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Interesting suggestion. Yes, I've heard him point out that too many of his island neighbours have once again let themselves be bullied by United States industry.
So Craig's record as of 2019 was 2-and-2. The team really needed to hit one out of the park in his last turn at the plate as far as I was concerned.
Well, what can I say? Mission accomplished. Craig may have hit some low points in his tenure as 007, but his high notes are pretty well unsurpassed. In the pantheon of Bonds, Craig is safely at #2 as far as I'm concerned. Sir Sean, of course, is #1, but nobody else even comes close to the measure that Daniel Craig has set.
Back around 1967, a very young incarnation of BSE started wondering about Big Questions, things like "How would James Bond die? He HAS to die eventually; EVERYBODY dies someday. Would he pass peacefully in his sleep at the age of 100 & 1? Would he fall in action, saving the world one last time & bringing Dr. Silver-digit to justice with his dying breath? How would it happen???" Well, now I know, and as far as I'm concerned today, it was a pretty satisfactory answer to that decades-old question.
The first third or so of NTTD is completely exhilarating to these jaded old eyes. From the very first scene showing the very young Madeline Swan's previously-described encounter with the assassin we will again see later in this film ... to the action-packed PTS in Madera... proceeding to Bond's retirement villa in Jamaica, and then to a much-too-short mission in Cuba with the WAY too-briefly-on-screen Paloma... this is a film that lives up to (or surpasses) every Bond adventure I've seen since the halcyon days of Goldfinger.
"Oh, come on!" you may be saying. "Surely there's something less than excellent in the opening of this movie!" Well, okay: the theme song & title sequence were only okay. Not as bad as "The Writing's on the Wall" -- which is among the worst ever in my own opinion -- but nowhere near the stratospheric heights of "You Know My Name." Just to prove that I'm not trying to grade everything in this movie as A+++... give it a B-minus.
I also was less than completely enthralled with the introduction of Logan Ash, who was a little too obviously smarmy and therefore not working the same side of the street as our old buddy Felix Leiter. Jeffrey Wright has been my favorite incarnation of Felix since he was introduced in CR, and assuming that the role will be re-cast at some time in the future I can only say that I hope Eon will eventually find somebody that can fill the bill nearly as well as Wright has. I hated seeing Felix pass for good this time around... maybe next time they can cast somebody who's willing to wear a prosthetic replacement for one hand, per Fleming's prose version of Felix. We won't even need to see the wooden leg...
I was also mildly amused but not entirely comfortable with Bond's dissing of Ralph Fiennes' M this time around. Yes, I suppose that M's involvement in the development of Project Heracles makes some sort of rebuke a necessity... but I do wish that Bond going rogue wasn't such a staple element of the modern Bond. Perhaps the next fellow can wait a movie or two before having to act in defiance of M's desires, eh?
That stated, Bond's interactions with Nomi (the new 007) were spot-on perfect to my way of thinking. The fans who were indignant (back in the long-ago Pre-COVID days) about the very idea of a black woman as 007 were way off-base on this topic, so far as I'm concerned. "It's only a number" indeed -- but Bond is always scrupulous in terms of referring to her as "007" -- and after an initial bout of uncertainty, Nomi is charitable in requesting that Bond be re-assigned the 007 designation.
Oh, and Ben Whishaw as Q, plus Naomi Harris as Monneypenny, were both as dependable as ever. Will they, plus Fiennes, all be re-cast when the new fellow assumes the tuxedo and Walther PPK? I wouldn't be surprised, but would be perfectly happy to see them all continue. I suppose it depends on how completely Eon wants to reboot this most successful franchise...
Back to the review! The spectacular deaths of the ranking hierarchy of Spectre was pretty well mind-blowing for me...and the demise of Blofeld (at Bond's hand, but due to the properties of the Heracles biotechnology) was equally powerful IMHO. The cavalier dispatching of Spectre has received criticism from some elements of fandom, but I think this is due to a flawed understanding of (or distaste for) the concept of rebooting. James Bond will return, and I sort of suspect Spectre will too. But that's a matter to be debated awhile down the road. Right now let's talk about our main villain, our main heroine... and our surprise mini-heroine.
