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Comments
13 times in three months? That's certainly a lot of viewings.
Like me and the Abramic scriptures, then.
Yes, but I meant Abrahamic. Forget MI, ST and SW.
I enjoyed the scale and ambition of the production, as I always do, but continue to be disappointed by the lack of tension in the action scenes and set pieces. Everything ends too conveniently and sometimes too quickly. Arguably the most tension is at the very end, when Bond/Goodhead are trying to shoot down the last of the poisonous globes and also when Bond is in the lab and one of the vials falls on the floor killing the two scientists.
The best bits for me are the score, the locations & Drax’s great lines. That speech he gives in the space station is something else – pure verbal diarrhea from a megalomaniac.
Moore is his cool as a cucumber and has some great moments like the centrifuge and the fight with Chang, but he plays it for laughs mostly, as he likely realized how ridiculous everything was, and what they were going for with this film.
Interestingly, MR reminds me very much of SP. Large in scale, cost and ambition, but strangely lacking in tension, and with a Bond who appears to be coasting rather than engaged.
Huh?
Oh, excuse that. I read it as "Marvin", which is why I thought you were referring to the same person twice. Turns out that I'm just dyslexic (and that I forgot about George Martin).
The films flaws are its needless, half-hearted attempts at adding something to the story. The first, and most famous, is the Bond/Blofeld connection and the reveal that he was behind the events of the previous three films. It's already been talked to death, so I won't rehash it yet again, but it's certainly quite unnecessary, and one of the lamest motivations and retcons of all time. As an added bonus, they're paired with one of the most ridiculously flat reveals of all time. The name "Ernst Stavro Blofeld" means absolutely nothing to Bond, and he doesn't react at all, because he can't react to this new, useless piece of information.
The second is Nine Eyes. The plot is woefully underdeveloped, a mishmash of Skyfall and The Winter Soldier but without the dramatic or thematic weight of either of them. Bond is barely even aware of it, nor does he make any attempt to stop it (the attack on Capetown that convinces the South Africans to join literally happens in the background. Why was it even in the movie?) C being a Spectre stooge is also entirely predictable, and I was left hoping against hope that he would assume the mantle of Blofeld, simply because it would be something new, and it would dispense with the ridiculous "cuckoo" motivation. But alas, it was not to be. We're left with a final countdown whose effects are completely nebulous and which is solved by the most tensionless of all storytelling devices, Q's dramatic typing.
On a related note, we have Bond going rogue yet again. It serves absolutely no dramatic purpose and is brushed off relatively quickly. I suppose it's made necessary by the Nine Eyes plot, so that C wouldn't know everything Bond is doing, but he finds out quickly enough anyway. I am sick, sick, sick of Bond going rogue. If Craig comes back again, I would be more opposed to a "Bond goes rogue!" story than the return of Blofeld and the wacky daddy issues, and that's saying something. This, and the Nine Eyes plot in general, serve primarily to lengthen the movie, dragging it to be be the longest Bond of all. Compare this to OHMSS, CR, and SF, and see the difference in how the length serves the movies.
Finally, we have the apparent "true romance" between Bond and Dr. Swann. Here, I think there was real potential. She's the daughter of a criminal lieutenant, who was responsible for the death of the love of Bond's life. Bond spent months chasing after him, and likely wanted nothing more than to kill him as revenge for Vesper. This was genuinely compelling material, so of course they didn't use it. Instead, we're left with a brief reflection on the train about whether Bond has a choice in his way of life, followed by Swann confessing her love for Bond, followed by Swann leaving Bond, Gala Brand-style, followed by Swann and Bond running off together, after he's apparently quit his job at MI6. Again, compare this to Bond's romance with Vesper, and his leaving MI6 for her, and the deficiencies will become obvious.
Now that I've gotten my gripes out of the way, Spectre has plenty of classic Bondian moments. The PTS was a hoot, from the long tracking shot to the fight in the helicopter. I enjoyed the car chase with Hinx nearly as much as most people, and the plane chase in the Alps was rollicking fun and beautifully shot (so it doesn't make a lick of sense, this is James Bond). The fight on the train is almost certainly the best of Craig's era and the best since Bond's brawl with Alec in GoldenEye. The film could also be quite humorous when it wasn't bogged down in faux-weighty plots. I greatly enjoyed Bond's interaction with Q and Moneypenny, especially during the car chase in Rome. C's awkwardness is also quite amusing, when Bond dubs him C and when he tries to shoot M. Bond questioning the mouse is also an amusing commentary on the absurd paranoia of life as a spy, and his punching out the security guard at the clinic never fails to make me laugh (some say that this veers too close to MCU-style humor. I don't see it here, but I certainly see it in the retconning).
