MovieChat Forums > Live and Let Die (1973) Discussion > How did Bond escape from the airport?

How did Bond escape from the airport?

posted 9 years ago by H_i_the_2nd
8 replies | jump to latest

You know the part, when they've captured Bond and Solitaire at New Orleans Aiport, and are about to force him onto a plane. He runs off and gets into a learner plane, breaks the wings off the hanger doors, and drives around for a while.
A few of Kananga's men are chasing him, but most of them crash their cars into planes.
But there's still at least two guys, armed with shotguns, who try to take aim at Bond as he taxis towards them. To avoid being hit by the propeller they duck out of the way.

Then...

...Bond just parks the plane.

"Same time tomorrow, Mrs, Bell?" he quips to the learner pilot.

Next thing we see Bond is at the Hotel with Felix and the other CIA boys.
What happened there? Feels like the end of the scene is missing.

Why didn't those two guys just run up and stick their shotguns in his ear as soon as he stepped out of the plane? Where did they even go to? Its not like Bond drove the plane anywhere far, as the actual flight instructor can see him from his office window, so he's clearly still right by the hanger.
And Felix was only supposed to meet him at the hotel, so it's not like the CIA showed up and saved him.

[–] H_i_the_2nd 9 years ago

So goof then? Or even, dare I say, plot hole?

[–] h-oates 9 years ago

Yeah, I wondered about this too. I think we're supposed to presume that Bond legs it from the plane after delivering his line.

[–] fugazzi49 9 years ago

I didn't get that either. He's suddenly gone from the airport without any explaination or continuity. I guess we're left to assume thet he's James Bond, so they don't even have to explain.

But in every Bond movie there are many times when he could be quickly and easily killed with a simple shot but instead they delay or try something fancy that he escapes from.

[–] hazard_chiller 8 years ago

With classic Bond movies there is this simple rule - if you're a henchman and you get into a fist fight with Bond, one punch from Bond and you're out.

The same applies to a car chase, you crash your car you're out of the game.

[–] H_i_the_2nd 8 years ago

With classic Bond movies there is this simple rule - if you're a henchman and you get into a fist fight with Bond, one punch from Bond and you're out.
The same applies to a car chase, you crash your car you're out of the game.

Fair enough, I can accept that. The problem is nothing like that is shown happening to the mooks with the shotguns. They haven't crashed, they haven't been punched, and they're mere feet away from Bond (who is unarmed) and yet it just cuts to the next scene with Bond at the hotel.
I guess the mooks' shift must have just ended, and they went home for the day.

[–] lostabos 8 years ago

What of Solitaire? We are not given any explanation as to how she returned to Kananga.

[–] liscarkat (18489) 5 years ago

He had evaded the bad guys. He got out of the plane and walked away. Simple.

[–] ModernDayWarrior (114) 3 years ago

I always took it as he was able to slide away after he took the fight to them and they couldn't handle it. He forced the plane and it's propeller right at all those guys and they were scared of him by the end because it was obvious he wasn't gonna stop. The real incompetent ones (even the cab driver,) drove after him but all that did was to mess up that hangar and cause tons of $ in damage they couldn't pay.

I always imagined after he pissed Bell off and slid out (he might have gotten cursed out by the teacher in a taste of what Felix had,) he got into one of those henchmen cars and drove off and found Felix. It's not a hard getaway by that point.

As for Solitare she realized she was trapped and tried to sell that she was a victim and taken against her will to make it easy for James to get out.