It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
@BAIN123 - Prototype is an appropriate word. I don't mean them as insults, but watching Dr No, it's sort of.... well it's seeing the series in it's infancy, when the formula hadn't been perfected yet.
It feels much more like a smaller B-film at this point rather than an epic big budget adventure.
-exotic locations
-flamboyant, mysterious villain with a lair
-a beautiful girl
-a side-girl (Miss Trench)
-an ally/sacrificial lamb
-a "bad girl" (Dent's secretary)
-a scene with Bond and the villain
-an explosive climax.
Felt like watching this one after finding a new unreleased piece of music from this film. I had a great watch. I love how scaled back and grounded this one is.
It's become a favorite for me recently.
It's getting up there. I had my best viewing with it yet.
I don't remember much about the original as I haven't seen it in forever but I really dug this movie, It was big, dumb and silly but Oh was it fun and entertaining.
Is that the fifth Brosnan movie? Never bothered to watch that.
I also hadn't seen the original in forever, but wow, the sequel was so awful - I actually recall enjoying the original slightly, but it was like they didn't have a single original, fun thought in their head when crafting the sequel. Sprinkle in some laughable CG and hammy acting, and you've got 'Independence Day: Resurgence.'
Following up TSWLM. This was my first viewing of the film since it came out. Unlike the rest of Craig's films, I haven't had an urge to revisit this one until now.
I can say that my original review of the film stands, although I did enjoy it more than the first viewing. The PTS, M, Q, Moneypenny, the SPECTRE meeting in Rome, Bond tracking down White, I find that I enjoy the film up until the plane chase. With the exception of the train fight that comes afterwarfs, the film definitely starts to fall apart. One of my biggest issues with the film is that it wants to tie all the previous films together but it does it in such a lazy and halfhearted way. There's also really no reason to have Silva be linked to them. It only diminishes his character and motives in Skyfall. Making Bond's greatest enemy his foster brother was definitely a step in the wrong direction. Madeline and Bond have an unconvincing relationship - I don't believe it when she says she loves him...it just feels so fake and out of place. The score and title song are also lackluster. Arnold needs to return. It's a shame he started to hit his stride and then got replaced.
I really do want to like this film. As it is, however, it might not be the worst in the canon but it's such a disappointing relaunch for the organization and character. The fact that it also tries so hard to tie itself into the rest of Craig's canon doesn't help. I don't care for how Quantum was just retconned to be part of SPECTRE either.
Overall, an semi-entertaining but disappointing entry in series. Hoping that Craig does a 5th film. A well written follow up could fill in some of the gaps and plot holes in this one.
1. From Russia With Love
2. GoldenEye
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. SPECTRE
What a way to end the year, QOS is the easiest Bond film to get through, it's just great.
Just imagine this could easily have been the FRWL of our lifetime if bloody EON had decided to make James Bond the lead character instead of someone slightly resembling Bond.
Thankfully the film is that entertaining that it (almost) doesn't matter.
Oh and of course someone editing the action sequences that actually knows how that is done.
A remake of a better film with worse villains, a worse score, and Mr. Bean. Carrerra and Connery still manage to make the film entertaining enough while they're on screen - I've always liked how Bond gives that guy a cigarette case and tells him it's a bomb. Still, we have seen pretty much everything in this film in a better Bond flick.
1. From Russia With Love
2. GoldenEye
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. SPECTRE
5. Never Say Never Again
Wasn't CR54 your second least favourite Bond film after CR 67? OK "hate" is a strong word, but every film that is regarded to be worse than DAD is certainly a rather disappointing film. I personally like CR 54 more than DAD but in my eyes it is still not a really good film and would probably be forgotton if it was not related to the Bond franchise.
This is a tough one. It definitely has flaws but I definitely have a nastolgic spot for this one. When I was younger, TWINE and TND were the first two I got on VHS.
The highlight of the film is Electra. She's great in every scene she's in. I love Valentin's return and the irony of the fact that had Bond not shot him in the knee, he wouldn't had been able to get him out of the chair.
I personally think it's a pretty fun if mediocre Bond film that is definitely bloated - trimming a good 10-20 minutes of the film would definitely make it much better.
1. From Russia With Love
2. GoldenEye
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. The World Is Not Enough
5. SPECTRE
6. Never Say Never Again
There's definitely a lot in SP to appreciate, with some of the all-time best character dialogues/exchanges I've seen in the series. The Bond and White meeting is electric and soaked in tragedy, and I love how out of place the talk Bond and Madeleine have in the hotel in Morocco, because it's a wonderful surprise I wouldn't expect to see in a film of this kind as the pair mourn White in different ways and uncover the work he has left them to do.
One of the big themes is parenthood/fatherhood, and that is rooted very much in Madeleine and White's relationship, and how the latter sought to redeem himself for his daughter in his last days. It gives great character to White, and really explores him as a man even more in a way that feels natural. Even in CR and QoS he never truly feels evil, acting with a code and a clear mind. When all the Quantum operatives flee the opera, he stays put to avoid Bond seeing him, and even his killing of Le Chiffre shows his professionalism and how much he values loyalty and sense over recklessness. When Blofeld starts stepping out of line and kills women and children to advance the goals of him and Denbigh, White is done accepting what SPECTRE had become.
An earlier draft of the SP script gave these details about White and Blofeld's past history, and it tells us a lot about both (I wish we got this flashback in the film!):
In the 1990's, Oberhauser, having changed his name to Ernst Stavro Blofeld became part of a battalion of the French Foreign Legion called 'Les Spectre de St. Pierre' in Morocco. A fellow member of this battalion was the man who would later become known as Mr. White, and who would also become a member of Spectre. It is implied that the platoon was already involved in criminal dealings. At some point there was a sandstorm and Blofeld and White were left for dead by the rest of the battalion with eight fellow soldiers, without rations, in the middle of the desert. Blofeld killed the other eight men in the night, leaving only White alive to help him to get to and carry the 'food' (the eighth dead soldier). After the sandstorm was over, Blofeld, with White's assistance, developed the shadowy terrorist organization named after his legion, SPECTRE.
