Life of Brian

The last time I sent you something through this, I sent my hopes of winning you back. I couldn't help but think that now could be something different.

For starters, I haven't written anything like this for quite a long while. I have been preoccupied with work, my struggles, and the things that I did in between; although mostly that would be work - being that I had quite a time trying to distract myself from the things that have been hurting me.

I tried doing therapies, or "receiving" rather. I said "tried" because I never continued them enough to be successful, I haven't had a taste of that success, sweet victory, and I couldn't even bother to ask why because in itself, that would be another way of contemplating - something that I had been trying to miss.

But still, it has been a "hit and miss". Life has been a hit and miss. It's a mess. By now, the penultimate conclusion I might have to give to this would be to distance myself from anyone. Luckily, COVID taught us we could do that, and at that, for a very long time. I've had this verse in my head that I just couldn't continue, probably something mental, but here it went, "Gone are the party hats, we're doing birthdays in facial masks...".

I've made up catchy verses before, I should know when I saw one. But, going back, a lot has been written about love, and the absence of it. Funnily enough, I came across two songs last night connected through Paul McCartney. One was something McCartney wrote but was given to Peter and Gordon, "A World Without Love". The longing of the composer was disguised through the upbeat music. Happy chords, grievous chords. In the end, the song would beg its listeners, "Would you be brave enough to live in a world without love?"

The next one would be "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys, a masterpiece from Brian Wilson. Paul McCartney had praised the song and the album where it came from multiple times, one that inspired him to create his own masterpiece, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". In "God Only Knows", another mystery was raised, "What could I be without you? God Only Knows."

I've officially entered a quarter of life, though I wouldn't be expecting to reach a full century. And at this point, I've come to realize that I might not be fully equipped to be with someone, to be someone's someone.

At best, I'm a distraction. At worst, I'm the destruction.

Without love, and without you, what could one person really be?

God only knows.

The Many Disguises of James Bond in Octopussy

    James Bond, as a secret agent at the disposal of Her Majety’s Secret Service, holds probably the toughest job in the world – to stay unknown and in stealth mode while doing whatever task is at his hands (or lips, *wink*).

    With that, we saw Bond do different disguises and covers throughout the 24 Bond films up until    “Spectre” (2015), the latest as of writing. There was Mr. and Mrs. David Somerset in “From Russia with Love””, Peter Franks in “Diamonds are Forever”, and Sir Hillary Bray in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, among many other covers. Ironically though, these covers often get blown eventually.

    From all he 24 Bond films that we have as of writing, there is one film that boasts the greatest number of disguises and covers, and that is “Octopussy” with Sir Roger Moore as James Bond.

    “Octopussy” was released in 1983 and had the trouble of going up against another 007 movie in the form of Sir Sean Connery’s return to the role with “Never Say Never Again”. However, that would have to be a story for another time. Although it was still campy and there were cringe-worthy moments (*Tarzan yell*), “Octopussy” was one of the better Moore Bond films. From the seven, I would rank it in the middle for “Octopussy” had equal portions of the seriousness of “For Your Eyes Only” and the breathtaking, big-budget stuff that “The Spy Who Loved Me” had. It had neither Sir Paul McCartney nor Duran Duran though.

 

    With that, let’s get on with the list.

 1. Col. Luis Toro

Right from the start, we are graced with Bond’s first disguise – Col. Luis Toro. This was back when pre-title sequence had no significant relation to the actual film’s plot and the introduction had one of my favorite one-liners from the Moore era (even better than the “Fill her up please” moment later on in the pre-title sequence) – “Toro, sounds like a load of bull”.

Bond and Col. Toro, small world

2. Dead Body

While infiltrating Kamal Khan’s castle, Bond had to disguise as a lifeless human in a body bag to not get seen by Kamal’s henchman, Gobinda. During the transport, Bond escaped. Luckily, there were only low-level guards who were easily scared by Bond’s ghost-like scream.

