The Moore Fights (now with Zorin) - Just being disarming

[Dustin]

• Bond vs Kananga (LALD)
• Bond vs Tee Hee (LALD)
• Bond vs thugs night club (TMWTGG)
• • Bond vs thugs karate school (TMWTGG)
• Bond vs Sandor (TSWLM)
• Bond vs Jaws train (TSWLM)
• Bond vs Jaws Atlantis (TSWLM)
• Bond vs thug/Jaws midair (MR)
• Bond vs Chang (MR)
• Bond vs Jaws cable car (MR)
• Bond vs anaconda (MR)
• Bond vs ice hockey players (FYEO)
• Bond vs Gobinda/Grischka train (OP)
• Bond vs Gobinda plane fight (OP)
• Bond & Tibbett vs thugs (AVTAK)
• Bond vs thugs Sutton’s house (AVTAK)
• Bond vs Zorin (AVTAK)

[David_M]

Roger’s fights often seem to be more about avoiding contact than “wading in” like Connery or Craig. He keeps his distance with balletic kicks and roundhouse punches with long, wide arcs. As a consequence, his fights come off as rehearsed, heavily choreographed and at times robotically executed, in contrast to the more visceral, spontaneous vibe of Connery’s battles.

That said, I’m going for the fight with Chang in MR. It’s longer than most and goes from weapons (downstairs in the glass museum) to bare-handed (upstairs in the clockworks). Roger at this point is still fit enough to move convincingly and at times it’s “up close and personal” (though in other moments, the doubles can be a bit obvious).

When they get upstairs, the use of shadows and that cool blue hue (from the clock face) adds a dramatic look to things – pretty and creepy at the same time – and additionally helps to disguise the moments where a double steps in. Overall, it’s convincing that Roger’s Bond could have pulled off a win using the moves he did, unlike some other fights where a glancing “judo chop” or a kick to the ribs with soft loafers is enough to magically bring victory. Also, bonus points for driving the plot forward with a “clue” (the label on the crate upstairs) and for slipping in a sight gag (the glass vial in his shirt pocket is the only piece of glass on premises that hasn’t broken).

[Dustin]

Exactly my thoughts, @David_M. The Chang confrontation is also my favourite among Moore’s fights - so much so I think Chang would have been the better henchman throughout the film; a shame he was dispatched so fast.

[plankattack]

Good to see the Sandor bout included!

[theSpectre]

Bond vs Gobinda! (Shameless Octopussy plug)

[MrKiddWint]

Bond vs. Chang is the pinnacle of Moore fights for the reasons David_M notes. The action coupled with the humor make it distinctively Moorean–I never fail to smile when the priceless glass vase is first saved by Bond, and then casually destroyed.

Added thought: The nightclub fight in TMWTGG is good as well, and also has the Moore Bond humor. I will stick with my vote, but realize now, it is a closer choice than I had first realized.

[David_M]

The lingering question here is why he’s “Chang” in the book and credits, but half (all?) the people in the film call him “Cha”? Or maybe “Char”?

Anyway he was good and I agree if Jaws’ involvement hadn’t been mandated by the lingering public adoration after “Spy,” maybe Chang would’ve lasted longer in the film. He’s even fit enough to have maybe made Drax’s cut-off for “physical perfection.” If MR had been made in this modern day of wirework and CG, imagine the zero-gravity chop-socky battle we might’ve gotten between Bond and Chang in space!

[Dustin]

The really interesting quality of Chang - and therefore of this fight - is that he spends the entire film in traditional nipponese attire. I’m not sure how many people we’d find in Japan to do so outside their homes and spare time. Yet here is Chang in ‘California’, serving tea in a chateau and manipulating a g-centrifuge in an astronaut training centre; and he does so throughout in his hakama and judo jacket.

Later he sets out to smash Bond to pieces in kendo gear - in Venice - and doesn’t even bother to use a blade or a gun. He seems entirely confident to finish his task and from the great choreography and pacing of the sequence he comes across as more than an adequate fit for the job.

Compare to this the relatively harmless results Jaws manages to achieve, his sole quality having the script on his side and being indestructible. Chang on the other hand is devious and sneaky (centrifuge and spying on Dufour), without any scruples (doberman attack) and in this fight powerful and dangerous.

And he’s found his style and wears nothing else but what he likes…

[secretagentfan]

On the other hand, Jaws (almost) always wears suspenders.

[Orion]

[jamesb007nd]

The midair fight from Moonraker. My favorite Bondscene. It’s so well done! Excellent!