Finally, there's the only dramatic scene in the movie that truly lands. Bond confronts Mr. White, haggard and cancer-ridden, in the latter's Alpine hideout. They talk over their situation, and Mr. White delivers easily the best line of the film "You're a kite, dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond," before committing suicide. This scene works because of the tension between Bond and Mr. White, calling on the memories from Craig's earlier tenure without running them into the ground.
I don't see SP ever rising much above its current spot in my Bond rankings (16/24, just below TB and QoS and just above OP), but I can certainly enjoy it, especially if I drown out the stupid reveal and focus on the action and humor, as all Bonds are meant to be enjoyed.
:)>-
Random Bondathon, 2016:
(Numbered by order of viewing, not ranking.)
1.) GF
2.) YOLT
3.) QoS
4.) OP
5.) DN
6.) TWINE
7.) AVTAK
8.) SF
9.) TLD
10.) DAD
11.) CR
12.) TMWTGG
13.) SP
14.) GE
15.) TSWLM
I've not had the chance to stick on a Bond for a while, but since illness struck today, what better way to cheer me up than to pop on Octopussy.
Stellar as always. Considering whether to put it into my top five after this viewing.
Moonraker
Doubtless if I was seeing Moonraker back in 1979, my views would not as generous as they are now. As it stands, Moonraker is my go to Bond epic. It's so undemanding. I can afford to watch every 4-5 months or so and let Moonraker's epicness wash over me.
It wasn't always this way. When I was a nipper, I loathed Moonraker. It has three major sins when I judge a Bond movie -
1. Overt humour
2. Excessive gadgetry
3. Inane plot
It's a not very good Bond picture. But it is a very good film, being entertaining and fun. And that's what a movie is meant to do. Anyway, when it comes to the talents of Messrs Barry and Adam, I can forgive a lot.
Worst Bit – Uhg, the Bondola sequence I guess.
Best Bit – The reveal of Drax's space station. Gives me goosebumps every time.
7/10
Royale's Ranking
Casino Royale
Live and Let Die
Moonraker
CR
LALD
MR
DAD
DAF
FRWL
DN
GF
AVTAK
FYEO
QoS
GE
LTK
SP
OP
TLD
TSWLM
TND
TB
OHMSS
YOLT
TMWTGG
TWINE
SF
First time watching this one in a few months. Really enjoyed it as I've increasingly done with each watch, like with QoS.
Highlights are of course Dalton and Davi. Wonderful to see these two in action, and their scenes together are some of the best in the franchise. There’s something very authentic about Dalton’s portrayal of Bond in this film. There’s no posing at all here. He is very raw. Not cool though, and that's what turned me off when I was younger. Now I can appreciate the angry authenticity of it much more than I could before.
I love the gunbarrel music here. It's so ominous sounding - and what’s this I’ve been reading recently on here about Kamen's score being subpar? It’s great stuff. Intense, immediate. Like Dalton’s performance. Like the film. A perfect fit with the action on the screen.
The opening scene sets the tone. There are some wonderful aerial shots of Key West. That stunt of the copter hooking the plane is tremendous - vintage Glen orchestrated stuntwork. The plot is coherent & tight. Wilson & Maibum did a great job. The finale with the tankers is also excellent and highly engaging. James Bond meets Duel. Superior stuntwork and colours.
---
Unfortunately, there is a lot to bring this film down a few notches as well:
1. Soto/Lupe –sadly she is in the pretitles, and her opening scene portends what is to come. Namely some of the worst acting ever committed to film. This rivals some of the clowns in TWINE for awfulness. Thankfully, she’s highly attractive, which provides some, but perhaps not adequate, compensation.
2. The generic US tv actors in Florida at the start are very uncharismatic & just bad.
3. Cary Lowell’s whiny and terribly annoying Pam Bouvier, as well as some of the locational work, which is average at best. The bar brawl is cringeworthy, as is Bond and Bouvier’s subsequent awful banter on the boat (horrendous overacting by both – I was fidgeting in my chair in discomfort). The final scenes with her in the pool are also very disappointing and highly cheesy in that 80's way.
