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Frankly put, Thunderball finds Fleming reaching the top of his hill creatively and personally. It’s all downhill from here…
At this point in his life, Fleming had made no secret of his desire to find a collaborator in plotting the further adventures of 007. He’d felt creatively wrung out with FRWL, and was finding the plotting of Bond’s escapades increasingly difficult. Additionally, he strongly believed that Bond’s best bet for increasing popularity lay in a cinematic adaptation of the character, and history has proven him entirely correct on that score. When established Hollywood presence Kevin McClory agreed to collaborate with Fleming on an original Bond script intended for film production, it appeared to Fleming that he had found the answer to his prayers. On this point, history has proven Fleming disastrously mistaken. Taking an existing Fleming storyline in which the Mafia gets its hands on an atomic bomb and proceeds to blackmail the Western powers, McClory brought in script writer Jack Whittingham, and (however the process occurred from there) the end result was Thunderball. Unfortunately, McClory was unable to bring this project to full fruition: no studio was willing to invest the money need to bring this script to the screen. At this point, Fleming made a disastrous mistake: in the absence of any contractual agreement specifying ownership of the storyline spawned by the collaboration of Fleming, McClory, and Whittingham….Fleming simply wrote his next James Bond novel using the storyline of the film script. McClory sued, claiming ownership of….just about everything in that film script, including the pre-existing character of James Bond. The stress of the resulting court brouhaha is widely believed to have contributed significantly to the strokes that subsequently took Fleming’s life a few years down the road.
It is not for me to judge the accuracy of anyone’s claims here. Certainly Fleming’s doctors had been urging him to make significant lifestyle changes (regarding his cholesterol-laden diet and his prodigious consumption of both alcohol and tobacco) long before Kevin McClory entered Ian Fleming’s life. Additionally, none of us are privy to the details of the collaboration between McClory, Whittingham, and Fleming. But when the dust settled, Whittingham took a financial settlement, McClory held the rights to produce Thunderball as a film, as well as holding certain rights to SPECTRE and the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld…and Fleming was well on his way to the grave.
I think it can easily be staed that Thunderball the novel carries a lot of weight in the life and work of Ian Fleming.
All that said, here is my review of the novel in question…
Despite all the complications involved, this is one of my favorite Bond novels. The characters of Bond, M, Domino, and Felix Leiter are far more fully fleshed out here than in the film…and the credulity-straining coincidences of the film are skillfully minimized by Fleming‘s assured prose. The villain’s scheme is one of the more believable plots in the entire Bond canon. And the origins of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, as well as the creation of his organization, Spectre, are excellently realized. There are only a few ways in which the film outpaces the novel here: there is no Fiona Volpe in the novel, more’s the pity. Instead, we are given extra time with Domino, time in which she spins a totally extraneous tale of her infatuation with a character on a cigarette pack…a tale which does a great deal to humanize the cipher Domino becomes in Thunderball the film, endearing Bond (and the audience) to her in a way the film never even attempts. Felix Leiter really shines in his guise as Bond’s “attorney” during their novelistic negotiations with Largo…in most of the Bond films, Leiter is little more than a plot device, but in Fleming’s hands, Leiter is a more entertaining character than is Bond himself. And both Bond’s and M’s reaction to the health cure offered at Shrublands constitute some very humorous highlights to this storyline. Given Fleming’s well-known aversion to any suggestions of lifestyle changes on his own part, this segment of the novel is a very curious segment of the Bond mythos. One almost wonders if Shrublands was indeed McClory’s most significant contribution to the Thunderball storyline. Given its’ substantial portion of the running time in Never Say Never Again, I’m inclined to suspect that McClory felt somewhat proprietary regarding this bit of the overall plot.
I also suspect that Fleming was running out of steam in writing the conclusion of the novel. It seems hurried and lacking in credibility in one important facet: in the novel, Domino has been tortured by Largo aboard the Disco Volante (just as in the film) -- but surprisingly, she shows up during the undersea battle between Spectre and the US Navy (with Bond leading the way) to drop Largo with a bolt from a spear gun after swimming a long stretch to join the battle. Her pain & exhaustion from her bout of torture be damned...Fleming has put Bond at Largo’s mercy, so Domino must be there to kill him. And then, BOOM! The story’s over. It’s like his editor told Fleming, “Hey! McClory’s got a lawsuit in the works! Hurry up & get us the manuscript so we can at least pretend it’s too late to change anything!” This is one of the few places where the film seems to have out-thought the novel. Largo & Bond are battling on an out-of-control Disco Volante, Domino has just been released from captivity by Kotze, she appears a few yards from the cabin where she had been held captive and kills her captor with a spear gun. Entirely plausible. If Fleming had been less rushed (by circumstance? by annoyance with the pending lawsuit?) he might very well have written it that way himself. As it is, Fleming’s problems with his one-time collaborator are only just beginning…..
