Bond in tow, it's implied that he'll seize control of the KGB. He also fools the British into thinking he's defecting to the West, tries to manipulate Kara Milovy into distrusting Bond, and even tried to pin the blame on Whitaker when all things went south. [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty But by then]], nobody's buying his lies, and Pushkin promptly has him arrested to be sent back to Moscow, where he will be executed for his treachery. He also ''very'' much wants to be a MagnificentBastard and SmugSnake, but doesn't quite make the cut.]] |
| 298 | ** ''Film/LicenceToKill'': Franz Sanchez and his obsession with personal loyalty. Throughout the film, 007 drops hints to Sanchez that his henchmen are plotting to betray him. And because Sanchez [[EvilCannotComprehendGood doesn’t truly understand loyalty (and the fact that it is a two-way street, essentially)]], he believes the lies. He thinks loyalty is only bottom-up, not top-down. And because he is not loyal to those around him, it is easy for Sanchez to believe the worst of them. |
| 299 | ** ''Film/GoldenEye'': |
| 300 | *** Xenia Onatopp's sadism — murdering people turns her on, as shown during the Severnaya massacre, enough to get an EyeTake from Ourumov. [[spoiler:It ultimately backfires on her, as while trying to torturing 007 with her MurderousThighs, Bond is able to connect the rope she rappelled down to her safety harness, grab her AK-74 rifle, and shoot down a helicopter with it. The harness yanks her off Bond and sends her flying, screaming, into the crotch of a tree, with her safety harness ironically crushing her to death. Bond quips, "[[BondOneLiner She always did enjoy a good squeeze]]."]] |
| 301 | *** Boris Grishenko and his [[{{Lust}} sexual deviousness]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder disloyalty]], [[SmugSnake arrogance and overconfidence]]. |
| 302 | *** Alec Trevelyan and his [[UnstoppableRage extreme anger]]. |
| 303 | *** General Ourumov and [[SmugSnake his smugness]]. |
| 304 | ** ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'': Elliot Carver's [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissism]] is a major problem, going so far as to decorate his headquarters and other places pertaining to his media empire, with tapestries and over sized banners that bear his visage. His EvilPlan to have China and the United Kingdom go to war against each other just to arrange a broadcasting deal with the new Chinese government shows his selfish behaviour. |
| 305 | ** ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'': Elektra King and her DaddyIssues. |
| 306 | ** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': [[FarEastAsianTerrorists Colonel]] [[BigBad Moon/Gustav Graves]] [[DarkActionGirl and Miranda Frost]] have one big weakness: [[TheDeterminator Winning at all costs.]] |
| 307 | ** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'': Le Chiffre's [[SmugSnake complete overconfidence]], along with his [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness compulsive]] [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addiction]] prove to be his fatal weaknesses — his habit of betting on his clients' money in order to bolster the riches that he would gain as a result of his success backfired violently when 007 foiled his plot to blow up a prototype plane at Miami Airport. In a desperate bid to recoup the money, Le Chiffre impulsively then sets up a high-stakes [[TabletopGame/{{Poker}} Texas hold 'em]] tournament before his bosses find out that he blew up their money on his [[TheGamblingAddict self-destructive gambling addiction]]. And yet 007 foils him there. In both attempts, it is clear that Le Chiffre showed a [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness dangerous level of desperation, fear and paranoia]] by repeatedly falling back on his [[TheGamblingAddict gambling habit]] in order to repay his bosses. The [[Literature/CasinoRoyale literary version of Le Chiffre]] also had the same problems of overconfidence and an impulsive gambling habit. |
| 308 | ** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'': Dominic Greene and his recklessness, alongside his tendency to pick the wrong people to side with. |
| 309 | ** ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'': Raoul Silva's [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness intense fear of abandonment, emotional extremes, and an unstable sense of identity.]] |
| 310 | ** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': Max Denbigh/C's tendency to belittle and underestimate those (especially M) who don't like his KnightTemplar views on why DemocracyIsBad and how [[BigBrotherIsWatching total surveillance]] will fix things, alongside [[SmugSnake his arrogant behavior]] prove to be major problems for him. |
| 311 | * FauxAffablyEvil: Being brutish and sociopathic megalomaniacs, most Bond villains have a calm deposition, have 007 [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine over for dinner or cards]], and even engage in idle banter with him. But when things go south, they can turn ''rather nasty'', especially in VillainousBreakdown mode. And the SnarkToSnarkCombat they have with Bond hides their true personality, especially when Bond makes a subtle but accurate insult about their insanity. |
| 312 | * FieryRedhead: The redheaded Bond Girls have a tendency to be quite feisty. |
| 313 | * {{Foil}}: While Bond is a [[MrFanservice handsome]] British [[ActionHero man of action]], a good number of Bond villains tend to be chubby older men from foreign countries. [[ArchEnemy Ernst Blofeld]] is an obvious example, being a criminal mastermind who rarely leaves his comfy chair as he orders his servants to do his bidding. [[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Karl Stromberg]] and [[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Auric Goldfinger]] are also examples. |
| 314 | * GirlOfTheWeek: Or, in Bond's case, more a Girl of the Movie -- though some movies have two, often one good and one evil. |
| 315 | * GoKartingWithBowser: A shtick of many Bond villains. They inevitably have him [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine over for dinner or cards]]. |
| 316 | * GrayingMorality: |
| 317 | ** ''Film/DrNo'' and ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' are actually pretty grey movies; it becomes lighter with ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', but has light and dark moments throughout. The series is more cyclical as far as this trope goes--it starts off grey, but then becomes progressively more outlandish and lighthearted, before going becoming DarkerAndEdgier again. |
| 318 | ** The Craig reboot seems to have started out grey. |
| 319 | * GreaterScopeVillain: |
| 320 | ** With the exception of ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', SPECTRE and its leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld in [[Film/DrNo three]] [[Film/FromRussiaWithLove of the]] [[Film/{{Thunderball}} first]] four films. [[spoiler:Blofeld is also the Greater-Scope Villain]] in the [[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 Daniel]] [[Film/QuantumOfSolace Craig]] [[Film/{{Skyfall}} Era]]. |
| 321 | ** Quantum was this during Craig's first two films. In ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that Quantum was actually a faction of SPECTRE]]. |
| 322 | ** The [[DirtyCommunists Soviet Union]] is this trope in some of the movies (''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' and ''Film/AViewToAKill'' for instance). Much more so in the original novels (for example in the ''Casino Royale'' novel, Le Chiffre is backed by the USSR). |
| 323 | ** [[RedChina China]] is also the occasional Greater-Scope Villain, sponsoring the title role villains in ''Goldfinger'', ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' and ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. |
