The following is a detailed description of the formula that makes an Eon produced James Bond film:

Legend: Dr. No (DN), From Russia, with Love (FRWL), Goldfinger (GF), Thunderball (TB), You Only Live Twice (YOLT), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (OHMSS), Diamonds Are Forever (DAF), Live and Let Die (LALD), The Man with the Golden Gun (TMWTGG), The Spy Who Loved Me (TSWLM), Moonraker (MR), For Your Eyes Only (FYEO), Octopussy (OP), A View to a Kill (AVTAK), The Living Daylights (TLD), Licence to Kill (LTK), GoldenEye (GE), Tomorrow Never Dies (TND), The World Is Not Enough (TWINE), Die Another Day (DAD), Casino Royale (CR), Quantum of Solace (QOS)

SPOILER WARNING:  The following information can ruin the viewing of a Bond film if you have not seen it.

GUN BARREL ICON

Every film has it, the famous scene where Bond walks across the screen turns and shoots at the camera and segues into the pre-credit sequence.  With the exception of 2006's Casino Royale where the gun barrel is seen at the end of the pre-credit sequence and 2008's Quantum of Solace where it is seen at the end of the film.

The view down the gun barrel from ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE  (1969).

 

PRE-CREDIT SCENE

Before we see the title of the film, we are entertained by a mini-adventure.  This could be anything from a well choreographed fight scene, a sinister introduction to the villain's plot, or a brilliant chase or death-defying stunt.  The only film that does not have a pre-credit scene is the first 007 film, Dr. No.

Bond fights a North Korean soldier for control of a hydrofoil during the pre-credit scene of DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002).

A side note: During the Sean Connery films, Bond was either a phoney (FRWL), involved in a fight scene (GF,TB,DAF) or dead (YOLT).  George Lazenby continued the traditional fight scene (OHMSS) and Roger Moore was not seen in the first two Bond outings until after the opening credits.  However, between 1977's TSWLM and 2002's DAD, Bond has had pre-credit scenes that either involved ski chases, parachute jumps or aerial stunts.

CREDIT SEQUENCE

This part of the film is a visual feast. The main title and credits are keyed over images of nude female dancers and acrobatic models. All during a catchy theme song.  The credit sequence for CR does not have any nude women at all, only the image of Daniel Craig as he fights among playing card motifs.

Daniel Kleinman's GOLDENEYE credit sequence (1995).

THE ASSIGNMENT

Bond must meet with "M", the head of the British secret service, in order to receive his assignment.  This is usually done in M's office, but has been done at other locations, for example: inside a submarine (YOLT), at Bond's apartment (LALD), at Hemingway's House in Key Largo (LTK), in London's Underground Subway system (DAD), and M's apartment (CR).

Bernard Lee as "M" in 1962's DR. NO.

THE MONEYPENNY FLIRT

Usually before and after Bond's meeting with M, OO7 will enjoy a little sexual office tease with M's private secretary, Miss Moneypenny.  Of all the women in Bond's universe, Moneypenny is the one woman Bond has never had an intimate relationship.  CR and QOS are the only Bond films where Moneypenny does not appear.


Bond and Moneypenny exchanging more than sexual desires in 1963's FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.

Q-BRANCH

This scene is one of the highlights in a Bond film.  It is where OO7 receives the gadgets that will ultimately save his life.  Q-Branch is managed by Major Boothroyd (also known as Q), an arms expert and technical genius.  Since Goldfinger, the character of Q has always been frustrated with Bond's wisecracks and the carelessness towards the equipment that Q invents.  He will sternly comment, "Grow up, OO7."

Major Boothroyd and OO7 getting a leg up on the latest gadgets in GOLDENEYE (1995).

NOTE: Q was never seen in the films LALD, CR, and QOS.  Since the tragic death of Desmond Llewelyn in 1999, actor John Cleese served as quartermaster of spy gadgets in DAD.

