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In recent years the film has lost a bit of shine for me personally, it's not one of the films I could look forward to watching over and over again as I do about others, but still a good Bond movie nevertheless. Think Goldeneye is better though as a film.
It was action packed, it had a great story beat to it and a really interesting set of characters and a twist that I don't think the Bond films have replicated since.
The opening sequence was amazing, with a great soundtrack over it. Anyone else think the fiddle with the tie underwater was a real nod to Mr Roger Moore perhaps?
The film also had a great song for the credits and it deffo holds up well against the likes of many other Bond tunes.
A few fave scenes:
The caviar factory scene - Bond and helicopters make for GREAT action sequences, feel sorry for the BMW.
The ending at Maiden's Tower.
The ski sequence - Bond needs more scenes set against the slopes. When I saw this I really wanted one of them there para hawks.
An the scene in the bunker - I really loved Renard taunting Bond and Bond loosing it and pistol whipping the heck out of him.
It's without a doubt Brosnan's finest hour of Bond with TND coming a close second but here he really was Bond, James Bond.
I must admit though Elecktra's hat was a real disappointment lol
I just don't understand why this film has such a bad reputation round these parts. Surely my sentimental feeling towards this film (it was my first time seeing Bond on the big screen), has blinded me to the obvious?
Sophie Marceau is sexy and seductive, Robert Carlyle evokes genuine pity, and The Brozz turns in a supremely elegant and dangerous performance as Bond, plus the overall premise is inspired and all the Bondian attributes abound and in novel fashion.
Now in light of objectivity, I shall point out some of the film's flaws...
The more emotional nature of the script allows for some unintentional melodrama. (Primarily the scene between Bond and M in Scotland and the scene where Bond confronts Elektra.). I always imagined Bond being more still, in the two aforementioned scenes. Brosnan is too animated in those particular scenes. Fleming wrote that Bond is precise in his movements, decisive and economical. He wouldn't have acted like that. Just my two cents worth.
It sounds like I'm being too hard on The Brozz, but he's my childhood Bond, and he carries a special place in my heart.
To balance out, then, here are some moments in which Pierce Brosnan is just so smegging cool;
The ways he takes out the goons in the Banker's office
Sorting out the heavy, gaining access to Zukovsky's office
During the buzz-saw helicopter attack, Bond opens a trap-door, pushes a goon away, and fires straight up, through the floor, to a second goon.
I think thats a pretty accurate surmise.
In TWINE hes something of a pastiche of John Cleese/Basil Fawlty there for 'light relief' by just doing a load of unfunny pratfalls.
In DAD he is much better in terms of putting Bond down and the humour not being so forced. If they hadnt rebooted and had continued with Brozzas tenure I wouldnt have objected to him carrying on to be honest.
Give Whisaw time
For TWINE, there are some things I really love - starting with the outstanding PTS. I also thought Brosnan was fine, Sophie quite good in her role - not only lovely but a decent actress. And the ski chase ending with the avalanche was well portrayed and exciting. I guess my favorite thing about the whole film is the character of Valentin. I just love Robbie Coltrane in this role.
Biggest things that draw me to it so much are:
- Brosnan's performance, incredibly cool and also brilliantly dressed throughout. Example in Bilbao - sitting at that table Brosnan gets right up there with Connery for me.
- Electra - both her performance, role and discovery of her from captive to capture.
- The extended set up in MI6 both in London and Scotland, research on the kidknapp, confronting M, clearance by the doctor etc.
- Desmond Llewellyn' s final scene as Q - very sad watching back but a wonderful way to bow out.
- Great locations - They were all incredibly relevant as well, no sending Bond half way round the world for the fun of it.
- Song - not something rated by many I don't think but one I really like.
- PTS - The best there's been I think, if it looked that good in 1999 I can only imagine what it'd look like soaring through an even more built up, beautiful London of today. A fantastic opening, oh and the tie straightening underwater - somehow works for me.
Infact I think I'm going to get in from work and fire it on.
Denise Richards -- yes, she is horribly miscast but that doesn't ruin the entire movie for me.
