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
I think it's a good scene in many ways (perhaps the last point at which the film really holds together), but don't think the actual execution of Bond's quip is well done. Whatever the intention was with that line, it's not conveyed very clearly. For many, it's distasteful. I agree with @LegateDemur that Mendes and Logan were perhaps trying to convey some of the fragility of Bond's defence mechanisms and play with the formula, but it falls a bit flat and is too easily misconstrued. In a film full of slightly off notes, this just adds to the confusion.
I also hate the way he's wearing sunglasses. If we could see Craig's eyes I think we'd understand more clearly what's going. Bad product placement at a very inappropriate moment.
When I first saw the film my initial feeling was that Mendes had cut a lot of Marlohe's scenes. They built her up as such a central character in the marketing it seemed to be the only explanation. In terms of the plot, she's pretty irrelevant. But may that was just a smoke screen for the M dying thing.
It´s not very clever to trust the Bond producers these days on what they say during production. In QOS, the pts car chase was hyped endlessly during production, and then everybody was disappointed because it was over in a blink, even though it was a very splendid chase.
I believe this was only a tiny deleted scene, where Patrice arrives at Shanghai airport and Severine is there to hand him the briefcase containing his gun for the assassination.
Without that scene it's difficult to see how he came straight out of the airport, got into a taxi and arrived at the skyscraper with something which wouldn't make it through customs.
I think they cut that scene to make Severine's entrance a bit more memorable.
Not by anybody who actually paid attention to the film. Her performance in the casino was, IMO, the greatest sequence by any Bond girl ever.
I should have been more precise..i mean by the general public rather than Bond enthusiasts.
Personally i agree with you PK,i love the whole casino scene,right from Bond collecting the briefcase,dropping the earpiece in Moneypenny's glass,the fight in the pit etc.
The lighting in that scene makes it very atmospheric,a good piece of work there.
And of course,Severine talking to Bond while trying to keep a calm persona in front of the watching 'bodyguards' just adds to it.
It is very near to perfection.
I don´t see why the general public wouldn´t notice or remember that scene and her performance? It´s bloody brilliant, not just in a Bond context.
I think it is the case of many, many movies, especially genre movies. Anyway, I love Skyfall, but I do find Silva's escape very far fetched and the timing far too convenient.
True, and there are a fair few Bond movies that this applies to as well. There aren't many third acts that really stand up to scrutiny. TLD is perhaps a case in point, although the fight on the back of the plane revives the flagging half hour quite nicely. I just think with SF it's both the second and third acts that are a let down. It's a shame as there's so much potential there. Who hadn't wished for Bond to have some classic London scenes - it's been on my wish list for years. And the John Buchan style homage at the end is a brilliant idea - just lamely executed.
With me it's vice versa. Much prefer TLD to SF. Bond remains the focus of the movie in TLD throughout, which is always a plus, IMO. And Necros is a brilliant henchman, who to a large degree makes up for the lame villains. Silva starts very strongly but rapidly tails off as his 'plan' deteriorates into tedious machine-gunning of everything and anything in sight, and he has no identifiable henchmen, which is a shame. The best henchmen have always been as memorable (if not more so) than the central villans. Is Grant or Rosa Klebe or Blofeld the most memorable character in FRWL? Perhaps they would both be less well remembered if it wasn't for the other. Goldfinger and Oddjob are perhaps the perfect example of this interdependency. Btw, comparing Necros to Grant is high praise indeed!
Maybe Purvis, Wade and Logan thought proper henchmen were a cliche, but if so, I miss the cliches!
I agree. I'm just saying that when your henchman is as good as Necros, it goes a long way towards making up for the failings of the main villains, who are admitedly pretty poor. Joe Don Baker in particular is really bad - was very annoyed when they brought him back during the Brosnan era. Why did they do that?
He reminds me of the annoying Sheriff character in the early Rog movies. I'm not generally a fan of having too many American characters in the movies, especially the daft/goofy types.
I wonder. Maybe they thought a more serious Bond needed less serious villains? I think it didn't help Dalton, they looked far too weak for him. Jeroen Krabbe is an amazing actor, he could have easily been far more menacing, had Koskov been better written. Heck, my dream would have been a recurring adversary with Koskov, far more serious and nasty, during both Dalton's and Brosnan's tenure.
But that was a different movie and a different approach. My hypothesis about TLD is that they tried to have lighter villains to balance with Dalton's more serious Bond.
He was still poorly written. Great idea, flawless casting, but flawed writing. And with Krabbe's physique, he could have played the physical menace quite well too. As I mentioned, written differently, with the same actor, Koskov could have been the next Blofeld, so to speak.
At all, I enjoyed Baker´s appearances a lot, I wish Wade would have recurred more often. I even think he could be a great ally for Craig´s Bond. Wade´s goofiness meeting Craig´s darkness could be hilarious.
Joe Don Baker is the main weakness for me. Koskov I think plays dumb for a reason - he is still obviously a nasty piece of work though.