I still need to see U.N.C.L.E. but I will soon as I can.
Offhand, I'd like to list just a few of the soundtracks and/or title songs from these films that are so memorable for me. There are many emotions one can feel from these. From any decade (not including musicals or Bond):
Born Free (how stirring that is! Still is; a timeless piece of music)
Rocky
Out of Africa
Chocolat
Shakespeare in Love
Lord of the Rings
As for @BeatlesSansEarmuffs review - that's excellent! Very good points and illuminating, dear Beatles. I appreciate you weighing in on this at this time. This story did happen at rather a crossroad in Fleming's life. I have not read it since I was a teen, but I will later. Thanks very much for your input on Thunderball.
ATTENTION ~ especially Originals (you know who you are) ;)
As of tomorrow, I will be posting the categories so we may finally - ta da! - begin our serious ranking of SPECTRE, in each category ... just as SirHenry always had it set up for our Originals reviews.
So maybe watch it again tonight, folks. Tomorrow this thread shifts gears and it's back to SPECTRE but with our best full reviews/ranking coming up. B-)
Cheers!
Please take a moment to reflect on this particular thread's previous reviews of all the official Bond films. I recommend going back and looking over a few of the reviews for Skyfall. (Begins with SirHenry's on page 27, then off & on the next many pages). Watch Spectre again. Write from your current standpoint (and please add any comments on your first impressions, what has changed, if you'd like). This review should be your "best shot", using the categories we have long established here.
Only Originals will count towards the official ranking in this thread - but I encourage all of you to please chime in with your own review, even if you are not an Original. And please do use this rating system if you'd care to. I do want to hear from all Originals, of course. That is important; this is the special thread for Originals. Their rankings will be tallied.
But other reviewers are indeed very welcome. I'd like folks to follow the categories, but it is not 100% mandatory. Just write sincerely (humor is a plus; I just mean write what you really feel about the film). So let me be clear: nonOriginals who do not care to use the categories or give a ranking, please just let us know your genuine thoughts on the film.
If you are new to this thread, or just have been absent for a good while, take a moment to look back at our discussion, our reviews and rankings of Skyfall (or indeed any of the Bond films; just skip around the pages - we reviewed & ranked all of them over 2 years). You will also see that people reviewed different films at different times, as we were reviewing all the Bond films, at our own pace. If you look at some past older pages (from page 3 up to page 64, which is the last full review we did - thanks, @BeatlesSansEarmuffs), you will get a feel for what I am trying to convey. And it takes time to get all Originals' reviews done, so you will notice we discuss plenty of things along the way.
Here are the categories to use (if you are an Original or if you choose to use these, as a nonOriginal):
Rate 1 thru 5
BOND-
WOMEN -
VILLAINS-
HUMOR-
ACTION-
SADISM-
LOCATIONS-
MUSIC-
GADGETS-
SUPPORTING CAST-
OVERALL THOUGHTS AND RECOLLECTIONS-
Mine will not be the first review as I need to rent Spectre and view it again. But do not wait for me. Have at it, fellow & sister Agents - onwards! SPECTRE - what is your verdict and review of it today? :-bd
This is just one example. Keep in mind your review can be much shorter, or longer, wherever it takes you ... ;)
SKYFALL
This IS the end…of my regular series of reviews of the James Bond films up to the current offering, Skyfall. Let me be succinct: I loved this movie. My enjoyment of Skyfall, and my curiosity as to its reception by Bond fandom en masse, is what led me to find the MI6-HQ website. My own desire to fully consider its place in the history of Bond films is largely responsible for the series of reviews I’ve been posting these last several months. While it is a very enjoyable film in its own right, Skyfall in many ways expands the mold of what is to be expected in a James Bond movie. Few would argue that it expands that mold past the breaking point, but many fans continue to pick nits with one aspect or another of this film. It’s too long, there’s not enough of Severine, there’s too much Tennyson; Silva’s computer expertise is too great or Q’s is not great enough. Several themes are developed in this movie that have never even been considered in another Bond film. All that stated and the validity of much of it acknowledged: how does this film stack up to what has gone before, and what does this lead us to expect for the future?
