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
Another reason why I think ending the movie at the Moroccan HQ could have given us that, with a more extended and brutal fight between Bond and the SPECTRE agents.
We then find out that 9 Eyes was an elaborate decoy, Blofeld has an even more insidious, deadly plot unfolding.
As Bond and Hinx engage in a battle even more epic than the first, Blofeld leaves to launch his true plan.
This is certainly a fundamental flaw with the whole sequence.
Bond is reduced to a pissed chav at a funfair taking random potshots to try and win a teddy and Blofeld is reduced to a passenger on United 93, tightening his seatbelt and hoping to survive.
As a director for whom character arcs are the most important thing how does it all come down to a climax where both protagonists are relying on blind luck?
Might as well have them sitting in a room and toss a coin.* In fact I'm surprised they didn't end it with them playing some game they used to play in childhood that Franz always used to lose. Monopoly or Cluedo or Top Trumps or some such.
Actually how about Risk? As they played Franz could have turned slyly to Bond and said, 'Irkutsk has fallen.'
'No Franz I've got Irkutsk.'
'You misunderstand me James. I'm not talking about the game.'
He turns a monitor to face Bond and show that there has been a terrorist atrocity in Irkutsk.
As this exchange from Red Dwarf illustrates it certainly has more tension than the climax of SP:
Rimmer: Anyway, to cut a long story short, I threw a five and a four, another double six, followed by a double five, then a six and a three.
Cat: This guy could bore for his country.
Lister: How can you remember what dice you threw in a game you played when you were 17? Rimmer: I jotted it down in my "Risk" campaign book.
I always did that so I could replay my moments of glory over a glass of brandy in the sleeping quarters. What better way to spend a Saturday night?
*Even this simplest of devices can certainly have way more suspense than the finale of SP. See No Country For Old Men.
Very well put. It makes sense for the final battle/set piece to have either Bond pit his skills (mental or physical) against the villain or (as with Dr No that I watched last night) the villain contributes to his own downfall through some form of weakness/achiles heel.
Blofeld is totally passive in the final set piece, sitting in the helicopter, a passenger both physically and metaphorically. Just along for the ride and having no input into his own destiny.
There are a series of scenarios in the last 30-40 minutes of the film that are all too convenient.
It starts with the shooting fest after the torture sequence, when Bond dispatches at least 10 men with near perfect aim. Then there is the way in which he escapes the restraints and kills the two men who kidnap him after the car accident in London. Again all too convenient imho (even when masked - and why did they put that mask on him?), and with next to no tension. Then we have the aforementioned final confrontation with the helicopter.
So it's the 3 action sequences in succession which just blows the whole last hr or so of the film for me.
More inanity.
So what was the plan here if Bond hadn't escaped with such laughable ease?
Were they to march him past all the photos of M and Vesper to meet Blofeld? Or were they just supposed to push him in there and let him find his way on his own?
And meanwhile as all this is happening Blofeld has another crew out kidnapping Madeline and rigging her up to the bomb.
It's the only explanation I can think of for such idiocy when it comes to all of the action sequences outside of the much touted Bautista fight (which is where he sustained the knee problem).
This would explain the 'mask' (because Craig's knee didn't permit his being thrown into the truck without further damage, so they had to use a stuntman), the convenient escape from the restraints, the similar 'no tension' take down of a few goons at the Austrian clinic, and many other dull action sequences.
Also, don't forget that Bond just went through painful torture, and is still a marksman somehow when it's all said and done.
I don't think an injury to the leading man can be held to blame for such awful writing.
I liked the London sequence at the end. Loved Bond and M assembling their weapons in the safehouse (which was a nice reference), loved Madeline walking away, loved the elaborate MI6 fun house scenario, loved that shot of Bond staring down the helicopter and thought the ending was a great way to wrap up the Craig era and give Bond the happy ending he deserved (after three pretty bleak films it was nice for him to be able to drive off into the sunset).
I don't like Bond just getting recaptured then breaking out though. In the leaked script I read Bond was lured to MI6 by a blackout across London, with only the only light left being M's office in the ruined MI6 building. I was excited to see that realised on screen so it was a shame that they went with Bond just being bundled into a van instead.
I also think that M should have killed C and gotten his badass ex soldier moment. The glass breaking and him falling was a copout. Maybe make it a bit harder for Q to get in too. I'm picturing it being a last second thing ala the bomb scenarios in Goldfinger and Octopussy.
