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That he is for his age. I'm also happy to see a straight-forward Jackie kicking ass, too, without still trying to add in the comedy at his age. Just a straight-up, good old fashioned revenge flick.
I think this could really be a sleeper hit if it's as good as it looks. Sort of like John Wick. Relatively little hype pre release but when it comes out word of mouth and online buzz could lead to it doing quite well because it's Jackie getting his Taken moment (I know, New Police Story, etc, but since this is an English speaking movie it'll have more mass appeal and reach an audience that hasn't seen him do proper gritty before) and there aren't really any well done action films released at the cinema anymore; most of the good ones seem to be straight to DVD nowadays. So there's little competition for it. Hoping it leads to some more high profile stuff for Brosnan too. I'm really happy to see him working with Campbell again and I'd love another action film from them with Brosnan playing the hero after this. Campbell could give him the movie November Man should have been.
Has anyone watched The Son yet? I remember hearing about it when it first came out but nothing about a UK air date.
That's nothing. I recall seeing some Civil War TV spot pop up weeks before release, was numbered at over 190.
Oh, it a ridiculous system of these sorts of things. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'd prefer not to pay to see a movie I can already predict the plot of from the spoiler-filled TV spots. The worst ones are those you can't skip, as your agency to avoid them is completely robbed and you have little choice but to confront the ad. What's a guy to do?!
Seems he's going to be the first one out in the recent Bond performance elimination game before the likes of DAF, AVTAK and SP.
I for one think he gives his most layered performance in TWINE, but seem to be standing alone on that front.
Granted, that one scene is not his best moment of the film, is that enough however to dismiss the rest of a pretty solid performance?
I can forgive an actor one shoddy scene if the rest is fine. I'd rather have that than a bored performance throughout, like DAF or SP.
It's hard for me to view Brosnan's work as layered in that film; it just doesn't fit. But I think many find it awkward and too near parody at times (his expressions and his "Bond...James Bond" with Christmas are especially uncomfortable and shaky) as is any line that comments on his shoulder. It doesn't show all that Bond can be, let's just say that.
I don't bother with the elimination games, but for Sean YOLT should be the first to go as he actually beams in parts of DAF when in the previous film he looked like he was constantly looking for the exit. In the same token, I'd hold Dan's work in SP to be far too thought through and truly layered (a descriptor his work has earned) in relation to Brosnan's TWINE which truly feels like a performance and not a natural take on the spy.
But I don't like to labor on the negatives here at the end of the day unless I'm in a genuine debate over the topic at hand.
Yes there's moments from him in GE and TWINE that don't work but he feels more like he's actually playing a spy.
Period!
The difference for me is that the vulnerability and reluctance in GE is quite subtle (at the statues, at the end with Alec, on the beach with Natalya) and Campbell neatly controls Brosnan's acting excesses. In TWINE in contrast it's in one's face and rather overt (in concept and in acting).
Regarding indestructability, within reason, yes. For example the ice surf took it a bit far (I thought he perhaps should have died in that scenario).
I never had any problem with the ice surf scene. In fact, not taking the CGI instability in it into account, I thought that move was very Bondian and I still think it is.
RE: the ice surf: I'll always remember my horror at that sequence in the theatre. It wasn't so much the surf itself (the film had jumped it by then) but rather the scene just prior when the glider slams into the side of the mountain after it goes off the edge. I just felt that Bond would be dead by then due to a neck injury, given the speed with which it went off the edge and then when it smashed into the side. The surf move was Bondian no doubt, but something about it (outside of the CGI) just seemed too superhuman to me. I felt the same about the couch sequence in the latest film (particularly in the context of Mr. 'real' Craig Bond), and that is one of the reasons why they lost me right from the start.
So I personally don't mind a little OTT, but it's a fine line for me.
Regarding the ice para-surfing scene, honestly I understand your reflective views on the dreadfulness of that scene. The computer generated imagery was awfully executed in it they could've gotten by far better people to undertake that task. However, regarding how the scene played out on paper, keep in mind that at the time, films like that were the ones that brought money, excitement and public interest. The likes of xXx with Van Diesel for instance being out and about, painting themselves as "cooler than Bond" and vast amount of audience buying it, Eon couldn't let that sink in. Bond is the granddaddy of the cinematic secret agents so he always has to be the best, hence the overt-superman template and the Marvel-like comic book atmosphere of Die Anoher Day.
It's a pity the last Bourne film didn't do as well as the earlier ones, because I think Bourne's grit helps to keep Bond 'real'.
Sure, I'd love Bond to be an emotionally indestructible superman, but I don't want him to walk the scene nonchalantly. I want him to be threatened. I want him to be driven to the edge he'll fight for his survival in suspense while being that superman. The most perfect that was emulated was in the sewers in Dr. No. You know the Connery Bond is the super-spy we know, but he's threatened and is fighting for his life amidst as well as racing against time to stop Dr. No's operation while the countdown is bound to begin. I don't think any Bond afterwards repeated the beauty of that scene. Either Bond was an emotional wreck, or too super a soldier-spy.
Regarding Bourne, I loved the first one, but I'm not a fan of the rest. Glad he overstayed his welcome and is going into disappearance the way the Christopher Nolan gloominess of depressive Rubik's Cube films aren't getting any repeats by others.
I personally never had any problem of the sort with Spectre, be it the couch scene which I loved, or the blurry CGI parachute everybody is complaining about. I found the car race scene a lackluster and pointless as well as the London finale. See, coming back to the superman Bond, escaping from that torture with the snap of a finger like nothing happened is unbelievable. Sure, he might be a trained SBS operative (formerly) and all, which he could've recovered from, but not that quickly. The humour in the 24th was certainly not one of the issues I've had with the film.
Regarding the original 3 Bournes: I actually think the first two were game changers for the genre, the effects of which we are still feeling today in contemporary actioners, although Marvel/DC OTT seems to be taking over more and more. I know you're not a fan of Nolan's films, but quite frankly outside of Interstellar I haven't found them all that depressing. I'm more taken by his ability to convey spectacular visual experiences without the overt use of CGI, and I really want that aspect to come back to Bond. I also admire his ability to delve into different genres and tell compelling stories while making box office blockbusters, something which Villeneuve can do as well.
RE: SP - I know many like it on this forum, but sadly apart from the visual elements (which are impressive) I just can't get into that film. It lacks the tension I expect from a Bond outing for me and even the torture sequence came across like an attempt to play with the audience in a cheap horror film thrill fashion. I'm glad it gets farther in the rear view mirror with time and would rather not be reminded of it at all in B25 (I realize that this is unlikely).