With Quantum of Solace just hours away I have returned with a list of my favorite henchmen (or should it be henchpersons?) that have opposed Bond over the years. Like yesterday's 007 Women post, I have a few caveats:
1) These seven thugs are in alphabetical order, not ranked.
2) The greatness of the Bond film is not a factor.
3) The character's gimmick is usually a major factor.
4) These are memorable, and not necessarily effective, henchmen.
Here are the Reel Whore's
007 Memorable Henchmen Opposing 007
Geoffrey HolderCharacter: Baron Samedi
Movie: Live and Let Die (1973)
This was a close call between Samedi and Tee Hee, but the deep laugh and general insanity of Holder wins out. While Samedi goes out like a bitch, being dumped into a coffin of snakes, it's fun to see him get the last laugh.
Famke JanssenCharacter: Xenia Zaragevna Onatopp
Movie: Goldeneye (1995)
A female assassin who kills men by strangling them with her thighs; how could Onatopp not make the Reel Whore list? Seductive and severely imbalanced, Janssen plays this Bond nemesis perfectly. If he had to die, what better way for Bond to go than between her thighs?
Grace JonesCharacter: May Day
Movie: A View To a Kill (1985)
No one is quite as strange as Strangé. And who better than Grace Jones to play the lover of Christopher Walken's Zorin, May Day? Her hysterical laugh and flamboyance make her impossible to forget. Plus, she's one of the few women who seem more in control in the sack than Bond.
Richard KielCharacter: Jaws
Movie: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979)
Richard Kiel has the distinction of being the only henchman to confront Bond in two films. He's massive, menacing and he's got metal teeth! Jaws, a force to be reckoned his first go'round, sadly becomes comic relief in Moonraker.
Lotte LenyaCharacter: Rosa Klebb
Movie: From Russia With Love (1963)
Cold and calculating, Lenya portrays Rosa Klebb as the scariest freaking agent of SPECTRE. From barking orders to making her minions squirm, Klebb is one woman you don't want to be locked in a room with. Especially since her weapon of choice is a poison-tipped shoe dagger!
Harold SakataCharacter: Oddjob
Movie: Goldfinger (1964)
A character of no words, Oddjob was the manservant of Goldfinger, doing everything from caddying to assassinations. Oddjob's most memorable scene is beheading a stone statue by throwing his Metal Rimmed Hat.
Hervé VillechaizeCharacter: Nick Nack
Movie: The Man With the Golden Gun (1974)
The most diminutive henchman Bond has ever faced, Villechaize got no respect. Manservant to Scaramanga, Nick Nack filled roles from chef to assassin. He ran the island and all its psychedelic traps. Too bad his final fight was so utterly humiliating.
Once again, when I feared my memory had grown too fuzzy, I used the James Bond Multimedia to get the facts straight.
Don't like my tastes? Let me know which henchmen you remember most!
Richard Kiel is cool, but he fits in a couple of categories, doesn't he? After all he turned good guy in that terrible Moonraker that you mention.
ReplyDeleteHe does turn good guy in Moonraker. Guess I could have focused solely on his Spy Who Loved Me role.
ReplyDeleteI guess if I do a Memorable Allies posting, he'd also make the cut..or at least the short list after Moneypenny and Felix.
But still, he's just too cool and too HUGE not to include.
Yeah, Kiel and Oddjob were definitely the most memeorable.
ReplyDeleteWas that older woman in the Austin Powers movies based on Lotte Lenya?
From my understanding, Austin Powers's Frau Farbissina is a combination of Rosa Klebb and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Irma Bunt characters. I've never been much of a fan of OHMSS, so I don't remember much about Bunt.
ReplyDeleteWho knows where to download XRumer 5.0 Palladium?
ReplyDeleteHelp, please. All recommend this program to effectively advertise on the Internet, this is the best program!