BOND: 5/5 Daniel Craig gives us his most finely-nuanced portrayal yet of 007. Confident to the point of arrogance, a lover of the finer things in life, Craig’s Bond in this storyline is the late-Fleming depiction of the character. He is very nearly burnt out and ready to retire…yet like a seasoned racehorse responding to the clarion call, he cannot rest when the trumpets of duty sound. This Bond has clearly had a number of adventures that we may or may not be fully aware of: he obviously is a legend to people like Eve or the new Q…and he has a right-hand side driving Aston Martin DB-5 in storage as a keepsake, one that is equipped with machine guns and an ejector seat. (The car he won in CR had its steering wheel on the left side, so this has got to be a totally different machine, one he received in a subsequent adventure.) Continuity be damned, this is an older Bond, one that is several years beyond the one we saw in QoS. This Bond has a dry, cynical, but very finely developed sense of humor. He knows perfectly well who he can trust: he’ll put his razor blade in Eve’s hands and offer up his throat to her. He is a consummate bluffer (“What makes you think this is my first time?”) but when the chips are down he will always find a way to play his hand in a winning fashion. And yet…this Bond has never had the full confidence of his M, and the knowledge rankles. “Take the bloody shot” nearly costs M her best agent, and only Bond’s devotion to country and his fellow agents brings him back from his enjoyment of death. Skyfall shows us Bond’s childhood fears as well as his driving forces as an adult…and it features Craig’s strongest performance to date.
WOMEN: 3.5/5 The most important women to this storyline will be discussed in the “Supporting Cast” section of our appraisal -- and this aspect of the film is only the most obvious of the unusual qualities we can find in Skyfall. The few real “Bond Girls” offered by this movie are Berenice Lim Marlohe as Severine, and Tonia Sotiropoulou as the Turkish woman who apparently rescues Bond from his watery near-grave at the commencement of the opening credits. We don’t really see much of Ms. Sotiropoulou other than to give us a sense of how Bond has been spending his time since his nearly fatal fall…or indeed, to give us the sense that she is probably the woman who fished Bond out of the river as Adele was beginning to sing. This leaves us with only Miss Marlohe to carry the full weight of this important category, and she does so superbly. Severine is a classic Flemingesque female character, another “Bird With One Wing Down,” and Marlohe plays her impeccably. She flaunts her sexuality boldly in the casino sequence…but the very real fear she holds for her captors is just barely hidden beneath the implacable surface she strives to present. When Silva kills her in the William Tell contest he’s holding with Bond, it is an effective shocker for the audience if not for Bond himself. We were expecting Bond to somehow be able to save her; that he does not fits the story arc perfectly but leaves the audience distinctly uneasy. I am confident that I am not alone in wishing that Severine were granted more screen time; her quick departure from our storyline is one of this film’s most disappointing facets to my way of thinking.
VILLAINS: 5/5 Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva is easily among the Top Five of Bond’s adversaries. His mesmerizing “Last Rat Standing” soliloquy is probably the most effective speech ever delivered by any Bond villain. If anyone has a more effective claim to being Bond’s polar opposite I can’t imagine who it would be; Silva leaves Alec Trevelayan in the dust in this regard. Silva’s hatred for M is well founded and effectively expressed. Mommy has indeed been very bad and Silva’s intended punishment of her is entirely understandable. It is, however, buttressed by a strong element is self-hatred as well. When Silva has his gun directly against M’s head he places his own skull next to hers in an almost loving fashion. He will kill himself at the same moment he kills her, thereby proving the superiority of his own love over Bond’s. Silva’s unnaturally-bleached blond hair coupled with his white clothing gives him a distinctively otherworldly appearance; his reveal of the hideous face he has been left with following the botched attempt at cyanide-assisted suicide only amplifies this point. Visually and emotionally, Silva is one of the most impressive adversaries in the Bond canon. His most notable henchman, Patrice, is almost -- but not quite--an afterthought as villains go. Played enigmatically by Ola Rapace, Patrice gives Bond a couple of harrowing fight scenes, and the chase across the roofs of the Grand Bazaar and onto the train is visually stunning…but we don’t have anything to go with in terms of his motivation. We see a lot more of Patrice than we do of Silva’s other hirelings -- and Silva has quite a few of them, he must be paying rather well -- but I’d have liked to have been given some sort of defining characteristics for Patrice. Something along the lines of “Vargas does not drink…he does not smoke…what DO you do, Vargas?” or even Elvis’ ridiculous wig, might have gone a long way toward making Patrice a more memorable character. I suppose Silva all by himself is memorable enough, though…
HUMOR: 4/5 The use of humor in this film is very nearly without fault. Bond’s repartee with Eve is particularly good, from their loss of car mirrors to the “Old dog…new tricks!” line as she wields the straight razor impeccably. Bond’s instruction to her in the casino, “Don’t put your hand to your ear!” is pure gold for fans who have been following Craig’s tenure as Bond. He and Silva also have a good sense of one-upsmanship in their rejoinders, commencing with the controversial line about Bond’s “first time” and ending with Bond drily noting, “Last Rat Standing!” as Silva breathes his last. The introduction of the new Q is similarly packed with laconic humor, and the pair accept each other as equals solely on the strength of their repartee. Craig’s response to the word-association test is also as dry as a shaken-not-stirred martini: “Murder?” “Employment.” The only place the humor in this film edges into Moore territory for me is with the subway commuter remarking that Bond seems to be in a hurry to get home, otherwise, the humor in this script manages to lighten up what could have been a very dour film quite admirably.
