24 frames per second

One staple in James Bond movies, and something most Bond aficionados look forward to, is the scene with Q. Bond’s seeming inability to bring back the equipment unharmed is a source of perpetual annoyance, but you could see how the men have an effective working relationship. In fact, in License to Kill, he helps out Bond although the agency has (ostensibly) disavowed him.

However, after Q’s retirement, this relationship has veered into farcical comedy. There’s a lot more condescension from Bond’s end, and Q’s successor has not been able to give as good as he gets (despite being played by John Cleese). I find this somewhat sad. Now that the franchise has been rebooted, I hope that things will change for the better again.

I was watching You Only Live Twice the other day on TV. It is an otherwise unremarkable Bond movie and one of the weakest Sean Connery entries, but it does have a scene that I quite liked. While Bond is in Japan preparing for a reconnaisance trip to the villain’s lair, Q comes in with a large consignment for him. This time, it’s a miniscule single-seater airplane. As Q explains its various features (mostly which weapons go where), Bond asks him a couple of questions on the range at which the guns can be fired. Rudimentary stuff, to be sure. But something I sorely missed.