Battle of the Bonds!

This week's round focuses on the Bond vs Henchman sequence in TSWLM and MR. Well into the film proper, the Bond has an extensive fight scene which results in a secondary henchman fall to his death. In the 1977 film, 007 and Sandor get into a scuffle that extensively covers a rooftop before they reach the edge of the building. Bond drops Sandor off the side of the building, and quips as he looks down. Similarly, in MR, Bond and Chang cover a lot of ground at Venini glass, and then upstairs, before Bond sends Chang plummeting to his death into the piano. And like its predecessor, Bond quips as he looks down at the body.

Lewis Gilbert's Bond films are perhaps the most formulaic of them all, but it's understandable considering his films are amongst the most financially successful in the series. Wanting to recreate success is perhaps most evident in MR, but I personally believe the MR fight with Chang was an improvement on Bond's fight with Sandor. In TSWLM, it looked too choreographed whereas the fight with Chang seemed to flow better. I also prefer the photography in this scene. I love the camera tracking upstairs just before Chang meets his fate and how the music fades in. I like Bond's final quip, but I admittedly prefer "What a helpful chap!" from the previous film.

Which scene was more effective for you?

Prefer the gallows humour in the closing one-liner in the TSWLM scene to the iffy pun that closes the MR one.

TSWLM. A callous, yet darkly amusing moment.

And God knows how Bond manages to find Abu Hussein al-Jawsfood at the right place and the right time simply from the statement "Pyramids!"