One of the staples of the Bond genre is the scene where Bond is introduced to his new gadgets by Q. Desmond Llewelyn made his first appearance as Q in "From Russia With Love" (1963) and would play the character in nearly every Bond film until "The World is Not Enough." In this film Q has a new protege, R, played by John Cleese. Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is visibly worried that his old pal is retiring. They have this exchange:
Q: I've always tried to teach you two things. First: never let them see you bleed. Bond: And the second? Q: Always have an escape plan
After this exchange, Q's chair descends in to the ground. It's a touching moment that show hows much these two men, even if they haven't always gotten along, mean to each other. The scene became even more poignant after Llewelyn died in a car accident a month after the film opened, making it his definitive last appearance as the character. Ben Whishaw will play a much younger Q in the new Bond film, "Skyfall," this year. Having a younger Q makes sense since in the modern world a younger man would be the one showing the older Bond how this stuff works. I think Whishaw will do the character justice and it'll be great seeing Q again after a 10 year absence.