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Spectre versus the field: Skyfall

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  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Or was that his punchline?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I never jest (can't think of his punchline), and don't call me Shirley.
    Bond: You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.
    [Zao hits him in the stomach.]
    Zao: How's that for a punchline?

  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,197
    sorry but the concept of Zao was a catastrophe... I mean who thought that a man who has litereally diamonds in his face is a good idea? It is just ridiculous. I also wonder if his look was a little bit inspired by Gollum...
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    I liked it.
  • vzokvzok
    Posts: 4,044
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I never jest (can't think of his punchline), and don't call me Shirley.
    Bond: You know, I've missed your sparkling personality.
    [Zao hits him in the stomach.]
    Zao: How's that for a punchline?

    Bond: Fair to middling
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    GBF wrote: »
    sorry but the concept of Zao was a catastrophe... I mean who thought that a man who has litereally diamonds in his face is a good idea? It is just ridiculous. I also wonder if his look was a little bit inspired by Gollum...

    I agree. The "expensive acne" was just a terrible concept that should never have made it past the first draft. Par for the course with DAD though.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    What's so bad about it? It was a pretty cool and unique thing to happen to a Bond villain. It was especially very cool in the beginning of the film.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited January 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Zao wasn't particularly menacing (his voice was somewhat meek) and Rick Yune wasn't altogether physically imposing relative to Brosnan. Sure he was younger and fitter, but there wasn't anything special about him. Just an Asian thug.

    At least Stamper had some defect (eyes) and was physically imposing. Same goes for Hinx.

    Yune can be a good villain though. He was effective in Olympus Has Fallen
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Murdock wrote: »
    What's so bad about it?
    If it was visible at the surface no way would it just stay there- a hot shower wold make it pop out. Regardless the film is fun because of Pierce & Rosamund.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    What's so bad about it?
    If it was visible at the surface no way would it just stay there- a hot shower wold make it pop out. Regardless the film is fun because of Pierce & Rosamund.

    Maybe the C4 Bond used was a sticky bomb! ;)
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    I never had an issue with Zao, or the diamonds for that matter. Yet again, I'm also probably one of the more avid DAD defenders on here.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited January 2017 Posts: 17,801
    jake24 wrote: »
    I never had an issue with Zao, or the diamonds for that matter. Yet again, I'm also probably one of the more avid DAD defenders on here.
    You & I must join forces.

  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    I really like the Zao concept. Fleming could've written it.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    edited January 2017 Posts: 10,591
    Jinx has grown on me considerably. But I pretty much agree! Arnold delivers some phenomenal queues as well.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited January 2017 Posts: 17,801
    Over time I have gone from being (probably) the film's biggest detractor to one of it's strongest proponents. Yes, Jinx, some of the dialogue, Madonna's cameo, the finale and the CGI grotesqueness all suck; it will never be a Top Ten. But it is so good through long stretches, and it is so much fun. Pierce is great.

    Join Team DAD!
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    @RC7 I agree. In a film with many flaws, I found the eccentricity of zao's injury a very Flemingesque flourish and one of the things I sincerely enjoyed about the film.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    What's so bad about it?
    If it was visible at the surface no way would it just stay there- a hot shower wold make it pop out. Regardless the film is fun because of Pierce & Rosamund.

    Do we debate the logistics of Tee Hee's impossible mechanical arm or Jaws's improbable chompers? Or how about Dr. No's metal hands for that matter? Or the bullet in Renard's brain? (Well, okay, I've seen people go to town on that last one, but that's probably just because it was from a Brosnan film. Common thread here?)

    If we're going to dissect flicks like Die Another Day with a microscope of probability, let's be prepared to do the same for the films of Moore and Connery.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited January 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I don't have a problem with the diamonds. It's what one expects in a Bond film. It's just that Zao wasn't really all that threatening, despite those diamonds. Usually a henchman oddity has some harmful purpose (hat, teeth, nails, arm etc. etc.).

    Zao's man made pimples were about as effective as Nic Nac being short. Basically useless.
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    Posts: 6,432
    Zao was daft though DAD has a invisible car in it and Bond surfs a tidal waves, relatively speaking Zao was one of the most grounded aspects of DAD.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I agree with the overall sentiment, but it has nothing to do with bashing Brosnan. @chrisisall is one of the Pierce's (and his films) biggest proponents on here.
    pierce-brosnan-640x400.jpg
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I agree with the overall sentiment, but it has nothing to do with bashing Brosnan. @chrisisall is one of the Pierce's (and his films) biggest proponents on here.

    Ah yes, realized that after posting. I suppose it was more of a general statement I was making anyway, not so much directed at chrisisall.
    bondjames wrote: »
    I don't have a problem with the diamonds. It's what one expects in a Bond film. It's just that Zao wasn't really all that threatening, despite those diamonds. Usually a henchman oddity has some harmful purpose (hat, teeth, nails, arm etc. etc.).

    Zao's man made pimples were about as effective as Nic Nac being short. Basically useless.

    True, but sometimes the grotesque can just be for the sake of the grotesque and serve no greater purpose, like Blofeld's scar or Le Chiffre's deranged tear duct.
  • Major_BoothroydMajor_Boothroyd Republic of Isthmus
    Posts: 2,722
    bondjames wrote: »
    I don't have a problem with the diamonds. It's what one expects in a Bond film. It's just that Zao wasn't really all that threatening, despite those diamonds. Usually a henchman oddity has some harmful purpose (hat, teeth, nails, arm etc. etc.).

