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I'm pretty sure the whole scene is about five minutes, but maybe that was a cute way of saying every single second of it is terrible.
I guess doing the exact same thing as Thunderball, etc was one option, but Bond's look of terror vs Blofeld's calm control really works for me. What's petty about Blofeld saying, "Hey James Bond, I know you're there. Took you long enough"?
I know I always just love everything Spectre, but I really think SP-NTTD gives the fullest Spectre story in the series, and we do see them at their most powerful, and it's pretty significant.
I also thought NTTD was able to cash Spectre's check pretty well. Doubling down on the mild retcon worked wonders for me in terms of making it feel real.
They didn't buy the rights to Spectre back, they won them back after a years-long legal battle. A little harder to time. But I agree, they could have executed the return a lot better; my understanding was they used Spectre and Blofeld as a way to lure Sam Mendes back, which probably wasn't the right move either, but one can see why they wanted to recapture that Mendes magic.
True. And yet, one could argue that SPECTRE was reintroduced in CR. 😉
It was a settlement.
https://variety.com/2013/biz/news/james-bond-right-dispute-ends-after-50-years-1200837571/
One certainly could but I never see it that way. There's nothing throughout CR-SF that has me feeling like Blofeld is secretly pulling the strings and they're never even a thought in my head when I rewatch them.
I'd certainly love to see another take on the group and Blofeld himself in the next era, provided they map that out from the start to a degree. I know they won't be able to get every single script finalized and complete before filming begins on the first but a little consistency would go a long way.
I definitely thought after CR, and certainly after QOS, "Oh, they're doing a secret criminal organization thing like SPECTRE...!
We are very much alike, then. I love to watch all the Bonds at night, but SP is a special nocturnal Bond for me.
Fair enough! Thanks for the link.
And then there's Blofeld. The casting of CW--which probably seemed an inspired choice prior to filming--was such a let down. Even Telly Savalas--who might not appear on anyone's potential Blofeld list--was far more interesting than Waltz. Then the reprise of the role in NTTD--this time with YOLT eye scar--and throw in an equally boring villain wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask (it's really Noh theatre, I know.) Three successive films featured a different Blofeld actor. CW could easily have been dumped for a more interesting portrayal. Villains are such an important part of crime and spy dramas. They need to be larger than life and memorable. Slow and calm like a snake about the strike is not terribly exciting. Waltz and Malek are not Anthony Hopkins. Two very accomplished actors wasted opportunities to be really great villains. The only pain Blofeld was the master of was the pain of seeing a wasted opportunity. Maybe it was the writing, the direction, or maybe they were just poor casting choices. Neither SP nor NTTD are bad films. But both could have been so much more.
I guess they kind of, sort of did used that idea in NTTD. But that was more a revenge plot on Bond, which really wasn't necessary, except to explain how the nanobots infect families.
But compare Bond giving up his life to escape the nanobots for Madeleine and Matilde to, say, May Day exploding herself to save Silicon Valley in AVTAK. I don't know, the second one just makes more sense.
Does the fact that Blofeld encounters Bond in OHMSS, and not know who he is, bother you less?
I am no fan of the foster brother element to SP, mostly because it was unnecessary. But now that DC's five films are done and in the past, it sort of works thematically and doesn't bother me nearly as much as it did 7 years ago.
Looking back at the Daniel era now with hindsight, I wonder what his 4th film would have looked like if they left Spectre in a drawer (like they did with Casino during the Pierce era) I doubt Bond would have fought Quantum and I doubt they would have referenced previous films as much. Maybe it would have been more exciting?
I agree about Waltz though, but maybe I wasn't as frustrated by it; I was fairly happy with what we got from Waltz on screen.
For me, it's the opposite, I do find Waltz' acting that carried the mediocre writing, his dialogues weren't that good, but I think it's Waltz' performance that carried it, he's menacing enough that he could conceal the flaws of the character.
The idea of a Bond villain having some personal connections to Bond isn't really good, I mean Bond works for the Government, he's an Agent serving the England, then to have the villain all of a sudden his relative was a bit of "it's a small world" thing for me, it's too exclusive, and made it looked like that Bond compromised England more because of his personal connections, his step brother.
That's why I'm not a fan of "everything revolving around Bond himself", he should be as one of the backgrounds of the plot, while still keeping him as the Central Character.
Though, I would have liked it more if it's a relative of a former villain trying to make some revenge against England and Bond (maybe, an avenging relative of one of Bond's past villains).
Like Goldfingers twin brother in DAF?
The PTS is really good IMO and I even like the theme song...
The Bond/M scene is abysmal and Bond comes across as a total knob. Then it's all fine up to the Spectre meeting, which just doesn't do it for me anymore. Then it's a big skip to L'American which is a nice moody scene. (Love that night shot looking over Tangier)
The Train scenes I find are the best moments in the film with one of the best Bond fights in the series. The meeting Blofeld scenes are all just OK, and I rather like the torture scene.
After that I can't watch anymore....
I love all the other Craig's to varying degrees and can watch all of them from beginning to end. One bad egg out of 5 ain't bad I suppose...
100% agree about the M meeting scene; I hate how Bond acts so disrespectfully in front of M, just doesn't suit their relationship as we know it (although I suppose it fits in this "Post-Judy Gareth Mallory As M Craig" continuity. I think I hold the entirety of the Rome stuff in higher regard than you perhaps (Bond stealing the DB10 and driving into Rome to the end of the car chase).
Love the Tangier stuff, really love the train stuff, love the lair and the torture scene despite some bad writing, and I find everything afterwards a bit boring and tacked on (except Bond and Blofeld speaking on either side of the glass... really love that).
Yeah, the confrontation either side of the glass isn't bad, but it's stuck in the middle of a mainly terrible third act.
During a Daniel Craig marathon, simply:
- Stop Spectre after Blofeld’s base explodes (assume Blofeld survives and is captured).
- Immediately start No Time To Die.
- Stop watching NTTD after Bond handles the SUV’s and Logan In Norway (assume Safin was also killed).
- Cut back to Bond and Mad driving into sunset from Spectre.
James Bond Will Return
In a Craig marathon, I simply:
Swap Spectre and NTTD.
(Nah, I'd just watch all five)