Iconic James Bond Opening Action Scenes that will never get old

Iconic James Bond Opening Action Scenes that will never get old

Updated on September 05, 2022 18:20 PM by Sally Harbor

Regarding action movies, the first name that pops into our mind is the legendary actor James Bond. The star is known for his larger-than-life action scenes.

Pretty much every movie of James Bond follows more or less the same pattern: an open action set piece that reintroduces 007 to the audience, a beautifully animated title sequence along with a theme song by a contemporary pop sensation playing behind, a psychic villain with a ludicrous plan and with all of that Bond is always sent to put a stop to it, and he falls in love with a Bond girl of his type along the way.

Isn't this pretty much what follows all the Bond movies?? But the opening action scenes of his movie have always remained iconic, and his movies are known for it.

The opening scenes are always one of the most special elements of his movies, and they also give an early idea to the audience as to what kind of Bond movie they will be watching further in the coming minutes.

The best of the scenes have always stood out for his audience and fans, so here are some of his most iconic opening action scenes that you need to watch to get mesmerized by his acting skills. 

For your eyes only 

James Bond has encountered many villains in his movies, but Blofeld is his most iconic villain. The two have had a face-off in many movies, but the one they had for the movie For Your Eyes Only was one of a kind.

Through the encounter in the movie that ththeyoth had, it became quite clear that Bond was ready to move on from Blofeld’s character as he took him out in the opening sequence of For Your Eyes Only. 

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The opening action scene of the movie addresses the death of Tracy Bond at the hands of Blofeld before the mastermind attempts to kill Bond himself with a remote-controlled helicopter.

But eventually, Bond can take control of it and uses it to pick Blofeld up before dropping him down a chimney. It is a bit silly but filling off the main adversary in the first scene is memorable.

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The Living Daylights

The movie was released in 1987 and garnered quite a bit of buzz for its action scenes and storyline. After the actor Roger Moore had stopped down after his long tenure as Bond in the Hollywood industry, Timothy Dalton took up the role of the iconic  Bond.

Though some unfairly overlook Dalton's role as Bond, he has received a memorable opening that played on having a new face as Bond.

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In the movie, the first action scene features a training exercise as agents attempt to infiltrate a base, only for villains with real guns to begin picking off the agents. Each of the agents seems like they could be the next Bond but only to be killed.

This eventually leads to Dalton appearing and showing off his acting skills and takes the movie further as he slowly takes all the villains out. 

No Time To Die

No Time To Die is a relatively new Bond movie, as it was released in 2021. The movie holds the record of the longest Bond movie to date, which only makes sense because it features one of the longest action openings in a Bond movie. 

The sequence of this movie covers a lot of material, beginning with the unsettling flashback to Madeline's childhood encounter with a masked man.

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The scene then catches up with Bond and Madeleine enjoying their life together, but the past has only returned to haunt them. The movie incorporates some great stunt sequences, brings back the gadget-filled car, and also starts the movie off with an emotional note.

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From Russia With Love

The movie was released in 1963 and is counted as one of the most iconic Bond movie opening action scenes.

The opening scene of the movie is set late at night. Bond sneaks around a darkened garden as a large blond woman hunts him. Only the sound of hasty footsteps, crickets, and birds calling is heard in the background, which adds a fearful addition to the set scene list. 

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Immediately, the hero we recognize is on the back foot and physically being stalked in an unknown location, and then comes what we all look for in Bond movies: Misdirection.

The lights pop up, and it turns out that a bunch of people has been witnessing the dark scene being shot. The man killed in the scene was wearing a mask of James Bond as a test for their killer, but the main problem is that the psychic villain 007 is still alive. 

This intro From Russia With Love sets up the whole rivalry and the matching of wits for one of the high points in the train segment much later in the film. 

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Skyfall

When talking about larger-than-life opening action sequences from Bond movies, how can we forget the one from Skyfall The movie was released in 2012, and in general, it does not give you any time to swallow what is going on as the audience is not given an idea of where the movie is situated or who the villain is. 

The audience is only told about how vital the piece of the technological device shown is and how important it is to retrieve it. With this non-stop and vague intro, Bond and Moneypenny chase a criminal with a vital hard drive and tell the audience to strap themselves in.

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You've known these two characters from multiple movies now, and this intro demands you just sit back and drink it in. The movie is an all-time chase action from A to Z and doesn't give you a moment of breath as the action transitions from every kind of vehicle out there, from a cool car to a massive digger.

As an example of how big the Bond series' scope is, this cold open sequence alone is more expensive and grand than the entire production of most movies. Finally, Moneypenny gets something to do, but he is a tool for their devices, and perhaps now his usefulness is finally used in this movie. 

Goldeneye

Goldeneye has one of the best col opening action scenes in Bond movies. The action scene is set in Russia, and a silent Bond clothed entirely in black infiltrates a heavy military base with a thrilling bungee jump; this drop-off of Bond at the dam sets a record for "highest bungee jump off a fixed structure." 

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Once inside, 007 and 006 fight their way through the base on a mission to destroy, slinging bullets and puns along the way. As the introduction to Pierce Brosnan's Bond and a return after a six-year gap since the previous film had alienated some viewers, Goldeneye made an impact from its very first second.

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 Fortunately, the film's intro has all the things requested for a good cold opening and Sean Bean as the overly patriotic 006 adds a fantastic touch to compliment Bond's rugged coolness throughout the movie. 

The fantastic sound design is from start to finish across this almost ten-minute-long cold open the silence in the wind as Bond bungees down the dam, and there squeaky wheels of the canister cage to break up the tense shootout and the diesel of the motorbike engine transitioning so naturally into the whir of the plane's rotor blades.

The Spy Who Loved Me

The movie was released in 1970 and it starts with Bond bedding a woman in a log cabin. The fire blares, and the two make out intensely on top of a bear skin rug, which is unlike an authentic Bond movie opening scene, right? But wait a minute, all the action that surpasses will get your mind-blowing blow. 

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News of a nuclear sub having gone missing surfaces during the make-out session, and Bond is needed immediately to go on the mission. Roger Moore, who is dressed in bright yellow clothes, is chased down the Austrian mountain by thugs who close behind him. 

Machine guns fire bullets as he dodges and weaves his way down the cliff face until chased off by Bond himself. There is complete silence as Bond drops. A parachute emerges in the colors of the Union Jack and the Bond theme plays, leading to Carly Simon's classic song Nobody Does It Better. 

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