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Comments
A rousing post, @DarthDimi. It's amazing the endless list of elements CR nails that match or exceed earlier Bonds, even the classics, when it comes to design, Bond girls, drama, performance, action and on, and on and on. At the very most I could critique the final sequence in Venice with the falling house, but even that is classed as a nitpick in my mind when it comes to that film.
I also stand with you about SF. I enjoy the film but the hype the film got from seemingly the whole world, calling it a better Bond film than CR AND the likes of FRWL and OHMSS made me chuckle. I agree that CR beats it in almost every way, but of course it's the only modern Bond that can stand toe to toe with the 60s era, so is it really any surprise? Daniel Craig's Bond has the rare distinction of peaking right out of the gate, and though that may disappoint some, most Bonds never get a film of that quality in their entire era.
It's also extremely interesting to me how the first Fleming Bond book became the last to be made into a film. The origin tale of Bond, the birth of the hero became the modern classic with a fresh Bond debuting inside it, just as the literary Bond saw his debut in the novel's pages. It's all very fitting how it all worked out, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Without CR existing and me watching it dozens of times one summer when my Bond love was fresh, I would likely not be here today. I owe it so much.
Agreed, @RC7. CR is the sole modern movie that can stand convincingly next to FRWL and OHMSS without being laughed at when placed into a debate with them.
@Aziz_Fekkesh, I stand with you against the criminal criticism of Thunderball. What people call a boring first act I call a smart build-up to a high stakes plot as we get to spend time with SPECTRE and watch them develop their plot first hand as Bond and MI6 are juxtaposed against them (a unique Terence Young trademark). What they call boring underwater garbage I call the most amazing underwater cinematography in cinema history that kicks off with the stunning shot of the divers jumping off the plane and parachuting into battle.
I mean, just the scenes with Bond and Fiona make the movie an instant classic, and when you add to that Sean's crazy amazing performance, Largo and Bond's meeting at the gambling tables, the Junkanoo chase, the scope of the NATO nuke plot, Adam's amazing briefing room set that makes you feel all the tension, the suits, the glamour, the location shooting and many more elements, it all comes together to create an insanely impressive movie that is the very definition of epic. I could listen to Bond stomp on Largo's ego all day, and the likes of Luciana Paluzzi make me lament how women like that aren't made anymore.
Fiona is the definitive femme fatale villainess of Bond, a perfect deconstruction of the Bond girls that came both before and after who fall into Bond's arms in seconds and say, "I love you." She plays Bond like a fiddle and screws him for kicks (a move out of his playbook), prepared to kill him after. The scene with Sean and Luciana in bed where she bites his shoulder and ear characterizes her as a wild animal, and when the pair meet again on the dance floor as the gunmen swarm Bond, a film of this kind can rarely get this tense. I've seldom seen Bond so frightened as when he's shot and on the run in the Bahamas, and Fiona joins the likes of Grant as some of the few who brought 007 to the very doorstep of Death.
Classic, absolutely classic.
Once it no longer has the position of 'most recent' Bond film (a spot I find almost offensive that it currently occupies given my problems with it) I think I will be more able to accept it, warts and all, just like I do DAD, DAF, AVTAK, TWINE.
Moreover, once there is a subsequent Bond film which I hopefully find more agreeable, my disappointment with SP is likely to dissipate. That's what happened when CR replaced DAD as the latest entry. I now enjoy DAD for the uniquely humorous entry that it is because there have been far more serious entries since.
SP like the 67CR doesn't really know what it wants and doesn't even follow through. The love story being probably the most obvious element.
In the buildup to SP, I remember Gregg Wilson raving about the Austrian chase. The action was terrible and out of character for Bond (would he put Madeleine in that level of danger?). This scares me for future films if GW takes a larger role. Personally, I trust Babs more.
That would've been amazing, considering nobody would've been flying the plane!
Kara!
I think GW will be fine.
Madeline was already in danger ..one of those last ditch efforts.
The entire Austria action sequence does nothing for me, sadly. If I'm going to watch Bond pursue a Bond girl (who is in a car, being held hostage by the henchman) while he chooses to drive a large, cumbersome vehicle that will surely and inevitably lay waste to the surrounding environment, I'll pop in GE.
Because we didn't get this, I want to cry.
I agree, they really wasted that location to the max.
Ugh just remembered the lingering shot of Moneypenny scoping out her frig. Why was that so important??
Was Smith and Mendes deliberately sabotaging Bond?
Oh yeah also forgot about the other Smith and his less than manly theme.
I agree. Used to be the cheap poorly directed LTK that wasted Dalton's talent but no for me now its SP. Glen is a second rate director ...you got what could be expected but no excuse for Mendes. He should have done far better than undoing all the progress made by the series and not to mention embarrassing himself.
Like Brosnan should have had Craig deserves a decent last movie and with SP he does most certainly keeps up the tradition of DAF, AVTAK, LTK & SP, poorish last outings even if Rogers was easily the best and original spy story.
Granted, some of us probably rate these higher than others, but overall, it's hard to argue that all four of these have been found toward the bottom of a lot of our rankings. The only out-of-place one could be SP, as it seems to have a lot more supporters (who also rank it highly) than the former three films do.
I expect that with a new 007 a few movies in his tenure SP will drop to the place it belongs a soft ending like too many actors had.
I would have to agree. A lot (and before people jump down my throat for saying this, I'm not saying that this is the case for all of the SP love out there) of the love for SP can be chalked up to it being the new Bond film. Bond films tend to be more beloved when they're the most recent one. With more rewatches and, eventually, more new films coming out, the opinion of SP will fall into place just like it has for all of the other films.
The Mendes template for Bond is sumptuously mounted scenes with high style that fail to register once the discovery factor has worn off. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy both, but I'm not sure if SF or SP will ever have the same replay value as CR or even QoS.
As an aside, I cannot recall a bigger writing disaster in the bond canon as that third act in SP. Just a trainwreck of screenplay craft.
In time, I believe those who criticize this film (myself included) will be less vociferous in our negativity, because time heals everything. Having said that, I also believe the film will be less generously looked upon by those who love it now, because the latest film is always either most hated or most loved. Such is the way of things.