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There are plenty of Oscar-worthy films out there dealing with weighty issues and delving into the characters' psyche, but a fictional spy's serialised adventures need not follow their example to be enjoyable... IMO, quite the contrary. I'd rather hope for a chance of quality escapist entertainment surviving outside the Marvel monopoly.
Plenty of others have expressed that much. Personally, I love CR and SF a little more, that’s nothing against NTTD.
I find CR to be a better film than NTTD, but I came away from NTTD thinking it was better than Skyfall for me personally. As I said, I’ve only seen it once and I want to let it sink into my brain a bit before seeing it again.
It might be my second favorite of his if a few more viewings solidify that for me. I can see it beating CR in my rankings.
It's #1 for me. Followed by Skyfall, then Casino / Spectre tied, then QoS.
It's been a very, very long time since I've enjoyed a Bond film as much as this one. I've thought about it several times a day for weeks now. I'm eager to get it on 4K in December and pack a ton of viewings in over the holidays.
@FoxRox, enjoy! I loved it even more the second time. I'd like to go for a third but my local theater has only one 7:20 pm showing a day now. I figure it'll be out of theaters by next weekend at the latest.
@Creasy47 thank you - I’m glad it was a success for us both! I would too, but for me it’s economical strain - yes, to that point I even have to limit theater trips haha. I saw SP twice and I think SF thrice, if not twice as well. QOS once. That’s it so far.
You and I both! It's refreshing being on this side of the coin this time around, after so many years.
As for me, I saw CR once or twice, I saw QoS five times (because I loved it so much) and SF five times (because I couldn't believe I wasn't loving it like others were and was convinced I was missing something) and SP only twice (because of how much I despised it). I wish I could go and see this one five times (or more) too but time and money constraints are limiting that for me. Oh well, late December should be here before we know it. It's been nearly a month since it released in the U.S. already, which is crazy to me.
Agreed. I'd put CR as his best turn and NTTD (his performance, not the film) as his 2nd.
SF, QoS and SP make up the rest of my ranking in that regards.
Same for me. It's really made me consider how escapism means something different to everyone. I was completely gripped and transported into someone else's emotional journey for the entire film every time I've seen it, and it's been constantly on my mind since. For me personally, it doesn't get more escapist than that.
It's funny because I told myself if the action was so good that I wanted to constantly rewatch the film, I'd be fine with any idiotic story decisions I disagreed with. I heard the big spoilers before I saw the film and hated the idea, yet warmed to the prospect of Bond dying, Felix dying, Bond having a kid, etc. over a week or so. Then, I see the film and absolutely love it all for the most part. Totally surprised by that. Most of those aspects, in fact, heightened the film for me and made it a much more enjoyable and emotional experience than I could've ever dreamed.
Perhaps most impressive of all is the improvement of Madeleine. What Seydoux gets to do with the acting here is so far ahead. And while not on Tracy or Vesper’s level, I believed now unlike SP Bond would want to spend the rest of his life with the woman. They also went a much better route than just lazily offing her. The tragedy of Bond trying his best to move on emotionally and not getting to have her or his child in the end is pretty brutal. I’m all for a shift back to more escapism and less drama next era, but I am glad they tried it with Craig to give us some very interesting things.
Absolutely. As we all know, Daniel's said that love, tragedy, and loss are the biggest themes there are so he wanted to use them. All three are used in all of his films but the way all three are used in NTTD and then woven again together for the ending is what makes it, to me, so memorable and such an emotional payoff. It's not just a tragic event or regular sad ending. Very well-crafted and beautifully done, IMO.
I was hoping this would happen to me, but I'm afraid I hate the idea even more now. It just seems so wrong, to kill him off in the 25th film, after 60 years, (and yes, I know I should think of it as the fifth film of a character arc, and all that).
Bottom line, I don't want to see James Bond die. Even if it is in some special 'timeline' or 'alternate universe'. No matter how 'special' the Craig era is, it still says Ian Fleming's James Bond at the start, and it's made my EON productions. And they kill him off.
Nope, I don't like it and I don't care if that makes me none-progressive.
He had a blast.
In the YOLT novel, the Jack London lines are used to eulogize Bond after a newspaper obituary appears and the world (mistakenly) thinks that he has been killed. MI6 agent and 007 love interest Mary Goodnight suggests “these simple words for his epitaph. Many of the junior staff here feel they represent his philosophy: ‘I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'”
I had TOTALLY forgot this passage was in the Fleming novel!!
I know exactly what you mean re SF! Am still watching it trying to figure out what I am missing, but, no, its still a dour, dull experience for me!
I'm always happy to hear I'm not the only one in the minority who feels this way. Great acting and it looks pretty, at least, but that's it for me.
I forgot to mention that Craig was fantastic again in NTTD.
:)) =))
The gunbarrel is actually pretty dang good. I didn't know how to feel about it one way or the other my first watch, but I can confidently say I think it works nicely. I know just about all of us are clamoring for the 100% classic gunbarrel again, but given Craig started on such a different note, I'm ok with them toying around a bit in his era. But PLEASE, do return this to normal again from now on haha. But yes, the bleed into the snow is very cool, and the music and pose are nice.
