Last Bond Movie You Watched

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  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited February 2016 Posts: 17,800
    bondjames wrote: »
    Just finished QoS.
    The film has an almost 70's dark espionage flavour to it. Nobody can be trusted. Everyone has issues. No one is a shining knight.
    Yes, it's great.
    When I get the SPECTRE bd and watch it back to back with my QOS bd, I suspect QOS will once more move up my list & possibly top SP...

    :-?
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I agree, he's very good in SF as well, but much more subdued and muted. More cynical & less energized. That may have very well been the intention, because he was supposed to be playing an injured, recuperating and older Bond, which he did do very well there.

    I just personally prefer the raw energy he brings in QoS, because very few actors can do that like him when he turns it on. I think it's a natural competitive differentiator of his imho.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    Birdleson wrote: »
    but I think it is in SKYFALL that he is at his most "Bond-like".
    It's interesting that you mention that. My dad has read all of the books, unlike me, and when he watched SF for the first time that's exactly what he said - that Craig, through his actions & behaviour in the film, sort of brings out the essence of Bond.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    Birdleson wrote: »
    In SPECTRE he seemed hardly engaged throughout most of the picture.
    I disagree. To ME, he seemed more at ease with his role as a double-O... and had that slightly burnt-out quality that I enjoyed so much from Connery in YOLT.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    Birdleson wrote: »
    To me that is where Connery begins to slip
    The movie slips some IMO, but Connery is spot-on Bond.

  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    I can't sleep and feel like watching a Brosnan outing. Any recommendations?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    doubleoego wrote: »
    I can't sleep and feel like watching a Brosnan outing. Any recommendations?
    TND. Easy watch, plus Michelle Yeoh.
  • doubleoegodoubleoego #LightWork
    Posts: 11,139
    Thanks. TND it is.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited February 2016 Posts: 15,718
    What I love about Craig and Dalton is that burning anger inside them. In QOS you can really see Craig is driven by an unstoppable force/rage for revenge for most of the film, but it's not 'visible' - not 'in your face'. It's subtle and downplayed but it's definately there. While for Dalton it's much more visible, like when he finds bloodied Felix in LTK or a dead Saunders in TLD - the rage is very much visible in Dalton's eyes. I wouldn't know which I prefer because I love both takes on serious Bond.
  • Posts: 9,847
    bondjames wrote: »
    Just finished QoS. First time watching a Bond film since SP. I was concerned that my experience could be tarnished by all the retro bs from the latest film. Thankfully it was not. This is a superior Bond film, that gets better for me every time I watch it.

    Craig is brilliant in it. I firmly believe this is his last great performance as Bond. Raw. Unhinged. Disturbed. Intense. Dangerous. He owns every scene he is in. Superb stuff. Truly. Oh, and the bloody suits he wears here fit him like a glove too. Fancy that.

    I found myself relieved to see Dench as M again. I was never a fan of hers during her long tenure, but I must say that looking back on it now, she was pretty good. At least she has charisma, and her acting prowess is evident in every scene.

    Gemma Arterton blew me away. She really should have been MP rather than Harris. What a missed opportunity here. She would have been perfect. Very unfortunate imho.

    This is an incredibly well shot film. The colours are just magnificent. No idiotic filters here. Lovely to see, and even the action scenes were much more impressive to me this time, due to the immediacy of it all. The Mitchell chase and fight really impressed me this time. Some inventive stuff happening during that chase sequence, and it’s all captured in each frame, but there’s so much going on in each frame that it’s so easy to miss. The Slate fight is brilliant too but too short. I love how Bond stabs him in the leg even though he had him on the ropes and on the floor. Sheer badassery. The boat chase is still not quite to my liking. Can’t really make out too much, but I love the fact that Bond rams 3 boats during it. So typical of Craig - the blunt instrument indeed.

    The film has an almost 70's dark espionage flavour to it. Nobody can be trusted. Everyone has issues. No one is a shining knight.

    Quantum of Solace is all about Daniel Craig. He’s like a coiled animal in this film. The intensity is palpable. It's not an ensemble piece, like some of the more recent ones, but rather a pure James Bond film. An excellent performance, not since bettered by him imho.

    Based on this film, I say get Forster back one more time. He’ll at least make a film that’s not boring, and will get an intense performance out of Craig.