Bond hidden in a body bag

3. Crocodile

Bond infiltrated Octopussy’s castle disguised in a Crocodile-like submarine. This was Moore’s version of the bird-like disguised used by Connery in the pre-title sequence of ‘Goldfinger” (1964).

Bond swimming his way to Octopussy's castle

4. Circus Worker

While in East Berlin, Bond put on a workers’ uniform for Octopussy’s Circus to investigate further on the anomalies between Kamal Khan, Octopussy and General Orlov (who delivered a SUPERB performance in this film as a secondary villain). 

Bond doing heavy lifting as a Circus worker

5. Mischka

Bond encountered one of the twin knife-throwing acts of the Circus, who were the murderers of 009 as seen in the opening sequence of the movie. After a brief fight, Bond took Mischka’s dress as his own to disguise which led him to his face off with General Orlov who then revealed the true plans of him and Kamal Khan.

Bond and General Orlov at gunpoint, with Bond dressed as the knife-throwing villain

6. Gorilla Suit

The Circus was indeed like a walk-in closet for Bond in this film. He had lots of choices for disguise, which made hiding very convenient for him. In another scene, Kamal, Gobinda, and Grischka were together in the same carriage with Bond and he had no time to move out of the carriage. Thanks to a Gorilla suit large enough to fit him, he had bought time before he could escape.

Promotional still of King Kong doing a cameo role in "Octopussy"

7. Circus Clown

This would have to be the most unexpected out of the bunch. Bond in a clown uniform, complete with makeup. But then again, Sir Roger Moore was able to pull it off without being cringe-worthy. Two notes though, why couldn’t Bond just told the authorities and even Octopussy about the bomb? And last, the more explosive question, how the hell could Bond have prepared the complete clown uniform and makeup within the time left before the bomb would go off? 

News reports placed Christopher Reeve with Sir Roger Moore in the same filming location in Pinewood Studios for Superman 3. Apparently, it was the Joker that had a meet-cute with Clark Kent.

Just James Bond things, I guess.

Battle of the Bonds: A Comparative Analysis

    A lot can happen while watching James Bond movies. This weekend, as I was rewatching "The Man with the Golden Gun", a thought had occurred to me. Aside from the fact that that line was a favorite of that film, I also thought about how that film was alike with some elements present in "Dr. No", the series' first offering.

    Although Bond films would follow a formulaic template, there's still distinctive elements for each one. However, with the films in this list, some clear similarities are present.

    Due to their lengthy tenures as James Bond, Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore are both regarded as the best ones to play the role, the classic Bonds. Also due to that lengthy tenure, Bond actors who came before and after them are often lost in the mix (George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton).

    Both Connery and Moore have seven Bond films and here are how each of their films seemed to fit one another.

1. You Only Live Twice (1967) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

    Starting off with the most obvious ones, these films were both directed by Lewis Gilbert and both featured Bond in a naval uniform. And with what they say about the Bond films of Gilbert, YOLT and Spy shared a seemingly similar premise, to instigate a war on two different countries after sabotaging space and naval operations of each countries. Blofeld was the main villain on the former, while Stromberg was on the latter.

Sean Connery as James Bond in M's office in "You Only Live Twice" from bondsuits.com

Roger Moore as James Bond from a promotional photo of "The Spy Who Loved Me" from bamfstyle.com

    Both films featured Bond pairing up with a different secret service agency other than the MI-6. Additionally, these were two of the films that featured a "Team Good" versus "Team Evil" battle by the end of the film, complete with contrasting costumes.

2. From Russia With Love (1963) and For Your Eyes Only (1981)

    It is not often that Bond films would have a McGuffin like what Ethan Hunt films tent to do, but when Bond films do, it is done quite beautifully.

Bond with the Lektor decoder in the final confrontation scene of "From Russia With Love" from screenrant.com

    From Russia With Love's "lektor" gets an update with For Your Eyes Only's "ATAC". Both items have no severe impact onto any of each film's characters, aside from helping our heroes and villains from one place into another.

