"Never Dream of Dying" title card.
Never Dream of Dying is a James Bond Halo 2 Machinima created by Powerhouse Studios. It was first released on YouTube on June 6th, 2007 and re-released on April 11th, 2010. A sequel, Seven Seconds to Kill, was released on YouTube in January 2011.
Plot[]
In Zagreb, Croatia, James Bond arrives at a base of an unknown military occupancy. Bond is able to get past guards by faking his identity and eventually arrives in a room with a receptionist desk. After killing the guards patrolling, Bond steals from the receptionist a strange handheld device. The guards are alerted and Bond is forced to make an escape. He eventually gets into the banshee he used to enter and flies off.
After the title sequence, the mysterious handheld device has been put in an MI6 safe house. However, outside of the safe house, an armed force plans to break into the strong hold. After the thugs kill all the MI6 guards, they are able to take back this handheld device.
Meanwhile in London, Bond travels to MI6 where M informs him that the handheld device or the "nuclear generator" has been stolen from an MI6 safe house. The generator, if in the wrong hands, could give any country or faction nuclear weapons. Number one on the suspect list is Victor Achan, who was seen on security recordings. He is connected to another person by the name of Mr. Kwaad, whom Bond is ordered to track down. Bond is introduced to the shady George, who is apparently the new MI6 heavy weapons specialist. At Q Branch, Q informs Bond that his suit has been equipped with a jet pack and gives Bond a new, rather clunky looking truck. Before Bond can leave, he uses the Warthog's tracking turret to "accidentally" blow up Q's sport's car.
Bond follows Kwaad into the Czech Republic where he is able to capture him. He ties Kwaad to his car and threatens him with an impending train. After Kwaad gives the information on Achan's whereabouts up, Bond leaves Kwaad on the tracks and he is killed. In the middle of nowhere in France, Bond is able to find the secret entrance to Achan's underground base. After seeing an exchange of the nuclear generator between Achan and some thugs, Bond kills the thugs and takes the generator for himself. Bond hijacks a warthog and causes havoc in the base. He is pushed over a cliff and just when the thugs think he is dead, Bond jet packs out of the base and is now above ground.
Achan's above ground forces pursue Bond but is unable to catch him and Bond gets away. He drives to Station T, meets up with George and informs him that he was able to take back the generator. George however, turns out to be a double agent working for Achan. Victor Achan walks out from behind a wall to reveal that all the MI6 agents that were stationed have been killed. Bond overhears Achan's plan to sell the generator to an unmentioned third party. Bond is forced to give up the generator and is taken out back to be shot with his own gun to make the execution look like a suicide. The thugs that are ordered to kill Bond cannot pull the trigger to Bond's gun due to that fact that the gun is a "signature" model. In other words, Bond was the only person who could fire the gun. After killing both thugs, Bond is able to self destruct Station T, killing all guards inside.
Much of Never Dream of Dying's climax takes place on the multiplayer level, Headlong.
Eventually, Bond is able to escape and starts looking for Achan. He finds him on a rooftop where Bond is able to eliminate Achan. The generator is not to be found, however.
Meanwhile, George, who survived the Station T self destruction, is at a secret hiding spot. Bond calls his cell phone, and upon George asking who it was on the other line, George is sniped. Bond comes walking down with a large sniper rifle in his hands, stands over George's body and introduces himself as "Bond, James Bond". The movie ends there.
Influences[]
Never Dream of Dying was heavily influenced by the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale and numerous references are made. Some references include the score of Never Dream of Dying is primarily that of Casino Royale, the villain's persona was based on Casino Royale's Le Chiffre, Mr. Kwaad mentions a "Royale Avenue," the location of Prague, and the fact that Never Dream of Dying ends virtually the same way Casino Royale ends even incorporating the same final line. ("The name's Bond. James Bond.")
Sequel and Re-Release[]
The sequel to Never Dream of Dying entitled, "Seven Seconds to Kill" was released on YouTube on January 11th, 2011. The sequel uses Halo 3 and continues where Never Dream of Dying left off. Also, released months before, was the Never Dream of Dying "Ultimate Edition." This new edition has improved voice acting, as well as visual and audio restoration.
Trivia[]
- The shot where James Bond jetpacks out of the Waterworks base was entirely reversed. The crew filmed it in this order: 1) Bond jumps off of a banshee (that the audience did not see), and falls in the cliff. 2) The thug backs up towards the car and gets in. In the film (and when reversed) the thug gets out of the car and Bond comes shooting up.
- Most Halo 2 machinimas are made with Xbox Live, however, Never Dream of Dying was shot entirely with a system link cable and a VCR.
- When all the filming was finished, the crew had just over 5 hours of raw footage spread across three videotapes.
- The scene where the Warthog hits the Banshee in midair was created on the spot and took 14 takes to get right.
- The only scenes that had a script for them were dialogue scenes. All of the action scenes were completely made on the spot.
- The tracking shot of Bond with Kwaad's Warthog being blown up on the tracks took only one take.
- There are no shots in the film with more than four Spartans on screen at once.
- The name "Never Dream of Dying" is taken from a James Bond book written by Raymond Benson. The crew listen every James Bond book title not written by Ian Fleming (about 35 of them) and Never Dream of Dying was finally chosen.
- It took an entire day to film the massive explosions at Station T.
- Was originally released to YouTube in 2007, but was re-cut, re-voiced and reuploaded to YouTube in 2010 (dubbed "The Ultimate Edition"). The original 2007 version no longer is available to watch.