AIRPORT RENDEZVOUS

Bond must travel to different parts of the world in order to save it and to do that he must meet a contact.   In DN, FRWL, DAF, LALD, MR, LTK, GE, TND, CR, and QOS, Bond meets up with characters at airports that offer information which eventually leads us to the . . .

Corrine Dufour takes Bond for a helicopter ride in MOONRAKER (1979).

MAJOR VILLAIN

Another highlight of a Bond film is the villain.  These are the masterminds whose warped dreams of world domination border on the plausible.  A Bond villain may have unusual physical defects about them.  Stromberg has webbed hands (TSWLM), Blofeld has a scarred face (YOLT), Scaramanga has three nipples (TMWTGG) Renard has a bullet enlarged in his head, making him impervious to pain (TWINE), North Korean Colonel Moon has had his DNA changed so he can resemble an aristocratic Anglo-Saxon (DAD).  Le Chiffre suffers from a bleeding tear duct (CR)

Ernst Stavro Blofeld is perhaps OO7's greatest nemesis in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967).

MINOR VILLAIN

They are the henchmen and femme fatales who we love to hate.  Professor Dent (DN) drops off a deadly bedmate for Bond.  Oddjob tends to tip his hat to his victims in GF.  Metal dentures and 7'2" to match (Jaws in TSWLM & MR).  A beautiful bedmate who has a crush on you (Xenia Onetopp in GE).  A scarred diamond-crusted assassin (Zao in DAD).  Whatever the characteristics, you can bet they are not your normal run-of-the-mill minor villains.

Always a man to tip his razor sharp hat, Korean henchman Oddjob from the film GOLDFINGER (1964).

SILENT BUT DEADLY

Another characteristic of a minor villain is the ability to not say anything while carrying out the orders of their superiors.  Donovan "Red" Grant (FRWL) is the best example of this type.  For two-thirds of the film he remains in the shadows eliminating anyone who would interfere in SPECTRE's plans.  Oddjob (GF) is mute to begin with, but his silence only adds to his menece.  Vargas (TB) comes across reptilian-like in his silent nature.  Hans (YOLT) is Blofeld's bodyguard and provides a human wall for OO7 to penetrate.  Jaws created a frightening villain with metal teeth in TSWLM.  He would use them like Dracula would to his victims.  Unfortunately, he became silly in MR.  Chang (MR) is Drax's man-servant and part-time ninja.  Emile Leopold Locque (FYEO) stood out with his silver-framed octagonal glasses.  Gobinda (OP) was an Indian blend of Jaws and Oddjob.  May Day (AVTAK) strikes her victims with poison-tipped butterflies and strangles others from the backseat of automobiles.  Necros (TLD) is yet another villain who strangles his victims with his walkman tape player.  Valenka (CR) has a knack for mixed drinks and Elvis (QOS) suffers from a bad hair day.

Largo's evil henchman Vargas prepares to silent OO7 once and for all in THUNDERBALL (1965). 

 

THE BOND GIRL

Bond girls can either be dependable or expandable, but they are always sexy. They can have average names such as: Stacy Sutton (AVTAK) or Melina Havelock (FYEO). Or they can have outrageous names such as: Honey Ryder (DN), Pussy Galore (GF), Domino Duval (TB), Solitaire (LALD), Mary Goodnight (TMWTGG), Holly Goodhead (MR), Molly Warmflash (TWINE), Jinx Johnson (DAD), or Vesper Lynd (CR). The main Bond girls are the fortunate ones to survive the villain's plot and end up in Bond's arms before the end credits (with the exception of Tracy in OHMSS, Vesper in CR, and Camille in QOS). The minor Bond girls such as: Plenty O' Toole (DAF), Jill Masterson (GF) or Strawberry Fields (QOS) usually end up dead. However, some minor Bond girls such as Ruby (OHMSS)and Magda (OP) survive to the end.

Bond and Camille prepare for a fiery end in QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008).