    Yes 110% yes if Forester came back I would be on cloud nine.

    As for me the next bond film I will watch will be Goldfinger last weekend in febuary...

  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    He needs to ease up on the close ups and slow mos then.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Even with Lazenby occasional visible inexperience, the overuse of dubbing Lazenby, and Blofeld not recognising Bond, OHMSS is still a top 3 Bond film.

    Random Bond Viewing 2016 (in order of viewing):
    January:
    1. You Only Live Twice
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. Tomorrow Never Dies
    4. The Living Daylights
    February:
    5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service


    5 Bonds, I watched about that many in all of 2015.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    I paired CR with 'Munich' tonight. Very good double feature, as you travel around the world alongside Craig (Israel/Germany/Rome/Paris/Beyrouth/London/Cyprus in Munich and Prague/London/Bahamas/Montenegro/Venice in CR).
  • Posts: 3,336
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Everybody, don't forget to update the Bond Movie Meter 2016 thread with each Bond film you watch!

    Thank you for the advertisement :D

  • edited February 2016 Posts: 1,596
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    To me that is where Connery begins to slip
    The movie slips some IMO, but Connery is spot-on Bond.

    Will never understand how people don't see that Connery has clearly lost a great deal of interest by the time YOLT was filming. It is right there on the screen. He is angry at the producers, and clearly sick of the role, but he's so damn good at Bond that it still manages to be a pretty decent performance.

    Also I think Craig is his most "Bond-like" in Skyfall as well. One of the let downs of his tenure was that he's clearly playing a very different Bond in 2012 and it's a shame we didn't get one movie in between to bridge the gap between the reckless, angry, fiercer Bond from 08.

    Because of that lack of a movie in between it almost feels like he's playing a totally different character at times.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited February 2016 Posts: 23,883
    I just watched SF, in preparation for SP.

    As with QoS, which I recently watched, I was concerned that the retcon nonsense would affect my impression of this film. Like with QoS, thankfully it did not. In fact, my impression of SF improved tremendously on this watch.

    The pretitles are extremely tense and held my attention from start to finish. I rank it as a top 10 pretitles easily just for tension and pacing. I loved the Bond theme usage when Bond did his Bond thing (like smashing the bike into the guard rail in order to catapult onto the moving train, or when he used the crane to hook the forward train car). I also loved the segue into Adele’s superb title song.

    I now think that Newman’s score for this film is excellent. In my view, it’s as good as Arnold’s was in QoS, but different. It’s much more subtle, but just as effective creatively, and is actually better for this style of film. I think it’s one of the most suspenseful scores we’ve had since early 70’s Barry & fits each scene like a glove. I only wish he had used Adele’s song more in his score. The bit when he does, when Bond is going to the casino in Macau, is brilliant.

    The performances are incredible across the board here. Nobody does a bad job, and some of them are indeed brilliant. Dench, Bardem, Marlohe, Finney, Fiennes, Whishaw. Moreover, they are given robust dialogue to work with. Nearly every scene is rich with excellent back and forth. Marlohe in particular stood out for me this time out. What a woman – mysterious, and perfect for a Bond film. Harris was the weakest for me, but she was pretty good in the shaving scene.

    Roger Deakins deserves to join the ranks of Ken Adam, John Barry & others as a superior technician in his field who elevated a Bond film with his genius. Every scene is just pitch perfect and magnificent to behold, right down to the lighting. Even M’s home and Bond’s hotel in Macau look sublime. So does London’s underground tunnels. Bond running with Skyfall Ranch burning in the background is incredibly crisp & beautiful to watch – almost Apocalypse Now-like. The underwater fight is also superb.

    My appreciation for this film increased on this watch. It really is an excellent piece of quality work and in my view deserves all the accolades and appreciation it received on release. There are so many fine moments in nearly every scene. This is not an action film. This is a dark thriller, and I believe in terms of its suspense mood setting it is the best one EON has made in that since FRWL (high praise I know, but I think it deserves it). Like that film, it held my attention throughout this viewing with relatively little high octane action. Mendes' direction is tremendous.

    Everyone is on the top of their game here - the actors, the sets, the music, the dialogue, and the characterizations. A Job well done.

