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
Have you seen, 'The Devil Rides Out'?
Brett " Sherlock Holmes" series.
If we don't get this thread back on topic soon I just know I'll start musing on a 'what if...' with regards to Jeremy Brett as Bond. He'd have been an interesting choice back in the 60s with probably the intensity of Dalton.
Anyway sorry Mods...here's to the next reviews!
This is interesting because you've basically highlighted the significance of Vesper's role, impact and shaping of Bond's character and see the effects of this as a negative.
With the very few minor exceptions Bond is supposed to be jaded towards relationships with women and treat them as superfluous and disposable pleasures and his treatment of women expertly described by Vesper herself upon meeting him who also happened to be the person who set that character disposition firmly in stone by compromosing his trust and breaking his heart.
Bond is now back to business not giving much of a damn and will do what he must and have a good time while doing so. Does that make him unlikable? Depends on who you ask but it's a quintessential Bond attribute. For years people cried out for, "The Bond we all know and love" and when we get it they have an issue with it. It's strange.
Haven't seen either.
Will post SP observations on weekend.
Should be a flood from those of us in the colonies this weekend!
Get, 'The Devil Rides Out'. You won't be disappointed. Chris Lee is awesome in it too.
why can't the next movie kick off when SP ends? will DC have aged too much
===I've been saying for 10 months, since the leaks, that SP was setting up for an OHMSS, Fleming Shatterhand/Castle of Death continuation.
Final version of SP has toned this possibility down a bit, but its still very much there.
In fact even probable I'd say, especially considering the talk that both Seydoux and Waltz were approached to return.
Haha! That is insane. QoS 24 times at the cinema?? Wow.
The Shatterhand idea is absolutely feasible imo.
Times Talk with Sam and Daniel om the 4th.
There will be a livestream.
https://events.newschool.edu/event/ny_timestalks_at_the_new_school_daniel_craig_and_sam_mendes#.VjX1WNLhArh
Anybody able to tape it?
Yeah, glutton for punishment me! Ironically my favourite, CR, is (not counting the new kid on the block) the one I saw the least whilst my least favourite, QOS, is the one I saw the most. It's all down to how much time I can get off work and how long the film hangs around on the big screen for.
I didn't want to post again on this but since it's been brought up again I have to set the record straight
@Thunderpussy and @patb were explicit in wanting Q to be outed in order to 'update' Bond. You stayed around and endorsed their posts.
I think Henderson is a great example where his sexuality is not gratuitous. It's there as a subtle joke. It would fly over the heads of children. It's not shoved in your face. They didn't have to fear the thought police in those days so there was nothing forced about their quirky characters. Gray is again camp as Blofeld. His sexuality? Irrelevant and uninteresting, and therefore never mentioned.
I hope this lets people see my argument a little clearer. I don't want PC stunts in Bond.
So, here is my review - although only saw it in German this time.
What's not to love?
Daniel looks his best since CR, which will always remain my favourite of his. But Spectre is second.
They gave the film air to breathe, the plot made sense, I loved the humour parts and how Daniel was up for it. Didn't even missed any naked scenes. :D Would have been nice, but not necessary for the plot.
I thought Monicas part was not too short. She made sense for as long as she was there - to get information out of her. But that was it.
Lea was good and there was a lot going on between the two just by glances. I found it totally believable, that she would fall in love with him and when she finally said it, it made sense.
Hinx was scary enough and the fight was brutal. I thought, they could have filmed it from farther away, so you could see better, was really was going on.
I really liked the London part at the end. I didn't expect that. That was more thriller then action film. Great.
The lesser parts were the always gloomy colours. That really bugged me. Why? All the orange.
Waltz was on par with Almaric. Not really threatening, not mad enough. There was danger, yes, by what was going on, but I didn't see the madness in his eyes. Sorry Christoph Laughing
And yes, the middle part was a bit long at times but then again, there were many little bits, that belonged in there and I am sure, I will enjoy them even more the next time around. I liked it, that they took time to not hurry from action to action.
That was cute with the mouse. Nice little tidbits.
Or did those missions and events have a basis in any event? IE would QUANTUM's schemes have gone ahead and were in motion anyway?
Or DOES the entire world revolve around the Bond v 'Him' rivalry now??
And are we also to assume Bond had multiple missions meantime that at least had SOME lack of continuity to this new twist??
Yeah, but apparently they rewrote the dialogue. There are a few people who read the leaked transcripts who hate it.
My advice. Go and watch it again, engage your brain and then use it.
HATE that 'twist'
the twist as in..spoiler..what is motivating the big baddie
Can you explain more about the bold part?
Huh ? Craig lived with a mouse ?
Don't worry. You're not the only one who has a problem with that. I thought they botched the Blofeld character actually.
THIS WILL BE A SPOILER HEAVY POST.
In the end..I like it.
But..there are a lot of things to pick on.
I mean..I can talk about Bond being fine after his mind has been drilled and him casually breaking the ropes on his hands or stuff like that but let's put it into "movie stuff" that I sometimes notice and sometimes I didn't as I was into the movie.
