16. Q's Exit ("The World is Not Enough,"1999)
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.