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@NickTwentyTwo, I agree. I'm an SP fan too, but one of the changes I'd make is having Bond out of his element after his torture, to at least show him a little frazzled by the whole thing. So he tries to shoot, but is foggy and can't line up a shot, leaving him open to vulnerability. It's then that Madeleine has to kind of step in a bit, until Bond can increase his distance on targets and get them that way. I wouldn't want Madeleine pulling off insane long distance shots, but we've seen her capabilities with guns up close, which would work well. She's familiar with what it takes to survive in a world like Bond's, so it wouldn't be bizarre to see her laying down some lead to protect herself and him. That's part of what I enjoyed about NTTD: she actually has a lot of contextual impact in the story, and has moments where she too gets to defend her family. It definitely strengthens her character arc that was presented in SP, and shows why she's been able to survive for so long.
The part where they see the land rovers zoom past over the bridge and then u-turn to them is quite hair raising. There's also one point where one of the land rovers almost collides with the Toyota. That's got me to squirm every time, just thinking of how that was done for real.
Then, there's the part in the woods that amps up the intensity. Sure, there's no cello case or plane fuselage for an escape, but it's not without its creativity nor does it feel done before, at least in a Bond film to me. The horror aspect is something that I very much appreciated in this film and that shot of when Safin finds Madeleine sticks in my brain. Well done creepy. Plus as far as creativity goes, Bond has to rotate through guns (no infinite ammo), uses the handgun wisely to draw attention away from Madeleine, and uses the tow cable quite effectively. Idk, I guess it's gripped me and I've not felt the desire to skip it in my rewatched.
@JamesStock, glad to see another person that appreciates them. I enjoy the sequences for that heightened drama, and a more "realistic" or grounded set of stakes. Bond really has to earn it to survive, and you feel the danger.
I didn't enjoy the SP plane chase that people seem to think shows Bond's creativity or improvisation, because I don't think it was that smart. He smashes hard through a barn that could've really screwed him up, and he easily could've killed Madeleine if he didn't time it right, which gives him a very, very small window. That's part of why the sequence fails for me, and why everything in NTTD soars: Bond thinks intelligently, and doesn't open himself up to avoidable danger or put others in those positions. He is thrown into danger, or ambushed, and works his was through it the best he can. You really see his mind at work in this movie, which I loved. People don't talk about the Matera sequence enough, in my opinion, where he waits to unleash the full power of the DB5 when the men think he's given up. Just great stuff, and so Bond.
That would've been infinitely better than what we got. That whole plane sequence does absolutely nothing for me, I'm afraid. Gorgeous locale that's pretty wasted when it comes to the action. It all feels quite clunky and ludicrous to me.
I agree, @Creasy47. I just don't think it was smart for Bond to just charge full speed into a gigantic barn. Too much left open to chance, of killing himself or Madeleine. That doesn't suit Craig Bond to me, as bold as he is.
Indeed, especially considering how likely it was to be packed with wood or other materials that would've resulted in him crashing and Madeleine being taken away out of his grasp. The whole sequence seems geared toward offering one cool shot of the plane flying out of the barn that ultimately misses the mark for me.
I'm a big fan of Daniel Craig, for sure, but this has always irked me. You're an actor. If you need to ski for a role, you don't say "eh, let's change the film so I don't have to ski", you learn to ski.
That Skidoo / Dam stuff sounds really cool.
Is there any reason to think that's true?
Also, learning to ski -to the extent where you look amazing at it on camera- isn't that easy a thing to do.
@NickTwentyTwo, that would've been the time where I'd have stepped in and said, "Well, Daniel, that's why we have stunt performers." The man can't do everything, and I just find it weird that a whole sequence was thrown out just based on his own viewpoint on it. Of course, he's helping to produce the films, so I guess he has more control in that respect. I just find it weird that that was the one time that no stunt people were suggested to pull the sequence of, then just having their faces covered by a CGI version of Dan's like was already done in SF beforehand. I don't get what made it so non-negotiable in SP, if that's even what went down.
Who's to say the sequence would've even been great, though, to be fair. The only thing resembling a chase in SP is the Rome sequence that was also very uneventful and much less engaging, like the plane sequence, so just because it sounds great on paper doesn't mean it would've been anything spectacular on film. Guess we'll never know.
Yeah they managed to have ski chases with the Bonds played by Lazenby,Moore, and Brosnan using different techniques so I don’t understand why Craig wasn’t up for it.
Those are some wonderful scenes with Lazenby & Moore, some of my very favourites - but the obvious back projection stands out to contemporary audiences in a way that would have been less bothersome back in the day.
There was an interview with Mendes where he essentially said "We can't have a stunt person doing the skiing, and then zoom in on Craig's face with a back projection like the Moore days". But yeah, they did a CGI face transplant for QOS and SF, so I'm not 100% sure why they wouldn't have gone this route again if they really wanted to.
Yes. Does anyone have a source for this?
It seems to be how internet works these days. Someone posts a story with no verification. A discussion begins and in no time several people have reposted the information or had discussions about it. Before you know it, the story is considered true with no doubt.
I am not saying I am sure this particular story is not true, I just find it curious how it can trigger such a discussion and bombastic verdicts when no source has been given.
Not sure what exactly this is referring to, but I did post above that there was an interview with Craig and Mendes where they address this. I can try to find it.
It is referring to the story that an elaborate ski chase was planned for Spectre and Craig saying no was the sole reason why it didn't happen. If this can be backed up by a credible source, great. If not, making a huge discussion about it seems rather daft to me.
Hopefully Sam Mendes is a credible source! As mentioned, if I can find the interview again, I'll post it.
EDIT: Here you go.
Brosnan looked dreadful being pulled along in that little cart in TWINE, I wouldn't have wanted that.
Looking through the leaked emails about SP again for the first time in years, a few other things jump out. There's mention of an 'eyeball camera' and Tabitha Schick of MGM said 'We love the reveal that Madeline killed a man when she was 12 and we wonder if we can make this a bigger part of her character?' Well, it took them a while, but they got there in the end, eh!
Schick also had an idea that wasn't pursued: 'Can we consider that Madeline turned into a jaded and dark person after this incident and she's been with Blofeld essentially ever since? Further to this, can we consider that when she meets Bond, she pretends to be the shrinking dove, and she takes Bond to Blofeld on the pretense of wanting to avenge her father, but in a twist, she reveals her backstory and that she's been in league with Blofeld the whole time?' ! So, an actual Daughter of SPECTRE. Imagine the twist if Bond had regained consciousness in Blofeld's torture chair and Madeleine had then done the torturing! Cripes.
Schick also suggested that 'Bond will have the opportunity to redeem himself by saving her in the way he could never save Vesper' - that's another thing they finally got around to a few years down the line, eh!