The first half of the movie is really walking the Brosnan line. Bond is good..everything is alright, there's nothing to hate on....but nothing is really happening. Sort of like TND (and the plot of someone watching everyone ? hmm..sorta reminded me of TND)
The last 40-50 mins of the movie were great. Starting from the fight in the train which was one of the greatest fight (if not my fave) hand to hand combat scenes in the franchise. With Hinx (wait...why the fuck no one mentioned his name in the movie? How are we supposed to know his name ? At least they mention Grant's name in FRWL as far as I remember) saying one word entire movie "Shit", to the transition between tension to Bond/Swann foreplay it was a great scene. The scenery in Morocco was great as well. The villain having his own lair was great as well. Like I said i really enjoyed everything from the train fight till the end..even though you can hate on some scenes (like...why did they go to Waltz's lair like that ? Why didn't he kill him ? Why was Hinx's last word and his death so cartoony ? Are we sure he's dead?)
Waltz was great in the movie. He is a great actor and great villain. (not necessarily his character in SPECTRE but overall in his career). The PTS was overhyped. It was good, one of the better ones maybe but..it's overhyped. Sure it's fine but..eh. It was better than Skyfall. I enjoyed the car chase in QoS and the CR PTS more but the SP one was decent.
Buuuut...what the fuck was with that couch gag ? Come on...don't thread on Moore category..I know people say "ooooh too dark is a gimmick" but...dont' be afraid to make dark bond movies...
I really like the "new" M and Q. Whishaw as Q is amazing. Craig is cool but he had better showings as Bond. I was not big fan of Swann, cause I think the movie made her to be a big important character and she didn't feel like one. Like...one scene she leaves Bond....the next they leave together ? WTF?
Bellucci was too big of a name to have a 1 min. role only..but it's a dream come true so I'm glad she's in the movie.
Now.......Bond's adoptive bro.....is Blofeld...really ? REALLY? REALLY? Come on....this is such a Austin Powers movie.....like.....there are A LOT of other better ideas...I swear I could have wrote something better than that.... I meant.. I liked when Blofeld talked to Bond at the end mostly cause of Hoytema's execution of that scene (it looked like Blofeld talked to himself). Waltz is great..and him as Blofeld is not a bad idea..quite the contrary...buuuut....this being a "twist" is...come on MGM...we all called this years ago....
Also...was I the only one reminded of Carte Blanche with Blofeld's lair ? It sorta reminded me of the villain' lair in it....
I liked the Hildebrand Rarity reference in the movie.
I still dislike almost hate the Blackeypenny. It's nothing like what Moneypenny's supposed to be, they totally "modernized" her character and she's annoying even.
Andrew Scott had "villain" written on his forehead since one year ago.
Another thing I disliked was...F***ING OCTOPUSSES IN THE TITLE SEQUENCE..
It's a ghost...a specter...you know ? Like the name of the movie ? Come on..I mean..the octopusses looked fine...but that's not what the logo is...also at some point I saw a Octopus with 5 arms(/legs?) around Waltz in the title sequence.
It was nice seeing references to the past movies in the title sequence, but I don't like seeing actual people in title sequences....I liked the theme song on the big screen..idk being hyped made it's part but the song sounded well in the movie.
I disliked how the movie ended like...it's end of the franchise..
I give this movie 7.5/10 because..I mean..it's easier to spot the bad things..it's like I wanted to subconsciously to hate the movie maybe.
The train fight would have been better if it was one shot I think. The car chase wasn't that great. The SPECTRE conference was amazing, and it was one of the few chances they gave Van Hoytema to show what he can. Hinx was alright but he could have been better.
Another thing I might forget about this movie....Why were Lea Seydoux's eyes black in some scenes and blue in other scenes ?
I'm going to see this movie again in hopes I'll enjoy it even more. I saw Skyfall 3 times and only at the 3rd time I started saying "ok....let's get to the interesting part now.."..I'll probably do it for SP for my only 2nd viewing.
Oh..I keep forgetting things...the plot of this movie was...more or less...literally the plot of Rogue Nation...I know someone that read the leaked script said this few months ago and I just came to realize it. I hope people don't think SP copied MI:RN.
In conclusion this movie felt like someone binge watched all Bond movies up to DAD. Took a week off and then binge watched the Craig ones so they tried to connect the things in Craig's movies with the things he remembers from the previous movies.
In the end...it maaay be the hype talking but I think this movie will probably crack my top10 Bond movie list. I mean..sure there are problems but..I enjoyed the last 40-50 mins and I was fine (not annoyed) with the earlier parts of the movie. Definitely weaker movie than SkyFall or Casino Royale but it sold itself better than QoS. I think QoS would have been like this movie if the attitude towards the movie for all people in it was a little bit better.