The very first scene is one of the Bond series' most unique. I advocated for the PTS being just the very first bit without Bond, but given how nicely it transitions to adult Madeleine, I take it back. Safin is introduced well; he's a freaky SOB. Madeleine's mother is less than useful; I feel bad for the child. I know it's been a well-versed plot hole that Madeleine told Bond in SP that her parents divorced, but maybe she had lied about that given she was keeping other secrets? Easy way out explanation, I know I know haha. But yes, love the frozen lake opening - super eerie and gets the blood pumping quickly. The transition to adult Madeleine and spending a few lovely moments with Bond is nice. I was a fan of briefly brining back that OHMSS scores they used for that bit and when Bond is talking to M outside later in the film.
One of my biggest complaints about the Craig era is the rushing and usage of the SPECTRE organization, but their best scene is the action in the PTS. Bond finding the octopus insignia was cool, and Madeleine's phone warping to the octopus with Blofeld's muffled voice coming through. I know he isn't overfilled with personality, but I actually like Primo quite a bit. Craig's tenure is a bit lacking in strong henchmen, but he's one of my more liked ones, especially the bionic eyeball detail - loved that bit with Bond smashing it out and making a funny look. One of my favorite lines is just before the PTS closes: "You won't. You'll never see me again." Which was just as eye-watering as the ending really. I would think many who've been through heartbreak can relate on some level. But yeah - the stakes, emotion, and action of the PTS are absolutely ferocious, and a far cry from the disappointing action in SP. I think Bond's minigun donuts will go down as a classic, iconic Bond scene.
The title sequence is nice - not my favorite, but probably somewhere in my Top 15. And I've been a fan of Billie Eilish's song since the beginning - very nice addition to the canon. The break-in scene at the lab is good. Valdo is one of the more odd parts of the movie, which can be for better or worse at times tonally. He's got funny moments, but it can get a little much at times, like towards the end of the lab break-in. All the scenes in Jamaica are gems - absolutely gorgeous location, and I think almost all of us were more than happy to see Felix back. One of my favorite lines: "Who's the book of Mormon?" Or however Bond phrased it! Also, a very small but important detail I LOVED: Primo's subtle inclusion in the nightclub. Totally classic Bond thing that can be taken for granted. Nomi's introduction is good. Craig and Lynch have solid chemistry all the way, and I was pleasantly surprised just how much I liked Nomi's character.
It's beating a dead horse, but yes, the Cuba sequence is a big highlight - not just of the film, but the series. Ana de Armas' Paloma is so lovable, I think most of us wish she got an opportunity as a main Bond girl (not too late?). The abrupt killing of all the SPECTRE agents is a way to tidy up all Craig era loose ends, though a bit of a letdown and reminder of the wasted potential with bringing them back into Craig's timeline. I love Blofeld using the eye though and his voiceover moments; everything about him is much better done in this movie than SP. Felix's death is brutal - Jeffrey Wright has gone down easily as my favorite incarnation of the character. %&@$ Ash.
Bond returning to London does slow things down a bit in pacing, but most of the scenes are good. His first scene with M is the best interaction Craig had with Fiennes, felt Bernard Lee emitting from the latter a lot here. Q and Moneypenny are so great again, used better than SP I think. The Blofeld scene is one of my favorites. We get a lovely nod to the YOLT novel, but with a twist. Craig's look of intense sadness and then anger in those last moments are epic. If we could have gotten more of this kind of stuff between Craig and Waltz in SP, holy goodness. Also, the scene with Safin coming back to meet Madeleine is great. I don't get the hate for Rami Malek in this movie - I really think he was exceptional. His romantic affection for Madeleine is delightfully twisted as sin and also original for a Bond villain.
So, the reuniting of Bond and Madeleine is sweet, and their child Mathilde is used really well in the movie - not loud, obnoxious, or obtrusive, just serves the purpose of adding another unique element to the Bond film canon. The forest action scene in Norway's pretty awesome. Eerie and different. Bond taking vengeance on Ash is super satisfying and a lovely callback to FYEO. Bond and Nomi starting to get along is nice - I like a lot she gives him the 007 moniker back as a sign of respect. The film appropriately treats them as equals - not some woke BS like you may have suspected from click-baity articles.
The climax is pretty intense, definitely much more thrilling than anything SP could muster (I know, I've compared a lot, I just always think about how much stronger a conclusion this was for me than SP would have been). It's a lot more "pleasant" to get to the ending and know fully what to expect, haha. Still an absolute heartbreaker - but I do think it's a neat, classic Greek tragedy that Safin prevents Bond from ever being able to touch his family again. A nice Fleming callback again with the little memorial MI6 has and the quote. The ending is definitely a downer, but it makes more sense than a happy, storybook ending I suppose.
Overall, the film is very strong, and I'm honestly quite impressed with what they were able to accomplish while being a direct sequel to SP. Madeleine's character was improved significantly, Craig's Bond performance is probably the most impressive of any Bond performance in the whole series, the baddies are very good (Safin is a Top 10 for me), the DNA plot is scary and interesting, all the MI6 crew are top of their game, Zimmer's soundtrack is a slam-dunk, the action is some of the best... yeah, I like this movie an awful lot haha. My biggest issues are a few tonally jarring bits (primarily concerning Valdo), mixed results from SPECTRE's appearance, and just a bit of sagging in the pacing in London and the climax.
I'm so glad I saw this in theaters one more time. It did deserve the big screen and I'm glad it got it. Worth waiting the extra couple years? Not sure about that, but it was great nonetheless haha. Daniel Craig was truly the best aspect - there's no doubting he gave it his all here, as did everyone on the team that made this. It's not perfect, it's not the best ever Bond film for me, but it is extremely good. I'm very, very happy with it, and I think it has a special place in the canon now.