7 jaw-dropping Bond movie moments

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

There are certain things we’ve come to expect from a Bond film: cars, girls, supervillains, extremely specific cocktail orders.

But every now and again, the big screen adaptations of Ian Fleming’s famous spy creation throw us a curveball that we don’t see coming. A stand-out scene, an oddity, a shocking few minutes. We’ve cast our minds back over the twenty-three and counting 007 flicks and come up with a list of seven of the most truly jaw-dropping moments…

7 jaw-dropping Bond movie moments

 

Bond’s wife dies in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised to see someone die in the world of espionage amongst plots for world domination and the like. But there’s something quite jarring and, dare we say, upsetting about this killing. The only woman to have stolen Bond’s heart to the point of (genuine) matrimony, the wedding day assassination of Tracy Bond née Draco – played by the stunning Diana Rigg – sees even the usually emotionless Bond shed a few tears.

“Shocking… Positively shocking.”
Okay, so Bond electrocuting a henchman to death in Goldfinger isn’t all that surprising – he is a remorseless killer, after all. But we had to mention this. Firstly – and obviously – because of what’s said. And secondly, because it’s a truly shocking line. Bond likes a bad pun, but this one is electrifyingly bad.

M dies in Skyfall
Dame Judi Dench’s M was getting on in age and early on in Sam Mendes’ Skyfall pressure on her to quit was being applied on her from above. But it was still a shocker to see her depart at the crescendo of the most recent film. And in such dramatic fashion. Dench’s M was a real fan favourite, so Ralph Fiennes’ version has plenty to do to match up to his predecessor.

Bond teams up with the Taliban in The Living Daylights
When our Timothy Dalton-shaped hero finds himself needing to attack a Soviet Air Force base, he teams up with some local rebels that go by the name of the ‘Mujahiideen’. Only a few years after the film’s release, the group would go on to become known as the Taliban. Which kind of looks bad in hindsight, doesn’t it?!

Questionable SFX when kite surfing on a tsunami
As with all action films, as time’s gone on, there’s been an increasing reliance on special effects. But Die Another Day’s tsunami surfing scene showcases some of the worst SFX ever seen in a big blockbuster. Shocking stuff.

‘Is that… Margaret Thatcher?!’
1981’s For Your Eyes Only sees a rather surprisingly climax as Bond receives a thank you call from real-life Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Okay, so The Iron Lady is played by an actress, but still…

Jarringly stereotypical gay assassin characters
Diamonds Are Forever sees the Bond filmmakers make a very strange decision. Bad guy Blofeld hires two gay assassins to do his bidding, but almost every scene with Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd has some kind of semi-homophobic comment or insinuation. Sure, it was the seventies, but it makes for rather uncomfortable viewing nowadays. Poor form.

Have we missed any total Bond shockers? Let us know in the comments below!