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Shame the film was littered with crap action sequences and Denise Richards.
They should bring Marceau back to the series.
Um, have you seen her lately? She hasn't exactly aged that well.
You did well to pick all that up. I thought it was convoluted, unconvincing and ultimately boring, like another couple of P+W stories I can think of.
Funny you mentioning the Renard/Elektra vs Bane/Talia dynamic. I was also struck by that whilst watching The Dark Knight Rises. I've brought it up on our The Dark Knight Rises thread.
For me Pierce, along with Die Another Day, delivers his best performance, although, as you said he's a bit too melodramatic in the scenes with Bond and M in Scotland, and Bond confronts Elektra in Baku. Old Pierce is too animated in these scenes. Fleming wrote that Bond is precise in his movements, decisive and economical. He wouldn’t have acted like that. Still Brozz looks fantastic, turning in a supremely elegant, charming performance.
However, when I saw Casino Royale, I thought “that's they were trying to do with TWINE.”
Personally I think Brosnan is very good and rather relaxed in his scenes with Judi in Scotland, it just seems that Robert Carylise brings out the worst in him. However, one of the most stand-out moments in the film is that intial confrontation between the pair ("I'm already dead","Not dead enough for me"). The characterisation of Bond is what I consider the film does rather well, not particularly Brosnan's performance which as i've stated is a little off-kilter at times. But I do beleive that when performing with Dench and Marcau in particular there are some hsinging moments (the way he handles Elektra's pani attack is a great dramatic scene). Often Bond has been accussed of being too gritty and dark, critics have argued that those outings tend to least resemble a 'Bond film'; eg LTK and QOS. However, on the other hand if the part is played in a rather campy and jovical manner (I'm looking at you Roger) you loose that element of danger which is integral to the character. It's a matter of striking that balance. I'm not saying that Pierce's Bond over his 4 films hit that stride best as personally I like to look at the films as indivdual enities, it's just that in TWINE I feel they really knew what they wanted to do with the character and hit the balance square on.
I agree with this.
Yeah - you've hit the nail on the head there.
At least the Brozz and the script writers were trying something a bit different.
I don't even care about that, I like what I like regardless. I love Brosnan's good three, and TND is solidly in my top 5, along with the two that Dalton guy did.
Goldfinger? Spy Who Loved Me? Those are Happy-meals. TLD & TND are my feast.
Best way to be, I find.
And I love that comparison! :)
It wasn't so much the plot that was lacking for me. It was the very flat delivery. Electra just didn't come across as vulnerable in the beginning, or particularly clever and manipulative in the end. Marceau's almost monotone delivery, both spoken and acting, removed the film's ability to deliver a punch line. The film's tension focussed entirely around her and she couldn't deliver on it. People blame Robert Carlyle, but he really had nothing to work with. Most of his character scenes were with Marceau and you felt he might as well be talking to the wall for all the reaction he was getting. It was an intriguing idea, just very poorly paced and delivered.
I don't follow. Electra is by far one of the most fleshed out characters in the series' history. She has a harrowing backstory, a proper motive behind what she's doing all marred together with an irresistible charm. Sophie Marceau is stunning in the part to the very fine details, proving she can be seductive while also excelling when displaying full-tilt villany. If the film falters in any respect it is Electra as a character who stays consistently strong. Her character by far elevates the material of the piece beyond the simple realms of a "Bond film".
I never got the impression Brozza really got Fleming's Bond, like Craig and Dalton grasped. He was quite happy starring in crap like TMINE and DAD, and coming out with drivel like `we are throwing everything, including the kitchen sink at this one.' If he was given the script for CR, I can just see how hammy and OTT the ball whacking scene would have been, with the legendary `pain face' going into complete meltdown.
It would have been a catastrophe for the franchise had Brozza appeared in CR. He didn't have a grasp on the character enough, or the acting chops to appear in a traditional Fleming adapted movie.
Bronsan often has said he was introduced to the character as a child through the films, and that was the version he came to enjoy. It makes sense his interpretation gave more weight to those elements in the character's history.
Then there's the direction which I feel was lacking in many spots.
This may be worth checking out. I feel these guys make some really good points.
This is harsh and I hate reading this...but part of me agrees with you.
Regarding Fleming I'd like to think he read a few of the books but judging by comments he has made I don't get the feeling he's particularly well versed in the literary Bond - at least not in the way that Craig and Dalton were/are.
I also don't feel he could have "sold" the ball wacking scene as well as Craig did. Craig's screams are pretty horrific to hear in a Bond film. That's a good thing and it really adds to the tension and sheer terror that Bond experiences.
Before people accuse me of bashing my own hero I'm not sure the likes of Connery, Laz, Moore and perhaps even Dalts could have sold that scene as well. Its tough to pull off convincingly (I think fear is probably an especially challenging emotion to act because we don't really see it much and only experience it ourselves on exceptional occasions - unlike anger which we see all the time) but Craig pulls it off and makes the sequence unsettling (in a good way).
I will say though I think Brosnan performed well in the sequence on the bridge in DAD. I like his expression when Colonel Moon Snr tells him to "turn around". He looks scared.
For what its worth, I actually don't mind old Brozza outside of Bond. He always comes across as a nice guy in interviews I've seen. I just never got the impression he wanted to play Bond as Fleming wrote him.
Unlike lots of people on here I don't think every Bond has to be close to Fleming. I like having variety.