James Bond Déjà Vu: Cataloging All the Callbacks in 'SPECTRE' (Spoilers!)
Daniel Craig as James Bond in ‘SPECTRE’ (Sony)
The James Bond universe is built on self-referential winks. From the traditional opening-credits to the theme song, from the “Bond, James Bond” introductions to the bottomless martinis “shaken, not stirred,” you know each movie is going to be packed with callbacks and links to previous installments. SPECTRE is no different — in fact, the new release, the 24th in the official canon, might be the most recursive 007 flick yet.
It’s all right there in the plot description: “A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization.” Along the way, Bond finds himself entangled in a scheme that not only connects the dots from the three previous Daniel Craig movies, but resurfaces tropes from the earliest of the superspy’s cinematic outings. Here’s our breakdown of SPECTRE’s plentiful Easter eggs and déjà vu moments. Beware, there are spoilers aplenty.
Our story so far:
Those unfamiliar with the previous Craig adventures — Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall — will be at a disadvantage going into SPECTRE, since much of the plot hinges on the events of those films and how they have been connected. There are references to Bond’s late love, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), whom he fell for and lost in Casino Royale (at one point Bond finds a videotape titled “Vesper Lynd Interrogation”).
James Bond and Vesper Lynd in ‘Casino Royale’ (Sony)
A video message from the previous M (Judi Dench), who was killed in Skyfall, provides valuable clues to Bond’s mission, as does Mr. White (Jesper Christensen). The baddie, who stole Bond’s money in Casino Royale and escaped from MI6 custody in Quantum of Solace, reappears and puts 007 on the trail of SPECTRE… and his lovely daughter, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux).
The respective main villains from those films — Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), and Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) — are all revealed to be pawns of SPECTRE under the direction of the evil mastermind Franz Oberhauser, a.k.a. Ernst Stavro Blofeld. As he taunts Bond: “I am the author of all your pain.”
The callbacks:
“Bond, James Bond”
He introduces himself in the usual way at the 40-minute mark of the film.
“Shaken, not stirred”
Based on Bond’s drinking habits, using that license to kill is thirsty work. While he quaffs everything from champagne to Heineken during the course of the film, he does order his favorite beverage at the Hoffler Klinik’s juice bar at the 1:12 mark (but winds up with a foul-looking smoothie instead).
Walther PPK
Daniel Craig is armed in ‘SPECTRE’ (Sony)
With a few exceptions, this pistol has been James Bond’s sidearm of choice since the first film, 1962’s Dr. No. For SPECTRE, he’s once again packing the German-made gun.
Sean Connery with his Walther in ‘Dr. No’ (MGM)
Skeleton couture
James Bond in disguise in ‘SPECTRE’ (Sony)
While not culturally related, Bond’s skeleton get-up in the opening Day of the Dead scene in Mexico City is a dead-ringer for the outfit sported by the voodoo maven Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder) in 1973's Live and Let Die.
Baron Samedi gets his voodoo on in ‘Live and Let Die’ (MGM)
Helicopter hijinks
The opening scene culminates in a harrowing helicopter battle over the streets of Mexico City. Bond is no stranger to tangling with baddies inside the tight confines of a chopper: perhaps the most memorable instance was in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, when Blofeld traps Roger Moore’s Bond in a pilot-less helicopter. Our hero escapes, natch, manages to snag Blofeld’s wheelchair with a landing skid, and then drop the archvillain into a factory chimney. It was the character’s last appearance in a canonical Bond film until SPECTRE.
Credit sequence
Per Bond tradition, the action-heavy pre-credit opening is followed by a trippy credits sequence featuring the usual assortment of scantily clad ladies, provocative imagery (watch those arms, octopus!), weapons firing, and bombastic theme song, this one courtesy of British crooner Sam Smith.
Aston Martin DB5
Sean Connery as Bond and his DB5 (MGM)
The sweet ride that has played a significant role in a half-dozen Bond films beginning with 1964’s Goldfinger reappears as a burned-out husk (from the climactic inferno of Skyfall) in Q’s workshop. Bond later liberates a sleek new DB10 from the shop, a vehicle that, in a callback to the classic car, features a complement of (not fully functioning) defensive systems and weaponry, including the standard-issue ejection seat.
(The escape from the DB10 also recalls the parachute jumps in Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me, and A View to a Kill. And when Bond casually tosses off the parachute harness and continues on his way matter-of-factly, it’s reminiscent of the opening Goldfinger scene when he strips off his drysuit and walks off in a tux like no big thing.)
By the end, the old DB5 is restored, complete with Bond’s longstanding license plate BMT-216A, and 007 speeds off right before the credits roll.
SPECTRE
Closeup of Blofeld’s SPECTRE ring and kitty (MGM)
The terrorist organization, an acronym for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, has been a recurring threat in the Bondverse, featured by name in six of the 24 films. The octopus symbol is the organization’s calling card, and every member wears a ring bearing the distinctive insignia.
SPECTRE convenes in ‘SPECTRE’ (Sony)
The group typically meets around large conference tables with high mortality rates (see: Thunderball).
SPECTRE meetings can be hazardous to your health, like in ‘Thunderball’ (MGM)
SPECTRE is no exception, with the group convening in Rome. One of its agents winds up with his eyes caved in courtesy of Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista).