DRINKING BUDDIES

Bond's main best friend and drinking buddy is Felix Leiter (DN, GF, TB, DAF, LALD, TLD, LTK, CR, and QOS).  He is a CIA agent throughout the entire series except in LTK where he is now an agent for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency).  Bond has had many friends such as Quarrel (DN) Tiger Tanaka (YOLT) Quarrel Jr. (LALD), Lt. Hip (TMWTGG), Commander Carter (TSWLM), Vijay (OP), Sir Godfrey Tibbett (AVTAK), Sharkey (LTK), Jack Wade (GE & TND), and Raoul (DAD).

Bond and Felix Leiter meet in CASINO ROYALE (2006).

FATHER FIGURE

Bond has had father figures in his career as well.  "M" is the ultimate father figure (until recently "M" has been played by a woman).  The conversations between OO7 and M usually are of a disciplinary style.  Kerim Bey (FRWL) was perhaps Bond's greatest father figure.  He would treat him like a son by teaching him about the culture and history of Istanbul.  Tiger Tanaka (YOLT) is more a friend than a father figure but he would at times warn OO7 about girls and also teach him about Japanese culture.  Marc Ange Draco (OHMSS) would eventually become OO7's father-in-law but that would be short lived.  He mainly provided the protection most fathers would offer to his son and daughter.  Columbo (FYEO), is similar to Kerim Bey, a father figure who stopped Bond from getting himself killed in Kristato's warehouse.  He also was a provider of cultural and historical information.  Rene Mathis assists Bond during CR, he is also a hopeless romantic who wants to see Bond and Vesper end up together.  He returns in QOS as the only person OO7 can trust.

Kerim Bey and Bond line up their target in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1962)

SACRIFICIAL LAMB

These are the characters who will assist OO7 and die by the hand of the villain or a minor villain: Quarrel (DN), Kerim Bey (FRWL), Jill and Tilly Masterson (GF), Paula (TB), Aki (YOLT), Campbell (OHMSS), Plenty O'Toole (DAF), Strother (LALD) Andrea Anders (TMWTGG), Corinne Dufour (MR), Luigi & Countess Lisl (FYEO), Vijay (OP), Sir Godfrey Tibbett & Chuck Lee (AVTAK), Saunders (TLD), Della Leiter & Sharkey (LTK), Paris Carver (TND), Valentin Zukovsky (TWINE), Solange (CR), and Rene Mathis and Strawberry Fields (QOS).

CIA agent Saunders (on the right) is about to become the next victim in LIVE AND LET DIE (1973).

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY

Bond has a habit of jumping into bed with just about any woman, including those who would want him killed.  Miss Taro (DN) tried to set up OO7 for an assassination - she went to jail instead.  Tatiana Romanova (FRWL) thought she was setting up OO7 for Mother Russia.  Pussy Galore (GF) could care less if Bond dies - at least not until he gets her in the hay.  Fiona Volpe (TB) is the first black widow in the Bond series.  She enjoys making love and killing her mate.  Helga Brandt (YOLT) is similar to Fiona, but her demise is at the hands of Blofeld.  Tiffany Case (DAF) is similar to Pussy Galore, she changes sides after OO7 changes her bedside manner.  Rosie Carver (LALD) is similar to Miss Taro, she tries to set Bond up but ends up in her own trap.  Andrea Anders (TMWTGG) is not an evil girl but one who is trapped in Scaramanga's world.  She pays for her liaison with her life.  Bond's mountain top fling with a cabin girl (TSWLM) is interupted by a message from "M" - good thing too, she's a KGB agent sent to set Bond up for a snow job.  The flight attendent in MR is similar to the cabin girl.  She allows Bond to kiss her only to have him set up for a fall.  Magda (OP) is Kamal Khan's woman and beds OO7 to steal back the Faberge egg.  She changes sides when Khan leaves her, and others, to a nuclear death.  May Day is Max Zorin's woman and tops Bond even in bed.  Lupe Lamore is Sanchez's woman and, like Andrea Anders, tries to escape with the help of Bond.  Xenia Onatopp is the one bad girl that Bond did not jump into bed with.  Good thing too, since she kills her victims by squeezing her legs around them at the climax of their sexual encounter.  Elektra King (TWINE)is Renard's main squeeze, but even she admits that Bond is head and shoulders above him in bed.  Miranda Frost crosses swords with Bond in DAD.  Vesper Lynd keeps a dark secret close to her chest in CR.