ATAC Device in For Your Eyes Only from universalexports.net

3. Goldfinger (1964) and A View to A Kill (1985)

    Sir Sean Connery's most iconic outing, Goldfinger, gets to be paired with Sir Roger Moore's swan song due to the fact that these film's villains share almost identical villain goals. 

    Auric Goldfinger wants to have the monopoly of the gold deposit after securing Fort Knox's gold supply, while Max Zorin plans to supply Silicon Valley with a man-made earthquake to monopolize the deposit of microchips. With these films, the saying that "the old Bond films were just as good as their villains," can be actually taken to be a fact. Most of the memorable scenes often feature Goldfinger and Zorin.

Goldfinger's exposition scene for the Operation: Goldfinger in the film from reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com

May Day and Zorin aboard the blimp in "A View to  a Kill" for Project: Mainstrike from bondsuits.com
"Does anybody else want to drop out?"

    Do yourself a favor and watch out for the interrogation/laser scene in Goldfinger and the city hall and the mining shoot out in A View To A Kill.

    Additionally, both these films have the creepiest henchman/woman in Odd Job and May Day.

4. Thunderball (1965) and Moonraker (1979)

    The next films on this list may be good ones for some Bond fans, and these are also the bigger Bond films, big in production, a spectacle in the visuals, and higher level of stunts were made for this film to be Bond-level. 

    However, I find these films to be unwatchable and a legit snooze fest. Perhaps I just don't like watching the same plot for a third time (Moonraker is just You Only Live Twice, and The Spy Who Loved Me in space).

    Thunderball had some good scenes though, especially the Spectre meeting, and they were great with Bond's one-liners and witty quips. 

    Another similarity that these films have? The local parade in the night where terror would commence. 

The Junkanoo parade in "Thunderball" from huntingbond.com

Bond at the Carnival in Rio (Moonraker) from pinterest.com

5. Dr. No (1962) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

    Dr. No, the villain, was great as the first one to match against 007. After his death, extreme and heavily obsessive and excessive villains would face Bond in the likes of Red Grant, Goldfinger Largo, Blofeld, and even Dr. Kananga. It was only by the time of "The Man with the Golden Gun" where Bond would face a villain that was almost his equal, Francisco Scaramanga.

    Additionally, by the film's end, at the Hotel Crab Key and Hotel Scaramanga, Bond girls Honey Ryder and Mary Goodnight would be taken by the villain, awaiting Bond's rescue.

Bond and Honey Ryder having their escape in the end of "Dr. No" from chrism227.wordpress.com

Bond and Goodnight having their escape in "The Man with the Golden Gun" from 007.com

    Maybe a time at the beach after some explosions? Only to be followed by more explosions off of course, of course. 

6. Diamonds are Forever (1971) and Octopussy (1983)

    In Diamonds are Forever, Bond would have to overcome various Blofeld clones in the process of saving the world, this time from the hands of Spectre, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, and Bambi and Thumper. 

    While in Octopussy, Bond would face Kamal Kahn and General Orlov in the middle of the Fabergé Egg as this film's McGuffin. 

    Aside from the use of a circus setting, both films also displayed Bond's ability to disguise himself as another man, or even another living thing like an animal, or a non-living thing such as a mummy as he did in Octopussy. 

Peter Franks (left) and Bond (right) in "Diamonds are Forever" from express.co.uk

Bond (left) and Col. Toro (right) in "Octopussy" from 007museum.com
"Toro? Sounds like a load of bull."

"Small world, you're a Toro, too."

    Bond disguised himself as Peter Franks in Diamonds are Forever, complete with Franks' fingerprints (through Q), while in Octopussy, Bond disguised himself as Col. Toro in the pre-title sequence, among many other disguises he had in that film (which in itself is a topic for a different blog). 

    Another side note, these films had some of the best one-liners from both Bond actors.