ACTION: 4.5/5 The PTS for this film is possibly the most exciting in series history. I particularly appreciated Bond leaping from the digger into the passenger section of the train, adjusting his cufflinks while stalking down the aisle through the train in one of those telling little details that QoS never took the time to depict. Then M orders Eve to “Take the Bloody Shot!” and we are treated to the most persuasive “They’ve killed Bond! In the first few minutes of the movie!!!” sequence since Red Grant showed off his new timepiece. Some people may argue that Bond surviving that fall from the train, and then the near drowning before Adelle and Daniel Kleinman take command of the screen, is too much to believe. My response? “Come on folks, it’s a Bond movie! You’ve accepted far more unbelievable stuff than this!” Bond’s return from “enjoying death” is as realistically depicted as one could possibly expect, and the confrontations that M has with both Bond and Mallory give us the set-up for this film’s underlying premise in a fashion that is unusually rich. M has indeed sinned against the agents under her command; Bond is as aware of that fact as anyone and yet he will defend her to the death. Mallory, representing civilian oversight of the Department of Defense, requires that she retire in payment for her errors of judgment. And again playing carelessly, perhaps even irresponsibly, with the lives of her personnel, M puts Bond back into the field although though he has failed all the tests, physical and emotional. Folks, this is territory that is fairly well unexplored in the Bond series. Yes, M has been the focus of the storyline before; yes, she has made errors and Bond has had to bail her out. But this time she is callously using her own people as expendable pawns. The M of Goldeneye had to assure Bond that she was more than just a bean-counter, that she was willing to send people to their deaths if need be. This M is a callous bitch who appears never to have seen a bean she wasn’t willing to sacrifice; she seems overly eager to give the order: take the bloody shot! Of a certainty, many sequences in this film are gloriously photographed -- the battle with Patrice in a Shanghai high-rise, both combatants in the dark, illuminated by splashes of enormous, gloriously colorful advertising is just one highlight; Bond’s approach to the Macau casino, in a boat passing through the mouth of a huge red-yellow-and-orange colored dragon is another following along mere moments later. But to my mind, the sophisticated themes forming the base of this story are the things which supply its most exceptional qualities. Those themes include (but are not limited to) Aging and Death, Youth vs. Maturity…and finally, the Strength of a Spiritual Commitment. These are themes which clearly underlie much of the story we are given here…and they’re not the sort of thing presented in your average James Bond movie. Yes, Silva’s gaming of MI-6’s computer system is a bit hard to swallow…yes, his timing of trains and explosions in the London subway system more difficult swallowing presented in much the same manner…but again: it’s a Bond film. You’ve swallowed two movies back-to-back where the villains were planning on wiping out all of mankind (save for a few survivors over whom they would be Lord & Master) …and you’re quibbling over what can and what cannot be accomplished with state-of-the-art computing in the here & now? Pull that plank out of your eye, I’ve got a splinter I’d like to show you… I’m still not quite sure how I feel about M’s Tennyson quote over the top of those endless shots of Bond running, running through the streets of London. On one hand; yes, it makes the themes of aging and tenacity quite vividly…but it’s also sort of pretentious, whether in a government hearing or as the voiceover to an action sequence. One thing’s for sure: Craig’s Bond runs more than all the other Bonds before him combined! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it’s a good thing THIS Bond DOESN’T smoke, because he’d never be able to keep up with his busy schedule on the MI6 marathon team if he DID indulge in that demon tobacco! It was nice to see Mallory step up and take the bullet for M (even if that should have been Tanner’s job) and then…oh boy and cue the Official Bond Theme…the famous Aston Martin DB-5 makes its long-awaited reappearance! Skyfall itself (the place, not the movie title) was presented quite surprisingly, and Silva’s final assault on the Bond family estate gives us another thematic twist on a series trope: this time, instead of the villain’s lair exploding at the climax of the film, it’s Bond’s childhood home that gets to go up in smoke -- as well as the beloved Aston Martin. The look on Bond’s face when that classic vehicle is destroyed practically shouts out: “All right, Silva -- THIS TIME you’ve GONE TOO FAR!!! NOW it’s PERSONAL!!”