Electra King brings her deadly persona to bed with OO7 in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999).

 

THE NAME OF THE GAME

Games are used frequently as plot devices or settings.  We are first introduced to James Bond at a baccarat table in DN. Kronsteen (FRWL) is introduced as a chess champion and SPECTRE agent.  His plan to kill OO7 is played out like a game of chess.  Goldfinger cheats at gin rummy and then golf.  Bond exposes him on each occasion.  Emilio Largo (TB) loses to cards and skeet shooting. Bond meets Aki (YOLT) at a sumo wrestling match.  In OHMSS, Bond pays off Tracy's debt at the casino when she bets a large sum on baccarat and loses.  Bond wins with dice too, in Las Vegas with the help of Plenty O'Toole (DAF).  Even tarot cards are lucky for Bond when he turns over the "lovers" card in front of Solitaire (LALD).  Bond watches Lazar (TMWTGG) transfer a deadly pack of gold-plated cigarette bullets to Andrea Anders at a Macau casino.  Bond also meets Scaramanga (TMWTGG) at a kick-boxer match.  Bond meets Kristatos (FYEO) at Columbo's baccarat table.  Minutes later Kristatos tries to convince Bond that Columbo is working for the KGB.  Kamal Khan's (OP) favorite passtime is cheating at backgammon.  Bond defeats him by rolling Khan's loaded dice.  Max Zorin (AVTAK) enjoys cheating at the horse races. His own horse beats a sure winner because of a surgically-planted microchip, which spurts steroids, is in the horse's leg.  Bond cleans up at the blackjack table in Sanchez's (LTK) casino.  He does this so he can meet Sanchez and get close enough to kill him.  Xenia Onetopp (GE) meets and pulls rank to OO7 at bacarrat.  Bond reveals more than undergarments with his X-ray glasses while at Zukovsky's casino (TWINE).  Gustav Graves keeps Bond 'fighting on edge' at his private fencing club Blades (DAD).  Le Chiffre shows and tells during the Texas Hold-Em poker match at CR.

Le Chiffre discovers that his chips are down in CASINO ROYALE (2006)

THE KILLING JOKE

Bond is an expert in practically every field, including puns.  After a tense moment between an adversary, Bond would say a funny quip that reflected the villain's demise.  For example in GF, after a fierce struggle, Bond throws his adversary into a bathtub not realizing that his Walther PPK is hanging up next to the tub.  The assassin sees Bond's gun and reaches out for it.  Thinking quickly, Bond  tosses an electric heater into the water-filled tub, electrocuting his nemesis.  Bond leaves the scene saying, "Shocking.  Positively shocking."

Deep fried assassin from GOLDFINGER (1964).

A MOONRAKER JOKE

At times through this series some jokes went too far.  To the level of ultra silliness that the audience would cringe.  These jokes would come in the form of Bond wearing a duck as camouflage on his head (GF).  Working side by side with a red-neck southern sheriff (TMWTGG).  A double-taking pigeon observing Bond's street bound gondola (MR).  A Tarzen yell (OP) and a poor man's Keystone Cop fire truck chase through the streets of San Francisco (AVTAK).  Bad jokes in all, yet they became staples in the formula as well. The movie that had the greatest amount of these jokes was MOONRAKER and thus it has been honored with this term.  

Bond's gondola startles the tourist season in MOONRAKER (1979).

 

NOTE-WORTHY JOKES

Musical stings also have crept into the series. Lara's Theme from DR. ZHIVAGO plays on Anya's musical box and the theme from LAURENCE OF ARABIA is heard while Bond and Anya walk through the Sahara (TSWLM).  In MR, several well known tunes are heard.  During the pheasant hunt, one of Drax's men plays the first three notes of Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.  The famous five note tune from CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND is heard on the password keypad in Drax's glass factory and THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN theme is heard while Bond arrives at British headquarters by horseback.  In AVTAK, Bond is ski-boarding down the Siberia tundra while the Beach Boys "California Girls" is playing in the background.

