What are some of the pet peeves of spy movie fans? Particularly, are there specific things that show up in spy movies that drive fans nuts?

Dan and Tom are joined by fans from their Facebook group to try to find out.  The members of this group are very devoted spy movie fans, and they don’t hold back on their opinions.  And occasionally they don’t agree. We’re joined by Bill Kanas, Morgan Lisney, Pietro Rossi and Eric Seabury.

So, listen to what they have to say about:

• Release Timing
• The Use of Tropes
• The Use of Technology (real and unreal)
• Does the villain matter?
• Dark vs. Light
• Plot Twists
• Romance Subplots
• CGI
• And More …

Hey spy movie producers: take a listen to find out what spy movie fans REALLY think. 

Now that you’ve heard from some other spy movie fans, let us know what you think.  Do you agree or disagree with any of the points made by us and our fans?  Did we miss any pet peeves you have about spy movies?

Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com.  The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be!  We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!  

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.  

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/3BAIj5C

Join Dan and Tom as they decode the Netflix spy movie THE UNION. Is this movie starring Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg any good? Listen to find out what we think.

THE UNION has an amazing cast, including 2 Oscar winners, 4 Oscar nominations, Tony Award winners, and Primetime Emmy Award nominees and winners. So, with this star-studded cast this has to be a great movie, right?

In this episode, we look at:

• The extremely talented cast
• The writing
• The high kill count
• The action sequences
• How other movies have influenced it
• The initial title for the movie before it was changed to THE UNION and why that matters
• Some of the nods to the actors' earlier works
• What Matilda the Musical has to do with this one
• And more ...

Have you watched THE UNION? What did you think? Are Dan and Tom right with their analysis?

Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com. The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be! We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/4gXMkkI

Dan and Tom decode the answer to this question: Dan and Tom decode the answer to this question: Why the Next James Bond Actor Doesn't Matter? The debate over who should be the next James Bond and the future of James Bond often stirs up a lot of excitement and opinions. But, we don’t think it matters who the next James Bond is because we think James Bond can go on indefinitely – Listen to find out why!

What really matters? Is the character consistent? Where does the “brand” stand? James Bond actors have delivered some fresh perspectives, but could Bond grow stale?

The supporting elements and cultural impact of the franchise have kept it strong.
Can EON Productions continue to enjoy a very strong franchise following and strength?
As crazy as this may sound, we think who the next James Bond actor doesn't matter!

What do you think? Do you agree with us that the next James Bond actor doesn’t matter? Why or why not?

Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com. The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be! We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/4eNhbOW

Is James Bond a psychopath? Well, despite the obvious fact that he is a fictional character who has had many authors, actors, and screenwriters involved in defining this character, just . . . maybe!

In this episode, Dan and Tom bring in Dr. Stephen McWilliams, author of the book “Psychopath? Why We Are Charmed by the Anti-Hero” to discuss this topic.

We’re getting deep into the mind of James Bond and with Stephen’s help, we define what a psychopath really is, then examine the known mind of James Bond to determine if he can be considered a psychopath. (Hint, Bond doesn’t score 100 on the test). We use the famed professor, Robert D. Hare’s psychology checklist as our driver for the analysis. Hare’s checklist includes breakdowns of the following categories: Interpersonal Traits, Affective Traits, Lifestyle Traits, and Anti-Social traits.

How many of those apply to the agent with the OO designation we know as James Bond? Can you be a spy with a license to kill without some psychopathic traits? Can you be a great spy and still be a psychopath? Listen to find out.

Stephen is a Consultant Psychiatrist at Saint John of God Hospital, Dublin, and an Associate Clinical Professor at the School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin.

In addition to talking about James Bond, McWilliams’s book talks about other fictional characters such as Hannibal Lecter, Frank Underwood, Amy Elliott Dunne, and more. He has also authored the book “Fiction & Physicians – Medicine through the Eyes of Writers”.

So, before listening to this episode, do you think James Bond was a psychopath? After, listening, did your opinion change?

Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com. The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be! We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/3XA1xQe

In this episode, Dan and Tom decode the 2017 spy movie, UNDERCOVER GRANDPA. This is one of our episodes that has Dan and Tom disagreeing as to whether they thought it was a good movie or not. One of them thought it was ok. The other didn’t like it at all.