SADISM: 4/5 While many will remark on the emotional sadism of Silva’s campaign against M, or his murder of the helpless Severine, I think a case can be made that M’s knowing manipulation of her agents did indeed set him on the path that he willingly took up once out of her -- and her enemies’-- hands. The M of this movie -- the M of all of Craig’s tenure as Bond, in fact -- presents herself as a cold mother who continually withholds the approval her offspring desire. That this technique is an effective tool for producing the desired results is indisputable; that the final result has been an inevitable one is also quite clear. One of M’s sons is the vengeful Silva, the other the dutiful Bond. Again, this theme is an unusual one for a James Bond movie, but I think it is the assemblage of unusual themes which gives this movie its remarkable power. At the end of the day, Silva is probably the most sympathetic villain ever portrayed in a Bond film. The torture he suffered at the hands of the Chinese, coupled with the disfigurement caused by his cyanide pill, gives him ample reason to hate M. What makes Bond our hero, now more than ever, is that he has every reason to share that hate -- and he doesn’t. His commitment to his country, and to the survival of his fellow agents, takes on something of a spiritual fervor. More on this topic later…
MUSIC: 4/5 The sound track offered by Thomas Newman is first class in every way. It’s somewhat different from what we’ve grown accustomed to over the years, first from the podium of the master, John Barry, and more recently from his most apt pupil, David Arnold. But it is quite exhilarating in its own fashion. I’m also a huge fan of the theme song by Adele (co-written with Paul Epworth.) If director Sam Mendes wants to stick with Newman as the composer for the next film, I’m not going to be complaining. I just hope he can find someone to present a comparably stirring theme song!
LOCATIONS: 5/5 The overall look of this film is just glorious; the fact that Roger Deakins did not win an Oscar for the cinematography of this film is an oversight just short of criminal. From Turkey to London, from Shanghai to Macau to Hashima Island, back to London and finally to Scotland, the look of this film is an absolute triumph. So what if they didn’t actually film in Scotland or that an island off Macau stood in for Hashima? The look is what counts -- the impression that Bond is traveling to all these fabulous places and that we are taking part in his glamorous lifestyle is the key here -- and on that note, this film scores far better than an Oscar. As far as I’m concerned, this film procures for Roger Deakins the coveted Ian award!
GADGETS: 3/5 Not an awful lot to go with here, really, another palm-print signature handgun, a radio, and oh yes, the Aston Martin. The return of the DB-5 earns this category an extra 2 points. If Bond HAD gone ahead and ejected M, that might have been worth a 3rd!
SUPPORTING CAST: 5/5 Here is where the film really goes into overdrive. Judi Dench gives her most impressive performance ever as M. I’ve already noted that this M seems far more callous than she ever did while working with Pierce Brosnan, but that’s clearly a requirement of this particular storyline. Eon’s lack of adhesion to strict rules of continuity may frustrate some fans, but it definitely gives us a compelling storyline for this go-round. Rory Kinnear is again enjoyable but not particularly memorable as Bill Tanner. The new additions to the team are the big order of the day here, and each of them does a truly admirable job. Naomie Harris is the surprise most of us saw coming as Eve…Moneypenny. As noted earlier, her interactions with Bond throughout the film were quite enjoyable; this pair banters well together and finally, Lois Maxwell would have nothing to be embarrassed about regarding the actions of her current namesake. Ben Whishaw is plenty of fun as the new Q: serious enough when the situation calls for it; willing to give a joke as well as take it when circumstances allow. Ralph Fiennes earns Bond’s loyalty as the new M quite handily by film’s end and most Bond fans seem happy to have him back behind Bernard Lee’s old leather-covered door. The only real question remaining for me is: will he be willing to stay home in the office where he belongs, or is this M going to insist on being the globe-trotter that Judi Dench eventually became? Only time will tell in this regard, but the assurances coming from Daniel Craig and returning director Sam Mendes point to a good old-fashioned Bond adventure for entry #24, so I will assume a stance of guarded optimism. Finally, for what I believe is this film only, we have Albert Finney as the old estate gamekeeper, Kincaid. “Welcome to Scotland,” indeed! Finney is a fine entry to the ranks of Kerim Bey, Quarrel, Mathis, and so many others before him…and a good part of the reason that I hope we never see him again is because I don’t want to see him in the role of sacrificial lamb! I cannot same the same by a long-shot for Helen McCrory, whose loudmouth of a political hack, Minister Claire Dowar, is probably wholly under the sway of Quantum. I’ll be happy to see her return soon, as long as she gets thrown off an opera house roof at Bond’s earliest opportunity!