I also don't think the writers did a great job of selling the plan to the audience. It's a great, clever modern scheme imo: prey on peoples fears of terrorism by causing terrorist attacks to gain behind the scenes access to the world we constantly live in (would have loved for this to be taken a step further, Blofeld could have mentioned how easy it was because of how people are so paranoid about terrorism and how groups like ISIS will happily take credit for anything Spectre do). I think that this got sidelined for the more personal Bond/Blofeld conflict, which is fine, it worked, but I think as far as Bond villain plans go this was actually a clever plausible one. It's just a shame that the film didn't show how high the stakes were. The worlds biggest crime syndicate having full access to the activities of every intelligence agency in the world? And they've already managed to remain invisible this long without that, so imagine what Spectre could do with Nine Eyes. They'd be unstoppable. The film should have reiterated that. Blofeld talks about how information is important but he should have talked about what he planned to do with it.
I said this before but I just like to assume that Blofeld accidentally hit the wrong spot during the torture scene and accidentally turned Bond into a godly marksman, which is also why his escape from Morocco is so easy.
I agree that Blofeld's scheme, while brilliant, was undersold. As technology gets more and more advanced these days, it's harder and harder to credibly use tech in these plots when you can do anything with a keyboard at this point. When a villain's plan involves something as simple as logging into a program or database to wreak havoc, there's not much tension that comes from that, and that's a big issue for a Bond film.
It is frankly inarguable that watching Q break through the firewalls of the Nine Eyes program isn't very pulse-pounding, but with a scheme like the one Blofeld has it's difficult to transmit tension to the audience when you inevitably wonder why SPECTRE couldn't have just hacked Nine Eyes themselves and sped up the process of it going online or managed some other work-around. Surely they have their own Q who could do it. The problem with any plots regarding the endless possibly of hacking and coding now is that these movies make anything look possible with those kinds of resources, and because of this you quickly begin to wonder how the hero is going to stop them, or why the villain couldn't have already realized their plan before the hero saw it coming using code or decryption magic.
This is why I prefer movies with a conflict surrounding human to human conflict, especially Bond, as the risk of presenting undercooked, artificial tension is very low when this is done right, but nearly impossible to avoid reaping when using technology in your plot. Give me Bond vs. Scaramanga on the island, or Bond vs. Grant on the train any day-moments that carry true tension because you know two killers are facing off to the death-over watching Bond race to try and stop a program from loading up of all things. It just doesn't compare unfortunately.
It's no wonder so many espionage writers today forego present day plots and instead set their oeuvre's in the far past or at least a period pre-dating all these crazy technological advancements. It's hard to make a credible plot when your character is existing in a world where a smartphone or piece of computer software can do all the work for them in seconds. There's not much tension or narrative interest to be had when Siri can tell you all the information you'd need an ally or contact to tell you, just as heavy surveillance of accounts, e-mail and physical locations worldwide make everyone traceable, taking all the fun out of plots where a baddie is on the run and the hero has to track them.
The future is just so...boring.
Good post. I really hope that after SF and SP, we are done with Assange/Snowden plots. I wonder what the inspiration for Bond 25's villain will be? Putin? Trump? We've had both before (OP and TND come to mind).
I've felt Spectre had potential but that the execution was rather lacking. As such I've come up with a rough idea for a redo.
Keep Mexico:
"After Mexico Bond and M are having a chat. M points out that while Bond was able to thwart the attack, the way in which it was conducted is still being used as ammunition. We learn that Bond has been communicating with M about it. There's talk of a new program called nine eyes in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks, but at the same time they received messages from a mysterious figure hinting that there was an unseen hand behind the various attacks; attempts to track them down have been unsuccessful. Bond has been investigating one such potential lead in Mexico.
We see there's a lot of tension, as MI6 is still in hot water thanks to Silva's actions (and M's role in his fall from grace going public has only hurt more). About 18 months have passed since Skyfall. Bond, having found incriminating documents in Sciarra's laptop after he searched his house after the sequence, decides to go to rome to find more info.
I'd vastly shorten the rome sequence and focus it on getting Lucia to safety. The action scene is Bond and his car rushing to evade assassins with Lucia in tow. Bond presses Lucia when she's safe with Felix and she reveals that her husband was trying to track down a man called the Pale King. She gives Bond a flash drive that she recovered shortly before they left, which contains more information. Bond has Q combine the information with their own and they are shocked to discover that Mr White is the "Pale King". Q quickly tracks White down and Bond goes to meet him in Austria.