7. Never Say Never Again (1983) and Live and Let Die

    Sir Sean Connery's final Bond outing is paired with Sir Roger Moore's first one. Although these are both good ones, with great Bond films, Felix Leiter's and stunts/action, these were quite hard to watch. 

    There's a certain part of these films which seemed to make them a bit dated, even as if these were made before You Only Live Twice. 

    Additionally, both films had two memorable but very lengthy chase scenes. The boat chase in Live and Let Die and the motorcycle chase scene in Never Say Never Again which was also quite hard to watch due to the cheap way of disguising a stunt double for Sir Sean, put a helmet on. A full-faced one! 

Bond in the motorcycle chase scene in "Never Say Never Again" from bmt216a.dk

Bond in the boat chase scene in "Live and Let Die" from 007museum.com

#TheList ends here, and I'd love to know about your thoughts about these! 

Keep 'em comments coming! 

#JamesBond    #007    #NoTimeToDie #SeanConnery    #RogerMoore    #PierceBrosnan    #DanielCraig    #TimothyDalton    #GeorgeLazenby

This Year's End

    There's only two weeks left on a year that has got to be one of the memorable ones, but for all the wrong reasons.

    The year we're still in feels like a lengthy thriller TV series stretched into 12 seasons (for the 12 months), complete with different conflicts for each month and with the main storyline that is the global pandemic. This is not to romanticize the negative effects of whatever that has happened to everyone globally which would include, but not be limited to health and economical disruptions.

    However, one good thing we can all hold on to are the very words that kicked off a triple album for George Harrison immediately after being a Beatle: All Things Must Pass. All things, whether good or bad, will ultimately breathe its final breath and bid farewell to the world. The only distinguishing factor between the two will have to depend on whether the send off will bring relief or separation anxiety.

Which one would you choose if you were to know when your time's going to be?

    Nah, don't think about it because in reality, nobody can really tell when our own clocks will tick their final tocks. What's certain is that time will always be running ahead of us. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

    Another takeaway that we call all embrace, since we are now in the final chapter of this year, let's recognize the fact that we won't last longer than a season without being strong and keeping our minds sane. That's a reason more than enough to call for an extended Thanksgiving and recognition of all necessary efforts and adjustments.

    As this year takes its final days, year-end countdowns will surely come our way. This leads me to my final note for this entry:

    You've come this far, don't let this year end turning you into a last-minute entry for the countdowns.

Human: You, Man, is Flawed.

"Richard Cory" is a poem written by Edwin Arlington Robinson. The titular character seemed to have it all, the luxury and all the fortune that anyone would want to have. Still, he shot himself dead.

Reasons for Cory's deadly deed were not given and were just left for the reader's perception. However, if we would put some clarity to it, one possible justification was that Richard Cory was just human, like all of us. Even with all of the luxury and fortune he had, life was not complete as he wished it could have been.

It was easy to recall the story of that poem because it was adapted into a song by musicians/songwriters Simon and Garfunkel into a song. It still had the same tragedy that the poem had, also in the POV of someone who envied the life of Richard Cory.

However, a remarkable difference made in the song was the effect that the final chorus had on the song. The chorus went "But I work in his factory, and I curse the life I'm living, I curse my poverty, oh, I wish that I could be Richard Cory" and it was given another shot even after the event of Richard Cory taking his own life. 

This part of the song spoke of another human flaw that most of us seem to have: the act of looking over at someone else's graces without looking into the flip side of the coin.

People who envied the life of Richard Cory saw the brighter side while neglecting whatever could be lurking on the opposite side. Little did they know that Richard Cory had a great amount of uncertainty which ultimately led to his demise. 

At times of despair and uncertainties, it couldn't be helped to resort to the thought of having the life of someone else. However, it should not linger so much it would turn into something that couldn't, or shouldn't, be realized.

Look beyond your shoulders only to be inspired by your neighbor's triumphs. Better yet, be an inspiration to those who would look over at your exploits. Also, always seek for true happiness. 

