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
[img]<img src="http://twinsdaily.com/uploads/monthly_08_2015/post-59-0-46264100-1440432629.gif"/>[/img]
I guess it takes a new Bond film to bring me back here. I left years ago soon after the forum overhaul. Most of you probably have no idea who I am, but if you do, Hi!
I went in to Skyfall with very few spoilers. I knew Waltz would likely be Blofeld, and I knew Monica Belluci was going to be a Bond girl. Obviously it was going to be about Spectre. That's all I knew. I like being spoiler free at this point in my life.
The good: I felt like the film had a very strong start, right from the classic gun barrel. I had all kinds of nostalgic feelings. When I saw the opening scene was at a Dia de Los Muertos celebration, I was enthralled. Classic style Bond locale. The long, uncut shot was incredible and so well done. I was very impressed. I thought the humor in this film was on point. Loved the "mouse moment" and I'm sure none of you were thinking the "C word" was careless :)) . The locations were beautiful, as was the fashion. I love Christoph Waltz, but I'll mention that more in my disappointments.
The "meh": The villain "plot" in this film is weak and unoriginal. Oh, they're harvesting information? What are they going to do with it? Do I care? No. Every other Bond film has had a more entertaining villain plot than this. I would rather have something ridiculous like trying to blow up the moon than something so bland. I think the fact that Blofeld is supposed to be responsible for every other villain plot in the previous Craig films is supposed to carry this film, but that doesn't work for me. I feel like James Bond has kept the politics to a minimum in the past, and this was way to heavy on that. Also, I didn't care for the opening song. Sounded like a generic romantic tune to me, and I don't care for Sam Smith.
The disappointing: I was super excited that Christoph Waltz was going to be the villain, but I don't feel like he was given enough to work with, as well as not having enough screen time. I could have done with a lot less of Q and Moneypenny, and more Blofeld screen time. (Ralph Fiennes as M was fantastic, I was fine with that). I was also really thrilled when I heard Monica Belluci would be a Bond girl. People have been wanting it for year, and you actually have someone of a proper age for Bond. Barely in the film. Just a huge disappointment for me personally.
The final word: All I heard about the film before seeing it was that Skyfall was better. It was. I will hold my pee during a movie if I think it's worth it. I did for Spectre, and it really wasn't. (I'm also 15 weeks pregnant, so holding my pee was probably a bad idea in general. I'm all crampy, now....)
;)
I can't believe I've failed to mention this, too, but the biggest surprise for me in SP? The fact that Lucia makes it out alive! The way her character was set up and the footage I saw in the trailers, I would've bet a good amount of money that we'd get our fourth Bond movie in a row where one of the main Bond girls was killed off. Very happy to see that this wasn't the case! She deserved better than some quick death.
Thanks very much for your interest, I've been reviewing them gradually in the "last Bond movie you watched" thread. The Dr. No review is on page 136, and they proceed from there. I've got rankings up on the Bond rankings thread, I can repost them here if you'd like.
With regard to the Silva bit, for both you and @chrisisall, I suppose it makes some sense if Silva did some hacking work for Spectre on the side and they provided him with his henchmen as payment. But the way Blofeld presents it is as if Silva was working for them the whole time, and that I simply cannot abide.
1. Goldfinger
2. From Russia With Love
3. Casino Royale
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. GoldenEye
6. Skyfall
7. The Spy Who Loved Me
8. Dr. No
9. Licence to Kill
10. For Your Eyes Only
11. The Living Daylights
12. You Only Live Twice
13. Tomorrow Never Dies
14. Thunderball
15. Quantum of Solace
16. Spectre
17. Octopussy
18. The World Is Not Enough
19. Live and Let Die
20. Diamonds are Forever
21. A View to a Kill
22. Die Another Day
23. The Man with the Golden Gun
24. Moonraker
I'll let you know how it changes after a rewatch in the theaters and maybe on DVD, @Creasy47.
Basically, as I expected, .. I loved it!
This is by all means a James Bond movie, and a good one! It has ALL the elements that made this series so successful (great locations, lots of over the top action, beautiful women, the vodka martinis and the gadgets, the JB wit we got used to, and so on).
It is not, obviously then, as deep and character driven as SKYFALL, nor as perfectly structured as Casino Royale, but it is by all means highly entertaining and damn fun to watch.