| 324 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: Being a ProfessionalKiller who considers murder a big part of his "job", 007 sometimes doubts the morality of what he does and fears the potential of becoming just as evil and monstrous as his enemies. But despite taking a grim view on his employment, he refuses to let that shake his incredible loyalty to Her Majesty's Secret Service and country. |
| 325 | * HeelFaceTurn: Sometimes happens with Dragons. |
| 326 | * HellishCopter: Every movie but the first has a scene with a helicopter. Most times used against Bond, and going down [[ImpressivePyrotechnics in a spectacular fashion]]. |
| 327 | * TheHeroDoesntKillTheVillainess: |
| 328 | ** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'': Bond kills two primary male villains -- Grant and Morzenzy. Col. Rosa Klebb is shot by Tatiana. |
| 329 | ** ''Film/AViewToAKill'': Max Zorin and most of his male cronies are killed by Bond. May Day's AmazonBrigade are killed by Max when he decides [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he no longer has use for them]]. As revenge, May Day helps Bond foil Zorin's plans and dies in the process. |
| 330 | ** ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'': Played straight and later averted. The nameless female assassin working for Renard chooses to kill herself rather than get captured by Bond or face Renard's wrath for her failure. On the other hand, Elektra King tries to invoke this trope by using Bond's feelings for her against him; it doesn't work and he shoots her dead. He later kills Renard, telling him that [[TogetherInDeath Elektra is waiting for him]]. |
| 331 | ** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': The BigBad, TheDragon, and TheBrute are all male; all three are killed by Bond. Miranda Frost, the sole female villain, is killed by Jinx in a DesignatedGirlFight. |
| 332 | ** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'': Bond is shown killing no less than three male villains throughout the film, though none of them are the main villain. Said main villain and his accomplice girlfriend are killed by a representative of the GreaterScopeVillain for their screw-ups. |
| 333 | * IconicOutfit: The {{tuxedo|AndMartini}}. Indeed, actors who are contracted to play Bond are ''forbidden'' to wear tuxedos in other movies. |
| 334 | * IconicSequelCharacter: "Q", since this character was referred to as "Major Boothroyd" in the first film, and was not played by the instantly recognizable Creator/DesmondLlewelyn until the second film, ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''. Definitely in the books, where this character does not come up until the sixth book. |
| 335 | * IncrediblyLongNote: The title themes tend to end in a suitably epic fashion. Especially Music/ShirleyBassey's songs, and of course, Music/TomJones fainted on the last note of ''Thunderball''. |
| 336 | * InLoveWithTheGangstersGirl: Many of the Bond Girls start out as the girlfriend/wife/mistress of the BigBad or TheDragon. Unfortunately for them, this often results in the BigBad deciding to MurderTheHypotenuse. |
| 337 | * InnocentFanserviceGirl: A few here and there--although most of the ladies are pretty shameless and like to showcase their fan service. |
| 338 | * ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: The most useless-seeming gadget Bond is supplied with is usually the one that saves his life. |
| 339 | * {{Jerkass}}: Sure, he's a hero and he saved the world on numerous occasions, but Bond is an ''asshole''. Just how much is subject to change with every actor. Good thing the villains tend to be even bigger Jerkasses. |
| 340 | * JustBetweenYouAndMe: Probably better named "Before I Kill You, Mister Bond...". Actually averted in nearly every movie- Bond almost always figures the gist of the plan on his own, and what the BigBad tells him is usually more like a MotiveRant, explaining the ''profit'' in their otherwise senseless act of mass murder or seemingly mundane criminal enterprise that Bond was trying to stop anyway. ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' is the only movie that comes close to playing this straight, and it actually zigs-zags it a lot anyway, starting with Bond overhearing the villain explaining his plan to ''somebody else'', and not even telling them the real plan anyway (partly by being interrupted) as well as murdering them afterwards. Sort-of played straight when Bond confronts him with apparent holes in his scheme and Goldfinger ''tells him'' he didn't get the whole plan, then confirms Bond's alternate theory- its still possible Bond had an inkling of what was really going on anyway, and would have/had figured out the real scheme, and was just manipulating Goldfinger into confirming his suspicions. |
| 341 | * LanternJawOfJustice: While all of the actors who play Bond have fairly impressive jawlines, George Lazenby's chin is the most exaggerated. |
| 342 | * LargeHam: |
| 343 | ** Practically [[EvilIsHammy all villains and/or henchmen like to chew scenery.]] |
| 344 | ** Creator/HalleBerry, as Jinx in ''Die Another Day'' seemed to think the idea of acting tongue-in-cheek is to literally act with [[{{Fanservice}} your tongue in your cheek]] ("I think he got the (insert tongue) thrust of it."). |
| 345 | * LaserCutter: May have codified the laser cutter portable gadget. |
| 346 | * LatexPerfection: TheTeaser of ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''. Subverted in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', which has a perfectly realistic example. |
| 347 | * LighterAndSofter: Moore's tenure was decidedly less graphic, at least until his last movie (which he hated). The actor fought against a scene in ''For Your Eyes Only'' where Bond kicks a henchmen's car off of a cliff, but it was included anyway. Tellingly, in the opening gun barrel scene, Moore's gun has no muzzle flare. Ironically, however, Moore's Bond personally (and occasionally cold-bloodedly--see Stromberg) killed virtually all the villains he encountered (Kristatos being an exception). Connery's Bond killed only Dr. No--everyone else either got away (including Blofeld) or the Bond girl did the nasty work. |
| 348 | * TheLoad: Bond Girls, especially in the earlier films, were prone to falling into this trap, but some are worse than others. |
| 349 | ** Honey Ryder in ''Film/DrNo''. For such an unforgettable and fan-loved Bond Girl, it is shocking to realize how Honey does nothing important to the plot of the movie. She seems to be there only to be saved by Bond in the third act and to have sex with him in the end. Oddly enough, she isn't widely hated among James Bond fans, partly because she was the first main Bond Girl, and partly because she was played by Ursula Andress. Interestingly, the novel has Honey as much less of a Load-she escapes from Dr. No's planned Death Trap without Bond's help, gives Bond helpful tips so he doesn't kill himself by accident on Crab Key (for example, drinking the island water could give you fever) and acts as a truly fantastic spotter as Bond drives the Dragon tank to safety. |
| 350 | ** Mary Goodnight from ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. Despite being a trained [=MI6=] agent, Goodnight is a complete disaster, being abducted by the film's villain and not helping Bond at all. In fact, she almost accidentally kills him! |
| 351 | ** Stacey Sutton from ''Film/AViewToAKill'', and how! She is constantly getting into danger due to her own stupidity (at one point failing to notice Zorin on a GIANT ZEPPELIN coming up behind her), and Bond always ends up rescuing her. She did intentionally distract Zorin on the Zeppelin, though, and takes Scarpine right out of nowhere. |
| 352 | ** Christmas Jones from ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. Aside from the fact that in her first scenes, she nearly gets Bond killed and ends up inadvertently helping the villain (to be fair, she had no idea Bond was the good guy and was following protocol by reporting him), it's painfully obvious she's there just for [[spoiler:Bond to have another Bond girl at end of the movie, after the reveal that Elektra King is the villain]]. Though she does tries to help in the later action scenes, and as a nuclear scientist, gives 007 some info. |