The Beach Boys' music 'California Girls' accompanies OO7's ski boarding escapade in A VIEW TO A KILL (1985).

KNOCKOUTS

In nearly every EON produced Bond film, OO7 becomes unconscience (at least once) by head injuries or drug induced means (except TND and TWINE).  In DN, Bond and Honey are succumbed by a drug induced coffee.  Red Grant (FRWL) knocks Bond out on the Orient Express.  In GF, Bond is knocked out by Oddjob while searching for a chilled bottle of wine.  Count Lippe (TB) causes Bond to lose conscience while his back is being stretched on "the rack".  One of Mr. Osato's men (YOLT) hits Bond behind his head at Kobe docks.  Grunther (OHMSS) hits OO7 over the head in Ruby's bedroom.  Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (DAF) hit Bond over the head at Slumber's Funeral Parlor.  Tee Hee (LALD) hits OO7 over the head in Dr. Kananga's New Orleans hideout.  Nick Nack (TMWTGG) hits Bond over the head at Hi Fats home.  Anya Amasova (TSWLM) shoots "knockout powder" from her cigarette into OO7's face.  Hugo Drax's men (MR), dressed up as paramedics, hit Bond over the head underneath Sugerloaf Mountain in Rio.  Columbo's men (FYEO) hit Bond over the head, outside Lisl's beachhome.  Gobinda (OP) hits him over the head inside Bond's hotel room. Bond is knocked over the head by Scarpine (AVTAK) and left to die at the bottom of a lake. Kara (TLD) mixes a strong martini for Bond that causes him to see more than double.  Ninjas hit Bond over the head before he could eliminate Sanchez (LTK).  Alec Travelyan (GE) makes his point with a drug-induced dart shot into Bond's neck.  In DAD, Bond gets a shot in the arm after being released from North Korea.  And in CR, Bond literally flips for Vesper as his Aston Martin DBS crashes along the Montenegro countryside.

Knockout gas is blown into Bond's face in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977).

EXOTIC LOCALES

Bond films are famous for their globetrotting locales.  Jamaica (DN, LALD), Istanbul (FRWL, TWINE), Switzerland (GF, OHMSS), Bahamas (TB), Japan (YOLT), Las Vegas (DAF), New Orleans (LALD), Phucket Islands (TMWTGG, TND), Sardinia (TSWLM), Venice (FRWL, MR), Greece (FYEO), India (OP), San Francisco (AVTAK), Vienna, Austria (TLD), Florida Keys (LTK), St. Petersburg, Russia (GE), Hamburg (TND), Miami (GF) Amsterdam (DAF) Mexico City (LTK), Paris (TB, AVTAK), Hong Kong (YOLT, TMWTGG), Portugal (OHMSS), Egypt (TSWLM), Rio de Janeiro (MR), Morocco (TLD), Puerto Rico (GE), Thailand (TMWTGG, TND), Baku (TWINE), Cadiz, Spain (DAD), Prague, Czech Republic (CR). Atacama Desert, Chile (QOS)

Bond and Scaramanga prepare for a duel on Phukett Island in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974).

FUNERALS

Death is always around Bond and funerals tend to pop up as background scenery or plot devices.  The "Three Blind Mice" (DN) drive a hearse while eliminating their victims.  A funeral service is in progress when TB begins.  Bond must fake his own death and funeral service in YOLT.  Bond smuggles diamonds inside the body of Peter Franks (DAF) and has it flown from Amsterdam to Las Vegas inside a casket.  The body is later cremated so the diamonds could be recovered.  Later Bond is tossed inside a casket for cremation by Wint and Kidd.  Funeral processions happen twice in LALD as well as Baron Samedi falling into a casket filled with deadly snakes.  A knife-throwing assassin (MR) tries to give Bond the point when he pops out of a casket while floating in Venice.  Bond visits the cemetary where his wife is buried (FYEO). Bond shoulders the responsibility during Sir Robert King's funeral in Scotland (TWINE) and multiple coffins tumble off a truck in Haiti while Camille and Bond's speed through town.