    Now on to SP tomorrow. I hope it impresses me more than it has done to date.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited February 2016 Posts: 23,883
    I agree @Birdleson. I'm not suggesting that his contribution is anywhere near as significant - just that he definitely elevated SF by a large margin, like those two greats. He is worthy of Bond and Bond is worthy of his talents, and the pairing created magic. I was amazed at how impressive the film looked yesterday, even though I've obviously seen it many times.

    In particular, Deakins made the most average of locations (tunnels for example) look exciting. Interestingly, I did notice a yellow hue in many shots here too, but it was on account of strategically placed lighting, rather than filters. The impact was quite different. More crisp. More defined.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Live and Let Die

    Right then, continuing on with the Bondathon we reach Live and Let Die. The last time I watched this – for Halloween – I didn't particularly enjoy it. Things were going smoothly until Pepper showed up. Last time I watched it was on a big TV, but this time I viewed Live and Let Die on my normal TV. Perhaps that was the reason why. I find the Hamilton movies are better viewed, on a more “intimate” surrounding.

    This time I had a blast. The cast, especially the heavies, are top notch, the dialogue is cracking, Martin's score is infectious and the plot is ingenious in it's simplicity.

    The film only takes certain cues from the novel, yet I found Yaphet Kotto's Mr Big a fair reflection of his literary counterpart, being calm and collected – the urban veneer belie the ruthless, sadistic man underneath. A most underrated villain. Also taken from Fleming's Live and Let Die is the threat, the aura, of voodoo.

    Worst Bit – Pepper's gurning.

    Best Bit – The voodoo element. And the taxi driver's sideburns.

    7.5/10


    Royale's Ranking

    Casino Royale
    Live and Let Die

    CR
    LALD

    MR
    DAD
    DAF
    FRWL
    DN
    GF
    AVTAK 
    FYEO
    QoS
    GE
    LTK
    SP
    OP
    TLD 
    TSWLM 
    TND
    TB 
    OHMSS 
    YOLT 
    TMWTGG 
    TWINE
    SF

    Next up Moonraker
  • Posts: 3,336
    royale65 wrote: »
    Live and Let Die


    Best Bit – The voodoo element. And the taxi driver's sideburns.

    Well, hello jim! You like my sideburns baby ? :D
  • Bought Spectre, so that'll likely be up next.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I find J.W. Pepper to be the funniest character in the franchise. I love every second that he's on screen.
    Gottta love Clifton.

  • edited February 2016 Posts: 1,596
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I find J.W. Pepper to be the funniest character in the franchise. I love every second that he's on screen.

    So many people hate him and I'll never understand it. Every line and every facial expression has me in stitches. Even down to how he says "Boaayy!"
  • Spectre

    Just some thoughts. Most of these will be issues I have with the film, so, as a rule of thumb, if I don't mention it I probably enjoyed that aspect or thought it was well done.

    - The writing is the weakest link here. You can tell 40,000 writers (or whatever the number was) worked on this thing. It hurts the film a lot. I really admire what they were aiming for in terms of tone, but not only did they not "go all in" with it (there are still annoying threads lingering from Craig's early films, particularly the psycho analyzing of Bond's character as well as the "is Bond relevant" question that was just explored, much more successfully, in the previous film) but they often fall flat on their faces when they do go for it. For every moment of levity, silliness, or humor that works there is at least one moment that's full on cringeworthy ("No, I think I'll call you C" is not only the sort of humor I don't associate with Bond, it just isn't funny. That said, after Denbigh goes into his ramble about taking Mi6 into the future and Bond says "that all sounds marvelous" that moment really works). So it's a true mixed bag in terms of the writing, the dialogue, and the humor. As for the overall writing and dialogue I'd say it's often more than it is strong, particularly in the second half. The humor is, as mentioned, hit and miss. It also seems to be evoking less the "James Bond brand of humor" and more the "Marvel Cinematic Universe brand of humor." And there is quite a difference. When he punches that guy in the clinic and does the "no! don't!" I cringed. It just didn't feel Bond at all to me.

