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I have to rewatch it, wasn't it in motion when falling through the floor?
For the record @BondJasonBond006, I am not one to trash Spectre. It is still one of my favorite Bond films.
Still, I agree that this was one of those moments like the SP ones which did 'take me out of it' and should have been avoided ideally. Just not necessary in my view.
Empty trains are a normal occurrence on the tube as they take the amount of rolling stock off the line after rush hour.
To have one in the middle of rush hour (as according to Q we are in the middle of it)is rather rare unless there's a fault with the train.
What is bollocks is a) no driver in the crashing train and b) the gormless woman sat at the back of train.
No driver would simply never happen (the only place this would occur is the DLR) and TfL being told to make £2.5bil of cuts means that they haven't got spare staff to be sitting in the back of trains.
But of course now we know the films are linked Silva's plan is less preposterous as SPECTRE clearly as numerous agents working in TfL, the police and MI6 to assist him.
Which makes way more sense than just shooting M in the face when she gets out of her car.
Although an intriguing thought has just struck me: do we think Silva pitched his plan to blow up the tube to Ernst as the UK terrorist attack to get them onside for Nine Eyes and his killing of M is an incidental little pleasure?
Rather like Simon Gruber nicking the gold but killing Mclane as a bonus?
Not about the tube explosion necessarily (I always felt that was just part of his escape plan, because otherwise why not ensure that you create maximum mayhem by crashing an 'occupied' train) but more about the NOC list etc.
All of the stuff Silva does outside of wanting to kill M is Spectre driven. M is just something personal he gets out of it. A bonus.
I concur!
Well done us for untangling it all.
Doing the hard work so P&W don't have to.
The snow chase and Spectre shootout are very average and the car chase is just failed potential in every sense. And to think that they poured so much money into the snow and car chases only for them to turn out rather mediocre!
Well actually, I find most of SP to be very uneven. A lot is good. A lot is not so good.
Not trying to be rude, but... eh?
Agree 100% apart from the finale with the magic laser guided Walther which is utterly lame.
Yes... I think we all agree that the divine laser is ridiculous.
I find the action in the Craig era to be very slapdash. Most of it looks like it was shot with GoPros. I never feel like I can enjoy the action, I'm so busy trying to follow it. Especially in the first 2, they don't hold on shots for long enough, and they're always to close to the action for my liking. One notable exception is when Bond leapt from one crane to the next during the parkour in CR. I liked that bit because they slowed down for a second and actually showcased the stunt.
The QoS car chase is one of the worst chases in the series IMO because its often difficult to tell where the cars are in relation to one another. We get an extreme close up of someone shorting a gun and have no idea what he is shooting. I'm so busy trying to work out what's going on because the film doesn't give us enough visual context. Sure I know the basics: some cars are chasing Bond. But when they are skidding around bends, dodging oncoming traffic, etc. It would really help to have one wide reference shot to cut to.
I've never felt that about the QoS car chase. I think it's the best in the series. Never found it hard to comprehend what's going on in the chase. It wasn't till I came on here that I had any inkling that people had trouble with it. There are Alfas chasing Bond in his Aston, they head towards the quarry, they continue chasing Bond, Bond disposes of them by his driving and then finally shoots the guy in the car alongside him - there's not much to have to follow. Always loved the way it starts with the close-up on Bond's eye and the ammunition going into the guns and then CACOPHONY!
Very good, I understand where you are coming from now. I collectively find all but one or maybe two action sequences in QOS visually appalling. The car chase is an awful way to begin the movie, and I agree entirely about what you say regarding visual context. I couldn't get anything out of it and after it was all done all I could think was: "I saw some cars and guns," and that made it feel very generic somehow. As I think Roger himself said "just like a commercial of the action".
But regarding CR I must disagree. Everything else about the parkour chase was thrilling too, IMO.
CR does a better job than QoS, because Campbell actually got involved in the action. Forster had no interest in action, he just left it all for the second unit to work out for themselves. That's why very piece of action in the film starts in the most abrupt way possible.
I do however think that the sinking house scene in CR is another example of this. Water starts bursting forth and everything starts happening so quickly that its hard to know where the danger is for Bond. I would have liked one shot looking down through the house, that's shows where the baddies are and what the obsticales are that Bond has to overcome to get to Vesper. The geography of that building is a little hard to nail down, and a little help in that regard would've really improved the scene I think.
That was also a big problem with QOS, it didn't know how to sit still.
I do think that the sinking house in CR is one of the few weak links of the film as well although maybe not because of the reasons you've mentioned, I just find it anticlimactic.
@Mendes you make some valid points particularly about QOS but just because the action is flawed in the other films it doesn't automatically follow that the action in SP is good.
The PTS helicopter is very solid and the train fight is excellent. But, despite some nice shots, the car chase, plane crash are decidedly average.
Not in my view. The car chase and alpine chase are both standout sequences as far as I am concerned. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think the old way that action used to be shot (during the Glen era especially) is superior, and I view all the action in SP (including the terrific opener) as a return to that. It's clear, it's clean, and IMO a more mature approach. Some call the plane chase telegraphed, but personally I'd rather be a few seconds ahead of the action than half a second behind it.
I come back to the TSWLM Lotus chase which is similarly filmed. Watch that and the SP plane chase back to back. The earlier film is tension filled for me. You feel Bond is in danger. Where's the tension in the plane sequence? We knew Hinx wasn't going to shoot Madeline because she had just been introduced into the film. We knew Bond wasn't in danger because he had the stronger item in the chase (plane vs car anyone?). Moreover, Bond is the aggressor here.
In the TSWLM chase we had the Lotus skidding around beautifully and the helicopter weaving in and out very nicely. In SP, the plane is just following them - no real great maneuvering here.
Additionally, Anya's fear in that chase added to the tension, and contrasted with Bond's cool. In SP we have "Can't any of you speak!!!"
It was just stupid all round imho.
I would have to say that making a direct comparison like that is a little unfair. In one instance Bond is being persued in the other he is doing the pursuing. It's a completely different scenerio, with a completely different intended goal.
Although I will agree with you, the Lotus chase is by far superior, if I have to compare the two. I wasn't saying that the plane chase was better than anything the series had to offer, just that it was effective in the film it is in.
The CR parkour is another example of how to do a tension filled scene. That is still by far the best action setpiece in the Craig era imho, followed by the SF pretitles - if you like the wide shot style.
For closer quarters Bourne style, the QoS car chase is a clear winner.
:-O
Sorry, @bondjames I respect your opinion greatly, but I can't quite agree with you on the parkour sequence being the best. Apart from a few bits where Craig has to use his brains to figure out a shortcut, I would have left about half of it on the cutting room floor. That thing would've worked just as well at half the length, and there would have been less reason to believe that Bond is a secret Kryptonian.