Confusing Plot -- I'd rather have a complex plot than a simple plot centered on a base human emotion such as Skyfall's revenge plot.
Some ridiculous contrivances -- such as a lone woman attacking MI6 on open waters. Yes, scenes like this marr the movie but it's certainly not something we don't see in every other Bond movie including the far less original GE (such as the scene where Bond is about to be killed by being tied inside a helicopter that is about to be torpedoed, instead of simply shooting him). Also, this movie has far fewer and less severe plot holes than most Bond movies, including all the Brosnan Bonds.
A weak finale -- yes, this is a big weakness but is also a weakness that over half of all Bond movies suffer, including all the Brosnan Bonds. (DAD would have had a strong finale had it ended at the highly inventive ice palace.)
Weak and unoriginal henchmen -- made up for by great main villains.
Now the positives...
A realistic plot (centered on control of the world's oil supply) that is, nonetheless, filled with highly inventive, panache-laden Bondian action set pieces. (Admittedly, the plot has some similarity to the GF & AVTAK plots, but it's executed in a highly original manner).
A true espionage/detective story, with Bond relying on his wits and instincts, along with some elements of a real romance.
Along with FYEO (which is marred by a too-old Moore jarringly playing Bond as a completely different character than he'd previously played him), TWINE is the most action set-piece rich of all Bond movies. Indeed, I consider it to be one of the best action movies of all time. I admit that some aspects of the ski chase seem tired but that was made-up for by more inventive aspects of that chase. Many of TWINE's other actions scenes are simply outstanding and well-integrated into the plot.
The most character-rich story of any Bond movie until the Craig era.
It's Brosnan's best portrayal of Bond, expertly, finally fully comfortable in the role and now confidently combining the swagger of Connery, the camp humor of Moore and the serious, humanness and dashing violence of Dalton. (Later, in DAD, he'd become simply smug & cocky.)
The greater involvement of Dench's M.
The best set-up and delivery of the "Bond, James Bond" line outside of Connery and Craig's first Bond movies (better, even, than the very good set-up & delivery in both Moore's & Dalton's first Bond movies).
My favorite "bad" Bond woman of all time -- Sophie Marceau's Electra King -- and the originality of a female main villain.
The more realistic, less "black and white" difference between heroes and villains.
The clever Bondian conceit of a villain who can't feel pain (even if, like in most Bond movies, the set-up isn't followed through in a significant way).
The introduction of John Cleese as a highly inspired choice for a new Q.
Valentine Zukosky
The scene where Bond kills Elecktra.
Great gadgets, including the gadget-laden car, and the, admittedly slightly camp, x-ray glasses as a perfectly quintessential Bond gadget. (How is it no one thought of that one long before this!?)
Highly original and gritty locations for a Bond or any movie.
One of the best pre-credit sequences (utterly Bondian) of all Bonds (even if overly long).
A good theme song (admittedly though, accompanied by a too pornographic credits animation).
All-in-all, this one of the best balanced of all Bond movies since the Connery era -- expertly balancing a serious dramatic espionage thriller with a great action adventure movie with some fun camp. Despite its faults, this is Brosnan's best Bond, one of the best in the series (if not the best) and one of my favorite action/adventure/espionage/thriller movies of all time. I truly can't understand the hate. Of course it's not perfect. Like the rest of us, I'm still waiting on the perfect Bond movie which, so far, doesn't exist. TWINE is about as close as they get.
Denise Richards....as a nuclear scientist.....give me a break! :)
-Brosnan as Bond; I think he gave a good performance in every one of his movies, and this might be his greatest performance of them all.
-Elektra is a very good villain. I didn't like Renard all that much, but I think Elektra might be in my Top 10 main Bond villains (wouldn't both Elektra AND Renard count as main Bond villains?)
-Valentine: an very entertaining character, even better here than he was in GE.
-Desmond Llewelyn's final scene as Q. I think Brosnan had better chemistry with Llewelyn than any other Bond actor, and this final scene was just great.