Bond's body is buried at sea in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967).  

CIRCUSES, CARNIVALS, WEDDINGS & PARTIES

Each EON produced Bond film has some form or another of a circus, carnival, wedding or party.  In DN, Pussfella's bar is also a nightclub where most of the town is dancing the night away.  Kerim Bey (FRWL) use to bend bars in a circus and the gypsies offer their own version of a party.  Pussy Galore (GF) offers her "Flying Circus" to Operation Grandslam.  The Jankanoo parade or carnival serves as a diversion for Bond to escape from Fiona (TB).  A Buddhist wedding (YOLT) serves as a cover for Bond to blend into Japanese society.  The winter carnival is another diversion for Bond to escape from Blofeld's men in OHMSS and Bond and Tracy are married at Draco's Portugal home.  Circus Circus, a gambling and family center in Las Vegas, serves as a rendevous for Bond and Tiffany Case (DAF).  One of Kananga's men (LALD) crashes a wedding during the famous boat chase.  Scaramanga (TMWTGG) has his own "fun house" where he lures his victims.  Max Kalba's nightclub (TSWLM) offers Egyptian dancing.  In MR Jaws crash lands into the big top of a circus and the "Carnival" in Rio provides a sinister setting for the return of Jaws.  A wedding reception is in progress while Bond goes to confession (FYEO).  General Orlov and Kamal Khan use Octopussy's traveling circus to smuggle an atomic bomb onto a Frankfurt American airbase (OP).  During a chase in Paris, Bond literally falls into a wedding cake (AVTAK) and Max Zorin's French home is the setting for an elaborate party.  Bond and Kara (TLD) enjoy an evening at the Vienna carnival.  A wedding party is in the works at Felix Leiter's home in LTK.  Bond passes by a pair of circus mimes while observing Xenia Onetopp (GE).  Bond meets his past with Paris Carver (TND) while attending her husband's media party.  Bond tries to convince the cigar girl to surrender while hanging from a carnival balloon over the Millennium Dome (TWINE).  Bond attends the coolest party ever at Gustav Graves' Ice Palace (DAD).  Le Chiffre has a poker party onboard his private yacht (CR).  and Bond gets the water down treatment at Dominic Greene's Earth party.

Clowning around in OCTOPUSSY (1983).

 

CUTTING TO THE CHASE

What would a Bond movie be if it did not have the ubiquitous chase scene.  Bond has driven or operated just about every vehicle invented and the producers are always trying to top the last chase scene. Here is the list:  Aston Martin DB5  as well as several sport cars, an amphibious Lotus Esprit, Bell Jet Pack, autogyro helicopter, horses, a bobsled, a moonbuggy, a cello case, Glastron speedboats, skis, double-decker bus, Russian tank, a camel, snowboard, an 18 wheeler gas tanker, a hook and ladder fire engine, motorcycles, Mercedes Benz, gondola, snowmobile, an Acrojet, a hang glider, an ice yacht, numerous parachutes, and a New Holland W190 wheel loader.

Bond narrowly misses Vesper as he flips his Aston Martin DBS in CASINO ROYALE (2006).

VILLAIN'S MYTHOLOGICAL SCARE

In only a few Bond films the villain may use a form of scare-tactic to "keep the visitors away." Dr. No uses a flame-throwing tank disguised as a "dragon".  In YOLT, Blofeld has poisonous gas pumped into a cave that leads to his hideout and Dr. Kananga (LALD) uses voodoo to scare off his curiosity seekers.



DR. NO (1962) offers warm receptions to his island guest.

