James Bond as an action hero in the pre-credits sequence of GoldenEye.
James Bond as an action hero in the pre-credits sequence of GoldenEye.
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An action hero is typically a male who in spite of greatly outnumbered or losing against terrific odds, manages to not only survive himself but save for example the world from an evil person or organisation whose only dream it is to take over the world. A typical action hero is a master of arms, this means that they are experts in handling firearms and other dangerous explosives. They are good looking and because of this, they are not only a hit with the women in the film but are also admired by many women who watch the film. An action film typically has very little dialogue. This is because there is a lot of action in the film and due to this, the action voices the plot in a way that the audience would find very easy to understand. This also opens the film to a wider market in that it could be played in countries that do not speak English because of the amount of English spoken. An action film generally has very hi-tech special effects ranging from dramatic explosions to car chases with a twist in that using special effects, weapons can be added to increase the tension in that particular scene. Gun fights, explosions, car chases and a wide range of hi-tech weapons to name but a few, add to the action plot by in the way that there is a sense of danger for the hero who may be in jeopardy. James Bond is a typical action hero in a typical action film in that, the majority of events, which occur in GoldenEye, can be linked to the previous Bond films in that there is always a hero who in the end, manages to save the day, the women who the hero just manages to rescue and of course, the action which is, as well as the other points, expected by the audience when they watch a Bond film whether it be a newly released one or one of the very first Bond films which for example, starred Sean Connery. The film has always appealed to both men and women due to there being a wide variety of events which occur in the film, for example, the male audience would be interested by the way that the action is put across whereas the female audience would enjoy for example the way Bond conducts himself and the way the relationships between Bond and the female characters in the way that he generally always ends up either sleeping with them or killing them.
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The film is a certificate 12, which means that people of aged 12 and over only are allowed to view this film. The reason why the film has been classified as a 12 is because of the shooting scenes and also because of the sexual scenes in which Bond is involved with. As GoldenEye is a 12, there cannot be very much graphic detail for example blood, this is because it is deemed that these sort of gory scenes are unsuitable for children of the lower age groups. Due to there not being able to ...
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The film is a certificate 12, which means that people of aged 12 and over only are allowed to view this film. The reason why the film has been classified as a 12 is because of the shooting scenes and also because of the sexual scenes in which Bond is involved with. As GoldenEye is a 12, there cannot be very much graphic detail for example blood, this is because it is deemed that these sort of gory scenes are unsuitable for children of the lower age groups. Due to there not being able to have explicit sex or violence, the producers, United Artists, have had to appeal to the public in other ways for example, appealing to a wider range of cultures as in other countries by using cast members from other countries for example, an American actor was used so that the film would appeal to the American market. As there is not much dialogue in this film due to its action genre, the film can also be used in other countries which in turn, would increase the income of the film. This type of marketing would enable the producers to use the money to create better special effects in the next film.
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The opening image of Bond being followed by the gun barrel has been used since the very first Bond film which was Dr No. The scene was created in 1962 by Maurice Binder. This scene is expected to be viewed in any Bond film. The scene involves Bond being traced by what appears to be a gun barrel or what could also be a camera lens. I have taken it to be a gun barrel and the scene involves a person holding the gun whom we do not see, following Bond who in turn, shoots the gun holder in a professional, expert gun handler's stance. The gun follows Bond from one side to the other then is shot at, swings from side to side then red blood like liquid appears from the top of the screen and then in turn, takes of all of the screen creating a red, glazed, blood effect. This scene creates a false impression for the audience in that there is no blood throughout the film but it also shows the audience that they can expect to see guns and shooting during the film.
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The scene starts with an establishing shot of a Pilatus Porter aeroplane flying over a dam in Switzerland which is supposed to be Arkangel. The plane reappears in a later scene in which Bond escapes from the Arkangel chemical weapons facility. The scene is set in a very mountainous setting alongside a giant dam which already sets an aura of excitement. The scene gets the audience involved in the film due to the rollercoaster effect of the camera work and also bungee jump which gives also a sense a danger which we see later in the pre-credit sequence. The cameras get the audience involved by doing there shots from a helicopter a various other cameras which are positioned in other places giving different angles for example, the helicopter uses a very long shot from a high angle which gives the idea of a rollercoaster ride.