| 353 | * LockAndLoad: Occasionally, Bond's companions will be {{Action Girl}}s who prove to him and the audience that they know how to handle themselves with a gun. |
| 354 | ** ''Film/GoldenEye'': Bond tosses a gun to Natalya and asks if she can use it. She promptly checks if everything is in working order and answers "Yes." |
| 355 | ** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': Bond places a pistol on the table with the intention of showing Madeleine how to use it. She picks it up and performs a safety check, indicating that she already knows how. |
| 356 | * LovingAShadow: Most if not all of Bond's romances could be seen as this on the part of the ladies, with a few exceptions (Tracy, Paris Carver, Vesper...). |
| 357 | * MadeOfExplodium: Seen throughout the whole series, but particularly evident during the Brosnan era, when any vehicle that impacts with anything else will explode. Except for the vehicle Bond is driving at the moment, [[PlotArmor of course]]. |
| 358 | * TheMagicPokerEquation: Very often, usually in baccarat, when Bond has a ridiculously high probability of getting 9 at any key point. In the final poker hand in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', [[spoiler:the four remaining players show an ace-high flush, a full house, a better full house (Le Chiffre), and a straight flush (Bond).]] |
| 359 | * MarriedToTheJob: James' work ethic is a combination of this, being addicted to the thrill, and genuine loyalty to [=MI6=]/England as a substitute parental figure. |
| 360 | * MenOfSherwood: While Bond always goes on to battle TheBigBad, there is always a support crew that keeps the opposition occupied and always ends up in possession of the field. |
| 361 | * MetallicarSyndrome: James Bond's [[WeaponizedCar Aston Martin DB5]] could rotate the licence plates to choose between 3 different versions to distract the villains. Even as [[TheSixties the 1960s]] lacked computer databases of cars, even a thick-headed villain might have understood there couldn't have been too many silver Aston Martins in a given town, leave alone in the relative poverty of most European countries at that time. A real London-based spy in 1964 probably would've driven a gray Morris Minor. |
| 362 | * MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: A common trope in the series, as the plot always starts with something minor: |
| 363 | ** ''Film/DrNo''. Murder of a British agent → Dr. No's SPECTRE operation to destroy American missiles. |
| 364 | ** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''. Rosa Klebb coerces Tatiana Romanova to defect to [=MI6=] → elaborate scheme hatched by SPECTRE to steal Lektor decoding machine from the Russians and selling it back to them while exacting revenge on Bond for killing their agent Dr. No. |
| 365 | ** ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}''. Cheating at Gin Rummy, murder of Jill Masterson and gold smuggling → nuking Fort Knox. |
| 366 | ** ''Film/{{Thunderball}}''. Attempted murder of Bond → Hold the world ransom with two stolen nuclear warheads. |
| 367 | ** ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''. American and Russian spacecraft are stolen → elaborate plan by SPECTRE to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. |
| 368 | ** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. Blofeld claims title of 'Comte Balthazar de Bleuchamp' → plan by SPECTRE to abduct women from around the world and use them as pawns to spread a dangerous virus that is capable of destroying crops and livestock unless he gets a pardon for his past crimes. |
| 369 | ** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. Diamond smuggling → Hold the world for ransom with a [[EnergyWeapon laser-armed]] KillSat. |
| 370 | ** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie''. Deaths of three British agents → massive heroin-smuggling operation. |
| 371 | ** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. 007 receives gold-plated bullet → theft of device used for controlling solar energy. |
| 372 | ** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. Disappearing nuclear submarines → a plot to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. |
| 373 | ** ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. Disappearance of a space shuttle → a plot to kill all humans on Earth. |
| 374 | ** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly''. British spy ship containing Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator (ATAC), which controls nuclear subs gets sunk → plot to steal ATAC for the Soviets. |
| 375 | ** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}''. Smuggling stolen Fabergé eggs and murdering a British agent → nuclear sabotage, wiping out an American military base along with nearby cities and [=WW3=]. |
| 376 | ** ''Film/AViewToAKill''. A scheme by Max Zorin of systematic doping in thoroughbred horse racing → destroying Silicon Valley (though these two plot points don't directly connect). |
| 377 | ** ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''. A faked sniping attack on a fleeing general → attacks on British agents and an illegal weapons smuggling network in the middle of the war between the U.S.S.R. and Afghanistan. |
| 378 | ** ''Film/LicenceToKill''. Felix Leiter gets injured while his wife gets killed → plot to smuggle cocaine dissolved in petrol into Asia and sell it disguised as fuel to drug lords. |
| 379 | ** ''Film/GoldenEye''. Theft of a prototype helicopter → crippling London with an EMP-based KillSat to cover up a massive electronic bank robbery. |
| 380 | ** ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies''. An unusually fast newspaper article on a ship sinking → starting a war to gain exclusive media rights in China. |
| 381 | ** ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. Murder of a prominent businessman → a plot to force a nuclear sub into meltdown, nuke Istanbul, and contaminate 90% of the world's oil supply. |
| 382 | ** ''Film/DieAnotherDay''. Rogue North Korean colonel trades in smuggled diamonds for weapons but is presumably killed → [[spoiler:plot by said rogue colonel, who was previously thought to have died, to use solar-powered KillSat to cut a path through the Korean DMZ, allowing North Korea to launch an invasion of South Korea.]] |
| 383 | ** Creator/DanielCraig's Bond gets one that spans ''[[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 two]] [[Film/QuantumOfSolace movies]]'': elimination of bomber-for-hire → the shut down of a banker to terrorist cells around the world → TheReveal of an NGOSuperpower. |
| 384 | ** ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'': Botched attempt to recover an [[MacGuffin encrypted hard drive]] containing the identities of every active undercover NATO agent → [=MI6=] comes under [[HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee intense government scrutiny]] for the mishap → [[spoiler:RogueAgent turned cyber-criminal wants to destroy [=MI6=] and get his revenge against M for selling him out to the Chinese.]] |
| 385 | ** ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': Unauthorized mission by 007 to foil terrorist plot in Mexico City → campaign to shut down 00-agent section and replace it with intelligence-sharing program called "Nine Eyes" → TheReveal that said NGOSuperpower whom Bond fought against in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' and ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' [[spoiler:was also behind events of ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', hopes to use "Nine Eyes" program to stop any investigation into their operations]], and its leader [[spoiler:Blofeld is revealed to be Bond's estranged step-brother, [[GreaterScopeVillain who masterminded the tragedies 007 faced]] since ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006''.]] |
| 386 | * MomentKiller: Bond's final romantic clinch with the Bond Girl is often interrupted by either the bad guy or his henchman seeking a last bit of revenge, or by his superiors either trying to make sure he's still alive or pass on the hearty congratulations of some high-ranking official for saving the world again. |