-The epic, lengthy PTS. I'm sure for many, it's overlong and not that good, but for me it was great!
-Judi Dench as M. She gets a few more scenes than the last two films, and really beings to cement her place as my favorite M so far. This would be grandly culminated in SF.
-The story itself is pretty interesting. I like the mystery behind it.
Unfortunately, it has a few big problems, such as Denise Richards (UGH) being on the series' worst Bond girls, and just becoming a drag once Elektra is gone. Seriously - once Bond kills her, the movie just becomes flat.
I could probably think of more minor things that hinder it from ranking higher, but don't be fooled but a seemingly low ranking (16); I do enjoy this movie, and for me it's solidly ahead of TND and DAD.
I think TWINE has some strong moments. Brosnan's best, most assured performance of his 4. One of the first real attempts to make him vulnerable, which Brosnan spoke about at the time, with the shoulder injury and real feelings for Electra only for her to betray him.
A baddie who is dying but can't feel pain is very Fleming, not used very well, but good idea.
A female main villain was an attempt to shake things up a bit, getting Sophie Marceau was great casting.
The film looks great, Adrian Biddle made some of the scenes such as In Baku and the ski section look great.
Stand out scenes for me are Bond and M together in the Scottish castle, the bit where Bond asks to see Valentine and Bond killing Electra.
One criticism I've heard about TWINE is that the action is "over-the-top". Is it more over-the-top than the opening of GE or that same movie's tank chase tearing-up Moscow?? BTW, I loved both those scenes from GE. I expect over-the-top action in my Bond movies -- but I'd love it if a Bond story could ever be coherent. The fact that everyone in the entire world in GE speaks English as their first language was a major problem for me that kept taking me out of the story.
Another criticism TWINE receives of course, is the miscasting of Denise Richards (& lets not blame her personally)... While it was a serious miscasting, I don't find her character to be any more annoying than the silly Boris character in GE. I never hear complaints from others about him but I consider his to be the worst & most annoying character in a Bond movie since the sheriff in LALD & TMWTGG. I also didn't care for the CIA Wade character who came off more as possibly a European's view of a stereotypical American tourist.
GE also had the tired Bond cliche of Russian traitors as part of its plot. This plot device has been used in several Bond movies now. It's never sat well w/me that an enemy of Russia must always be an enemy of Bond. It didn't sit well w/me in the previous Bond movies when Russia was still part of the Soviet Union and it doesn't sit well w/me here where Russia (before Putin) was in the hands of western bankers and capitalists. And don't even get me started on the globalist media-pandering story angle involving the stupid Nazi-collaborator bit.
As for TND, I consider it the 2nd worst of Brosnan's Bonds -- putting it only ahead of DAD (I'm sure I don't need to explain my dislike of DAD, where Koreans are the stand-in for Bond's typical German baddies). TND portrayed Bond as Superman, not a spy, and, while it was packed w/action, the action was all boring and uninspired, much of the action also making no sense.
Another big problem I have w/TND is that its plot uses the tired Bond cliche of German villains (always stereotyped as the stand-in for nationalists) pitting world powers against each other, with Bond basically allying with a communist (as he's done many times) to come to the rescue of the globalist powers -- nauseating globalist propaganda. In TWINE, as in QoS and SP (apparently, I've not seen SP yet), Bond actually fights those with globalist intentions -- yea!
I suspect this is a big part the reason why the major critics, who work for the few owners of the world's major media concerns, who themselves work for the globalist bankers, have all panned TWINE, QofS & now SPECTRE -- pushing public opinion against viewing these movies. Anytime Bond fights globalists, the critics hate it (unless the globalist is a lone madmen working against the established powers). If Bond is fighting stand-ins for nationalists however (usually Germans in Bond movies but once Koreans), the globalist media critics usually love it -- unless the movie is just too darn awful (like DAD or AVTAK).
Anyway, so there ya go. A few posts back I explained why I love TWINE. Here, I wanted to explain why I put it ahead of GE & TND. (I should say though, I do still like GE, despite its problems. TND and DAD however, are both terrible, even if they do have entertaining moments.)