White started out loyal to Blofeld and believed in his mission after they survived near death together, but over time it's clear Ernst got too high on power and was far too willing to crush principles to get what he wanted. As White himself says to Bond, he followed Blofeld as far as he could, but not beyond that.
He's now become one of my full-circle favorite James Bond characters ever. I screamed with elation when I stayed up all night to watch the first SP trailer, heard his voice and saw he was actually in the movie like I always wished he would be, and I couldn't be happier with how well he was written out of the story with real depth and sentiment that added so many layers of understanding to the film.
I wrote a post about White a while back that puts my thoughts on him in better perspective at the time, and how I feel his character was used:
Add to all this the use of Hinx, the train fight, the continued inclusion of light humor that wasn't silly or ridiculous (and I think better than SF), the amazing SPECTRE Rome meeting that beats even the 60s scenes, the snippet of Lucia and how Bond is continually developed as a flesh and blood man, and I couldn't be happier with the film.
The "Bond and Blofeld knew each other as kids" thing still doesn't sit well with me and I wish the motivation of Blofeld was kept as him retaliating with Bond for stopping his Quantum operations, but I hope the story is better continued if we get Dan back in Bond 25.
My first viewing of a Bond film this year is Dalton's last. I enjoyed it immensely tonight. The usual things nag, such as noticeable overacting by Lowell, Soto, Frank McRae (Sharkey), Everett McGill (Ed Killifer), Priscilla Barnes (Della) & Grand L. Bush (Hawkins, who is bloody awful). However, that's more than compensated for by some excellent elements, such as the Dalton/Davi dynamic and ultimate confrontation, which I never tire of. Both are very intense in this film, and Davi' Sanchez is convincingly unhinged both when he kills Krest & when he confronts Bond at the lab after finding out he's been played. The last Bond movie I watched before this was SP, and it was quite refreshing here to see 'real stuntwork' rather than the CGI b/s of the latest film. Glen must be commended, because he really pulled out all the stops for the action sequences here. One feels completely immersed in the proceedings precisely because everything is done with real stunt people. Even the scenes of Pam flying the plane look genuine. There is some 'screen projection' (most notably when Sanchez and Lodge are in the Maserati at the end) but it's few and far between. Additionally, Michael Kamen's score, while not quite Bondian, does have a lot of punch to it, which is more than can be said for Newman's latest effort. It's refreshing to see 'real locations' as well, and the religious cult/lab facility explosion at the end could give SP's touted Blofeld hideaway detonation a run for its money with the Guiness book. The romance scenes between Dalton/Lowell are, as we know, particularly cringe worthy (especially on the boat. He's much better with Soto), as is the awful bar fight. Thankfully this is not the film's focus - the main revenge element is genuine, raw, and ultimately quite satisfying. Dalton went out on a high-note.
It was a perfect run.
LTK whetted my appetite for another Bond film. I was in the mood for some Craig, but CR was too long to get through. So I had no choice but to put in the shortest and most action packed 'quick fix' from the Craig era, namely QoS. It was an appropriate follow up film to Dalton's last, because they are both rogue tales of a sort set partially in sunny climates. Dalton's Bond seeks revenge, while Craig's Bond seeks closure. It's the first time I've seen these two back to back or even within a few days of one another. It makes for interesting viewing given the similarities. I noticed right away that the later film is much more 'polished' visually, and dare I say, far more 'Bondian'. It's got oodles of class in the locations, in the women, in the cinematography (except for the Bourne style editing)... That's not something that can be said about LTK. Moreover, I noticed today the distinct differences between Craig's Bond and Dalton's. Craig is a lot 'cooler' imho. He gives off a calm, detached veneer even when angry (e.g last scene with Yusef) while still being intense. Dalton is just intense, but without the same calm style. More frazzled, if you will.
It was good to see Craig in proper fitting formal attire again. What a difference that makes. The man looks good when the suits fit. I felt the same way today as I felt in 2008: he carries this film completely. It's a near faultless performance. QoS Craig, please come back to us!
Everyone else is excellent in their roles as well. Almaric as the oily Greene (very convincing as a Spectre #2 of sorts), Kurylenko as the revenge seeking Camille (a very similar character to FYEO's Melina), the always superb Giannini as Mathis (I've loved this guy since Hannibal and was ecstatic when he was cast in CR. They shouldn't have killed him off!), Arterton as the criminally underused Fields (a revelation comparable to DAD's Pike) & Joaquin Cosio as Medrano (very realistic). The only subpar performance is Taubman as the useless Elvis imho.
The Tosca Opera sequence remains one of the best in the canon. Arnold's score is also his best (imho) and almost Barry'esque in places, most notably 'at the opera'. The action sequences are visceral in that Bourne way, but are imbued with a uniquely Bondian class. Whether it's the Aston sequence at the start, the Mitchell chase & fight or the Slate kill (one of the best hand to hand combat scenes imho), they are all really well done & fierce. Only the boat chase is a bit difficult to follow, even on repeated viewings.
The geopolitics are as 'real' as they get in a Bond film, and refreshingly honest too. I can imagine some of this didn't go down too well in Washington. This really is an excellent film, and I'm tempted to move it up a few notches in my ranking (it's middle of the pack at present). The reason I really can't is because I think it lacks a certain charismatic 'larger than life' spark which I tend to prefer in Bond films. It's a bit too real, as it were. It's still a great entry though.
I can't get enough of that scene, the highlight of his era.