ARRIVING AT VILLAIN'S LAIR

The villain's lair or hideout is never easily accessible.  It may be on an island (DR, YOLT, LALD, TMWTGG, OP, GE, TWINE).  It may be on a mountain (GF, OHMSS, FYEO, LTK).  It could be on or near the ocean (FRWL, TB, DAF, TSWLM, TLD, TND, TWINE) or it could be in the sky (MR, AVTAK).  Wherever it may be, Bond must use some sort of transportation to get him there. By boat or floating device (DR, YOLT, DAF, LALD, TSWLM, OP, TND, TWINE).  By aircraft (OHMSS, TMWTGG, MR, AVTAK, GE).  By automobile (GF, LTK, DAD, CR, QOS), by climbing (FYEO), or by swimming (TB, TWINE).



Stromberg's floating fortress 'Atlantis' in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977).

CONFRONTATIONAL DINNER SCENE

At one point during most Bond films, dinner would be served between the villain and OO7.  Dr. No offered a four course meal and a chance to join SPECTRE.  Red Grant (FRWL) and Bond would talk about red wine with fish.  Goldfinger offers mint juleps.  Emilio Largo (TB) shares fish stories with Bond over lunch at his home.  Irma Bunt (OHMSS) invites Bond (disguised as Sir Hillary Bray) to a hypnotic dinner at Piz Gloria's restaurant.  Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (DAF) wheel in a dinner and just desserts.  Dr. Kananga (LALD) offers Bond and Solitaire a drink to the future.  Scaramanga (TMWTGG) reveals his golden opportunity with Bond and Mary Goodnight over fried mushrooms.  Stromberg (TSWLM) hopes Bond would drop in for dinner.  Drax (MR) shuttles Bond a cucumber sandwich.  Kristatos (FYEO) and Bond discuss the "ATtACk" of Columbo over dinner.  Kamal Khan (OP) leads a "sheep's head" to slaughter.  Bond discusses "flycatching" with Max Zorin (AVTAK) over champagne.  A basketcase of food and wine is brought to General Koskov, from Bond and MI6's budget (TLD).  Franz Sanchez (LTK) and Bond drink over loyal business.  Bond interupts lunch on Janus' (GE) personal train.  Bond breaks his cover at Elliott Carver's (TND) media dinner party.

Bond and Kristatos discuss the best solution to kill Columbo in FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981).

FINAL COUNTDOWN TO ARMAGEDDON

Most Bond films have a climatic scene where a timing device creates suspense.  OO7 not only must stop the villain, but prevent the timing device from reaching it's conclusion.  In DN, Bond raises the danger level on the nuclear reactor just moments before Cape Canaveral's rocket is launched.  In GF, Bond is handcuffed to a nuclear bomb in Fort Knox.  He tries to stop the bomb from exploding while avoiding Oddjob's deadly bowler hat.  With the help of aquaparatroopers, OO7 defeats Largo from nuking Miami beach (TB).  In YOLT, Bond averts World War III by triggering the exploder button on the SPECTRE spacecraft.  In OHMSS, Bond races against time and after Blofeld to escape Piz Gloria's explosive fate.  In DAF, Bond uses Blofeld's bathosub to smash the computers that control the killer satellite.  In TMWTGG, Bond struggles to release the "solex agitator" moments before Scaramanga's island explodes.  In TSWLM, Bond changes the course of two warheads from their intended targets to their opposite launch submarines.  In MR, Bond must use accurate aim to shoot down the last of three deadly satellites.  In OP, Bond chases after an atomic bomb from Karl Marx Stad to Frankfurt.  He stops the bomb with zero seconds remaining.  In AVTAK, Bond and May Day race to remove Zorin's bomb from a mining cave which would destroy Silicon Valley.  In TLD, Bond fights Necros while dangling outside a Hercules transport plane and a bomb ticking only a few feet away.  In GE, Bond shuts down the satellite dish which destroys the GoldenEye system.  In TND, Bond and Wai Lin fight off Carver's men, onboard his stealth ship, to avert an attack on Beijing.  In TWINE, Bond prevents a meltdown by stopping Renard from inserting plutonium into a submarines reactor.  And in DAD, Bond and Jinx fight Colonel Moon and his plot to destroy Japan on board Gustav Graves private plane.