RELATED: Dave Bautista Says a Whole Lot About His Near-Silent Performance in ‘SPECTRE’
Mr. Hinx
Mr. Hinx is the strong, silent, deadly type (Sony)
SPECTRE’s lead field operative in the film appears to be a combination of two of Bond’s most notorious nemeses: Oddjob (silent, suited, uniquely hatted) and Jaws (ginormous, mostly silent). Likewise, the towering, terrifying Mr. Hinx has only one line; he exclaims, “S–t!” before meeting his demise.
Oddjob (Harold Sakata) was Goldfinger’s driver/enforcer (MGM)
Felix Leiter
Bond and Leiter share a moment and a beverage in ‘Casino Royale’ (Sony)
While Jeffrey Wright doesn’t return as Bond’s BFF in the CIA, the character is referred to by his first name as the person Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci) should seek out to stay safe. Wright played Leiter in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace; he is the seventh actor to tackle the role across nine official 007 films.
Checkmate
As Mr. White explains what Bond is up against, the two men are seated around a chessboard — a callback to the chess scene in 1963’s From Russia With Love, which is the first film in which Blofeld appears.
‘From Russia With Love’ features a tense chess match (MGM)
The alpine clinic
The Hoffler Klinik (Sony)
Bond has spent lots of time facing off with villains in alpine climes and SPECTRE keeps the trend alive. In the film, he visits the remote, mountaintop Hoffler Klinik in Austria, a swanky health resort run by Dr. Madeleine Swann. This is a nod to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, when George Lazenby’s Bond made a trip to Piz Gloria, a similarly spectacular resort in Switzerland that happened to be run by Blofeld.
Piz Gloria (MGM)
In SPECTRE, 007 makes a breathtaking escape in a plane down the slopes; in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond shows off his skiing skills by eluding a group of henchman.
Winging it
During his gnarly airplane ride in SPECTRE, Bond winds up piloting a wingless plane — just like he did in Live and Let Die.
Train fight
Another 007-movie trope is the train fight. Bond has dispatched villains on the railroad in From Russia With Love up through Skyfall. In SPECTRE, he engages in fisticuffs with Mr. Hinx in a fight scene similar to the Bond-vs.-henchman bouts in The Spy Who Loved Me and Live and Let Die.
Jaws (Richard Kiel) gets his ticket punched in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (MGM)
Tee Hee (Julius Harris) takes the express in ‘Live and Let Die’ (MGM)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Blofeld is bringing back the Nehru in ‘SPECTRE’ (Sony)
Throughout the film, Christoph Waltz is referred to by his birth name: Franz Oberhauser. But at the end, his true identity is revealed: Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The character has been Bond’s No. 1 foe over the years, appearing in six official films before SPECTRE, and portrayed by five different actors (in some cases voices were overdubbed), including Telly Savalas and, most famously, Donald Pleasence, who sported a nasty facial scar.
Pleasence and his pussy cat (MGM)
The SPECTRE version gives us a backstory on that scar. We also see Waltz wearing the Nehru jacket modeled by previous Blofelds.
Who loves ya, Blofeld? Savalas in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (MGM)
And we get a glimpse of the character’s trademark white cat, who makes a cameo when 007 comes to in Blofeld’s African hideout.
Speaking of that lair
Blofeld’s desert fortress is situated in a distinctive ring of mountains that pays tribute to another Blofeld’s volcano base in You Only Live Twice.
Blofeld’s under the volcano (MGM)
Killing machine
It’s not Goldfinger’s emasculating laser beam, but Blofeld’s brain-drill device is the latest existential threat for Bond.
Enough with the death machines! You’d think villains would just shoot Bond at this point (MGM)
Takes a licking and keeps on ticking
The one gadget that Q supplies Bond with in SPECTRE is a modified Omega Seamaster watch/bomb, which Bond uses to escape from Blofeld’s killer drill. Bond has relied on tricked-out timepieces to save his skin in such films as Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me, GoldenEye, and The World Is Not Enough.
Pierce Brosnan’s Omega watch has grappling action (MGM)
The safe house
Toward the end, Bond’s pals convene in a London safe house disguised as “Hildebrand Prints and Rarities.” The name of the sham establishment is a nod to “The Hildebrand Rarity,” a short story in Ian Fleming’s For Your Eyes Only collection.
Moving target
As James Bond is lured into the explosive-rigged former MI6 HQ during the film’s climax, he’s confronted with targets with his face taped on and images from his past. The scene pays homage to the “Funhouse” trap Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) sets up in 1974’s The Man With the Golden Gun.
Scaramanga plays head games with Bond in ‘Golden Gun’ (MGM)
Captain James down the Thames
During the final showdown in SPECTRE, Bond finds himself behind the wheel of a speedboat as he chases down Blofeld. It’s not the first time he’s gone boating on screen.
Bond’s so good he doesn’t even need water in ‘Live and Let Die’ (MGM)
The suave spy has proven himself an adept skipper in such films as Live and Let Die and The World Is Not Enough… and that Heineken commercial.
Bond over troubled waters in ‘The World Is Not Enough’ (MGM)