    - I maintain that Craig is still really good. I like the laid back cool that he brings here, but there are moments where I'm not sure if he's really in it anymore. After Skyfall showed him perhaps at his absolute best, and most Fleming, something feels slightly off about Craig's performance here. It's almost like he's veering off into Pierce Brosnan territory, i.e. he seems too aware that he's playing James Bond instead of just being James Bond - one moment, which I do smile at and enjoy, is the ejector sequence. Instead of just accepting the absurdity of it and being Bond in the moment, we see Craig smirking and walking with an over exaggerated swagger as if to say, "Yeah, that's totally something James Bond would do, isn't it?!" The whole film has this air that hangs over it that feels like "So Bond, am I right?"

    - Going off of that, I'd say Spectre, despite its effort (which I admire) often feels "off." Something doesn't quite feel Bond. When in doubt, blame the writing I suppose. I can't put my finger on why, so thank God I'm not writing a critical analysis or review.

    - Uninspired/fatigued are two words that kept creeping into my mind on this third viewing. From Mendes to Craig to Hoytema to Waltz - there's just no energy, spark, excitement, or life here, contrasted with Skyfall which, despite having perhaps fewer "tips of the cap" to the franchise (funny considering it was the 50th anniversary) was bursting with that Bond feel and exuberance and color. I'm not angry at Mendes - he threw everything he had at Skyfall - in hindsight I just wish he hadn't signed on to return. It seemed like he had nothing new to offer, realized it halfway into production, and just "finished the damn thing." Craig is still good, but no longer amazing. You can feel that there's something missing, much like Connery in YOLT.

    - Hoytema's work is intermittently brilliant here (Blofeld's lair, particularly that sequence where Blofeld puts the suicide video on all of the screens, looks fantastic - thank the production design in part). The torture room has a surreal glow to it that I think is gorgeous. Same for the SPECTRE meeting. I hate what they did with the pre-titles sequence. It is shot beautifully, but that filter that they decided to use threatens to ruin all of those wonderful shots and compositions at every turn. Overall it's a good looking movie, just didn't live up to what I expected after his work on Interstellar. It pales in comparison to Deakins' work on Skyfall.

    - The action ranges from brilliant but frustrating (the way they edited the helicopter sequence, and the awful projection(?) used when we actually see Craig and not his stunt double - regardless, it's an astounding stunt and achievement, and is quite thrilling) to just plain frustrating (I hate the way the Rome car chase is interrupted by that "Oh look! We like Roger Moore's Bond movies see!" moment. I hate even more than that the plot exposition call with Moneypenny. Both of these things completely disrupt the flow of the action and the chase. Nighttime car chase between two beautiful vehicles in ROME of all places is very hard to render not amazing, and they managed to do it. Then there's the Austrian alps snow plane sequence. It's good, and that's all I can say. Then we get the train fight...

    - Best fight scene in the series. I love it. I love the way the score is turned off and the two just go at it. I love how Craig grunts and howls. I love Bautista's pure physical menace and presence (seriously, just watch the way he bursts through the doors after flinging Craig through - it's great physical acting). It is brutal, filmed with precision, inventive (a word I rarely use to describe anything in Spectre) and truly thrilling. This fight, along with Bond vs. Grant, was the only time I have ever thought, "Jesus, is Bond going to make it out of this one?" I love how the set just gets torn to pieces, props are used, etc etc. Brilliantly choreographed and realized fight scene.

    - I love everything on the train. The dialogue, for the most part, works. Craig and Seydoux manage to get a bit of chemistry going (although not nearly enough for what the movie demands - blame the script again) and it's atmospheric. Pure escapism.

    - I love Blofeld's lair, and the explosion is awesome.

    - The third act is terrible. The whole damn thing. The reveal means NOTHING to anyone in the film, Swann loves Bond? Really? (for the record, there are many of these instances throughout the franchise, but none that have as much weight as this, because we are supposed to believe Bond quits his job for this girl), The wandering through old Mi6 is back in "early Craig Bond dark n gritty" territory which would be fine if the preceding 2 hours wasn't trying its damnedest to be largely light, escapist spectacle. Seriously, those pictures of past characters in the shooting range? COME ON.

    - It's been well documented, but I'll mention again that I hate the "personal" element of the plot. The surrogate brother etc etc. Hate it.