---
Fortunately, the good is far better than the bad. If it wasn't for the above, I would rate this film even higher. Right now it sits at 9 or 10 in my rankings, mainly because of Dalton, Davi & the story.
=D>
I forgot to mention earlier, I really like a little glamour and style/class in my Bond films. Most of the ones I rank top 5 (except for perhaps DN) are quite classy and refined. LTK doesn't have that Bondian flair (at least not in my view, despite the casino scenes) but it makes up for it due to the one on one between Dalton/Davi. It's a very unique Bond entry - nothing really derivative about it at all, which is why I think it holds up with repeated viewings.
This is not a country club, DoubleOhBirdleson!
I have to totally agree, even though it's one of my favorite Bond films. That's definitely the worst part.
In regards to your comments about MR "vs" SP:
I know this is a bit late in reply, but I agree with a lot of what you said about MR. The reason I find it to be a considerably better film is simply that I think it does what it does much better. I agree, there isn't a huge sense of danger or stakes (Centrifuge, and chase of COrrine aside) in either film (just look at how Bond escapes Blofeld's lair in SP after being tortured by supposedly "disorienting" needles if you disagree with me). But yeah, I think it does what it does so much better (settings, MUSIC, cinematography, production design, VILLAIN, HUMOR, dialogue, production values, so on and so forth).
I think the difference is is that MR knows this, and is fully, 100% going for pure over-the-top, every penny on the screen, escapist extravaganza. I also disagree about Moore being disinterested/disengaged. I think he's at his swaggering best and having a blast.
By contrast, SP often wants to have its cake and eat it too in this regard. There are many moments where it is clearly channeling that "it's all just fun at the movies" (which I love, just to be clear). The downside is that A) it doesn't pull them off like Moore's movies do (doesn't have the charm or the cleverness more often than not) and B) there are enough threads of "Craig Bond" that demand that we take this seriously at times that I'm uncertain what to do with it.
Never in MR does it attempt to shoehorn stakes in like Bond leaving the service for Madelaine etc. SP's insistence on its importance, I think, is one of its biggest shortcomings.
I know I've spent a LOT of time shit talking this movie. And there are parts that really, really bother me, but there is quite a lot I like. Similar to @Birdleson, I'm gonna' be popping it in again soon. I would love to grow to love it. I'm not being cynical/negative because I enjoy hating and trashing on things, I just wished I loved it so much that it makes me all the more frustrated.
Where I think MR & SP are similar is in the complete lack of tension in any of the large set pieces. I think they both start off quite well with all these scenes (Bond fall out of a plane, Bond being chased in the boat in MR and Bond being chased in a car and chasing baddies in a plane in SP) but they all end in a very predictable and dull way. In the case of MR it's the gadgets and overt humour that kill the fun and in the case of SP it's just drab conceptualization (and unfunny & predictable humour, as in the aforementioned car chase).
I also think they are similar in that both the Bond actors seem to be on autopilot, although I think that Moore on autopilot is far more engaging than Craig. That's because, in my view, Moore is just a far more charismatic and interesting actor to watch when he's not trying - no matter what he's doing. Craig, again only in my view, has to act as Bond, and when he's coasting as he is in SP, it doesn't come across well on screen - to me at least.
I agree 100% with you on the tonal variations in SP being one of its major shortcomings, along with it trying to have its cake and eat it too. It confused me when watching it. I didn't know whether to take it seriously or not. It was almost like I was being f'd with, emotionally (particularly in the case of the torture sequence and when Madeline threatens to leave) and that left me not caring about it at all. I was as disinterested by the end of it as the actors themselves seemed to be on screen.
Ultimately, MR is tonally balanced in comparison imho, although frustratingly it could have been so much more. Those standout scenes (shooting down the globes, the death of the two scientists, centrifuge, Corrine's death) are some of the best in the series.
Great all the way through. Love the voodoo and supernatural themes, villains are fantastic and Solitaire is one of the best Bond girls. Rog is as good as always. Top ten material.
Watching this film on my new TV made me realise how good this film actually looks. I love the 70s aesthetic and the vivid colour palette.
Bondathon 2016 ranking so far:
-OCTOPUSSY
-LIVE AND LET DIE
-GOLDENEYE