TOTAL AND RECOLLECTIONS: 43/50 One important question that fans will probably be debating for a long, long time is: does Dench’s death near the film’s end signify a defeat on Bond’s part, or a victory? I see it as something of a victory, albeit a pyrrhic one. The one thing that was important to M, when informed that she was being forced into retirement, was that she not be replaced until she had been able to clean up the mess she had largely caused. By outliving Silva, if only by a few minutes, Dench’s M won a very real victory; the fact that she had “got one thing right” by reinstating Bond over the doubts of Tanner and Mallory, proved to her satisfaction that she had been correct when and where it mattered. And by stating so to Bond as she died, Dench’s M finally granted to Bond the approval she had been withholding for all these years. So: although not an obvious victory, this film culminated in a victory nonetheless. And with a new M and Q in place, along with a suitably engaging Moneypenny, this Bond may FINALLY be able to have some actual FUN while saving the civilized world!
... Bond 24 can’t be too much farther away, now can it?
TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)-
BOND- Pierce was now very comfortable in the role, and it showed. Not the literary perfection of Dalton, but a GREAT cinema Bond in the style of Connery blended with Moore and a dash of Lazenby. Nice mix...4/5
WOMEN- Hatcher was beautiful, the 'little Danish' was a nice cherry on this sundae, and Michelle Yeoh was, for my money, the best Bond girl of the entire series. 4.5/5
VILLAINS- Carver was suitably psycho, Stamper was a good henchman with a subtle bark, but an enormous bite, and Dr. Kaufman was an exceedingly creepy toss-in that it was my great pleasure to see terminated. - 4/5
HUMOUR- This threatened to go over the top many times, yet never quite managed to annoy me; M's "Pump her for information" came the closest, but even in that I appreciated her poking fun at Bond in a twisted motherly way.- 4/5
ACTION- Superb & flawless PTS, Vic Armstrong provided Pierce with some frankly stunning bits of choreography (glass ashtray was a gem), and Michelle's Hong Kong background shined something fierce. Even the too-much machine gun nonsense didn't detract (TSWLM & GE must have desensitized me). -5/5
SADISM- Torture talk, gunning down the Devonshire sailors so coldly & Bond giving US what we wanted with respect to Carver put this one pretty high in my book - 4/5
MUSIC- After Eric's sombre score for GE, this was a delight. Not Barry, but as close as I need, personally. Great thematic work off of KD Lang's fantastic song, too bad it wasn't up front.- 4.5/5
LOCATIONS- Hamburg was really nice, the college was cool, nothing outstanding, but it all looked good. - 3.5/5
GADGETS- The car. 'Nuff said.- 4.5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- Gupta, Stamper, Kaufman? - 4/5
OVERALL SCORE - Hands down my favourite Bond of the nineties. It scores 42 out of 50 points.
Take your time. This will be ongoing for a while and I want people to have fun with this, yet also give it their best shot. :)>-
BOND- 5/5
Daniel takes his 'Skyfall' Bond one step further, beeing the full secret agent/assasin, but this time without a weak moment. And perhaps that's what some people find dissapointing. Craig has been so good at first growing into Bond, and then beeing Bond and nearly losing it and getting back up, that this time there's less to his personal arc. Still, this is one true badass James Bond.
WOMEN - 5(6)/5
well, as my score doesn't count, I might as well make it six. The first Bondgirl (woman) we meet is the long overdue Monica Belluci. Completely believaeble as the widow of a man she hated, still holding a grudge towards his killer (secretly beeing thankfull too), she has a lot in her for the very short time we see her on screen. And then there's the oh so hot and lovely Lea Seydoux! She smolders the screen like only Lucianna Paluzzi managed to do before. Yes, her accent is marring here and there, but be honest, that's only realistic.