Below is Edwin Arlington Robinson's "Richard Cory".

Richard Cory

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

x

10 Elton John Songs Playing On Repeat

As I've written a few posts ago, I just watched the Sir Elton John biopic, "Rocket Man" due to the lengthy lockdown we have been having due to the Coronavirus scare.

Not only was I given the chance of viewing the film, I also had the chance of being introduced to other Elton John songs I haven't really given any attention before. 

Here are other Elton John and Bernie Taupin masterpieces I've completely been under the influence of during the past few days. 

1. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

I first heard this song on Elton John's Live Aid performance with George Michael, and again on the Music for Montserrat concert. 

2. Tiny Dancer

3. Crocodile Rock

4. The Bitch Is Back

5. I Want Love

6. Saturday's Night Alright (For Fighting) 

7. I'm Gonna Love Me Again

8. Rocket Man

9. We All Fall In Love Sometimes

10. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

Spectre and its References to Past Bond Movies

“Skyfall” may have been the 50^th anniversary Bond offering, however, “Spectre” seemed like a better fit for that title due to the numerous references that it made to previous Bond movies.

This list is going to try to name all the references made to all 23 previous EON-produced Bond movies.

1. Dr. No

In “Dr. No”, James Bond and Honey Ryder were captured by Dr. No’s thugs and were taken to his hidden villain lair. It was odd though that the thugs working for Dr. No were so warm and hospitable to Bond and his companion as if they were invited guests of Hotel Crab Key and not captured enemies of SPECTRE agent Dr. No. They were taken to their room with sets of new clothes for them to wear on their dinner with Dr. No.

Bond and Honey Ryder from Dr. No

In “Spectre”, James Bond and Dr. Madeleine Swan found the location of SPECTRE’s hidden lair but were left without a clue on how to get there. Fortunately, a Rolls-Royce was sent by Blofeld to pick them up. Much like in the aforementioned film, they were both led to their separate rooms with a set of new clothes for them to wear for their meeting with Blofeld.

Bond in his room from Spectre

2. From Russia With Love

The most obvious reference that “Spectre” made to the second Bond film would be the train fight scene between Bond and Mr. Hinx. It has become a tradition that whenever James Bond is situated on a moving train, a massive fight scene with the film’s henchman would be present. This was started by the classic train fight scene between Bond and Red Grant.

Bond fighting Red Grant from From Russia with Love

Bond fighting Mr. Hinx from Spectre

Also notable would be the inclusion of a chess match that Mr. White plays alone while Bond was interrogating him for leads. This scene would be reminiscent of the chess match that Kronsteen was known for in “From Russia With Love”.

Kronsteen's chess scene from From Russia with Love

Mr. White's chess scene from Spectre

3. Goldfinger

Bond sees an attacker from the reflection seen in the eye of a girl Bond was talking to in the pre-title sequence for “Goldfinger”. Similarly, Bond sees Mr. Hinx from the reflection in a bottle container during his dinner with Swan in “Spectre”.

Attacker from reflection from Goldfinger

Attacker from reflection from Spectre

Additionally, Bond wore the same white suit with red carnation in the train scene of “Spectre”, similar to the one worn in the pre-title sequence of “Goldfinger”.

Sean Connery in Goldfinger

Daniel Craig and Léa Seydoux in Spectre

4. Thunderball

The epic SPECTRE meeting that was seen in “Thunderball” was replicated magnificently in “Spectre”. Also present were the numerous SPECTRE agents, the discussion of future plans and schemes, and of course, the execution of agents who were not fit for the organization.

SPECTRE meeting with Blofeld from Thunderball

SPECTRE meeting with Blofeld from Spectre

5. You Only Live Twice

In “You Only Live Twice”, Bond drops onto a secret passage to Tiger Tanaka’s base leading him to a conveniently placed couch to catch him. This kind of scene is also repeated in “Diamonds are Forever” wherein Bond conveniently lands onto a couch.