| 387 | * MoodWhiplash: Very much so in the Brosnan era, but present in the Connery and Moore films too. There's a bit of it in ''Skyfall'' too, [[spoiler:especially at the end]]. |
| 388 | * MrFanservice: Bond himself--comes with being a SexGod. |
| 389 | * MsFanservice: Multiple examples across every film, as it applies to most Bond Girls (the trope was even named as such for a while). |
| 390 | * MythArc: The Creator/DanielCraig era forms one, from the day his Bond got his licence to kill and the "007" code number in ''Casino Royale'' all the way to [[spoiler:his death]] in ''No Time to Die''. |
| 391 | * MythologyGag: Landmark films in the series--[[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe the 10th]], [[Film/DieAnotherDay the 20th]] (which simultaneously marked the 40th anniversary of the franchise), and [[Film/{{Skyfall}} the 50th anniversary]]--have been full of references, both blatant and oblique, to the previous films, as was ''Film/{{Spectre}}''. |
| 392 | ** A significant portion of ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' (the 25th film) takes place in Jamaica, well known as a setting for several books, ''Film/DrNo'', and as the second home of author Ian Fleming. Additionally, there was to be a [[TheCameo cameo]] by Creator/GraceJones (it's unclear if it was to be a ContinuityNod as well), but she [[https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/grace-jones-james-bond-25-quit-cameo.amp quit within minutes]] upon seeing how small her part was. |
| 393 | ** For the third time, there is a female [=00-agent=], in ''Film/NoTimeToDie''. However, unlike the brief, non-speaking appearances in ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'' and ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', this one has a larger role--''she'' is the new 007. |
| 394 | * NebulousEvilOrganization: SPECTRE. It's an apolitical organization, willing to lend its services to any nation that's willing to pay it, regardless of political orientation. Blofeld doesn't care where his henchmen originally came from or what their work status is, but is only motivated by the profits from his evil schemes. It's actually more of a gargantuan NebulousCriminalConspiracy, operating from behind the shadows through various front organizations such as Osato Chemicals or Greene Planet, moles placed in various governments (yes, even the CIA, [=MI6=], the KGB, and Mossad have been deeply penetrated by SPECTRE), and as well as secretly backing terrorist groups, all the while trying to dominate the world and rub out those who meddle in its affairs. |
| 395 | * NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: The {{Trope Namer|s}}. Although it's more prevalent in the earlier films than the new ones. |
| 396 | * NoPeriodsPeriod: It never seems to be the wrong time of the month for Bond to get the girl. |
| 397 | * NonIndicativeFirstEpisode: |
| 398 | ** ''Film/DrNo'' lacks many of the trademarks that the franchise is known for. A [[TheTeaser Cold Open]], the CoolCar, gadgets and many others are all absent. ''Film/DrNo'' also contains the infamous scene where Bond murders Professor Dent; even Fleming never had Bond act so cold-bloodedly in the books, and for all intents and purposes Bond wouldn't act this way again until 2006's ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'', which was, like ''Film/DrNo'', the start of a continuity. |
| 399 | ** In retrospect, ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' could be this with the Moore era. The comedic elements that peppered Moore's run are there, but the writers at the time seemed indecisive about whether or not to make the series more humorous or playing them like the earlier films. |
| 400 | * NonviolentInitialConfrontation: Common throughout the franchise. Given that espionage involves obfuscation of identity so often, this only stands to reason. |
| 401 | * OneManArmy: All of the Bonds are this to a certain extent, but Brosnan's takes the cake because he has the highest body count on average per movie. Naturally, 007 has managed to trash entire criminal empires like SPECTRE to the ground with his trusty PPK. |
| 402 | * OneWordTitle: ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'', ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' and ''Film/{{Spectre}}''. |
| 403 | * PaidHarem: One of the perks of being a Bond Villain. |
| 404 | * PlotTailoredToTheParty: Gadget variation. |
| 405 | * PornNames: |
| 406 | ** Quite popular among the Bond Girls. One of them was named '''''[[Film/{{Goldfinger}} Pussy Galore]]''''' for heaven's sake, which--despite debuting nearly 60 years ago--is ''still'' something you might not be able to get away with saying on network television. |
| 407 | ** Almost as blatant: Dr. Holly ''Goodhead'' from ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. ''Honey Ryder'', one of the first Bond Girls from ''Film/DrNo''. Mary ''Goodnight'' from ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''. ''Kissy'' Suzuki from ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice''. "Octopussy" from, well...''Film/{{Octopussy}}''. The Chinese spy Wai Lin from ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' (as in "wailing"). Also Xenia ''Onatopp'' from ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'' (say it out loud) who kills with sex. |
| 408 | ** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' when Bond makes up a porn-sounding alias for Vesper, "Stephanie Broadchest" (let's just say that [[NavelDeepNeckline it was very accurate]]), much to her annoyance. |
| 409 | ** Averted with the men, of course ... although they did use an actor called Creator/RogerMoore! |
| 410 | * ThePornomancer: Bond. It's one of his defining traits. The Dalton and Craig eras, being DarkerAndEdgier, play with it. Bond practically has to be dragged into bed in the teaser for ''The Living Daylights'', and stays monogamous throughout that movie and more-or-less so in ''Licence to Kill''. In the Craig era, he actually '''doesn't''' sleep with or even romance the main Bond girl of ''Quantum of Solace'', a first for the franchise. And in ''Skyfall'', there isn't really a Bond girl at all; there are only three women in the film, one of whom is M, the other dies shortly after she meets (and has sex with) Bond, and the third, at the end, turns out to have been [[spoiler:[[CanonCharacterAllAlong Miss Moneypenny]]]]. |
| 411 | * ProductPlacement: A lot. It has been joked that Bond has a Licence To Shill. |
| 412 | ** Aston Martin wouldn't be the prestigious car brand that is is without James Bond, ever since the DB-5 wowed audiences in ''Goldfinger''. |
| 413 | ** Became an issue with ''Licence to Kill'', to the extent that the makers were forced to include the American Surgeon General's warning against smoking into the closing credits due to its use of a recognizable cigarette brand in one scene, yet the visible presence of a Players Tobacco poster in ''Film/DieAnotherDay''--intended to be a ShoutOut to something from the original ''Thunderball'' novel--garnered no such concern. |
| 414 | ** Some critics referred to ''Die Another Day'' as 'Buy Another Day', which is why product placement was toned down for ''Casino Royale''. |
| 415 | ** Despite the above-mentioned toning down for ''Casino Royale'', much mileage was given to a scene in the film where Bond goes looking for security camera footage that plays out as an ad for Sony [=DVDs=]. (Funnily enough, this was made while the "[=LaserDisc=] vs. DVD" war was still waging.) |
| 416 | ** There was outrage when Heineken got product placement in ''Skyfall'', because everyone knows Bond only drinks vodka martinis. The cosmic irony is that, while rooted in a few such drinks making appearances in the novels, the association of Bond with vodka largely comes from the product placement of a vodka company in the 1960s. |
