COVID-19 has well and truly taken hold of the global box-office with every major Hollywood blockbuster moved from 2020 to 2021 and beyond. Films like Fast & Furious 9, The Batman, and Spiral, the next instalment in the Saw franchise, have all shifted due to the pandemic, but the first movie to have been moved twice, 25th James Bond adventure No Time To Die, will now not arrive on our screens until April (at the very earliest). There has also been rumours that the movie, the last starring Daniel Craig, will move again if the cinema chains don’t re-open on time. To tide you over until the release of the new Bond movie, we thought we’d take a trip down memory lane to bring you five of our fave 007 scenes from over the years. From dodgy skydiving back in the ’70s, to gambling and sports betting in the much later Casino Royale, these are just five of our favourite Bond moments.
Moonraker – Bond takes to the skies without a parachute
We kick off our list with this little gem of a scene from 1979’s Moonraker, of course, a 007 movie starring the late, legendary Roger Moore. Moore’s Bond is shunted out of a plane by the legendary Bond villain Jaws without a parachute. However, ahead of him is the pilot of the falling plane who does still have his parachute attached. Bond does what every super-spy would – freefall in trousers and blazer before grabbing hold of the bad guy and whipping off his parachute. Jaws, however, survives the failed air journey by landing on the safety next of a trapeze act in a nearby circus field. Class.
The Spy Who Loved Me – skiing off a cliff with a British Union Jack parachute
“But James, I need you…” “So does England.” This is a cracker of a scene from another 007 movie to feature Roger Moore, The Spy Who Loved Me. Bond has been asked by the British government to investigate the disappearance of a highly advanced submarine tracking system – a bit like a modern, high-tech implementation of an iPhone app. On his way back the UK, he is double-crossed by a lover high in the snowy Austrian Alps, and a crack team of Soviet assassins who of his whereabouts amush him halfway down the mountain. What ensues is a brilliantly staged chase through the snow, all culminating in Bond literally launching himself into the air, completely airborne off the mountain. Luckily, this time, he has a parachute – one designed using the iconic British Union Jack. Classic.
Casino Royale – Bond nearly dies at the poker table
Our first Daniel Craig Bond movie is his debut film as the British superspy, Casino Royale. The film, released in 2006 features a killer scene, quite literally. Bond nearly meets his maker in a casino midway through the film after being slipped a deadly drink whilst at the gaming table. He could have chosen to play at online casinos like link alternatif sbobet, but Bond visits one in Montenegro and his game is a high stakes Texas Hold ‘Em tournament, the buy-in alone being a huge $10 million. Dastardly Bond bad guy Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) has his lover Valenka poison Bond at the table, causing the secret agent to vacate his seat to return to his parked Aston Martin outside to use a handy antidote and defibrillator to bring him back to life. He then returns to the poker table and wins the hand. Again, absolute class.
Goldeneye – dam jump
Martin Campbell, the filmmaker who would direct Casino Royale, was at the helm for Pierce Brosnan’s first James Bond adventure, too. Goldeneye featured one of the best openings in years, kicking off with a stunning leap of faith from the top of the Contra Dam in Switzerland. We see 007, Brosnan doubled by extremely brave British stuntman Wayne Michaels, jumping off the top of the 220 metre high dam with just a bungee attached to his ankle. The film was the first not to use any story elements from the works of Ian Fleming, whose books all of the aforementioned movies were based upon, and was the first of four movies to feature Brosnan as Bond. It was probably his best, too.
Dr. No – introductions at the gaming table
A list of iconic Bond moments wouldn’t be complete without one from the original 007 himself, Sean Connery. In this scene, from the very first James Bond movie, Dr. No, back in 1962, Connery introduces the character for the first time to Silvia Trench – and to the world – sat at a gaming table at a casino. The immortal line, which would be duplicated in the dozens of movies that would follow of the following six decades fell from the mouth of one of Scotland’s finest actors. Just three words; “Bond, James Bond’.”
