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Sometimes I wonder why I'm on this forum.
So relaxed and at ease, that some thought that. So crazy.
Even if accusations of him phoning it in were accurate (which they are not IMO) could you blame him when so many others were doing the same (the writers, Mendes, Newman, Waltz)?
Some might have taken from the film that he was on great form but some of us just saw his most awkward performance to date and he was so much better in Skyfall.
I wanted with SP for him to lighten up slightly and become more confident but they tipped it too far with the groansome oneliners he was shackled with.
This is a far cry from his work in CR, QOS & SF, if he comes back I hope they give his character the depth they robbed it of with SP.
If you want this kind of Bond there are many in the series that will deliver it and actors that are far more comfortable with this type of thing. Moore or Brosnan couldn't have pulled off that brutal bathroom punch up in the CR PTS and vice versa for Craig trying the lighthearted quip machine approach.
I'm sorry but I'm of the opinion that while not quite the nadir that is DAD this is going to go down as Craig's worst film when the dust has settled.
If Craig does return I hope we get something between the performance in his first 3 films and not this forced Rog like routine we got in SPECTRE.
That being said he was nowhere as catatonic and phoning it in as Waltz who just delivered a vanilla unmemorable turn, quite extraordinary if you consider who he was actually playing.
I'm becoming more of the opinion that I'd be most happy for this to be the end of this timeline and new Bond is cast unless they can bring DC back to cap this off with one ideally 2 films to redeem the jarring mess that is SPECTRE.
More of the same would be the nail in the coffin and a tenure that has been so celebrated would be tarnished. If they can overcome this blip with a real barnstormer of a conclusion to this Quantum/SPECTRE arc by using YOLT as a basis then I'm all for it but to just ignore what has gone before and just place DC as Bond on a mission isn't going to cut it, if he comes back it's to conclude what they started.
If they want a standalone then they might as well recast and reset.
Once this is finished with they should never let a future Bond get so painted into a corner as SPECTRE has done for the Craig era, there is a reason this didn't even approach the SF boxoffice is because word of mouth got round that it just wasn't very good.
Very true. Not only that, but the fact that he was able to still showcase enthusiasm in the role given the appalling script is a testament to his commitment.
100% in full agreement with this.
I am hyped to see Craig come back for Bond 25, and (why not) even for Bond 26, but please, Mendes must go.
Although there were large parts of the world where word of mouth and box office performance were both very good.
It's not a Flemingesque approach and you could argue that his performance wasn't as "good" because the material wasn't as dramatic as CR, but the whole point of the Craig era is showing his development from rookie to fully formed cinematic 007. So in that context, it made complete sense to have him evolve from the Goldfinger esque relfection on what he's doing after the stairwell fight in CR, to the one liners and effortless gunning down of his enemies in SP. We were always going to get to this point eventually. It's what all these films have been building towards.
I'm also a bit confused as to why the majority seem to be demanding a return to more straightforward Bond films devoid of personal issues etc but at the same time criticise Craig for playing it in the standard cinematic Bond mold.
To my mind, what he had to deliver one-liner was plain wretched at times in SF, like the two one-liners back to back after the casino fight in Macau (bet on red/circle of life), but in SP any deliveries he had were spot on and didn't hamper the momentum of the movie for me.
I don't find his performance in the film light and whimsical at all, as some have described it either. He's still that same rugged man doing bad things for queen and country, just looking seasoned while doing it, and the film contains some of the darkest content we've seen in a Bond film. Dan had complete control of everything, every aspect of his Bond performance; his movement, speech, dress sense, the whole nine, with not a false note sung. This felt like the matured and experienced version of the Bond we saw in CR, and it all felt earned and inevitable and wonderful to see.
Completely agree with this.
I think that's why the whole callbacks to previous films and Bond quitting angle felt so well done to me too. When he sees Mr White again, and then finds the video of Vespers interrogation (a brilliant moment) he's reminded of the man he used to be, and would doubtlessly in his head compare that to what he's evolved into (a remorseless assassin). Madeline leaving him would also help with this wakeup call. Which is why when he sees a route out in the form of Madeline (who he doesn't love like he did Vesper, but she loves him because of her daddy issues, and the idea of a life with her is actually a viable prospect, unlike other Bond girls, because she actually understands what he's been through) he takes it and quits MI6.
It was really well done and to me it's a satisfying, clever conclusion to what started in CR (personally I don't see any need for a dull revenge driven follow up and I'd rather they recast and rebooted than write Madeline away with some offhand line, undoing everything they did in SP, just so DC can have one more mission/film).
Over the course of the Craig era, they managed to show Bond evolving from a (relatively) Flemingesque (by this I mean his attitude to killing and sense of vulnerability and humanity, that was all similar to the books) rookie spy into the standard, Connery esque cinematic Bond, while also examining what that would cost him and turning it into a source of drama. It was brilliantly done imo, I really loved it, I don't care if it wasn't all planned from the beginning because for me it all worked out well in the end. Craig isn't my favourite Bond, nor is his run of films my favourite (QoS drags the era down for me and I don't think anything could compete with Dalton's perfect two) but I think they did something really clever and original with these films and I'll admire them endlessly for that.
White, for the short time we got him back was electric, and in his dying and ruined state, he was definitely seen as a cautionary tale in Bond's mind. He'd lived his life killing and growing cold, and had lost out on his family and the love of his life through his work and obsessions, which I think Bond is very fearful of himself. It's such a nuanced set of performances when Craig and Christensen meet again in this movie, and it really hits home who Bond was and who he is now, and who he might want to be beyond that life.
I'm so happy they got White back in there after all these years.
I remember the night I stayed up for the trailer for SP to go live on 007.com very vividly. The second I heard Jasper's voice deliver the kite line I shouted in joy and made my mother think something was amiss I was so passionate and enthusiastic about seeing him again. I know a White return was a big wish-item for many others here too, and to see it granted was indescribably wonderful.
Hey Thomas Newman worked really hard on Spectre he had to put the Skyfall cd into the computer while drinking his cup of coffee I mean that require the use of two hands...
Lmao
Reminds me of how John Carpenter uses music in his movies. Great atmosphere!
I didn't find Craig's performance to be awful, but I certainly didn't find it to be impressive either. Just average and far below his best (actually, easily his worst, in my view). I agree with you that his attempts at whimsical humour felt flat and forced (almost like a full film's worth of 'Circle of Life' from SF). It's not his forte. Moreover, I personally didn't see anything Connery'esque about his performance. Sean was a god (and I'm not even religious) in comparison, imho. Everything was 'natural' for him, as it was for Moore. They never looked like they were acting. I even prefer Brosnan in DAD personally.
Damn shame that SP is such a polarizing film, here and elsewhere. I don't think EON would have wanted to have something like this as the last entry while we have what is likely to be a long wait before B25.
Totally agree. Some of his flippant moments in SP are absolute class. I can rationalise some of the hatred directed at the film (although most of it I don't agree with), but this aspect I refuse to get on board with. He's the epitome of cool in this movie.
I agree. The writers definitely phoned in ... I'm not even sure Logan had the right number.
http://www.inquisitr.com/3361472/james-bond-expect-delays-as-jack-huston-and-tom-hiddleston-lock-horns/
It could be tabloid type rumor but if Craig's comments did have some impact on the box office - if it damaged the Bond brand - I can't see Broccoli/Wilson that keen to persuade Daniel Craig to return.
Well people say the same about Connery in YOLT but I still enjoy that movie.
Craig is definitley his most laid back in SPECTRE though. Lacks the urgency of CR and QOS.
That's easy for you, Venusaur. ;)
Starring Aidan Turner.