Blofeld's laser satellite from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)

SHOWDOWN

The final confrontation between Bond and the villain is yet another highlight in the film.  Bond has disposed of his nemesis in many ways. Dr. No falls victim to his boiling nuclear reactor.  Red Grant (FRWL) becomes all choked up over his own deadly wristwatch.  Rosa Klebb (FRWL) has a few kicks before she is shot by Tatiana Romanova.  Goldfinger loses some weight while he's sucked out of an airplane window.  Emilio Largo (TB) gets the point from Domino's spear gun.  Hans (YOLT) meets an appetising end in a pool of piranha fish.  Ernst Stavro Blofeld (OHMSS) branches out.  Next, Blofeld (DAF) is kept hanging on an exploding oil rig.  Dr. Kananga (LALD) dies by his inflated opinion.  Francisco Scaramanga (TMWTGG) takes a shot in the dark funhouse by Bond's gun.  Karl Stromberg's (TSWLM) dinner plans are shot up by Bond's gun.  Hugo Drax (MR) spaced out by Bond's wrist dart.  Kristatos (FYEO) is stabbed through the back by Columbo.  Kamal Khan (OP) has a smashing time in his airplane.  Max Zorin (AVTAK) takes a fall off the Golden Gate bridge.  Brad Whitaker (TLD) discovers a crush by a statue of Wellington.  Franz Sanchez (LTK) reveals his fiery lighter side.  Alec Travelyan (GE) experiences his satellite service being cancelled.  Elliot Carver (TND) screws up with his own torpedo drill.  Renard (TWINE) discovers he has a pressure point through his chest.  Gustav Graves ruins his class action suit (DAD).  Le Chiffre gives OO7 enough rope only to discover Bond is a man of balls (CR).  Dominic Greene tries to tell Bond that he axed for it but eventually drowns his troubles away with a can of motor oil.



OO7 and Greene battle it out in QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008). 

ALONE AT LAST

In the final frames of a OO7 film, with the exception of OHMSS, CR and QOS, Bond always ends up in the arms of a beautiful girl.  A majority of the time he is either floating on water, in the water or near water.  Perhaps the water is symbolic.  The world has cleansed itself from an evil presence (I could be stretching on this point).  In DN, Bond and Honey Ryder enjoy each other in a boat which has run out of gas. In FRWL, Bond and Tatiana enjoy a boat ride through the canals of Venice.  In GF, Bond and Pussy Galore stay undercover under a parachute on an island in the Caribbean.  In TB, Bond and Domino enjoy a quick lift, from their raft, into a rescue plane.  In YOLT, Bond and Kissy Suzuki enjoy a short kiss in their raft just moments before M's submarine rises beneath them.  In OHMSS, Bond cradles the body of his dead wife, Tracy.  In DAF, Bond and Tiffany Case are having a blast on board a pleasure cruise.  In LALD, Bond and Solitaire prepare for their version of a train ride.  In TMWTGG, Bond and Mary Goodnight share more than Scaramanga's junk.  In TSWLM, Bond and Anya Amasova keep the British end up in Stromberg's escape pod.  In MR, Bond and Holly Goodhead go around the world in a space shuttle.  In FYEO, Bond and Melina Havelock enjoy a midnight swim.  In OP, Bond and Octopussy stroke down the river.  In AVTAK, Bond and Stacy Sutton drop more than the soap in her shower.  In TLD, Bond and Kara Milovy perform an encore behind her dressing room wardrobe.  In LTK, Bond and Pam Bovier dive into each other in Sanchez's swimming pool.  In GE, Bond and Natalya Simonova enjoy a short embrace among camouflaged marines.  In TND, Bond and Wai Lin catch their breath while floating on a piece of wreakage.  In TWINE, Bond enjoys the moment unwrapping his present from Christmas Jones.  And in DAD, Bond and Jinx discover that diamonds really are a girl's best friend.

Bond shares a short moment with Domino before flying off to his next adventure in THUNDERBALL (1965).

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