James Bond has been killing for Queen and Country for nearly 60 years. Unlike the majority of modern action heroes, Bond is a killer with permission to do what it takes to get the job done. He has had an edge to him in all incarnations of the character and even in his lighter portrayals the actors still had cold blooded moments but not without a pithy sense of humour. Bond always highlights his most personal kills with a witty one liner to soften the blow.
With a kill count well over 600 in his 25 official films there are plenty to choose from. Here are our Top 5.
5. Fiona Volpe Is Just Dead (Thunderball)
On the run from SPECTRE agents, Bond (Sean Connery) looks to blend into the crowd in the Kiss Kiss Club by dancing with a random woman but Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) tracks him down and cuts in. Bond realises that he is surrounded by henchmen and, as he is unarmed, has no way to fight back. As he dances with Fiona, a gun aims at him through the curtains of the club and as the drum music reaches a crescendo it fires. Without hesitation, Bond uses Fiona as a human shield and covers the bullet hole in her back with his hand. He then dances her lifeless body to a table and tells the couple sitting there that she is “Just dead”. With the SPECTRE agents panicking that they have just killed their boss, Bond calmly slips away.
4. Slate’s Dead End (Quantum Of Solace)
With the Bourne franchise nipping at Bond’s heals, Bond got a license to be more brutal. When Bond (Daniel Craig) is on a mission in Haiti he is attacked by Quantum assassin Slate and what proceeds is one of the most violent fights in the series. Following Bourne’s example of using anything that comes to hand as a weapon, Bond grabs what looks like a pair of nail scissors and stabs Slate in the neck and inner thigh. He then calmly, with a blank face, holds Slate down will he slowly bleeds out. When asked how things went with Slate, Bond says he was a “Dead end”.
3. Necros Gets The Boot (The Living Daylights)
The Living Daylights contains on of the franchise’s greatest stunts and one of it’s most dismissive kills. As Bond (Timothy Dalton) is escaping Afghanistan in a military cargo plane he his confronted by the assassin Necros (Andreas Wisniewski). In mid-air, the pair tumble out of the back of the plane and grab onto a cargo net. They duke it out while flailing around, with certain death the result if they let go, until Bond gets the upper hand. Bond makes it to the top of the net but Necros grabs his boot. 007 reaches down and starts to cut his boot laces with a knife, fear spreads across Necros’ face but Bond shows no compassion and send the assassin plummeting back to Earth. When asked what happened to Necros, Bond replies “He got the boot”.
2. Locque Doesn’t Have A Head For Heights (For Your Eyes Only)
Roger Moore’s Bond was lighter when compared to other actors but he could still play the killer. During For Your Eyes Only, the hitman Locque tries to take out Bond in Greece but fails. He drives of while Bond pursues on foot. Bond catches up to him and cutting him off he shoots him in the shoulder, causing Locque to lose control over his car and leaving him trapped in it, dangling over a cliff. Locque watches Bond approach, unable to escape without causing the car to topple. Bond throws the pin Locque left with Ferrara, a colleague that he murder earlier in the film, into the car, adding additional weight to tip it over the edge. Locque lunges for the passenger side door to try and escape but Bond kicks the car off the cliff, sending Locque to his death on the rocks below. The pay off line – “He didn’t have a head for heights”
1. Professor Dent Has His Six (Dr. No)
Professor Dent was the original cold blooded kill. Dent, a SPECTRE agent working for Dr. No, goes to Bond’s apartment to kill him but Bond is waiting, calmly playing cards while sitting by the door. He has put some pillows under the sheets on the bed to make it look like he is asleep. Dent opens the door, falls for the decoy, and empties his gun into the bed. Thinking he has been successful he turns around and sees Bond sitting a chair with a silenced pistol aimed at him. Dent spills the beans on everything to Bond and then tries to shoot him but his gun is empty. Without flinching, Bond cooly tells him “That’s a Smith and Wesson. And you’ve had your six”. He coldly shoots the now unarmed professor and then, just to make sure, shoots him for a second time, this time in the back as he lies on the floor. With this, Bond cements his reputation as a cold blooded killer.
What’s your favourite Bond kill? Comment below.
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