[David_M]

It’s my favorite stunt from the series, but is it a “fight” in the traditional sense? I have the same trouble with Dalton and the assassin at Gibraltar, or Moore vs Gobinda on top of Kamal’s plane. That (great) stuff is about 75% “stunt” to me and 25% “fight.” Just to keep it apples to apples, I’m looking for stuff in the Bond vs Red Grant “mano a mano” tradition. YMMV

[Double-OhAgent]

I’ll reiterate what I said in the original thread.

I went with Bond vs. Sandor/Shandor (like what David_M said with Chang–the book and credits list his name as Sandor but Stromberg calls him Shandor)

But a close second for me is Bond vs. the 3 Beirut thugs.

And count me in as another Chang fan. He was gone too soon–but in the limited time he had, he made the most of it in a memorable performance.

[sharpshooter]

@David_M

Roger’s fights often seem to be more about avoiding contact than “wading in” like Connery or Craig. He keeps his distance with balletic kicks and roundhouse punches with long, wide arcs. As a consequence, his fights come off as rehearsed, heavily choreographed and at times robotically executed, in contrast to the more visceral, spontaneous vibe of Connery’s battles.

Very true. I actually admire this style of avoiding damage and only striking when absolutely sure, and would try and adhere to it myself if I ever had the misfortune of being in such a situation. Generally, I like how all the Bonds improvise with their immediate environments to even the odds. He’s not necessarily the strongest but the smartest.

[Paco]

It should be more Bond’s body doubles vs Sutton’s thugs in AVTAK. Kidding aside I probably went a weird route and choose Bond fighting the thugs in the club TMWTGG. I liked Bond fighting off several people at once and the brutality of him actually getting hurt. It helps that Moore seems to be part of the action too.

[AMC_Hornet]

Who lets you grab his face with your left hand so you can gauge your right haymaker?
Moore did that repeatedly, most notably with the thugee in the market in Octopussy, and with Zorin’s goons.
I expect it was really because Sir Roger normally wore glasses like Coke bottle bottoms and couldn’t see to avoid actually hitting the other actor, but it’s the stun man’s responsibility to make it look good (watch the pub brawl in ‘Brannigan’ for an example of how to make John Wayne look macho, when he could barely raise his arms anymore).

[Dustin]

The vast majority of Moore’s fights comes from the tradition of British telly fighting, AD 1965; think The Avengers, The Saint, Danger Man and the like: stuff that wasn’t too demanding and largely family-friendly - softcore brutality that would not hurt to watch. Moore was already established as the smart fisticuffs man and much of his ‘action’ was simply a continuation of his tv work.

The spectacular parts usually were fights standing out for their setting (Venini Glass, Cairo roofs) or the enormous size of his adversaries (Tee Hee, Jaws), not so much the fighting itself. That said, you didn’t expect a Bond fight of the 70s/80s to be going beyond certain limits. It was Bond after all, not Charles Bronson.

[AMC_Hornet]

Sir Roger never got the fire in his eyes in his fights as Bond that he always had as Simon Templar.

[Dustin]

But then Simon Templar was for a large part his thing: the charming depiction of the character, the feel-good quality of the series, even the production itself where the whole affair more or less rested on a handshake between him and Lew Grade. The Saint was tailored to Moore, and lots of the tailoring was done by himself and with his influence.

Bond happened a decade later, after his (younger) predecessor could settle down with less physical roles. I suppose if Moore had entered the role in 67 and would have still been eager to put his mark on the role…that might have been the crucial difference.

[sharpshooter]

@Dustin

The vast majority of Moore’s fights comes from the tradition of British telly fighting, AD 1965; think The Avengers, The Saint, Danger Man and the like: stuff that wasn’t too demanding and largely family-friendly - softcore brutality that would not hurt to watch. Moore was already established as the smart fisticuffs man and much of his ‘action’ was simply a continuation of his tv work.

The spectacular parts usually were fights standing out for their setting (Venini Glass, Cairo roofs) or the enormous size of his adversaries (Tee Hee, Jaws), not so much the fighting itself. That said, you didn’t expect a Bond fight of the 70s/80s to be going beyond certain limits. It was Bond after all, not Charles Bronson.

Very true.

For the most part Moore’s Bond seems above messy brawls. His reaction to Jaws ripping apart the van while he’s inside is a good example. He’ll get the job done if he has to, but in a way that usually shows detached bemusement. Charm and *player’s privilege are his main superpowers. (*I won’t call it luck).