It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
@Matt007, in SF Mallory is Chairman of a committee with one of its express purposes being overseeing agency output, including MI6. He prides himself on being the voice of the people and is always ready to tell government types that they need to work for the people they serve, instead of going around them. I think there's part of him that really disagree's with Judi's M on how to run an agency, as she's far more willing to be cold and tactical without emotion than he is, far more driven by a boy scout code that is attentive to the people he serves as a representative. While Mallory is furious about the Mexico City explosion and wants Bond off duty for the danger he placed people in, Judi's M would have likely accepted Bond's action as what had to be done, and share her agent's sentiment that destroying a block was better than a whole stadium full of innocent people.
Because Mallory is this way, it makes sense that he has a big distaste for the Nine Eyes program in SP. It's all being privately funded without the civilian population's notice, and is going through without any of the citizens of the joining nations hearing of it and how their lives and privacy will be impacted by it. "Unelected" power, as Mallory puts it. He has an issue with such a massive intelligence and surveillance body being approved with no oversight or democratic approval, especially since people like C wouldn't mind spying on everyone in the name of safety, with clear weak spots in the program that could be manipulated and corrupted by outside forces to use for evil. And of course, with Blofed in bed with C and helping to make the Nine Eyes plan seem necessary through SPECTRE's coordinated terrorist attacks, Mallory is right to be skeptical about the rightness of what he's being forced to be involved with thanks to the MI6/MI5 merger.
So basically, Mallory as M is trying to bring a bit more diplomacy back into MI6 and spying in general. I think he's also attempting to keep things far more transparent and honest with the public when it comes to how they operative as a government body. His involvement in and support of the inquiry of Judi's M shows us that he is always pushing for an open dialogue about big intelligence issues, operational mistakes and moral quandaries that could all endanger the public or cheat them out of the truth they deserve to know.
SP was marketed at first as just another Skyfall.
After the first trailer I actually thought, wow they're going to make an even more boring film now.
Trailers are deceiving or they show too much of a film.
Usually I don't watch trailers exactly for that reason.
It's a shame, though, because the film that the trailers tries to sell was something that I was actually interested in seeing. The OHMSS music really sold it and drove home some of what the film's themes should have been. Sadly, they couldn't bring it all together.
It was the film event in 2015, only TFA went higher in that regard, and not even everywhere.
The 2nd trailer is when I started to become a bit concerned. There was something about it that made me realize I wouldn't enjoy this film as much (which was eventually the case). I don't know what it was about this trailer that made me feel this way, but I started to have a bad feeling about the whole thing, which I kept to myself.
But it also means (I wrote this elsewhere in this forum) if you cut out all the forced connection stuff plus most Blofeld scenes past the Spectre meeting you end up with a pretty decent movie that then matches the trailer-built expectations. I don't mind the less screentime of Belucci (even it's still a waste of talent) but the rest of the mentioned bogus elements ruin the movie. Get rid of them and SP feels like a good first part of a Spectre-themed story arch that continues in B25 and maybe B26.
I quite like that bit. It's the seasoned veteran annoyed with the rookie, even more so after what happened with Ronson a minute ago.
The OHMSS music in the second trailer did lead to some expectations for me and had me anxious the last act of the movie, waiting for Madeline to get bumped off, especially with the way Blofeld was staring at Bond as he went to be by her side after granting him mercy. I still feel uneasy when I watch that scene.
"We have all the time in the world" was reportedly a line in the original leaked script. The 1st trailer featured some Christmasy music (just around the time Blofeld appears) which evokes "Do You Know How Christmas Trees are Grown" from OHMSS, the bullet through glass inference is clear and was discussed here at the time, Madeline as daughter of an unscrupulous (but not entirely terrible) man who directed Bond to Blofeld is similar to Tracy/Draco.
In my view, they are stuck with this Blofeld angle. The man is famous for having killed Bond's wife, and unless they actually plan on remaking OHMSS, they won't be able to create that sort of resonance with his 'rebirth'. Therefore they are stuck with a character that can't be fully utilized as intended. It's quite a dilemma really.
Go and add the music, it'll fit the film like a glove.
A perfect job as usual, especially because you kept the end intact.
The moment the SP theme kicks in while we are still in the helicopter cockpit with Bond is one of those rare special moments in the franchise when everything falls into place perfectly and gives you goosebumps galore.
I'll never forget seeing and experiencing it for the first time.
The Incredibles teaser whas great too, but also not seen in final movie.
Before i watched Spectre, i thaught we get new TSWLM movie because of spoiler of Mr White/Madeline. Something that stil can happen if turn out she is a snake.
If they were going to use an older Bond film's music in the background to SP's trailer (it didn't even have its own score throughout the film,it used SF's !!) then it should have used an older Craig film,eg CR ,instead of abusing OHMSS,which has no relevance to Craig's tenure at all .
And Blofeld turning out to be a foster brother and knowing him since childhood is a party pooper for me. It was like High School Musical drama. I just want them to stop trying to imitate the implosion writing style of Gattiss and Moffat rather poorly and get cracking at something that screams Bond win relevance. Don't try to enforce "going different with this one" scenario. Just make a Bond film that is a Bond film.
The thing is, for the Craig era that can only be a good thing after QOS and SF and to some extend CR as well.
It was needed, otherwise we would have ended up with something that slightly resembled Bond from the first 40 years, but not more, it could have been any common character from other action/thrillers.
Another QOS or SF could have done Bond in as we knew him from DN to DAD (CR).
For that alone I can appreciate SPECTRE to bits. Not to mention it is the most entertaining and fun Bond film since GE/TND.
I can understand issues some have with execution, but the only thing I think didn't work in this film overall is the connection between Bond and Blofeld. If that wasn't there I'd be struggling to find things to complain about here, and the last thing I'd wish not to be there is Dan's performance or the return to a 60s spirit and sensibility. The SPECTRE meeting, the timeless fashion of Bond's suits, the operatic, high drama of Lucia's near-death experience and Bond going to Blofeld's lair and his cordial performance masking his displeasure with the man are all wonderful 60s flourishes that I love seeing in modern Bond. It's bloody hard to complain.
I don't like Vauxhall Cross being blown up or the shooting down of the helicopter,but apart from that its fine.
But I love this film as much as GE, TLD, OHMSS or GF so I may be biased anyway.
@RC7, right on the money. SP has certain character depth to it and characters that act in a layered way that some take at face-value and don't think about properly (critics included). This then creates a vastly different picture of the movie in their heads.
Take for instance Blofeld's "author of all your pain" line. For people like me (and you) that line is a clear picture of Ernst's psyche that shows us he's so arrogant and thirsty to torture Bond that he is taking complete credit for all of the past traumas the spy has had, even those he wasn't the designer of, which includes Vesper and M. This personality trait is evidenced in previous scenes where his need for power and control is obvious, a nice gateway to supreme arrogance of the type he displays in that scene.
To those that just take the comment on the face of it and don't think about it as it relates to his character, they think, "Oh, so Blofeld started SPECTRE to make Bond miserable."
It's very, very frustrating.
Mendes & Waltz didn't quite handle it as well here as Bardem & Mendes did with the motherly (with angry ingrate son) messaging in SF, and that's where some of the trouble lies. So 'face value' is what many people are left with.
EDIT: Part of the problem in my view is that Mendes was playing with an established and known character in Blofeld. One with a consequential narrative history. He should have realized that any tweaks could have met with resistance. That was not the case with Silva where he had carte blanche..