    - Waltz is the worst Blofeld by a mile. Poorly written, yes, but poorly acted. He brings none of his trademark charisma, and even leaves much of that gleeful, smiling sliminess behind also. I'm not a big Waltz fan, but I thought that was a good bit of casting. Not anymore. There isn't an ounce of intimidation in anything he says (save for what I mention below in the "love it" section).

    - I hate that "Cuckoo" shit.

    - The title song sucks.

    - As I believe @Birdleson mentioned, and I'm stealing his phrase, I am sick and tired of "Scooby-Doo and the Gang" Bond movies. This applies mostly to the final act, for which my hatred is now well documented.

    Some things I truly, truly love:

    - Seydoux. She does everything she can with that paper thin role.
    - Seydoux's dress while they're at Blofeld's lair. It's little things like that I really enjoy about bond films, and that dress is fantastic, and looks fantastic on her.
    - Most of the wardrobe. Craig's suit that he wears out in the desert is my particular favorite.
    - The easy cock of the gun, the easy placing of it behind his back as he lazily walks over to see what Madelaine has noticed is perhaps my favorite moment of the film. SO Bond.
    - Love how the Rolls Royce is reflected in those sunglasses.
    - White Tuxedo.
    - "I won't be long."
    - "Bottoms up." LOVE that bit.
    - Thomas Newman's score is really, really good. I won't say I love it, but it deserves a mention here.
    - The "love" scene.
    - The way the camera stays focused in on Belucci as Bond shoots the two would-be killers and saunters up next to her. Stunning and pure fun.
    - The bit with the mouse in Tangier. It's a bit of fun that I think successfully peers into the character of Bond a bit without bashing us over the head with it like many moments do.
    - "He dies not knowing who you are." One of the few moments where Waltz's Blofeld successfully chilled me and intimidated me. That line is pure malice.
    - "Don't let me interrupt you" (or whatever the exact line is). Everything about that is really good. It's funny while still managing to be spooky in a campy sort of way. I like how he just cocks his head a bit and a helper comes up to adjust the microphone.

    Sorry for so much. Just wanted to get my feelings out. I'm sure I coudl think of more, especially moments that I liked etc.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited February 2016 Posts: 23,883
    I'm in agreement with a lot of what you've said @ThighsOfXenia. You've noted much of the issues I have well.

    I've yet to see it again (waiting on a deal on the blu) but having watched SF yesterday, I am speculating that another weak link for me in SP could be Seydoux. Sure, she did all she could with the dialogue they gave her, but I think something about her character didn't click with me. Perhaps it was a lack of visible chemistry with Craig (vigorous out of the blue 'inserted' train sex notwithstanding). Not sure. I'll see what I think when I watch it again.

    Also, the SPECTRE meeting was quite dull for me. I was waiting for them to just get a move on already. It was neatly lensed, but the tension they were trying to create with Waltz in shadows did nothing for me. The only part I found even slightly interesting was the Hinx entrance and kill.
  • I don't think that their relationship works, to be fair, but I think she makes it work as much as possible if that makes sense.
  • edited February 2016 Posts: 6,432
    Sorry wrong thread.
  • Posts: 12,473
    Spectre (2015). Weirdly, I enjoyed it more this time than my two trips to the theater. I really do like this one, but I totally understand why many don't. There are some iffy things about it, but overall, I really like it. I think my favorite aspect was how they fleshed out Mr. White's character; very cool to give him more depth, since he is one of my favorite Bond characters.
  • Yeah, I like his scene with Bond quite a bit. really good minor character.

    @Birdleson Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. It is lacking some of the charm. I think some of it works, when it's lighter, or more deadpan a-la Connery ("that all sounds marvelous" works quite well). But yeah, some of it just doesn't work. Due, in part, to the writing for sure. "It was that or the priesthood" just isn't funny, exacerbated by Madelaine's laugh in replace of the audience's.
  • Posts: 12,473
    The scene with Mr. White would actually probably be one of my favorites in the series; it's the best in the film barring the PTS for me. Very glad they tied up the character; I was waiting since Quantum of Solace for that. I do agree that some of the humor fell quite flat, but some of it was still good - Q had the funniest moments IMO.
  • ForYourEyesOnlyForYourEyesOnly In the untained cradle of the heavens
    Posts: 1,984
    Yeah, the scene with Mr. White is fantastic.
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