| 417 | ** Even Bond's preferred firearm isn't immune to this. Walther is a big endorser of the films and, on two occasions, Bond's PPK is swapped out for the latest pistol Walther is trying to advertise. |
| 418 | ** Bond kept using Sony-Ericsson/Sony cellphones before the overall production deal came to an end with ''Spectre''. |
| 419 | ** Land Rover [=SUVs=] are rather ubiquitous in the Daniel Craig films, mostly used by the villains. |
| 420 | * ProtagonistTitle: None of the film thus far have used "James Bond" as part of their titles, but the franchise as a whole is referred to as the ''James Bond'' franchise. In some countries, the titles of the films are preceded by Bond's code number, 007. |
| 421 | * RavenHairIvorySkin: Majority of the Bond Girls are brunettes. |
| 422 | * RecurringCharacter: |
| 423 | ** Q, M, Moneypenny and Felix Leiter are the ones who appear the most. (Though it should be noted that M and Q are [[LegacyCharacter titles passed around between different individuals]] over time.) |
| 424 | ** Blofeld, about a fair bit, on the other side of the fence, until Creator/RogerMoore [[DroppedABridgeOnHim dropped the former down a smokestack]] ''before the opening credits'' in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly''. However, since the copyright issue about Blofeld was settled with MGM getting the full use of the character again, it was inevitable that he and SPECTRE would be back to challenge Bond again, [[Film/{{Spectre}} which indeed happened.]] |
| 425 | ** The Q played by Creator/DesmondLlewelyn is in more Bond films than any other character save Bond himself. If one ascribes to the Bond-as-reused-code-name theory, he shows up more than any of the agents! |
| 426 | * RecurringExtra: |
| 427 | ** In the Roger Moore films ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' and ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', the man who keeps seeing Bond do crazy stuff in Italy, probably without ever realising it is the same man (emerging from the sea in his car-sub; driving around the streets of Venice in his land-gondola; and escaping from armed assassins on skis in the Italian alps, respectively). In each case he is drinking and in the first two, finds what he's seeing so bizarre that he [[NoMoreForMe seems to wonder if he's been drinking too much]] (though not enough to ''stop'', evidently). Played by Victor Tourjansky, who was the assistant director for these Italy-set scenes in all three films. |
| 428 | ** Producer Michael G. Wilson, Albert Broccoli's adopted son, has several cameos as various different characters, mostly extras or single-scene appearances; in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', for instance, he's the one Carver tells to blackmail the President. Wilson's first cameo was way back in ''Goldfinger'', and he has since become the Alfred Hitchcock of the series, with his walk-ons considered part of the tradition. |
| 429 | * RecurringLocation: Creator/DanielCraig's Bond has gone to UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} in four out of five of his films (Venice and Como Lake in ''Casino Royale'', Lake Garda and Siena in ''Quantum of Solace'', UsefulNotes/{{Rome}} in ''Spectre'' and Matera in ''No Time to Die''). |
| 430 | * RedRightHand: Frequently among Dragons and {{Big Bad}}s. |
| 431 | * RevisitingTheRoots: Looks to be the case with the franchise as of ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'': besides the reintroduction of Q, [[spoiler:by the end of the film, [=MI6=] has moved into the Universal Exports offices from the older films, Moneypenny is reintroduced and there's a new (male) M.]] |
| 432 | * RightHandCat: Ernst Stavro Blofeld is almost never seen without his white persian cat. He's certainly the TropeCodifier, and inspired most, if not all examples on the trope page. |
| 433 | * RunningGag: James fiddling around with Q's gadgets during the exposition, and then later finding a nonstandard use for the ones he has with him. |
| 434 | * SacrificialLion: Hoo boy. If the character is a cool ally or a neat love interest for Bond, chances are he/she is going to die. Among them include [[Film/DrNo Quarrel]], [[Film/FromRussiaWithLove Karim Bey]], [[Film/{{Thunderball}} Paula]], [[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice Aki]], [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService Tracy]], Film/{{F|orYourEyesOnly}}errara, [[Film/{{Octopussy}} Vijay]], [[Film/AViewToAKill Sir Godfrey Tibbett]], [[Film/LicenceToKill Felix Leiter (he doesn't die, but the effect is still the same)]], [[Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough Valentin Zukovsky]], [[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 Vesper Lynd]], [[Film/QuantumOfSolace Rene Mathis]] [[spoiler: and [[Film/{{Skyfall}} M]]]]. |
| 435 | * SceneryPorn: If the production design is done by Ken Adam, you can certainly expect this. |
| 436 | * SealedWithAKiss: Nearly ''every'' one, [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService with]] [[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 four]] [[Film/QuantumOfSolace notable]] [[Film/{{Skyfall}} exceptions]]. |
| 437 | * SecondPersonAttack: The gunbarrel sequence. |
| 438 | * SequelEscalation: Sometimes inverted (''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' > ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' and ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' > ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006''), but usually the movies get bigger and bigger. As with GrayingMorality, it's something of a cyclical process, often (but not always) coinciding with a new actor taking the role of Bond; every so often, the series 'reboots' to adopt a more gritty tone only to gradually escalate into larger-scale plots and action sequences, after which it goes gritty again. |
| 439 | * SerialHomewrecker: |
| 440 | ** ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'''s Bond is completely this. |
| 441 | *** Bond's conversation with Vesper Lynd regarding his interest in women. Specifically, he initially rebukes Vesper, and when asked why she's not his type, he responds that she's "single." Subverted, in that he eventually does sleep with her. Double subverted when it's discovered she had a boyfriend all along. |
| 442 | *** Another example from the same film: Solange Dimitrios, the wife of Bond's first mark in the film, who even gives us this exchange, hinting that it's because either ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies or MarriedToTheJob is at play. |
| 443 | ---->'''Solange''': You like married women, don't you James? |
| 444 | ---->'''Bond''': It keeps things simple. |
| 445 | ** ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies''. Bond sleeps with his former lover and current wife of the film's BigBad, Paris Carver. Alas, this ends badly for her. Though it's implied that she is killed because her husband finds evidence of their history together, not because she cheated on him. |
| 446 | * {{Sequel}}: The Creator/DanielCraig Bond films put much emphasis on continuity, unlike the previous StandaloneEpisode Bond films. ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' picks up where ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'' left off, ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' explored plot threads left from ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' and ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' does the same with ''Spectre''. ''Skyfall'' can be watched as a standalone, but ''Spectre'' brought it into continuity. |
| 447 | %%* SexGod: Bond. James Bond. |
| 448 | * {{Sexposition}}: A few Bond movies use the franchise's signature sex scenes to provide important dialogue or plot points, usually involving the villain's mistress or henchwoman revealing parts of the EvilScheme to Bond. |
| 449 | * SexSignalsDeath: Quite a lot of the women Bond sleeps with meet unfortunate ends. |
| 450 | * SexySurfacingShot: |
| 451 | ** ''Film/DrNo'' has the scene with Honey Rider (Creator/UrsulaAndress) rising from the ocean in a bikini and a hunting belt, which became very iconic. |