Also..I think that Craig might be getting tired from Bond so I hope he finds the strength to give 100% for B25 (I hope he returns) and they write an amazing script to send him off with a bang (and stop with some "revisionist history" like Blofeld being Bond's "bro")
P.S. Does anyone on the internet has a photo of the "James Bond will return" at the end of the movie credits ?
P.P.S. Did Craig ever appear on American talk shows for any Bond movie ?
It's certainly no Casino Royale, but I'm disappointed it didn't live up to Skyfall for me either.
When I first heard about them tying Blofeld's history and Bond's together I was a bit worried how they'd pull that off without it feeling contrived. Well, they couldn't. That felt incredibly forced - even more so when they tried to tie in the events of the last 3 films (especially Casino Royale - I can't really wrap my head around how Blofeld was 'behind' a mission that Bond was assigned to) I was honestly expecting a passing mention to Quantum, that Oberhouser/Blofeld wanted to do his own thing and then went and formed SPECTRE from the ashes of Quantum or something. Instead Blofeld's entire motivation is that he was jealous of Bond because his Dad spent time with him when they were kids? The tone of the movie was lighter, but they tried to tie in the last 3 films and make it some super emotional backstory that was meant to drive the movie? It just felt kind of odd at points.
Then you had Hinx and Swann that were extremely paper thin characters. Hinx said one word the whole time and was only shown on screen trying to kill people. He never even speaks to Blofeld. And then there's Swann who is always just kind of there - yet she and Bond fall in love? And then she leaves him, only to be walking away with him 15 minutes later? I wish they'd scrapped her character entirely and made Bellucci the main Bond girl.
Also I know that Bond films are known for globe trotting, but the best films IMO are the ones that establish a plot and pace part of the way through and stick with a location for the majority of the film. Casino Royale was great because the film had room to breathe while they were at the casino - Bond and Mathis had some scenes, Bond & Vesper had some scenes, and Bond & Le Chiffre had some scenes. This film felt like they were just trying to get done with the set piece in one location so they could hurry up to the next one and in the end it made it so the characters and plot had very little depth.
It sounds like I didn't enjoy it, but I did. I'd give it a 7/10 overall, but I was expecting a lot more from the trailers. I liked the added humor (although I'd argue that CR had just enough humor itself), but for them to act like Craig's whole era as Bond had building to this and have the whole thing just feel kind of weak to me was really disappointing.
ETA: Also, can they please get Arnold back? Newman is terrible.
Oberhauser was guardian to Bond, but I haven't seen movie, so I do defer to those that have.
@dragonsky re shatterhand castle etc
It does appear that Eon was setting up a potential OHMSS continuation, especially as Dec draft had Bond say to Swann as they drove off at end " We have all the time in the world"
We know what that means. Swann = dead meat. But they took that line out, but the fact that it was ever in, suggests they have been thinking in that direction.
What I would like to see is an OHMSS/ Fleming Shatterhand/Castle of Death continuation...but with no dead Swann.
She is not Tracy. Bond only has one true love. One wife for that matter. I do realize when it comes to book and film continuity though, nothing is engraved in stone. Virtually nothing is sacrosanct, so this is only what I WANT. My preference!
Bond-Swann evolve their romance into next film. Blofeld escapes, comes after them. Swann, again who is NOT Tracy and not wife, gets badly injured (but later recovers).
Bond goes full revenge and goes hard after Ernst. Cue Shatterhand/Castle Bunt etc
Doesn't have to be in Japan, although it could. This scenario is only YOLT inspired.
But Bond does not kill Blofeld!This is beause I would like Ernst to stick around as recurring nemesis. So instead we do a riff on the DAF pts. Bond thinks he kills Blofeld (welcome to hell etc) then he returns to Swann with the big bad now vanquished, or at least he thinks so, so he's good.
But Ernst returns a couple of movies later or even next film. New actor maybe.
Bond will just have to keep fighting him, so that we Blofeld-and-cat loving Bond fans can keep enjoying their battles.
Meanwhile Swann can move on.
We Fleming fans finally get our Castle of Death/Shatterhand story.
If we want the authentic Fleming YOLT film version, I think we have to wait for HBO to do the Fleming novels as a fresh mini-series. This idea has been discussed elsewhere on this forum in great detail.
Hopefully Eon can get on the Fleming books mini-series idea too.
==
@hillarybray 's wife's B25 treatment. I missed that. Is it on this thread somewhere or elsewhere on site? Sure would like to read that.
If they'd been building this up the whole time, and if this was the plan from the beginning, then Spectre could've finally been the much anticipated introduction of Blofeld. This wasn't the plan though - and in the end the entire plot behind Spectre seemed forced. And if I had my choice I'd prefer them to make Bond 25 as a total stand alone movie and then move on with a new actor. I'm not a fan of them trying to make this one whole Craig era fit together when that wasn't the plan from the start because it just makes the whole thing feel messy & forced. I'm really not a fan of the way they handled the plot and motivation behind Spectre.
As a casual fan of the series then I could probably look past that, but I'm more than a casual fan so I'm going to get overly focused on some of these things.