We cut to a meeting; the Spectre leaders are all masked in shadow and they discuss this latest development. Number 1 is unconcerned. Bond will lead them to Mr White. After all they have an agent inside. Number One is asked about the nine eyes vote (which is so far unsuccessful.) Number one ominously chuckles and says "that will soon be taken care of."
At this point, another terrorist attack rocks South Africa; we see the carnage and the misery inflicted in elaborate detail.
In Austria Bond arrives at an isolated chateau where White is hiding out. Bond breaks in, and overpowers Madeline when she tries to attack him. He refrains from killing her and he and White have a long chat; White tells Bond he must listen to him but Bond is not interested and demands how he knows what's going on. White explains that after Bond foiled the Bolivia operation Quantum was crippled and on the run. They were approached by a mysterious up and coming criminal named Blofeld, who offered to ensure their survival and resurgence if they sold out to him and joined up. While some of them did so eagerly White was suspicious and did research on him. What little he did uncover about Blofeld's past was enough to horrify even him (Blofeld slaughtered most of his fellow mercenaries to ensure his survival and left one alive to carry the "additional protein".) Ever since than White's been on the run, trying to find ways to bring Blofeld down with what little resources he has.
Bond realizes that Blofeld and the mysterious "Spectre" are the ones behind the attacks, which White confirms.
White reveals that he began to assemble a database containing information about Spectre that he's been slowly accumulating over the years; however he was diagnosed with cancer, and began to try and reconnect with his daughter. He also decided to use MI6 to take out Blofeld, hence why he sent M those cryptic hints.
"I should have realized you would figure it out on your own."
Unfortunately a team of assassins shows up and tries to kill White and James, as well as Mads. James kills them but White is mortally wounded in the shootout; Bond makes peace with his old foe before he dies as White apologizes for what he did to Vesper. At this point when Bond looks out he discovers that the second wave is preparing to blow up the house. Bond and Madeline narrowly flee the explosion and escape into the mountains.
Meanwhile the Nine Eyes vote occurs and the 00 branch is officially declared obsolete.
Act II
Later on in an villiage Bond and Madeline talk with Q over a laptop; Bond is suspicious as to how the assassins were able to track White given that Sciarra's information was incomplete. They realize that someone within MI6 is feeding information to the mysterious organization; Bond is informed that while they might be able to offer sporadic help Bond will be on his own for the most part. Madeline demands to go with Bond; Bond is at first reluctant since Madeline, while somewhat proficient, is hardly a skilled agent. Madeline successfully points out that she's the only one who knows where L'American is, and that Bond can't just leave her lying around, since Spectre's assassins might gun for her. Bond reluctantly agrees to let her tag along.
We cut to an Austrian city, where Bond and Madeline are walking through the streets. They have some discussion but eventually arrive at L'American. They get into the hotel room and look around. During this time they talk about their contrasting relations with Mr White. Madeline admits that she loved her father, but ultimately hated his criminal way of life. She cut off ties with him, but less than a week ago her father contacted her to reveal that he was dying of terminal cancer and he wanted to say goodbye to her. That was when James showed up. Eventually they find the secret room in L'American; it contains information about Blofeld and Spectre that White has gathered over the past few years. Bond copies the information and sends it to Q; Q informs them that everything has been shut down and 00 section is out of business. However, he'll try to do whatever it takes. Bond, realizing he's out of options, decides to go to Blofeld's base and take him down. Madeline persuades him to let her come.
In Tunisia Bond and Madeline spend time on the train like in the movie, having a chat, and becoming closer. However, Hinx attacks them while they're on the train. We get a quick fight sequence, and Bond is forced to choose between saving her or taking Hinx out. He saves her, but gets knocked out.
Act III:
Q, who has been monitoring Bond, is shocked and immediately reports to M Bond's dire straights. M has been trying to reveal the information Bond uncovered in Austria without luck, and sick of the stonewalling agrees to help. However, he realizes that they need help to go up against Blofeld. Q contacts Felix and M contacts several old friends in the army, assembling a covert strike team of American and British agents by pulling favors. They quickly head to Tunisia in order to rescue Bond. The question is whether they'll make it in time.
