...another James Bond pistol rant

[simonrichter]

just watched the Skyfall movie, lately, and I was a little disappointed pistol-wise... With everything else so much more serious and tough in the Craig-era movies, it was again just the PPK...

Don't get me wrong, it is an iconic pistol w/o any doubt, but still a Bond movie should feature some futuristic twist, if you get my drift. E.g. I did like the switch to the P99 during the Brosnan films, sticking with Walther but updating it was quite a good thing to do imho. However, critics are making a point when they point out that a full-sized duty pistol is maybe not the best toy for a secret agent (although, on the other hand, the P99 was anyway used in special situations rather than as a permanent carry piece).

With that glut of brand new subcompacts, it should have been easy to give the newest Bond a handgun that is concealable, distinctively looking, shootout-proof AND state-of-the-art. With the PPS, one could even have stuck with the Bond-proven manufacturer...

Any other folks here who have been socialized by Bond movies as far as guns (or say, semiautos) are concerned?

 

[chrisp51]

I really thought they would go with the PPS in "Skyfall". The PPK is iconic but old world. If technology is Bonds thing then a imprinted PPS should be his gun of choice.

 

[SIGSHR]

Since it is a movie:
1. We shouldn't take it too seriously.
2. The people who made it probably aren't gun people
3. I personally like to see classic guns on the screen.
4. Perhaps, like many of us in real life, Bond knows what he likes and doen't like.

 

[aarmel732]

I actually disagree. I thought the ppk was the perfect sidearm. Skyfall was the juxtaposition of old vs new technology. Bond, and M clearly of the old school with the use of the classic Aston, and them actually having physical issues due to age and a lifetime of abuse (and M's willingness to cover for Bond). A modern handgun would have run directly against what the movie was trying to say, Bond is old...his methods, cars, gadgets, even his gun, is old and outdated (spoiler - they are not). He uses an old house, old shotguns, old booby trap ideas, an old gun, an old car, and outsmarts and beats the bad guys with much more modern technology. (A Modern Sporting Rifle with high end optics was close to being his downfall too) The Craig era is MUCH less reliant on gadgetry like the previous bond eras have been.

I think they went the right way with the PPK. Now if he goes more modern in the next movie and an "upgrade" to his old ways, then it would make no sense, and by all means get a new gun. But Skyfall was very purposefully tied to classic Bond.

 

[simonrichter]

Actually making a very good point there. Given I'm a gun-nut, I didn't see the big picture, but what you say about the general bias of Skyfall and its old vs. new underline makes absolutely sense...

Still, I am happy to see that I'm not the only one who considers the PPS the logical successor of the PPK...

Maybe we should invite the guy who is concerned with the script for any future Bond movie to visit this forum

 

[reset]

Wasnt the new Bond PPK in 9mm instead of 380? Thats decently cool. I mean, some things are better with the classic touch. I dont want to see Bond ordering vodka Red Bulls anytime soon.

 

[simonrichter]

vodka red bull

LOL well I reckon Dieter Mateschitz (the Red Bull tycoon) would pay up quite a sum for such a switch of drinking manners...

Anyway, the "new" PPK in Skyfall was .380 instead of .32. There is no 9mm PPK as far as I know...

Side note: A few decades ago, the now (Bond-wise) obsolete .32 has been considered "a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window" by Q. Today, the average caliber discussion is whether 9mm or even .40 S&W is powerful enough for home defence or CC...

 

[reset]

"Anyway, the "new" PPK in Skyfall was .380 instead of .32. There is no 9mm PPK as far as I know..."

I could be totally wrong, but i thought Q said his new gun was in 9 mm. That would be cool since, as you stated, they dont make those.

I guess I'll have to rewatch it with a shaken coronarita in hand.

 

[Waspinator]

Bah.. James bond is like the Jedi of secret agents. If Jedi's still use their light-sabers in a world with star-ships, laser guns and droids, then I see no reason that James could use his Jedi weapon of choice too.. at least its a projectile weapon

 

[simonrichter]

Bah.. James bond is like the Jedi of secret agents. If Jedi's still use their light-sabers in a world with star-ships, laser guns and droids, then I see no reason that James could use his Jedi weapon of choice too.. at least its a projectile weapon

nothing to return to that argument, since I'm both a Star Wars AND Bond fan

 

[BigMak]

Q states that it's a 9mm Short.

 

[reset]

9 mm short.
Dangit, I stand corrected. I'll need a flaming Dr Pepper to get over that one.

 

[RJay]

.380 ACP is 9MM, AKA 9X17, AKA 9MM Kurz, AKA 9MM Corto and so forth. And as posted there is no 9mm Para {9X19} PP or PPK.

 

[Dragline45]

If anyone is a big Bond fan they will remember in the very first Bond film that he was very unwilling to switch from the Beretta to the PPK, so much so that Q made Bond give him the Beretta because he knew bond would ditch the PPK for it. So essentially he sticks to what he likes. Plus the PPK is iconic to bond, giving him a new gun will P.O. more people than it will please. It's like taking away Indy's hat and whip, or making Bonds new drink of choice a Mai Tai.

 

[Old_Dog]

My first gun ever was a PPK. It is what makes Bond, Bond. Start changing things and he is just another secret agent. Plus, how can you argue with all those people he kills with one shot in all his movies. Come on, that gun is deadly. His enemies cannot even hit him with machine guns.

 

[Kreyzhorse]

I own a PPK and it is a fantastic gun. Bond however is a classic mix of old and new and the PPK better fits that characteristic.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Q is the gadget guy. In the books (remember those?) Bond carried a PPK (except for the first couple, when he carried something even smaller). Once the "franchise" replaced Sean Connery with Roger Moore and ran out of original Fleming plots, they started substituting whiz-bang toys in place of drama and tension. The later movies were universally inferior to the Connery films.

Craig's "James Bond" seems to be moving the portrayal back in the direction of Bond himself being the deadliest weapon, with less emphasis on the gimmicks. Thank God we aren't seeing any more Bond films with Roger Moore.

 

[rep1954]

I think the PPK will do today what it did many years ago but only better with the modern ammunition available today. Just because a perp is holding a high capacity plastic wonder gun does not make him immune to an age old proven weapon.

 

[Dragline45]

Thank God we aren't seeing any more Bond films with Roger Moore.

Besides Connery, Roger Moore is my second favorite bond, Brosnan is very close. How can you not be a fan of Sir Roger Moore?

 

[JD0x0]

I kinda wish Bond used a customized PSS. It seems like a perfect spy gun. Compact, light and most importantly SILENT. The PSS is able to fire quietly without a suppressor which allows you to have a shorter pistol than a typical suppressed pistol.

The PSS was developed to give Soviet special forces and secret police an almost completely silent option for covert operations such as reconnaissance and assassinations. The weapon uses a unique cartridge with an internal piston to achieve this end. Otherwise, it is a fairly simple double action pistol. Few details are known about the pistol's performance, as only a few have entered western hands.

The PSS uses a specially developed 7.62x42mm necked round SP-4 (СП-4).[1] The cartridge contains an internal piston and a propelling charge, with the stem of the piston against the base of the bullet. On firing, the piston delivers enough impulse to project the bullet from the barrel to an effective range of 25 meters. The piston then seals the cartridge neck, preventing noise, smoke, or blast from escaping the barrel.[2]