| 452 | ** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': Jinx (Creator/HalleBerry) walks out of the ocean in a bikini, wearing a white belt and diving knife, [[MythologyGag just like Honey Rider]]. |
| 453 | ** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'': |
| 454 | *** Valenka (Creator/IvanaMilicevic) has a classic BondGirl intro, climbing out of the water onto Le Chiffre's boat and walking past the game he's playing in a ''very'' high-waisted swimsuit. |
| 455 | *** Bond himself (Creator/DanielCraig) has a ShirtlessScene in swim trunks with him climbing out of the ocean. [[note]]In reality the shot was a case of ThrowItIn. The original shot supposed to be of Craig swimming to shore. However, he hit a sand bar, forcing him to stand up. The resulting shot was too good not to include and cemented Craig's status as a MrFanservice.[[/note]] |
| 456 | * ShadowArchetype: Many, if not all, Bond villains represent the worst aspects of 007. |
| 457 | ** ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'': Raoul Silva is a former [=MI6=] agent (and a brilliant one, according to M), who is what Bond ''[[FaceHeelTurn could easily become]]'' if he didn't forgive or trust M for the things she puts him through. Silva even points this out multiple times over the course of the film, and the other characters aren't arguing with him, especially given that M leaving Silva for dead in China has echoes of her risking Bond's life at the beginning of the movie. Silva going rogue also harkens back to [[Film/GoldenEye Alec Trevelyan,]] another ex-[=MI6=] agent who had a similar grudge against his former employer. |
| 458 | -->'''Silva''': We are the last two rats. |
| 459 | ** Other examples from the films include ''Film/DieAnotherDay''[='=]s Gustav Graves/[[spoiler:Colonel Moon]], ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''[='=]s Red Grant, ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}''[='=]s Le Chiffre (suave, handsome men of action), and ''Film/AViewToAKill''[='=]s Max Zorin. The titular villains of ''Film/DrNo'' and ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' also attempt, less convincingly, to play Shadow Archetypes to Bond. They all easily serve to remind Bond of what he could be without his moral compass and if he allowed his feelings to control his life. Some of them [[AtLeastIAdmitIt even freely admit being cold-blooded villains]], invoke the NotSoDifferentRemark on 007, and harbor no loyalty to others, including whomever's sponsoring them (KGB, Red China, etc.) but themselves. |
| 460 | ** ''Film/GoldenEye'': 006/Alec Trevelyan, Bond's former partner, who reappears from the dead and continually taunts 007 about his loyalty to England and IdiotHero tendencies to lose allies and women during missions. Despite sharing many of Bond's qualities, Alec's personality shows the dangers of being stuck in the past with old grudges, as he claims a hatred for England for [[SinsOfOurFathers their (perceived) past transgressions.]] |
| 461 | ** Ernst Stavro Blofeld, 007's ArchEnemy and head of the NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE, is a stark contrast to M. While both head a secret organization and give orders directly to their subordinates, M commands the respect of his peers and subordinates, but Blofeld would often [[BadBoss kill minions]] [[YouHaveFailedMe just for]] [[EvilIsPetty minor reasons.]] |
| 462 | *** Blofeld also serves as a warped mirror image of Bond, especially in terms of lethality, wit, and shrewdness. The way they rose is also a stark difference: whereas Bond is of BlueBlood (albeit a minor one) yet puts his life on the line to stop power-hungry terrorists and criminal nutjobs, Blofeld is of modest origins but rose to power by [[TheUnfettered questionable means]] and is willing to ''[[OmnicidalManiac hold the entire world at gunpoint]]'' if he doesn't get what he wants. [[spoiler:To drive this even further, the MirroredConfrontationShot between the two during ''Film/{{Spectre}}''[='=]s climax even shows the visual similarities they share, albeit with Blofeld being a mutilated and monstrous Bond.]] |
| 463 | ** M gets another Shadow Archetype in the form of C/Max Denbigh in ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', the new head of the Joint Intelligence Service. Whereas M is an ex-spy like Bond, is capable of handling firearms and has shown genuine concern for his subordinates, C serves as an ObstructiveBureaucrat who mocks M's insistence on stopping C from scrapping the 00-agent agent in favour of {{Attack Drone}}s and BigBrotherIsWatching, and hurls childish insults whenever someone inquires about the surveillance program he favours. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that C is in cahoots with Blofeld, and is willing to sell out England for more political power unlike M, who remains loyal to queen and country. When C tries to have Bond and M killed for interfering in his EvilPlan, he didn't realize M's more hands-on field approach enabled him to sweep the room and empty Denbigh's gun before he got there.]] |
| 464 | * SharpDressedMan: Bond almost always wears a handsome suit or tux. |
| 465 | * ShoePhone: Aside from an array of other gadgets, one of Bond's most common tools is a tiny radio beacon hidden in the sole of a shoe. It must be removed to be used, though. |
| 466 | * SnobbyHobbies: Mr. Bond, with his globe-trotting adventures and very particular tastes, especially in drinks, [[CoolCar exotic cars]] and [[BillionaireWristband luxury watches]], created an entire trope about [[TuxedoAndMartini debonaire gentleman spies with a taste for the finer things in life]]. Many of his enemies have [[WickedCultured similar tastes]], too: |
| 467 | ** ''Film/GoldenEye'': At the first part of the movie, James Bond goes to the luxurious Monte Carlo casino and plays baccarat with Xenia Onatopp, former Soviet pilot and - at the time - escort to a Canadian admiral. In the previous scene, Bond is driving a [=DB5=] with a woman driving instructor in tow and races against Xenia's red Ferrari. When they meet again in the casino scene, they comment on their mutual interests (or passions?): |
| 468 | ---->'''Bond:''' It appears we share the same passions. Well, three anyway... |
| 469 | ---->'''Xenia:''' I count two. Motoring and... uh... baccarat. |
| 470 | ** ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'': Oil heiress Elektra King goes to Valentin Zhukovsky's casino, a former KGB agent turned rich "entrepreneur", and bets with him 1 million in a high card draw game, as if it were the most trivial thing in the world. |
| 471 | * TheSociopath: All of them can be seen [[TheSociopath/JamesBond here]]. |
| 472 | * SociopathicHero: |
| 473 | ** Aside from Bond's endless coldly wasting {{Mooks}} with the only emotion registering usually being amusement, he doesn't treat women much better: he all but rapes Solitaire in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', prior to that he practically raped his poor nurse Patricia Fearing in ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'' as well as Pussy Galore in ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' and ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' begins with him strangling a woman with her own bikini top. |
| 474 | ** Fortunately for the audience and narrative, pretty much all of Bond's enemies are blood thirsty murderers, psychopaths and sadists. Most of them make Bond look like a Boy Scout by comparison. |
| 475 | ** Subverted during the Brosnan era. Although his Bond seems callously aloof when he takes a life, Trevelyan asks him in ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'' "...if all those vodka martinis ever silence the screams of all the men you've killed," which suggests that Bond is haunted by the murders that he has committed. Bond himself mentions in ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', "I usually hate killing an unarmed man." He is [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x39g39v unnerved by the sight]] of [[spoiler:Miranda Frost's]] corpse, whom he had tried to murder earlier on in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' because [[spoiler:she was TheMole at [=MI6=]]]. Bond isn't the one who is responsible for [[spoiler:her]] death, yet his facial expression leaves no doubt that he finds it unsettling even though he wanted [[spoiler:Miranda]] dead for betraying him. |