Bond wakes up bound in a cell, with several guards pointing guns at him and Madeline to ensure that neither of them makes any moves. Bond's gadgets have also been confiscated, except for the exploding watch (which they failed to find). Eventually, a tall, muscular women named Irma Bunt releases the two, and orders them to follow her. She leads them to a dark chamber, where the Karterhoff meteor is on display. Blofeld emerges from the shadows, describing the meteor like in the movie. He takes them to his control room, explaining the nature of his plan. To twist the knife in even further he taunts Bond with the fact that if anything, it was HIM who made it all possible. After all, it was gaining Quantum's resources that allowed him to get into the big leagues and he only gained THAT after Bond crippled the Tierria project. He also mocks Bond about Madeline, comparing her to Vesper. He further states that every woman close to Bond either dies or drifts away (Camille Montes). He also reveals that while Silva didn't directly work for him he did provide logistical support and weaponry for him to cary out his vendetta. "Raoul was a mad dog, so blinded with rage he'd do whatever it took. When I offered him logistical support he was all to eager to take it."
Eventually, we get to the torture room. Blofeld starts to torture them.....but just as the drills are about to enter Alarms start blaring and a massive explosion begins to rock the base. M and Felix have come through, sending a mixed team of US soldiers and British agents off the books. The chaos allows Bond to break free and attack Blofeld with the exploding watch like in the movie. Blofeld flees, badly injured and Bond goes in pursuit. He meets up with the commander of the operation (and Q who has tagged along), and tells them to go to the control room and access as much information as they can. Bond pursues Blofeld but runs into Hinx. They engage in a final showdown. Bond manages to defeat him by beating him to death with the Kartenhoff meteorite. The base goes up, but in the aftermath Blofeld's body is not found. Bond realizes that Blofeld is still out there. In London, C is arrested, as during the raid they were able to gather additional proof of his ties to Blofeld. Nine Eyes is shut down and the other nations that suffered from Blofelds terror attacks agree to combine their resources....only this time it's to bring Blofeld down. Bond meets Madeline; they have fallen in love but after almost watching him die Madeline feel they cannot be in a relationship. Not as long as James is part of the service and his life is in danger.
In the shadows, Blofeld swears that Bond shall pay; the battle has been lost but the war has just begun."
The sequel would have continued the Blofeld arc and seen their final showdown; the climax would involve Blofeld trying to recreate Vesper's death with Madeline, and Bond managing to free Madeline and save her before overpowering Blofeld. After a final dramatic face-off Bond spares Blofeld and allows him to be arrested and tried for crimes against humanity. Bond then retires and leaves with Madeline finally free of the ghosts of his past
Hinx is pulled from the train car...
Madeleine looks at Bond, about to say something...
Suddenly the train's conductor and two of the stewards burst into the car, jabbering excitedly in a mixture of French and Arabic. The conductor is practically apoplectic.
CONDUCTOR: What is going on here? Where is the... the big man?
BOND: He had to get off.
CONDUCTOR (shouting): Violence on my train! All this damage! The other passengers hiding in their compartments, fearing for their lives! You'll explain yourselves to the police, damn you!
MADELEINE (interjecting before Bond can reply): The big man was my ex-boyfriend. He's a violent brute, insanely jealous. He followed us onto the train and attacked us.
CONDUCTOR: You can tell that to the police!
BOND: Come to our compartment and we can explain everything to your satisfaction.
The conductor indignantly harrumphs. Cut to:
Inside Bond and Madeleine's compartment. Madeleine is seated on the bed, Bond at the small table, the conductor standing with arms crossed, scowling.
CONDUCTOR: Well?
Bond produces an attaché case, which he places on the table and opens. From within he produces strips of leather which look like belts -- only studded their full length with solid gold coins.
Bond begins taking the gold coins from the belts and stacking them on the table.
BOND: For the damage to the dining car. (Clink, clink, clink.) For disturbing the peace. (Clink, clink.) For any distress we may have caused you and your dedicated staff... (Clink, clink.)
As the coins pile up, the conductor's eyes widen... greedily.
BOND: You can put us off at the next stop. As far as anyone else -- such as the police -- is concerned... we exited the train at the same time as Ms. Swann's former boyfriend. An amicable arrangement, n'est-ce pas?
The conductor grunts and starts scooping up the gold sovereigns, stuffing them into the pockets of his uniform jacket. As he leaves the compartment, Madeleine turns to Bond.
MADELEINE: What do we do now?
I can see them saying it in my mind right now......you cant win with some people haha.
I think the only people who would say something like that are us diehard fans, and that's not who they're crafting the entirety of these films for at the end of the day.
Make the car chase more exciting
Make the cgi less obvious
Have a more cohesive story with less plot holes
Make blofeld actually do things
Not have Madeline ride off with him in the end
Ski chase