The basic plot involves a teenager named Jake Bouchard (Dylan Everett) who is smitten by a girl in his high school class. His Grandpa (James Caan) has a background in special operations and tells Jake about some of his missions. But Jake thought this was just crazy talk until his girlfriend Angie (Greta Onieogou) gets kidnapped.

So, in this episode, we look at:

• The plot
• The cast
• The treatment/positioning of old people
• The plausibility of Grandpa’s stories
• Could Grandpa really know Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame?
• The Pros and Cons of the Movie
• Aspic
• Other movies starring older actors
• Some tie-ins to other movies

This movie has a star-studded cast of octogenarians, or near octogenarians, including James Caan, Louis Gossett Jr, Jessica Walter, Paul Sorvino, Lawrence Dane, and Kenneth Walsh. With this cast, and it being a spy movie, you can bet that the theme of the age of the characters is a main plot point. And, you would win that bet.

Have you seen UNDERCOVER GRANDPA? If not, has this episode encouraged you to watch it? If you have seen it, who’s opinion do you agree with more: Dan’s or Tom’s?

Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com. The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be! We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/47pe2T5

Pierce Brosnan’s final two James Bond movies, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and DIE ANOTHER DAY had some very cool gadgets. How many of the gadgets do you remember from those movies? In this episode, Dan and Tom decode about 30 of them. Are these gadgets believable? Realistic? Based on any real science?

If you are a fan of this show, you probably know that DIE ANOTHER DAY is one of Tom’s bottom two James Bond movies. Yet, he liked its pre-title sequence in part due to some of the gadgets we’ll call out.

So, some things we decode are:

• How much fun would you have firing a flamethrower from a moving hovercraft?

• The OMEGA Seamaster – ya gotta love Watch gadgets!

• We also saw a very cutting gadget (yes both puns are intended). Once we see it used for its real function. Then later and again in a more nefarious use.

• We talk about a gadget that used to be advertised in the back of magazines. Did any of you ever buy one?

• And even M gets into gadget development.

• Um, if Elektra asks you to sit in a chair, be very afraid.

• A Single Digital Sonic Agitator, really?

• And sometimes you can’t unsee what you can’t see. That one was a lame gadget

So have a listen, getting a better understanding of these gadgets will enhance your viewing experience next time you watch THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH or DIE ANOTHER DAY.

Tell us what you think about the gadgets in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH and DIE ANOTHER DAY

Did we miss any gadgets? Which are your favorite gadgets? Did any gadgets strike you as believable? If so, which ones?

Let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com.  The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be!  We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!  

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.  

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/4e26Rm0

How many of the gadgets do you remember from Pierce Brosnan’s first two James Bond movies, GOLDENEYE and TOMORROW NEVER DIES? In this episode, Dan and Tom decode about 30 of them. We also let you know if we think a gadget is believable!

So, how many different pitons do we talk about in these two movies? Do we think they are believable? Do you?

Tom calls out a favorite weapons/gadgets in any movie and how TOMORROW NEVER DIES enhances that!

How realistic is an exploding pen? How about digital scopes with the ability to transmit data? Would either of those things have worked in 1995 when GOLDENEYE was released or in 1997 with the release of TOMORROW NEVER DIES?

And, what was that thing in Wai Lin’s lab that took the one thug out?

How many different uses did we point out for the remote controlled BMW and it’s remote control?

So have a listen, getting a better understanding of these gadgets will enhance your viewing experience next time you watch GOLDENEYE or TOMORROW NEVER DIES.

In this episode, we mentioned an article about a guy who made a laser watch. Here’s the link to that article: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/home-made-laser-watch-is-real

So, did we miss any gadgets? Which are your favorite gadgets? Did any gadgets strike you as believable? If so, which ones?

Please let us know your thoughts, ideas for future episodes, and what you thought of this episode. Just drop us a note at info@spymovienavigator.com.  The more we hear from you, the better the show will surely be!  We’ll give you a shout-out in a future episode!  

You can check out all of our CRACKING THE CODE OF SPY MOVIES podcast episodes on your favorite podcast app or our website. In addition, you can check out our YouTube channel as well.  

Episode Webpage: https://bit.ly/4dBH705