Bond dropping onto a couch in You Only Live Twice

In “Spectre”, Bond drops from a crashing building onto a couch, as a result of the explosion from Sciarra’s bomb intended for an arena.

Bond dropping onto a couch in Spectre

Additionally, Blofeld had his trademark eye scar in “You Only Live Twice”. In “Spectre”, the eye scar was shown as a result of the explosion caused by Bond using his exploding watch.

Bond, Blofeld, and his cat in You Only Live Twice

Christoph Waltz as Blofeld in Spectre

6. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Both films featured a medical clinic on top of a snowy mountain. For George Lazenby’s only Bond movie, it was the Piz Gloria; while for Daniel Craig’s fourth Bond movie, it was the Hoffler Klinik.

The Piz Gloria from On Her Majesty's Secret Service

The Hoffler Klinik from Spectre

Additionally, both films had Bond talk to the father (both were head of criminal organizations) of the Bond girl while pursuing Blofeld. Bond also drove off with both films’ Bond girls in the final scenes, except that Swan was not shot at the end of “Spectre”.

Draco and Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Bond and Mr. White in Spectre

7. Diamonds are Forever

Aside from the couch drop, another call back to “Diamonds are Forever” was the scene wherein Bond talked to a rodent. While being stuck in the pipeline after being knocked out by Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, Bond met a rodent that led him to the exit and eventually escaped his death.

The rodent from Diamonds are Forever

In “Spectre”, it was a rodent that helped Bond finally see the secret room hidden in Mr. White’s old hotel room. “Who sent you?”

Bond and the rodent from Spectre

8. Live and Let Die

The obvious link to this film would be the pre-title sequence of “Spectre” that featured the Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City and James Bond wearing a costume close to the looks of Baron Samedi from “Live and Let Die”.

Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die

Estrella and Bond in Spectre

9. The Man with the Golden Gun

The final battle between Bond and Blofeld in the old MI-6 building wherein Blofeld put up photographs of deceased figures from Bond’s past in “Spectre” resembled the fun house that Francisco Scaramanga had in “The Man with the Golden Gun”. Similarly, Bond used up a significant amount of his bullets due to mistakenly thinking that he was shooting at his villains.

Bond in Scaramanga's fun house in The Man with the Golden Gun

Bond in the old MI-6 building in Spectre

The signature stunt made in the car chase scene of “The Man with the Golden Gun” was also replicated in “Spectre, only  this time it was made be a helicopter.

The car stunt from The Man with the Golden Gun

The helicopter stunt from Spectre

10. The Spy Who Loved Me

“The Spy who Loved Me” was one of the films that featured a train fight scene between Bond and an overpowering henchman that would be followed by love scene from Bond and the Bond girl.

Bond and Anya Amasova in The Spy Who Loved Me

Bond and Swan in Spectre

 11. Moonraker

Since Jaws returned from the previous Bond film, both “Moonraker” and “Spectre” featured henchmen with body parts improved/equipped with metal – metal teeth for Jaws, metal fingernails for Mr. Hinx.

Jaws in Moonraker

Mr. Hinx in Spectre

12. For Your Eyes Only

Both films featured James Bond fighting with a villain and hanging on the side of a helicopter in the films’ pre-title sequences. Also, both Bond girls had her parents killed off in the film.

Bond hanging on the side of a helicopter in For Your Eyes Only

Sciarra and Bond in Spectre

Additionally, the scene where Bond tried to elude his captors during the ski chase scene is similar to the scene wherein Q tried to avoid villains by staying inside a full-packed cable car.

Bond inside a full-packed elevator from For Your Eyes Only 

Q inisde a full-packed cable car from Spectre

13. Octopussy

Both films mentioned MI-6 Agent 009. In “Octopussy”, 009 was the agent initially assigned in the case of Kamal Khan but was killed off by the twin assassin.

009 in Octopussy

In “Spectre”, the Aston Martin car that Bond stole was intended to be assigned to 009. A music playlist was even created for 009.

