Favourite Bond Boat Chase

As I watched MR and LALD recently, I got thinking about the boat chases again. Which do you like best, which do you like least?

Mine would have to be TWINE's. It's exciting, fast paced, well shot, well choreographed and brilliantly scored by Mr Arnold. I with Arnold's music gets me every time! I enjoy it so much that I believe it's one of the best action sequences in the franchise. I believe it was in The Man With The Golden Touch by Sinclair McKay that he discusses the boat chases at one point. IIRC he says that boat chases and water sequences tend to run so slowly, and drag, but it's the TWINE chase that doesn't. I think there is something in that...

FRWL's would probably be second. It's short but clever.

Out of MR's efforts I'd say the Amazon chase is the better one, and am so disappointed that the opportunity to shoot a great boat sequence was wasted in the canals of Venice. I can only hope they revisit Venice to give us a better one without the Bondola and cheap gags.

My favorite would be LALD's chase. It feels like all the right notes, throws in a bit of humor and has a fantastic ending.

QOS would be my least favorite chase mainly because it's kind of a headache to follow and the last time I watched it the editing was making me a bit queasy (I get motion sickness fairly easy).

LALD.

Love that red Glastron GT 150 with the Evinrude outboard (anyone else notice the misplaced clip of the gold inboard model right after the jump, before Bond runs aground and commandeers the gold inboard?)!

2nd: Moonraker in the Amazon. Love that Glastron-Carlson Scimitar!

Strangways&Quarrel wrote:

My favorite would be LALD's chase. It feels like all the right notes, throws in a bit of humor and has a fantastic ending.

QOS would be my least favorite chase mainly because it's kind of a headache to follow and the last time I watched it the editing was making me a bit queasy (I get motion sickness fairly easy).

The ending is great, but it just drags for me… Had it been scored it may have elevated it, but it's intercut so much with the other stuff that it just slows it down for me.

Surprisingly, I think I'll have to say TWINE. It was action-packed and fun without being OTT goofy (I'll forgive the tie-straightening).

FRWL's felt unnecessary.

LALD's dragged on, and the intercutting with the comedic stylings of Officer Yokel was stupid.

Ditto for Golden Gun (now with an annoying little shit thrown into the mix).

Moonraker (Venice)... double-taking pigeon, bravo.

Moonraker (Amazon) was alright I suppose, but nothing exciting.

And lastly, Quantum of Couldn'tseeshit  is self-explanatory.

CJB wrote:

Surprisingly, I think I'll have to say TWINE.

No, no surprises there at all… Feel free to bump up TWINE's vote - it may be the only thing TWINE wins on this forum…

CJB wrote:

Surprisingly, I think I'll have to say TWINE. It was action-packed and fun without being OTT goofy (I'll forgive the tie-straightening).

FRWL's felt unnecessary.

LALD's dragged on, and the intercutting with the comedic stylings of Officer Yokel was stupid.

Ditto for Golden Gun (now with an annoying little shit thrown into the mix).

Moonraker (Venice)... double-taking pigeon, bravo.

Moonraker (Amazon) was alright I suppose, but nothing exciting.

And lastly, Quantum of Couldn'tseeshit  is self-explanatory.

This sums my opinion on each chase.

I am in accord with CJB, although I find even TWINE's boat chase a tad overlong.

The latter Bond's do seem to be afflicted to a degree by their front loaded action sequences, TND, TWINE, DAD and SF all have PTS action that overshadow the climaxes, while CR and QOS have sequences immediately post titles that are so overblown or cluttered they leave a sour taste for the rest of the film.

lachesis wrote:

I am in accord with CJB, although I find even TWINE's boat chase a tad overlong.

The latter Bond's do seem to be afflicted to a degree by their front loaded action sequences, TND, TWINE, DAD and SF all have PTS action that overshadow the climaxes, while CR and QOS have sequences immediately post titles that are so overblown or cluttered they leave a sour taste for the rest of the film.

Interesting perspective. SF's PTS is probably the best 'action sequence' in the film. Despite the gunfire and explosions, the ending of Skyfall doesn't feel like an action sequence because its emotional core is so prominent that it feels like a natural progression to the drama.

Let's dig up a five year-old thread. Turns out I left this one alone back in the day. So slap the vote on TWINE.

Many have their merits but TWINE's edges partly for the locations and other factors like music.

I voted for the Amazon River chase in MR, and the worst of them all is also in that film-in Venice.

I voted for the Amazon River chase in MR, and the worst of them all is also in that film-in Venice.

Phantom Commander wrote:

I voted for the Amazon River chase in MR, and the worst of them all is also in that film-in Venice.

I also voted for this one, although I think technically it's on the Tiperare or the Amazoco. At any rate, the scenery is stupendous and Barry's score gives the sequence a powerful and majestic fillip.

Not on the list, but I'd say the boats and divers after Bond in LTK, which is one of my alltime fave sequences (minus the shoddy projection at the end on the plane.)

If it has to be bond in a boat as well (and not one of them newfangled plane-boats), then I guess it would be FRWL, because none of the big boat chases in the later films ever engaged me.