| 476 | * SoHappyTogether: Three times Bond has sincerely told a woman that he loves her and tried to leave the service to start a life with her, only for it to end tragically each time: |
| 477 | ** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'': Here, the SoHappyTogether moment is his wedding to Teresa/Tracy de Vincenzo. Blofeld kills her in a drive-by shooting as the two are embarking on their honeymoon drive. The CartwrightCurse hit Bond hard in that movie. |
| 478 | ** The beach scene in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', and the arrival in Venice following it. James Bond, genuinely and sincerely in love with Vesper Lynd and willing to walk away from his career as Her Majesty's hitman for it. Obviously, this can't work out—she kills herself after he learns that she's betrayed him. |
| 479 | ** A decade later in the opening sequence of ''Film/NoTimeToDie'', he and his SecondLove Madeline Swann are enjoying a similarly blissful interlude in Matera when all hell breaks loose and he abandons her, thinking that she's betrayed him as well. Five years later, they're reunited after he learns that she was innocent and she reveals that they have a daughter. They share a passionate kiss before he goes to complete one final mission so that they can truly live in peace. . . [[spoiler: and HE'S killed]]. |
| 480 | * SparedByTheAdaptation: [[Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService Irma Bunt]] is a rare villain that dies in the books but not in the films, though this is due to the actress dying a few days after the movie was released. |
| 481 | * SpiesAreLecherous: Bond is obviously the TropeCodifier, to the point where "Bond Girl" has become synonymous with GirlOfTheWeek. James will often have several throwaway love interests per film, or [[HighHeelFaceTurn seduce a female henchwoman to betray her boss]]. It is played with occasionally—he genuinely [[LadykillerInLove fell in love with Tracy]] in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', even marrying her near the end and willing to settle down with her, but Blofeld murdered her on their wedding day. In ''Film/GoldenEye'', his EvilFormerFriend Alec Trevelyan even mocks Bond over being something of a FatalAttractor, which seriously [[ShutUpHannibal struck a nerve with James]]. |
| 482 | * SpyCam: Is big on this. |
| 483 | ** ''In Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', Bond uses a small camera to take snap shots of a map that shows where the "Angels of Death" are to release a biological agent. |
| 484 | ** One of Bond's gadgets in ''Film/AViewToAKill'' is a ring containing a miniature camera. Bond uses the device at a Zorin's party to covertly take photographs of each of his guests. |
| 485 | * SpyDrama: Cinema's TropeCodifier. |
| 486 | %%* SpySpeak |
| 487 | %%* SpyTuxReveal |
| 488 | * StandaloneEpisode: Every film from ''Film/DrNo'' to ''Film/DieAnotherDay'' could be this as one film wouldn't continue plot elements of the previous and would only make light references to them or a maybe have a character come back every now and again. The ContinuityReboot Creator/DanielCraig-Bond era notably averts this as ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' and ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' actually do follow plot threads from ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' and ''Spectre'', respectively. |
| 489 | * StormingTheCastle: Bond's preferred method of dispatching his enemies. |
| 490 | * StrictlyFormula: To the point that when it was decided to bring Creator/RoaldDahl to add an original plot in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' to solve the lack thereof in the novel, the producers allowed him to do so only if he made sure to follow a few trends and include a few elements set by the other movies. Although there are a few variations, a James Bond movie usually goes something like this: |
| 491 | ** The BondGunBarrel; a stylized gun barrel tracks Bond (usually wearing a tuxedo, in later films at least) across the screen from right to left until he reaches the centre of the screen, at which point he spins around and shoots at the camera. The gun barrel slowly shifts from full colour to a red filter that gradually covers the screen from the top downwards (as if the person holding the gun has been shot and is bleeding out), at which point we segue to: |
| 492 | ** An ActionPrologue, often involving either Bond in action on a mission. Said mission may or may not have some connection, even if tangential, to the main plot of the movie or something which establishes the main villain's plot (this is more common in later Bond movies than earlier ones). Once that's out the way and something's blown up, we go to... |
| 493 | ** The Opening Credits, often highly stylized and abstract, set to a catchy theme song by a major recording artist. Frequent motifs involve guns, beautiful women writhing about in (semi-)undress, playing cards and martinis, something thematically linked to the villain's plot or theme (lots of gold for ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' or oil to reflect the villain's oil-based plot in ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', for example) and Bond himself. |
| 494 | ** A scene/series of scenes where Bond flirts with Moneypenny, receives his assignment from M, and receives his gadgets from Q. |
| 495 | ** Bond arrives in his first exotic location (often driving his current car), meets a contact, crosses paths with the Bond Girl (or one of them if there's more than one), and begins to seek out the bad guy. He usually doesn't do so very subtly, allowing the bad guy's henchmen to pick up on him, which leads often to... |
| 496 | ** A fight with some henchmen. Bond may encounter TheDragon at this point. |
| 497 | ** Bond meets [[GirlOfTheWeek the 'main' Bond Girl]]. If they've already met, or if there's more than one, this is when it's made clear who Bond is going to end up with at the end of the movie. |
| 498 | ** The bad guy may become aware of Bond's presence around this point if he's not already. They meet and [[ShameIfSomethingHappened exchange veiled threats]], after which... |
| 499 | ** Bond's contact is killed, and / or Bond and the Bond Girl are attacked or captured. They may be put in some kind of 'inescapable' DeathTrap. If so, they escape, which in turn leads to... |
| 500 | ** A ChaseScene in an exotic location. This often shows off Bond's flashy car in some way. Once Bond has shaken / killed his pursuers, he now has to... |
| 501 | ** Find and infiltrate the villain's headquarters, often a SupervillainLair of some description, in another exotic location. This generally leads to a battle with the bad guy's forces; Bond will kill plenty of {{Mooks}}, but he and the Bond Girl will be captured, leading to... |
| 502 | ** A confrontation with the bad guy, during which the bad guy will [[JustBetweenYouAndMe reveal the plot]]. After which, Bond is put into another 'inescapable' DeathTrap and [[BondVillainStupidity left to his 'assured' doom by the bad guy]]. Naturally... |
| 503 | ** Bond escapes, rescues the Bond Girl, and begins to sabotage the bad guy's base with her help, leading to... |
| 504 | ** The FinalBattle. [[TheCavalry Reinforcements may be called in]], but it will almost certainly end with Bond confronting the bad guy face to face. Spoilers: the bad guy ends up dead, at which point... |
| 505 | ** The bad guy's lair blows up. Bond and the Bond Girl just make it out, usually with the help of TheCavalry. If s/he hasn't already been dealt with, Bond dispatches TheDragon around this point. Finally... |