Additionally, both films featured Bond wearing white suits, but minus the red carnation in “Octopussy”.

Music preferences of 009 as shown in Spectre

14. A View to A Kill

Both films featured Bond and a helicopter in the films’ pre-title sequences. Additionally, both films had Bond, the Bond girl, and Q at the films’ final scene.  

Bond and Stacey as shown from Q's gadget from A View to a Kill

Q and Bond in Spectre

15. The Living Daylights

In “The Living Daylights”, the Aston Martin V* that Bond was driving crashed through a cabin; in “Spectre”, it was the plane that Bond was piloting that crashed through a cabin.

Bond and Kara inside the Aston Martin V8 Volante crashing onto the cabin from the Living Daylights

Bond crashing his plane onto the cabin from Spectre

Both films also featured similar locations like Tangier, Morocco, and Austria.

16. License to Kill

Both films had Q go into the field to aid Bond and Bond is seen aiming a rifle at a villain from a distance.

Bond aiming at Sanchez in License to Kill

Bond aiming at Sciarra in Spectre

17. Goldeneye

Both films had villains who had disfigured facial features due to explosions initiated by Bond. For Alec Trevelyan, it was the 3-minute time bomb in Goldeneye’s pre-title sequence. For Blofeld, it was the exploding watch that Bond had Swan threw onto Blofeld.

Alec Trevelyan in Goldeneye

Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Spectre

Additionally, the title of the theme song of “Spectre” was mentioned in the Q scene of “Goldeneye” – “the writings on the wall”.

18. Tomorrow Never Dies

In both films, Bond had encounters with the wife of a villain. There was Paris Carver, wife of Elliot Carver, in “Tomorrow Never Dies”; while there was Lucia Sciarra, wife of Marco Sciarra, in “Spectre”.

There were also, similar scenes in both films – the scene wherein Bond was waiting in his hotel room in “Tomorrow Never Dies” and the scene in Bond’s apartment in “Spectre”.

Bond and Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies

Lucia and Bond in Spectre

19. The World is Not Enough

In both films, Bond shot down a helicopter using his service firearm. Also, there were boat chase scenes in the River Thames with Bond having his boat launched from the MI-6 building.

Bond in The World is Not Enough

Bond and Swan in Spectre

20. Die Another Day

Both films had Q’s lab/shop underground. Also, there were car chase scenes between an Aston Martin and a Jaguar. In “Die Another Day”, Bond drove the Aston Martin while Zao drove the Jaguar. In “Spectre”, Bond drove the Aston Martin while Mr. Hinx drove the jaguar. The ejector seat in Bond’s car was also incorporated in the chase scenes in both films.

The car chase scene from Die Another Day

The car chase scene from Spectre

21. Casino Royale

The confrontation scene between M and C in “Spectre” had a similar scene directly copied from the pre-title sequence of “Casino Royale” wherein Bond had taken the bullets of the pistol of a double agent without his knowledge, making him fire an empty pistol.

Bond and Dryden in Casino Royale

C in Spectre

In both films, tracking devices were injected onto Bond.

22. Quantum of Solace

Mr. White had one of his best scenes in the franchise in this film. The interrogation scene between him, Bond, and M at the start of the film had him say the line “We have people everywhere.” referring to the shadowy organization Quantum.

Mr. White's interrogation from Quantum of Solace

In “Spectre”, Mr. White uttered the same words although to a lone interrogator, James Bond, as he was referring to the reach of SPECTRE.

Mr. White's interrogation from Spectre

23. Skyfall

Both films had similar side plotlines that involved the questioning of the relevance of the double-0 program in this day and age of modern technology.

Additionally, both films had Bond evaluated by a doctor. In “Skyfall”, it was the official doctor from MI-6 that evaluated Bond; while in “Spectre”, it was Dr. Madeleine Swan.

Bond's evaluation from Skyfall

Bond's evaluation from Spectre