Safin, his Garden of Death, and the Heracles Project in general, were largely well-received by this reviewer. I'd have liked to have seen the Garden depicted more thoroughly, as it is the last of Fleming's great concepts to be featured in a Bond film, and its very species and their properties could have been the stuff of grand nightmares if more fully examined. The Heracles project could have been explained in more detail, I'll readily grant that -- how exactly did Safin get involved with a project that had some sort of ties to M and therefore (one supposes) British intelligence? Upon consideration, this issue brings us back to a point briefly mentioned in Craig/Bond's first meeting with Whishaw/Q -- simply doing fieldwork from afar with the very best technology can lead us to startlingly undesirable results. We need an intelligence operative up close and personal to make the final decision to pull -- or NOT to pull -- the trigger. Safin himself has many qualities associated with the best of the Bond villains, not the least of which is the subtle scarring of his face due to his earlier encounter with the young Madeline Swan. But his connection with Madeline, which this encounter posits without fully developing, is less than entirely convincing. Perhaps it's more a matter of Safin being Bond's mirror-equivalent: Just as Bond routinely persuades the bad-guy's moll to come over to his side, Safin is compelled to entice Bond's romantic interest to side with him.
All this considered, though, my evaluation is that this film goes a long way to rectifying the sins of Spectre. Bond's relationship with Madeline is far more satisfactorily developed here, as is his relationship with Blofeld. Spectre the organization is shown a little more convincingly, even with its' top decision-maker incarcerated. And the failings of the western powers' intelligence community -- far from being minor and easily rectified -- has fatal consequences for our own best beloved.
Finally, we come to the issue of Bond's issue, Mathilde. An original idea here, to be sure: other depictions of Bond's theoretical progeny have without exception been developed as the Son(s) of Bond. Here, we have a daughter -- and that changes everything. While we can expect that a son would be pretty much left to be raised alone by his mother with (perhaps) a nanny or governess, while Bond is off saving the world yet again, a daughter is a different matter. Bond would WANT to be a part of her life, he would want to be her handsome and heroic daddy. Bond would be far less inclined to leave a daughter at the mercy of the big bad world than would be the case for a son. Can you imagine Bond down in the kitchen, whipping up breakfast for a hungry boy-child? Not really. But it's cute and sweet and more than a little bit funny for him to do so for Mathilde.
And finally, we come to That Ending. I can understand some people just not liking it. For me, and for THIS Bond, it was the only way to go. As I've stated elsewhere, we know how other mythic heroes die. King Arthur's end is known to us, as is Robin Hood's. Now, we know James Bond's end as well. James Bond is dead, long live James Bond. Let me tell you a story about a man named Bond... James Bond. Daniel Craig went out on a high note and many years from now, when the next fellow is nowhere near the last fellow, fans will see this film as one of the highlights of the franchise. At least, that's my assessment for now. The way NTTD is presented, Bond HAS to die, not just disappear, or Mathilde will forever be in danger despite the fact that the Heracles project itself has been destroyed. And so it goes. It is perhaps the only appropriate way for the story of this Bond to end. We will see... but personally, I just hope that we don't have to wait quite so long for Bond 26, and again, I suspect I'm not alone in that desire.
;-)
Sorry, couldn't resist. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I largely agree. Personally I don't need too much explanation when it comes to Safin and Madeleine, or Safin's plans. I like it when some things are left for the audience to fill in. For me, in the first case, he's explained enough when he decided not to kill her 'because of her eyes'. He may not be in love, but something in her intregues him. We already know he doesn't look at humans others do. It follows through his upbringing, and into his chosen plan.