VILLAINS- 4/5
Christopher Waltz sure plays Blofeld insanely enough, and I love the fact that it's an information network he uses to gain power, just like he does in the books. But there's something missing. Sure, he plays psychological games, but he doesn't do this in the arrogant, superior way Ian's Blofeld does. I hope they manage to get that angle in there as well next time. in that case he might return more often, in the end, like in YOLT, losing his mind/temper because he's been thwarted often enough.
HUMOR- 4/5
There's plenty going around. From the 'yes, sir, you're right. You have a tricky day ahead' to the 'you didn't miss me, did you?', Bond uses the right amount of humour to ease some dark situations. It still is a darker, more ironical form of humour, but that's what I like best, so no complaints there. Same goes for the lighter version, with this time Q actually joking about a situation. Which, tbh, fits this Q perfectly.
ACTION- 3/5
somehow the action in this film seemed a bit underwhealming. Hinx chasing Bond is beautiful to see, almost a ballet, but not really exciting. I also had some issues with the plane-car chase. It was a bit too much luck. Bond gets out too easy, making a huge crash suddenly feel like a small dent in the car.
At the same time the fight in the train is excellent! Hinx really has it in for Bond and the tension is very, very high indeed. This fight alone makes for most of the points.
SADISM-5/5
Solely on Blofeld's torturing of Bond. I can't help it but I do cringe in my seat everytime I see it. I don't know why. It's probably not even the most painfull torture ( I guess that one will always remain Le Chiffre's), butsomehow the idea of someone drilling holes in your skull/brain is scary as hell.
LOCATIONS-5/5
From Rome, to the Austrian Alps, to Marocco. All places I've seen as well (in the case of Marocco I didn't go to Cassablanca, but to Marrakech and Fes), personally and all shown in all their glory. Those places are sure Bond-worthy (and brought back some fun memories as well ;-) ).
MUSIC- 4/5
Sam Smith's title track actually works well in the film, which I'm really happy to say. The rest fits the film, but isn't spectacular. Should it be? I don't know. Perhaps good is sometimes good enough.
GADGETS- 4/5
Fairly well used, with the DB10 as a special gift (to 009). And of course the watch with the 'rather loud alarm'. The gadgets did serve a purpose and made sense, instead of beeing there to help the plot along because the writers ran out of ideas or were too lazy.
SUPPORTING CAST- 5/5
I'm just very happy with the team they put together, and I sure hope we'll see them all return. Eve still flirts with Bond the way she should do. Q's the loyal friend in the right place, and M does what he should do. I think they play their characters to a tee. Hinx as henchman is vary good as well. He's truly menacing. Oh, and the return of Mr. White was well done indeed!
OVERALL THOUGHTS AND RECOLLECTIONS- 44 (45)/50
This film has gotten better with each viewing (7 times now). Lea is a true standout for me, but, well, you know, that's probably just my hot-bloodedness. It's a fun film, only lacking in the action department and overall writing. Not the plot itself, but the way to finding Blofeld and his lack of, how should I say, progressive menacing should have been adressed. Still, a thoroughly enjoyable film which is at a very high standard indeed. I just wish Blofeld hadn't been captured. His helicopter crashing into the themes and him never beeing found would've been far better. Now, we'll start out the next film like LTK probably. I just hope Bond isn't involved in that bit.
@BeatlesSansEarmuffs, I agree with everything and may have said so before. Looking forward to your SPECTRE review.
BOND- 5/5
Dan demonstrates how he owns the role in SPECTRE, over and over. Take for instance that little smile after the brutal and dangerous helicopter fight in the PTS that shows Bond taking a brief moment to enjoy flying (so completely and ONLY Bond)- there are a very few actors in the world that could have pulled that simple moment off so believably, so subtly & so boldly without straying into silly self-awareness or parody- luckily for US, Dan is one of them.
WOMEN - 4.5/5
Monica is as stunning as ever but her role is more like an extended cameo than a real part, that said she makes her mark in this movie and lends her inevitable touch of class to the proceedings. Lea graduates from Hunt to Bond, and she deserves the promotion. Sultry, vulnerable, fearless in a pinch, she reminds me a little of Grace Kelly in a Hitchcock film.
VILLAINS- 4/5
Christopher Waltz is quietly mesmerizing as the high-functioning psychotic version of Blofeld. The connection between he and Bond manufactured for this entry, whilst hard to fully embrace, is nonetheless played to perfection. Never in your face, merely like a bee buzzing about that you can't quite locate. Dave Bautista's Hinx is a magnificent henchman, sort of like Oddjob with a more inclusive job description & a mean streak.
