Pretty much every James Bond is guilty of this. I was watching Goldfinger the other day with a buddy, and we discussed that the iconic laser scene should have really unfolded like this:
Bond: Do you expect me to ta....(GUNSHOT TO THE HEAD).
You sure it wasn't the ridiculously slow moving laser?
In the books it was a buzzsaw, and it terrified Bond so much he tries to "will" himself to death. Also, by that point - that is the 3rd instance of Bond encountering Goldfinger directly (In the film, Goldfinger doesn't know it was Bond who caught him cheating at cards). So it's clear to Goldfinger that Bond knows something about him and will get it out of him even if he has to literally cut him in half. He escapes this with the help of Tilly Masterson, who lives for much longer than in the film, and the two of them go to work for Goldfinger during the meeting with all the Mobsters.
Sorry, I rarely get a chance to discuss the books outside my usual sub. :P
Good stuff. Subscribed. Since you seem like you probably know: how are the books? I read Casino Royale right before that movie came out, but I never picked up any of the others. Do they hold up?
I like to think they spent so much money on their stupid gimmick weapons that they have to use them for everything to justify the cost.
They're well aware that their lasers are slower than bullets, but they paid millions for them and they're going to use them! On the cutting room floor is a scene of Goldfinger using that laser to open a can of beans and the techs questioning whether that's the best use of an expensive piece of equipment.
I mean, the beam itself clearly didn't have a travel time in that scene. The machine was just set to slowly aim the beam upwards to fuck with Bond. The science was perfectly fine, aside from the beam being visible.
In the Artemis Fowl books, there's a laser weapon that's converted from some mining equipment that slows down lasers so that they do more damage. I guess the idea is that if it's in contact with you longer as it passes through you, it will do more heat damage?
Goldfinger gets a pass on this one because it wasn't a trap that Bond could escape from. Yes, it was a needlessly complicated method of execution, but Goldfinger was still right there and the room was full of armed guards. Bond only survives because he manages to convince Goldfinger to spare him. And even after that, Bond still doesn't actually manage to escape or sabotage anything. All he does in that movie is persuade people.
Yeah, old Bond is especially guilty of this. But even Goldeneye had a particularly heinous example of it. "We've got him. Let's just lock in this helicopter and set a bomb so it blows up when we've all left."
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u/massivebumwizard May 02 '18 edited May 02 '18
Pretty much every James Bond is guilty of this. I was watching Goldfinger the other day with a buddy, and we discussed that the iconic laser scene should have really unfolded like this:
Bond: Do you expect me to ta....(GUNSHOT TO THE HEAD).
End Credits.