I also love the fact that Bond in this film sort of isn't at the center stage, not form the start anyway. It's Madeleine and Vesper. It is far stronger storytelling than just another action-packed adventure, giving far more meaning to all the action that does take place.
Things are sorting out, I am all right. Also, retired at last!! :-bd Well, technically end of this month, but my last work day was last Friday (18th). There aren't enough words to say how happy, relieved, and very ready I am to be retired. Just a lot of emotions at play; things will settle over time.
I apologize for not keeping up with this wonderful thread. I just couldn't even have it on my radar for months. I will be reading mostly now, maybe comment a little. I hope to get this thread open and thriving within a week or so. But step by step at this point.
I hope all of you are enjoying Bond - in many ways, all the films and novels. I still love NTTD, though I have not seen it since October in the theatre. I remember it well, and my opinion has not changed; nor do I think it will change after I do get the dvd. My problem with that is that I cannot manage to get a NON Blu-ray dvd that will play on my multi region player (which stopped playing other regions). I won't buy another dvd player till I return to America - aiming for October for that. But I'm happy to discuss the film and plan to do so after awhile.
Do carry on, and let's have a chat later. 2022 is going to be good for me; just had a rocky start.
Cheers! B-)
Welcome back and happy retirement. I look forward to resurrecting this thread and keeping the originals conversations going.
I hope to be on here more later this week. B-)
Get a room. :))
Though Dimi, Birdleson or myself couldn’t agree where to start. 8-}
Good to see you posting again, and here’s hoping 2022 only gets better.
Japan is usually a good starting place.
You want to join us, @chrisisall? Don't be jealous; just ask.
And @delfloria definitely knows where to find me. B-)
Seriously, it is weekend here now ... no appointments, no stress on the horizon, and I hope to get some in depth participation (on my part) going here today.
Getting to this point (retired!) has truly felt, to me, like a marathon - one I was not particularly trained for, though - and ended up dehydrated, sore, and bruised as I flung myself across the finish line. I've been saying to friends for at least a year, this feels like a marathon. But the obstacles of stress and worry (about a friend, also; not just my own challenges) at the last round, last bend in the track so to speak, was a lot.
Well, since I have thought of marathons so much in the last year or so, I just looked up Olympic marathon difficult finishes, and here is such a memorable one. I know me saying it's been like a marathon for me is an exaggeration. But I'd like to share this clip, if anybody cares to view it for a few minutes. I tried to copy it here at the 5 min. 11 second mark in this video. Gabriela entered the stadium 20 minutes after the gold medal winner (Joan Benoit). This is 1984 Olympics in L.A. ~
OK it did NOT copy - if you don't want to spend all that time on the whole clip, just go to the 5:11 mark.
So I'm back. And I still love and appreciate NTTD. On that totally noncontroversial note, off I go (but I'll be on here all weekend for the most part) ... :)>-
Just don't let them pull you back in for one last mission to save the world.
Let's see, perhaps this not so motley crew: @chrisisall (Paloma), @Birdleson (Felix), @CommanderRoss (Mathis/Columbo). Especially if they worked together. :-bd
Paloma is my spirit agent.
What was odd was that Lazenby was feature prominently throughout the clips.
All I saw of the Oscars was the slap in the face, but I think it'd be nicer if they stopped tributing Bond, and actually started handing out Oscars instead. Personally I feel Craig deserved one for NTTD, and so did some other people.
There are certainly people in the Academy who feel the same way regarding Craig. Just not enough of them it would seem. Though it did not win I was glad to see NTTD nominated in visual effects. There are tons of VFX shots but most people don't notice them. Almost all the cars in the action sequences in Norway are CGI but you would never know it.
Agreed,
Really? Well then it was definately well-done! I'll have a very thorough look at it when I have the time. I know there was some CGI in the bike-jump, which I thought was done extremely well. You really can't see the scaffolding they built to make the jump possible, it all blends in perfectly.
Anybody in the SoCall area thinking of going? I know @4EverBonded won't be attending.