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I’ll be the first to apologize for my contributions to your unpleasant experience.
Exactly. Supposedly, a child who learns a second language before age 6 will be able to speak it flawlessly without a native tongue accent. That's why Schwarzenegger will always have his accent even though he's fluent in English...but he learned it later in life.
No apologies necessary : ) , but thank you for the thought.
Sometimes circumstances dictate causality. And I want to say I’ve ranted too much. You have every right to be passionate and defend a film you love. Had I been a longtime member, and someone new came on bashing Casino Royale after its release, I’d have done the same thing. Human nature is human nature.
On the other hand there are a few unpleasant obsessives on these forums who will not accept ANY criticism of NTTD or the Craig era.Iv been called some unpleasant names by some folks here just because I don’t think the movie is a flawless masterpiece or think Craig is the GOAT.
Well said @birleson. This makes perfect sense. That long six year wait was brutal. Especially with all the false starts. I’m excited and looking forward to the future.
Oh my goodness, yes please yes please.
My favorite theater experience ever was spending a whole day watching the Nolan Batman movies back to back to back on the day of release of Dark Knight Rises, where I took in that whole cinematic journey start to finish. It was insane, and so special.
I'd love to go through a similar thing with the Craig era, the only downside being how long it would be to get through all the films given that they're usually longer than most Bonds are, outside QoS. I don't know if I could be stuck in a dark room in one position for that long, but I'd be willing to give it a go for these movies.
One of my most memorable theatre experiences was Lawrence of Arabia; I was amazed at how that film was able to keep me compelled from beginning to end; I usually feel the length of films and start to get tired or restless, but it didn't feel like a long experience at all. Brilliant film, sorry @Thunderfinger!
It's incredible how the longest Bond film ever feels like it needed a lot more room to breathe, right?
It's not just, that I want to spend more time in this world and with these characters. I do and I do for almost every Bond film. But this time it really feels like they cut it as close to the bone as possible and sometimes even a bit too far (Safin's motivation and all that) and another hour would have really given it the possibility to become a stone-cold classic, whereas now - for me personally - it is hampered by me having to read here and listen to podcasts and stuff to figure out what is actually going on.
It’s not bad by any means, because there is a lot of great character work going on in the 2nd act, with Bond/M/Madeleine/Mathilde/Nomi/Q/Blofeld. But there is also a lot of exposition, and we have a long stretch of film with no action until the climax of this part of the movie with the 4x4 Norway chase which itself feels fairly brief.
And the chase is a great scene - it’s pays homage to great Bond chase scenes of the past whilst being something we’ve never seen before in it’s staging, and it has the added dynamic of Bond protecting his family which really adds to the tension. But it’s over quite quickly, and doesn’t come any near the epic ski escape from Piz Gloria followed by the ice car race rescue by Tracy in OHMSS.
So for me, the 2nd act could have had a bit more dynamism, and maybe a brief action scene to punctuate it’s length.
I think this is the film that could be made into a mini-series of four episodes for streaming, the way Tarantino did with the Hateful Eight on Netflix, if they take the time to go back to the original edit.
@ImpertinentGoon, I agree. The only area where I could feel the pace snag was near the end. Essentially from the moment that Maddy and Mathilde are taken by Safin and Bond is left to find his way back, the movie has to speed to a finish more than it had prior. At that point in the film, I didn't even realize how much time had passed and was only able to indicate how long it'd been because I had to pee very badly, as hilarious as that is to say.
The climax is rushed, and we get a mile a minute exposition from Safin about his plan and motivations that is the only time in the entire film where I can feel the dialogue being forced. I didn't exactly need to do a lot of research to figure out what was going on, just another watch to get things clearer because I was just so overwhelmed by the movie in general, especially the ending. I don't think the finale leaves a lot of crazy questions in the air, I just wish it settled down a little more with Safin throughout the film so that we had more of an idea of him and what his motivations were so that it wasn't all thrown at us at the end.
It's just not as satisfying when all that we learn about Safin and his background and what he's doing with Heracles we find out in the last 3/4 of the movie. It's only when Bond is back at Maddy's house that we see White's secret room, and only then that we find out information that actually makes us sympathetic for Safin, which comes too little too late. My biggest issue is that we don't ever hear him talk about what kinds of people he wants to kill with the virus, which would have deepened and focused his character more. Because the movie doesn't specify, he comes off as a lunatic with no sense of principles, but if he was targeting more vile people who we wouldn't be as opposed to seeing wiped off the earth, then he has more sympathy to him and he would come off as misguided. That we don't have that specificity underwhelms what is otherwise a fascinating character for me.
I guess in the nature of trade-offs, I'd rather have the movie be as focused as it is on Bond's character and his relationships with the other characters than I would want more information about Safin at the expense of all that, as it's those character moments with Bond that make the movie as impactful as it is. So if the movie is the way it is to give Bond such an emotional and striking send-off, then I am at peace with that.
One of these days that's going to really settle in on me, and I'm not keen on it. I'll be watching the next movie years from now and when the new guy comes on I'll be like, "Wow, wow, wow, where the hell is Dan at? I know his Bond died, but still. Seriously, guys, where is he?!?!"
What a blessing to be so spoiled for so many years with this Bond. I will love Dan forever for it, and if I ever see him in public I'm definitely going to get arrested when I try to hug him. Some things just have to be done, criminal records be damned.
:D
This is what I like about you 0BradyM0Bondfanatic7,i agree with you on some things on this forum ( Such as our discussion on the MCU ) and I completely disagree with you on Craig.I mean bloody hell,you thought NTTD was too short? It’s the longest Bond movie ever! I don’t think there’s been a decent Craig Bond since CR,
But I do like the fact we can agree to disagree on things like this.You don’t resort to personal insults or trolling like MakeshiftPython.Internet high five to you sir!
Please refrain from such comments.
As for length of this film, I would have liked another 10 minutes or so. In Matera, and in Jamaica. I think the poison garden and Safin could have been stated more clearly, actually condensed if edited properly with better dialog to get the point of Safin's actions across ... and then give me a little more time at the first half of the movie. I would like that, but it's all wishful thinking. I don't need the movie any shorter, though.
@AstonLotus, haha. Cheers.
I just come from the standpoint that I wanted more, because I love Dan's Bond. If I was told there was a four hour long cut of this movie, I'd be the first in line to see it, hands down. I just love this Bond, and how he's been portrayed, so any increase in screen time for Dan could never be bad.
But if I was thinking objectively, I would add on maybe another 10 to 15 minutes, and only in the last act as that's the only part of the film where I think the pace speeds up. Everything up to that point is grand, and I don't feel the length at all. It's only when I can feel the movie trying to rush through Safin's monologues to reach the finish that I get the sense a bit more time for fleshing out that part of the movie was needed. All in all though, I'd rather have more of Bond and an exploration of his character than more details about Safin, as that is what I came for.
If there were deleted scenes and they were included in the blu-ray, that might extend it a bit, but I haven't heard of any.
I agree. They leave a lot of room to interpret him, but a bit more clarity would've been nice.
@MrsAuralSects, that's a good point. I haven't heard anything about NTTD deleted scenes either, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.
I'm afraid that Mr Fukunaga is too busy to come to the phone at the minute. He's playing his PlayStation 4. I'm sure you understand. ;)
So even he can't get a PS5.