Anyway, will have to see it again to have a final evaluation. It will, nevertheless, surely make my Top 5 list (still it won’t top OHMSS as my number 1 or CR as my number 1 DC James Bond movie)
Likes/Plus (+):
- The Morocco PTS (from start to finish a triumph) – the highlight of the film;
- The titles sequence (DK’s second best after Goldeneye);
- Against my initial belief, the Thomas Newman score works beautifully in the film (even in the Action scenes);
- The fight scene in the train (really brutal!);
- The dialogues scenes between Bond and Lucia Sciarra (Monica Belucci…..dio mio!!);
Dislikes/Minus (-):
- Christoph Waltz didn’t seem as menacing as I expected;
- The Morocco scenes, although well filmed, are not as impactful as the rest of the film.
Note: I loved the “Hildebrandt” line…
If the movie had toned down a bit of the action in order to further develop the (romantic) relation between Bond and Swann it would be a contender for my top 3.
After just one viewing and regarding an Overall Rating I will give it an 8 out of 10 (or a 4+ out of 5).
I will share a more detailed (and final) review next week after seeing it a second time.
Not sure if someone has already mentioned it - there's an applie iOS app where it's effectively a camera where you hold it to frame a picture and instead of simply capturing a photo if changes words present into a different chosen language. - it's to help bridge language barriers on holiday and iirc it's even free and almost instantaneous - look it up it exists on a mobile phone so why not a desktop application?
That was a great moment. I'm not really a big fan of boat chases but seeing Bond pick up Swann and jump down onto the net with the score playing and then Bond poised with his gun to shoot down the chopper with the da da da daaaaaaa...da da da diiiiiiiiiiiiii. Had me smiling all 4 times.
I definitely liked the moment Bond and Madeline escape on the boat too. A glum M surveys the building collapsing and then his top agent emerges from the dust still in pursuit of Blofeld.
;)
http://www.vulture.com/2015/11/review-spectre-is-modern-bond-done-well-enough.html
I mean come on, look at that scene when Lucia is about to be murdered, only for her would be assassins to be killed with such cool nonchalance by Bond who then swaggers into frame and focus, oozing with a relaxed confidence, I dare say Craig came pretty damn close to matching King Connery himself in that scene and I don't say that lightly.
I think a lot people misinterpreted Silva's escape from the beginning. With or without Spectre, I always though it made sense. the key is to NOT believe Silva had "everything planned" as Q so suggests. He didn't. What Silva did was plant "the fear" that he was always ahead of the game. This is how he was able to get everyone "off the island." Remember what Severine told Bond: "What do you know about fear?" Bond said "Everything." She then says, "Not like this. Not like him." Indeed...it is fear that drives people (and governments) to overreact, as Q did, as Bond did, as most everyone did.
Oh god, don't remind me.
I'm sorry you didn't like it this time either @Birdleson. It's got some great moments, but I understand your frustrations, because it can be almost schizophrenic. The better bits do elevate it in a big way imho, and just watching Craig finally be 'total Bond' is worth the price of admission (twice and more!)
This film really missed Dench's gravitas (and I think you know I've not been her biggest proponent in the past......but she grounds the films she's in and even her little cameo here is what starts the whole thing off)
Rather than list all the things I liked, I will link to this review: http://jalopnik.com/spectre-the-classic-bond-movie-i-was-definitely-not-ex-1741078954
It's the best review I've read about why SP works so well, and why some of us badly wanted a correction from SF. This critic really, really gets it. Zalopnik is a car site. The critic is a big Bond fan and there are plenty of his interesting Bond film reviews you can read without a login account.
When Bond finds ESB behind the bulletproof glass, he confronts him. As they talk, the shot shows ESB's reflection superimposed over Bond's face. It's a nice touch.
@Ed83 You did miss something. The watch didn't blow up the whole place. It only caused minor damage in the torture room they were in. Bond and Madeleine escaped and later on, Bond shot a few gas tanks with the rifle when he was outside during his escape. That started a chain reaction and resulted in the huge explosion to the entire complex.
Hello, I am the author of all your... enjoyment! Thanks for reading; glad you liked it @smitty
Ha, that's great to hear! I enjoyed it both times, and I'll be seeing it in IMAX again this weekend just to make sure. I simply think people were expecting something else - to me this is like a You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, GoldenEye, or Thunderball type of movie, which I'm completely satisfied with.
Haha, I remember those days of the old forum! I still lurk on the new one every now and then, but no where near as much as back then. Been back on pretty frequently in the months leading up to Spectre though.
Dude... FUN. Bond is not reality. NO movie is reality. To attempt reality is to beg boredom. The more escapist the better, unless you're doing a documentary.