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The bungee jump scene uses a complex mix of camera shots in which four different camera angles were used. The scene was done by Bonds stunt man called Wayne Michaels who had never risked performing this type of stunt due to weather conditions blowing him back into the dam so therefore he and the rest of the crew needed to perfect the scene the first time of doing it. The cameras tilt from the top to the bottom of the dam, which gives the audience a sense of the shear height of the dam in which Bond is supposedly jumping off. At this point, we still do not know that the bungee jumper is Bond because, on his way to the dam, along the dam wall, he shielded his face from the camera and also was aided by the cameras being set at angles and points in which his face would not be revealed. This keeps the audience in suspense. Once Michaels or Bond has jumped, the camera goes up over his head to show the height of the jump. At the bottom of the jump, once the bungee rope is fully stretched, Bond is shown to be firing a piton gun which attaches itself to the rocks below and then in turn, retracts the wire and pulls Bond towards the ground. The scene also shows a sign for the USSR Arkangel chemical weapons facility.
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This scene is the meeting with 006 which starts off with Bond, dangling into the toilet from the air duct in the ceiling. At this point, the percussive sounds begin to pound more prominently which in turn, creates more tension and a sense of excitement. The soldier in which is sitting on the toilet slowly moves his newspaper out of the way and Bond says in a serious but humorous way, "beg your pardon, forgot to knock" and then knocks the soldier out with one punch. Bond bursts through a door and scouts the room for more soldiers in an expert gun handler's stance. In this part of the scene, Bond uses an iconic stance in which all of the previous Bond's have used which is the typical, gun against the head pose. Bond also uses a classic infiltration technique to sneak further into the base past soldiers who are in a lunch hall talking and having a good time.
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General Ourumov is a typical Bond villain. His unshaven and scared character instigates that he is tough and someone that should be feared by both Bond and the audience. His scar deformed nose and cheek are a way for his character to come across as if he is either a war timer hero or whether he has taken a lot of pain which in turn instigates that he is hard. He is very ruthless and he is prepared to risk his own soldiers for his dream of world domination which is also a typical desire for all Bond villains. The use of timers in the film helps to give a sense of suspense and that they act as if they are drawing the audience in to a climax. Also the use of flashing lights and alarms instigate that something is going to happen as both are warning signals to the enemy and that there is a chance that they may get caught. The way in which the soviet soldiers are killed is done in a comical way by them doing a dramatic leap into the air which represents them being shot, this is because of the certificate rating being for twelve year olds or above. The camerawork in the nerve gas scene shows excellent teamwork by Bond and Trevelyan until 006 is captured, for example when some soviet soldiers blast there way into the room in which Bond is, Bond shouts, "shut the door Alec, there's a draught" and when they are racing to get the timers set up and they exchange weapons and comment such as the one above to help each other.
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In this scene Bond is trying to escape from the soviet base. He firstly stands behind some canisters of nerve gas so that he can get to a delivery hatch where he then dives into the hatch and shoots hundreds of canisters of the nerve gas onto the soviet guards who were waiting to shoot him. The next clip is of him outside on a runway, Bond uses his initiative by knocking someone off of their motorbike to chase after a Pilatus Porter aeroplane which is taxiing down the runway which would be his only escape, the plane then plummets off of the cliff and Bond then proceeds to dive after the plane which is in a freefall dive down the side of the mountain, Bond somehow manages to catch up with the plane and then against all odds, manages to pull the aeroplane out of its dive and fly it to safety with the scene behind it of the chemical weapons facility exploding, the explosion then turns into the barrel of a gun again and the movie proceeds to start.
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It is a Bond tradition to not include women into the pre-credits sequence, I feel that this is because they are held back for later in the film to be used as surprise links with Bond as he gets deeper into the plot of his enemy and usually ends up sleeping with them. Most of the women in the Bond films can be seen as objects of desire, this attracts a vast amount of the male audience into a false sense in that they feel that she must be on Bond's side, but as we usually find out later in the film, this is not the case and because of this, the audience is split creating two different angles in which the plot could be taken. This is the case with Xenia Onatopp as she seduces Bond and then tries to kill him by befriending and tricking him whereas Natalya Siminova helps Bond to break into Trevelyan's headquarters. This is also not a traditional Bond plot in that both Xenia Onatopp and Natalya Siminova have a lot more to do in the film and also are involved in a lot more action than what the female stars have done in the previous Bond films. They are both also presented as action heroes which before, was unheard of in previous Bond films. I conclude that the pre-credits sequence is successfully put across for the audience to watch another Bond film in that it is linked to all of the previous films by the way of including action. The pre-credits sequence gives you a feel of what to expect in the film and also keep up the tradition of previous Bond films.