| 506 | ** Bond and the Bond Girl have a final romantic moment (Oh, ''James''...). Simultaneously, Bond's superiors may be trying to contact him either to make sure he's still alive or to pass on the hearty congratulations of some high-ranking official. This may or may not result in an inadvertent [[MomentKiller cock-blocking]] of the final romantic moment. |
| 507 | ** End Credits. Usually set to the same pop song as the main credits. If it's different, then it'll be another catchy song but one which is often slower and more mellow than the main theme. By the end of the credits, we will usually be reassured that '''James Bond Will Return'''. |
| 508 | * SupervillainLair: |
| 509 | ** Most films feature one, the best of which, like the volcano rocket base in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', were designed by legendary production designer Ken Adam. |
| 510 | ** On ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' DVD commentary around the time Bond and XXX are brought before Stromberg aboard his supertanker, there's a funny exchange between screenwriter Christopher Wood and director Lewis Gilbert. Wood wonders how anybody could build these great villain's lairs without anyone noticing. Gilbert asks what about the huge staff and army the bad guy always seems to have. Does anybody write the next of kin whenever one of them gets killed? (The latter is lampshaded in the first ''Film/AustinPowers'' movie.) |
| 511 | ** It was also {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch where an interviewer talked with Blofeld, Goldfinger and Largo. For example, they mention how contractors tended to jack up the price of gadgets (like electric chairs) when they find out a Bond villain is the customer. |
| 512 | ** Averted in ''{{Film/Skyfall}}'' where the villain just straight up stole an island, which was left in major disrepair after being abandoned decades ago when the population evacuated in a mistaken chemical accident scare. |
| 513 | ** Ironically, ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' actually ''does'' feature a moment where Stromberg, having [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness whacked two henchmen he doesn't need anymore]], orders a letter to be written to their next of kin explaining that they've been killed. Being a [[{{Jerkass}} bit of a dick]], he uses the opportunity to throw in a PostMortemOneLiner at their expense: |
| 514 | --->'''Stromberg:''' ''[After blowing them up in a helicopter above the ocean]'' Tell their next of kin that they were killed in an unfortunate accident. The burial was at sea. |
| 515 | * TallDarkAndHandsome: All but Creator/DanielCraig have dark hair[[note]]Moore just barely qualifies; he was not blonde like Craig, but he had brown hair as opposed to the black of the rest, and though it was fairly dark when he started out, by the time of [[Film/AViewToAKill his last appearance in the series]] it was much lighter[[/note]] and stand six feet or above. |
| 516 | * TechnologyPorn: Any scene in Q's workshop where he demonstrates his latest gadget for Bond to use on his next mission. A great example is in ''Goldfinger'' where he shows 007 his new Aston Martin [=DB5=] with all kinds of hidden weapons and features. |
| 517 | %%* TimeBomb |
| 518 | * TitleDrop: In most of the movies, sometimes ''very'' awkwardly ("What a view ..." "...to a kill!" Shudder). In the seventies, this was often done during Bond's mission briefing, via a "What do you know about ''[Subject this movie revolves around]'', 007?" line. |
| 519 | * TitleThemeTune: There are a few exceptions, though. |
| 520 | * TokenRomance: Most of the series' films. ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'', ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', ''Film/LicenceToKill'', ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'', ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', and ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' avert this. The first one and the last two especially, as ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' and ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' dedicate great amounts of time to develop their story's romances, while ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' averts it entirely as Bond doesn't get together with the girl in the end. |
| 521 | * TomboyAndGirlyGirl: If there are two or more Bond Girls in a film, their differences are always highlighted. Interestingly, the GirlyGirl is the one who is usually connected to the BigBad, while the {{Tomboys}} [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak can be quite feminine too]]. |
| 522 | * TrespassingToTalk: Creator/DanielCraig-era James Bond has made a habit of breaking into M's residence in order to talk with her. |
| 523 | * TrophyWife: A few of the women Bond manages to maneuver into a SexFaceTurn are the villain's neglected or duped trophy wife. [[DisposableWoman Paris Carver]] in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is one of the later examples. |
| 524 | * TropicalIslandAdventure: Tropical islands are popular settings in this series. |
| 525 | * TrustPassword: Being spies, James has a number of signs and countersigns for when he meets friendlies (in ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}'', for example, he refused to even speak to Jack Wade until Wade showed him the EmbarrassingTattoo on his hip). |
| 526 | * TuxedoAndMartini: The UrExample, TropeMaker and TropeCodifier all in one extremely well-tailored suit and martini (shaken, not stirred). |
| 527 | * TheUnfettered: Practically all of the villains certainly qualify, using underhanded means to get what they want, be it murder, kidnapping/hostage-taking for money, acquiring a MacGuffin, or in more extreme cases like Blofeld or Drax, threatening the entire world at gunpoint if they don't get what they want. |
| 528 | * UnguidedLabTour: Bond does this on occasion, though most of the time he's impersonating someone who has a reason to be there. |
| 529 | * VillainSong: Characteristic of the Brosnan films--"[=GoldenEye=]" and "The World Is Not Enough" play over the opening credits of those two movies, and "Surrender" is heard during the end credits of ''Tomorrow Never Dies''. |
| 530 | * WatchThePaintJob: If the movie features a gadget-laden CoolCar, you can bet James will wreck it. Later movies have Q {{Lampshade|Hanging}} this tendency, bemoaning James' destructiveness and begging him to please, ''please'' return something in good shape this time. |
| 531 | * WellDoneSonGuy: The relationship between M (as portrayed by Creator/JudiDench) and Bond has that subtext. |
| 532 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: With the exception of Sylvia Trench and Madeleine Swann, all the other Bond Girls, major and minor, never appear again or are even mentioned. One can't help but wonder what happened to them after their movies, considering that many of Bond's male allies have had recurring roles. |
| 533 | * WickedCultured: Most of the villains. |
| 534 | * WillReturnCaption: The TropeCodifier. All the films end with a caption "James Bond will return in [TITLE OF NEXT FILM]" when the title of the next film is known, or simply "James Bond will return" when it isn't. Sometimes they changed their minds, for example when ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' announced that ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' would be the next film, when ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' came between as a result of the ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' craze. |
| 535 | * WouldHitAGirl: While Bond is rarely overtly cruel with women, he has no problem fighting them, threatening them, or killing them if it's in self-defence or to advance his mission. (Or, in the case of Connery, Lazenby and Moore, [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan occasionally striking them when they're uncooperative]].) |
| 536 | * YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive: "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" See also BondVillainStupidity. |
| 537 | ---- |
| 538 | ->''The End... but James Bond will return...'' |
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