HUMOR- 4/5
"... piece of the car." The humour is spot on- not silly, not too dry, always seems well placed and never forced.
ACTION- 3/5
The PTS fight was the best big set piece, the Hinx fight was the best had to hand since Slate (but longer & more exciting IMO), but other than those two scenes the action was rather tame. The car chase was pretty, but none too eventful.
Nice 'splosion later though.
SADISM-4.5/5
The eye gouge and the drill chair rate this one as fairly gruesome. Blofeld's plan to make Bond choose between his life and attempting to rescue Madeline was also not-so-nice.
LOCATIONS-4/5
Lots of great locations, however Mendes seems more interested in focusing on the actors. Hey look! The Roman Colo- well, it WAS just there.... blink & you miss.
MUSIC- 3/5
Sorry fans, but the title song is merely serviceable. The score itself isn't bad at all, it just needed the Bond theme entirely more often.
GADGETS- 3/5
A fast car & a nice watch. Not a lot to see here, but as much as Dan's Bond needs, I conjure.
SUPPORTING CAST- 5/5
Fiennes' M was a bit irritable (but he IS new, and it's high stress position), however the supporting cast did their jobs as well as one could possibly hope for. Moneypenny having a 'life' was an interesting touch.
OVERALL THOUGHTS AND RECOLLECTIONS- 40/50
A proper gunbarrel prepared me for the most thoroughly enjoyable entry in this Century. 40/50 might seem rather low, but that's because there were a lot of aspects to this film that worked well, but not amazingly well. The foster connection, the retconning to make SPECTRE the big tentacle behind the previous three movies, Bond seemingly leaving his job... again....
Still, this movie is greater than the sum of it parts, and Daniel Craig in particular is the biggest reason for that. I walked out of the theatre happy as a clam, and have enjoyed each subsequent viewing more than the last.
It's in my top ten to stay.
Secondly, nice to have you here, @delfloria. :) I am definitely looking forward to seeing U.N.C.L.E. when I can and the soundtrack is something I am eager to hear, too. You are an Original, so we'd love for you to give us your thoughts on Spectre, in general, when you can. Brief is fine. I really want to know more about how you review/critique the film these days.
Carry on, dear Agents ~ I shall return much later. Hoping for another review to be posted by then. Cheers! :>
I especially note what you said concerning the locations - the characters in the locations. That is a very interesting thought and I tend to agree with you on that. We used to get more of a feel about the locations because of the local characters that were introduced to us; and that has been weeded out of the Bond films. I need to spend some time this weekend (I won't have time till then) delving into that one area in particular more. I think it is a good point.
By the way, "villains" category is where I would put Mr. White; but supporting cast is okay too, I think.
I agree with you about the music. The score itself was as lackluster to me as Skyfall's (which at least benefited from a far better title song, in my opinion). I had so hoped Newman would up his game and give us more, and definitely more Bondian a flavor, with this one. It is far from being a really good Bond soundtrack. To me it is bland, uninspired, and I still dislike the title song. However, Sam's song was pumped up enough, and orchestrated well, in the opening credits (which I did enjoy) so that it at least did not bother me at all. Music was not memorable, no.
Anyway, I will be writing my review, using the categories, on Sunday. Till then, all are welcome to add their own reviews of Spectre. And do keep in mind, this thread is not here for arguing our own points in a negative way. We do accept we will disagree on things from time to time; but we do so with courtesy, respect, camaraderie (and humor).
Thanks to all. Carry on, then ~ :)>-
Thanks, @Thunderfinger. I'd just like to repeat @4EverBonded's suggestion to anyone who hasn't read all of the Originals' entries on the films: please do go back & check them out! There's lots of great observations there, and some real laugh-out-loud humor -- plus, it's the best way I can think of to remember just how important Greg/Sir Henry was to our community. If you have the time, this would be a fine way to use it!
The only comparable character I can think of -- a villain who switched allegiances over the course of more than one film -- is Jaws. Does one consider Jaws a villain in MR? For most of it, yes, but as of the film's end, not necessarily. Certainly in CR and QoS Mr. White is a villain, but for this film I'd consider him a supporting character. Given that he's the father of Bond's current flame, I'd say that puts him in the same category as Marc-Ange Draco from OHMSS. Draco admittedly is a criminal, a very high level one -- but the function he serves in that storyline is that of an ally.
But SPECTRE was amazing!! Best Bond ever!! Loved every second of it!!
^:)^
Wait, you're a babe!
*Total lascivious hugs!*
Mansorry... :))