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(Ducks for cover and runs)
Just watched the second film, you are in for a treat on 4K its impressive.
Bond has to be its own thing I agree, though I have always liked the Mission Impossible films, there is always room for alternate Spy movies.
Yes, I do appreciate the overly serious spy of say a John le Carré, or Clancy, or a Bourne flick, or a super spy team like the mission impossible franchise. I just think Bond is none of those things. I don't even like when they refer to him as being an Agent or a Spy. He is a member of Her Majesty's Government, an employee with panache and flair and a penchant for the old ways. A far more polished affair than the others if you ask me.
Bond is my favourite then it's probably Palmer and The Saint from TV and Film. I loved the 60's Mission Impossible TV series and the respective movies great escapism. My favourite Bond movies are FRWL, TB. OHMSS and DN. As much as I love old school spies I can also enjoy the more light hearted takes like Helm, Flint. U.N.C.L.E and Powers.
In terms of action films, M:I is showing Bond how it's done, that's for damn sure.
@Fire_and_Ice_Returns, I already own the series on 4K and have watched them all. They're all damn good looking; the first one looks like it could've been released a few years ago, it's crackling with quality.
I know many consider Bond an action film. I don't. It has got action, big action set pieces, but it's not all about that. The script shouldn't be build around the action pieces. Fallout script was written on top of a knee and around Tom Cruise capacities as a ver able stuntman and actor. It was a very talented hand and knee, that's for sure. But Bond should be about style and cleverness, it should be intelligent, suave, and polished. For me, Bond shouldn't (only) be an action franchise.
And I liked Fallout, I just don't think it was all that good. Thought the same about Ghost Protocol. Good action spy team flicks. OTT and very, very American, albeit set in several locations - all of this globetrotting is another worry for me. Bond is old school, old continent, a relic, a polished clever and depressed man that finds compensation in several pleasures, in a burned, blunt, idiotic world filled with bureaucrats and maniacs.
Tom Cruise is unbeatable action wise. It's all about him. M:I isn't showing Bond nothing. Tom Cruise is showing cinema how to do action. He's the best at it. The no CG effects agenda is wonderful. I'm all for it. The Bond franchise should learn from that. But from nothing else. No Bond team!
Of course forgot you bought the boxset tired mind on my part, watching 3 now looks good that first scene is intense, I am glad I have not watched the films for a few years it was worth waiting for the 4K releases.
@Fire_and_Ice_Returns, no matter how much I watch 3, I just don't care for it the way almost everyone else seems to. At this rate, I doubt I ever will, but it's still enjoyable enough that it warranted a purchase alongside the others, and it was actually the first one I got to see in theaters.
The Berlin scene looks fantastic, 3 has more melodrama than the others though I still enjoy it, its ranked only above 2 for me. I watched it at the cinema also, I was hyped for 3 at the time as I thought J. J. was a good choice as director after some of his TV work.
Case in point: not only is Wolf Blitzer used in exactly the same way as he was in SF, he speaks the same basic line: "In what appears to be a terrorist attack..." Seriously????
And the script is dreadful. Those who complain about dialogie in SP need to watch this piece of junk. I can’t believe I had to listen to Cruise and Pegg pontificate on “I’m relaxed” for two minutes. Just terrible dialogue throughout this film, overly didactic.
I’ll take Bond, thank you.
The third one is the best one if you ask me.
The question is are they legitimizing CNN or the opposite?
With you on this. I found most of the dialogue fairly strong and efficient when it came to balancing plot and character. The only one I didn't like was "I have no line" which I mentioned above and I think I'm in the minority on that example.
Fallout is front-loaded with exposition, of course. A necessary evil, I would say. But it all worked pretty well, and is very rewarding on repeat viewing.
I've (always) done the same with Bond, but lately - and I don't want to keep rehashing my negativity of the era these days - I have issues with so many aspects of the film (SP in particular) that all the negative bits and bobs are the only things that stand out.
That's true. It would be the same for me -
and funnily enough while I would usually be against that sort of heavy explaining at the front of a film's runtime and would normally criticise a film heavily for it, Fallout only works as well as it does because of it. The stakes are set high right from the off, and the action scenes are given added weight. They'd work as top notch action scenes regardless, but the film has your attention and your involvement right from the get-go. It means that the action is integrated into the plot rather than just being an add-on. You know exactly the consequences should the team fail.
Quite remarkable, considering their process of coming up with stunts before deciding on a story.
I think ghost protocol is the film which actually stands out with franchise's best stunt. Even though Rogue nation had a lot of rip-off scenes still i am enjoying it the most these days(plane stunt/ underwater task/opera scenes were really a piece of art /bike chase/ final showdown in London's darker environment.)
But the dialogue throughout? Eeeck. "I'm a doctor, not an electrician."
McQuarrie went full Bond with Ethan grabbing hold of the elevator undercarriage; Hunt's black suede jacket over black turtleneck sweater; Solomon Lane looking haggered like Mr. White; black helicopters in the snow; the need to turn off nuclear bombs as they count down.
This doesn't mean I don't find a terrific escape in this MI film, along with the others. But there's nothing here (save for the car chase) that Bond films need to emulate.
There are many franchises which focus on action and have audacious sequences, but I find many of them quite unmemorable. These MI films are all about teamwork and beating impossible odds as a result of it. The stakes are tremendously high, and it works because we care about the characters involved in the team. If we didn't I'm sure these films wouldn't be so well thought of. Action for the sake of action just wouldn't cut it.
RN is probably my favourite at the moment although I agree that GP had the most memorable stunt. RN feels more down to earth in a way (in comparison to FO or GP), but is very well executed from start to finish. I love the tone of it, the pace, humour and suspense.
I don't think people are asking for Bond to emulate MI. Bond is Bond and MI is MI. It's always been that way. Is there some overlap? Sure, and there always has been. It's inherent to this genre that some elements will seem similar.
I think what some (or at least I) would like is for Bond films to go back to the tone they had before and be primarily plot (as opposed to internal character) driven. I personally would also like state of the art stuntwork and action sequences like they used to do before. There's really been nothing in a Bond film which has grabbed me on that front since the CR parkour 12 years ago. If you're going to do it, do it well.
The last three MI films have a tone which sits well with me and remind me of the earlier Bond films. These newer films also have great repeat watchability for me as well, which again is similar to those older Bond films. It's primarily because of the tone.
You didn’t recognize it as a Star Trek line? I am sure it was a tongue and cheek homage, but was oddly placed. LOL