    Zao's man made pimples were about as effective as Nic Nac being short. Basically useless.

    Agree with this. I don't mind Zao, visually cool. He's fine as a henchman but they don't give him a real threatening scene. That's why I love Hinx from the beginning - cos you know hand-to-hand he can take Bond - so when the moment arrives (out of the blue too) the fight is suspenseful and tense and you can see Bond go from competing in the fight to just surviving to almost being defeated. Zao is decent though - and among the least of my issues with DAD!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Major_Boothroyd wrote: »
    I don't mind Zao, visually cool. He's fine as a henchman but they don't give him a real threatening scene. That's why I love Hinx from the beginning - cos you know hand-to-hand he can take Bond - so when the moment arrives (out of the blue too) the fight is suspenseful and tense and you can see Bond go from competing in the fight to just surviving to almost being defeated.
    This also is why Stamper is favourite Brosnan era henchman. ONLY Bond's wits save him!
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    The diamond face is just a step too far in my opinion. It's more like a cheap Fleming imitation than the real deal. I do like Rick Yune though.

    Also, if he's going through an expensive procedure like gene therapy, why can't he have surgery to remove the diamonds first?
  • QuantumOrganizationQuantumOrganization We have people everywhere
    Posts: 1,187
    RC7 wrote: »
    I really like the Zao concept. Fleming could've written it.

    I think you've had one too many vodka martinis...
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    pachazo wrote: »
    The diamond face is just a step too far in my opinion. It's more like a cheap Fleming imitation than the real deal. I do like Rick Yune though.

    Also, if he's going through an expensive procedure like gene therapy, why can't he have surgery to remove the diamonds first?

    If Stromberg can afford a submarine-eating super tanker and an underwater city capable of housing the dawn of a new civilization, why can't he afford a relatively minor and inexpensive surgery to separate the webbing from between his fingers—something he's clearly deeply ashamed of? Gah, it just makes no sense! ;)
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    pachazo wrote: »
    The diamond face is just a step too far in my opinion. It's more like a cheap Fleming imitation than the real deal. I do like Rick Yune though.

    Also, if he's going through an expensive procedure like gene therapy, why can't he have surgery to remove the diamonds first?

    If Stromberg can afford a submarine-eating super tanker and an underwater city capable of housing the dawn of a new civilization, why can't he afford a relatively minor and inexpensive surgery to separate the webbing from between his fingers—something he's clearly deeply ashamed of? Gah, it just makes no sense! ;)

    Oh, I agree with you. It's funny how some things in the Bond universe bother us while others don't.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    pachazo wrote: »
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    pachazo wrote: »
    The diamond face is just a step too far in my opinion. It's more like a cheap Fleming imitation than the real deal. I do like Rick Yune though.

    Also, if he's going through an expensive procedure like gene therapy, why can't he have surgery to remove the diamonds first?

    If Stromberg can afford a submarine-eating super tanker and an underwater city capable of housing the dawn of a new civilization, why can't he afford a relatively minor and inexpensive surgery to separate the webbing from between his fingers—something he's clearly deeply ashamed of? Gah, it just makes no sense! ;)

    Oh, I agree with you. It's funny how some things in the Bond universe bother us while others don't.

    Tim's movies are fine.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    edited January 2017 Posts: 6,844
    chrisisall wrote: »
    pachazo wrote: »
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    pachazo wrote: »
    The diamond face is just a step too far in my opinion. It's more like a cheap Fleming imitation than the real deal. I do like Rick Yune though.

    Also, if he's going through an expensive procedure like gene therapy, why can't he have surgery to remove the diamonds first?

    If Stromberg can afford a submarine-eating super tanker and an underwater city capable of housing the dawn of a new civilization, why can't he afford a relatively minor and inexpensive surgery to separate the webbing from between his fingers—something he's clearly deeply ashamed of? Gah, it just makes no sense! ;)

    Oh, I agree with you. It's funny how some things in the Bond universe bother us while others don't.

    Tim's movies are fine.

    Oh c'mon, are we seriously supposed to buy that you could strangle a man with a pair of 1980s headphones and still be able to play music through them? Those things lasted about 2-3 weeks tops until the tiny wires inside got disconnected just from day-to-day use! ;)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,801
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    pachazo wrote: »
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    pachazo wrote: »
    The diamond face is just a step too far in my opinion. It's more like a cheap Fleming imitation than the real deal. I do like Rick Yune though.

    Also, if he's going through an expensive procedure like gene therapy, why can't he have surgery to remove the diamonds first?

    If Stromberg can afford a submarine-eating super tanker and an underwater city capable of housing the dawn of a new civilization, why can't he afford a relatively minor and inexpensive surgery to separate the webbing from between his fingers—something he's clearly deeply ashamed of? Gah, it just makes no sense! ;)

    Oh, I agree with you. It's funny how some things in the Bond universe bother us while others don't.

    Tim's movies are fine.

    Oh c'mon, are we seriously supposed to buy that you could strangle a man with a pair of 1980s headphones and still be able to play music through them? Those things lasted about 2-3 weeks tops until the tiny wires inside got disconnected just from day-to-day use! ;)
    They were augmented wiring. Q Branch sort of stuff. Get real!
    :))
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